"The innocent is guilty of nothing save for their blamelessness from evil. The sinful is guilty of all save for their reluctance to do what is good. Between these two extremes, mankind lives their life in an endless labyrinth of choices, destined to only end once their soul pays for the choices of its spirit."
- Sidharta Malhotra, First Duke of the Malhotra Duchy.
An excerpt from his book, "Philosophies of a Free Spirit".
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
While it's true that the Ostadonian Feudal Magna Carta protects the rights and sets the responsibilities of a noble house, the passage of time and the changes in the world made it a problem large enough to warrant an amendment 700 years after it was penned.
The amendment was demanded as during that time when the Yropan countries' colonial control in the Ost continent is nearing its end, a great deal of noble houses was incentivized to bear as many children as possible to allow them to inherit the reclaimed lands. However, this soon backfired as some of these territories still have historically verifiable native populations and thus, cannot be claimed as a feudal land, making hundreds of young noble children unable to receive a territory that they can rule in their adulthood.
For weeks, there would be debates and arguments about a solution for this problem, until one day, the ruling duke of the Bougainvillea family would give a proposal that gave these noble children a rightful place to belong in the empire.
The solution can be summarized as this: "They would act as the military arm of the main family line, leading battles in lieu of their family in exchange for legitimacy, financial support and full use of the connections available to the family."
To put it simply, it's exactly the situation where I am right now. While my elder brother Joshua is the ruling viscount of the main Bougainvillea family line and at least for now, holds all of our territorial lands, I am leading its branch family as well as having much of its military power in my hands.
"Here is your official copy of your imperial assignment. Show it to the academy's headmaster so they can give you an official leave of absence, and once you get there, the active commanders of Silesia, so they can give you permission to operate in their battlefields."
"Understood."
"Oh, and Baron Bougainvillea…"
"Yes, your highness?"
Today, I am heading home to Serafina to lead my forces to another war… one where I am basically gambling my chance to get closer to my promise to our father and the truth that my ancestor is hiding.
"If you die, we will clean our hands of this entire thing. The record will say that "against warnings from the imperial government and the suspension by the senate, you sallied out with your troops to head to Silesia and died there in vain"… So, if you want to live and get your way, you better not die there."
"…I already know that. No need to remind me."
Three days after that meeting in the imperial palace, I carried my imperial assignment penned by the Crown Prince and went to obtain my leave permission from the academy's headmaster.
Initially, he and his fellow academy directors were against it given that there's still half a semester left in the current school term, but the declaration from the crown prince made them accept it without any more complaints, probably because beneath all the bureaucracy and public-facing image, the Imperial Academy is nothing more than a puppet of the Imperial government.
"…"
"Hey, Baron! Fancy seeing you here in the basic curriculum campus."
While I was walking along the road leading to the exit gate of the academy, I was called by a familiar voice that made me turn around. It was Manuel, one of my opponents at the swordsmanship tournament and fellow finalist who took the third place.
"Fancy seeing you too, Manny. How are your injuries going?"
"Well, still painful but a mix of healing magic and pain relievers are doing the trick. How about your hands? Any improvement?" he asked, seemingly aware that my hands were at just the same state as his ribs that I broke.
"They're good. In the first place, your competition blades were dull, and the cuts were not that bad because of the safety runes. It should be me apologizing for using martial arts on you that can't be tuned down by magic."
"Haha! Don't say that, Sir Baron. It's part of the fight. If anything, that experience taught me a whole new way of teaching my students back home about fighting bare-handed."
Once our small talk was done, Manuel asked me something that I didn't expect to have been leaked this quickly.
"I heard from "someone who knows someone" that you're off to a far place… War, perhaps?"
(T/N: "Someone who knows someone" is an idiom for an unnamable insider/snitch.)
"Sorry man, I can't disclose that."
"Yeah, yeah. Typical secrecy and stuff, I already expected that… what I didn't expect is that you'd accept it this easily." Manuel looked at me for a moment with a sense of pity, as if knowing that I'm not supposed to be handed this kind of responsibility. "Can I ask why you chose to do this?"
