Watching my parents chasing after us at breakneck speed, Tre’ainar let out a sigh of exasperation…
『That fool. In all likelihood――――』
―― Whoa, what? A Pegasus from the sky… what’s going on? Uh, is that Sadiz? Phianse too!
―― Master… Madam…… I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you.
―― I’m glad you’re safe… but what the hell is this? And Sadiz… where’s Earth…
―― Little man will not return home
―― Huh!?
――Master, Little ma――!?
――He’s not coming back!? Why not! That’s… I’ll have to ask him directly!
―― No, that’s why…
―― Huh? There’s a shadow coming from that cloud… is something flying in the other direction? Is that… Earth maybe!? This can’t keep happening! Sadiz, and the Winged Lady, I’m borrowing your horse!
―― Master!
―― Hiro, I’ll ride along too!
―― Hiya, waiiiiiiiiiiiiit, Eaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarth!!!!
――Masteeerr, Madaaaam, let me finish talkiiiiiiiiing!
『—————— and well, it would go as such, would it not?』
「Jeez, I could clearly imagine the scene too.」
And the image that Tre’ainar had envisioned flowed into my mind.
And I could easily imagine that scene.
That’s probably how it went.
Even though Sadiz and Phianse said they would “talk to my father”, the fact that it took so little time to catch up must mean that they did not listen to them at all and just came running.
“Tch, hey, Earth Lagann! Of all people…Hiro…Mamu…what shall we do?!”
“Earth, those people over there…”
“Damn… I can’t just hand over Jamdi’el and Kron like this… Prince! Hilua! Let’s flyyyyyyy!”
“I fail to follow, but thou should avoid capture, is it? Understood. Nevertheless…… that man possesses tremendous power… a Pegasus, which can only be controlled by a Seraph… has instinctively surrendered and is following his commands…”
“Huh? I’m pretty serious already! Should I fly faster?!”
Anyway, they will catch up with us if things continue like this.
“Eaaaaaaaaart! Jamdi’eeeeeeel! Stoooooooop!”
“Earth, stop! And talk to us!”
Even if I could patch things up with Sadiz, Phianse, and the others… I still can’t deal with those two… and with Jamdi’el and Kron… that’s why I can’t afford to get caught.
“Indeed, that they declare, but we won’t stop. Is that okay? Boy.”
“Yeah! Can you get away?”
“Leave it to me. It’s still too early for humans to challenge the speed of us Seraphs in the sky.”
Despite feeling the intense pressure of the fierce pursuit, the prince was confused at first, but now he seemed calm.
He released one hand from the reins he had been holding with both hands.
“Strange Dragon, will thou surrender thyself to me?”
“Huh?”
“If wings alone are not enough, let the wind become our ally!”
At that moment, magic power gathered in the prince’s hand.
“At times, the wind can endanger lives. But sometimes the wind pushes us forward. Such exquisite power is possible only because I have the Heraldic Eye… 【Mega Wind Boost】 !!!”
“Nnuh!?”
The magic that was released was wind. It enveloped the whole body of our Pegasus and Hilua, becoming a propulsive force that pushed us forward at once.
“Nnah, so much! Somehow, it’s comfortable yet going at such great speed! I’m pushed!”
“Wow! Now, it’s faster than ever!”
“【Wind Boost】… a spell used by the Seraph to accelerate flight… however, if the force is not adjusted properly, the powerful winds will destroy the body… not only to ourselves, but also to the Pegasus, that dragon and others riding along… well, it is easier with the Heraldic Eye, but…”
『A magic spell to promote acceleration, huh…… now then……』
It’s fast. It’s as if we ourselves have become one with the wind… I must not be shaken off.
“Nnh, wait, they’re getting faster! They’re trying to get away!”
“Can’t you go any faster?”
“Damn, damn it! Horsey, you can’t lose hope?! I’ll give all the high-grade carrots and apples from the Empire you want later!”
The distance that should have been closing widened again.
Father and mother are amazed at the prince’s magic.
“We shall soon break off from them. Boy. Goddess. Jamdi’el. Strange dragon!”
Apparently, they can’t keep up with this speed――――
“Uooooooooooooh!!! That’s the spiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiittt!!!!
“”””Eehh!!??””””
But, the voices of my father and mother that were heard from a distance… somehow, they seem to be getting closer and closer again…
“…… What!?”
“Huh?”
“Oh~…”
“Tch, this is why that man is such an irregularity…”
『…… Hmm… as I remember. Same as ever…』
The Pegasus and Hilua accelerate with wind magic. The prince had just said with a smug face, “Only I can do it because I have a Heraldic Eye”.
