Jenkins smiled and waved at Count Bidden, then saw Alexia looking up at him. Dolores was clinging to Julia’s arm, seemingly in tears, while the beautiful maid gave Jenkins a slight nod.
“If I can, I will co back to this city. I promise!”
He shouted to the crowd. Behind him, Father Wright inford him that it was ti for takeoff. With one last booming "Goodbye!", he stepped into the airship, draped in the light of the setting sun.
The steam-powered airship, a marvel born from the fusion of this era's steam technology and supernatural craft, was the most magnificent piece of human engineering Jenkins had seen yet.
Though he had often flown on a unicorn and had ridden in airplanes back in his old world, the feeling of being on an airship was entirely different.
That evening, dinner was served inside the airship. The kitchen was stocked with an abundance of fresh fruits, vegetables, and ats to ensure Jenkins’s journey was a comfortable one. In fact, after boarding, Jenkins discovered that every person and facility on board existed solely to serve him.
He felt a little uncomfortable with this reality. On one hand, his long-held beliefs made him see it as excessively extravagant and wasteful. On the other, he felt that his status didn't quite match this level of treatnt.
“It seems I still haven’t fully grasped what it ans to be the Saint.”
By eight o’clock that night, the airship had reached a high enough altitude to begin its level flight. Jenkins stood on the deck, leaning against the railing and gazing up at the sky.
Since they were now above the clouds, he could clearly see the two moons and the vast expanse of stars. Through thinner patches of clouds, he could even catch glimpses of the twinkling lights of the city below, which he saw as a symbol of civilization.
Because his position was too precarious, Jenkins didn’t allow the cat to stand on his shoulder. Instead, he placed it in the inner pocket of his overcoat but left it unbuttoned, allowing the cat to poke its head out and share the magnificent view with him.
In the distance, he spotted a bird resembling a white dove soaring with its wings outstretched. He focused his attention, trying to send a ntal ssage for it to "fly over." The bird veered slightly closer to the airship before flying off into the distance. Jenkins couldn't tell if his invitation had failed or if it had never been received at all.
Feeling a bit cold, he decided to head back to rest. He turned and glanced at the deck, marveling at how a flying machine was deliberately designed to look like a ship suspended from a hot air balloon.
But at the very least, the airship was beautiful. Jenkins deeply admired the unique chanical aesthetic the people of this world had developed. They could arrange cold, hard machinery into forms that exuded a sense of power, order, and strength.
After bidding the priest goodnight, he returned to his cabin to rest. He checked the ti on the ladies' pocket watch, and right on schedule, Alexia’s projection appeared around ten o'clock.
The mont she appeared, she didn't greet Jenkins imdiately. Instead, she surveyed her surroundings with imnse interest, her eyes sparkling with excitent.
“This is amazing!”
“I’ll just pretend you ant seeing is amazing, not that seeing an airship is amazing,”
Jenkins remarked. Alexia paid no mind to his pointedly emotional comnt.
“By the way, when do you think you’ll arrive in Bel Diran?”
she asked, sitting down on the small bed. This earned her a discontented look from Chocolate, who was dozing on the pillow and hated sharing the bed with anyone other than Jenkins.
“About three days. The captain and the priest can’t give a definite date because they’re not sure if we’ll encounter extre weather.”
Jenkins replied, then picked up the thermos by the desk and poured Alexia a cup of water. She took it, had a small sip, and set it down on the table.
“Are you all back at the manor?”
Jenkins asked again, taking a seat at the desk.
“We arrived just after seven. Dolores said she’s not used to the manor without you and Chocolate, so she’s planning to move from the outskirts into the city—to that small house she used to lend .”
“Small house? You call that a small house?”
Even Marquis Mikhail’s estate in Nolan was no larger than that building.
“That's what Dolores said. I’ll move with her. There's still a lot to do, and while living outside the city is nice, the daily commute is a hassle.”
“You two must be careful while I’m away. If you run into any trouble, rember to co to anyti.”
He urged her. Alexia nodded, then stood and gave him a kiss on the forehead.
“Well, I’m heading back. Rember to dream of tonight,”
she instructed.
“If I don’t dream of the black cat, I’ll definitely dream of you,”
Jenkins said, touching his forehead.
Perhaps it was because Jenkins had ntioned the possibility of the airship running into bad weather, or perhaps his luck was just that terrible, but on the morning of the second day, he was woken by violent turbulence.
He carried his sleepy-eyed cat out into the corridor and learned that the airship had hit a rough patch of air, but that it was a normal occurrence and he had no need to worry.
Things did not improve despite the priest’s reassurances. Throughout the morning, no one was permitted on deck. At lunchti, an entire pot of at stew was sent spilling across the floor by a sudden lurch.
At around three in the afternoon, the airship was forced to make an ergency landing. The nearby rain clouds were abnormally dense and heavy; to continue flying would surely have ended in disaster.
Not every town had terrain suitable for an airship landing, which was why Ruen had expended so much manpower and resources in constructing its city complex in the mountains. The descending airship was prepared for damage, prioritizing passenger safety above all else, but their luck held. After descending to a certain altitude, they spotted a lake nestled at the edge of a small town through the drizzling rain.
The airship descended towards the lake, eventually coming to a stable rest on its surface.
Jenkins was now quite certain that the airship was not only built to look like a ship but could probably function as one, too.
The ergency landing had been turbulent, but thankfully, it ended without incident. After touching down, everyone on the airship gathered together. They were relieved to find that only a few unlucky souls had been bruised by falling furniture.
An airship of this size descending from the sky would certainly not go unnoticed by the local church. Before long, three n in black robes erged from the forest, watching the airship from a distance. Upon spotting the prominent Sage's emblem on the airship's side, they imdiately began waving and calling out to the people on deck.
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