"…It's the only way forward for me. I don't blame you for not understanding it since in practice, you're not a noble and you're not interested in being like one, but for someone like me who live and die in the whims of the world of the nobility, this is the only way to survive."
"If I'm going to be honest, that sounds terrible no matter how much you sugarcoat it."
"It is. But I have to do this. After all, I made a promise to the people important to me that I will do all that I can to survive and thrive… Well then, I have a train to catch. See you soon, buddy."
"Heh! Yeah, stay alive out there, Sir Baron."
Before I left, I remembered something and asked Manuel to do it for me.
"By the way, do you know Hiiragi Chiori from the second years?"
"Of course, I do. She's had a crowd around her ever since that entire "engagement" thing of hers went public. Why do you ask? Do you perhaps wanna join in that crowd?" He asked and directed a grin at me, obviously trying to tease me.
"No. I just want to return this book from our clubroom to her before I leave. She's bound to return from the Hiiragi Marquisdom soon, but since I'm leaving the capital, I won't have the opportunity to return this myself."
"Haah… alright, let me handle it. It's not like it's much of a favor. Wow, this thing's wrapped all nice and good." He answered and I gave him the book which I wrapped in a Tenka-style cloth wrap.
"Well then, I really have to leave now. Take care of yourself, Manny."
"Yep! You too!"
Later at the Taiga mansion, Martha and my staff finished tidying up the place and putting on linen cloth over the furniture to avoid dust from accumulating on them. By the time that I changed clothes more fitting for our trip back home, we were ready to leave.
"My lord, the carriages are ready." My carriage chauffer spoke as soon I got close.
"I see. Let's go then! Time to head home, everyone!"
While normally, no one would dare to make a carriage trip out of the safe and secure capital city at night, except only if they're avoiding the law or doing some shady business, the reason why we made started this trip back to Serafina at night was because the ones pulling our carriages are not horses…
"EEEEEKKK—!!!"
"W-What the hell—!? Why are there monsters here?!!"
…They're my pack of direwolves who look just as ferocious to the normal folk as they are adorable in my eyes.
"Haaah… this is the reason why I told you to just hire an airship if your only concern is bringing the direwolves back home with us."
"Aww… don't be like that, Martha. You're making lil Chip-chip here sad, y'know." I replied to her comment while showing off the direwolf pup that I was keeping as my handheld pet.
"Gwah~!" He even gave a cute roar-like noise.
"Argh, whatever… It would only be until we left Tenka anyway."
Since Tenka is an island nation with no neighboring land access, in the end, we still need to take an airship back to Marin in Serafina.
"Well, I do want to leave an impact on some people here before I leave… Since once I come back here in the capital, I have no plans about returning as the same person in their eyes as I am now."
"Young master, you should be more cautious about those things. You do know that—" She tried to respond, but I cut her words off.
"I won't hear any objections about this, Martha. I believe I already told you that I'm not willing to compromise about this."
"…Understood, young master. But please, listen to me once I believe that this is getting out of hand."
"Of course, you should… But that time is not this time. There is still much to do before that happens."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
One week after leaving the capital, Jonathan and his entourage returned to Serafina where they were met at the Bougainvillea manor by Selena and much of the territories' people with a welcoming party.
"Welcome back, young master!"
"Cheers for Baron Jonathan!"
"""Hooray!!!"""
The night of their homecoming celebration was filled with song, cheering, drink and dining. Anyone who was there during the celebration at the town of Stella would quickly see how much it resembled this current party.
While at the courtyard of the manor, the commoners and their knights were loudly celebrating, the scene inside the mansion was less rowdy especially in the study room where Selena and Jonathan exchanged information.
"I've managed to connect with a servant in House Hoshimiya as an inside informant. She said that she's only taking this much of a risk because she used to serve under grandmother and are not that fond of lord Midora." Jonathan told his mother who felt conflicted after ascertaining from memory who it could be.
