n

n

n

nReturning home, Black──err, Julian, was being scolded by Milaine.

nMilaine, who was in her office handling documents, held up her hand and spoke to Julian in a disinterested manner.

n“You want to earn fame by suppressing sky pirates? Julian, you don’t understand your position. You currently don’t have the war assets to deploy a single airship──no, not even a single suit of armor. You don’t have the authority to mobilize the soldiers of the kingdom. You plan on suppressing sky pirates under such conditions? That’s not even a funny joke.”

nJulian recoiled from her argument, and frantically tried to go against it.

nHe was thinking that perhaps if he was able to convince Milaine, she could lend him some of her assets.

nIn that case, he would also have been able to assist Greg and Brad.

n“But Mother! Isn’t the suppression of sky pirates the duty of us nobles?”

n“It’s the duty of people who are suited for the job. Julian, can you do better than the knights or soldiers who regularly suppress sky pirates? There are cases where boys from the academy are able to accomplish the absurd, but do you realize the amount of vocal opposition there is from it?”

nBoys did their best to appeal to girls.

nKnowing that, their upperclassmen knights and soldiers couldn’t firmly stop them.

nIn some cases, lenient knights helped their underclassmen in accomplishing meritorious deeds.

nEveryone desperately wanted to get married.

nMilaine was well aware of those circumstances.

n“I understand the situation of boys, though. You should give the opportunity of suppressing sky pirates to other boys. Since this is a matter of a semi-baron household’s territory, we will dispatch the general troops after obtaining permission. During that time, we’ll also ask for people from the academy who are interested in──”

nIt seemed that she was dealing with the sky pirates by letting the boys accomplish what they wanted while not interfering with the general troops.

nWhen working, Milaine hid her usual impression of naivety.

nShe seemed like a different person than usual, even for Julian.

n(Grr! I won’t be able to help those two at this rate!)

nThereupon, someone’s voice resounded in the front of the office.

nOnce a guard got approval from Milaine, Jilk entered the room.

nHis breathing was a bit discomposed.

nMilaine squinted her eyes.

n“What happened?”

nMilaine listening to Jilk while turning towards her documents and moving her hands.

nJilk took a deep breath while concerned about Julian.

n“──Milaine, it seems that Baron Baltfault has departed on an airship to suppress sky pirates. Greg and Brad are also there with him.”

nWhen hearing Jilk’s report, Julian soon looked at Milaine.

nHe was a bit angry while thinking about how she seemed to have sent Jilk here for just a small report.

nHowever──

n“Huh, Leon?”

n──Unlike just a bit ago, Milaine wasn’t in her work mode, but her usual motherly self.

nActually, she was a bit different from usual.

nJulian was bothered by the fact that her cheeks were just a tad bit red.

n(Motheeer! Come to your senses. Just what part of Baltfault are you drawn to?! No, wait. I can use this!)

nJulian tried to persuade Milaine.

n“Mother! We should send reinforcements right away! Please leave the fleet to me. You’ll see that those sky pirates will soon be dealt with!”

nMilaine returned from her blushed, relaxed expression back to her serious one once responding to Julian.

n“Julian, you don’t have any experience commanding a fleet, do you? You shouldn’t, you’ll get in the way. Also, do you understand that you have to take the knights and soldiers into consideration as well? Jilk, is that information true?”

nJilk elaborated on the credibility of the information towards Milaine, who had returned to her work mode.

n“Indeed. I have already confirmed it. It seems that he has gotten involved with the Olfery earl household, something which my expectations──”

n“Please convey just the information.”

nAfter being criticized, Jilk straightened himself and continued.

n“An airship from the Redgrave duke household has also departed to chase after Partner, the airship heading towards the semi-baron home in question. This information comes from a reliable source.”

nWhen hearing that the Redgrave duke household was taking action, Julian looked at Milaine.

nMilaine thought for a bit.

