Chapter 56: Of Course, It’s No Ordinary Airplane
The time to finally leave Japan had arrived.
The airplane carrying the students roared as it soared high into the sky.
Gazing down out the window, the students watched Japan grow smaller and smaller with a sense of longing, yet their hearts were filled with anticipation for Hawaii.
The aircraft, which had been steadily ascending, finally stabilized, and a relaxed atmosphere settled in.
Normally, an aircraft might experience turbulence depending on the weather, but the one they were on was a masterpiece created by Kazuma and Kurashige Industries.
It was an all-weather craft, equipped with armaments, making it the ultimate machine capable of handling any situation.
However, it had two drawbacks.
One was the inclusion of a self-destruct mechanism.
This stemmed from the romantic notion of wanting to perform a kamikaze attack if a large number of Ibinom appeared in the sky, but since its armaments included an Electromagnetic Barrier, the need for a self-destruct attack was almost non-existent.
And then, there was the transformation feature.
It was designed to transform into a robot at the pilot’s discretion, but the specifications completely disregarded the passengers.
That said, transforming with passengers still on board would undoubtedly result in fatalities, so an announcement would be made inside the cabin before transformation, instructing everyone to secure themselves with safety belts.
However, there was no guarantee that the passengers could withstand high-speed aerial combat.
If ordinary people with no training whatsoever were caught up in it, the outcome would likely be tragic.
Naturally, this would lead to complaints, but there was insurance for such an eventuality.
When boarding this airplane, one would undoubtedly be recommended to get insurance.
“It’s not shaking at all…”
Souji, having stood up from his seat out of boredom and moved towards Kazuma, was surprised that he didn’t feel any shaking at all.
“…Where on earth was this aircraft made?”
Yayoi, similarly, showed interest in the airplane.
Perhaps because she was the daughter of the Tennoji Zaibatsu, she found an airplane built with technology unknown to her extremely intriguing, her eyes gleaming with the desire to know more.
While the students were excitedly chatting in a friendly atmosphere, the door separating business class from economy class opened, and Tsukimi, dressed in a suit, approached Kazuma.
“You’re Satsuki Kazuma-kun, correct?”
“Eh, ah, yes.”
Suddenly having his name called, Kazuma feigned confusion.
Tsukimi, impressed by his consistently good acting, lied, saying that the Crimson Knight was calling for him.
“The Crimson Knight is calling for you. Would you mind accompanying me?”
“Understood. Should I just follow you?”
“Yes. The Crimson Knight is in first class, and you can’t enter without a passkey. So, I will guide you.”
“Thank you.”
Kazuma stood up and turned to the stunned student council members.
“Well then, I’m off! You don’t need to worry, it’ll be fine!”
Saying that, Kazuma moved towards first class with Tsukimi.
The remaining students found the mystery surrounding Kazuma deepening, but they decided it was pointless to dwell on it now and focused solely on the Hawaii training camp.
First class, a joint creation of Kazuma and Kurashige Industries, had its space expanded, and the perceived passage of time was slowed, making the travel time feel shorter.
In a spacious area resembling the dance hall of a luxury liner, VIPs were seated on high-class sofas, engaged in pleasant conversation.
Then, Tsukimi arrived, leading Kazuma.
The VIPs who noticed Kazuma beamed with wide smiles and approached him.
“Yo, Kazuma! That little act you put on in the lounge gave me a good laugh.”
“Long time no see, King~! How have you been?”
“You bet! More importantly, thanks for liberating Hawaii. I can handle exterminating Ibinom on the Big Island, but dealing with them in the ocean is a bit tough for me.”
“Well, that’s just a matter of right person for the right job. By the way, have you been to Hawaii yet? You can fly, so you could get there in no time, right?”
“Nah, haven’t seen it yet. I’ve heard about it from the President, though. Something about it being so amazing it’ll make you weak in the knees.”
“Yeah! Look forward to it. I’m sure you’ll be pleased.”
“Hah hah! I’m looking forward to that.”
As King, in high spirits with a drink in hand, stepped back, Cruz, also known as King Arthur, the leader of the British Gifted corps, the Knights of the Round Table, who had been invited by Kazuma, offered his greetings.
“Thank you for inviting me on this occasion, Crimson Knight.”
“No need to be so formal. Just call me Kazuma normally.”
“In that case, I’ll call you Kazuma with affection. But, are you sure about this? Inviting all of us, the Knights of the Round Table?”
“No problem. With my spatial magic, I can send all of you back to Britain in an instant. So, just relax and enjoy your vacation.”
“Haha, you’re truly extraordinary. But thanks to that, we can enjoy this vacation to the fullest, so we must be grateful. Thank you very much for this time. I’ll be sure to repay this debt someday.”
Cruz and all the Knights of the Round Table bowed to Kazuma with respect and returned to their seats.
“It’s been a while, Kazuma-kun. Have you grown a bit taller?”
“It has been a while, Overlord. Of course, I’m in the middle of a growth spurt, so I’ve gotten taller.”
The Overlord, wearing a custom-made suit that looked like it was about to burst from his massive pectoral muscles, shook hands with Kazuma.
Seeing the Overlord in his skin-tight suit, Kazuma was reminded of his former comrades and looked at him with deep emotion.
“Hm? Is something wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing. More importantly, how are you finding it here?”
“Simply the best. I never imagined you could create such a space inside an airplane. Is this all thanks to your ability?”
“Well, I’ll leave that to your imagination.”
“Hahahaha. You won’t tell me that easily, huh? Well, no matter. For now, let’s enjoy this journey through the sky.”
