GalaxyTL
* * *
Arc 20 begins.
——
Whir, whir, whir…
The northern Eserem Sea of Fog, exactly midway between the fourth residential plateau, ‘Farm Four’, and the fifth residential plateau, ‘Mine’.
Flying through this route, which is not normally used for airships, with the light sound of propellers, is a dilapidated small cargo ship.
This small airship, roughly conical in shape, with two large antennae on its nose, is advancing under the blue sky, half-submerged in the fog.
Because of its shape, its unpainted, iron-colored exterior, its small size compared to ordinary airships, and… the race and age of its pilot, this ship is jokingly called…
…The ‘Small Mouse’.
* * *
“This day… has finally come…”
Inside the Small Mouse.
A young boy, gripping the steering wheel with a tense expression, muttered, as if to no one.
This boy is wearing a light brown pilot cap and goggles, and a light brown pilot jacket.
His hair is gray… and his most distinctive feature is his round mouse ears, sticking out from the holes he made in his pilot cap.
Yes… this boy is a beastman.
To be more precise, he’s of the Mice Tribe.
The Mice Tribe is further divided into countless clans… but this boy’s origins are unclear.
Since Eserem isn’t a region where many of the Mice Tribe live, there are no experts, and on top of that, his parents have already passed away, so there’s no one to ask.
“…If you’re going to turn back, now’s the time, Takataka.”
Hearing Takataka… the boy’s muttering… a small, elderly man, who was observing the instruments with his arms crossed, spoke.
He’s the guardian of the Mice beastman, Takataka, and the captain of this Small Mouse.
He used to be an airship mechanic in the Sky Kingdom’s Air Force, and his name is, fittingly, Gishi.
He’s a sharp-eyed man with a thick white beard reaching his navel, a pointed nose and ears, and green skin.
But even his mean-looking face is now twisted with worry.
“GAHAHAHAHA! Don’t worry, brat and geezer! This great me is your bodyguard!”
On the other hand, laughing loudly and cheerfully, is a giant man, sitting awkwardly in the cargo hold, where vegetables produced in the residential plateau would normally be loaded… with his body folded uncomfortably.
Even though it’s quite cold inside the ship because they’re flying in the sky, this man is bare-chested, showing off his muscular body.
His skin is red, and his short-cropped hair is white.
Two horns are growing from his forehead.
“Yuuhi! You’re just spouting nonsense again!”
“Nonsense? I’m strong! That’s an undeniable fact! GAHAHAHAHA!”
Gishi glared at the giant man, Yuuhi, who was laughing heartily, and rebuked his irresponsible remarks.
Yuuhi, on the other hand, is unfazed.
It’s their usual quarrel.
“Haha.”
Seeing their quarrel, the tension in Takataka’s expression seems to have eased a bit.
Takataka smiled slightly, and then turned to Gishi, sitting beside him.
“Gramps, I’m not turning back. I’ve already decided.”
And he looked at him with a strong gaze.
“…!!”
Gishi was speechless, looking at Takataka’s face.
Because that face…
Those eyes, filled with strong determination…
…Looked exactly like his father… who was once called a legendary airship pilot.
“Air… is my friend. Air saved me. So… so…”
Takataka, quietly speaking, turned his gaze back to the front.
And what he saw was a giant floating object in the distance.
“Now it’s my turn to save Air! I’ll never… let her be a sacrifice!”
Floating above the sea of fog… is the place where Takataka’s precious friend, Air, is being held captive…
…The ‘Sky Kingdom of Neverfall’.
“Hey, Ijokis-san. You know the way to Air’s room, right?”
“Of course, leave it to me.”
Takataka then spoke to a woman in a maid’s outfit, Ijokis, who was sitting in the cargo hold with Yuuhi.
She’s Air’s personal maid, and she escaped from Neverfall’s royal palace to the residential plateau where Takataka and the others live, with Air.
That was the beginning of the story.
“Then, we’re good! We’ll sneak in, taking advantage of the commotion caused by the anti-Prime Minister faction… Sneaking in is our specialty. After all, I’m the ‘Small Mouse’.”
“Huh? Brat, didn’t you hate being called ‘Small Mouse’? You were a ‘Wolf’, weren’t youuu?”
Yuuhi grinned and said that to Takataka, teasingly.
But Takataka calmly shook his head, and clearly…
…In a confident voice…
“I’m fine with being the ‘Small Mouse’. There are things that only the ‘Small Mouse’ can do!”
He declared that!
“Heh!”
“…………”
Yuuhi laughed happily, hearing those words, and Gishi silently wiped away his tears.
Even Ijokis, with her poker face, had a slight smile on her lips.
“Atta boy!”
“You’ve grown, Takataka!”
“We’ll definitely rescue the princess!”
Nui, Lusa, and Litto also cheered, laughing happily.
“A-Anyway!”
Perhaps embarrassed by the warm atmosphere inside the ship, Takataka, blushing, took control of the situation and began reconfirming the itinerary for the rest of the trip.
“We’ll make a detour, and then land at Neverfall’s third landing platform, blending in with the other cargo ships! Gishi-jichan, you’ll stay on the ship! Everyone else will go rescue Air, following Ijokis-san’s lead! Any objections!?”
“No objections!”
“Then let’s do this… I’ll be praying for your success!”
“““Leave it to us, Captaaaain!!”””
“I’m the captain, you idiotsーーー!”
Takataka, turning his back on the lively and noisy crew, gripped the steering wheel tightly and glared ahead.
The giant figure of Neverfall, floating above the Eserem Sea of Fog, standing the test of time since ancient times, was gradually approaching.
Gulp.
Takataka involuntarily gulped.
But its majestic appearance couldn’t break his burning spirit.
He’ll definitely rescue Air.
With that single thought in mind, Takataka continued to move forward.
What kind of ending awaits their challenge?
Of course, they don’t know what the future holds.
But even so, there’s no one in this Small Mouse… who wants to run away!
* * *
Now then…
‘Of course, they don’t know what the future holds’.
I mentioned that earlier, but…
There’s something else they don’t know.
And that is…
“…………”
That at this moment, clinging to the bottom of the Small Mouse!
Like a wharf roach, clinging flat!
…Is a black-haired, black-eyed girl… Emi Rune…!
——
Airships!
A Sky Kingdom!
And another race (in humanoid form)!
No doubt about it…this is fantasy!