n“Reinforcements are not necessary. This is a good opportunity to know the strength of Baron Baltfault. Is he as strong as a knight, and can he fight against a sky pirate? Since a duke household sent an airship, it’s likely that it’s for reinforcements, but it does seem a little rash. Considering the current position of a duke──”

nJulian protested.

n“Mother! Please let me go as well. Why is Baltfault fine, but I’m not?!”

nMilaine resumed working.

nShe let out a sigh.

n“──I can’t let you go precisely because you don’t understand why.”

n◇

nWe were in one of Partner’s rooms.

nIt was a recreational room.

nTables were lined up, giving off a casino-like aura.

nBilliards, darts, and the like were there, making it an ideal place to kill time.

nIn this room, Brad, Greg, and I were playing cards.

nOf course, we were gambling.

nIn contrast to my composed smile, the two had displeased expressions while glaring at their cards.

n“What’s it gonna be? Are you in or out?”

nGreg groaned.

n“Wait! Let me think this through a little longer!”

nI managed to earn a reasonable amount of money from these two. Perhaps these two had earned quite a bit from the school festival.

nThis money that they painstakingly earned would fall into my hands.

n“Ready to give up? I’ll let you off easy if you withdraw here.”

nKnowing that they were irritated, I spoke in a way that would further agitate them.

nThere was sweat on Brad’s forehead.

n“As if I would withdraw here! I’ll win this next one. It’s impossible for you to keep winning this game. I’ll definitely be the victor!”

nI had been winning against the two, but I obviously swindling them.

nOtherwise, it would have been impossible for me to keep winning.

nI was just collecting their passenger fees. Besides, these guys ought to have studied more about society. I was teaching them the cruelty of the world before they would end up in pain from being cheated.

nThe two hadn’t noticed that how kind I was in doing this for them.

n“──C’mon!”

n“I’ll win this round!”

nThe two had faces of determination as they placed down their cards.

nGreg had a triumphant face.

nHow many times did he think he would win using the same predictable strategy?

n“How about this?!”

nBrad was also confident. It would certainly seem like he would win if looking at his hand.

n“This one’s my win!”

nI made a brief sigh while slowly showing my cards.

nMy hand was the stronger one, causing the other two to go pale while slumping onto the table.

n“My bad. I win again.”

nGreg was at his wits’ end.

n“Unbelievable! This has to be a sham!”

nHe was right. However, it was their fault for not realizing it.

nBrad’s scratched his hair and made a scream.

n“To think that I had lost so many times! This is impossible!”

nI gathered the cards while speaking to the two.

n“You guys are really stupid.”

nThe two glared at me, but no longer played, perhaps due to their wallets being empty.

nOnce I put away the cards, an exhausted Greg spoke to Brad.

n“Hey, what kind of girl was your ex-fiancee?”

nBrad answered while glancing at his desolate wallet.

n“She was an unusual type of girl.”

nBrad spoke while seeming displeased for some reason.

nShe certainly was unusual.

nShe was already quite extreme for a girl of the academy.

nShe bought a ton of slaves and jaunted around with them in a flashy manner.

nWhile many noble girls of earl households and above were calm, some were showy and horsed around, so it was inevitable that she would stand out.

nCome to think of it, she was the one who trampled on my head at the cafe, wasn’t she?

n“I had only seen her a few times prior our engagement being decided, though. Even at the academy, I can count the number of times I’ve spoken with her. It’s nice that we didn’t fight like what happened with his Highness or Jilk, though. It was a typical marriage of convenience. I know that she’s gaudy and likes to mess about, but I don’t know about things like her personality of hobbies.”

n“I’ve heard rumors. Doesn’t she belong to an infamous household? Why would you get engaged with her? I don’t see any benefits.”

nIt seemed that Greg didn’t know Brad’s ex-fiancee that well since he was unfamiliar with aristocratic talks.

n“I was engaged to her because there were indeed benefits.”

nI prepared some tea while listening to them talk.

