After delivering the girls from the search squad back to Major Fortress #606, Axel felt something was wrong.

Without much hesitation, he rode the aircraft once more and flew back to where Fenrir was.

But just as he arrived, he saw a black dome appear out of nowhere, devouring literally everything ahead.

"Whoa?!"

Even Axel almost got caught up in the wide-range dome of darkness!

With quick reflexes, he pulled the stick, rising vertically to avoid a direct collision... but the event itself still made him uneasy.

'No way... did something happen to Fenrir?!' Such thoughts circled in his chaotic mind.

To confirm, he called forth Gleipnir, which appeared without trouble, connecting him with Fenrir through the long ethereal golden chain. Chains that, despite being physical objects, could also pass through obstacles like the aircraft walls without damaging them.

The chains pointed straight down, which reassured Axel.

At least Fenrir was still there.

Almost the same time he released Gleipnir, the black dome vanished. It didn't fade slowly but disappeared in an instant—like a movie skipping a few frames.

Axel stood up, barking commands to the little penguin.

"Navi! Hover over Fenrir's location!"

Navi mumbled a few words before following the command. In one go, they lowered their altitude to about 50 meters above the ground. The aircraft pointed all four thrusters downward, hovering like a helicopter.

"Fenrir...!"

Axel opened the door and shouted.

He saw her lying on the ground, battered and bleeding. She glanced up, looking at him while whispering something he couldn't catch due to both the distance and the wild, gushing winds.

"...!"

Axel's body moved before he could think. He jumped out of the aircraft...!

Of course, he had no parachute or anything.

Falling from 50 meters would be fatal to a normal person... but Axel landed without trouble, creating a small crater on the ground.

Right—he now had stats equivalent to 5% of Fenrir's.

In short, since Fenrir could move around, jumping over 50 meters and landing without problems, there was no way Axel couldn't handle that much himself!

"Fenrir, hey!" He rushed to her side and lifted her body.

As he did, he realized that despite her wounded state, she was breathing normally. Her pulse was normal, too, along with her temperature.

She just looked like she fainted from fatigue.

"But her mana..." Axel frowned. "Did she use all her mana in the fight?"

As he speculated, he popped a Greater Mana Potion and poured it down her throat.

It was forceful but necessary—after all, mana was essential to living beings. If they run out of it, their lives could be in danger.

After seeing her throat move, swallowing the potion, and the mana inside her recovering instantly, Axel let out a relieved sigh.

"Good..."

Soon, Navi landed the aircraft and welcomed Axel aboard once more.

With Fenrir lying on the floor (there was nowhere else to put her safely), they quickly turned back to the fortress.

"Are you... really human?"

As they reached the fortress, Mimir couldn't help but grumble.

"The amount of mana you used driving this thing, adding the consumption for the weapon system... no normal man could supply that much mana!"

For the roughly five-minute drive and several minutes of blasting away, he should've consumed around 5,000 points of mana. Without a mana stone or mana engine, that was a quantity a human shouldn't be able to handle.

"Huh...?"

'Then why did you let me use it?'

Axel wanted to say that, but decided against it.

"Well, my mana is over 10,000 after all... This much is nothing."

He wasn't one to check his status all the time, but after the thing with Fenrir, he still remembered his stats. And even if he did use up his mana, with the Greater Mana Potions in his stash, he could replenish it anytime.

"You... you're a fucking cheat in flesh," Mimir complained. "And you! Dumb penguin! Why did you allow such a man to get this strong?! If a human can get this powerful, then why did my master have to..."

"Hey, stop right there." Axel raised a hand, expression sour. "You sound like a divorcee bringing up her past lover, and that's reviving unsavory memories for me."

Her words made him curious, though.

What happened to Mimir's previous contractor? How did he die, even with overpowered weapons like this aircraft? Would the same thing happen to Axel?

Although he was curious, knowing such things now wouldn't help.

"Let's go."

Right now, there were a lot of things he'd rather focus on.

And Mimir's ex wasn't on that list.

…

With Axel and Nina's successful return, things became busy.

They had an audience with the Queen, reported what happened, relayed Vulcanus' elimination, held a meeting with Viola and the other Shamans, another meeting with Queen Wisteria discussing various matters, and so on.

Nina was one thing, since she was a princess, but Axel felt exhausted from all of it...

Thus, when he learned of the feast and parade coming up later that day...

"I'm leaving for the frontlines! Don't look for me...!"

Axel escaped.

Meeting with Viola and the Shamans was more than enough. He didn't need anything from the populace. A parade was just a waste of his energy.

He'd rather resume capturing and repairing fortresses—completing his task—than deal with that.

"Well, no matter the dimension, nobles only know how to waste time." Even Mimir agreed.

[True, true. As expected of Miss Mimir~!] And Navi was doing his best to suck up to her.

Seeing their interaction, as if a man desperately wooing a woman...

'Do system spirits even do... that sort of stuff?'

Axel couldn't help wondering as they arrived outside Major Fortress #606 once more. He knew Navi was a perverted bastard, but he thought it was limited to voyeurism.

"Well then..."

Pushing aside those thoughts, he turned around and observed his entourage... with a few new faces included. Seeing them, Axel felt pressure—or rather, that this was inappropriate.

"Are you really coming with us...? It's dangerous as hell, you know?" he asked, turning to the two new faces.

"Yes, Sir. Please allow us to accompany you in your endeavor."

"I-I will do my best!"

"..."

Princess Penelope and Princess Gwyneth joined the party!

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