A day had already passed since Rudell and his companions boarded the magic airship headed for the Empire’s capital, Pensburg.
“Ugh, I’m so bored—!!”
“I know, right…”
Sitting in the cramped cabin, Leje groaned as she threw the cards she was holding up above her head.
Swish The cards fluttered down to the floor, and Rudell, watching the scene, also let out a sigh as he placed his cards on the ground.
The excitement of flying in the sky was short-lived.
Being stuck in the tiny cabin for most of the day was definitely torture.
“I feel like I’ll freeze to death if I go outside, and it’s so boring in here…”
What Rudell and his crew overlooked was that it was much colder up in the sky than they imagined.
It was so cold that when Rudell woke up in the morning, he was greeted by the sight of thick castle walls outside the cabin.
In such a situation, enjoying the view outside wasn’t easy at all.
“If I’d known, I should’ve brought more stuff…”
“Weren’t you the one who said we definitely weren’t on a vacation?”
“That’s totally different!”
With Rudell’s question, Leje shot back…
“By the way, what are you two fiddling with all day?”
She asked Kurt and Silphier, who were busily doing something in the corner of the cabin, with a bored expression.
“It’s wood carving.”
“Th-They’re my golems…”
In their hands, they held a small carving knife, a piece of wood that looked like it had been carved, and a small mechanical device formed like a sphere.
Sure, Silphier had a tendency to be industrious, but Rudell had no idea Kurt had such a hobby.
“What are you making?”
“A rabbit.”
“A, a rabbit…?”
With that thought, Rudell asked, and Kurt showed him the piece of wood.
At the same moment, a groan escaped Rudell’s mouth.
It looked more like an unknown creature with two horns than a rabbit, no doubt about it.
Pfft…!! A, a rabbit…!!
“…?”
Maybe the result was a bit disappointing given the seriousness, Leje chuckled quietly.
At that, Kurt was puzzled by her reaction.
“Lady Leje, making fun of someone else’s efforts is not a good thing.”
“Um… Sorry.”
Just then, Eleor, who had been watching the scene, chimed in.
At her words, Leje let out a groan and quickly lowered her head toward Kurt.
“Don’t worry about it. I know my carving skills are not that great.”
Kurt nodded at her apology and went back to his carving.
In the awkward atmosphere, only the scrape of the carving knife could be heard…
“Yawn… I think I’ll take a nap.”
Finally, unable to hold back, Leje let out a yawn and plopped down onto the makeshift bed in the cabin.
At that moment…
BOOM!!
“Whaat!?”
“AAAH!?”
“Wha-what’s going on suddenly!?”
An unexpected loud noise erupted, and the magic airship jolted violently.
Of course, Rudell and the others inside the cabin had no choice but to stagger, losing their balance.
“AAAAH—!!”
“We, we need to run!!”
At that moment, screams and the sound of chaos began to swirl outside the cabin.
“What’s happening?!”
“I’ll go check it out!”
Rudell got up and headed outside, and what he saw was a scene of panicking passengers running around, trying to avoid something.
What in the world was going on?
“What’s happening!?”
“It’s the public gang!! If you value your lives, hide—quick!!”
Grabbing passing people and asking, they shouted and rushed back into the cabin to lock the door.
“The public gang, huh…”
Just like there are bandits on land and pirates at sea, there are public gangs in the sky.
He thought it was unlikely, but he never imagined the public gang would actually attack.
As those thoughts crossed his mind, Rudell returned to the cabin…
“What’s going on?”
“Looks like the public gang is attacking.”
At that moment when Rudell answered Leje’s question…
“Public gang!? They’re like bandits, right?!”
Leje’s eyes sparkled as she jumped up from her seat.
She looked like a kid who just found a new toy.
“Of course… this is how it would turn out.”
Seeing that look, Rudell scratched his cheek awkwardly.
*
“We’ve secured the deck!”
“We’ve secured the engine room!”
“We’ve secured the bridge!”
“We’re currently securing the cabin!”
“Great! Very good!”
Camel, the leader of the Delenos public gang, smiled satisfactorily at the ongoing reports.
Having recently been worried about profits, he spotted an unarmed magic airship.
It seemed that the crew didn’t even think they would be attacked. For him, the unassuming ship was like easy prey.
In fact, it hadn’t even been five minutes since they started their attack, and most of the ship’s facilities had already fallen into their hands.
Now all that was left was to subdue the cabin and grab anything valuable before the Imperial Air Force arrived.
“How’s the cabin securing going?”
“Uh, well… There are guests barricaded inside, so…”
“Then just break the door down! What can they even do?”
As Camel was saying that, he suddenly heard a voice through the communication line.
Bzzzt! This is the cabin crew! There’s a… big situation on this side…!! Gah!?
“Wha-what was that just now?”
A flustered voice came through the line just before it was cut off with a thud.
Startled by the unexpected situation, Camel’s voice became anxious…
“You two! Head to the cabin! Something seems off!”
“Yes! Boss!”
Sending two nearby subordinates to the cabin, Camel clicked his tongue.
How can they plunder if they can’t even subdue a single passenger?
He thought the new subordinates hadn’t been doing well, and he was about to head toward the bridge.
But at that moment…
BOOM!!
“What the…?”
Suddenly, the door leading to the cabin exploded open, and the two subordinates Camel had sent out were thrown out, looking battered.
Seeing this, a startled voice escaped Camel’s lips.
And then it happened.
“What’s going on? I thought being a public gang meant something special, but they’re just like any other bandits?”
With a tone of annoyance, a girl appeared from the cabin.
Her long, flowing white hair and jewel-like blue eyes.
Her face bore an innocent look, as if she had found something fun to do.
“What are you doing here, girl?”
“Did you just call me a girl, Rudell?”
At his words, the girl looked at him with disbelief and then stared back into the cabin.
At the same time, another boy appeared behind her.
Overall, he radiated an aura of harmlessness.
A boy with such a gentle impression that could only be described that way, but…
…!!
The moment Camel laid eyes on him, he felt a chill run down his spine.
It was an instinctual feeling.
The reason he had survived for so long as a public gang leader was that he had learned to trust his instincts.
And now his instincts were screaming at him wildly.
Touching that one would be a huge mistake.
“Boss?”
“W-What’s wrong?”
The subordinates around him also looked shocked at Camel’s tense expression.
The commander’s unease easily transmitted to those below him.
“There’s…!!”
But even so, there was no turning back now.
If they failed in this plunder, it would significantly disrupt their operations and the pay for the subordinates.
Whether he lived or died, the outcome would be the same.
If that was the case, it was best for him to bet on surviving, even if the odds were slim.
“What are you waiting for?! Everyone, catch those two!!”
“Yeehaw!!”
“The girl is mine!!”
At his shout, the members of the public gang charged toward Rudell and Leje, weapons in hand.
Seeing this, the two looked at each other in disbelief and then burst into laughter.
“Shall we make a bet? Who takes down more of them?”
“Leje…”
“Alright, if you don’t want to, then forget it.”
With a sigh, Leje replied to Rudell, and she loosened her hands as she charged at the nearest public gang member, punching him square in the face.
Thunk!?
With a ridiculous grunt, blood spurted from the public gang member’s nose as broken teeth flew out…
Looking at the frozen public gang members, Leje yelled.
“I don’t accept surrenders!!”
