Volume 6 Chapter 29 Reconnaissance From The Sky
The one-person flying Magic Stone device called Fafnir was more like a fancy object made by Magic Stone craftsmen and engineers in the Holy Capital for fun, rather than a practical vehicle.
It was hard to control, and if you lost your balance while using it, you could easily get hurt or even die.
If you wanted to fly, a larger airship was much safer than the dangerous Fafnir.
Because of this, Fafnir had been on display at Noah's shop, famous for its Magic Stone craftsmen, for a long time.
'Free test ride! If you can handle it, it's yours for free! No guarantees on your life!'
This big sign caught Lucian's eye.
At that time, Lucian was hiding his identity as Lucis Anthem Kirschtein and was just starting to make a name for himself as a knight in the Leonsroar order.
When he saw the Fafnir, he thought it would be useful for contacting the Moon Soul Cult, the base for rebuilding Kirschtein.
When he told Noah, the shop owner, that he wanted to try it, Noah said, "Hey, you're really brave! Flying sounds cool, but unlike magicians who can fly with magic, this Magic Stone device runs on Magic Stones. It doesn't listen to you like you might think, and if you lose your balance in the air, you probably won't survive."
After trying it, Lucian realized Noah was right.
When it was on the ground, it had 2 wheels instead of 4 like a carriage, making it hard to control speed and balance. If he fell, he could get seriously hurt.
When flying, it turned into a thin dragon shape, making the space to sit very small, and his body was exposed.
He could easily imagine dying if he crashed. Balancing was tough, but overcoming the fear of dying felt even harder.
Lucian was able to master the dangerous Fafnir, which was made for fun, because of his natural physical abilities and his strong will to risk his life for revenge.
After quickly riding it on the ground and transforming it to fly, Noah happily agreed to give Fafnir to Lucian.
Noah said he wouldn't make another one-person flying Magic Stone device again if someone died using it, as it would give him bad dreams.
So, right now, Lucian is the only one with a flying device. But that doesn't mean people in the Holy Capital can't fly. Riding an airship feels more like being carried on a floating ship than actually flying.
The feeling of flying with Fafnir is probably similar to how a few magicians can float in the air with special magic.
This morning, after receiving bad news from Leavis of Saintwise, Lucian was ordered by Stefan to come to the skies above Edelstein. The Duke Girard territory is close to the Holy Capital. Edelstein is a town built in the mountains near the border of the Bernard Kingdom, looking like an anthill.
That place, close to Kirschtein, was familiar to Lucian because he had flown over it many times on his way to the Moon Soul Cult base.
From the sky, the town looks like it was carved out of the mountains, shaped like a spiral shell.
At night, the town shines with a mysterious glow. Lucian had never actually been inside the town. People say the glow comes from jewels embedded in the town.
Some people call it a treasure trove, a place where you can find lots of jewels.
King Zeere has forbidden harming the Gem's People, and Leonsroar strictly punishes anyone who harms them.
Even so, there are still people who hunt Gem's People.
For Lucian, who has Kirschtein blood, Gem's People are the same as Kirschtein people. They are those who have been oppressed by the Bernard people.
But they are cowards who have great magical power but don't fight.
Lucian used to think that Ciel was just a wishy-washy coward who, despite having Gem's People blood, served the Bernard people.
But now, things are different.
Lucian has had many chances to see Ciel at work and talk with him under Lydia.
Sometimes it's hard to tell what Ciel is thinking, but he seems to be a man who has the power to fight but chooses not to use it recklessly.
He wouldn't start a fight leading Gem's People.
Above all, he wouldn't do anything to make Lydia sad.
Lucian knows well that Ciel feels deep love for Lydia, just like he does.
He hasn't said it out loud, but it's obvious if you just look.
"Ciel...!"
Cutting through the wind, Lucian approaches Edelstein in Fafnir.
From above, it didn't look like they were preparing for battle.
In fact, he couldn't see any sign of Gem's People.
Just as he felt relieved that it was a false report, a figure floated up from the Edelstein palace.
It was Ciel, dressed in his usual black Saintwise robe.
A magic circle for floating was spread at his feet, and his crimson eyes coldly stared at Lucian.
"What are you doing...? Lydia is worried. I don't know what happened, but let's go back to Lydia."
"...Go back? My place isn't with the Saints of Alexandria."
"What's wrong with you...!?"
Ciel pointed his finger at Lucian, who was circling in Fafnir and talking to him.
From that finger, a long, snake-like flame dragon was shot towards Lucian.
A huge flame dragon, bigger than Fafnir, was coming to burn Lucian to ashes.
"Ciel!"
"Tell the king. The time has come to end the long history of suffering. I will protect Gem's People. And I will destroy people."
"What are you saying...? Have you always thought like this?"
Did he really hate the Bernard people so much?
Did he hide that feeling and stay with Lydia?
Even after experiencing Lydia's kindness and eating her wonderfully gentle healing food, he couldn't let go of his hatred?
"Ah, damn it..."
Lucian couldn't fight Ciel here.
His role was just to scout. He didn't think about losing to Ciel, but if either he or Ciel got hurt and fell, Lydia would cry.
He didn't want to cloud her beautiful eyes with sadness.
Lucian increased Fafnir's speed and escaped from the chasing flame dragon.
He ran towards Duke Girard's territory.
This was bad news.
He didn't know what happened, but the terrible report seemed to be true.
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