Chapter 32
There’s no such thing as a flying phantom staircase on a battleship. And humans don’t have wings.
So it’s very difficult to infiltrate an aircraft carrier, even if it’s floating up in the sky, still, and completely unguarded, even in the middle of the night.
And now they had to infiltrate it, intimidate the captain, and take out the entire crew without killing anyone.
“At sea, a battleship is often compared to a fortress. An airborne battleship can be said to be a heavenly fortress.”
Oswald said with a gentle smile. He wasn’t wrong, but it was sarcastic.
“That asshole thinks he’s a real elf.”
“I am a real elf, but you can’t see my ears.”
“Wow, he’s corrupted to the core. Brother, I have a solution!”
Eugene pouted and threw his hands up in the air. He shrugged proudly when Ivan snapped.
“All I have to do is use my [feather walk]!”
“How many times do I have to tell him it’s a Mind Sorcery before he gets it? Does being human make him less capable of learning?”
“Wow, he’s a real dork. Why would you trust a wizard who can’t even use Featherstep to organize a party? Brother, I’ll take anyone from the School of Magic right now, preferably from the Destruction school.”
“[Schizophrenia]”
Purple mana swirled around Oswald’s fingertips, and Eugene’s pupils dilated.
Eugene dropped his head, drooling.
Silence fell over the clubhouse.
Ivan nodded.
“We can wait until evening.”
“Do you think a warship will suddenly land in the evening?”
“No. There are people who need to go to the ships.”
The Krasilovs had given the warships three days to leave. That was yesterday.
And yesterday evening, Elizaveta had given them one day to leave or she would shoot them down.
The ship’s captain must have been nervous. The entire monarchy could be in military action tomorrow, and even if it isn’t, Elizabeth could be trying to pull some kind of stunt today.
If so, the captain must contact the crown prince by today. It’s the only way to turn things around.
We won’t be able to move in broad daylight. The entirety of Pritzenkaya is in Elizaveta’s sights as long as the Counterintelligence Command exists.
So it’s evening, or at least night after sunset.
“Even if the… the crown prince’s side makes contact with the warships, how are we supposed to get between them?”
“They’ll be using a carriage with a levitation spell.”
“So, do we ask them to give us a seat in the carriage?”
“No.”
After a quick glance at Oswald, who was looking at him suspiciously, at Yuri, who was still frightened, and at Eugene, who was stunned, Ivan turned to Yuri and spoke in a serious voice.
“If you had to carry one of these, who would you choose?”
“What…?”
“Except me. Which one of them would you carry?”
Yuuri looked at the two young men with trembling eyes. One was Golden Sun, the other was Hypnotic Eye.
Hypnotic Eyes had even just proved his ability by casting a hypnotic spell on her.
Yuri bit her lip tightly and barely managed to answer.
“That, Eugene… I’d rather….”
“Would you rather…?”
Ignoring Oswald, who cringed in hurt, Ivan nodded.
“Then I’ll carry you, Oswald.”
“And you’re going to carry him all of a sudden?”
“Yes. We’re hanging.”
About 800 meters in the air. A ridiculously low altitude for a typical aircraft on Earth, but impossible for humans to reach in this pre-modern world.
Even with Earth’s highly developed civil engineering, 800 meters is the height of the Burj Khalifa. In other words, it’s the tallest structure ever built or reached.
Any attempt to ascend to that height using a levitation spell or other means of transportation would surely be spotted.
So the only way to infiltrate without being seen is to hide under the carriage that the Crown Prince’s faction will send to make contact.
The problem is, do you have the stamina to stay under the wagon?
Oswald doesn’t think it’s possible, and Eugene isn’t so sure. After all, he’s a priest, not a swordsman.
Yuri, on the other hand, is the head of the knightly faculty. Aside from Mord, he’s one of the strongest students in the freshman class. He can pick up a person and hang them for 10 minutes.
“You say that as if you’ve ever infiltrated a ship while suspended in midair?”
“Fortunately, I’ve done something like that before.”
“What a life you’ve led. Oh, I can’t say I’m particularly curious.”
Ivan ignored Oswald’s comment and stood up. There were many things to prepare.
“Pack warm clothes, make sure you’re fully armed, and come to the Astronomy Spire of the School of Magic.”
In Krasilov, every season but summer is not much different from winter. Little winter, then summer, then midsummer, then dog winter.
Which means it’s pretty cold to be hanging on to a carriage in the middle of the night and flying at 800 meters. The possessed shivered as they pondered Ivan’s words.
*
Ivan and the possessed had been crouching on the roof of the spire since evening, and it was not until after dark that they stood up, stiff with exhaustion.
Their hands were numb from the cold. It was only when the possessed sighed and unwrapped their hands and feet that Ivan looked up.
Darkness had fallen over the quadrant, and then a small light flickered in the distance, made even darker by the shadow of the great ship.
“Ready.”
Ivan released his shoulders once, then drew his axe. He spun the roped axe around, then straightened it out to gauge the distance.
The ropes from the two axes were tied around Yuri’s and Ivan’s waists, respectively.
Once he was sure that Yuri was carrying Eugene, Ivan slowly pulled his arms back.
