༺ Special Field Training ༻
Time flowed swiftly, and it was the day of the special field training.
Endlessly spread before me was the blue sky.
My hair was violently whipped by the wind, clouds flowed beneath my feet, and the expansive view was clear and pristine.
Gazing at that spectacle, I slightly furrowed my brow.
“Haah…”
I never thought I’d be riding the airship again, especially so soon.
While I was lamenting my fate, someone next to me struck up a conversation.
“Why the sigh, Instructor Graham? The sky is so beautiful.”
Instructor Lirya approached with a gentle smile. She was holding down her hair, fluttering in the wind.
Normally, it would be impossible to stand on the deck at such a high altitude. Flying higher than the clouds, either one would be blown away by the strong winds or be unable to breathe properly due to the lack of oxygen.
However, that this was merely reduced to ‘a bit of strong wind’, was testament to the remarkable technology of the airship created by Dr. Brown.
Instructor Lirya was looking at the scenery beyond the deck of the airship that was cutting through the clouds.
“I never thought we’d be flying to the training site in an airship. Isn’t it astounding that such a big ship can fly?”
Her face was filled with childlike excitement and thrill. With her much smaller physique compared to the students and such a buoyant expression, she looked just like a real child.
I nodded my head slightly in agreement.
“…Yes, it truly is.”
“Huh? Your reaction is rather lukewarm… If you’re uncomfortable with heights, how about staying inside instead of being on the deck?”
I shook my head from side to side.
Of course, it wasn’t a fear of heights. But if every time you ride an airship, you inevitably experience a crash, it’s only natural to develop such a reaction, isn’t it?
But putting aside personal discomfort, one couldn’t deny the speed and convenience of the airship.
Traveling to Shubaltsheim by carriage would have taken at least a month, and considering the number of people traveling together, it wouldn’t be strange if it took even longer. However, that time was reduced to merely a day.
Instructor Lirya spoke without hiding her surprise.
“I never imagined the royal family would donate an airship… I didn’t even consider it. Dean Heinkel was incredibly surprised when he first heard the news.”
“That must have been the case.”
Even though the Philion Academy is a prestigious educational institution, there would have been various problems in lending a machine that contains the essence of the Empire’s magic engineering technology, like an airship.
So it was easy to guess that there must have been unseen efforts by Elizabeth in the background.
Of course, not all students were able to use the airship. The number of students enrolled in Philion Academy reached the thousands, with over a thousand just in the first year. But the airship’s maximum capacity was only 200.
Only one class from one grade could ride the airship. And it was our Opal Black class that was chosen because our training site was the farthest.
Of course, having just eight students use one airship was a serious waste of space. So it was decided to go for the practice with the Garnet Red class.
Some students said that this was special treatment, but what could we do?
The one who provided the airship was the royal family, and among the students riding it was Princess Elizabeth herself.
To be honest, the fact that the princess, who almost died in an airship crash, was riding an airship again, regardless of her strong insistence, felt questionable…
I momentarily turned my gaze to the side. It was where the students were.
“Woah…! Oz, look at this! We’re flying in the sky!!”
“…The wind… is too strong…”
“Hmm, it’s more stable than I thought? I thought it would sway like a ship because it’s an airship.”
“Wait, Gwyn!? What are you doing right now!”
“Huh? Oh, I was just wondering if I could touch the clouds-”
“You idiot! Come down right now!”
Gwyn was dragged back by Marian, and the sight made the students burst into laughter.
It was a somewhat chaotic scene, but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.
I was quietly watching from afar when my eyes accidentally met Elizabeth’s.
“……”
“…Ah.”
The moment her eyes met mine, she awkwardly turned her head away.
For the few weeks following our conversation that day, there was a thick layer of awkwardness between the students and me.
They participated diligently in the classes, but that was it. We hardly ever had personal conversations.
I could understand the students’ attitudes. It would be burdensome to form a deeper relationship with an instructor who might leave at any moment. Thinking of it as their defense mechanism, I decided not to worry about it.
There was a bit of regret, but what could I do? After all, it was my problem to deal with.
However, Instructor Lirya seemed to have noticed the subtle atmosphere between us quite a while ago.
“Instructor Graham, did something happen with the students?”
“…It’s just a trivial matter.”
“Hmm, it doesn’t seem trivial at all…”
I tried to avoid Instructor Lirya’s gaze, but her serious eyes wouldn’t let me go.