"I understand. What information did she give us?"
"For starters, lord Midora completely washed his hands off his involvement in the entire Earl Penne debacle. He denied ever sending a letter to the earldom and iterated that he has followed grandfather's order of leaving a disowned child like you alone." As he said that, Selena's expression contorted into utter hatred after learning that her half-brother lied about how he tried to conspire for her suffering and downfall. However, that is just the tip of the iceberg.
"He also said that he has sent financial aid for our family after learning about father's disease which is of course, a lie… the servant said that the money he declared to have been sent to us was actually used by him to gamble illegally—"
"That rotten bastard—!" Selena shouted loudly in wrath. "Damn him… He wasn't contented with just insulting me. He even went as far as using Joseph for his tricks."
Seeing his mother weep again after hearing how they were unjustly treated, Jonathan gave her a hug in order to console her. A little later, he told her of what would happen now.
"I know you already have a clue about it from my regular reports to Spica but let me clear up what my imperial assignment from the crown prince is." Jonathan told his mother what he is supposed to do in the warzone of Silesia. By the time that he was finished, Selena's expression no longer conveyed a worried expression, just one that showed her disappointment that he chose to accept it.
"Jonathan… you should have declined it."
"My newly assigned noble peerage is at stake, and besides, my main reason for doing this is to bring brother back so he can be with you and Syrene."
"But you're placing yourself in harm's way! Are you and Joshua so hardheaded and reckless that you're willing to give me a heart attack every time you come to meet me?!"
For a while, Selena would scold her son, but in the end would accept that this is how things would go and made him promise to get home alive with Joshua in tow.
"Don't worry, mother. Gunther and my other men are already in Irma alongside him. You've seen how good they fight, those Atlanterrans have nothing they can pit against them." Just then, Jonathan further proved that he would be able to do as he promised to his mother. "Also, I… no, we already have another ace up our sleeve in this thing. Just trust me, we can do this, and we'll finally be freed from being belittled and taken advantage of."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
The day after the party, Jonathan left the Bougainvillea manor to head to Stella village. But before that, he picked a branch filled with white bougainvillea flowers from their garden, removed all but the three largest thorns from its stem and formed it into a circular wreath similar to his family's noble crest. He then walked at a small, fenced-up corner of their courtyard where gravestones of their ancestors are placed.
"Hey, father. I'm sorry that we haven't visited you for a long while… Well, Martha and the maids did tell me that mother and Syrene keeps you company here every once in a while, so I guess that's not really true, is it?"
With an awkward tone that has a hint of sadness, Jonathan talked to his father's tombstone as if he was right there beside him.
"I know you made Joshua and I promise to not do reckless stuff and here we are, doing exactly just that… Haah, if only you're here up and kicking, we'd likely never hear the end of it from mother and you'll make us beg for mercy while making us run around the entire courtyard a hundred times… Right, if only you're still here…"
He placed the wreath of flowers against the marble before taking out a small bottle of Sake that he poured on the grave. He was about to leave but he felt as if he needed to turn around for one more time and say these words to his father's grave for better…
"We'll make you proud of the men that you raised, father… I promise you that everything that we dreamed of will become true…"
…or for worse.
"…no matter what it takes."
Leaving the Bougainvillea manor, instead of taking a horse, Jonathan called out a pack of direwolves and rode at the back of an adult direwolf followed by a pack of younger ones.
"Stella village, make haste!"
"""Awoooooo—!!!"""
With great speed and stability, the direwolf brought him to Stella village in just a half hour. There, he saw the huge workhouses producing magisteel products such as weapons and tools, processed from the magisteel bars and ingots that the refinery factories from the Belgram and Lavento territories produced.
"Based only on their population, the Stella settlement is only at the size of a large village, but their potential economic output far outshines even the combined economies of our surrounding 7 territories… The only reason that this isn't public knowledge is that they never handle the sale of magisteel by themselves, making it a trade done by our noble house." Jonathan pondered while looking at the smokestacks of the factories emanating white smoke from its large furnaces where the current greatest export of House Bougainvillea comes from.
