Editing Rakuin no Monshou:Volume3 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 1===
A sparrow wandered astray over the stone pavings.

It cocked its head once, twice, perplexed by a feeling of estrangement and then flapped its wings in a fluster. 

Immediately following, a gust of wind rushed past as a gigantic shadow soared overhead. At a glance, it might be seen as a living creature. Its long neck, a ferocious face baring its fangs, and its large wings spread at its sides—a wyvern.

Alas, things like winged dragons did not inhabit this continent. Its howl, shrill as the creaking of metal, sounded from the humming of its ether engine, and its skin was the weightless metal, dragonstone, lightly painted over in bronze. Namely, this was the Mephius Empire’s airship.

These man-made wyverns carrying pilots in their bosoms took off from the ground in succession.

Orba looked up to watch them, his hand forming a visor over his eyes. 

Flying front was the man named Neil Thompson, and simply being fairly skilled made him stand out greatly above the rest. Neil beautifully tilted the ship’s wings to a turn as the other ships frantically chased after it, like chicks straying from its mother. 

But the one Orba hurled words of anger towards amongst them following their momentary return was Neil.

“This is no place to make a show of your theatrics! Pay more attention to the others! You won’t be able to do anything by yourself on the battlefield. Now, have another go.”

Pressed on by Orba—or to them, the first crown prince of the Imperial Dynasty of Mephius, Gil Mephius—the pilots hurriedly launched off to the skies in their ships once more.

“You don’t have to be so snappy, do you? I think they’re doing on the better side.” 

Orba roughly shook off Shique who came snuggling onto his shoulder. 

“It doesn’t matter how well they do for ‘slaves’. You think I can be satisfied with such a level?”

The parade ground near the Imperial Guards’ barracks, a small-scale gladiator arena was rebuilt. Small as it may be called, its extensive interior housed an airship runway and to add, was situated beside the dragons’ stable.

“But you know, Orba,” the bronzen faced Gowen spoke, “it’s not even been a month since you started the airship unit. There’s not much you can do even if you’re running out of patience.”

“I wouldn’t have expected to hear that from you. You’re the one who sent me out to kill in under two weeks of teaching me how to hold a sword.”

“There’s no meaning in using slaves as a comparison, is there?” Gowen replied, directing Orba’s words back at him. “There are different circumstances now compared to then. You can’t buy however much of them as you want.”

Even if these former slaves didn’t fall behind soldiers in terms of individual skill, they had trouble cooperating in numbers. And it was because it was Gowen, who was retraining the infantry comprising of the swords slaves from scratch, saying this that these words held persuasive power.

Orba said no more. His face twisted slightly in pain as he moved to cross his arms. His right arm was dressed in bandages and stood hanging.

—Roughly half a month had passed since the disturbance caused by Zaat Quark’s rebellion. Injured from the series of battles during the gladiator’s tournament and to further add, being shot by Zaat Quark, his body naturally had yet to recover. However one week prior, Orba was summoned by the emperor and ordered to head for the southern city of Apta—the land taken in the ten year strife with Garbera and the very fortress city his brother Roan had been drafted to. There was no time for him to allow his body to rest. Just when Shique and Gowen thought he was holing himself up in his room buried under a mountain of books, they’d find him zealously directing the Imperial Guard’s training like so.

“Ah, there you go, quiet again.” Shique shrugged his shoulders in jest. “We get indescribably uneasy when you turn silent. I can’t help thinking that you might be getting weird thoughts again.”

At that time, a lively voice sounded.

“A wonderful sight, isn’t it!”

When he heard this voice which was out of place in this brutish location, Orba’s face tensed for some reason.

Gowen and Shique were slightly amused at seeing this and shifted their gaze taking a smile.

“It pains me to say that it is not anything much for a proper lady to see.” 

The one they laid sight on was Garbera’s third princess, Vileena Owell, accompanied by her maid Theresia. Her platinum hair shone a transparent white under the morning sun. She had been forced into the women’s chambers since her coming to Mephius, but with her efforts flying the airship together with the prince during Zaat’s rebellion, she seemed to have been given a relative amount of freedom as of late. Two days ago after mentioning how the Imperial Guards were doing air training at breakfast, she had exclaimed ‘I simply must watch’. 

