Atelier Tanaka

Book 1: Chapter 11 (1/3)

Part 1

The next day, I brought Mercedes-chan over to the noble mages house.

Due to the realization of Tanaka festival, I moved out without even catching a wink of sleep. What is up with this festival mood. Think of your own age man. Dont go creating a new black history after thirsty years.

I was actually driven by the impulse to just return home and go straight to sleep. However this is for the sake of my own house. I had no choice but to put on a calm front and work like a gentleman. Nature and expression is a harsh thing.

Whats wrong? You have dark circles under your eyes. [Fahren]

No, I was just going through the measures on how to defeat the dragon with her. [Tanaka]

I cast a glance at the lady knight-chan standing next to me.

There are slight dark circles under her eyes too.

Is the noble mage that frightening to her? Unlike me, she was frozen at the sight of him. She stood at attention as a means of saluting him. Since shes young, staying up one or two nights must not be much of a problem to her. What an envious young and lively body.

Yes! I tried helping Tanaka-sama to the best of my ability! [Mercedes]

The manner of speaking is indeed a big deal. It sounds unbelievable when I was referred to as Tanaka-sama.

Is this the result of the knights education?

No in her case, she might just be weak in the face of power.

Fumu, I see. [Fahren]

The noble mage placed his hand under his chin as if he were pondering on something. He diverted his sight between Mercedes-chan and me alternatively.

I guess that excuse must have been hard for him to accept. It will be unbearable if he were to make the wrong conjecture so I tried voicing out first to change the subject to a more appropriate direction.

But this airship is seriously amazing. [Tanaka]

The current location is at the noble mages garden. I muttered out loud as I looked at the huge vehicle in front of me.

So you understand the splendour of it too? [Fahren]

In that instant, the noble mages eyes could be seen sparkling.

This airship is actually the state-of-the-art that I have designed myself. Not anyone elses. [Fahren]

Eh? Is that so? [Tanaka]

Youre even designing for machineries? Seriously, how versatile are you in actual, noble mage-san.

This was actually donated to the country but I temporarily borrowed it for the sake of the operation this time. Its currently the fastest airship in this country. It will only take approximately two to three days from the capital city of Chalice in Penny Empire to the adjacent Republic of Pussy. [Fahren]

Oo [Tanaka]

I dont really understand it but lets just pretend to be surprise for the time being.

I had initially expected to endure the pain in my butt by travelling in the shaking horse drawn carriage again so this is unexpected of the noble mage. I didnt foresee an airship to be our means of transportation. Could the science in this world be progressing more than what I had thought?

By making the ship smaller in proportionate to the size of the magic stone, we are able to increase the travelling distance and speed. [Fahren]

I see. [Tanaka]

Its regrettable. It has nothing to do with science at all.

Judging from the current flow of conversation, I guess the magic stone is something that has similar function to an engine in this world.

The airship actually looked humongous by the first glimpse. The size should be roughly thirty meters in length and eight meters in height. If this is what he meant by small then I can assume the large ones must be really titanic in size. I wonder if this thing can really fly.

No, well it should fly since this is a fantasy world after all.

Wheres the luggage? [Tanaka]

They were already loaded into the airship. [Fahren]

Then the next should be.. [Tanaka]

Its just to wait for all the ones whom you have invited to gather now. [Fahren]

I see.

I looked around after saying so.

The ones gathered in the garden now were only the noble mage who was accompanied by a dozen of his maids, Mercedes-chan and me. All we need to do now is to wait for the group sex team and Sophia-chan to gather before we depart.

It might have been hasty of me to go straight to the red-light district after accomplishing it previously.

Well then, I should think of something to occupy myself while waiting.

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I wonder if there is a suitable topic to converse with an ossan.

Just as I started thinking about it, a carriage could be seen making an unexpected stop on the road on opposite side of the garden.

That must be Fitz Clarences carriage. [Fahren]

It must be quite a respectable house for this ossan to even remember the name.

Do you know her? [Tanaka]

We did have some exchange before. Was it two or three years ago? My niece was married into that fellows family. Most women born in that household have high magical power but for some reason men werent able to reside there. Although the people in that family were denying it, it is likely that the people in the olden days do not interact among themselves. [Fahren]

I see. [Tanaka]

I dont understand it at all.

Well its something that has nothing to do with me anyway.

The carriage entered the garden after the gate was opened and finally reached us after a short while. The group of maid became nervous this time as they werent sure of what was coming. The noble mage calmly received the carriage while Mercedes-chan was in the verge of tears, casting me a look as if telling me, No more..Please give me a break.

A familiar looking blonde haired loli got out of the carriage.

Hee~, an airship. Youve prepared quite a stylish transportation there. [Ester]

She muttered as she stood next to the airship after getting down the steps.

Despite being a noble, she didnt even bother greeting someone beforehand. It seemed trivial to her since the first thing she did as soon as she met someone was to make a frivolous comment.

