Chương 64: Chapter 17 A Small Bone, A Great Lesson(Part 1)

"I'd probably choose a carpet," Takatsuki said thoughtfully.

"I've always wanted to ride one."

"Balloons sound terrifying," one of the soldiers replied.

"Besides, Captain, we're airborne troops. If we're talking about flying, we've all undergone parachute jumps and ranger training. Shouldn't we be using a helicopter?"

"Maybe. But First's magic feels more... soft. More fantasy-like. Almost fairy-tale. She even mentioned dragons." The vice-captain cleared his throat.

"When she flew before, she was riding something."

"... A sasumata." Everyone who had been chatting excitedly turned to look at me. Well, it had simply been the first thing available at the time. Besides, I had grown rather attached to it. Attacking civilians was out of the question. I didn't need flashy magic. Just being able to fly was already enough.

"Do you dislike bidents?" I pulled the sasumata from my inventory, spun it once, and sat sideways upon it. The pole gently rose into the air. Flying itself was no longer difficult. I had already flown before, and I no longer carried any fear of falling. However, carrying someone else was an entirely different matter. If the person being carried imagined themselves falling, that image could pull them down. Just like Icarus after losing his wings.

"Chloe," Hyodo asked, "what do you think would be the best way to fly? This is our first time using magic flight. We don't really have anything to start with."

"Hmm." A broom would have been the easiest thing to imagine. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Unfortunately, none of us had brought one. A horse could work as well. Imagining it as a Pegasus wouldn't be difficult. But the horses had been left behind. The strange plants could perhaps be shaped into makeshift brooms, but there was a possibility their fear of falling would overpower their image of flight.

A dragon was also out of the question. They might accidentally imagine it being targeted and shot down. So, this should work.

"How about Takatsuki's carpet idea?" I suggested.

"It doesn't need to be large. Just enough to escort yourselves. You all have handkerchiefs, don't you?"

"We're supposed to fly with these?" Each person pulled a handkerchief from their pocket. Nothing special. Just ordinary handkerchiefs. But as they were, they needed a little help.

"Drifting softly upon the wind, changing shape and flying away. Floating gently through the sky, with wings enough to cross the heavens." I spoke the image aloud. While doing so, I folded the handkerchief in front of them into various shapes—a paper airplane, a crane, and others. Then I released it. The cloth gracefully floated through the air. It circled above us. Slowly drifted downward. And finally came to rest near my feet without ever touching the ground.

"An enchanted flying carpet! I may not be a genie, but flying is one of my specialties. Now, go ahead and try." The soldiers exchanged uneasy glances. Eventually, one of them reached out. Then another. Carefully, they sat down on the floating cloth. The handkerchiefs lifted them effortlessly. Good. No instability. No danger of falling. This should work.

"Are these really going to fly?"

"Of course. Haven't you seen flyboards? Water shoots out beneath them, sending people racing across the surface. Why not imagine your ballistic vest as a board?" Hyodo blinked. Then he removed his ballistic vest, spread it across the ground, and stepped onto it with both feet. If his image was strong enough, he should be able to fly. His balance might take practice, but that was a separate issue.

"Whoa!" The vest shot upward. Without him.

"Fufu." I couldn't help laughing.

"Captain, boards are supposed to be attached to your feet." Apparently, he had only imagined the water propulsion. The ballistic vest flew high into the sky, leaving Hyodo behind, before tumbling back down with a heavy crash. Still, the fact that it had risen so high proved he had enough magical power.

"Try again," I encouraged.

"Don't be afraid. You're leaving the nest now. Enjoy your walk through the sky."

"Understood... attached... board... skateboard? No. Snowboard? Maybe just... a board is a board..." Muttering to himself, Hyodo thought carefully. Then he tried again. Not gracefully. Not elegantly. But without a doubt, he was flying. Unfortunately, he also sprayed all of us with enough water to soak our uniforms. The damage was considerable. Despite that, everyone else looked at him with unmistakable envy. The desire to fly. Humanity had dreamed of it for countless generations.

Then the Wright brothers turned that dream into reality. There was even a song about it. I want to fly freely through the sky. I had appeared before the public and flown. I had shown them a possibility. And now that possibility was spreading. Not from magic to humanity. But from one person to another. Classes might not have superiority or inferiority. But every Class had its own strengths and weaknesses. Still, I believed that anyone with a magic-oriented Class could probably fly.

All they needed was to solidify their image. By now, Hyodo had become accustomed to controlling the ballistic vest. His movements resembled a snowboarder carving down a mountain slope.

"Do you think we'll ever be able to fly too?" one of the gunners asked.

"A gunner flying through the sky?"

"Human cannonball?"

"If you imagine that wrong, you'll end up as pieces scattered across the ground." The gunners laughed. Even so, they wanted to fly. That possibility depended entirely on their own imagination. Unfortunately, I couldn't see inside someone else's mind. Takatsuki and the vice-captain were thinking about something as well. But we had already spent enough time here.

"Come on, Captain," I said.

"Let's continue." I looked toward the endless darkness ahead.

"When we fly, droplets fall from the sky. Shall we make this a rain hunt?"

"Roger that!" Together, we took to the air.