"I should consider telling Spica or Gunther to handle this by themselves… I know they insisted to do this to prove their loyalty, but this is far from fair to them who has all the right to profit from it."
Such thoughts swirled in Jonathan's mind as he remembered the day after his father died and unable to seethe the complicated feelings in his heart, he led all of his direwolves into the forest around Mt. Akira where he wiped out the remaining monsters and demonic beasts within it.
That action of his has been done initially to soothe his anger, but after the eradication of the monsters within the forest, it became the settlement of House Dahlia who swore loyalty to him and to prove their loyalty, handed Jonathan the right to handle all of their trading with the places outside House Bougainvillea's territories.
Jonathan may have been their master, but even that superiority over a subordinate didn't mean much to him. The people of House Dahlia saved him when he almost lost his life in clearing the Dungeon where they were all trapped in. To him, they were his friends first, and subjects second.
"My liege!" a voice from behind him spoke, one that has been familiar to him after serving as his maid and secretary during the first two months of his stay in the capital. "I see that you've come to our humble village for a visit… Chief Spica Meronym Dahlia of House Dahlia, accepts you graciously."
"Greetings, Lady Spica Meronym Dahlia. I accept and thank your courtesy. Please, as you were." Jonathan dismounted from his direwolf and received the excellent skirt hem-pinching curtsy bow of Spica, responding with the polite reply as her lord. With that, they returned to acting more casually as master and subordinate.
"I see that things have changed a lot here… You even managed to lay down some tram car tracks just like the ones you studied and drawn from the capital. Mind telling me what they're for?"
"It's to speed up and simplify the transportation of raw magisteel bars and ingots brought over here by the refineries outside the old borders. As you already know my liege, the fruitful mines and seven smelting factories in the Lavento and Belgram territories has been supplying us with high purity magisteel never found here in the Ost continent save for the Bizantia mines of the Turkman tribal union and the Volkia mines in the Boreas Dukedom."
"I see… I must commend your dedication to efficiency then."
"We've also started to turn from the current manastone-powered furnaces to process magisteel into mass kilns powered by Refined Ambrosia. Just like the information that I've included in my report two weeks ago, we've been able to refine Crude Ambrosia into a usable form that burns probably over a hundred times more efficiently than manastones." As Spica said that, she pointed at one of those mass kilns powered by Ambrosia inside a workshop that they passed by.
"Unlike manastone-powered furnaces, Ambrosia kilns can burn for a longer time, with less margin of error to produce slag in the magisteel and virtually no mana pollutants."
"Pollutants? Are you talking about "stagnant mana"?" Jonathan asked after hearing something that he hasn't heard before.
"Yes, my liege. Unlike manastone-powered furnaces which makes the ground and air inside the workshops to no longer carry mana and therefore, be dangerous to one's health, our ambrosia-fueled kilns burn cleanly and more effectively."
Spica and Jonathan walked around for a bit more until they reached a place outside the village that is cordoned off with fences, barbed wire and armed guards aided by Direwolves.
"Lord Bougainvillea! It's an honor to have you today."
"The honor is all mine. Spica, is this the place?"
"Yes, my liege. We haven't constructed a proper facility yet for it because of our limited manpower, but we've managed to create the thing that you ordered months ago."
Spica led him inside the fenced off place and into an underground tunnel which is obviously man-made given its smooth, concrete walls and floor. At the end of the tunnel, a pair of armed guards gave them a salute before opening a metal gate leading to a large cavern buzzing with activity.
"We bid you welcome to our land's first and for now, only arms factory…"
"Heh! Looking at how much this place changed since the last time I saw it, it astounds me."
To say that the place was enormous would be an understatement. Situated at a hollow of Mt. Akira's underground cavern system, the place was filled with workers moving materials and turning them into various mechanical parts.
However, the main attraction of the place was none other than the large object that has a few workers around it, painting it with dark colors.
