109 – Special Field Trip
Time flies fast, on the day of the Special Field Trip.
The blue sky stretches endlessly before your eyes.
The wind blew my hair, the clouds drifted under my feet, and the open view was clear and clear.
I frowned slightly as I watched the scene.
“Haa….”
I never thought I would be able to ride an airship again. That too quickly.
While I was lamenting my life alone, someone suddenly spoke to me next to me.
“Why is Instructor Graham sighing? The sky is so pretty.”
Instructor Lirya approached with a friendly smile. She held her hand in her windblown hair.
It is normally impossible to stand on the deck at such a high altitude. Since you are flying higher than the clouds, you won’t be blown away by strong winds or you won’t be able to breathe properly due to lack of oxygen.
However, to make it only at the level of ‘slightly strong wind’, the airship technology Dr. Brown created was admirable.
Instructor Lirya looked at the scenery beyond the deck of the airship flying through the clouds.
“I never thought I would ride an airship to the practice site. Isn’t it amazing that a ship this big can fly through the sky?”
Her face was full of excitement and excitement like a child. She was much smaller than the students, and she looked so excited that she looked like a real child.
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I moderately nodded in affirmation.
“… Yes, it really is.”
“What? Something is wrong with the reaction… If heights are difficult for you, why don’t you stay inside instead of on the deck?”
I shook my head.
Of course it’s not a fear of heights. However, if she always experiences a fall every time she rides in a rain fair, she will inevitably have this kind of reaction.
But putting aside my personal reluctance, I had to admit the airship’s speed and convenience.
It would have taken at least a month if I had taken a carriage to Schwarzheim, and it wouldn’t be strange if it took longer than that considering the situation with so many people traveling together. But that time was reduced to just one day.
Instructor Lilya said without hiding her surprise.
“I never thought the imperial family would donate an airship… I never even thought about it. President Heinkel was also very surprised when he first heard the news.”
“I guess so.”
Even though Fillion Academy is a prestigious educational institution, it would have had many problems to hand over a machine containing the essence of Imperial magical engineering technology like the Airship.
So it was easy to guess that there was Elizabeth’s invisible efforts behind it.
Of course, not all students could use airships. The number of enrolled students at Fillion Academy reached thousands, and even in the first year alone, there were over a thousand. However, the airship only had a maximum of 200 passengers.
Only one grade in one class can ride an airship. And it was our opal black class that was chosen because the training ground was the farthest.
Of course, using one airship with only 8 students was a serious waste of space. So, it was decided to go practice with the Red Garnet class.
There was a lot of talk among some students that this was special treatment, but what can I do?
It was the imperial family that provided the airship, and the student on board was the princess, Elizabeth.
To be honest, she is a princess who almost died while riding in the flight, but she wants to be okay no matter how strong her argument is….
I looked aside for a moment. It was right in the direction the students were.
“Wow… ! Oz, look at this! We are flying in the sky!!”
“… The wind… too bad….”
“Hmm, isn’t it more stable than I thought? I thought it would rock like a boat just because it was an airship.”
“Wait, Gwynn!? What are you doing!”
“Huh? Ah, I was wondering if I could hold the cloud in my hand-“
“You fool! Come down now!”
Gwynne was caught by Marianne’s hand and dragged behind her, causing the students to laugh at each other.
It was a crazy scene somewhere, but everyone seemed happy.
I was quietly watching that figure from a distance, but I happened to meet Elizabeth’s eyes.
“… ….”
“… Ah.”
The moment she made eye contact with me, she awkwardly turned her head away.
For the past few weeks since the conversation that day, there has been such a thick awkwardness between me and the students.
I faithfully participated in the class, but that was all. We rarely had personal conversations with each other.
I can fully understand the attitude of the students. It must be burdensome to build a deeper relationship with an instructor who may leave at any moment. I thought it was their own defense mechanism and didn’t care anymore.
It’s true that I’m a bit disappointed, but what can I do? In the end, this was a problem I had to deal with.
But Instructor Lilya seemed to have noticed the subtle atmosphere between us long ago.
“Instructor Graham, did anything happen with the students?”
“… It’s just a minor issue.”
“Well, I don’t think it’s trivial at all… “
I tried to avoid Instructor Lyria’s eyes, but her serious eyes wouldn’t let me go.
