As a side note, Charlotte would be the only mage aboard the airship this time. We could only load so much aqua magia onto the vessel, and considering that limitation, it just made sense to have our most powerful spellcaster be the only one in the air. That way, we’d make the most of our limited supply. The rest of our mages would be helping stake out Klax’s Hill, under Musia’s command. She’d grown considerably as a leader, and could take charge of the unit without issue.
We’d exclusively brought along explosion-aspected aqua magia this time. It was one of the more expensive varieties of aqua magia, but Canarre’s economic boom meant that we’d been able to stock up on a reasonable amount of it. The airship would hover above Fort Purledo, and Charlotte would drop explosive spells directly on the enemy.
Most forts in this day and age had barriers set up to protect them from magical attack. Fort Purledo likely had those defenses as well, but a characteristic trait of barriers of that kind was that their upper reaches were weaker than their flanks. Keeping the whole barrier reinforced would expend far too much aqua magia to be practical, so standard practice was to make the top of the barrier─the least likely area to be hit directly─weaker than the more obvious targets. Knowing how powerful Charlotte’s explosive spells were, I expected the barrier to fall in a single hit─maybe two. Once it was down, she would be free to pepper the fort’s interior with magic. Its defenders would be routed in an instant.
Our march progressed smoothly, and as planned, a portion of our force split off partway to the fort to stay behind and stall the enemy’s potential reinforcements. By pure coincidence, their reinforcements arrived at just about the same time that I knew the airship would be taking off. I’d made arrangements for a message to be sent if any trouble had occurred with the ship, and I hadn’t heard anything at all so far, so most likely that end of the operation was going well.
We marched onward, making straight for Fort Purledo.
○
Meanwhile, the commander of the troops stationed on Klax’s Hill, Kerubim Clanper, was racking his mind to figure out what action would be best for him to take.
The enemy’s split their force. Some of them are carrying on the march to Fort Purledo, and the rest are very likely staying here to prevent us from intervening. That second force numbers eight thousand…
Kerubim’s forces were at a numerical disadvantage, and he was disinclined to lead his men into open battle. He’d considered the possibility of the enemy dividing its forces, but he’d been caught off guard by just how many troops they’d left behind. Fort Purledo would not be easy to conquer by any means, so he’d assumed that they would leave three thousand troops to hold his forces back, at the most. He’d thought he would be able to charge straight through their formation and lead his men to Fort Purledo’s aid.
But eight thousand of them…? No, I can’t afford to be hasty. One careless move could be all it takes to deliver Klax’s Hill into the enemy’s hands… And anyway, the fact that we’re keeping eight thousand enemy soldiers occupied is a victory in its own right. Maybe our best move is to have faith in Fort Purledo’s walls and hold our position…? Our provisions should last for quite some time…
Just as that thought crossed Kerubim’s mind, however…
“The enemy airship’s been sighted! It’s flying straight toward Fort Purledo!”
“O-Oh? I suppose our attempts to destroy it were a failure, then,” said Kerubim. “An airship…”
Kerubim had made his choice. He was resolved to hold Klax’s Hill, come what may…but something about that airship was giving him a terrible feeling in spite of himself.
○
“Daaang! This thing sure does fly high, all right,” Charlotte excitedly cooed as she looked down at the landscape below.
“Just don’t get so worked up you run straight off the ship,” Shin cautioned.
“I’m not a kid, sheesh! I wouldn’t fall! Rude!”
“How am I supposed to know you’re not a kid when you always act like one?!” Shin snapped. Charlotte’s carefree attitude had been putting him on edge for quite some time, at that point. “Seriously, how’re you not freakin’ out right now? This is the first time anyone’s ridden an airship into battle!”
“Freaking out? Why would I?” said Charlotte. “All I have to do is wait until we get to the fort and cast some spells. Same as ever, basically. Actually, since I get to see all the nice scenery from up here, it’s better than usual.”
“I guess your job isn’t all that different this time, when you put it that way…” Shin sighed, a tired expression coming across his face.
Shin had spent his whole time under Ars’s patronage working on his airship. As such, he’d never been involved in a battle before. To make matters worse, while he’d flown his airship on a number of occasions, none of those trips had covered the sort of long distances he’d have to fly today. There were countless causes for concern, and they were doing a number on Shin’s nerves.
Shin knew, however, that if he wanted to create an even more capable airship in the future, he would have to prove his invention’s worth in battle. That was the one way to gain the funding he needed. He couldn’t let his fear and anxiety slow him down.
A-Anyway, Shin thought, I’m only here to fly the ship! No chance the enemy could hit us at this altitude, so if there’s anything to be afraid of…i-it’d be the weather.
There was always a chance the weather would turn. That was a risk that Shin couldn’t mitigate. A little rain wouldn’t be an issue on its own, but the moment the wind picked up, he’d have no choice but to take the airship down for a temporary landing. If lightning struck the ship, it could set fire to it and damage it beyond repair.