Chapter 628 – The Flying Magic Axe

——The clear winter air and blue sky. Quite a good day for training.

Today’s training wasn’t at Claudia’s castle, but rather at the shipyard, serving as both training and testing for magic tools.

“Well then. Shall we begin? Are you ready?”

I myself floated in the air and called out to the Lindwurm soaring leisurely through the sky and Corulis on the ground. The Lindwurm responded with a throaty rumble, while Corulis waved toward me. Balor stood ready before the Lindwurm, and Caduceus before Corulis.

Both seemed prepared. Well then, let’s begin.

Using Water Magic, I created numerous water spheres. Without using Magical Power Circulation, I expanded their range and area. Since they were merely water targets with no need for combat power, they were perfectly suitable for training purposes.

The water spheres floating around me spread out widely above the shipyard.

Once preparations were complete—Balor and Caduceus began moving at increasing speeds, and the Lindwurm and Corulis started chasing them through the air and on the ground respectively.

I deployed a Magic Circle. The colors of the floating water droplets around us changed accordingly. The Crystal Lances equipped on the Lindwurm’s legs and Corulis’s hands extended with tremendous force, piercing through the water spheres of their designated colors.

An impressed murmur escaped from the members of the Demon-Slaying Knight Order who were watching.

Needless to say, this was training combined with testing the Crystal Lances. The objective was to accurately pierce targets while moving randomly.

The colors changed successively according to my control. Sensing their targets, the Crystal Lances extended and retracted, or moved in sweeping motions to slice through the water spheres.

The Lindwurm possessed excellent dynamic visual acuity, while Corulis seemed to have a keen sense for detecting magical power—both had remarkable reflexes.

Adjusting to their respective Levels, I modified Caduceus’s movements and color-changing patterns, subtly tweaking the Difficulty to draw out their performance near their limits.

We continued this for a while until most water droplets were either pierced or sliced apart. When the Lindwurm and Corulis pierced the final two spheres in sync with the color changes, the Crystal Lance training and testing concluded.

Applause erupted from the watching Demon-Slaying Knight Order members. Princess Stephania and the others also clapped cheerfully.

“Impressive indeed. Both Your Highness’s Familiar and the Ambassador’s Wyvern show remarkable movements.”

“The Ambassador’s magic control remains as skilled as ever. Truly reassuring.”

“We cannot afford to fall behind either.”

“Indeed. We must strive for even greater training.”

Such voices could be heard from the Knight Order members. Hmm. If this serves as motivation for them, that’s all that matters.

“Good training, isn’t it? It’s visually entertaining and seems to boost the members’ morale too.”

“Thank you. For me as well, controlling the color-changing sequence and the Familians’ movements simultaneously makes for excellent training.”

I smiled and replied to Elliot’s words.

Then… Alpha poked its face above the deck, watching us, so I called out to it.

“Alpha, would you like to try too? The format will be a bit different though.”

Hearing this, Alpha grinned and dashed into the air.

Since Alpha wasn’t equipped with a Crystal Lance, it would likely involve dashing between the water spheres to attack directly.

“If we’re doing this, why not have Lavigne and the others join in for combined training too?”

At my words, Lavigne, Belius, and Flamia also dashed into the air.

Seeing Lavigne and Flamia, Ashley and Princess Adriana smiled happily… Well, they might not show much emotion in their tails, but they seemed pleased internally.

As for Alpha and Belius, they tended to express emotions more through their expressions than their tails.

Now then. So, they would each dash around attacking water spheres of different colors—no projectile weapons allowed.

I verbally conveyed the arrangements, such as which colors to target. Then, just like before, I spread water spheres around and began controlling them by changing colors, etc. Immediately, Lavigne and the others began dashing through the air at tremendous speeds.

They seemed to be calling out to each other, communicating their positions and directions. They crossed paths in three-dimensional space at the last possible moment, and despite moving at high speeds, they didn’t collide with each other or hit the wrong water spheres. They dashed through the shortest routes, destroying their respective targets. Lavigne and the others moved in a dizzying flurry, shattering the water spheres one after another with headbutts and fangs. When all the water spheres were destroyed, another round of loud applause arose.

