Holding Dragon in Both Hands, Treading the Sky with Both Feet!

Inside the cockpit of the Zero Fighter, which had lost power after running out of fuel.

Saito Hiraga held Louise, who had fallen asleep in his arms at some point, and desperately shook the control stick, trying to adjust the fighter's posture as it fell.

But he did not hold much hope.

At this altitude and speed, once they hit the ground, the fuselage would inevitably shatter on impact.

After all, this was only a Zero Fighter, a product of World War II.

The only good news was probably that the fuel tank was empty, so there should not be an explosion, right?

All right.

He was not certain about that either. After all, he was just an ordinary Japanese high school student; Gandalf's ability merely let him know how to operate it.

"What do I do? What do I do? Is this really how it ends?"

"I finally made up my mind to give up on going back, and before even a day has passed, I'm going to die here. But..."

In the violently shaking cockpit, Saito Hiraga lowered his head to look at the adorable girl in his arms, who looked exceptionally peaceful in her sleep, and murmured softly:

"But dying together with Louise... I think I could accept that."

[Bang!]

Suddenly, he felt a tremendous impact from beneath the fuselage. Then he discovered that the aircraft, which had been trembling and swaying violently, quickly stabilized.

Then it... stopped in midair.

"W-What's going on?"

Saito Hiraga stuck his head out of the cockpit and immediately saw an unbelievable sight.

The Zero Fighter beneath him was clearly still several hundred meters above the ground, yet it remained motionless in the air, showing no sign of continuing its descent.

"Could it be Tabitha's magic?"

Saito Hiraga instinctively scanned his surroundings,