The Abandoned Prince Heals an Enemy Soldier on the Frontlines, Only to Discover She’s the Seventh Imperial Princess - Chapter 68: The Abandoned Prince Feels the Romance

Chapter 68: The Abandoned Prince Feels the Romance

“W-What the heck is this!? Why is everything floating!? Wait—wait!! Is this… is this Laputa!? Laputa’s real after all!?”

“C-Calm down, Nayuta! Deep breaths!”

It happened just yesterday.

Agardramoon took off—literally.

The entire nation was now floating in the sky, waving goodbye to all the surrounding enemy countries below.

And today, while I was just relaxing in my room, minding my own business,

A girl suddenly burst through the door and grabbed me by the collar out of nowhere.

That girl was none other than Nayuta Asougi—

A Japanese high schooler summoned by the old Agarham Kingdom.

I had seen her briefly after coming back from that other continent,

But she looked super busy, so we only managed a quick hello.

Still… leave it to a Japanese person.

The moment she saw the flying country, her brain immediately jumped to Laputa.

She’s clearly done her Ghibli homework.

“Wait, Nayuta, you didn’t know? I thought the Prime Minister passed along the info about the plan.”

“Lady Olga is not that considerate, okay!!”

Apparently, Nayuta was currently studying under the Prime Minister, being groomed to become the next one.

Her cheat ability, Wisdom, was absolutely busted.

Sure, just the fact that it lets her “know things she doesn’t know” is already amazing—

But the real terror lies in how she uses it.

She can find the shortest possible route to achieve anything.

Like, let’s say Nayuta suddenly decided she wanted to conquer the world.

Her Wisdom would instantly figure out exactly what she needs to pull it off—

All the right people, resources, steps, and even how to get them all on her side.

Honestly, it’s absurd.

I thought my own Perfect Regeneration was broken,

But Wisdom is a whole other level of cheat.

“And yet you didn’t know about this?”

“Lady Olga told me I shouldn’t rely too much on Wisdom just because it’s convenient!!”

From the sound of it, Nayuta was using Wisdom more like a reference tool.

She’d come up with her own ideas first,

Then compare them against what Wisdom suggested to find flaws and improve.

Huh… That’s actually a smart way to use it.

“So, what happens now?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, are we just gonna float around up here forever?”

“Oh, right. Alcarion mentioned that we’re planning to land near the ocean at some point to secure resources. The area’s way east of the Eastern Bloc—around some tiny scattered islands.”

I hate to say it, but Agardramoon’s resource situation was kind of a disaster.

They’d dismantled warships, rerouted nearly all the country’s remaining resources into powering the floating system…

Which led to a serious metal shortage across the nation.

So, the plan now was to land on the ocean temporarily and mine the seabed for resources.

And finding a spot rich with materials?

Yeah, that didn’t take long.

Actually, Alcarion just activated her special eye powers and spotted one right away.

She’s amazing, seriously.

“Mining resources from the ocean floor… Feels kinda modern, huh?”

“Right? Apparently, they’re planning to drill into it using some massive, heavy-duty drill. After that, the country will take off again, and trade will be limited to wyvern air transport or something.”

So yeah, even though Agardramoon was now an airborne nation, it wasn’t cutting ties with the ground completely.

They’d keep trading through aerial shipments using wyverns.

Which, by the way, caused a shift in demand—

Transport wyverns were now way more popular than combat ones.

Still… I couldn’t shake a certain feeling of unease.

“Hey, Nayuta. I wanna ask you something… Mind checking it out with Wisdom?”

“What is it?”

“Do you think… airplanes will ever get invented in this world?”

“…”

For some reason, modern weapons like guns had suddenly started popping up in this world.

I used to think that in a world where anyone with magic power could cast spells—

Super convenient destructive spells at that—

There’d be no reason for guns to ever evolve.

But hey, I was just a clueless amateur.

If people without magic had enough resources, it only made sense they’d create weapons that could kill with a single bullet.

And if guns could develop…

Then there’s no reason even more advanced weapons couldn’t show up too.

What worried me most was Agardramoon’s air superiority.

Right now, that mostly meant wyverns—

But what if a modern weapon came along that could rival or surpass them?

I’m talking about armed aircraft. Fighter jets.

If something like that showed up, it’d be a huge crisis.

Now that Agardramoon had relocated to the skies, its entire survival might depend on those transport wyverns.

