kscans

Chapter 188 - The Airship's Completion

As Hayato and Relic were preparing to go to the Shipyard Dock, Rose came down from the second floor.

Unlike Noat, Rose was not in pajamas, but in proper attire. Her maid outfit. According to Esha and Rose, the maid outfit is a maid's combat uniform. Apparently, wearing it sloppily might earn you an iron-fisted punishment from the Maid Chief.

Rose was living here as Hayato's bodyguard, so he had provided her with a room on the second floor. It seemed her work time had just begun, so she had come downstairs.

"Hayato-sama, Relic-sama, good morning. You seem to be busy, has something happened?"

"Good morning, Rose-sama."

"Morning, Rose-san. Actually…"

After exchanging greetings, he explained what had been happening.

"So the airship is finally complete. I would love to see it, but I have work to do. By the way, are there any plans for someone to attack the base now that you own an airship?"

"…I don't think so."

"What a shame…"

(I kind of feel the same way…)

Still, unlike Esha, Rose was a very capable maid. She seemed to clean in her spare time, as the base's furniture was always in pristine condition. She also kept information like sales figures and trends well organized. For Hayato, she was a tremendous asset.

It was just a little unfortunate that she was a battle junkie. Seeing her practicing weapon skills with a broom on the third floor during her lunch break stirred up a certain indescribable feeling in him.

Leaving the base in Rose's care, Hayato and the others headed for the Shipyard Dock.

He would have liked to wait for Esha if possible, but given Rosalie's high spirits, he had no idea what would happen if they arrived late. They decided to hurry.

Five minutes later, they arrived at the Shipyard Dock in the Royal Capital's port.

As expected, Rosalie was near the dock, but all the members of Black Rose were with her. From what he could see, Ney's group and Sonia had not arrived yet.

"Hayato, you're late."

"I hurried quite a bit, you know. Besides, weren't you supposed to be at the Demon Lord's Castle in the Demon Country? How did you get here faster than us?"

"One of us has a girl who can summon a mount. We rarely use it, but we rode it here."

"Oh, is that so?"

"That is irrelevant. For now, I will give you this."

Rosalie handed Hayato the Gravity Stone. It was a rather large, black, spherical stone. After checking the item's name, Hayato put it away in his item bag.

"Thanks. This helps a lot."

"No thanks are necessary. However, as I have said before, there is a place I need you to go with the airship, you know?"

"Ah, yeah. I think that much should be fine. I doubt we'll be going to a floating island right away. By the way, where…"

"Hey, Hayato!"

Ney's voice cut through his question. Hayato looked over to see the members of Kokuryu, Sonia, and a few members of the Treasure Hunter Guild running toward them.

When Ney got close, she rushed up to Hayato, equally energetic, and said, "They say you found it!?"

"Yeah, Rosalie-san got it for me."

"Ooh, you're amazing, Rosalie! I thought it would take more time, so this is a huge help!"

"…It is of no concern. More importantly, please build the airship at once. We have a place to go with it."

"Is that right? Uh, Sonia, is that okay with you too?"

"Of course. After coming this far, it'd be unthinkable to put it on hold, right? Come on, Hayato, build it already."

Hayato nodded and took out his favorite saw from his item bag.

He then checked the "Airship" information in the menu. The success rate was 100%. The chance of it being five stars was also 100%.

"Ah, Rosalie-san and everyone, you should move away from there. You'll get splashed."

Just because it was an airship didn't mean it would constantly float in the air, Hayato reasoned. Since it could only be built at a Shipyard Dock, he predicted that, just like with a large ship, it would drop into the sea first and send up a huge splash.

Rosalie and the others followed Hayato's advice and moved a short distance away from the water.

After confirming they had moved, Hayato used "World Tree Lumber" as the airship's material and selected "Create."

A massive, rainbow-colored effect unfurled just above the sea's surface.

Lately, more players had been building large ships, so the surrounding players weren't paying much attention. They probably just thought someone else was building another big ship.

But when they saw the completed vessel, the onlookers' eyes went wide.

The ship's form was that of a Galleon Ship, but it had five masts, and at the end of each was a giant propeller. The propellers were set at different heights so they wouldn't collide with each other, giving it a strong fantasy feel. There was no balloon-like structure. It was simply a ship that looked like it would fly using its propellers.

(Since it uses a Gravity Stone, those propellers might just be for show… And the bottom of the ship is flat. It's built at a shipyard, but it looks like it can land on the ground too. I'll have to check that later.)

As Hayato pondered this, the completed ship fell with gravity and landed in the water with a massive splash.

"Ooh, not bad! With this, we might be able to get to the source of the Olga Domus Waterfall, don't you think!?"

The surrounding players reacted to Sonia's voice. They all rushed over to Hayato's group.

Then they started asking questions. Most were about how to get one. The next most common request was to be taken for a ride.

Even though it was early morning and there weren't many players, the Shipyard Dock was in a state of minor panic.

"Sonia, what are you spouting? You must have known this would happen."

"Ah, well, my apologies. But it's exciting, isn't it!? Besides, with such a flashy debut, it was only a matter of time before word got out anyway."

"That may be true. Hayato-sama, this place may be a little dangerous. Perhaps we should board the ship and move somewhere else?"

"You're right. Let's get on the ship and escape into the sky. Everyone! Get on the ship!"

At Hayato's words, everyone boarded. It seemed no players were trying to force their way on. They were shouting for information from the pier.

"Alright, let's take it for a spin then."

Sonia said this as she took her position at the helm. There was a simple manual, and the mechanism involved pressing a button in the center of the wheel to ascend.

"Alright, we're taking off! Be careful not to fall!"

Sonia pressed the button.

The propellers began to spin, and with a rumbling gogogogo, the ship started to lift. The ship left the surface of the sea and gradually ascended.

Hayato could hear the gasps of awe from the players at the port.

(Yeah, this feels good. Just like at the Exchange Post, it's nice to stand out a little by doing something few people know about. Though I suspect it might cause some problems.)

"Alright, let's take it for a test run. Is there anywhere you'd like to go?"

Sonia said this in high spirits. The first to respond was Rosalie.

"Considering our contribution, I insist that our opinion be heard."

"Alright, where do you want to go?"

"To the Demon Lord's Castle, then."

Everyone except the members of Black Rose was surprised by those words.

"Um, Rosalie-san? Why there? I should tell you, I'm not giving you the airship."

"I would not say no if you offered, but I do not need it."

"Then why?"

"We are about to rescue Lunaria-sama, who is asking for help from the top floor of the Demon Lord's Castle. With an airship, we can get close to the top floor window and help Lunaria-sama escape. And just so you know, I expect Ney and her group to help as well."

(I thought she said it was a test run…)

Without any room for argument, Hayato and the others were drafted into the Demon Lord Lunaria rescue operation.