The Flying Carriage

Early the next morning.

After the group finished celebrating and replenished their supplies, they continued toward their next destination.

While passing through Bond Forest, they accepted a commission to escort a merchant.

They could also hitch a ride in the merchant's carriage.

After they exchanged pleasantries, the merchant, whose family had dealt in accessories for generations, began pitching his wares to the two girls in the carriage.

After politely declining, Frieren said, "Fern might be interested in these accessories."

With that, she smiled at Fern and happened to notice a bracelet of a very familiar design on Fern's wrist.

"Did you buy that bracelet recently? It's a cute design."

Fern glanced a little flusteredly at the drowsy Stark.

"Um... this is..."

Rienta was puzzled by Fern's sudden fluster.

"It was a birthday present from Stark, wasn't it?"

Fern: "..."

"I see. Come to think of it, I have a ring in the same style."

"Himmel gave it to me a long time ago. I think it has the same design as Fern's."

With that, Frieren began rummaging through her trunk.

"That's strange. Where is it?"

The space around Frieren was already littered with things she had pulled from the trunk.

Watching her, Fern said with a sigh, "Honestly, that's what happens when you never organize your things."

"Found it!"

As if it were a signal.

The moment Frieren found the ring, a powerful sensation of weightlessness came over them.

Sensing danger, Rienta used Telekinesis to bring the merchant, who had been driving up front, back into the carriage.

But the ring flew from Frieren's hand.

The merchant gave Rienta a grateful look.

Rienta waved it off. Having accepted the commission, it was only right for them to protect him.

Soon, the carriage stopped climbing and began flying into the distance.

The culprit that had turned the carriage into a flying carriage also appeared within range of their detection magic.

A gigantic bird monster.

Frieren said remorsefully, "Sorry, I let my guard down."

Bird monsters were adept at concealing their mana, and Frieren had been so focused on the ring just then that she hadn't noticed the monster approaching.

Stark, who had been startled awake, asked Frieren in confusion, "Can't we defeat the monster first, then use Flight Magic to keep the carriage in the air?"

Frieren asked calmly, "Stark, have you ever seen a carriage flying through the sky?"

"Aren't we riding in one right now...?"

Frieren explained, "This might surprise you, but humans only learned to fly in the last forty years."

"Before that, the sky was always the domain of monsters and demons. Flight Magic was created by copying a demon spell formula outright."

"Never mind all that complicated stuff." Stark, who wasn't good with this sort of thing, interrupted Frieren. "Explain it in a way I can understand."

Frieren was a little exasperated, but Stark was a warrior, after all, so it was only natural that he didn't understand this subject.

"Because it was copied outright, we don't understand the principles behind it at all, so we can't apply it flexibly. We can only make objects larger than a person float for a very short time..."

"Um," Rienta said, raising his hand, "I can control this carriage in flight. Even with all of you aboard."

Frieren and Fern: "?"

As his mental power grew, Rienta had long since become capable of using Telekinesis to manipulate large objects.

But he had never had much use for it.

He had experimented in his Personal Space, combining it with Projection Magic to create a bargain-bin version of Gate of Babylon.

But with his amount of mana, he could only sustain a saturation attack for about twenty seconds.

Unless he removed the special effects from the projected swords, in which case he could probably keep it going twice as long.

But without the special effects, could it still be called Gate of Babylon?

Frieren glanced at Rienta in surprise, but now wasn't the time to ask.

She made a snap decision. "Then I'll take care of the monster, and Rienta will handle the carriage."

With that, Frieren summoned her staff and rushed out of the carriage.

A flash of white light streaked past, and Offensive Magic pierced straight through the bird monster's neck.

Fortunately, this kind of monster was only good at concealing its mana and didn't have the tremendous defensive power of a dragon.

Seeing the monster's body begin to fade away, Frieren suddenly recalled the first time they had encountered the Red Mirror Dragon.

Because he had accidentally angered the Red Mirror Dragon, Rienta had carried her and Fern in flight for a long time.

And he had been extremely agile.

"I'll ask Rienta about it when I have time."

The flying carriage didn't fall after losing its source of propulsion. Instead, it rose some distance.

The moment Frieren rushed out, Rienta had completely enveloped the carriage with Telekinesis.

The merchant's horse was still hanging from the carriage, and he was worried that its struggles might disrupt his control.

So he hadn't covered the horse with Telekinesis, instead directing all of it at the carriage.

But he had used a little too much.

That was why the carriage had climbed again after losing the bird monster as its source of propulsion.

The flying carriage had regained its propulsion, and momentum carried it through the air as it slowly decelerated and descended.

Frieren followed the carriage with Flight Magic, pondering for a while. Seeing it glide steadily through the air, she finally flew toward it.

After all, the monster's flying had been rather bumpy.

Inside the carriage.

Rienta chatted with the others as he controlled the carriage, showing no embarrassment whatsoever over his misjudgment of its weight.

After Frieren came in, he asked, "Lady Frieren, what do you think?"

"Very good." The carriage was steady, even steadier than it was on the ground.

After feeling it out, Frieren said with satisfaction, "Looks like we won't have to rely entirely on walking to get around anymore."

"?"

Hearing this, Rienta quickly abandoned the urge to show off and began pretending to be exhausted.

By now, the carriage's momentum had almost entirely faded, and Rienta began guiding it slowly toward the ground.

"My mental... mana is running a little low."

After saying that, Rienta made the carriage sway back and forth several times in a very regular pattern.

But he regretted it as soon as he did it.

Sure enough, everyone stared at him speechlessly.

Even the merchant did.

Stark couldn't help remarking, "Rienta, that acting was a little too terrible."

For a moment, Rienta fell silent.

Soon, the carriage landed safely.

None of them had been injured, and the horse was only a little panicked after the flight.

But the monster's claws had destroyed most of the carriage, and the frame supporting the canopy above it was completely wrecked.

Seeing this, the group decided to take a break and repair the carriage while they were at it.

Rienta and Stark went to chop wood, while Fern and the merchant went looking for a stream to replenish their water supply.

Frieren stayed in the carriage to sort out the luggage, which had become a tangled mess.

Soon.

Frieren had put all the scattered items back into the suitcase.

But the ring Himmel had given her was nowhere to be found.

The carriage wasn't large, and Frieren searched even the corners, but she didn't find the ring.

"Where did it go...?"

For some reason, Frieren felt she had lost something very important.