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nThe deck of the luxury liner violently shook.

nLivia grabbed the handrail, ran over to an injured sailor, and healed them.

n“Are you alright?!”

n“I, I’m fine.”

nThe feebly smiling sailor had been bitten in the arm by a monster. That monster had been killed with a spear by a schoolboy.

nThe spear-wielding boy shouted.

n“Leave the weak ones to me! Protect the girls at all costs!”

nThere were girls chanting incantations in unison, forming a shield protecting the airship.

n“Don’t come over here!”

nThere were also girls firing offensive magic.

n“Disappear!”

nWhen Deirdre swung her arm to the side, a burst of wind minced nearby monsters, causing them to turn into black smoke.

nA battle took place above the deck as well.

nUnits of armor were flying around, successively beating down monsters that would otherwise be no match for people.

nChris was taking an aggressive and active role.

nAnybody would realize that Chris was strong.

nWhen Livia finished healing the sailor, she got up and tried to find another injured person.

n“Hey, there are cannons facing us!”

n“They’re surrounding us!”

n“How are we going to blow away all of these monsters?!”

nThe airships of the principality readied their artillery. They turned to their side, letting rows of cannons face the luxury liner.

nLivia’s breathing became rough. When she clutched her chest with her hand, the white orb charm worn on her wrist glowed faintly.

n“No. Not like──thiiiis!”

nWhen she bent back and shouted at the top of her lungs, the cannons all simultaneously emitted flames.

nWhile nobody was looking at her, Livia’s core flooded with light──enveloping her surroundings in a gentle glow.

nThe students and sailors were astonished when seeing that.

n“W, what──”

n“Hey! The monsters are being pushed back!”

n“No way! We weren’t hit by any of the cannonballs!”

nThe people around began to make a clamor.

nLivia took deep breaths, spread her arms out, and opened her eyes wide, causing several magic circles to appear around her.

n“──Now you’ll see what I’m capable of!”

nThe white orb fastened to her wrist emitted a strong light.

nThe light enveloping the luxury liner protected it from the successive cannonballs of the principality’s warships.

nThin strands of light shot out from the surrounding magic circles, piercing through the monsters.

nThe sailor Livia healed looked up at her.

n“Y, you’re quite amazing.”

nAfter turning around and smiling, Livia then faced forward and saw Leon’s figure.

n“Hang in there, Leon! I’ll protect this area!”

nThe shield shined brightly, guarding it from the monsters and the warships of the principality.

nArrows of light swooped down and blew away approaching monsters.

nSeeing such a spectacle, the surrounding students turned towards Livia.

n“Is this the work of that honor student?”

n“This can’t be real.”

n“Though, now we’ll be able to manage somehow. The result is up to Baltfault.”

nWhile enduring the fierce assault, Livia looked at Leon.

nPerhaps from pushing herself beyond her limits, her complexion turned pale.

n“Just a little more──please. Let me hold out for just a little longer.”

nMotivating herself, Livia protected the ship.

n◇

nWhile surrounded by black smoke, I heard Luxon’s voice.

nThat surprised me.

n“Yeah, same here.”

nOnce the wind cleared up the black smoke, I looked behind me to confirm the safety of the luxury liner.

nThere was a very large, pale, and spherical light defending the airship.

nIt was magic that had covered the luxury liner and protected it.

nThe magic circles and the light emitting from them were the result of Olivia’s power as a saint.

nI was astonished by its ability to not only protect the luxury liner from the cannons, but also to blow away any approaching monsters.

nWhile defending against the incoming cannonballs, light pierced through the surrounding monsters, causing them to vanish.

n“Being able to do this much despite not having the key items──”

nLuxon, who had made prior preparations against the bombardment, spoke.

nThat’s the result of her diligent studying. She had been doing her best at the academy, after all. There were merits to her meeting with you, Master. With you protecting her, Olivia was able to devote plenty of time to the pursuit of knowledge.

n“It’s good that it wasn’t in vain.”

nMaster, this is a good opportunity. We can attack without having to worry about the people behind us.

n“Olivia bought a lot of time for us. Let’s not make any waste of it.”

nWhile facing forward, I loaded shells into the shotgun.

nSchwert’s engine roared as I grasped the handlebars.

n“Now then, here we go!”

nI have selected the shortest route. Master, try not to get thrown off.