However the noble mage didnt seem to be upset with the other party. On watching her brazenly striking up the conversation with him, I could tell that she is the complete opposite to Mercedes-chan.

Im surprised that fellow, Richard even permitted it. [Fahren]

Its a serious matter concerning Her Royal Highness Princess, dont you know? Isnt that the responsibility of a noble? [Ester]

Fuun~, well whatever. If you have any luggage, hand them to the maid there. Well load them into the airship. [Fahren]

Got it. [Ester]

The blonde haired loli then began instructing the attendant standing beside, causing the noble mages household maids to move around hastily to meet her expectations.

Ah could you spare me a moment? [Tanaka]

What? [Ester]

Are you not together with your boyfriend? That ikemen guy. [Tanaka]

H-hold it!! Ive told you not to say a word about him before, havent I !! [Ester]

So hes not able to make it today? [Tanaka]

Compared to the blonde haired loli here, that guy far is more important in this operation. Since the noble mage will be the rear guard, we need someone to be a vanguard in this team. Mercedes-chan is somewhat of a vanguard but as I thought we still need a male on the frontline in case of emergencies.

A-Allen has knight duty to attend to so he is currently out of town! Due to the influence of the High Orcs incident, the knight corps and the magic knight corps have merged so they are handling their activities together to maintain the security. [Ester]

Eh? Really? [Tanaka]

Are you serious? I wanted to utter that out loud but I do understand it too.

The blonde haired loli who is the daughter of a big shot was exposed to danger in the recent incident. That must have greatly influenced the result. When you think of it this way, this incident might not be particularly bad for the whole country.

He departed three days ago so I guess he should be in Kiwau town by now. There have been rumours of orc sightings spreading across the neighbourhood so it didnt seem likely that he will be returning in one month. [Ester]

I see. [Tanaka]

Even though it might be a merit to the whole country, it was a demerit to me. Were down to one vanguard now.

Whats wrong? Something troubling you? [Fahren]

Ah not really. Its just that were short of one member than our initial plan now. [Tanaka]

Fumu. [Fahren]

Well, it couldnt be helped for those who cant make it [Tanaka]

Itll be useless even if I kept persisting in it. I should figure out another method in hand that I can use instead. Although I dont think I will be able to make it even if I were to send out job offers to the Adventurers Guild now.

I should start recalling the guidance given by that little girl. What was needed in order to defeat a dragon?

Having friends that you can trust, I think?

I can trust that ikemen.

Hes a good guy.

Even though hes a harem bastard who had group sex with number 2-chan despite having a girlfriend from a noble family, he is still an honest person by nature at the very least. He interacted with me like a gentleman even though I am ugly.

It didnt seem possible to find another talented member as replacement in case of emergencies.

Then it should be fine if we were to pick him up from Kiwau on our way isnt it? [Fahren]

Eh? Can we go there? [Tanaka]

Its just in the vicinity of the capital. It wouldnt take that much time. [Fahren]

Itll be of great help if you can do so. [Tanaka]

I guess its something similar to the light bullet train in Japan. If we were to depart from Tokyo, we will still be making stops at Shinagawa and Shin-Yokohama.

What an accommodating noble mage.

It was good to be able to get to know him. I am indebted to him considerably.

Then the waitress girl will be the last one. Once she arrives, all the members will be fully assembled. [Tanaka]

I see. So essentially, you and I are the two-top ones then? Certainly a useless troop will only be a hindrance. You sure know your stuff dont you! The number of people is not important when it comes to exterminating a dragon. Whats most important is the quality! Quality!! [Fahren]

Eh? Aa no actually [Tanaka]

Fuhahahahahahaha, its been a long time since I last felt the torrent of my magic power seething like this. [Fahren]

.. [Tanaka]

Whatever. I will go along with the conversation accordingly then.

After making the exchanges with the noble mage appropriately and the arrival of the blonde haired loli, a presence could be felt coming from somewhere at the front of the house. Once I directed my senses there, I was able to narrow down the location. There is an individual standing nearby the gate, glancing around as she examined the premises.

That person was looking so nervous that I was starting to feel sorry for her.

She was waiting for an opportunity since she wasnt sure if she should be entering. At the same time she was hesitating since it might be bad if she were to enter.

There werent any other residences in the entire neighbourhood that look as sophisticated as the nobles personal residence.

The last person finally came. [Fahren]

Mu?

Everyone directed their sights to the surrounding of the gate on hearing what the noble mage said.

Sophia-chan could be seen flustering there as she carried a huge furoshiki on her back.

Tears were welling up in her eyes and she looked as if she might escape anytime soon.

Isnt that the daughter of the bar owner from the other day? [Fahren]

I thought we might need someone to serve us meal too. [Tanaka]

I see. So shes your caretaker. If you have notified me beforehand, I dont have any problem arranging one or two maid for you. But well, if that is the case then I dont mind it. Just get her on board. Oi-! [Fahren]

When the noble mage called out to the maid in waiting standing next to him, she rushed over to receive Sophia-chan in a hurry.