“Here they come.”
The possessed swallowed nervously. Ivan was staring straight ahead, somewhere in the darkness of the night sky where nothing could be seen.
Magic flowed. Delicately orchestrated power coursing through Ivan’s muscle fibers.
Oswald, on his back, inwardly marveled at the intricate arrangement.
“You go first.”
“What? What…heck!!!-Gah!!!-Gah!!!”
-Whoosh!!!
Without waiting for Yuri to answer, Ivan threw the axe. The hatchet stretched out into the night sky in a clean straight line.
The rope hanging from the end of the axe snapped once, and Yuri, who was tied to it, flew off as if reeled in.
In a flash, Yuri’s silhouette disappeared into the darkness.
“Hold on tight.”
“I, uh, wait, I’m not sure I’m ready to…. Wait, wait, wait, you better think again…!!”
-Whoosh!!!
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!!!”
Oswald screamed, biting down on a foamy bubble as the ground quickly receded, the harsh wind slapping him on both cheeks.
Tinnitus, the dread of death, popping and ringing. A sense of floating, like being dropped from the sky…. I’m crazy, planning this shit…! Oswald cried out, reflexively clutching Ivan’s shoulder.
“Ugh…! Ugh…! Billion…! Uh…?”
The deafening noise that had been assaulting his ears stopped with a thud.
Oswald looked around, dazed, and saw a pale Yuri and Eugene right beside him.
They were clinging to the wagon wheel.
“Uhhh…? Uhhhh…?”
“Whoa….”
In the distance, I could see the spire they had jumped from. This distance…? They threw a hatchet…? They looked at Ivan in disbelief.
“And we won’t be found out?”
“Of course not.”
Immediately, Ivan’s ears picked up the commotion in the wagon.
The men in here aren’t deaf, and there’s no way they wouldn’t notice if the wagon suddenly lurched, taking on the weight of four more men and a good axe blow.
It’s not like you can open the carriage door or see under the wheels from the window, so it doesn’t matter, but it’s only for a moment.
The moment you step onto the deck, you’ll be surrounded. Crown Prince Alexandr himself won’t be on board, but the carriage that the courier is riding in has been raided, so of course it will be attacked.
In other words, the plan was never meant to be stealthy in the first place.
Realizing this, the minions looked at Ivan in disbelief.
“So what do we do now?”
“Hold on.”
“Huh?”
Ivan stared off into the night sky and slowly drew the axe embedded in his wagon.
Beneath the clouds, an aerial battleship was slowly approaching.
After making sure that the lights guiding the wagon’s landing were glowing on deck, Ivan hooked Oswald over the wagon’s wheels and hung on with one hand.
He pointed his drawn axe straight ahead again and cocked his head.
“Oh, no. You’re going to abandon us, brother, you’re going to abandon the Patriots, no friendship?”
Ignoring Eugene’s stammering bullshit, she stretched her arm back and turned her magic.
The conditions were such that covert infiltration was impossible in the first place.
Wouldn’t it be right, then, to go to the Gender Identity Center, of course? The doctrine of the Exterminators has always been to confuse the enemy just prior to infiltration.
Decoys… not quite decoys, but distractions.
Plus, two of the possessed are nobles, one a high ranking member of the military and one an elf.
That meant that even if they were attacked, they wouldn’t be a target for summary execution, and if only students showed up, there was a good chance it would be nothing more than a prank.
That’s why I said something like, “No killing of the crew. To prevent this from becoming a life-and-death situation.
“I’ll be right there.”
“No, wait, you…? You!!!”
-Boooooooooooo!!!
Ivan picked up his axe and threw it somewhere in the night sky. The powerful recoil shook the carriage once, and when the possessed opened their eyes again.
Ivan was no longer there; he was already flying through the darkness of the night.
“You’re like a crazy flying Santa Claus. I don’t even need Rudolph.”
“Ahahahaha…. What are we gonna do now?”
“I don’t know.”
Eugene gritted his teeth as he stared at the approaching deck.
“Break the quest.”
If this quest reward isn’t good enough, I’m going to kill this fucking status bar at all costs.
*.
Ivan dangled below the warship’s waterline, his axe embedded in the gunwale.
A harsh wind whistled in his ears. He could feel the floating sensation beneath his feet and see the streets dotted with grains of sand beneath him.
A fall would mean death, no. A fall so high that not even a shred of limb would remain as a trace.
“Suck.”
-Kwazik!
Hanging by one hand from that height, I twist my waist to recoil and slam into the cannonball.
-Quack! Kwajik! Kwazik!
-Woosh!
Steady and expressionless, swaying precariously as if he might fall at any moment.
Silently. Like pounding wood on solid ground.
Soon, the wooden gunwale crumbled, leaving a hole big enough for a man to fit through.
-Whoosh!-Whoosh!-Whoosh!-Whoosh!!!
The cabin warning lights flashed frantically, and I could hear the crew scurrying about.
A successful distraction.
Ivan nodded numbly and threw himself through the dark gap in the gunwale.
Now, now here.
The woodcutter had arrived.
1. Here is who Rudolph is.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolph_the_Red-Nosed_Reindeer
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