episode_0040

It was truly in the blink of an eye.

The eagle carrying the prince and Elaine soared high into the blue sky as if hunting the sun.

The sky was so high that the imperial cities looked small, but it wasn’t very cold.

Somewhere, a warm wind blew and gently wrapped around their bodies.

Perhaps due to fully awakening her divine power, Elaine’s eyes clearly showed the green mana flowing from the prince.

She could also clearly see the forms of the incorporeal spirits.

The warm wind surrounding them emanated from one of those spirits.

Hoo-waaah—

A southern wind blew at the end of spring, flowing like a strong river.

Carried by the strong currents, the eagle no longer flapped its wings.

Only the elegant feathers at the tips of its outstretched wings quivered with joy.

“I feel so good…!”

Elaine held onto the prince’s side with one hand and reached out with the other.

She wanted to touch the clouds.

The spirit, understanding her intention, only gathered the wind at her fingertips.

“…It looked fluffy on the surface.”

But when she actually touched it, the once thought-to-be warm thing melted away, much colder than expected.

It was a fantastic experience she had never encountered before.

Oh, of course, the giant eagle speaking human language was equally amazing.

In fact, when the elven prince told the prince to bring down the tower alone, she couldn’t help but feel anxious.

When it came to the strength of a sorcerer, she knew very well, not only the maidservants of the viscount but also the cunning children of the alleys.

Especially when it came to the Tower of Blazing.

Whether it was a demon or a person, it was famous for burning and killing anyone mercilessly.

For the prince to go there alone.

Moreover, to bring down the tower and capture the master of the tower, it was no different from telling him to end his own life.

That’s why she insisted on following him no matter what.

If she had this power given by the goddess, she believed she could protect the prince no matter how great the difficulty he faced.

She was very afraid to imagine confronting the sorcerers, but she had already defended the meteorites alone last night.

I was confident that I could protect the prince better than anyone else.

I had already made my plans.

Until he soared, I had answered that I would be above the eagle for the prince.

Once he entered the tower, I planned to secretly follow and help him.

“Hey, son of Viblea. Did you say your name was Eos?”

The eagle seemed to have a great interest in the prince and spoke quite frequently.

“….”

But the prince seemed to have no intention of engaging in conversation at all.

“Hah, my name is Aquila. It was given by Viblea, but I didn’t really like that name.”

The eagle, exhaling softly, as if not considering the silence of the little guy at all, began to speak only what it wanted to say.

“Oh, yeah. But because Viblea begged so much to use this name, I pretended to accept it as if I couldn’t resist.”

As if flying was of no concern, the expression of the eagle, who was frequently turning its head, had suddenly become sullen.

It was a face that reminded one of a child telling an interesting lie.

“Huh. Did you feel it too? Viblea, you see, liked me too much. Until she left the forest to marry that stupid human, Belcreed or Creamsoup or whatever his name was, she always rode only me without skipping a single day. She begged so much, saying how soft my feathers looked, asking if she could just touch them once.”

Like bright yellow flowers popping out between the forsythia, each word was filled with deep longing.

To anyone, the tone strongly suggested that the eagle unilaterally liked Viblea.

Then suddenly, the eagle’s eyes turned to Elaine.

Sure enough, not an ordinary beast, for a moment Elaine felt her breath catch.

“Hey, clueless woman over there. What’s your name? I think it was something like Elle…”

But the moment she heard the eagle’s words, fear vanished and considerable discomfort surged.

Just like before, and now, it was already the second time.

To hear herself being called a clueless woman while the prince was listening…

Almost without realizing it, Elaine was on the verge of blurting out a vulgar curse that the fishmonger, who often visited the viscount’s estate, used.

She tightly shut her eyes and lowered her head.

Though feeling upset, she knew she had to endure; she was poking at herself.

For some reason, it seemed appropriate to maintain a good relationship with the contraption she would likely encounter frequently in the future.

With that in mind, she forced a smile and obediently gave her name.

“My name is Elaine.”