The young girl’s eyes squinted as they followed the airships’ movements, and her cheeks flushed lightly. 

''She’s an unusual princess.'' 

Orba strongly reaffirmed this thought.

After the mission at Apta ended, they would formally become married—as Emperor Guhl had declared, but that was ultimately only said to Gil and not openly announced. With the progress in discussions over the wedding obscure, Vileena was as she had always been, in an insecure position. 

“His Highness is a perfectionist after all,” Shique commented, intentionally returning to the previous conversation. “He tells them ‘fly shoulder to shoulder with the Garberan airship platoon’ within under a month of training.”

“I didn’t—”

—say that, he tried to refute, but before he could continue...

“There is always a beginning to everything. Air training in particular comes with accidents. If you do not pay careful attention to the pilots’ condition, the ship’s maintenance and such, then your platoon will assuredly be destroyed before you can achieve its desired growth, your Highness.”

With regard to airships, Vileena was an expert. She spoke proudly in a sharp tone with her childish face.

“But there also isn’t much time left until departure.”

Orba averted his gaze from Vileena who tried to confront him directly.

“Is it not all right if you also perform them in Apta, your Highness?” Shique said. “It’s as if you believe, Ax might try to commence war the very day we arrive in Apta.”

Zaat’s rebellion had been quelled by Orba’s hand, but because it happened during the founding festival where a good number of envoys had been invited, news of it reached the surrounding countries. Furthermore, there were reports of suspicious activity from the Taúlia province located southwest to Mephius around the same time. 

Taúlia bordered the Aptan region. It was probable, Taúlia’s governing general, Ax Bazgan,  would target the moment Apta was returned by Garbera and advance his army there. 

However, with Zaat’s rebellion, Guhl Mephius was in a precarious situation where he could not trust his retainers, even those serving him longest. For that reason, Guhl had appointed his born son, Gil, to be the commander of Apta’s troops, deeming it inappropriate to divide his troops to fend off invasion.

“It’ll only be trouble if I don’t get them ready as soon as possible. I’ve realised since Zaat’s incident. No matter how peacefully we may have joined with Garbera, the flames of dissent are always at our feet even within our country’s borders. There’s no harm in being too prepared.”

“Speaking of Zaat Quark, I have not seen Ineli since the incident. Have you met with her since then, prince?”

“Ineli?”

The unexpected name left Orba half startled. “No.” He shook his head. Vileena angrily knit her eyebrows. 

“Please also pay some attention to things outside of military affairs. Being taken prisoner by Zaat surely must have given her a fright. Is she not shutting herself in her room? I have been meaning to visit her, but what say you we go together?”

“Well, that is…”

Orba wasn’t sure what to say. As Vileena had mentioned, Ineli was taken prisoner by Zaat in the midst of the uproar. And in front Orba and Vileena who went to save her, she had a gun thrust at her. But what went through Orba’s mind now wasn’t that, but the scene he had seen at the party during the founding festival; the one where Ineli and Vileena glared at one another by the fountain. 

The Garberan princess seemed to have already long forgotten their discord, but as for Ineli, he didn’t believe she would be as forgiving. Rather, judging from her personality, being saved by the Vileena she hated and so detested, she would have felt it humiliating. 

“I think it’s best if you don’t.”

“Why do you say so?”

“Well, the thing is, if she’s received a shock from that incident, it’s best to gently leave it alone. If either I or the princess go see her, it might bring back the memories and do more harm than good.”

“See, princess? It’s as I told you.” Theresia said. “I am of the same opinion of as His Highness. It’s best to quietly leave Ineli alone precisely if you’re worried about her.”

“What is this. The prince, and Theresia as well, are treating my feelings as if they were an oblivious child’s.”

Her face quickly fell into a sulk and she stomped her small feet against the ground. In fact, it was because it was exactly as she said that Orba was lost for words. She was overall a quick-witted princess albeit young, but when it came to the subtleties in personal relations, she was poorly informed. 

Orba unintentionally sent a look over to Theresia. 

''It must be tough.'' 

The princess’ maid was momentarily surprised, then slightly turned her eyes down and chuckled in agreement.

''Damn it!''

Orba was also surprised. He had expressed his sentiments towards Theresia, but it was as ‘Orba’. Not the crown prince. That was probably why Theresia had also been surprised.

