I couldn't help but frown upon hearing this. I mean, I really did not wish to deal with some snobby rich girl as it was, but now I will need to deal with one who had an even bigger attitude that might be racist against Sophie and me. I could already see Sophie's face paling even more. I tightened my grip on Sophie's hand, trying to comfort her.
"Ah! Sorry, I didn't mean to say that to scare you two!" Adel must have noticed the change in the mood and quickly apologized. "I just wanted to warn you. Do not worry if they say anything that I find even remotely harassing towards the two of you, I will step forward. I promise I am not bringing you with me to make you two feel uncomfortable. I am doing this for two reasons. One is to show off the new pen and get it out there, so the nobles learn about it, and the other is to show that both of you have my backing."
I see… Adel was worried about Sophie and I when we joined the academy. She hoped this tea party would not only help me sell my pens but also spread the word that we were part of Adel's main group of friends. Royal protection is a means to keep people from being able to do anything too serious to us. What they do behind the scenes is different, but that can always be resolved easily since I will just catch whoever did it to begin with, and use a few tricks to make them talk.
After another ten minutes of waiting, the airship was finally ready. When we got on board, I took everything in. I really wished to know everything I could about an airship, and I have no idea when the next time I would get a chance to ride on a private airship.
The first thing I noticed was the inner walls were all lined with runic inscriptions. Each one, from what I could tell, reinforced the wood creating a barrier. However, they were in a sleep state that conserved energy. My guess was they were used only during times of bad weather from what I could make out of the inscription.
"Adel, can I…"
"Hehe, you want to see the runic inscription on the engine, right?" Adel chuckled and asked. My head nodded involuntarily. My passion for magic was taking over and making my body act on its own. "Come. Normally I should not, but for you, I will allow it."
Hearing this, my eyes lit up. Adel grabbed my hand and pulled me along with her while I, who was still holding Sophie's hand, pulled her along. Soon we arrived at the engine room, and all I have to say was it looked more like something out of a steampunk genre than a normal engine. The magic source used for the airship was encased in a large metal cylinder casing with a window that lit up the engine room. There were not one or two magic circles floating in the air above it, slowly turning as the ship was in an idle state.
When I began reading the magic equations, my eyes lit up. My fingers began moving on their own as magic circle after magic circle lit up in front of me. Each one mimicked the same magic circles the ship was using but were not active. I stared at the magic circles I wrote and put my finger to my chin as I analyzed them. "Hmmm…. Yes, if it is like this. I can actually change this portion and rewrite this over here…. Hehe… I wonder if Thurul can take on a big job…. Oh, and I will need to figure out a smaller version of the power source…. Hmmm…."
"Adel, you are drooling…." Adel said in a defeated voice as she reached up and wiped my saliva with her hand, startling me out of my obsessed trance. "Ahhh, sorry…. I just…."
"It is fine it is not like this is not the first time I have witnessed your obsession with magic." Adel smiled and, for some reason, lick her hand? Wait, is that the hand she used to wipe my saliva? It couldn't be, right? No, no, Adel is not like that… I mean, that would be weird…. Yes, it was not what I think it was…..
"Alright, let's head up to the top balcony. You have to see the ship as it enters the city." Adel grabbed both my and Sophie's hand and pulled us towards the top deck. When we arrived, the ship was just about to take off. To be honest, I was excited to see how it all worked when it was fully activated. And I was definitely not disappointed. As the ship really started up, the magic circles that were in the engine room shot out of the top of the ship and grew almost ten times bigger, covering the entire ship. It slowly spun in the air. There were also two smaller magic circles to the side that also spun slowly.
As the magic circles began spinning faster, the ship began to slowly rise up into the sky. The ascension was slow at first but quickly sped up until it started moving forward with a fourth magic circle that formed at the tail of the ship and acted as a form of propulsion. When I looked over the side, I saw another magic circle that was just as big as the one overhead. It used many more magic circles than I had originally thought! To me, this was an amazing sight, and actually wished to fly down to the side of the ship to inspect the magic circles, but as I was about to jump over the side of the ship, both Sophie and Adel held me back and started reprimanding me. "You can't do that! I would already be in trouble if they knew I let you look at the engine!"
"Yes, do not scare me like that!" Sophie, who was normally quiet, was even yelling!
I could only lower my head and nod at the two and hope that they would stop soon.