Jamdi’el must have nodded in admiration as well.
But…
“Hey, what were you saying, Prince? The Pegasus that my father is riding… is also accelerating with wind magic and chasing after us!”
“Ridiculous… how in heavens…”
“They’re getting faster, too. What the hell is that?”
Yes, the Pegasus that my father and mother were riding on accelerated with the wind just like ours.
Even the prince was surprised at this.
And right here, these two people know what that means.
“My goodness, Hiro, that idiot… even without the Heraldic Eye, he made an attempt by imitating what he sees… that’s what it means.”
One is Jamdi’el.
In a way, she knows more about my father than I do.
I know this because she’s fought against the “serious father” that I don’t even know.
“Ridiculous… imitating my spell? And perfectly controlling the force…? Nay…… I don’t believe it!”
“Prince?”
“Then, how about this? Second leg!”
“Huh?”
“Boy, hold the reins for me for a moment!”
The prince still had an even higher “technique”.
I grabbed the reins he was holding from behind and he released his hands.
Then, condensed the magic power in the center of both palms?
“If a simple Wind Boost will not do… accumulate the wind… in other words, compress the wind to the limit and then release it. By doing so, for a moment, it creates further explosive acceleration!”
『Hoh~… to unleash the magic after compressing it… hmm… this also requires the ability to apply magical techniques, but…』
“Here we go, boy! Dragon! Instant Acceleration, 【Mega Turbojet】!!”
It was a true explosion. An intense acceleration that was incomparable to what we had just experienced.
In addition, he put up a kind of barrier around us so that the wind doesn’t cut the Pegasus’ or our skin.
“Uoo, oooooooooh!!!”
“Kyaaah, that’s amazing!”
“So cool!”
Me, Kron, and Hilua all burst out laughing at that intense acceleration.
If this is the case…
“Oh, something again… did the guy on horseback with Earth do it? That’s magic I ain’t seen before…”
“Hey, you’re losing them again, idiot Hiro! Look, just do what they’re doing!”
“Jeez, uh, like this, this maybe… is that it? Come on! Oh, got it!”
“Huh!!??”
Then, as I thought about it, my father used the same magic as the prince by imitating what he saw, and was catching up with us again.
“Wh, wh… what?”
No wonder the prince thought that. I am the same.
Then, here, another person who knows my father other than Jamdi’el…
『With the Heraldic Eye, one can analyze the magic seen with the eye in detail with theory and logic, decipher it in the brain, and then make the magic their own. In that sense, Hiro may be unable to explain the current magic of the prince with logic and theory. But he can still use his magic by the mere sight of it.』
It was Tre’ainar, who knew more about my father than even Jamdi’el, for that matter.
『Tis not an ability. He is able to embody the images he sees with his eyes and what he feels with his body, without any logic or theory.』
「Tre’ainar…」
『Yes, not ability… simply talent.』
「Eh!?」
The cruelest force in the world, in a sense, that can unravel the power that a person acquires through bloody efforts and repetitive practice done over and over again without rest, and can do it with just one word.
“Ah, this magic… by casting it continuously, we can go faster, can’t we? Like this… yes, here we go!”
“Eh!? Wh… my spell in succession!? Ridiculous… to accumulate and release magic at ultra-high speed, and then accumulate and release it again repeatedly… even though the repetition of this process requires tremendously advanced technique and vast amounts of magic power… who in heavens is that man?!”
Haha, at the end of the day, far from imitating the prince’s magic, did he develop it into something even more amazing?
Yeah, that’s him, my father…
“No matter what! If you have the spirit, you can do anything! Come on, no matter where you go, even if it’s the end of the world, I ain’t letting you go!”
That’s the thing… Father.
After all, my father wouldn’t understand.
“Hey, Earth! Stop already! I can’t trust Jamdi’el either, but as your dad, I’m going to have a proper talk with you… no, more than that, your dad and mom, we both have to apologize to you―――”
That’s why I… approached my father, who shouted at me from behind…
“Hey, father.”
“Huh! Oh! What is it, Earth!”
“Father … have your talents ever brought you despair?”
“…… Heh?”
I felt a happy reaction for a moment when I called my father, but then I heard a scoff, as if my words were unexpected.
But I don’t look back. I won’t get caught.
I’m going to keep looking forward, and I’m not going to be so pathetic…… as to complain to my father….
Author’s Note
Actually, the conversation between Hiro and Earth was all the way back in Chapter 42. I posted that on June 12, 2019.