When they learned that Altaïr and the other two had to go to Val Habar with no set return date, and that Lambert intended to leave with them, a certain Guildmarm felt like her whole world had collapsed.
I'm going somewhere far away, and I don't know when I'll be back. Isn't that the exact line of a deadbeat who abandons his wife and kids?!
"Will you really come back?" the Guildmarm asked, eyes brimming with tears as she glanced at the huge pile of luggage on Hibiki's back.
"Oh-ho, genuine sobbing, not entirely an act?" Lambert murmured under her breath to one side.
The corner of Altaïr's eye twitched. "Just assume we won't come back. That way, when we do, you'll get a nice surprise.
"Better than us promising we'll return and then letting you down when we never do."
"...You're terrible at comforting people."
Amid the Guildmarm's mournful cries of "I'll be waiting here! You have to come back–!" the four covered their faces and left the Guild Hall, heading for the docks to board the Airship.
Due to its constant migration and refusal to stay in one place, Val Habar was also known as "the city not on the map." As a result, aside from major transport hubs like Dundorma, direct Airship flights to Val Habar were hard to come by.
Metapetatto was no exception. To reach Val Habar, their closest route was to take an Airship to Rekusara, a port city in the northeastern part of the Great Desert, where they could obtain Val Habar's exact coordinates.
If Val Habar was out on the rocky desert, they could take an Aptonoth-drawn sand sled or a Gargwa cart. If it was in the Desert region, the Sandship was the best option.
Hearing there was a chance to ride a Sandship, Isis and Altaïr had little reaction. Having spent time in Val Habar, Isis had ridden them plenty, and Altaïr, who had grown up in the Great Desert, was so sick of them he could vomit.
Nymera and Lambert, on the other hand, were especially excited, particularly the latter.
According to Lambert, she had set several life goals for herself, such as "performing atop the world's highest peak, the summit of Heaven's Mount," "performing amid the blizzard and aurora of the Great Snowy Mountains," and "performing the moment the Volcano erupts."
Among them was "performing at the prow of a Sandship racing across the sand sea."
"Since there are blizzards and volcanic eruptions, why not perform in the Great Desert's black sandstorm, meow?" Sajji tilted his head and asked.
"Because the musical instrument would get sand in it," Lambert answered, dead serious.
"You do realize how bumpy a Sandship is, right? Performing at the prow, aren't you afraid you'll fall off?" Altaïr said, thoroughly exasperated.
"I'll use a rope to tie myself to the prow," Lambert replied, still dead serious.
Altaïr: "..."
Has this girl actually planned this out in detail or something?
—--
The few days aboard the Airship were uneventful, but Isis and Nymera took the opportunity to get a little more familiar with Lambert.
She really wasn't hard to get along with; she was just unsociable. And there was a difference between the two.
The upbringing she had received since childhood gave her the ability to handle most people with polite courtesy. By her own account, though, she hated that kind of performative social interaction, so more often than not, she chose to keep her distance from others.
Oddly enough, Isis and Lambert got along exceptionally well.
Lambert still treated Altaïr politely, with a touch of respect, something close to how she treated the Instructor. With Isis, though, she seemed to have begun genuinely seeing Isis as a friend.
When Altaïr came to discuss the rest of the journey with Isis, he overheard them talking about some rather alarming topics.
"Isis! Let's do a duet just before the Airship descends and put a wild end to this voyage!"
"But I don't know anything about music, and I can't play any musical instrument."
"A true melody is something that comes from the heart; it's got nothing to do with technique! Your Gunlance is your instrument. Fire it into the sky!"
"Hmm, do I need to pay attention to anything like rhythm?"
"Not a thing! Nothing at all!" Lambert grew more and more excited, her whole body rocking back and forth. "Follow the desire deep in your heart, and pull the trigger the very moment you feel like firing! That is the roar that comes straight from the soul!"
Isis's eyes sparkled.
"I'll give it a try!"
"Hold it right there!"
