The Hero King, Reincarnate to Master the Art of War ~And Thus, I Became The Strongest Knight Disciple (♀) in The World~-Chapter 373: Year-Old Inglis and Leone’s Homecoming (1)

—On the outskirts of the city of Arlman.

“Wow! She was right; the Flying Battleship is in Arlman!”

Aboard the Star Princess unit, Rafinha clung to Eris as the Hyrule Menace operated the control stick. Given their smaller bodies, piloting a flygear was challenging for both Inglis and Rafinha, leaving Eris to take the reins.

“So, the restoration is complete,” Eris murmured.

Hovering over the city of Arlman was a flying battleship, situated directly above a cathedral that once housed a Prisma. The cathedral itself was amidst extensive renovations, surrounded by a flurry of activity and newly erected scaffolding.

With the Prisma revived and defeated, Arlman had lost its status as a central monitoring location. However, the city was on the cusp of transformation, soon to become a military base for Flying Battleships.

Originally a part of General Rochefort’s Venefian army, this battleship had attacked the Chiral Royal Capital head-on before being downed and captured by Inglis. Now, under the leadership of Special Envoy Theodore and Principal Miliera, the students had collaborated to restore it to operational status.

“Aah! They’re changing our colors!” Rafinha pouted, her cheeks puffing in frustration.

“Well, maybe the pink was a bit excessive,” Inglis tried to soothe her. “This is going to serve as the flagship for a new knight order. A flashier color might not be practical.”

During the repair work at the Knight Academy, Rafinha and Pullum had painted the battleship entirely pink. However, given its future military role, the color was deemed inappropriate. The Star Princess unit might be pink, but it was a private unit, not a public flagship. Even its girlish pink hue and sparkling, animated eyes were the collaborative artistic efforts of Rafinha and Pullum.

“Muuu… Pullum and I really worked hard on painting it, you know.”

“Now, now. Look, it might not be pink anymore, but the eyes are still there, right?”

Indeed, the expressive eyes that Rafinha and Pullum had drawn were still visible on the side of the hull. That’s how Rafinha recognized the Flying Battleship, despite its new color scheme.

In her letter, Leone indicated that a new chivalric order would be established, with that particular battleship serving as its flagship. In Charalia, the kingdom already has two orders: the Holy Knight Order, whose primary duty is to combat Magic Stone Beasts, and the Imperial Guard Order, focused on protecting the royal capital and the royal family. This would mark the formation of the kingdom’s third chivalric order. Although its roles would ostensibly be split between the existing two orders, Inglis couldn’t help but wonder about the specific mission of this new organization.

Inglis wasn’t privy to the details; all Leone mentioned was that the battleship would be relocated to Arlman and that the new chivalric order would be based there. Nevertheless, she was relieved that she didn’t have to make an unnecessary trip to the royal capital, especially since Special Envoy Theodore was also coming to the city.

“That said, Leone is truly diligent, or perhaps, straight-laced. She could’ve waited until after the holiday to thank us.”

“She’s just that elated. Good for her.”

“I must say, what you both accomplished is remarkable. Well done.”

Upon hearing about the situation from Inglis during their journey, Eris lavished them with praise.

““Thank you very much.”” Inglis and Rafinha responded, smiles gracing their lips.

“…It almost seems a shame to revert things back to their original state,” Eris said, her face brimming with smiles. ｂｅ𝚍𝚗𝚘ｖｅ𝚕．ｃ𝚘𝚖

What Inglis and Rafinha had done concerned Leone’s family home, the Olpha residence. Initially, Leone planned to leave her family house and move to the capital upon enrolling in the Knight Academy. The Olpha residence had become a symbol of betrayal and animosity for the people of Arlman, not to mention Leone was short on funds for her future tuition and other expenses.

However, if Inglis and Rafinha offered financial assistance, Leone would likely decline, given her reserved nature. So, the two consulted with Raphael to covertly repurchase the Olpha residence without Leone’s knowledge, ensuring she could return to it whenever she wished.

In fact, when they approached Raphael about the plan, the young Holy Knight had already taken the actions they’d been contemplating.

Now on break from the Knight Academy, Leone had returned to her hometown to help rebuild the town, which had been damaged in the Prisma battle. To her surprise, she discovered the Olpha residence still stood. Upon talking to the merchant to whom she’d sold the house, she learned it was still her property and she could call it home. Wasting no time, she penned a thank-you letter, an action very much in line with the earnest Leone.

“So, where to first? The Olpha residence?”

“Yes!”

“Lead the way, Miss Eris. It’s in that vicinity.”

Guided by Inglis, the Star Princess unit set its course for the Olpha residence.

Soon enough, the mansion appeared in sight, looking just as it had during their previous visit. It boasted a spacious ground and a grand front gate, yet its garden remained devoid of trees or plants.

A notable difference, however, was a gathering of people in front of the mansion’s gate, seemingly trying to peek through the fences.