Chapter 99: I don’t wanna go.......
Not much else happened after that. Eiros was curious whether Inara would eventually cross paths with Alen, and if she did, he genuinely wondered what they’d end up talking about.
Thinking back on whatever Inara could actually do, it also led Eiros to wonder—maybe she really could see something in Alen too, right?
That would explain exactly why she’d become so fixated on him in the first place.
The following days went on much the same. Eiros spent his time training, not just physically, but also training his Soul Essence, so it wouldn’t become an issue when the time came for his breakthrough.
Aside from a few minor incidents, like Caeril demanding a rematch and refusing to honor his end of the bet by apologizing, the days genuinely passed by in peace.
Worth noting, the supervisor overseeing that match had forced Caeril to keep his promise. Because of that, Alen and Niana got exactly what they were owed.
Throughout that time, Eiros never once skipped a visit to Estiel. Well, sure, getting information out of him wasn’t easy, but even the smallest scrap was genuinely valuable. He also needed to check in on his friend, that pitiful Leiden. There were also times when he’d get scolded by his sister for never once coming to visit her at all.
And just like that, time passed. Now, the moment had finally arrived for the trip to the capital of Augusta.
"Daaarliiing~"
Eiros felt Renessa’s tight embrace, along with her voice sounding weak and pitiful. But Eiros paid it no attention at all, his gaze fixed far down below.
The academy had genuinely gone all out just to prepare for the first-year students’ recovery break and vacation.
Behind him, the first-years all looked genuinely excited. Every one of them buzzing with anticipation for this trip, and why wouldn’t they be?
The capital of Augusta was one of the cities known for being packed with fun tourist attractions. Given how young they all still were, that reaction was only natural.
Especially when...
"Whoa! This is actually a flying ship, I’ve never ridden one before!"
"Haha, even I’ve only ridden one once."
"No way, this thing can actually fly? With a size like this, we’re not gonna crash, right?"
"Yo buddy, what’re you so scared of? This thing’s built with a stigmata channeling wind and gravity energy! We’ll be totally fine."
Just as they said, and just as Eiros had been thinking. The academy had poured an enormous amount of effort into this. One of the biggest efforts was this flying ship, normally reserved only for important figures.
Sure, there were probably regular public transport ships out there too. But compared to the one Eiros was currently boarding, it was an entirely different league.
This ship wasn’t built from wood, but from something sturdy and dense, like iron. On its left and right sides, wide-spanning wings stretched out, along with a number of magical machines that looked genuinely intricate.
Besides that, there were a few very slender masts, and if you looked up, you’d find a massive banner, bright white, stretched across the sky.
Another remarkable thing was the structure built onto the ship. It was practically a luxurious villa, capable of flying for a view of the sky, complete with around four swimming pools, individual rooms for every passenger, and, more importantly, genuinely delicious food!
Right now, it was still morning, and the ship hadn’t departed yet, giving them a bit of time, with several students still getting themselves ready. The sky itself looked bright and clear, dotted with thin clouds drifting swiftly by.
Birds chirped overhead, riding the gentle breeze.
"Uh... ugh... why does it have to be the capital of Augusta?"
Eiros let out a small sigh, glancing at Renessa, who was leaning against his shoulder, her expression looking genuinely drained.
Eiros still had no idea what the actual reason was behind her acting this reluctant.
Watching Renessa keep rubbing her face against his shoulder made Eiros blink a few times, and he raised his other hand, touching Renessa’s cheek.
That made Renessa go quiet for a moment, feeling the warmth of Eiros’s palm, then she let out a soft murmur, holding onto Eiros’s hand to make sure he didn’t pull it away.
"..."
’She’s been like this a lot lately.’
Eiros didn’t know the reason, but it seemed like, ever since the incident in Clathria, Renessa had become genuinely, incredibly clingy toward him.
Whether that was good news or bad news, there wasn’t much Eiros could do about it either way.
Renessa let out a small sigh, then looked at Eiros with her pale white pupils and said:
"By the way, darling, you’ve only taken one dose of your medicine, right?"
"Yeah," Even though the question caught Eiros a little off guard, he answered quickly. After all, just as Renessa had said, he took it once every three days.
After taking one, Eiros hadn’t noticed any change on his system screen. Of course, that didn’t push back the seed’s growth by any amount of time—it just slowed its progress.
Eiros himself could feel it, like something inside his body had genuinely frozen in place.
That gave him a much better feeling too.
Renessa then fell silent, mulling it over for quite a while, her expression looking listless and drained, then finally nodded and didn’t say anything more.
Eiros wasn’t sure what to say either, so he just stayed quiet too. After that, time passed, and finally, the ship began rising into the sky.
The air roared, thin, nearly transparent smoke billowing below. The whole process was genuinely fascinating enough that Eiros refused to look away, genuinely curious about how this world actually worked.
After that, he watched the machines mounted on the ship’s wings gradually light up, revealing an incredibly intricate structure. But eventually, those iron wings began bending like paper, growing flexible and nimble enough to actually flap on their own.
That solid metal was genuinely flapping like a bird’s wings!
Wooosh—!
Next, a powerful gust of wind formed. Lifting the ship upward, and he could hear the students cheering with excitement as they slowly left the ground behind.
The banner overhead pulled taut forward, revealing the force of the powerful gust pushing against it. The low roar of the engines rang out, and the scent of the air grew stronger and more pleasant.
Eiros felt his hair whipping wildly, but that was nothing compared to how wildly Renessa’s hair whipped around, enough to genuinely bother him.
’This is insane...’
His lips twitched, barely able to believe that this heavy contraption, carrying an entire massive villa, was genuinely capable of flying up so steadily. No shaking, no resistance of any kind, everything running so smoothly that they found themselves airborne, level with the flying creatures of the sky.
The landscape of the forest and the academy below also stretched out impossibly wide, revealing mountain ranges far off in the hazy distance.
"....I don’t wanna go...."
Renessa’s weary voice rang out, her grip on Eiros’s arm growing even tighter, even more clingy.
***