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「Wheeze…wheeze…bleeergh, I’m feeling sick…. 」

After they arrived at the Dock running ahead from the batch, Lahti was at the end of his breath, his knee kissing the ground.

「Isn’t it good that you didn’t lose?」
「I was only dragged along, so it wasn’t by my ‌power…. it was ridiculous.」
「You’ll get used to it if you keep experiencing it.」
「You meant to do it to me again!?」
「I’ll do it again if you want me to」
「Spare me, I’d die if you dragged me like that again…. But let me say my thanks. Thank you. I’m Lahti, nice to meet you.」
「Inglis. Nice to meet you too.」
「I’m not someone from this country, I come from Alucard.」

It was a country to the north of this kingdom of Charalia.
The cold climate was harsh to live on, but they also had the advantage of relatively less occurrence of Prism Flow with their low precipitation rate.
That didn’t mean that there was no Magic Stone Beast at all.

「Is that so? You’re an overseas student, then?」
「Yup, I am. You guys have it nice. It’s warm down here.」
「Yeah. That Pullum girl too?」
「Hm? Ah, her? Yeah, she’s from Alucard too.」
「So, you came here to learn to be her Squire, Lahti? Me too. I’m going to be the Squire for a girl named Rafinha Wilford.」
「Aah. That Holy-Knight’s-little-sister girl? Pullum and I aren’t exactly like that.」
「Is that so?」
「But I will learn how to steer Flygear, hone my skills, and contribute in the fight against those Magic Stone Beasts…! This place is the only place I can learn Flygear, so I came far only for that…! Okay, I’m done resting. My arms feel itchy, so let’s bring out those Flygears!」
「Yeah. Let’s.」

Inglis and Lahti asked a different instructor who was stationed at the Dock and received permission to access. They then brought their Flygears out and flew.

「Hell yeah! It’s free time until everyone’s here! Let’s fly as much as we want!」

Once he went on top of the lake, Lahti floored the pedal.

「Good idea!」

Inglis followed behind.
There wasn’t any presence of Magic Stone Beasts today. And so, let’s fly and have fun as much as we want!

「YOSSSHAAAA!!!!」
「Ooh. Amazing…!」

Inglis was amazed by the flight trajectory of the Flygear driven by Lahti.
It kept thrusting forward while spinning as if he was a human spiral, and even with such a movement, the speed hadn’t slowed down for a bit.
Its rapid ascent and sharp turns were minute and complex, and yet he kept going faster.
The quality of the movements was clearly different from Inglis’ who could only draw a linear flight path.

Apparently, Lahti was a genius when it came to piloting Flygears.

「Hehehe! It’s not fair unless I can win against you guys in at least one aspect!」

Lahti’s Flygear went past Inglis’
Inglis had floored the pedal‌, but she still couldn’t catch up to him.
——Frustrating.

「….. I’ll surpass you!」

Inglis directed her palm to her back——and launched Ether Strike!

SUGOOOOOOOOooooon!!!!

A huge translucent light of sphere surged backward, rolling up lake water into grand waves.
However, those were just the byproduct. Inglis sped up her Flygear with the recoil of firing the Ether Strike, overtaking Lahti’s Flygear from her front.

「WOOOOIIII!?!?!? The hell are you doing, Inglis!? What on Earth is that….!?」
「I hate losing.」
「No, that’s not the problem here, though!? You can’t just shoot that kind of light just because you hate losing! You don’t even have Rune, how…!?」
「I’ve trained, after all.」
「I have a feeling that’s not what it’s all about….!」
「At any rate, I win against you in terms of speed.」
「W-, well, yeah——but I won’t lose in terms of piloting maneuvers!」
「Yeah, you’re amazing. I can tell that the movement is different. Teach me how you do it.」
「Sure, why not?」

As the two flew all over the Vault lake, instructor Margus finally arrived and the Flygear training began in earnest.
Even during the lesson, Lahti’s outstanding talent over the Flygear brought about a pleasant surprise for the Instructor.

And so ended the separated training from the Knight division—
The next day, the Knight division and the Squire division joined in the classroom lessons and combat practice.
It was the same for the day after that——but, that night, principal Miliera called Inglis and her group.

「Principal. What do you need of us?」

After they greeted the Principal in her office, Inglis asked her question.

「Miss Inglis, Miss Rafinha, and Miss Leone. Do you remember how you defended a merchant ship from a Magic Stone Beast the other day? Actually, the owner of the ship invites you three to give you his gratitude——」
「Wah! So we will have a feast!?」

Rafinha reacted in an instant.

「Yes, I’m sure you will.」
「May I ask who is the owner we are speaking of?」
「They’re a group of Armed Peddlers with the name Lambert Firm.」　
「……!?」

Inglis didn’t think she had heard that surname in a very long time.

「Glis, isn’t that? Rahal’s….!?」
「Yeah. It’s the firm Rahal’s father has.」

But, since Rahal had become a Highlander, I thought his father is a Highlander too…?
And if the firm he has is still operating, then what happened to it?
To find that out, Inglis had no other option but to accept the invitation.