“Well, I’m going to bed now anyway. I’m too sleepy.”

Arasila yawned softly and stretched, leaning her upper body over the desk.

Seeing the front of her dress open slightly due to her casual indoor attire, Demian hurriedly lowered his gaze.

It wasn’t like much skin was showing, but he felt embarrassed that his eyes might wander there unnecessarily.

His downward gaze fell on his own neat appearance. Even though he was dressed comfortably in just a shirt, he couldn’t completely let his guard down in front of Arasila, so the buttons were fastened up to his neck.

“When are you going to sleep?”

“…I still have some work left to do. Don’t worry about me and go to bed first.”

“Alright then. Don’t overdo it and get some rest. I’m off.”

Arasila waved her hand and left, yawning as if she was really sleepy. Left alone in the office, Demian quietly tackled the remaining work.

A moment later, after finishing everything, he rubbed his tired eyes and suddenly thought.

‘It’s empty.’

Unlike usual when they would tidy up together, with Arasila having gone back first, the office felt excessively quiet and spacious.

Demian found it ridiculous that he was already having such thoughts, considering how short a time they’d been sharing the office.

‘…Did I really let her in for nothing?’

He gazed intently at Arasila’s neatly arranged desk.

Sharing the office wasn’t bothersome, it wasn’t noisy, it wasn’t messy or busy.

He had thought that with her being so tidy and neat in many ways, it would be as if she hadn’t been there at all when she left, but it seems he had misjudged.

‘Ah… What am I thinking right now?’

It was a luxury to have serious concerns about a relationship that would end in a few years. There was no need to attach such weighty emotions to the other person.

Demian, who had just now comfortably unbuttoned a few buttons of his shirt, lay down on the sofa and closed his eyes.

He wanted to stop these troublesome thoughts here.

Some time later. The first magic airship was completed.

Arasila named the airship ‘Blue Bird’. It was painted in a blue color like a cloudless sky.

For the preliminary test, Arasila and her two juniors decided to fly once over the forest on the outskirts of the capital.

Rudy, in charge of piloting, sat in his seat with a tense face, pulling the lever to attach the floating stone and inserting the movement magic stone. As the airship rose gently, their hearts soared with it.

Direction changes were made by removing the magic stone connected to the propeller on one side to suppress it.

For example, if you wanted to turn the airship to the right, you would leave the left propeller alone and only remove the magic stone from the right propeller.

Then, the strong force flowing out from the left propeller would push the airship to the right, causing it to change direction.

After finishing the demonstration flight and landing, the three people hugged each other and jumped up and down.

“We did it, senior!”

“Everyone worked hard.”

“I can’t wait to show Blue Bird to everyone and brag about it!”

Perhaps because it was the invention that took the most time and effort in history, Rudy and Sally’s eyes were also full of anticipation.

Afterwards, Arasila also invited Demian, her business partner, to show him the completed airship’s exterior and interior. Demian was a little surprised that the magic airship looked more magnificent than he had thought.

Leaving the control to Sally and Rudy, Arasila took him on another tour around the outskirts.

“How is it? The ride is comfortable, right?”

“Yes, it is.”

“The loading capacity is also ample, so it would be good to establish itself as a new means of transportation.”

Demian nodded and fell into thought for a moment. Arasila, who was staring at his sharp profile, asked.

“Why, is there something you don’t like?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Your expression says otherwise. Be honest?”

As Arasila crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, pressuring him with her gaze, Demian finally spilled his true thoughts.

“I was thinking about whether we should modify the promotion direction. Originally, I was planning to promote it for transportation, but now that I’ve seen it, it seems more suitable for passenger use.”

Originally, as Demian wanted a transportation business, he had planned the promotion methods for the magic airship centered around this.

However, the Blue Bird he saw in person seemed more suitable for passenger use than for transportation. The flashy exterior and clean interior were more fitting for that purpose.

Understanding Demian’s concern, Arasila responded cheerfully.

“Then we can modify Blue Bird to suit passenger use, and make another airship for transportation.”

“But then we’d have to completely revise the promotion plan and prepare from scratch.”

Demian had obtained the cooperation of the Chepa Count family, who had been running press agencies for generations, to promote the magic airship as a means of transportation.

The plan was to bring relief supplies and food to the Count’s territory, which had recently suffered massive flood damage, and to transport large-scale minerals mined from the Count’s mines to the capital, in exchange for widely publicizing these facts.

Arasila, who was well aware of this fact as a business partner, thought for a moment and then spoke.