So is everyone here? [Fahren]

Yes, thats right. [Tanaka]

Then let us depart. [Fahren]

Overall, this is not a bad party in particular. Nevertheless, if you were to ask for my personal opinion, this is actually not a team that I can be proud of. Since this is the best I have currently, I will just make do with it.

When there is a will, there is a way.

As such, the Red Dragon Subjugation Party finally set off from that place.

This airship is amazing.

At the noble mages instruction, the airship rose several hundred meters above the ground and into the sky in a blink of an eye before gliding through the clouds in a dignified manner. When I gazed out from the deck, I was able to enjoy the spectacle of the vast town below from one end to the other end.

Up ahead, the grassland, forest and mountain range gave off a fantasy-like feeling.

This is seriously a fantasy.

How much longer till we reach Kiwau? [Tanaka]

Well be reaching there really soon. The time taken will be the same as a short light meal. [Fahren]

By the way, how long will it take if we were to take a carriage? [Tanaka]

Itll take about two days I guess. [Fahren]

This airship is certainly fast. [Tanaka]

It was originally an information transmission vessel used in war. It was designed specially as a transportation for the important people. There are no other airships in existence that will fly faster than this one in this world. The core used in the magic stone produced is also of higher quality than the Blue Dragon. [Fahren]

I see. [Tanaka]

The dragon subject popped up again.

I wonder if they are frequently hunted.

I dont really know.

By the way, whos the one piloting this airship? [Tanaka]

Its me. Why do you ask? [Fahren]

Eh? [Tanaka]

Come to think of it, there were no one else on board this airship apart from the members of our party.

I had thought that they will be boarding the airship with the luggage but apparently I was wrong.

In other words, are we the only crew? [Tanaka]

Aa, thats right. [Fahren]

I-I see. [Tanaka]

I was slightly surprised.

As long as we have someone who is comprised with power to a certain degree, we can control it with magic even when we are away from the bridge. We do not need to manually control it precisely with the steering wheel in a calm climate like this. [Fahren]

Certainly when we take the usefulness into consideration, this one-man ship is of great advantage. [Tanaka]

Umu. Thats right. You do understand it quite well, dont you? [Fahren]

I-Is that so. [Tanaka]

Once we are done with this trip, itll be great if you can pay a visit once to my laboratory. Ill show you the shipbuildings document. I have a plan to build a high speed ship with a higher pre-emptive strike output than this one. [Fahren]

Well, Ill do so when I have the opportunity. [Tanaka]

This ossan can be really long-winded when it comes to magic-related topics.

By the way, what happened to the others? [Fahren]

Eh? Aa, that possibly young lady seemed to be experiencing a severe motion sickness and is currently throwing up somewhere in the airship. The Knight-san is looking after her. Also the waitress girl is preparing lunch in the kitchen now. [Tanaka]

Is that so. [Fahren]

The good looking lesbo has a look of ecstasy on her face as she rubbed the back of the blonde haired loli whose face has turned blue as she puked. Their appearances were truly impressive. I have brought her over even though she wasnt able to obtain what she wanted in that rip-off bar last night so currently, she might be in higher tension than usual in trying accomplish what she desires right after that incident.

Anyway, can I ask you a question? [Tanaka]

What? [Fahren]

Ive always wanted to ask him this for a long time so this is a good time to do so.

Its about the time when we first met. Why were you in the bar downtown? There are many other bars that are much better than that one. [Tanaka]

Aa so thats what you were wondering about. [Fahren]

Yes. [Tanaka]

I wonder why someone with such superior magic went to a place like that.

In that bar on that street, there was a woman that gives off a mermaid-like charm and has an allure that is incomparable to any other women. The power and magic she processed are difficult to be made light of too. If one were to fight against someone like that, was it impossible or could that person a male homo or could it be another noble mage? That rumour has reached my ear.1 [Fahren]

Aa. [Tanaka]

Has the downtown sarcasm reached the said person as well?

If only there is a certain magic for it, Id be willing to investigate it. [Fahren]

Its just a person though. [Tanaka]

Seriously. It was really a waste of time. [Fahren]

This ossan has a light footwork when it comes to something that is really related to magic.

(Rinkage: Someone who doesnt hesitate to go somewhere, do anything or join some events, etc.)

Nevertheless, as a result I was able to meet you. In that respect, it might not be a waste of time entirely. We never know what and how things will be connected to each other. [Fahren]

Ee, well true.. [Tanaka]

The mystery was solved.

I felt a little better now.

Well then, I will be taking a short rest in my own room. Let me know once we reached there. [Tanaka]

Umu. I got it. [Fahren]

I parted with the noble mage and went inside the airship.

I headed towards Sophia-chan who was diligently preparing lunch.

Footnote

1.