nBrad began explaining the situation.

n“The Olfery earl household had been usurped, you see. It seemed that the former head of the family was a merchant. They wondered if by marrying the Field household, they could take some of their blood lineage for themselves.”

nGreg made a displeased face.

nIn the Holfault Kingdom where adventurers became nobles, nobles were naturally the descents of outstanding adventurers.

nRising up in status would happen to someone like me, who found success as an adventurer.

nEither way, one was valued based on the achievements of adventurers.

nThere were also cases who one was promoted through their work on the battlefield, and there were many other ways that people became nobles.

nThere were also many who rose very rapidly, but nevertheless as a result of success.

nIt could be said that they were fairly evaluated.

nHowever, this kingdom also had exceptions.

nOne of which was the household of Brad’s ex-fiancee.

nThe household was originally that of barons, but after merchants forcibly took it over, it rose into an earl household.

nThat earned the resentment of the kingdom’s nobles. Even if one performed meritorious deeds, it was expected that they wouldn’t become a noble if they weren’t successful as an adventurer. Even so, they managed to slip through the eyes of law and became nobles through making use of a legal gray zone.

nAfter that, it seemed that they had gotten involved with various wicked deeds.

nEven though they were hated, they had allies. There was supposed to be some kind of faction involved as well, but I wasn’t sure on the details since I had little interest in things like the affairs of the kingdom or its factions.

nHowever, the problem with the earl household was its heir.

nThe previous head was a merchant who became a noble.

nIt was nice that the former head’s son was able to succeed the household, but neither the current head nor the earl daughter had descended from nobles.

nBrad’s engagement with her happened due to the circumstances requiring the blood lineage of a noble family. By having Brad, they would be able to gradually introduce noble blood.

nI was unable to comprehend why they wanted to be promoted so badly that they would go so far.

nIt seemed that Greg recalled something.

n“Dukedom. A household active in the diplomacy of a dukedom!”

nBrad was amazed and said “You realized that just now?”

n“My house is entrusted with a dukedom on the national border. After talks of diplomatic relations concluded, the earl household requested us to consider marriage negotiations. At the time, my father accepted because he didn’t think it would go through.”

n“You made quite the fuss when it ended up happening. You were saying that you shan’t be afraid of that ‘Black Knight.’”

n“In the end, my engagement had been officially decided.”

nThe Field margrave household was the forefront of the Fanoss Dukedom.

nThere was a nasty knight called the “Black Knight” who was very strong and caused serious damage whenever appearing in a war.

nThey could not refuse the request of the earl household, who settled matters with diplomacy, and it seemed that Brad ended up having to marry into the problematic earl household.

n“Disregarding those circumstances, are they a good household?”

n“Like I said, they’re troublesome. Actually, Wein had shown signs of wanting to cooperate in breaking up the engagement as well. How cunning. I suppose great minds think alike.”

nGreg nodded with a quiet expression.

n“It’s the same for me. I’ve only met with my fiancee a few times. It wasn’t really a matter of romance.”

nIt seemed these guys had it rough too. If I recall correctly, Greg’s and Chris’ fiancees never appeared in the game. I wondered what kind of person they were.

nAs I was listening to their conversation, Luxon made a report to me.

nThe two couldn’t hear Luxon’s voice.

nMaster, it seems someone’s here to greet you.

nThere was still some time until we would arrive at our destination.

nYet, I was meeting someone.

nThere are sky pirate airships. Two are heading this way.

nI gulped down the tea I made and called out to the two.

n“Guys, it’s showtime. Make sure to do your job properly.”

nThe two looked at me in surprise with their mouths open. Their reactions were improper, as if they didn’t understand what I was saying.

n“I’m telling you to prepare because enemies have arrived.”

nGreg got up.

n“I, I get it!”

nBrad got up as well, but both of them were puzzled.

nThey looked all around their surroundings and seemed restless.

n“S, so anyways, what should we do?”

