The Protagonist System

59 Aerial Manoeuvres

Both the headmaster and Mister Colbert were happy to meet with me. When I mentioned the legendary metal dragon, both grilled me about its existence. I took it in stride and answered everything I knew about it, which wasn't much, except for what I had planned for it. Since it was an almost completely mechanical plane, it really would be easily reproducible.

Mister Colbert surprised me by saying he had been experimenting for years with dragon's blood and had made a suitable elixir in comparison. He brought us to his lab and I laughed when I saw that the nut had built a small oil refinery and actually could make respectable gasoline.

I congratulated him and told him he was going to become rich for his discovery, even if he signs everything over to the academy. Once we had a bunch of mechanical dragons built, they were all going to need dragon's blood that only he could make. That was assuming he wasn't going to sell most of his lab equipment for someone else to use.

“Bite you tongue, young man!” Mister Colbert exclaimed.

Both the headmaster and I laughed at his indignation.

When he calmed down, Mister Colbert told us the story of how the dragons had appeared in the first place and then how one of them left during a solar eclipse, I knew that was the natural portal to enter and leave the world.

“When is the next solar eclipse?” I asked.

“In three weeks.” Mister Colbert said and handed me a chart that showed the regularity of the occurrence. It was a little shocking to see so many natural portals had opened up to another world on such a regular basis, like it was planned.

Why someone or something would set that up, was beyond me, since little accidents and opened portals had dropped off a lot of different things in this world over the years. The contamination had changed this world more than anyone would suspect.

I handed him the chart back and sighed. “Louise isn't going to be happy when I tell her.”

Both the headmaster and Mister Colbert looked a little sad and nodded in commiseration. They knew Louise's life had improved immeasurably because of me and I had stabilized her magic. It had also calmed her down a lot as well and she wasn't so angry all the time.

“There's nothing you can do about it, because you are going to ignore the obvious choice of staying with her.” The headmaster said.

I opened my mouth to say I couldn't, then thought about it. It was an obvious choice and it was what Saito in the story did. The problem was, I had a wife in another world and she was waiting for me. At least, I thought she was. I checked the party system again and she was still greyed out. When I asked about contacting her, there was no option or new text box.

I sighed again and wondered if my mistresses would disappear from the party screen when I left this world or would they grey out, too? Did using a portal and not dying count as leaving a link to a previous world? Was that how it worked to get around leaving everything behind?

“You need to talk to her, Saito. Let her know how you feel.” The headmaster said.

I sighed once more and nodded. “Mister Colbert, get to work making more dragon's blood. If you need money for supplies...” I reached into my backpack and pulled out a dozen gems worth a small fortune. “...this should be enough.”

Both the headmaster and Mister Colbert stared at me.

“I've been busy.” I said with a smile. “Headmaster, let me know when you can get those miners.”

The headmaster nodded and I left the lab to go find Louise. I had a surefire way to get her to listen to me and not stomp off angrily.

*

Louise was incensed. She had discreetly followed Saito for his meeting and overheard everything. That rotten bastard was going to leave her! Her! Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière! How dare he think he can abandon her without any repercussions!

She stormed into the main courtyard where she knew the others staying at the academy were. They all looked surprised at her angry face and she approached them aggressively, like she had before gaining her familiar, and only Tabitha figured out what was going on and whispered for the others to listen without getting angry.

Louise started to rant and rave about Saito, about how ungrateful he was, lied about his pecker and said it was tiny, and how she was going to remove it so that he would always remember what he did to her. When she asked someone to give her a rusty spoon to take care of him, a wash of magic flowed over them all as the sounds of a strumming guitar echoed off the walls.

“I know there's something in the wake of your smile... I get a notion from the look in your eyes... You've built a love, but that love falls apart... Your little piece of Heaven, turns to dust.” Saito's soothing voice sang and it touched them all. “Listen to your heart, when I'm calling for you... Listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do... I don't know where I'm going, and I don't know why... But listen to your heart, before you tell me goodbye.”

