"Alright, I finished screwing on my half." I wiped the sweat off my brow, "Issei, how're you doing with the propellers?"

"I screwed them on rightside up this time, so it should at least take off properly." He doubted, "Though it kinda feels sad knowing this thing probably isn't gonna land in one piece."

A few hours of hard work and labor have finally paid off in the form of this 1:1 scale replica of Freddy's airbike. We tried getting the colors down properly and everything, but that was more so just a design choice on my end. In reality, we don't have time to wait for the paint to dry, so I imagine it'll just fly off the moment the airbike leaves the ground.

"You guys done?" Ed sat nearby to just watch us work, "Congrats."

"Thanks, we couldn't have done it without you." Issei rolled his Eyes.

"Well shit, what do you want me to do?" Ed groaned back, "I'm a health advisor, not a mechanic."

"...Hey, actually, you might be of use after all." I got an idea.

"Sure, name it." Ed got up, "What do you want me to do? Fetch your tools? Hold the light?"

"Nah, that ship has sailed. The bike's already finished."

"So what, then?"

"The original airbike had a pretty uncomfortable seat." I said as I dragged him by the hand to it, "Issei and I are used to the feel, so we can't really give an unbiased opinion on how this one is. Could you help?"

"Wow, just that?" He chuckled, grabbing hold of the handlebars purely by intuition, "Guess I don't have to do much after all, heheh!"

"Oh, great! Hey, but while you're here..." I cranked the ignition with a smile, "We are also so very desperately in need of a test pilot, so—Bon voyage!"

Whoa, look at him go! The propellers spun at incredibly high speeds, sending both it and Ed straight into the air. His screams perfectly demonstrated the Doppler effect as they became more distant, but now came the hard part. You see, I did not in fact just send my best friend to his demise. I actually have a plan to get him to land safely, but I'll need to instruct him while he can still hear me.

"Attaboy, Ed! Now kick that brick we placed off the pedals!" I shouted with a grin, "Oh, he did it. The bike's falling back down. Good job, now press it down with your foot lightly to not die!"

"So you gonna, like, explain to me why you just forced this job onto him?" Issei asked.

"Yeah, he's quite famous for being a scaredy cat." I explained, "I really didn't want to throw this thing away because we lacked a willing pilot, but I knew he'd decline if I asked him nicely."

"And if he falls?"

"He won't." I glanced up, "Probably."

The airbike in the air was now slowly and steadily climbing back up. It seems he figured out that your lift is proportional to the amount of pressure you give to the pedals, so he's slowly but surely figuring it out without any worries now. Exactly as planned, I knew Ed was smart enough to figure it out! Now all he needs to do is apply a tad less pressure until he can land again.

"How's the view up there?" I yelled.

"Awful! Terrifying! I wanna get off this thing!" He sounded like he was crying.

"Hey now! Don't do that!" Issei snickered, "Try moving the steering wheel around a bit."

"T-This...? Ah?!" He yelped as the airbike moved laterally around a bit, "Damn, this is... pretty fun, actually!"

"Congrats, Ed! You're the first person to fly in this world!" I smiled, "Enjoy it!"

"Woohoo!" He whizzed around the neighborhood, "Hey, can this thing go far?"

"Pretty damn far, I'd say." Issei chuckled.

"Can I make a round trip to the Grys Estate?" He asked, "I wanna show off to Adam!"

"Of course it can, you have our blessings!" I gave the thumbs up.

"Can it go to Lichtenstelle?"

"Maybe, but it wouldn't have enough for both ways." I explained, "You'd need another battery for that."

"Then I'll just take what I can get!" He triumphantly stated as the airbike made its way directly to town.

Not even three minutes later and he was back, looking happier and more confident than ever. Apparently, the town residents saw him from below and all started cheering and applauding "the young man that was flying like a bird", and he actually managed to masterfully maneuver the airbike close enough to the Grys Manor to peek in on the muscular king doing his afternoon reps on the third floor.

"The look on his face when he saw me knock on his window, I tell ya'!" Ed guffawed, "It was priceless!"

"Glad to hear you had fun..." I finally felt the jealousy of not having the bravery to be the one to sit on that bike.

"Yeah, it was really fun, thanks for this, Grim!" He said with an innocent heart, "Now, how do I land this thing?"

"You're the master pilot, figure it out yourself." I shrugged and went back inside my house.

"H-Hey, what do you mean!? Get back here, man!" Ed felt all that peppy confidence decay in an instant, "Dammit... Issei, what's up with him?!"

"Who knows." Issei remarked, "But I hope the young man that flies like a bird knows how to land like one too. You better make it graceful as well, cause looking back, I don't think I screwed on the landing gear properly."

"The fuck!? Not you too!" He pleaded for us to come back and help him, "Guys, this isn't funny! Don't just leave me stranded up here!"

