Endless Silver Machine

Aika and the others had arrived at the Imperial Capital's dedicated airport for aviation magic ships to take off and land before Lilith.

This time, they were unable to leave the warehouse where the aviation magic ship was docked openly, so Brad pointed out a passage for them.

When the cargo tracks rolling diagonally upward passed the vent in the canal, Aika jumped up and could barely reach the edge of the vent.

Using the physical strength he had developed at Frost Moon Academy, he resisted the pain of rubbing his palms against the edges, turned over, raised his feet and kicked towards the square railing that closed the vent.

After trying twice, I finally kicked the square bar into the vent.

The palms holding the edges of the vents were scratched in a few places, but for boys, just licking them would make them better.

After jumping into the vent, Aika moved the square bar inside.

The space inside can accommodate a person bending down and crawling through, but it has not been cleaned for an unknown period of time, and a thick layer of dust can be felt on the palms of the hands.

"Fortunately they are still wearing those work clothes..."

Due to the conditions, we can no longer pay so much attention to it. No matter how dirty the environment is, we must make use of it.

Aika waved from the vent to the girls who were still at the starting point of the track, indicating that they could come over.

This height may be fine for Ling, but Luoluo and Wei Xi definitely need Aika to pull them up.

If they are not pulled up, they can only run back faster than the crawler and try again.

Ling was willing to stay at the end to deal with possible unexpected situations. It was safer to leave the physical work of recruiting people to Aika.

The first was Luoluo. She watched uneasily as she waited for the tracks to take her under the vent, and then jumped up like Aika.

"Tsk..."

I don’t know if it’s the position or the distance of the jump, but it’s slightly different from Aika’s visual observation.

He only reached one of Luo Luo's hands. If it had been a few tenths of a second later, the two of them might have missed it.

The newly worn palm felt a stinging pain. If he let go now, Luo Luo would fall.

"Brother, let me down and I'll do it again."

"No! What I said before is that the next time is an exception. How can I let go after I've already caught it!"

"..."

Luoluo should have felt the wound in her palm heating up. She did not continue to stubbornly wear down Aika's strength.

She struggled to raise her other free hand, and both hands grabbed Aika's arms.

"ah--"

Aika let out a low cry from her throat, used the hand that wasn't holding Lolo to hold herself on the ground, and used her other arm to exert strength.

Lifting Luoluo up with one hand.

When approaching the vent, Lolo let go of Aika's arm with one hand and grabbed the edge of the vent, reducing part of Aika's burden.

In the end, Aika succeeded in pulling Lolo into the vent, although the whole arm spasmed slightly due to the excessive force.

"At such a height, it might be harder for Xiao Xi to come up."

"Yeah, no matter how light she is, there's nothing she can do if she can't reach her..."

Aika believed that the two people who were still at the starting point had already thought of this when they saw the thrilling scene just now.

Ling should be thinking about how to do it specifically.

…………

On the other side, Ling and Wei Xi both sweated for Luo Luo, and they were relieved until they saw her figure disappearing into the vent from a distance.

"It doesn't look very high, but it's actually not that simple..."

"Woo..."

Ling lowered her head and looked at Wei Xi who was moaning. It was a very risky move in the first place, but now she was even more hesitant.

Looking back at the track again, she was ready to try something bold.

"Wei Xi, listen to me, the next two of us..."

…………

"Brother, Sister Ling is waving over here."

"That guy, what do you want to do?"

Aika saw Ling from the starting point waving to him from a distance, and then hugged Wei Xi.

Then she hugged Wei Xi and stepped onto the tracks.

"No way... Is she planning to throw Wei Xi up directly..."

"Brother, there is no time to think about it anymore. Just be ready when they come!"

"I know!"

After knowing the solution that Ling had thought of, Aika also knew how she planned to ensure her own retreat.

"It's so messy..."

When the crawler tracks almost reached directly under the vent, Ling "thrown" Wei Xi out as expected.