“Hmm. It’s fun to watch too,” said Sheila.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves… Yeah. Somehow it feels like it’s turning into an air show, but well, that’s fine.

After the animals’ training concluded, we introduced Helvorte to the Demon-Slaying Knight Order, and the Party Members and Sion’s group also conducted aerial combat training.

The Knight Order members then engaged in enthusiastic training themselves. In this manner, we finished our morning training at the shipyard and then dropped by the workshop.

“Good morning, Theo-kun.”

“Yeah, good morning.”

We exchanged morning greetings with Alfred and the others.

“Ah, perfect timing.”

“The axe has just been assembled.”

Taking over from Alfred’s words, Viola smiled brightly.

Finally, huh. Judging from the progress, I thought it might be completed around today.

“That’s something to look forward to seeing.”

“Yeah. We were so close, so we got up pretty early and worked hard.”

I see. It seems everyone in the workshop was also eager for its completion.

“Good morning, everyone.”

Princess Elham entered the room with a smile. As we returned her greeting, a long-handled Battle Axe floated into the room a little later.

Given its origin as an axe once used by a Dragonian, it was quite a large Battle Axe. A Thunder Crystal peeked out slightly from the tip, and spheres and Magic Stones were embedded near the junction of the blade and handle… It certainly looked the part of a magical axe.

The Magical Creature Core wasn’t exposed but covered with structurally reinforced crystal. The same material as Belius’s muscle fibers was incorporated as a buffer, absorbing and dispersing impacts and such. It could also deploy a Shield for defense.

“Ah, good morning.”

“Greetings, Master.”

When I spoke, a calm voice resonated from the axe. The Battle Axe tilted slightly as if bowing its head and returned the morning greeting. Its appearance was imposing, and its tone and voice quality were calm, yet it was quite polite.

“How are you feeling?”

“Being able to move freely is wonderful. Truly wonderful. I have no words to express my gratitude for receiving such a body.”

I nodded quietly at the Battle Axe’s words. Well then, I should fulfill my promise.

“Then I ought to give you a name.”

“I humbly request it.”

With everyone watching, I spoke the Battle Axe’s inscription—its name.

“How about Maxwell?”

“Oh… So that is my name…”

The Battle Axe murmured as if deeply moved.

There’s a bit of a pun with “Axe” and “Maxwell,” but I wanted something that also felt like a person’s name.

I embedded several other meanings too… but well, let’s set that aside for now. If the Battle Axe didn’t like it, I’d have to choose another name.

“If you’d prefer another name, I have a few others in mind—”

“—No. This name is good. A precious name bestowed by my Master.”

The Battle Axe—Maxwell—stated clearly.

Then, it tilted its body as if formally introducing itself and bowed.

“From today onward, I humbly ask for your favor.”

“Likewise, we look forward to working with you, Maxwell.”

Grace returned the greeting with a gentle smile. Everyone also offered welcoming words to Maxwell. Marlene bowed cheerfully, Helvorte bowed with words of blessing. Maxwell dutifully responded to each with words of thanks and a bow.

“I thought carrying it bare-bladed through town might be intimidating, so I tried making a sheath too. I endeavored to make it operable via magnetism for easy attachment and removal.”

Princess Elham brought over a sturdy-looking sheath. With its delicate silver decorations, it was quite elaborate.

“Oh, this is most gracious. Let me try it immediately.”

Maxwell used magnetism to make the sheath float up. The sheath attached itself, encircling the blade, and the clasp moved on its own to lock into place.

Attachment and removal seemed surprisingly easy. Using magnetism to lock and unlock the clasp also appeared simple.

The decorations added a sense of elegance. At least while sheathed, it would undoubtedly reduce its intimidating presence. Yet, it hadn’t lost the dignity befitting a weapon.

“Does it get in the way or feel off in any way?”

“It feels just right. To think you would make something like this for me too.”

Maxwell seemed pleased.

“Well then, shall we proceed as planned after this?”

“Oh… Finally, huh. No, I’ve been looking forward to this.”

We planned a trial run in the workshop’s courtyard. Since Maxwell could finally move, it seemed fully motivated. We’d observe various movements, like the Magnetic Slash and such.