“Now,” Orba spoke up in an attempt to try to smooth things over. “I will, then, patiently wait out the airship unit’s results. I, am going to check out the dragon’s situ—”

Orba turned to look at the dragon’s stable by the parade ground, but right at that moment, he saw several figures heading this way. In front, skipping her way towards them, was a petite girl. Coming up to Orba, Lannie Lorgo stopped and tugging her skirt, made a bow.

“Fare greetings, your Imperial Highness.”

“Aah.”

She was daughter of Mephius’ general, Odyne Lorgo, and thirteen years old. Though a young girl, she had saddled on top a dragon’s back during the founding festival and carried out the coming-of-age ceremony. 

“Hurry and come over. Oh Romus, even though you’re not afraid of dragons, you’re helplessly shy around people.”

She loudly called over the young boy timidly toddling behind. As always, his greetings in front of the prince were soft.

“Really, you’re spineless.”

“No, it’s not that he’s spineless, but that milady here is strong,” Orba jested. “Your courage is promising. However, the dragons’ stable isn’t suitable as a playground.”

“Oh my. It’s not that we are strolling around here for no apparent reason, prince,” Lannie responded disapprovingly in a lady-like manner. “Romus has been coming here everyday and as his senior I’ve gotten concerned for him.”

“Oh? Is Romus aspiring to be a dragoon?”

“He is not, your highness. Romus, you’re really here for the dragon, aren’t you? It’s not that you’re longing to become a dragoon, right?”

“W-what’s that to do with you.”
 
Romus’ face reddened. There was one other coming from the dragon stable’s direction. The dragon trainer Hou Ran was assigned as part of the prince’s Imperial Battalion. It seemed she was looking over the dragoon’s training. Even if she wasn’t, she was usually here at the stable caring for the dragons all day.

“There’s no need to worry about Romus.”

Ran said outright, as if she had heard the conversation from start to end.

“He’s gotten even more used to dragons than Orba. In another half year, he might be able to hear and understand their ‘voice’. There’s little to no chance he will get attacked even at the dragon’s stable.”

Theresia breathed a gasp of wonder. She found not only Ran’s nomadic appearance unusual, but also the combination of her proportional body, dark skin, and pale hair to be strangely alluring.

“If that’s what you say, I’m sure that’s how it is. How is the dragoons’ condition? And have you sorted the dragons we will take with us to Apta?”

“I can somehow manage if I’m with them. As long as they’re within my eye’s reach. No one here has even a fragment of Romus’ talent. More than sorting the dragons Orba will need to sort the soldiers.”  

“R-Right.”

“Also, aren’t the dragons we’re bring with us a bit too many to not be using the carrier? With the numbers Orba’s said, it’s more than I can manage.”

“Not using the carrier?” 

Shique raised his voice in alarm.

“Why? Marching to Apta in file will take a week. Transporting the dragons and weapons would also be more convenient with a carrier.”

“Because I want to be seen off and cheered by the people.”

Orba’s response was blunt. It was times like these his behaviour denoted a reluctance to voice his thoughts any further. Because Shique and Gowen understood this, they made no further protest, bearing a look that said ''here we go again.''

“''Orba'', is it.”

But Princess Vileena’s attention seemed to be hung on something else. The thought “oh crap” could be read on the prince’s face.

“A considerable amount of trust sure is placed on that swordsman. It was also the case at the founding festival, but it seems he has been tasked with several important duties this time as well.” 

“Ah, yeah. He’s...handy.”

Orba gibbered, stealthily sneaking a glare at Ran’s direction. Vileena became slightly indignant.

“However, he appeared to have been injured a good deal from the arena. Although, you yourself have also suffered injuries, how about you heed your subjects a bit more.”

“Uh, yeah, you’re right.”

[[Image:Rakuin no Monshou v03 031.jpg|thumb]]

“Despite how strong a person you yourself may be, that is not always the case for others. Above all, prince, your numbers mustn’t diminish anymore. If you don’t allow them a word and only have them quietly obey you, no matter how fine a swordsman Orba is, even he will eventually...”

“Ha!”

At that moment, Ran snorted. For an instant, everyone was bewildered by the almost outright scorn. Who this was directed towards they did not know.

