Chapter 104: 15-year-old Inglis and Hyrule Menaces' Escorting Directive (12)
A Highland’s Aerial Battleship stayed afloat in the airspace above the capital’s suburb. The hangar in its hull was thrown wide open with Flygears and Flygear Carriers flying right into it. Those were the Knights preparing to sortie against the invasion of Venefique Kingdom.
Inglis and her group were also recruited in order to help with the preparation, and right now, they were boarding a Carrier piloted by Rafinha. Their aim was to bring the Carrier they were on, the Flygears it carried, as well as provisions and other extras to the Aerial Battleship.
They were actively practicing Flygears as per the Academy’s curriculum, but so far, they could only touch a Flygear Carrier at most. This would be good training for Rafinha.
「Phew. It’s quite tiring, huh」
Remarked Rafinha, sweeping the sweat off her forehead. By connecting to the Carrier, a Flygear could be supplied with mana to be operated separately. However, the mana for the Carrier itself had to be supplied directly much like an Artifact. It could be filled up beforehand, but right now, Rafinha was supplying the power directly. That was why she was the one piloting the Carrier, and the one most exhausted.
In the event that the power supply to the Flygear Carrier was cut off, once the power ran out, the Flygears that are on board would also be unable to recharge and malfunction with it. Which was why it was necessary to have a Knight in charge of each Carrier. And it was advised to have a Knight with Middle-Grade Rune or higher for it.
Knights who had a Low-Grade Rune wouldn’t have enough mana output to directly power a Carrier and pilot it. Knights with a High-Grade Rune, like Rafinha, were even more preferable. The strength of the Rune affected the speed of the Carrier and the amount of power filled into it.
In the current system of Chivalric Order, a squad consisted of a single Carrier, several mounted Flygears, and the pilots. Students with High Grade Runes like Rafinha, Leone, and Liselotte would be given a squad and the rank of a Commanding Officer right after they graduated. The sessions of training they had in the Academy were also in anticipation of that.
「If so, shall I take your place? I would like to practice it.」 「Yeah, please, Liselotte.」