“Is there any tourist attraction or famous place near Chepa Count’s territory?”

“The waterfall of Mount Canis adjacent to the Count’s territory is famous.”

“Then how about this? When we bring relief supplies to the Count’s territory, we recruit free passengers to go together. While carrying the goods, we let people sightsee the waterfall of Mount Canis. If we create separate cargo space, it can be used for both cargo and passengers.”

This way, there was no need to divide the purposes and promote them separately, which was convenient.

“That sounds like a good idea.”

Demian showed a positive response to her words. Arasila, slightly excited, continued to offer opinions.

“How about recruiting those free passengers through advertising? We put large advertising phrases on the exterior of the airship and float it in the sky. Then, people will be tremendously interested.”

“It would be good to find passengers regardless of their social status.”

This judgment was made considering that ordinary commoners might not see it if it were published in newspapers or magazines.

At those words, Arasila looked at Demian with somewhat unexpected eyes.

“You mean you’ll let commoners ride the airship too?”

“Yes, do you dislike that?”

“Of course not. My juniors who helped make the airship are commoners to begin with. I just didn’t know you were such an open-minded person.”

Among nobles, there were types who didn’t even want to mix words with commoners due to class differences. Especially higher nobles tended to be more like that.

Demian, being from the Vandermir Duke family and having an appearance like an icy young noble, somehow gave the impression that he might not mix well with lower-class people.

“There are a few commoners in the Red Hawk Knights as well, though they’re a minority. A knight should not be bound by social status. And above all, money doesn’t discriminate based on status, does it?”

“Oh, you sound very much like a knight and a businessman right now.”

Arasila said with a voice mixed with admiration.

One of the popularly desirable values of a knight was to exercise chivalry without discrimination and to accept anyone who wields a sword as a comrade.

Demian’s first words fit that idea perfectly, and his latter words were fitting for a businessman ready to make money.

“You seem to show many unexpected sides the more I get to know you.”

“Are you saying that as a compliment?”

“Well, half of it? The unexpected sides include being sly too.”

“Ah.”

Demian frowned and touched his forehead. He wondered how long she would tease him with those words.

Seeing Arasila’s smiling face, it seemed he would suffer for quite a while, already giving him a headache.

Soon, the airship that had circled the outskirts of the capital once landed, and the two people faced each other in front of Blue Bird after returning to the ground.

“Let’s make this business successful together.”

“We certainly will.”

The two people, who had now become sincere about the magic airship business, shook hands.

Blue Bird rose in the bright summer sky.

As the huge airship floated in the sky, people stopped what they were doing and all looked up.

“Am I seeing things? What on earth is that?”

“My goodness! It doesn’t seem to be a real bird, but how is it flying in the sky?”

“Hey, come out quickly! Something strange is in the sky!”

“A blue bird…? Oh? It looks like something is written on its body.”

There was large writing on the body of Blue Bird, which was leisurely flying around.

“Magic Airship ‘Blue Bird’ Free Passenger Recruitment!

We are looking for 20 people to visit Chepa Count’s territory on a ship that flies in the sky.

If you’re interested, come to the building opposite Nono Coffee House on 2nd Avenue right now.

(※ Application conditions: 10 years old or older, gender and social status do not matter.)”

“Magic airship…? I’ve never heard of it before, is it a new invention from the Magic Tower?”

“Seems so. A ship that flies in the sky, how fascinating.”

“Shall we apply too? It’s free and they don’t care about gender or social status.”

Due to people’s explosive interest, the number of applicants exceeded twenty in just half a day.

Perhaps thanks to only age restrictions, the gender and social status of the applicants were truly diverse.

The office that Demian had temporarily set up near 2nd Avenue Square became a bustling place. It was more crowded than a market floor because not only commoners but also nobles gathered.

“I heard it was made by the Vandermir couple? They’re both capable people, so it’s trustworthy.”

“Seeing them doing business together like this, it seems the recent rumors circulating in high society were indeed false.”

“Wasn’t it already proven that those were exaggerated stories due to Lady Vandermir not being active in social circles much since the Imperial ball?”

“Ah, I should try to talk to those two next time I see them. Looking at how many people are here, isn’t the success of the business already confirmed!”

While definitively uprooting the lingering rumors even after the ball, the magic airship was smoothly preparing for its first official flight.

While everyone was filled with anticipation and waiting for the day the airship would take off, there was someone who viewed this unfavorably.

“Damn it, I can’t let Arasila have such a big success like this…”