Sure, they’d probably have military wyverns escorting the cargo flights—

But still…

“Military tech always evolves to become faster and stronger, after all.”

“Exactly. If a fighter jet ever appears that can outpace a wyvern, Agardramoon would be finished.”

As long as wyverns remain dominant in aerial warfare, things should be fine.

But if something like a supersonic jet enters the picture, it’s over.

The only one I know who can fly at that kind of speed is Salion.

And if a new kind of air force shows up that completely outclasses wyverns—

Agardramoon’s trade routes would be cut off instantly.

Once that happens…

It’s game over.

“…I see. I’ll look into it a bit more.”

Seems Nayuta picked up on what I was really getting at.

With a serious look on her face, she activated Wisdom and began digging deeper into the possibility.

A few minutes later—

“…It’s not zero.”

Oof. Seriously?

She couldn’t say when it might happen,

But according to Nayuta’s Wisdom, it’s totally within the realm of possibility.

Great. That’s… concerning.

“Um, Reyshel? I just had a brilliant idea.”

“A brilliant idea?”

“Yes!! What if we just… floated an entire battleship and made it into an airborne warship!? That way we could carry tons of supplies at once, and even if airplanes show up, we’d be ready! Like—BOOM! Massive cannons and everything!!”

“Uh… I dunno. Airplanes versus a big ol’ battleship sounds like a recipe for getting shot down. But hey, I get what you’re going for.”

Honestly, I was kinda surprised Nayuta was into the whole big ships and giant guns mindset.

But I totally got it.

That kind of stuff is pure romance.

“I’m gonna go pitch it to Lady Yelona right now!!”

And before I could even try to stop her, Nayuta dashed off to go find Yelona.

A few minutes later—

She came trudging back with her shoulders slumped in defeat.

“I was all excited to pitch the idea, but turns out… someone already beat me to it.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. Apparently, they’re planning to convert one of the old warships they never got around to dismantling into an airborne battleship for homeland defense or something like that.”

“…Why do you look so crushed about it?”

“Well, I had this image in my head… like Space Battleship Yamato, you know? But when Yelona showed me the actual design, it looked way more like a flying UFO. Total ‘not what I wanted’ vibes…”

“O-Oh… I get it.”

Yeah, same here.

The moment someone says ‘flying battleship,’ I immediately picture the good old space-faring Yamato.

But if Yelona sketched out a design that looked more like a UFO, there was probably a reason—maybe it’s just more practical that way.

Still, I couldn’t help but be curious.

A flying saucer-style warship? That’s some solid sci-fi flavor.

I’d definitely have to ask Yelona to show me the blueprints later. Yeah, I’ll do that.

“…Hm? Nayuta?”

“It’s nothing. I just realized… it’s been a while since I got to spend some quiet time with you.”

I was about to plop down on the couch and read something random,

But then Nayuta sat down beside me—and leaned in close.

Now that she mentioned it, we had been too busy lately to hang out like this.

And the moment I realized that—

My faithful sword reacted.

…Yeah. I couldn’t stop myself anymore.

“You know, Reyshel… you kinda remind me of this boy who used to live in my neighborhood.”

“Uh… where’d that come from all of a sudden?”

She brought it up just after we’d finished doing the deed.

Totally random.

“We were childhood friends. Super close. We even dated for a little while.”

“…Okay. And then?”

“But then he suddenly tried to get all pushy about doing it, and I got kinda scared and turned him down… and the next thing I knew, he dumped me for some foreign transfer student.”

“…How am I supposed to react to being compared to that guy?”

Ouch. That hit harder than expected.

Seeing me deflate a little, Nayuta hurried to clarify.

“N-No! That’s not what I meant!! I meant, you remind me of how he used to be—before he got all weird. Like, you don’t scare me at all. Being with you just feels… safe.”

“O-Oh… I see.”

“Yeah!! And the way you go all in when I’m the one making the move? It’s seriously adorable!”

…Well, let’s just take that as a compliment and be happy about it.

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[Afterword]

A Random Tidbit

Author: “The plot… just won’t move forward!! (slams desk)”

R: “Romance is important.”

If you found yourself thinking: “Flying battleships are so cool,” “UFO-style ships are kinda awesome,” or “Take your time, I’m enjoying the ride,” —then please consider leaving a comment, bookmark, ★ rating, or review!