Tabitha and Kirche started to tear up while Guiche and Montmorency looked sad. Louise on the other hand, looked conflicted. They would never know the lyrics were slightly altered to apply to Louise.

“Sometimes you wonder, if this fight is worthwhile... The precious moments, are all lost in the dark... They're swept away, and nothing is what is seems... The feeling of belonging, to your heart. Listen to your heart, when I'm calling for you... Listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do... I don't know where I'm going, and I don't know why... But listen to your heart, before you tell me goodbye.”

They watched as Saito walked towards them and played his magical instrument.

“And there are voices that want to be heard... So much to mention, but I can't find the words... The sight of your magic, the beauty that's you (the beauty that's you)... Our love could be wilder than the wind.” Saito said and looked right at Louise. “Listen to your heart, when I'm calling for you... Listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do... I don't know where I'm going, and I don't know why... I don't know why... but I... I have to go.”

Louise let her tears out as the music faded and she looked up at his face. “Why?”

“Because I can't stay.” Saito said and put the instrument away. “It hurts you too much to see me give to others what we both know I can't give to you.”

Louise wiped at her eyes. “Saito...”

“I also can't stand by and watch you be pawned off to some rich noble idiot that doesn't deserve you.” Saito said and the girls gasped. “Yes, I know that's how it's always been done. That doesn't mean it's right or that I have to like it.”

Louise took a deep breath and let it out. “Saito, I... I don't like it either. But... but...”

“I know.” Saito said and stepped close to hug her and kissed the top of her head. “We're both under personal obligations that we can't disregard because of who we are.”

Louise let out a soft sob. “I can't even kiss you like I want to, because it's not proper! It's not fair!”

“I know, Louise. I know.” Saito said and held her for several minutes to let her cry herself out.

Louise composed herself and let him go as she stepped back. “I don't think I can share a room with you anymore.”

“We've already shared all that we could, so I have to agree. I'll stay in the new hangar the headmaster is having built.” Saito said.

“He's what?” The others asked.

“I'm going to reproduce the metal dragon and they need somewhere to store them, so a large building will be built at the back of the academy with several runways. Once I make ten copies of each part and show the hired civilians how to assemble them, I'll make a standard set to be kept apart for other magic users to replicate with transfiguration and they can replace or repair any damaged part.”

“That is a surprisingly intelligent idea.” Tabitha said. “It also leaves them a template to make more than the ten new dragons.”

Saito nodded at her. “If the headmaster gets the cooperation of the various Tristain Military forces, this country will soon have the largest aerial force in the world that no one will want to mess with.”

That made the teens look happy, especially Kirche, since her family was a prominent military one in Germania. With the peace treaty signed between them and Tristain and the upcoming wedding between Germania's Emperor and Princess Henrietta, both of their countries were going to be untouchable.

“How soon are you leaving?” Tabitha asked.

“The portal opens at the next solar eclipse in three weeks and I need to fly the old dragon into the sun.” Saito said and all of them looked shocked. “No, I'm not crazy. Mister Colbert told me the story and that was what he assumed happened to the second dragon. One made it through and the other was left behind.”

Only Tabitha was able to quickly recover from that reveal. “I would help you if I could.”

Saito smiled at her. “I would have asked already if I thought you could.”

Tabitha nodded and looked thoughtful. “When will the hangar be finished?”

“Tomorrow or the next day.” Saito responded.

None of them missed seeing Louise look embarrassed as her face flushed red.

“No, Louise. It's okay. Despite how we feel about each other, we should stay apart.” Saito reassured her and Louise sighed.

“You're not making this any easier, you know.” Louise said.

“Love is never easy to ignore.” Saito said wisely and Louise blushed for a different reason. “If you will excuse me, I need to go supervise and maybe help with the construction. I'll see you all at supper in the cafeteria.”

“Bye.” “See you.” “Later.”

Louise gave him a little wave instead of speaking and watched as he walked away. Tears pricked at her eyes and she wiped at them before she started crying again.