"Is that it? Geez, you guys really work fast." Jonathan asked as he excitedly walked down and nearer to the object that is being given its final touches. "I assume that it's already finished?"
The object, which is a 100-meter-long and 30-meter-wide airship, is being painted with grayish colors similar to rainclouds. Unlike the other airships in this world however, which is quite similar to that of a naval sail ship or a Cattleyan galleon as it has riggings, has a tubby figure and are partially made with wood, this airship made by the Stella villagers is made exclusively of magisteel alloys and has sharp contours, making it seem like a well-cut black gem.
"Not just finished, my liege. It has also already been tested. She can fly and fight good, I guarantee that."
"Hehe! Now that's what I'm talking about! Well then, what's its name?"
"Uhh… it only has a project name which is "Airship number 1 Model E". I apologize, my liege. But we're not really that good with naming things and we thought it would be better to follow tradition and leave it up to you to give it a name."
"Good thinking, Spica. Leave it to me… Hmm, what could be a good name for you?"
Jonathan looked at his airship for a bit more, watching the workers finish painting the airship while the bright sunlight from outside peered into the cavern from a hole above the cavern.
"!"
At that moment, a name popped in his mind that he knew would be a perfect fit for this unnaturally sharp-looking, dark-colored and ghost-like ship.
"Phantom of Fenris… Spica, have a nameplate with that name made before we set out."
"As you wish, my liege." With a pleased expression and a curtsy bow, Spica left to tell the workers to prepare what he just ordered.
"With this, our victory is assured… I'll make all of it count, I promise that."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
A week later, what should be a huge celebration where almost all inhabitants of the Bougainvillea territory would gather at the Bougainvillea manor, were nowhere to be found. Instead, a few families were there while armed men formed into platoon-sized squares stood at the middle of the field.
"Honored warriors of this land, it's my honor to stand before you today and once again lead you to battle!"
Normally, it would have been held in order to commemorate the departure of their soldiers into battle, but with the sensitivity of the situation and the fact that the imperial family never publicly gave me permission to leave for war, the five airships and 200 men simply gathered at the empty plains outside our manor to hear a short, rousing speech from me, their acting lord.
"In order to end our war with the mongrels from the other side of Silesia, we gather here today to make our stand! And we will remain standing no matter what it takes, and no matter what it costs! GENTLEMEN! WILL YOU BLEED AND KILL BY MY SIDE FOR OUR CAUSE?!!"
"""YES, SIR!!!"""
The spirits of the men, who were composed of the same men that I fought with during the war against the Demesne association, was high in morale despite the seriousness of the place that we are about to head off to.
"Speak your farewells with your family. We will depart in 15 minutes!"
After I permitted them to give and receive their well-wishes from their family, the soldiers approached them and gave them a hug, with some even kissing their spouses and children. Some consoled their loved ones as they cried, making it a heartfelt farewell of sorts.
*Fweeeeeeeeeee—!!!*
The whistles from the airships signaled the end of their farewells. Even though some of them didn't want to leave, they knew that they cannot stay back and hold up the entire deployment. One by one, they took their belongings and boarded the airships. As I was about to board my airship as well, I heard the shouts of my mother and younger sister.
"Jo-nii! Be safe!!!"
"Come back safe and alive, Jonathan! Return with Joshua!!!"
Hearing them set my mind in peace as I turned for one last time, gave them a wide wave of farewell and kept their words close to my heart.
"My lord, we're all aboard!" reported the airship captain as soon as they received a ManaCom line from the four other smaller airships. With that, I gave the order for us to depart.
"Mm, Let's have our lift off. Ghost of Fenris, lead the way!"
"Aye, sir!"
With the loud hum of their engines that burned Ambrosia fuel, making it more powerful and efficient than other airships in Promethea, my army and I boarded into these five vessels and flew high up to the sky towards the south-east where our destination is located.
At a height where we can barely see a person below, I asked if it was time for the airships to use one of the features that I learned about during the past week.
