Apparently fuel consumption varied greatly depending on training. That was no surprise since the way it had run had been so different. The plainrunners raised by Rook were so smooth that it was like riding in an electric car. I never had to worry about my butt feeling chafed and sore.
“You know, a kingeagle must be really fast,” I remarked. “We got to the capital so quickly.”
The journey to the royal capital had taken about an hour. On the trip back, however, we’d ridden for six hours—on a creature faster than a horse, mind you—and still we weren’t home. An eagle was in a whole different league both in terms of speed and convenience.
“They are. They’re quick and fly straight. The roads we took today sent us on a detour.”
“That’s right. We were to the south of Jamna while flying, weren’t we?”
Rook looked a little taken aback. “I’m surprised you noticed.”
“The hills on the other side of Jamna had these distinct cone shapes. I figured that they were the same ones we saw off in the distance while flying.”
“You had your wits about you. I’m proud of you,” Rook praised me. “We could just about see Jamna on the journey out too.”
Could we?
“I didn’t notice that.” I decided to share a thought I’d had for a long time: “You know, eagles would sure get a lot more use if two people could ride one.”
If they could carry two people, then they could be used like taxis. Important people could get around conveniently. It’d be the ideal vehicle—like a helicopter or light aircraft that could land just about anywhere. In fact, if two people could ride one, adults could learn to fly them. That way the practice would be more widespread.
But Rook made a sour face. “Maybe, but there’s no use talking about it. Others have had the same idea before, and they’ve tried to improve them in the past. I’ve even made attempts of my own to breed a stronger line of kingeagles, but two people is just too many.”
“Even if one of them is a thin woman?” I asked, recalling a similar scene from a book.
“You’re smart, Yuri, and you know better than to do anything stupid, so I don’t mind telling you this—a good kingeagle can fly with two men on its back.”
Huh? So they can fly with two people?
“Then why don’t—” I blurted out, only to be silenced when Rook raised his hand.
“If you saw it for yourself, you’d understand. They can fly, but they barely manage to get themselves off the ground. If they flap their wings furiously like robins, they can keep themselves in the air, but the bird panics because it’s on the verge of falling. It makes steering incredibly hard. It would only manage to fly from our house to the ranch, but even that distance is far too dangerous. Even if it was me behind the reins—mind you, I’ve never tried it, so this is just a guess—I’d probably crash nine times out of ten.”
“I see...”
It must look like an overloaded vehicle trudging along while the driver slams his foot on the gas—like trying to drive a four-ton truck with an eight-ton load.
It wasn’t as bad if an overloaded car broke down, since it was on the ground, but a kingeagle fall could very well be fatal because of the height. If someone with Rook’s ability would crash ninety percent of the time, that made it impossible to practice with two passengers. The risk was just too great because both the bird and the qualified rider—someone who was in short supply—could die.
“But still, couldn’t two people fly if one’s a woman?” I’d read a scene like that in one of the heroic tales in Rook’s library back home.
“If she’s thin, then maybe you could consider it. Though it’s hard to say because it depends on the weight of the rider too.”
“You’ve never tried it, dad?”
“Never,” he answered without hesitation. “If I was in a tough spot with no other options, well, I’d demand that the woman strip naked first, and I’d strip naked myself too.”
It didn’t sound like a joke.
“Sounds like it’s best not to try,” I surmised.
“You’ve got that right. And don’t you forget it, Yuri. Thinking about weight is the absolute fundamental.”
“I’ll make sure I remember,” I said.
Rook sighed, seemingly relieved that I agreed with him. The alcohol might have been going to his head.
“You’ll find out for yourself when you go to school, but a lot of girls believe in those stories. And once in a while—very rarely—a student will do something stupid. I know you’re no fool, Yuri, but never ever agree to let someone ride with you.”
This was a shift in the conversation. It was rare to hear Rook mention school.
“Why would anyone do that?”
“Since there are so few kingeagle riders, there tends to be a lot of stupid ideas and myths. One of the most common tropes in stories is the scene where a sky knight rescues a woman by carrying her on his kingeagle. It’s the dumbest thing.”
That confirmed what I’d already guessed. Those scenes were standard in romantic stories with knights and princesses.
“Are you saying that a stupid trainee sometimes gives in to a request from a girl and lets her ride with him?”
“That’s right. It’s usually a mistake made by some kid who gets overly excited after first getting permission to fly alone.”
“I see...”
“To be honest, the eagle tends to get spooked and crash-lands into some trees before ever getting high enough to kill anyone, but that doesn’t mean they don’t get seriously hurt. Imagine how much an idiot you’d have to be to lose a limb that way.”
“Well, I’ll make sure I never do it. Though I’ll never have the chance anyway.”
“Yuri, the girls are going to be all over you. Even I had trouble fending them off.”
What’s this now? He sounds like he’s about to start bragging about his son and his luck with women at the same time. Spare me.
I figured I’d better change the subject. “Speaking of girls, we saw that girl with blonde hair today. Was she the queen’s daughter?”
“Hm? Oh, yeah. Her Majesty Queen Shimoné’s daughter... Though it sounds weird to call her that. Her Highness the Princess.”
“Is she going to be the next queen?”
“That’s not decided. I think she has a younger sister. Though I suppose the older girl is turning out so well that it’s a safe bet she’ll be queen.”
A younger sister? Unless the younger sister is some kind of prodigy, the older one’s bound to become queen.
“Don’t tell me you’ve got a crush on her, Yuri?” Rook asked with a smirk.
“What?” That remark must have gotten to me more than I’d expected, because my voice sounded awfully ill-tempered.
“O-Okay, I’m glad it’s not a crush. It would be a huge pain if you became a royal.”
“A family like the one you’ve made would be ideal for me. I’d rather not turn my life upside down,” I said.
“O-Okay.”
“Why don’t you tell me about how you and mom first met? It’ll give me an example to follow.”
I could only get him to talk about his past while drunk. I was dying to know how he met a woman like Suzuya.
“Uh, let me think...”
We ate until our stomachs were full, and Rook drank a good amount of beer before we went back to the inn. Rook slept deeply.
He’d drunk so much the night before that I thought he’d stagger out of bed, but he seemed just fine when we set out early the next morning.
We were greeted by Suzuya’s smile when we finally made it home around noon. This really was a great family.