“Please, enjoy yourselves.”
With a light wave, the Overlord departed from Kazuma’s side.
And next to approach Kazuma was Sun King Al Shams.
Al Shams, who wore hardly any flashy accessories, just a golden necklace, yet exuded an aura of majesty, offered Kazuma a handshake.
“My, oh my, you never cease to amaze me.”
“You’ll be even more surprised when we arrive in Hawaii.”
“I look forward to that. By the way, changing the subject, is this airplane not for sale? If possible, I’d like to purchase one for personal use.”
“Ah, if that’s the case, could you discuss it with the Prime Minister? We’re not currently considering selling them.”
“I see. That’s good to know. I’ll inquire later.”
“Please go easy on him, okay?”
“Hahaha, he’s a man who has the Crimson Knight as a subordinate. If anything, I’m the one who’d like to be gone easy on.”
Al Shams was mistaken about one thing.
Japan wasn’t keeping the Crimson Knight.
The Crimson Knight was allowing Japan to ‘keep’ him.
He served a role somewhat like a watchdog, but he wasn’t leashed; he basically moved around freely, so Japan couldn’t control him either.
That said, since he left diplomacy entirely to the government, Al Shams’s judgment wasn’t wrong. However, whether they would sell it or not depended on negotiations.
“Honestly… Do you want to reveal that you’re the Crimson Knight? Or do you want to keep it a secret?”
“Both!”
Ema grumbled at Kazuma, who had just put on that self-staged act in the airport lounge.
In response, Kazuma’s blatantly desire-filled answer troubled Ema.
He was a good kid at heart, but his tendency to go wild was a flaw.
Ema wondered if there was any way to get him to calm down, but then let out a huge sigh, thinking that time would surely never come.
“Hahahahaha! You have it tough too, Ema!”
“President… I think I understand just a little bit how you felt when you had your hands full with King.”
“You say the most interesting things. King, at least, shows consideration for us, so it’s not that tough, you know?”
“He shows consideration too, but…”
The trouble was, Kazuma’s consideration sometimes turned into poison.
People would suffer from stress-induced gastroenteritis, increased hair loss, or fall into insomnia, breaking down both mentally and physically.
What’s worse, Kazuma, the root cause of it all, would instantly heal any illnesses or injuries with magic, making it the worst kind of manufactured problem and solution.
What was particularly bad was that he himself wasn’t very aware of it.
The Japanese government understood that he was doing it with good intentions, but they constantly wrung their hands, wishing he would be a little more considerate.
“Kazuma!”
“Kazuma-san!”
“Oh! Alicia, Charlotte! Have you two been well?”
“Yes, of course! I was lonely not being able to see you, Kazuma.”
“Me too! I’ve been so busy lately I couldn’t see Kazuma-san, and it was so boring…”
“Oh, is that so…? My bad. But, let’s have a ton of fun today! Hawaii has a lot of interesting things because my friends and I have given it the Modified Fiend treatment! Let’s go check them out together!”
“That sounds good, but aren’t you supposed to be at the academy’s training camp or something, Kazuma?”
“Oh, right…! Well, I can just make up some excuse and sneak out midway, right!”
“As expected of Kazuma-san!”
“Right? Hahahaha!”
Flattered by Charlotte, Kazuma, who had laughed heartily, regained his composure and looked at the two of them again.
They were now wearing dresses, and seeing the two of them, whose charm was even greater than usual, Kazuma gave his honest impression.
“You two really are beautiful! Your dresses look great and refreshing too!”
“…S-saying that so suddenly is unfair.”
“Ehehe~! Does it suit me, Kazuma-san?”
“Yeah! It suits both of you! You look amazing!”
As Kazuma gave a thumbs-up, the two of them smiled happily.
Just then, Momoko, looking exasperated, and Sakura Hakanai, laughing as if amused, approached.
“You’re as energetic as ever, aren’t you?”
“Momoko-chan!”
“…Somehow, isn’t his voice louder than when he was talking to us?”
“It’s definitely louder. Perhaps she’s the number one love rival, wouldn’t you say?”
Momoko was also clad in a dress, exuding a different charm than usual.
Perhaps because she usually looked like a knock-off JK, the gap was so striking that Kazuma also got a little excited.
“Seeing you in a dress, I can tell you’re a proper adult woman! You’re sexy, Momoko-chan!”
“Hmph!”
“Guhaah!?”
He could have just said she looked mature, but calling her sexy instead was just like Kazuma.
Momoko was also a little embarrassed, but she couldn’t overlook Kazuma’s comment, so she mercilessly punched him in the stomach.
“Fufu, at least it’s not boring, is it~”
“O-Oh…”
In front of Kazuma, who was crouching and clutching his stomach, was Sakura Hakanai, dressed up just like Momoko and the others.
As expected, perhaps because she was a former cabaret girl, it suited her, but there was a slight touch of vulgarity. However, some might argue that’s precisely what made it good.
“Hmm. You, somehow, don’t really turn me on that much.”
“Even though I’m different from usual too?”
“Because you’re always sexy, it feels like even in a dress, it’s just… more of the same.”
“Then, what if I wore a T-shirt, jeans, and an apron, like your mother?”
“That would have a bit of an immoral thrill to it, which I think would be quite wonderful, yes.”
“So honest~”
After such a silly conversation, Kazuma slowly stood up.
Surrounded by the group of women, Kazuma was guided to an empty table, and he ended up enjoying a cabaret club atmosphere until they arrived in Hawaii.
“Yahooo! Bring out the most expensive booze!!!”