"Are we at the right altitude?"
"Almost there, my lord… Engine room, activate the fourth, fifth and sixth engines! Route their output to the rear!"
["Aye, captain!"] responded someone from the engine room through the communication pipe.
"I heard you tested it out initially and it caused some problems after you passed by Paddleton. The reports said that some houses had their straw rooves torn while some glass windows were broken."
"Y-Yes… we've set down some rules from that failure already. Admittedly, it was a mistake to make an extremely fast and low pass over a populated area, more so when it's a ship as massive as this."
From the lessons that Spica and the Dahlia engineers taught me about my warship, the reason why they designed this airship to have sharp edges and a dark coat of paint wasn't just because I told them to "make it unique and stand-out", but also because they wanted to follow an ancient blueprint from 500 years ago during the golden age of the Bougainvillea Dukedom led by our ancestors.
Supposedly, it was a prototype ship for the engine that they were conceptualizing back then using state-of-the-art materials and processes that is more possible to make in the present. The attached notes said that there was an attempt from way back then to try to purify ambrosia, which was abundant in Serafina's lowland topography, into a usable form that can possibly revolutionize the field of magic fuels.
This better fuel would mean a greater yield of power in engines and with that, better speed for their airships. Thus, the experimental ship has all of these sharp angles and curves that was made in order to make the vessel as aerodynamic as possible while also being resilient enough to resist the high speeds that it would be subjected to repeatedly and steadily.
Today, the wisdom of the ancients and the skill and talent of the present would combine to be tested in what would be a "first" in the history of Promethea.
["All auxiliary engines at full power to the rear! We're green for supersonic flight!"]
"Aye, aye! Green for supersonic flight, clear copy!" The captain replied to the report of the engine room's chief, announcing that we are about to enter supersonic flight. "All hands report for preliminary crew safety protocol."
"""Aye, sir!"""
One by one, the bridge's staff activated a switch in their console that allowed them to speak in the speakers all across the airship, telling the crew and the soldiers who rode with us to find a secure place to sit down at or hold on as we enter supersonic flight.
On the other hand, the ManaCom technicians communicated with the 4 other airships to take a line formation behind us in order to let them follow behind our so-called "slipstream", something that according to the ancient blueprint is a "region during extremely fast flight created by the lead vessel which allows the vessels behind it to fly with less air resistance and effort". If I'm right, this is the reason why birds fly in a "V-formation" and wolves run in a single-file formation.
Moments later, they were finished with their advisory and the captain turned to me for an approval to the action, which I responded to with an excited smile and a nod.
"Bougainvillea Viscounty army and Barony air fleet! Initiate supersonic flight!"
After the loud hum of the engines of the airship rose to a crescendo, the abrupt change in our flight speed planted everyone into their seats. Even I can't believe that it would take this much toll to my body.
"Ghh—!!!"
"Everyone! Clench your legs and butts or you will pass out!" the captain reminded everyone and after I managed to do so, the feeling of dizziness and tunnel-vision lessened, and I was able to at least maintain my consciousness.
"Are the four other airships still with us?!"
"A-Aye, sir! They're right behind our wind trail!"
"O-O-Okay! Maintain distance and formation! We're almost past the mainland!"
Normally, it would take a day in our cruising speed to leave the empire's continental mainland, but it only took a few minutes in our supersonic flight speed to reach the eastern coast of the Silesia Sea. As we saw the ocean from the horizon, the captain declared that we are about to decelerate from supersonic flight as the auxiliary engines began to be drained of fuel.
"E-Engine output almost drained! Begin deceleration protocols and return to cruising speed!"
"Aye!"
The airship slowed down and right at the sea border of East Serafina, we stopped and returned to normal speed.
"Hehe… AHAHAHA!" After what just happened, I found myself laughing in amusement of the fact that we really survived what can be considered as a record in Promethea's history. "Congratulations, gentlemen! We are now all part of world history! First manned vessel to break the sound barrier!"