“He really does love you.” Tabitha said to her.

“I know. I... I...” Louise shook her head. “I can't say it.”

“Neither can he. Not directly.” Tabitha said and stood. “I'm going to my room to read.”

“Have fun.” Kirche said to her friend and watched as she left.

“Do you think she's really going to her room to read?” Guiche asked.

The four friends exchanged looks for a moment, then scrambled to follow her.

Ten minutes later, they sighed in disappointment and left their hiding places after confirming that Tabitha really was laying on her bed and reading a book.

“They're finally gone.” Tabitha whispered and closed her book to pull off her clothes.

“I would have waited for as long as you wanted.” Saito said and moved the fake wall piece aside and revealed a doorway. He had expanded the room like he did to Louise's and inside was a bunch of restored furniture and a king-sized bed. “We only have three weeks left to enjoy this.”

Tabitha nodded and pulled off his clothes. They fell onto the bed together and kissed passionately before they did what they both desperately needed to make themselves feel better.

*

That night after a day full of work helping to build the large hangar, Saito went to Professor Cybil's room and met with her and Chevreuse. There he explained what was going on, in case they hadn't heard about it already, and they were just as eager as Tabitha to ensure that their last three weeks together weren't going to be wasted. He would end up never sleeping in the hangar.

*

The headmaster ended up contracting five miners and they pulled a lot of ore out of the ground. When I had explained what I wanted, mostly aluminum composites, and they had no idea what I was talking about. It made me laugh internally, mostly because I wasn't a chemical scientist or engineer and didn't really have the words to express what I wanted. So, I cheated.

I had them pull up any light metal that they could and transfigured the chunks it into lightweight aluminum. It was the easiest way and it also meant I would have to spend a lot of extra time converting more and more metal to be used later, most of which I made into large sheets for the fuselage.

Having a fully working fighter plane was definitely a huge benefit to making another one. With the use of my detection spell, I could focus on specific parts, even internal ones, and reproduced them. The headmaster himself was there with several professors, including Chevreuse and Cybil, and they learned how to make and repair the replacement parts as I gave them ten examples to work from.

I had to stop at one point for the work crews to write down what I was explaining. We took a break for a whole day and made everything out into both a maintenance manual and also a flight training guide. If you knew how everything worked, it was only a small step to learn how to fly the thing.

The Germanian troops and officers had also started arriving in large groups that week and setting up military defenses as Tristain built up their own troops and military assets. There was always a danger of invasion from neighboring countries and Tristain had always been vulnerable to that, until the recent peace treaty.

A lot of their mages were called in to help us and were awed by my creations, especially since the civilian work crews had started building the first set of five planes to be assembled. The fascination of the Germanian mages was reflected by the Germanian officers and they approved of both the method and the execution of my ideas.

In fact, during the last week, they admitted that they had unearthed something similar and it had been stolen by the Romalian Forces, namely the Holy Land's rulers. It was something that they had been doing for centuries and waging their own Holy Wars using weapons and items from the other world. That explained why Siesta's family had been so adamant about hiding the metal dragon.

I chuckled at that, especially now that I was teaching a very large group of mages how to recreate and make the parts to build their own metal dragons. I was sure that they would be making their own versions of planes in no time, because once an idea was shared, everyone ran with it. That was when I had an errant thought... could I raid the Holy City's secret armory?

“The answer is no.” The headmaster's voice broke me out of my reverie.

I turned my head from the next pile of ore in front of me to give him raised eyebrows.

“We're finally getting a proper defense for our country. You will not be allowed to start a war with another country before we've finished.” The headmaster said.

“What about afterwards?” I asked, jokingly.

“You won't be here to cause trouble.” He said with a chuckle and walked away.

“Oh. Right.” I grumbled and went back to work. I would finish changing this ten foot pile of ore into aluminum sheets and then take a break. Tabitha would be waiting for me in the cafeteria to share lunch, and maybe a bit more. She was really cute when she squealed and we only had another day left before the scheduled eclipse.