nWhile moving straight ahead, the air bike swerved around approaching monsters, avoiding them as we headed towards the final destination.

nIn front of me was a giant whale-like monster.

nIt opened its gargantuan mouth, and inside were a countless amount of eyes staring at me.

n“Disgusting!”

nWhat bad taste. However, we will push through.

nThe eyes fired rays of light, magic akin to laser beams, but we dodged all of them and continued moving straight ahead.

nLuxon and I charged into its large mouth.

n◇

nAnjie clutched a handrail inside the shaking warship.

nForcibly held in this room against her will, she complained towards Hertrude.

n“What an uncomfortable ride this airship provides. Besides, it’s not to my liking either.”

nHertrude furrowed a brow.

n“W, what did you say?! Is it not pretty?!”

n“And just how is it pretty?! Do you have bad eyes?”

nAnjie could not fathom the idea of making an airship out of a large monster. She just couldn’t see a monster as pretty.

nThereupon, Garrett smiled after having received a report.

n“It seems that the man in the vanguard was eaten up.”

nWhile keeping herself from tearing up, Anjie glared at the man as he spoke with a grin.

nGarrett did not stop voicing his conjectures.

n“What a stupid man. To think he would charge forward by himself. Well, let’s record his name into the principality’s history. We can write him off as a man who faced us alone and died in vain.”

nGarrett made further light of Leon.

n“And he was a knight at that age! The kingdom must have been short on talented people! What a vast difference compared to the principality!”

nHearing of Leon’s death, Anjie’s chest tightened to the point of pain.

n“──Leon.”

nAs she hung her head, she heard the sound of the floor below creaking.

nImmediately after, Leon, riding an air bike, broke through the floor of the room and made an appearance. He had pushed through the interior of the monster’s innards and forced his way into the room.

n“Leon!”

n“Duck down!”

nAfter readying his shotgun, he fired above Anjie’s head, striking the knights and blowing them away.

nThey were knights like him. Perhaps protected by magic, the damage wasn’t fatal. However, it was impossible for them to get up any time soon.

nLeon got off the air bike, gave a side blow to Garret on the jaw with the shotgun, then pointed the muzzle at Hertrude.

n“You’re coming with me. Now it’s your turn to be the hostage.”

nHertrude spoke while the muzzle was stilled pointed at her.

n“You’re making light of us, oh knight of the kingdom. Shall you let us record your name?”

nHowever, Leon immediately fired the shotgun.

nAn armed lady attendant behind Hertrude was blown away.

nAnjie then noticed something.

n(Non-lethal rubber bullets?)

nLeon was calm.

n“There’s no point in trying to stall this. Bring that magic flute with you. I don’t have much time. If you’re going to resist──”

nAnjie found it strange that Leon knew about the magic flute, but Hertrude accepted it and tossed the flute at Leon.

nHowever──

nMaster, that’s a fake. The real one is hidden under a desk.

nLuxon spoke while burning off Garret’s moustache with a laser. It muttered Why not take this opportunity to do some hair removal treatment.

nLeon was wearing a helmet, but Anjie could tell that he was smiling.

n“How unfortunate for you, Princess.”

nWhile Hertrude scowled at Leon, Anjie soon retrieved the genuine magic flute and handed it to him.

nLeon was slightly surprised at Hertrude’s compliance and weak resistance. However, he immediately went to restrain Hertrude’s arms and put her on the air bike.

nOnce Anjie got on as well, the warship’s interior began to greatly incline.

n“Leon, could it be?”

n“Since the monster below us is dead, it vanished. We’re plummeting right now, but we’ll be safe. I’ve taken measures for this, and we’re about to escape.”

nAs he said that, Leon revved up the engine and pierced through a wall, escaping outside.

nLeon shouted while pointing the muzzle at Hertrude.

n“Heeeey! We’ve got your beloved princess over here!”

nThe armor units from the principality gathered and stopped moving.

n“H, how underhanded. And you call yourself a knight?!”

nAfter hearing someone’s voice, Leon spoke loudly.

n“Idiot! Go look into a mirror and say that! Now, out of the way!”

nAnjie, clinging onto Leon from behind, brought her face towards his back and smiled.

nThe knight who had rushed towards her during a time of crisis was neither elegant nor graceful like how the stories suggested. However, Anjie was very happy.

n“──Thank you──Leon.”

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