Altaïr hurriedly cut the pair off, and for good measure swung a fist down on top of Lambert's head.
He wouldn't call it full strength, but he put a good sixty or seventy percent of his power into it, already a force far beyond that of an ordinary grown man.
With an "Agh!" Lambert clutched her head and crouched off to the side.
Looking at Isis's completely innocent face, Altaïr hesitated for two seconds, then gave her a knock on the head too, with even more force than he'd used on Lambert.
Master Amos had repeatedly urged him to help keep Isis in line.
Isis rubbed her head without much of a reaction. Altaïr, on the other hand, shook his hand out discreetly; it actually hurt a bit.
He pointed toward Lambert, made the two of them crouch together, and with a dark scowl, barked at them: "One of you sure has the nerve to suggest it, and the other sure has the nerve to listen! You want to pull a stunt like that on an Airship?
"Fire the gun?! Do you realize that Glavenus Gunlance of yours is a Wide Type? What if your hand twitches and the shrapnel snaps a rope or tears an air sac?!"
Isis raised her head, clearly about to argue that her aim was excellent and she wouldn't hit anything by accident, but a single glare from Altaïr shut her down.
"Back to the cabin! If you've got nothing to do, hit the books! You're not coming out until the Airship lands!"
The pair on the ground shuffled reluctantly back into the cabin.
Nymera stood a short distance away, watching the show with a grin. "All of a sudden, you really look like an Instructor."
Altaïr let out a heavy huff.
Seriousness of character was all relative. The most serious person was always the one who worried the most and got worn out the fastest. If Master Amos or Teacher Karin were here, he'd be the one enjoying the show instead.
—--
Under Altaïr's strict supervision, the Airship at last touched down safely. The crew and the other passengers had no idea what had almost happened moments before.
Isis bounded down the gangway in a few quick steps, cheering, "Finally, we can cut loose!"
"Cut loose and do what?"
"Play music!" Somehow or other, she'd been talked into it, and she actually seemed excited. "I just found out you can use a Gunlance as a musical instrument. Francesca always said I had no talent for music; maybe she was wrong?"
"Francesca? Instructor Gael's daughter, huh. Tch, just another conformist. What does she know about music!" Lambert snorted. "Don't bother with the opinions of vulgar people like that!"
Altaïr took a deep breath. "Do you have any idea what drawing a weapon inside a city means without an emergency?"
"What are you thinking? Of course we won't do it in the city. We already agreed; we'll head outside town once we're on the ground and play there!"
"Yeah, right on the boundary between the sand sea and the ocean, firing shells into the sunset. Absolutely sublime!"
"Can I come watch too?" Even Nymera seemed thoroughly interested. She patted Hibiki, who was panting with his big tongue lolling out beside her. "This kid really wants to go, too."
"Woof!"
Altaïr fell silent.
Instructor Gael's original idea had been for the senior members among them to guide Lambert and help her become a bit more normal.
But now he was starting to feel like his own side was getting contaminated instead.
"Forget it. Take it easy today. Do whatever you want. Tomorrow, all of you stay put and behave. We still need to figure out how to travel onward to Val Habar."
With that, Altaïr waved a hand. "Nymera, keep an eye on them. Don't let them do anything stupid."
"Sure thing."
The three of them dashed off toward the outskirts of the city in high spirits.
Sajji tugged at the hem of Altaïr's clothes. "Boss, we're finally back in the Great Desert. Aren't you happy, meow?"
Altaïr rubbed his face, letting his expression soften. "I'm happy. Just a little worn out inside."
Sajji climbed up and perched on Altaïr's shoulder, speaking with some excitement. "The gravel around Leke Bay isn't as fine as the deep sand sea, but it gets those big winds blowing in from the ocean, meow.
"And now it's monsoon season. The Sandships can go super fast, meow! This place is famous for Sandship racing, meow! Should we rent a small Sandship and go tearing across the sands, meow?"
Altaïr was silent for one second.
"Let's go!"
(Translated by yourtl.app)