Rather than telling a pointless lie that I couldn’t hide, I chose to keep my mouth shut and maintain silence.
Instructor Lirya stared at me for a long while, then finally sighed.
“It seems it’s a difficult matter for you to discuss. Please tell me about it later if you feel okay? I’ll make time for Instructor Graham’s counseling anytime.”
“…Thank you just for saying so.”
Her voice was filled with sincere concern as a fellow instructor. But even if I consulted with her, this was a type of problem that couldn’t be solved.
At least in terms of inevitable farewells, I probably had more experience than Instructor Lirya.
When an awkward silence lingered between us, the airship’s intercom announced at an appropriate time.
[Ah ah- mic check. This is Dr. Brown, no, Captain Brown.]
Surprisingly, Dr. Brown was in charge of piloting this airship.
The crew had safely escaped the previous crash, but the actual pilot, Captain Alfred, was found cold dead at home. The exact details weren’t disclosed, but it was undoubtedly the work of the empire’s intelligence director.
[Ahem! Attention passengers. We will be arriving at our destination shortly. Please prepare for landing.]
“Kids! We’re arriving soon, so take your seats!”
Following Instructor Lirya’s guidance, the students entered the cabin one by one, looking a little disappointed but filled with anticipation.
After confirming that the students had taken their seats, I found a spot next to Instructor Lirya and fastened my seat belt.
Now, the airship began to slowly descend below the clouds.
All the students were staring out the window of the airship with different expressions. Some students looked regretful at the fact that they were about to leave the airship, while others had faces flushed with anticipation for their first practice.
But that anticipation soon turned into horror.
“Kyaaah!!”
“Wha, what is that…!?”
The view of the city from the sky was like hell.
Flames shot up from all sides, covering the sky like graphite, and screams echoed from everywhere. And beneath the dark sky, something was surging towards the city like a wave.
They were the undead.
The undead were attacking the city.
From the sky, Shubaltsheim was desperately fighting back against the undead attack.
However, in the face of the countless undead onslaught, the isolated city, which could not hope for any help, seemed as precarious as a candle in the wind.
Everyone looked at each other with anxious eyes in their confusion.
A student from the Garnet Red class muttered blankly.
“Was that city always like that…?”
Of course, it couldn’t be.
A horde of undead that large was rare even in times of war. Unless it was the undead army directly commanded by the Undead Corps Commander…
Instructor Lirya grabbed the communication device connected to the cockpit and shouted.
“Change our direction right now!!”
[“Ah, got it!”]
Dr. Brown promptly responded to Instructor Lirya’s urgent command.
But before Dr. Brown could turn the steering wheel, something crashed hard into the bottom of the airship.
Boom!!
A violent shock shook the entire airship with a loud noise, and the students began to scream in fear.
“Kyaaah!!”
“What is it! What’s happening!?”
“M-mom… I’m scared, help…!”
I looked out the window to understand what was happening.
“Corpse Cannon…”
It was a siege weapon often used by the undead forces during the war, which fired chunks of corpses like a cannon.
And it was precisely targeting this airship.
Boom! Bang-!
Whizz! Crash!!
“Kyaaah!! Mom!! Instructor!!”
“Are we really going to crash like this!?”
Instructor Lirya, barely maintaining her balance in the shaky airship, spoke.
“Dr. Brown! Get us out of here quickly!”
[“I prioritized safety more than before with this airship! It’s sturdy but still has many areas to improve!”]
“What does that mean?!”
[“It means I can’t make a quick turn!!”]
Boom! Bang!!
The Corpse Cannon was still furiously firing corpse shells targeting us.
The accuracy of the Corpse Cannon is not particularly high, and it’s quite difficult to hit a small airship floating in the sky accurately. However, when there are that many numbers, accuracy is not that important.
A few more hits, and a crash is inevitable. I needed to quickly handle that cannon first.
The judgment was fast, and the decision was firm.
I unbuckled my seatbelt, stood up, and spoke.
“Instructor Lirya. Please take care of the students.”
“Huh? In, Instructor Graham… You can’t be…!?”
‘Can’t be’ was exactly it.
I quickly ran to the deck.
And without hesitation, I jumped off the airship.
“Instructor Graham―!!?”
Instructor Lirya’s shocked cry echoed far and wide.
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