Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume17 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 6===

Exactly an hour went by after the morning meeting.

Kamito and his teammates gathered at the port in the eastern part of Mordis.

Although called a port, Mordis was a town in the middle of the desert after all. Naturally, there was no sea around.

When ports in the desert were mentioned, they normally referred to where "sand ships" were moored.

"So this is a sand ship that I've heard about&mdash;"

Carrying heavy luggage on his back, Kamito looked up at a ship half sunk in the sand and muttered.

This was no military vessel but a merchant ship used for trading across the desert, not particular large. Although no weaponry was installed, it was supposed to be quite impressive in speed.

"Unfortunately, the Revenant cannot be used&mdash;"

Holding down her bangs that were blowing in the wind, Rubia commented.

The Revenant, the military ship used by the League of Inferno, was currently undergoing maintenance at a Mordis dock. Although flying was not impossible, it was not possible to guarantee a secure supply of spirit power in Ghul-a-val and the drive reactor's spirit mechanism could malfunction, risking a crash.

On the other hand, the sand ships used in the Theocracy were able to follow leylines that were hidden deep underground, allowing them to sail through the desert without difficulty. However, their only drawback was that they could not head to anywhere that was not connected by leylines, thus they could only move along simple routes.

"This is my first time on a sand ship."

"Me too. It is bigger than I had imagined."

Claire and Rinslet were looking at the ship with wonder.

Their luggage was packed very full.

"...Rinslet, what do you have in there?"

"Snacks, obviously. See, Claire, your favorite canned peaches are inside too."

"Eh, you're serious♪"

Claire's twintails jumped adorably.

"You two, we are not going on a trip for fun."

Seeing the Claire and Rinslet acting like that, Ellis warned.

"Fianna, that's all the luggage you're carrying?"

Seeing Fianna traveling light with just a shoulder bag, Kamito asked her.

"Yes, I am keeping the rest inside Georgios."

Fianna winked and drew near to Kamito's ear to whisper.

"Fufu, Kamito-kun, I've also prepared all kinds of erotic underwear to use at night."

"...! G-Give me a break...!"

Kamito was a healthy male, after all.

...Unable to stop himself from imagining what kind of underwear for a moment, he instantly went red.

"Okay, let's hurry!"

Picking up their luggage, Claire and the girls immediately made their way into the ship.

"Oh my..."

Seeing that, Kamito shrugged and turned around to look at Rubia.

"I'm leaving the rest here to you. Will you be okay?"

"Yes. Velsaria and I shall do our best until your team returns."

Although Sjora Kahn was defeated, the civil war in the Theocracy was still highly volatile. If the absence of Princess Saladia continued, the situation would only grow more chaotic.

"I'm leaving Muir and Lily to you too&mdash;"

"No need to say anymore. They are my precious subordinates."

Rubia replied coldly.

Muir Alenstahl and Lily had been discovered near Leviathan. Depleted of divine power to an almost life threatening degree, they were still comatose.

But fortunately, they were in no danger of dying, thanks to Muir subconsciously activating her special ability, the Jester's Vise, back when Leviathan was devouring them. Afraid of this power, capable of rendering spirits insane, Leviathan had given up on absorbing the two of them.

(...Subordinates, huh? She still insists on this word when she's painstakingly taking care of them.)

Faced with Rubia's air of nonchalance, Kamito laughed wryly in his thoughts.

Lily aside, the reason why Rubia paid extra care to Muir Alenstahl was probably because Muir reminded Rubia of Claire in certain ways.

"Then I'll be going&mdash;"

Picking up his luggage, Kamito started to walk&mdash;

"..."
[[image:STnBD V17 BW03.png|thumb]]

"Huh?"

Feeling as though someone behind him wanted to speak, Kamito looked back.

"What's the matter?"

"...Nothing."

Confronted with his question, Rubia looked hesitant.

(...What's going on?)

To think that she would be indecisive at times.

Surprised, Kamito frowned. At that moment&mdash;

"...Ren Ashbell."

As though committing her resolve, she drew her face close to Kamito's.

Then&mdash;

"''I entrust my little sister to you''."

Those were the words she quietly spoke to him.