n──These guys were unbelievable.

nLeaving Brad aside, didn’t Greg have a lot of battle experience?

n“I see. For the time being, you guys should be on standby in the ship.”

nGreg got angry.

n“And just why?!”

n“Because you don’t know what to do! Do I need to spell it out for you?!”

nI exited the room and gave instructions to Luxon.

n◇

nThe sky pirate airships hoisted black flags with a skull and crossbones marked on them.

nAn airship captain of the sky pirate group, named “Winged Shark”, whistled when seeing Partner.

n“The boss would be happy if we got a hold of this thing.”

nHis subordinates agreed.

n“What a valuable object. Though, are there really only four brats riding it? For something that big?”

n“Yeah, three guys and one woman. I’m also doubtful of whether or not that’s true since it’s a lost item. We’ll soon know once we get there and look around.”

n“How will we deal with the four?”

n“You fool. The three guys are nobles from rich families. We can earn extra by selling them off to to rich hags. We can have a good time with the woman and then throw her away later. She’s a commoner, so we can’t even hold her ransom.”

nWhen the people around heard that, they showed motivation, and the the airship flying next to them began to descend.

nThey were approaching Partner from above, and were trying to corner it.

nThe ship’s captain placed his hand on his neck and turned.

n“One of them is unthinkably strong, but he’s still just a brat. We’ll have him learn what a real fight is.”

n“Right! He’ll learn real soon!”

nSky pirates wearing armor leaped from the ship one after the other.

nMore than twenty figures in armor tried to jump from the two airships onto Partner.

nThe armor of this world were like power suits that could fly in the sky.

nThey were weapons in the shape of humans.

nThey were one of the common weapons in this world where the ground floated.

n“We get to have some fun today thanks to some idiotic brats.”

n“Right you are.”

nThey planned to later hold them down using their airships, and steal Partner while not letting them escape.

nThe captain thought that this was just work as usual, but something flew out from Partner and approached the armor of the sky pirates.

nIt was gray, heavy armor──larger than an ordinary one.

n“What can just one person do? Even if he’s a little strong, he’s just a brat. Hey, surround him so that──”

nBefore the captain could issue an order, the armor that came from Partner grasped and destroyed the inferior armor of each sky pirate using its hands.

nIt threw the destroyed armor towards their airships, and continued to destroy the armor of the surrounding sky pirates barehanded.

nIt kicked the armor of a sky pirate who was readying a rifle and sent it flying.

nPerhaps soon realizing the danger, the captain gave orders to flee.

nHis perception had allowed him to persist up until today.

n“What is that? It’s rising! Risin──”

n──However, he was too late this time. The airship shook violently before he could finish speaking.

nThe captain clutched a nearby handrail and looked at the situation.

n“What happened?!”

n“A, a barrage! We’re being fired upon by our prey!”

n“Don’t be stupid! We’re right above them!”

nIn this world, it was fundamentally better to have the high ground. Artillery had poor accuracy, so fights involved large numbers of cannons that had to be lined up on the side of the airships, firing massive cannonballs.

nThe reason for their massiveness was due to magic.

nMagic could generate a barrier and protect an airship.

nIn order to pierce a barrier and sink an airship, it was necessary for cannonballs to be massive.

nThe sky pirates were cautious of a barrage, so they assaulted while directly above them.

n“How is that big airship able to shoot its cannons at us? In the first place, there are only four people who──”

nSomething the size of Partner should’ve only operated if thousands of people gathered together.

nDue to that, they thought that with only four people, or five if there was a steward, they wouldn’t be able to operate it.

nThat was common sense in this world.

nEven though they knew that it was a lost item, they still thought in terms of common sense.

nPartner’s barrage was still violently shaking the airships of the sky pirates.

nThe captain yelled.

n“We surrender! We’re going to surrender! Hurry up and hoist the white flag──”

nJudging that they couldn’t escape, he told someone to hang a white flag to surrender.

n