Sky Princess

Toshio Tanaka blinked his eyes open, finding himself lying on a bed inside a cabin deep below the ship's deck.

He was surrounded by his people.

Lily, Kara, and his newfound friends were all looking down at him. Unconsciously, his hand drifted to his waist, touching the place where his stomach had been split wide open. A massive, jagged scar ran completely across his body.

"I tried to heal it completely," Goddess Seya said softly, stepping closer to the bedside.

"But the skin had already fused together like that."

Lily was sitting right beside him, her eyes red from crying. 

She slowly filled him in on everything he had missed. She explained how Nero had taken over the body of the Living Light Hero, Jean, and was now flying straight toward the barren Warground.

"We are following him right now," Lily whispered, clutching his hand. "We are hoping we can still reason with him."

Before Toshio could think about it, a firm knock rattled the cabin door. The latch turned, and Casandra Horngold stepped into the room.

"Hey, Casandra," Suzuki greeted, walking toward her.

"Welcome aboard, people," she replied with a vibrant smile. "And no, you cannot call me that anymore. I am Cassy from now on. Cassy and her Sky Princess, that is the official name of this beauty."

Cassy wore a brilliant, crimson captain’s coat embroidered with thick golden thread, crowned by a matching tricorne hat.

Luck was looking around the cabin in pure amazement. "How do you even own something like this? I doubt even the royal family has a magical vessel of this scale."

"Hahaha!" Cassy laughed loudly, tossing her head back. 

"I actually had it built for my brother. But after Goddess Seya permanently sealed my system skills, I no longer needed to play the part of the love interest. So I stole it."

"Hahaha... And what will you do now?" Grand Mage Amber asked, leaning against the timber wall.

"Whatever you guys need," Cassy said, adjusting her crimson coat. "After that, maybe I'll take my loyal crew and travel the world to see the other continents."

Amber looked around at the crowded room, rubbing the back of her neck with an apologetic smile. 

"Honestly, we are really sorry for the inconvenience. We brought way too many people on board your ship."

"Nonsense!" Cassy snapped playfully, waving her hand in dismissal. "You made my Sky Princess very happy. Look at this place, so many beautiful ladies are here!" She then shifted her gaze toward the corner of the room, her eyes lingering on the bard. 

"And some fine lads, too."

Zale instantly looked away, completely avoiding her eyes as his face turned slightly pink.

"Now, time for the patient to get some rest," Captain Cassy continued, clapping her hands together. 

"We will arrive at the Warground in exactly two hours. Until then, let's go below to eat, drink, and celebrate. This is the first ride of the Sky Princess!"

Slowly, the group filed out of the cabin, their chatter fading down the corridor. 

Kara was already fast asleep on a small bed near Toshio's bed, completely exhausted from all the physical labor and combat she had endured back at the castle.

For the first time in a very long time, Toshio and Lily were left completely alone. The quiet between them was heavy but peaceful.

Lily didn't even look toward the door. She stayed right where she was, smiling warmly as she stared at her brother, her hand still holding his tightly.

Lily noticed his silence and leaned closer. "Is everything okay?"

Toshio looked at his sister, his expression softening completely. "Thank you. For caring so much for me, Lily."

"Of course I do," Lily whispered, her eyes turning shiny again. "You're my brother."

Before the tears could fall, a gentle knock sounded at the threshold. It was Millie, the former castle maid. She walked into the room carrying a wooden tray.

"I brought soft food for Mister Toshio. Why don't you head down and get some real food for yourself? Go on."

Millie looked over at Toshio, silently asking for help.

Toshio looked at his sister and spoke firmly. "Go eat, Lily. I am not running away anywhere."

With a bit of hesitation, Lily finally stood up, squeezed his hand one last time, and walked out into the hallway.

Millie smiled, closing the door halfway behind her. "Don't worry, I'll sit with him for a bit."

She sat down on the wooden stool, leaving the two of them entirely alone in the quiet room. The faint, steady rumble of the magic engines vibrated gently through the floorboards.

"So..." Toshio started, his voice a bit raspy as he adjusted his spectacles. 

"I heard you used to work in the castle. Trust me, I used to work in a pretty black-company in my past, too."

Millie smiled, leaning her head against the wooden paneling. 

"Is that so? Well, right after that, I got kidnapped from my job. I almost got blown to pieces in a massive explosion with my hands tied."

Toshio’s eyebrow twitched slightly behind his lenses. 

"Not bad. But I got framed for murdering a continent-tier Hero and had to jump off a hundred-foot castle wall."

Millie narrowed her eyes playfully, a genuine smirk forming on her face. 

"Oh, really? Well, I just found out from Goddess Seya that while I was walking through the forest pass, I was literally inches away from getting captured by actual cannibals."

"Fascinating," Toshio countered, his classic deadpan voice returning instantly. 

"I literally died a second time on the palace roof after barely surviving the capital city collapsing around us, all while tracking a time limit on my remaining life."

Millie smirked, crossing her arms tightly. 

"Well, right after I teamed up with your crew, I got grouped with another evil noblewoman in the frontier arena and almost got executed all over again!"

Toshio’s lips actually twitched upward into a genuine smile. 

"Ah, yes. I remember that one pretty well... mostly because I almost died right alongside you during that mess!"

Both of them stopped, catching their breath as the sheer absurdity of their shared near-death experiences caught up to them. 

A sudden burst of laughter broke the cabin's silence, their ridiculous 'who-almost-died-first' competition completely melting away into a warm conversation.

Outside in the dim hallway, Lily stood quietly by the door frame. She wanted to go inside, but hearing Toshio laugh like that, she couldn't do it. She smiled and walked away without making a sound.

The sky had two crescent moons that night as the massive ship sailed onward.