Before setting off, Ling should have told Wei Xi repeatedly not to make any sound, so Wei Xi just closed her eyes tightly and held Aika's hands.

Because there was no mistake in the docking this time, Aika pulled Wei Xi up with a gentle lift.

But he can't relax yet. Ling, who missed the opportunity, still needs Aika's help.

When Aika leaned out again, Ling, who was running back faster than the tracks, had already taken off.

"One hand is enough!"

Ling, who paid attention to the distance, knew that it was impossible to grasp it with both hands.

Aika struggled to grab Ling's outstretched hand, but she had no strength left to pull her up, so she could only hold on tightly.

Ling used her own weight to move through thirty degrees like a pendulum, and then finally let go of Aika after exerting force on her arm.

Making a second jump in mid-air, Ling grabbed the edge of the vent.

Luoluo and Wei Xi quickly squeezed forward and pulled Ling into the vent.

Ling collapsed in front of the vent with a "pop" and the accumulated dust kicked up, causing everyone to choke and cough.

"Thank you for coming up with such a method, my heart almost jumped out..."

Aika sat leaning against the wall of the pipe, almost losing feeling in both arms.

Luo Luo and Wei Xi's faces were stained with dust, with patches of green and white patches on their faces.

Ling also leaned against the wall of the tube like Aika. He wanted to breathe but was afraid of breathing in dust, so he could only cover his mouth and nose with his hands.

"There is no other way, this is the only way."

"Sister Ling has been greatly influenced by her brother...it's all a bad influence..."

"When did I come under his influence?"

"Such a reckless action, I thought only my brother would do it..."

"Lolo, you must have forgotten, right? This was already the case when we first met her."

"Wait a minute, Aika, if you have something to say, just say it clearly."

"hey-hey……"

When they inexplicably began to reveal their dark histories to each other, Wei Xi's "inappropriate" chuckle came out.

In this small space, the air flowed slowly because of this chuckle.

"Ah...I'm sorry..." The three people suddenly looked at her, and Wei Xi suddenly became nervous, "It's obviously because of me..."

"No, no, that's not the case."

Aika interrupted Wei Xi's apology. Although it was rude to do so, everyone was already tired, so the atmosphere became casual accordingly.

"Can we just wait here until night?"

"Well, Liuyin said we can't leave here during the day, so just stay here until they send someone to pick us up at night."

"Then I'll sleep for a while first..."

Ling buried her head in her hugging knees, really ready to take a rest.

During the few hours spent in the aviation magic ship, everyone tensed up and waited for the moment of landing.

"Just as Ling said, everyone should take a rest. Liuyin will contact me after the people from the Holy See arrive."

"Brother Aika, don't you need to rest..."

"It's so noisy here that I can't sleep even if I want to. In fact, I'm a pretty light sleeper."

"I'm a magic suit, so it shouldn't matter if I don't sleep..."

"Who stayed in bed this morning?"

"Ugh...only a few minutes..."

"...I'm asleep. Wake me up if something happens."

Ling raised her head just to expose Wei Xi's "lie", and then buried her head again.

Luoluo had also closed her eyes. Wei Xi glanced at Aika one last time. After he nodded to herself, he snuggled up to Luoluo and fell asleep.

Aika turned on her PDA to determine the time. There were still a few hours until nightfall.

Taking advantage of this time, Aika regarded the roaring noise outside the ventilation duct as a wake-up call and began to consider the next action plan.

…………

As the Holy See concentrated on transporting aviation magic ship supply materials, everyone jumped down from the vent where they were hiding. With the help of the cargo disguise needed by the Holy See, they successfully hid in the trunk of the freight locomotive and left the dedicated airport.

There was no obstruction until entering the sanctuary.

After the freight locomotive stopped, the staff of the Holy See told the trunk "You can come out now" and left directly.

Everyone walked out from behind the hill made of cargo boxes, and the first person who greeted them was Liuyin.

