Theo, Anna, and the flying boots

 
 “Hey, you ok?!”
 
 The courtyard shrubs that a flying something plunged right into.
 
 When I ran over there, the rustling branches and leaves shook, and a face with familiar red hair poked out.
 
 “Ahaha. I made a mistake.”
 
 Anna laughed uncomfortably, and cheerfully came out from between the shrubs.
 
 On her feet were the flying boots I made.
 Seems Anna was practising with the boots and made a mistake in the control.
 
 “Are you alright? Are you not hurt anywhere?”
 
 When I asked so, Anna, who was brushing the leaves from her clothes, smiled pleasantly and nodded.
 
 “Yes. Just before I fell, a fluffy lump of air caught me, so I’m completely unharmed. As expected of Ojou-sama!”
 
 “Haah… the safety device in case of a fall came in handy immediately. Still, it gave me the chills.”
 
 I let out a sigh, and looked at the flying boots I gave Anna just the other day.
 
 
 ☆
 
 
 It happened two months ago, during the assault on the royal castle by the wyverns.
 
 The flying boots I used to intercept the wyverns there became instantly famous through newspaper reports, and I was flooded with requests from various places saying they’d 『like me to sell it』.
 
 『This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to restore this declining workshop!』
 
 For a moment, my eyes sparkled, but I was immediately knocked down by a realistic problem.
 
 With the magic power operation being difficult, keeping your balance is next-to-impossible.
 And when falling by accident, directly hitting the ground as is.
 
 It was originally a magic tool made just for myself, and was extremely unsafe.
 
 In fact, during that time of the wyvern battle, had Otou-sama not caught me when I fainted and fell, I wonder just what could have happened.
 
 Thinking about it calmly, I couldn’t possibly sell it as it was.
 Appropriate improvements were necessary.
 
 
 
 And then that’s how I came to redesigning the flying boots.
 
 『When it comes to safety devices, it’s got to be an airbag!』
 
 ——— and such were my thoughts as I excitedly drew up plans, when suddenly, interference came in from an unexpected place.
 
 『This is extremely useful as military equipment. In addition, there’s a risk of this technology flowing out to other countries』 was the issue, and so general sales were held back by the country.
 
 Certainly, although the flight time is short, these boots can easily rise to considerable heights, and if used well, it’s possible to monitor and observe a battlefield from the sky.
 
 If used in conjunction with the magic rifle in a guerilla-like manner, it could probably become a game-changer on the battlefield.
 
 His Highness Gerald even went as far as to say 『if the safety side of things and the stability could be improved just a bit more, they’d even adopt it as official equipment for the knights order』.
 
 Regardless of whether we aim for general sales or selling it to the country as military equipment, safety measures are essential.
 
 For that reason, I once more began working on improvements for the boots in cooperation with the Royal Capital Workshop.
 
 
 
 Now then.
 So, why was Anna wearing such a dangerous prototype?
 
 Truth is, I tested the first of the completed safety prototypes myself.
 
 If it failed, it’d lead to serious injury at best. At worst, you’d be going to the next world.
 I couldn’t possibly ask someone else to do such a dangerous test.
 
 For now, it passed the air brake activation test in the event of a fall.
 I’d also done the operation stabilisation mechanism’s general operation test.
 
 But, well, there’s also a limit to how much I can test it while flying properly without safety devices.
 
 (I should ask someone else to do prototype 2’s test, but ——— I don’t want to ask someone else to do such a dangerous thing either.)
 
 When I was worrying so, I received a heartfelt appeal from someone.
 
 That was Anna.
 
 
 
 One day, in the afternoon.
 
 While drinking the tea she made for me in the laboratory, at my wit’s end because of that matter, I inadvertently murmured
 
 “Isn’t there someone that could test this for me?”
 
 And then, from behind came the reply of 『I’ll do it!』.
 
 『Huh?』, I replied, turning around.
 Coming from behind me, Anna took my hand.
 
 “Ojou-sama! Absolutely, please let me do that test!!”
 
 She looked me straight in the eye, and appealed so with glittering eyes.
 
 As for me, I hated the idea that my dear attendant would get hurt, so I stopped her countless times saying 『because it’s dangerous』.
 
 But her will was firm, and in the end I entrusted her with the test.
 
 She apparently has an intense admiration for vehicles and moving things.
 
 
 ☆
 
 
 While I was looking at Anna’s prototype flying boots while thinking this, a quizzical voice came flying from behind.
 
 “Hey, what was that just now?”
 
 Turning around, I saw Theo looking this way strangely, his arms folded.
 
 “It’s the prototype flying boots I made. She was doing the tests, but it looks like she lost her balance.”
 
 “Flying——— wait, by any chance, you’re able to fly if you wear that?”
 
 “Yes. Though just for a short amount of time.”
 
 “Seriously…”
 
 Theo stared at Anna’s boots with his eyes wide.
 
 The next instant, he turned around to me with great momentum, and woosh, drew close to my face.
 
 “Letty! This, I also want a pair of these!!”
 
 Theo shouted, his eyes sparkling.
 
 I’ve seen these eyes somewhere before.
 I’m pretty sure some attendant volunteered for the test flight a little while ago with eyes like these.
 
 I sighed, and shook my head side to side.
 
 “——— I really do want to let you have it, but unfortunately I can’t. The country has imposed restrictions on transfers.”
 
 “Restrictions? Why??”
 
 “Because there’s a possibility of it being adopted as military provisions.”
 
 At my words, Theo looked at the flying boots, squinting.
 
 And then, a little while later, he mumbled,
 
 “… I see.”
 
 
 
 “Then, let me wear it just for a bit. That much should be fine, right?”
 
 Saying so, Theo looked at me again, smiling.
 
 Ugh…
 A smile that’s seriously difficult to refuse.
 
 However, that’s also no good.
 
 “Unfortunately, no.”
 
 When I replied, Theo went 『Eeeeeeeh』, pouting.
 
 “Even a little bit isn’t alright? It’s not like I’m thinking of running away with it.”
 
 “I’m not worried about that. I said this earlier, but those boots are still in the trial stage so it’s dangerous. You saw it too, didn’t you? When she plunged straight into the bushes.”
 
 Saying so, I turned to my attendant.
 
 “Ahaha…”
 
 The attendant in question gave a wry laugh with a single leaf stuck in her hair.
 
 Even my dexterous attendant lost her balance.
 It’s definitely still way too dangerous right now.
 
 The boots are operated by performing magic power manipulation from the feet, but few people, unless they’re magic tool specialists, are trained to control magic power to such a fine degree.
 
 In order for anyone to be able to handle it, it’d have to be able to allow for a certain degree of rough input.
 
 The stabilisation mechanism needs even more improvement.
 
 
 
 “I’m not really, bothered about getting hurt.”
 
 Probably not giving up, Theo still grumbled that.
 I replied to him in scolding mode.
 
 “Even if you don’t care, I’ll be troubled! If I let the person whose illness I was asked to examine get hurt while playing with a prototype, I wouldn’t even be able to apologise to His Majesty. In the first place, it’d be a diplomatic issue if a member of another country’s royal family got hurt.”
 
 “Ugh… Well, that’s true.
 
 Faced with my glare, Theo tucked his head in.
 
 Dejected though he was, a moment later he noticed my mistake, and immediately looked at my face.
 
 “L-, Letty? You, just now…”
 
 “Well then. I don’t know anything, and I didn’t say anything.”
 
 Saying so, I gave Theo a meaningful smile.