Read Novel Full Chapter 404 – Takeoff and Departure
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Chapter 404 – Takeoff and Departure
On the day of departure. A simple ceremony was held at the takeoff and landing site of the flying dragon that I had expanded.
“This battle will be a memorable one, with the Dragonis Mountain Kingdom and the Merinard Kingdom fighting side by side――”
His Royal Highness Crown Prince Sindriel, who will serve as the commander-in-chief this time, made an impassioned speech while wearing shiny armor. The dragon riders and dragon knights of the Dragonis Mountain Kingdom listened intently to his speech. Because of my position, I am also listening to them seriously. Deep inside, I’m thinking, “Let’s just hurry up and go,” but I can’t show it because of my position.
“Can’t we just hurry up and go?”
“Grande, shhh.”
Isla warns Grande, who is leaning on me and slapping the ground with her tail, which has a tail cover made of slime. Grande is always unconcerned… or acting without regard for others.
Meanwhile, Crown Prince Sindriel’s speech was over, and we were ready to leave. If it were just the dragon riders and dragon knights, they would simply ride off, but today, they are accompanied by our prototype magic airship and its crew, as well as the military officers of the Coalition of Small Nations who are watching.
“This big thing flies…?”
“I saw it land, but it’s hard to believe.”
“It’s not going to fall, is it…?”
“What, are you scared?”
The well-built and fully armed spectator warriors were led by the magic riflemen and boarded one by one. The total number of them was about 30. About 70% of them were military observers from countries belonging to the Confederation of Small States, and the remaining 30% were military observers from distant countries invited by the Dragonis Mountain Kingdom through the Air Dragon Service. There were no personnel from the Holy Kingdom or the Empire, but there were personnel from the northern maritime kingdoms, the desert kingdom far northeast of the Merinard Kingdom, and the steppe kingdom further east. Well, most of the people were subhuman, and no more than 20% of them were human.
“I guess the subhuman race is stronger in this world…”
I think the number of military officers watching the war shows the degree of human dominance in this world. When you look at this reality, you can’t help but wonder if the Holy Kingdom’s idea of human supremacy is also a kind of defensive reaction. The subhumans in this world are basically of a higher species than humans. Many of them are basically superior to humans in terms of physical abilities and magical knowledge, and some of them have longer life spans than humans. At least, I have never heard of a race that has an extremely short life span compared to humans.
Well, it seems that there are many disadvantages related to reproduction, such as the difficulty of increasing the number of high-spec races and the food problems that may result.
“Master? What’s wrong?”
“Do you have a stomach ache?”
“No, it’s nothing. Let’s go. You’ll hide in the ship during the battle.”
“”Yes.””
I pat the heads of Luna and Lana, the dog-beastmen twin maids, and warn them about their behavior during the battle. Half of the beastmen maids, the officials, and Driada remain in the royal capital of Drad.
Thanks to the fact that they have unloaded the celebratory goods for the National Day and the supplies necessary for today’s expedition, there is plenty of weight to carry, but there is no point in going all the way to the battlefield with non-combatants on board. The reason half of the beastmen are on board is to take care of me and help prepare meals for the soldiers. As for the meals, there is a way for me to secretly take out my inventory, but I won’t do it this time because it wouldn’t be good training for the operation.
But that’s the point, isn’t it? The magic airship has a real kitchen, and there are many crew members. It is possible to have the soldiers on board do the cooking on a turn-by-turn basis, but in some cases, it might be possible to have a specialized crew member on board. After all, the number of crew members is so large that the amount of food is too much to be cooked by a single hand. It might be a good idea to have a specialist in command and have common soldiers help out on a duty system. There is no way we can have beastmen maids on board all the time. When we get back to the Merinard Kingdom, I will discuss this with Ted, Darko, and Isla.
☆★☆
“Oh! It flew!”
“What can I say? It floats as it should… It’s a wonder.”
“Wow, no instability at all. I don’t hear the hull creaking at all. This is a ship that does a good job.”
“…I wonder if it will ever fall.”
“It will when it does.”
The military observers make a lot of noise on deck. After a while, they will be asked to move to their cabins unless they prefer to stay there. The deck could be directly targeted by flying biters. The bridge I am on now has a strong armored roof and defensive barriers, so it is relatively safe, but there are no such defenses on the deck. If we put up such defenses, we would not be able to launch an anti-aircraft attack either. It might be a good idea to develop a defensive barrier that can be easily turned on and off at the right time.
“For now, we will follow the lead of the dragon riders.”
“Hmm, I see. It’s easy to see the magical response.”
The magic airship is equipped with both a passive magic radar that detects magic and an active magic radar that detects the magic waves emitted and reflected back to the airship. Even in total darkness, it is no problem to follow the magical reactions of a dragon rider flying nearby.
“Darko, this is Kosuke. Is it safe to contact the dragon riders?”
“Yes, this is Darko. I’m working with the liaison officer on board, so it’s okay.”
“Roger that. If you hear anything from the other side, please forward it to us.”
“Copy that.”
Two people from the Dragonis Mountain Kingdom have been entrusted with the ability to read the signs that the dragon riders use to communicate with each other in the air and to transmit them to us as well. It seems that they are apprentices of the dragon riders, but I’m told that they are not lacking in ability, so we have to trust them.
“This ship leaves from the royal capital of Drad, heading for the flying biter’s nest. It is a fast express. Please remember to use your fall control magic when you disembark.”
“What’s that?”
“Some kind of boarding announcement, I think.”
“Wouldn’t you die if you disembarked midway?”
The mage in charge of the magical passive radar continued to interrupt my answer after being cut off by Isla, but I just smiled and covered it up. It’s a bit of an accident, so I hope you’ll forgive me.