She was still wearing the uniform of the Holy See, and her long silver hair was shining in the wind under the moonlight.

"Congratulations, your smuggling was successful."

She half-closed her eyes and spoke in a tone that could not be heard as celebrating.

This is the dedicated airport of the Holy Land, and it is now nine o'clock at night.

"His Holiness the Pope is currently attending the Council in August. It may take two days before your problem is resolved."

As Liuyin spoke, he walked quietly to their side and took Wei Xi's hand as a matter of course.

"Xiaoyin, please clean everyone's rooms first..."

"Of course this has been done, you can just follow me."

"Liuyin, I'm sorry to cause you any trouble."

"These are His Holiness the Pope's arrangements. If he didn't want to meet you, I wouldn't have the right to let you live here."

"Ha ha……"

"Xiaoyin, don't drag me away..."

"By the way, please stay in the sanctuary for these two days and don't move around. This is for your own good."

"I understand, I'll just follow your arrangements when you get here."

Now Aika just wants to meet Pope Sethis as soon as possible and wants to know why he wants to gather everyone here.

…………

When the injured and unconscious Ling was brought here before, everyone only went to the single room for nursing.

However, the guest rooms used for reception include single rooms and double rooms.

"It'll be fine if I live with Sister Ling."

"Xiao Xi's room is still reserved and cleaned every day. I will also move in with you."

"Eh? But..."

"Then I'll live alone. Anyway, Luoluo and Ling's rooms are next door. I can just leave Wei Xi to you, right?"

"Brother Aika..."

Wei Xi's expression seemed like she was about to cry, but Aika, who already knew about their friendship, decided to leave this time alone for them.

Although I don’t know if doing this is equivalent to sending a sheep into the tiger’s mouth...

"Just let me take care of Xiao Xi. But there are no servants here to take care of guests... Anyway, I will tell you everything you need to know later."

…………

In the public bathroom led by Liuyin, everyone was finally able to change out of their dusty, baggy overalls and put on the clothes prepared for them by the Holy See.

It is said that the Holy See specially prepared it for everyone, and when operating within the Bis Empire, Shimozuki Academy's uniforms will be particularly conspicuous.

The clothes Liuyin brought to Aika were regular men's pajamas. After taking a bath, Aika gratefully put on new clothes, feeling like she had been reborn.

He originally planned to go to Luoluo and Ling's room to take a look, but on the way back, he noticed a familiar figure.

"Professor Cocona."

"Oh, it turns out it's Aika." Professor Cocona, who was about to go somewhere, stopped and said hello after seeing Aika, "I heard that you want to save the princess?"

Even in the solemn Holy See, Professor Cocona did not wear uniforms as neatly as Liuyin.

Under the night, she was still wearing a knee-length skirt full of lace and ruffles, with two slender pink ponytails swaying slightly under the little hat.

"Well, then I asked Liuyin about the current situation in the empire, and she asked us to come here."

"I know, I saw her and Xiao Xi together when I came here."

"Are all your rooms over there?"

Aika looked in the direction Professor Cocona was walking in, and could only see the flickering lights in the distance in the dark night.

"Don't expect to go there. Only the Knights of the Holy See can enter that area."

"Well, if Wei Xi stays by Liuyin's side, I don't have anything to worry about." Only then did Aika remember the question that came to mind when she saw Professor Cocona, "Speaking of which, where is Professor Cocona going now?"

"Huh? Of course I came to see you."

"……ah?"

"Why are you so surprised? Aren't you my student?"

"What you said is correct..."

"And aren't you going to save the princess? I'll come here to make up for your homework in the past two days!"

"Wait, I should be recharging my energy, right?"

"No! Then I'll have nothing to do!"

"Then you're just using me for entertainment!"

"I don't care, just follow me obediently!"

Professor Cocona couldn't help but take Aika's hand and walk him farther and farther away from her room.

…………