“Elaine, such a foolish expression suits your name so well.”

“……”

Elaine finally realized why the prince hadn’t said a word since the eagle had yet to speak.

They flew for a while longer.

Below them, Mersenne’s capital spread out.

Despite the considerable height that made the grand palace seem small, the imperial capital still looked vast.

The viscount’s estate must be somewhere around here…

Then, Elaine belatedly realized.

Driven by impatience, she had left home without saying a word to her mother.

Perhaps the viscount had turned everything upside down looking for her, but the most important thing now was to protect the prince.

The eagle began to gradually descend.

“There it is.”

In the distance, the towering pyre appeared small.

Perhaps due to the distance, the cylindrical tower looked like a handle of a broom.

“They say everything looks beautiful from afar…”

As it drew closer, the tower, which looked more detailed, exuded quite an attractive figure.

Periodically, flames spewed from the reddish bricks that were built like glowing lava.

It truly seemed to be a blazing tower.

Whoosh!

As the eagle began to flap its wings in earnest, it rapidly approached.

“Hey, Eos. Get ready.”

Only when she got close did Elaine realize.

The face of the tower seemed much wider than the viscount’s estate.

Truly remarkable width.

Its height also far exceeded the category of a typical tower.

The rooftop that pierced through the clouds had white clouds spread out like a carpet, and on top of that, there was a huge sailing ship standing tall.

Of course, Elaine could only tilt her head in wonder.

“A ship is supposed to float on water….”

If that huge vessel hadn’t been assembled on the rooftop from the beginning, it would have been an impossible sight.

But she couldn’t help but feel puzzled as to why clever wizards would bother with such a pointless act.

Hwack! Hwack! Hwack!

Before she knew it, the eagle had landed on the deck and was flapping its wings vigorously in place.

Of course, it was hovering at a considerable height to avoid detection.

“We’ve arrived, Eos. Come back safely.”

It was a friendly voice, as if they had become long-time friends.

Elaine found it doubtful how they could go without having a proper conversation, but now was the moment to send off the prince.

However, due to a faint sense of unknown unease, she somehow didn’t want to let go of the prince just like that.

Unaware of her feelings, Eos tried to release his hand.

“Elaine, I need to go down now, so please let go.”

“Your Highness…”

“Yes, speak.”

“…Please be careful.”

She was convinced that something bad was going to happen, but Elaine couldn’t exactly pinpoint what it was. That’s why she chose her words carefully.

“Then I’ll be off.”

As soon as Elaine let go of his hand, the prince leaped down.

Watching the prince rapidly shrink below, Elaine silently vowed.

“Don’t worry, Your Highness. I will definitely protect you this time too.”

***

Like an apple falling from a tree, I fell endlessly.

Experiencing the law of gravity wasn’t as bad as I thought.

Of course, there was no doubt that I could enjoy it because I was confident I wouldn’t die.

Accelerating rapidly during the fall,

I was enveloped by the wind from the sail that suddenly rose, when I was just about 2 meters away.

Thud-

I safely landed on the deck of the flying ship resembling a galleon from the Age of Exploration.

Fortunately, there was no one around.

Then, for a moment, I sensed that strange feeling again.

“….!”

The surrounding mana rushed into me rapidly, and in an instant, I was filled with mana.

It was a phenomenon similar to when I wrapped myself in warm wind to prevent hypothermia.

The mana that had flowed into the Windt had suddenly been restored.

I had thought it was just my mood at the time, but it seemed not to be the case.

There’s one thing for sure.

I bowed my head and looked at the armor given to me by Aflatous.

Honestly, it was quite amazing how it changed size and fit perfectly as soon as I put it on.

“Don’t worry. What I gave you is a treasure of the Revenant Guard. Once you wear it, you’ll soon realize it’s worth at least a tower.”

Although he boasted like that.

It didn’t seem to have any special abilities beyond looking like a stiff leather armor.

“….”

But once I confirmed its ability, I couldn’t help but admit that Aflatous was not wrong.

