Chapter 43: A Disgraced Hero’s Grand Entrance [Part 2]

Chapter 43. A Disgraced Hero’s Grand Entrance [Part 2]

I sighed. "Just don’t sell the jewelry I made for you."

Nia’s grin widened. "Don’t worry about it!"

"Guys!" Lily’s voice rang out from the mansion entrance.

I turned.

She and Ariel were approaching with several boxes.

Large boxes.

Suspiciously large boxes.

Lily had changed into a beautiful dress that suited her bright, mischievous personality, her golden-green hair decorated with tiny floral ornaments.

I recognized the boxes immediately.

Family-sized food containers.

I stared. "Lily. We’re going to a banquet. There will be food."

"I know!"

"Then why are you bringing enough supplies to feed a small expedition?"

She blinked. "Those are snacks."

I looked at the boxes. Then at her. "Snacks?"

Ariel lifted the ones she was carrying. "And wine."

I slowly turned toward her. "Snacks and wine?"

"For the journey," Lily explained.

I inhaled. Prepared a perfectly reasonable argument.

Then noticed Seris’s expression. She looked interested.

Liora was smiling.

Nia’s ears had perked up.

"It’s like a picnic," Nia said.

"In the air," Liora added.

Seris nodded. "That actually sounds pleasant."

Lily beamed.

Ariel smiled at me.

Five pairs of eyes.

One exhausted husband.

I could already see the outcome.

Five against one.

A devastating defeat.

I lowered my head. "Fine."

Victory erupted across their faces.

Wonderful.

I’d defeated monsters, survived a curse, and begun dismantling an intertribes spy network.

But apparently, I couldn’t stop five women from organizing an airborne picnic.

Lily stepped closer and held out two boxes. "Can you carry these for us?"

Ariel offered another. "Please?"

I looked at the boxes.

Some things were apparently universal.

Ancient era.

Modern era.

Didn’t matter.

A husband still ended up carrying his wife’s bags.

Or, in this case, enough food to survive a siege.

I accepted the boxes with a long-suffering huff and slipped them into my Dimensional Storage Ring.

Lily smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Rey!"

Ariel kissed my cheek.

Oh, well. That helped.

A little.

The remaining boxes went into the carriage with Ariel, Nia, and Liora.

Those contained the snacks and drinks they intended to enjoy during the flight.

The rest were safely stored with me.

Because apparently, I was now a flying pantry.

The Cloudcrest Rocs spread their enormous wings.

Their handlers checked the harnesses one final time before stepping back.

Inside the carriage, Ariel settled into her seat while Liora inspected the interior formations.

Nia leaned toward the window, looking delighted.

I stepped away and raised my hand. "Voidwind Manipulation."

A gentle current flowed beneath the carriage.

The suspension formation awakened.

Its crystal panels glimmered.

Slowly, the wheels lifted from the courtyard stones.

One meter.

Two.

Five.

The Cloudcrest Rocs beat their wings.

The carriage rose smoothly.

No shaking.

No sudden pressure changes.

No unpleasant grinding noises from the frame.

Excellent.

I watched the formation channels carefully as the carriage climbed above the estate.

Stable.

My shoulders finally relaxed.

Beside me, Seris’s phoenix wings unfurled in a brilliant sweep of crimson and gold.

Lily’s delicate fairy wings shimmered as she rose into the air.

I summoned Voidwind beneath my feet.

And followed.

The estate grew smaller below us.

The mine lay beyond the forest, its newly constructed buildings visible between the trees.

Farther ahead, the road toward the capital wound through hills and farmland.

Three hours.

That was our estimated travel time by air.

Three hours of clear skies, beautiful scenery, and five princesses enjoying a picnic several hundred meters above the ground.

I glanced at the carriage.

Nia was already waving through the window.

Ariel smiled beside her.

Liora lifted her glass.

Just like that, our airborne picnic started.

And honestly?

It was incredible.

Forget first class. Forget private jets. This was the sort of luxury that would make a billionaire stare out of his aircraft window and wonder where he’d gone wrong in life.

Inside the crystal carriage, Ariel sang softly while Nia sipped wine with the satisfied expression of a woman who’d successfully turned a royal engagement into a vacation. Liora leaned toward the open window and passed Seris a snack as she flew alongside us.

Seris accepted it without slowing down.

Lily, meanwhile, was happily munching on a small flower-shaped cake.

I smiled and looked below.

A village drifted past beneath us. Farmers stopped working. Children pointed skyward. One man stood in the middle of a road with his mouth hanging open.

Understandable.

A crystal carriage pulled by enormous birds wasn’t exactly an everyday sight.

"Rey, try a bit!"

Lily appeared beside me, holding out her cake.

I glanced at it.

We weren’t flying particularly fast, so the delicate petals of icing were still perfectly intact.

I leaned over and took a bite.

Oh, that was good.

Sweet, soft, with a faint floral fragrance.

I nodded approvingly.

Lily’s cheeks turned pink. "Come on. Eat more."

Well, if she insisted.

I leaned in again, taking the remaining cake directly from her fingers.

Lily held perfectly still as my lips closed around the last soft bite. A few crumbs clung to her fingertips, and I caught them with a slow, playful brush of my tongue before drawing back.

Her breath hitched.

Oh? Interesting.

I let my gaze linger on her face, watching the pink in her cheeks deepen. Then I gave her the sort of smirk that had absolutely no business appearing several hundred meters above the ground.

"Delicious."

I wasn’t looking at the cake anymore.

Lily noticed.

Her lips parted, but whatever she’d intended to say never made it out. Her eyes widened. The tips of her ears turned red, and her wings gave one frantic flutter.

Then another.

Then... Nothing.

They stopped moving entirely.

For one glorious, deeply unfortunate second, my fairy princess simply hung in the air, staring at me.

Ah, I might have overdone it.

She dropped.

I lunged downward, caught her around the waist, and pulled her against my chest before she’d fallen more than a few feet.

Her wings fluttered uselessly. "Lily, are you okay?"

Nothing.

She stared at me.

Completely blank.

Ah... Excellent.

Lily.exe had encountered a fatal error.

I adjusted my hold, supporting her securely as I resumed flying.

Apparently, flirting with my fairy wife in the middle of the sky was a terrible idea.

Noted.

Behind us, Seris laughed so hard she nearly dropped her snack.

I ignored her.

For the remainder of the journey, Lily stayed in my arms, occasionally hiding her burning face against my shoulder.

And when the capital’s magnificent walls finally appeared on the horizon, I spotted the royal palace rising beyond them.

Three hours.

One airborne picnic.

One temporarily malfunctioning fairy.

And now, at last, we’d arrived at the king’s palace.