At my declaration of our achievement, the entire bridge erupted into an orderly cheer and applause, being genuinely happy for it while still maintaining a proper and professional attitude.
"Alright! Let's use this as a new weapon against the enemies! Set course for Irma Island! We will make our names known and remembered among the Atlanterran scum!"
"""AYE, SIR!!!"""
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
At the south-east of the East Serafina's coastal border, a naval ship from the Monarchical Republic of Marl Kah was leaving an Imperial port after sustaining damage from a collision with a shallow seabed.
In the bridge, a seaman entered with a pair of large mugs of coffee on both hands and approached an old man who wore the insignia of the ship's captain. His laid-back greeting showed that he is a veteran and well-known officer.
"Mornin' Cap."
"Mornin' too, Sol. Is that mine?" The captain asked and pointed his chin on the mug with a steaming, deep black colored liquid.
"Yep! Brewed bare black and with no milk or sugar, just as you ordered."
"Mmm… Ah! Praise be to Lunaria! That revived my soul!"
The captain shouted a religious praise after sipping the strong coffee, bringing his alertness back to full force. The two continued to converse about what just happened and the new orders they received from their homeland.
"I heard they'll ground us for that mistake. The president wasn't happy about us hitting a coral reef which his party list is planning to turn into a protected nature reserve."
"Well, they can shove their complaints up their asses. It's because they cut the budget for the underwater sensors that we keep on running aground in these shallow waters."
"Right… and it didn't help that they want us to patrol these waters when we're supposed to be a "blue water" vessel. It should be the coast guard frigates and patrol boats that would patrol around these parts."
"Yeah, yeah… F*cking bureaucracy and politicians who know nothing, right?"
While the two are openly badmouthing their leaders back at home, the other officers in the bridge simply pretended to not be hearing anything. Like the captain and the senior officer, they are veterans from the monarchial era and are not fond of the new government.
"Hm? What the…?"
Just at that moment, a blip in the mana sensor officer's monitor appeared, accompanied by a loud beep in his headphones.
"One… two… three—"
*BYA—IG!!!*
Right at the moment when he saw those five blips and beeps appear in his monitor and headphones, a thunderous sonic boom sounded and rocked the ship and its crew off their seats and feet.
"W-What on promethea—!?"
"Where the hell did that come from?!"
"An explosion?! Is it an enemy?!!"
The incident garnered everyone's attention and true to their rigorous training and finely tuned instincts, the seamen immediately returned to their consoles or placed their telescopes over their eyes to look for the source of the explosion.
"N-Nine o'clock high! Below the clouds and approximately three kilometers away!"
"What?!"
"What is it? Is it an enemy airship!?!"
The report of one of the spotters sent the officers to the portside (left part from the front) of the bridge where the culprit was located.
"That's no doubt an airship, but its shape and color is strange… Wait, t-that is—!"
"F-Feudal military force coat of arms! It's House Bougainvillea!"
After the coat of arms was identified to have come from a feudal family, the ship captain had a look on his face that was absolutely flabbergasted.
"Captain? Captain!"
"T-That family… Is it possible that—"
The captain has heard rumors about the resurgence of the family close to his nation's royal house. He didn't think much of it at first, but as soon as he heard that the airship that just passed them belonged to the Bougainvillea family, he immediately knew what he must do.
"Sol! Have this recorded and immediately sent back to Marl Kah!"
"U-Understood, sir! Shall I address it to the Secretary of Defense or the—"
"Idiot! Direct it to His Majesty! He must hear that the Bougainvilleas are back on their feet!"
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
A few hours after they left Ostadonia's continental landmass and entered into the western part of the Silesia Ocean, I gave my orders to the crew of the Ghost of Fenris.
"Captain, give orders for the four transport airships to unload the soldiers in Irma Imperial Army base and call for the First Wizard Corps to come aboard as soon as we get there."
"Understood, my lord! If I may ask for the sake of keeping records, what is the purpose of this order?"
"What else? We're going to make ourselves known to the enemy! We will give them an opening strike!"