“Probably. Though they are supposed to be restricted.”
Zenjirou was assuming that it was similar to what passengers on planes could do, like raising and lowering the blinds on the windows, or how someone on the bullet trains could put the backrest down.
Utgard had provided the vehicle, so he thought it unlikely either of them would be able to use the internal controls to change the sleigh’s altitude, speed, or especially heading. If they could, there was a risk they might simply abscond with it. That wouldn’t be good for anyone involved—Utgard would lose their sleigh and the two passengers would potentially lose their lives by making a mistake while attempting to pilot it.
Zenjirou chose his words carefully so that Yngvi would be able to come to the same understanding as he explained.
“I see,” the younger prince answered when Zenjirou had finished. “I’d like to try it, then. What do we do?”
The shock had completely vanished, replaced with boldness. Zenjirou had more or less expected that but was still somewhat surprised.
“You want to try the controls? It should be fine, but there is still the risk.”
He was somewhat concerned about Yngvi, less so about himself. He had the magic tool imbued with teleportation, after all. If the worst came to pass, he could activate it and save himself. Logically, though, limited controls shouldn’t put them at any real risk, which was the main reason for his lack of concern.
“I want to try.”
Due to his reasoning, Zenjirou was able to keep his calm at the eager response. “Then let’s do it. If it seems dangerous, we’ll stop immediately.”
With that, he carefully reached out with his right hand. At the same time, his left found its way to the magic tool hidden at his chest, pressing into it over his clothes. From what he recalled, the king of Uppasala had used his finger to manipulate the green gem to turn it into an invitation.
Zenjirou’s theory was proved correct. The moment his index finger brushed “limited controls,” the panel shifted.
“Oh!” Yngvi exclaimed in surprise. Still, the panel hadn’t changed all that much. The word “underway” had simply gotten smaller and shifted to the top right, while the other text had shifted down into the center. A moment later, more text appeared beneath it, forming a list.
Light adjustment.
Seating adjustment.
Food and drink.
Amenities.
Wall transparency.
It seemed that Zenjirou’s assumptions were correct. All the controls could change were things related to the interior. They should be able to adjust them without concern.
He started off by pressing a finger to the lighting adjustment text. Underneath it appeared two more words: “bright” and “dim.” He pressed the former and the lights on the ceiling got brighter. He pressed the latter and they dimmed. Then, he kept his finger on the “bright” text and the lights shone more and more.
With every change in light level, Yngvi let out another excited gasp. Zenjirou moved on to the seating adjustment, and another list appeared beneath it.
Two lengthways.
One lengthways.
Two widthways.
One widthways.
Sleeping.
The “two widthways” was the only one illuminated, so that probably showed its current setting. He was slightly uneasy about what might happen to the two of them when the seats moved, so he left them alone. The next two options were similar. He wasn’t particularly thirsty, nor was he desperate to answer the call of nature. The latter of the two particularly would be necessary for a longer flight, but there was no need to investigate immediately.
The last option was the issue. “Wall transparency.” Just reading the words made him picture the walls becoming see-through. As things currently stood, it was like being on a plane or train with the blinds down, and this would be the equivalent of raising them.
He was still concerned about what it could mean, though. There was a possibility that it meant opening up the wall itself rather than the “blinds.” It depended on speed and altitude, but opening a window while flying would (presumably) be suicide.
Still, he didn’t hesitate much before pressing the text due to how the other two controls had acted. Neither had made any immediate changes just from pressing the headings. Instead, they had prompted more text to appear underneath. With that in mind, the wall transparency should act the same, or so he assumed. Pressing it, he found that to be the case. Underneath it appeared another sequence of words.
Front.
Rear.
Right.
Left.
Floor.
Ceiling.
The six options were easy to understand; they would determine what became see-through. The question was which to pick.
The ceiling and floor were immediately rejected. All they would be able to see through the roof was the sky, so it wouldn’t give them any extra information. In terms of information, the floor would be the best option, but it was just too scary. Even if his belief that the material would become transparent—like strong glass—was true, it would feel like there was no floor. That wasn’t an option. Zenjirou would never be able to get along with someone who made a bridge out of tempered glass.
After thinking it over, he softly pressed “front.” He didn’t expect what happened next, though. Another two options appeared beneath it in even smaller text: “full” and “partial.” He eventually selected the latter, tapping it with a shaking finger.
Immediately, part of the front wall of the sleigh turned into a glass-like material.
“Wow!!!” Yngvi cried in innocent joy.
Zenjirou couldn’t blame him. The view waiting for them out of the new window was exactly what he had expected. The first thing they could see was the pair of reindeer hauling the sleigh. Looking closely, he could tell that they had something that looked like red leather on both their heads and legs, which were freely trampling through the air.
There was no doubt about it—the sleigh was flying.