I would rather keep my mouth shut than tell a meaningless lie that I couldn’t even hide.
Instructor Lilya looked at me blankly for a long time, then she let out a short sigh.
“It seems like something that is difficult for me to say. Can you tell me if it’s okay later? Instructor Graham’s counseling will always make time for you.”
“… Thank you for your words.”
Her voice contained sincere concern as a fellow instructor. But this was the kind of problem that couldn’t be solved even if she consulted her.
At least when it comes to the inevitable parting, I’ll have more experience than Instructor Lyria.
As there was an awkward silence between us, a well-timed announcement rang out from the airship’s microphone.
[Ah- mic test. Dr. Brown, no, Captain Brown is coming.]
Surprisingly, Dr. Brown is responsible for piloting the airship.
In the last crash, the crew escaped safely, but it was because Captain Alfred, who was actually driving the ship, was found dead in his house. The exact details were not disclosed, but it must have been the work of the head of the Imperial Intelligence Department.
[Hmmm! Notify passengers. This ship will arrive at its destination soon, so prepare for landing.]
“Guys! We’ll be arriving soon, so take your seats!”
Following the guidance of Instructor Lilya, the students entered the cabin one by one, looking a little disappointed but with high expectations.
After confirming that the students were seated, I took a seat next to Instructor Lilya and fastened my seat belt.
Now the airship began to slowly descend below the clouds.
All the students were staring out the airship window with different expressions. Some students felt sorry for the fact that they had to leave the rain fair soon, and some students’ faces were red with anticipation for their first practice.
However, that anticipation soon turned into astonishment.
“Kyaaa!!”
“Um, what is that… !?”
The view of the city from the sky was like hell.
Fire erupted from all directions, covering the sky like graphite, and shouts and screams rang out from all sides. And under the dark sky, something was rolling toward the city like a wave.
That was undead.
An army of undead was attacking the city.
Schwarzheim seen from above was fighting desperately against the undead attack.
However, in the face of countless undead attacks, the isolated city with no hope for any help looked precarious like a candle in front of the wind.
Everyone was embarrassed and looked at each other with anxious eyes.
A student in the Red Garnet class muttered blankly.
“That city used to be like that… ?”
Of course it couldn’t be.
Undead hordes of that size were rare even during the war. Unless it’s an immortal army directly commanded by the commander of the immortal corps….
Instructor Lyria shouted while holding onto the communicator connected to the captain’s office.
“Change direction right now!!”
[“Oh, I get it!”]
Dr. Brown immediately responded to Instructor Lyria’s urgent instructions.
But before Dr. Brown could turn the steering wheel, something crashed hard into the airship’s underside.
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Boom!!
A violent impact with a loud noise shook the entire airship, and the students began screaming in fear.
“Kyaaa!!”
“What! What’s going on!?”
“Uh, Mom… I’m scared, help me… !”
I looked out the window and figured out what had happened.
“Corpse Cannon….”
It was a siege weapon that was often used by the Undead Army during the war to shoot masses of corpses like a cannon.
It was aimed precisely at this airship.
Boom! Pew-!
Piyuyuyong! Bang!!
“Kyaaa!! Mom!! Instructor!!”
“Isn’t this really going to crash!?”
Instructor Lilya spoke as she managed to keep her balance in the dangerously shaking airship.
“Doctor! Get out of here quickly!”
[“This airship puts more safety into it than before! It’s strong, but there’s still a lot of work to do!”]
“What do you mean!?”
[“You can’t make a sharp turn!!”]
Boom! Pew-!!
The Corpse Cannon was still aiming for this side and firing corpse shells frantically.
Corpse Cannons do not have a very high accuracy rate, much less accurately hitting small airships floating in the sky is quite difficult. However, when the number was that high, the hit rate did not matter much.
If you get hit a few more times in the future, a fall is inevitable. I had to deal with that cannon somehow quickly.
The judgment was quick and the decision was firm.
I unbuckled my seat belt and stood up.
“Instructor Lilya. Students, please.”
“Yes? That, Instructor Graham… No way… !?”
I couldn’t believe it.
I quickly ran to the deck.
And then, without hesitation, I jumped off the airship.
“Instructor Graham—!!?”
Instructor Lyria’s alarmed cry spread far and wide.