To absorb the surrounding mana…

It couldn’t be anything but a truly remarkable armor.

But is this really all?

Considering Aflatous’s confident voice, reasonable doubts began to arise that perhaps it could even absorb magic.

And if that were true, perhaps I could confidently face the Tower Lords and win.

I calmed my slightly elated heart and carefully examined the ship.

Like a massive, secret warship being operated from the Inferno Tower, it was exceptionally well maintained.

Everything from the magic circle that clearly showed the ground while flying at high altitudes, to the multiple masts lined up vertically and the sails attached to the sides, looked so fresh as if it had just been made.

This ship, propelled by the power of fire, was something possessed exclusively by the Inferno Tower on the continent.

It was a fact that having this would greatly empower my future endeavors, without needing confirmation.

Of course, rather than just having a ship, enslaving a Tower Lord would be much better, that was a matter of course.

The blazing tower was a place that far surpassed other towers in terms of destruction.

So, if I could have numerous wizards and freely command this ship with the tower lord at my feet.

Moreover, if I could carry a multitude of talented individuals like Duke Pellios and renowned wizards, it would be a significant help in protecting the empire from countless impending threats.

Of course, there was a formidable barrier ahead that was not easily overcome.

The overly upright nature of inflexible elves was precisely the identity of the obstacle I had to overcome.

Most elves were adherents of the principle of an eye for an eye.

As Gartagon said, those who must be satisfied by killing the tower lord regardless of its utility were such people. Elves were such a race.

Therefore, I found myself in a situation where I had to devise a way to attack the tower and somehow save the tower lord.

Each wizard within the tower was no different from a new challenge for me.

If I were to use the tower as my full strength in the future, minimizing casualties within the tower was necessary.

So, what was most important to me right now was to evoke a strong sense of customer satisfaction within the hearts of the elves through a very effective display without destroying my precious weapons.

Fortunately, I already knew a way to steal the tower lord.

“……”

However, the biggest problem was still bringing down the tower.

For the elves to understand, they must obtain visible results such as the destruction of the tower.

But the blazing tower was something akin to an aircraft carrier.

Although it couldn’t move, it had everything a fire-handling wizard needed, including various rare materials, numerous spellbooks related to fire magic, and a training ground to efficiently hone fire magic.

In short, it was a place equipped with almost everything fire-handling wizards needed, and it was a place where a considerable amount of royal support funds and non-negligible commission fees from people of all walks of life flowed in like a river about to reach the sea.

So.

For me, who had to obtain anything that could be helpful, it seemed clear that toppling the tower would be a huge loss.

“Sigh….”

There didn’t seem to be a proper way about it.

But still, I had to move first.

In an instant, a black cloak wrapped around my body, with the hood covering my head.

The handle of the national treasure rapier of Rivengard was in my hand, which was spread out just right.

Thud.

It was all that Rak spat out.

The senseful fellow’s scabbard was already removed.

“Wh-who are you!”

Finding the entrance leading downward wasn’t difficult.

It was because someone in a red robe, a magician without a doubt, came up and spotted me.

Desperately trying to make noise to alert the intruder, not even a small breath escaped his lips.

Akoo’s thick water barrier completely enveloped him, as if a slime had swallowed a monster.

All I had to do was run quickly and knock him out before he used magic.

Thwack!

As soon as I approached, the water surrounding the magician fell off.

Plop!

Bouncing off the falling water droplets, the hilt of the sword was embedded in the magician’s head.

Thud-

Unable to endure the shock and pain, he fainted on the spot.

Soon after, when Akoo’s water enveloped my body, my whole body became transparent in an instant.

Thinking that I should start from the top floor, I took a step down.

Thump!

Before my moving foot even touched the ground, suddenly, from all directions, unfamiliar heartbeats began to echo.

Thump! Thump!

Dozens, or perhaps hundreds, of restless presences.

The most strongly felt was the dry wooden hull of a ship.

And inside the tower, large and small heartbeats were echoing one after another.

As if life had been breathed into something that had died.