GalaxyTL
* * *
Now, let’s talk about what happened to Neverfall after that.
The Sky Kingdom of Neverfall, which made an emergency landing on the first residential plateau, ‘Farm One’.
The day this mysterious, flying country soared through the sky again never came.
Because the magic mechanism for flight was damaged beyond repair, from Atmo’s self-destruction… and the impact of the emergency landing.
With the airship construction technology passed down to the present day, it was impossible to make something with as much mass as Neverfall fly.
Another reason is that Sekiran Neverfall didn’t want it.
King Sekiran was more focused on rebuilding the lives of his people, who were thrown into chaos by Neverfall’s fall, than on making Neverfall fly again.
His energetic approach to government affairs, in stark contrast to his attitude before the fall, was well received by the people… and the political reforms led by the king are progressing smoothly.
One factor is that the core of the ‘former Prime Minister faction’, which had a strong tendency towards elitism and contempt for the ground, and was a hotbed of corruption, was completely eliminated in the aftermath of the fall.
However, it’s rumored that King Sekiran, not complacent about the current strong support from the people, is actually planning to abolish the monarchy and transition to a republic.
What will happen to the King’s challenge…? No one knows yet.
And as for what happened to the people involved with Takataka.
First, Yuuhi was forced back into the kingdom army, with the title of ‘Chief Instructor’ thrust upon him.
He was originally forced to retire from the military due to Nabokoris’ machinations… but he quite enjoyed his degenerate days of earning a living as a bodyguard, drinking, and lazing around, so he strongly resisted returning.
But in the end, he was defeated by Ijokis with a single blow, and forcibly abducted back to the kingdom army.
And once he started working, he found it enjoyable, so he now happily trains the kingdom army soldiers and knights (including the Three Knights of the Royal Guard) every day by chasing them around and beating them up.
Ijokis returned to the palace and is working as a maid.
…On the surface, there’s nothing more to say.
But if I may add one more thing… facing a major change like the kingdom’s fall, both the surface and the shadows are short-handed.
She is working for the kingdom today as well, unknown to the public.
Nui, Lusa, and Litto are as usual.
They seem to be happily doing their thing, the three of them.
And then.
Takataka and Air.
* * *
“Phew… Loading, complete!”
Takataka, stuffing wooden crates filled with Mekena bacon into the Small Mouse’s cargo hold, wiped the sweat from his forehead with a bright smile.
“Now then, let’s depart, depart… And—“
And then, closing the cargo hold door, he squeezed through the gap between the crates, and moved to the cockpit.
And he skillfully started the Small Mouse’s magic engine.
Click, click, click, he pressed the buttons on the control device, with a light sound.
Whir, whir, whir…
The propellers start spinning, making a light sound at ‘Farm One’s’ cargo ship launch site.
Takataka, who safely returned from his great adventure of clearing the labyrinth to rescue the princess who was going to be sacrificed, and piloting Neverfall to a safe emergency landing, returned to his job as a pilot of a small cargo ship, transporting vegetables, meat, and other goods to the various residential plateaus.
…Of course, after that major incident, things were quite difficult, because King Sekiran praised Takataka in a nationwide broadcast.
He was dragged into parades, and he’s been persistently asked to serve in the royal palace…
Thanks to that, Takataka is now a small hero.
The voices mocking him, calling him ‘Shorty’ and ‘Small Mouse’, have completely disappeared.
If Takataka’s mentality hadn’t changed since before he met Air, he would have been full of himself, acting like a ‘Wolf’, and would have become a fighter pilot in the Air Force.
But he didn’t.
Through various experiences… he somehow reaffirmed the ‘commoner’ in his spirit.
And he was able to fully understand the value and importance of the transportation industry, which supports people’s lives from behind the scenes.
In fact, life on the residential plateaus, where travel is restricted by the Sea of Fog, wouldn’t be possible without transport workers like Takataka.
It’s not a job to be taken lightly, it’s an important job that someone has to do.
Takataka truly understands that, and he sincerely desires to contribute to society through his work.
So he refused to become a hero, and is still working as a pilot of a small cargo ship.
Incidentally, Gishi, sensing Takataka’s growth, retired as captain and left the ship.
He’s now living a leisurely life, farming on sunny days and reading on rainy days.
“No errors, full mana, all systems go! Ahaha, are you raring to go? And…”
Takataka, checking the instruments, confirmed that the Small Mouse was ready to depart.
“Alright, first stop, ‘Farm Two’! Let’s goーーー!”
And he grabbed the control stick, ready to take off!
But… it was at that moment!
GON-GON-GON!
He heard someone knocking on the cockpit’s iron door—at this absurd timing—right before takeoff!
“Hiih!? What, what!?”
Takataka immediately canceled the takeoff, and hurriedly opened the door.
And then!
The one who jumped into the ship from behind the door, which opened with a ‘Gachari’ sound, and hugged Takataka, was…
“Takatakaaaa! Long time no seeーーー!”
“Wah!?”
…Air Neverfall… who should be busy studying at the palace, receiving princess education!
“A-Air!? Wh-Why are you here!? What about your studies!?”
“I ran away!”
“Haa!?”
Takataka, lying on his back on the cockpit floor from the force of her hug, blinked his eyes in confusion.
Air, straddling Takataka, with a mischievous smile, started saying something absurd!
“Every day, it’s all studies, studies, princess, princess… it’s so stifling, I couldn’t take it anymore! And father, he’s been ignoring me all this time, and now he’s overly protective! He’s so extreme! I don’t want to be a princess anymore!”
“No, well… Air, I understand you’re frustrated, but… that doesn’t mean you can just run away like before…”
Takataka, although flustered and stammering, gave this energetic princess some very common sense advice.
But Air wouldn’t listen!
Jumping up, she got off of Takataka, sat down in the pilot seat as if it were her own, and then…
“Now, let’s goooーーー!!”
She took off in the Small Mouse!
“Ah—whoa!? W-Waitーーー!?”
Takataka hurriedly closed the cockpit door, grabbed the steering wheel, and started controlling the unstable aircraft!
“Come on, Takataka! Take me outside of the Eserem Sea of Fog! This is the beginning of our great adventure!”
“Eeeeeeeehーーー!?”
…And so, the Small Mouse soared into the sky again.
Beyond that was the clear blue sky that stretched out as far as the eye could see.
——
【Small Mouse Flying In The Sky】, complete!
Thank you for reading this far!
…Please continue to enjoy ‘The Reincarnated Extra’.
Next time, the final part of Arc 20.