Serves you right for becoming so high and mighty all of a sudden. Seriously, I tried giving him some confidence and solving the issue of retrieving the airbike all at once, and he goes and gets a big head! Well then, good sir, surely you'll be able to land it just fine without us!

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

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"Damn, he actually did." Issei said a few minutes later after we all got outside to see Ed getting off of the undented airbike, "Bravo."

"Fuck you mean bravo!?" Ed lifted both of us by the collars with ease, "You idiots! If you leave me to die one more time, I'll rend your face through the propellers!"

"A scary notion, however improbable." I surmised, "You'd be dead by then, wouldn't you?"

He smacked our heads together after I said that, leaving both of us on the ground dazed. With a heavy sigh, he turned to his proud wife.

"Was that you flying that thing!?" Anna excitedly jumped for joy and clapped, "Amazing! I saw you through the window, you were so cool!"

"Gotta admit, when I saw that thing taking off, it was pretty majestic." Cecily too praised him, "But I thought something was wrong when I saw Lune and Issei standing on the ground under it. So you were the one behind the wheel?"

"Huh? Eheh, it's actually a handlebar, not a steering wheel..." Ed got all bashful once he started getting praised.

"Yet again, my brother got way too in over his head..." Eleanor scoffed, "Shouldn't we be admiring Issei's incredible craftsmanship? I mean, he made it so simple that even someone who never drove it could easily use it."

Actually, I was the one who did all the planning. Issei just helped me with the construction, but she doesn't need to know that. Hell, regardless of which one of us made it, it doesn't matter because we both stole the design from the Earthians. That being the case, I don't think this is a case of it being easy to learn. There may be a chance that our Ed is just a naturally gifted airbiker, since he apparently knows how to make a smoother landing than even Freddy.

"Nah, I think it's all Ed, actually." I chuckled, "Now that we have you with us, we won't have to worry about making it there safely at all."

"What? There's no way, you guys have to be joking." Ed shook his head, "It's just about going slow and controlling the pedals. Really, anyone would get it."

"Would you believe even my uncle who rode his airbike around the entire world over 30 times doesn't steer as well as you did just now?" Issei noted.

This came as quite the surprise to everyone around us, especially Ed. In the end, everyone was satisfied with the end result. We managed to successfully create and test drive the airbike, found the perfect pilot candidate in Ed, and we got the feedback from him necessary for the final tweaks before we head off. This being the case, it was already nearing nighttime, and we really didn't feel all that confident leaving for Schnell's Archipelago when we can't even see ahead of us. We made the executive decision to wait until morning before leaving. Sorry to Lem and Nelly, but it's as Issei said—Better a late save than none at all.

"Cene's sleeping at the Saint's house tonight." Cecily said as we laid in our bed, "Should we...?"

"No, not tonight." I thought, "I don't really think it's appropriate, y'know?"

"O-Oh, sure, right..." She hastily rolled back around, "Sorry..."

"Heh, no worries." I chuckled, "But damn, it's kind of crazy to think that we'll be in THE Schnell's Archipelago tomorrow."

"Is that flying bike really that fast?" She glanced back, "I'm glad. That means the kids won't have to wait long before they're rescued, hopefully."

"Lem... I hope I can Heal him."

"About that..." She paused before saying, "Maybe try and Heal him only enough for him to heal naturally."

"What? Why would I ever do that?"

Such an odd suggestion sprung out of my darling wife's mouth. Honestly, it's scary to even imagine the image of that energetic kid without an unbroken bone in his body, as Olya described. He said the kid's still alive, though only barely. I have a feeling I'll use as much Focus on Healing Lem as I can exert the moment I see him.

"Aru said something about that before." She sighed, "The price you pay whenever you Heal someone. You lose that much of your own lifespan, she said."

"Eh? Is that actually true?" I raised an Eyebrow, "Damn, I didn't know... Heh, guess I better hope he doesn't shave off too many years, am I right?"

"Lune." She raised her tone just slightly, "Don't talk like that, please."

"I'm just joking, come on." I admitted, "Though I will say that I'll Heal him to full health regardless of how much it costs me. No matter how you slice it, it's my fault he's in such a state to begin with, so I have to make it right for him."

"Yeah, somehow I knew you'd say that." She chuckled resignedly, "And dear?"

"Yes?"

"Don't think I haven't noticed where those hands are reaching." She gave a sidelong glance.

"Whoops, force of habit."

Tomorrow, the four of us will be setting off for Schnell's Archipelago. To think that this is how I would be introduced to the last non-polar continent of my life, how morbid... Still, it's a fact that we're doing all we can to get there as fast as possible without any hiccups along the way. The old man said he means no harm, and though I highly doubt that part of his letter, I'll at least trust him not to hurt the kids any more. Please, Gods, lead me down the right path on this journey! Help me save Nelly, please!