“Orba seems to be rather favoured by the princess.” 

Her lips swerved into a thin, open smile, and then she turned her back, promptly returning to the dragon’s housing. Romus hurriedly chased after her, and Lannie subsequently followed in a dash. Orba and everyone else saw them off, stupefied.

“That young lady,” Theresia spoke shortly after adding in a cough, “isn’t she somewhat lacking in her manners? To act like that when the crown prince and Princess Vileena are present...”

“Ah. I’m truly ashamed. I apologize on behalf of my daughter’s discourtesy.”

The adopted father Gowen lowered his greying head. It was Orba’s first time seeing him bow down his large frame.

But Theresia also wasn’t truly angry. As evidence of that,

“That young lady,” she said once more, leaving a pause as if add weight, “Is she Sir Orba’s lover?”

“A-Absurd. —Why would you think that?”

“It is no such thing as absurd. I only felt that was how it was.”

“And I’m asking, why?”

“Now why, I wonder. I instead find the prince’s manner of disarray strangely odd. This might even be a harbinger of love for Sir Orba.”

Absurd! Orba muttered once more, facing away. He had known Hou Ran for over two years, but never noticed any attraction towards her. It might have been ''because'' he hadn’t, or that he ''shouldn’t'' have had any, that having this suddenly pointed out disturbed him.  

For some time after, Orba and the others inattentively watched over the airship unit’s training. Shortly before the hour of noon, Vileena excused herself and Theresia from the platform. The princess would also be accompanying them to Apta. They had said there was still packing to be done.

When Orba finally thought he could take a breath of air, he overheard some unexpected words from Shique.

“The princess isn’t in too high of spirits is she.”

“Really? I don’t see any big difference from usual. If that’s her in low spirits, then the usual Vileena will be a far tougher opponent than Ryucown and Pashir.”

“Orba...right, you don’t understand the subtleties of women.”

“Does a misogynist have any right to say that?”

“It’s not that I hate them because I don’t understand them. It’s because I understand them too much that I hate them.”

Back in the days when he was a gladiator, Shique was exceptionally popular with women. There were many noblewomen piling up large sums of gold before the slave merchant Tarkas to be his patron. And to each and every one of them, Shique refused and snorted at them.

“Then again, it isn’t really that complicated. She probably knows about the rumours of ongoing tension between Garbera and Ende. Of course, she’s not a princess that wouldn’t grieve knowing of her home’s hardships.”

“It’s hard to say Garbera has fully recovered from Ryucown’s previous rebellion,” Gowen agreed. “It’s the same for Mephius, but at the least, we were able to stop it before it occurred. To others, you could even say it’s been put out. But they experienced betrayal from one of their most famed generals. It’s certain to have a lasting effect.”

“I could care less about other countries’ troubles,” Orba promptly parted the remark. He then called captain Neil back, bringing the training to an end. A separate unit was scheduled for training hereafter. With Pashir included, they consisted of the slaves from the recent rebellion whom Orba had added to his forces. Having once taken advantage of the opportunity provided by Zaat and attempting a rebellion, he could not just appoint them as regular soldiers and thus had designated them war slaves under the Imperial Guard’s command.

Orba had no business here. He had already earned the resentment of the slaves by having obstructed the rebellion and had no intention of possibly aggravating them further by remaining to watch.

On this note, he entrusted their training to Gowen. A man originally a supervisor over sword slaves and versed in drills.

“I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Aah.” 

Orba double-timed out of the parade ground.

Shique, who had stayed behind, took notice of Gowen’s sudden masked snicker.

“What’s the matter?”

“No, it’s just how he said ‘I’ll leave the rest to you.’ That damn little squirt’s position has sure changed in under two years.”

“And he’s gotten frightfully used to it too.”

“The weird one isn’t only him, but me who’s also grown used to these positions.”

“Yeah.” Shique strangely broke into a grin. “I’m no longer surprised by anything he says or does. If I don’t get used to that, it’ll only ruin my health.”

As Shique gave his agreement with a smile, Gowen watched Orba’s retreating figure in the distance.

“It would be good if it was only a problem of getting used to. Lately, he’s been devoting himself too much to being the crown prince.”

That single phrase, heard by no one, disappeared into the blowing sand and wind. 

Solon saw the coming of noon.