“If Vehicle Hawk lives in a rocky area, it’s probably around here…”

Guided by Tito, the group arrived at a rocky valley. The terrain was a complex jumble of red sandstone formed from hardened sand dunes and chipped away by the wind and rain.

Tito used her excellent sense of smell and hearing to look for signs of life, but then she quickly hid behind a rock.

“T-there it is…!”

On top of the rock sat a huge monster in the form of a hawk. Its sharp eyes were watching the area.

“That’s the Vehicle Hawk!”

“We just need to capture four of them for each of us, right?”

“Y-yes! But Master said that we need to be careful because they are very timid and nervous. As I recall, I was told that if you hurt it even a little bit, it will never again become emotionally attached to you…”

“Then I guess it would be better not to use strings. “

“Then I’ll use my bare hands!”

“Are you stupid?”

“What do you mean by stupid? I mean, Luna is my bodyguard, right? Aren’t you cold to me lately?”

“It’s nothing new; I’m just the same as always.”

“I see. That’s also true!”

“Are you sure you’re okay with that…?”

As the three of them were whispering to each other, Noel pulled out a black tube-like object from her backpack.

“If that’s the case, I think this might help.”

“What is that black tube?”

“It’s a recent invention called “Gently Catch-kun No.1.” It shoots a net from its muzzle and safely captures the target without harming it.”

“Amazing! Such a useful tool…!”

Tito was impressed, but Noel raised her eyebrows.

“The only drawback is that it has a short range…”

“Then, Noel and Lexia, you stay on the cliff. Tito and I will lead the Vehicle Hawk to the capture point.”

“Against a flying opponent? Is that even possible?”

“I’ll take care of it!”

Lexia was thrilled when the plan was decided.

“I’m looking forward to finally seeing the power of Noel’s magic tools!”

＊＊＊

“Now, it’s about time.”

After making sure everyone was in position, Luna ducked down and looked up at Vehicle Hawk, who was resting on a rock, grooming itself.

Luna shot a string toward the head of Vehicle Hawk.

“[Avoidance]!”

She hooked the string on a ledge of the rock and then leaped out of the way with a powerful leap.

“Kueeee!”

Vehicle Hawk flew away, startled by the sudden attack.

Luna chased after the monster as it slid down the valley, using the string to move through the air.

“Hmph!”

“Kueeeeeeeeeeee!”

The rocky valley was the perfect terrain for Luna to manipulate the string.

She skillfully guided the bird to the point of capture as she danced like a butterfly through the valley.

Lexia looked down from her position on top of a rock overhang on the rock wall and cheered.

“As expected of Luna! You look like you’re flying!”

“W-what is that? It’s not a move that humans can do!”

“Kueeeeeeeeeeee!”

The Vehicle Hawk flips its wings and tries to escape into the sky.

But Tito was waiting for it.

“No, not up there!”

Tito leaps lightly, using the sheer rock as a foothold, and checks to ensure the monster doesn’t escape into the sky.

“Kueee, kueee!”

Panicked, the monster turns sharply and tries to jump into the cave.

“It’s deviating from the route!”

Tito reacted to Luna’s shout and held her claws in the air.

“I won’t let you go that way! [Intense Claws]!”

The vacuum wave created by the sharp cleave through the air toward the top of the cave hit the bedrock, and the crumbling rocks blocked the entrance.

Noel’s eyes bulged out.

“S-she sent a slash through the air and sliced the rock! Even though she only cleaved her claws in mid-air…!?”

“Kueeeeeeeeee!?”

The startled monster turned and returned to its original route.

Luna immediately chased after it.

“Kueeeeeeeeeee!”

Luna brilliantly chased the monster as it fled through the narrow and complicated valley, and Tito led the way by breaking down the rocks.

“It will soon be at the capture point!”

Hearing Luna’s signal, Lexia looked back at Noel excitedly.

“They’ll be here soon! Get ready, Noel!”

“Roger that!”

Just as Noel readied the capture rifle, the Vehicle Hawk appeared from around the bend.

Lexia blinked as she saw the monster flying by at a gale-like speed.

“It’s amazing how fast it is…! Can you really catch such a swift monster unscathed?”

“Leave it to me. I’ll show you what my magic tools can do!”

The monster approaches the capture point.

Noel pointed the muzzle of the gun at the Vehicle Hawk and said──

“Take this! Fire!”

Noel pulled the trigger, and at the same time, a bullet was fired from the muzzle.

The bullet bursts in front of the Vehicle Hawk’s eyes, spreading a net.

“Kueeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

The net enveloped Vehicle Hawk and stuck it to the rock wall as it was.

“Kueee, kueeee!?”

“Y-yay… you really caught it unscathed! That’s great, Noel!”

Luna and Tito also landed on the rock.

“I never thought it was possible to really capture a monster of that speed… but it’s a great feat.”

“I was surprised when the net spread out so wide!”

“Noel is really a genius to be able to invent such an amazing magic tool!”

“I am honored that I could be of help.”

After moving the captured Vehicle Hawk to a safe place for the time being, they took a breather.

“Three more to go! At this rate, we’ll catch more and more!”

“Ooooh!”

＊＊＊

The four of them, working in tandem, captured one Vehicle Hawk after another.

Then, the fourth bird was captured.

“Kueeeeeeee!”

“It’s almost to the capture point!”

“Noel-san, please get ready!”

Lexia shouted excitedly as she heard Luna and Tito’s voices approaching.

“Noel, they’re coming! It’s the last one!”

“I understand.”

“Fufu, catching the fourth one will be a piece of cake with ‘Gently Catch-kun No. 1!’ Let’s catch it quickly and have lunch!”

Lexia looked back at the basket placed a short distance away.

The four of them had just purchased lunch at the cafeteria and had it packed in their baskets.

“I just glanced inside that lunch box, and it looked really good! I mean, I just snacked on a little bit of it, but it was soooooooooo good!”

“I’m looking forward to it. That’s all we have left, so let’s make this quick and tidy.”

The Vehicle Hawk approached, and Noel held up the capture rifle.

Lexia leaned forward excitedly and noticed a plume of black smoke rising from Noel’s gun.

“Ara? Hey, Noel. There’s smoke coming out of the capture gun…”

“Last one! Fire!”

Before Lexia can point out the problem, Noel has pulled the trigger──

Baaaaanngggggg!

The capture rifle exploded, and the net that had been fired flew off in the wrong direction.

“I-it exploded───!?”

“W-what happened?”

“Ugh, my ears…?”

“Kuee, kueeeeeee!?”

Scared by the sudden explosion, the Vehicle Hawk meandered unsteadily.

The basket caught on its claws.

“Aah! Our lunch! Give it back!”

Lexia was running toward the cliff, chasing after the Vehicle Hawk, who was trying to run away as it was.

“Eii!”

“Lexia──!”

“Lexia-saaaannn!?”

Lexia jumped onto the back of the Vehicle Hawk amidst the screams of Luna and the others.

“Kueeeeee!?”

The Vehicle Hawk flailed in the air as Lexia held on to it.

“Tito!”

“Y-yes!”

Luna and Tito retrieved the net that had been thrown out of control and wrapped Lexia in it.

They carefully lowered the net onto the rocks so as not to damage it and rescued Lexia.

“Kue, kueee!”

“Phew, I got our lunch back!”

Lexia opened her mouth and held the basket high in the air, but when she saw the flailing Vehicle Hawk, she cheered.

“Oh, I did it! That’s the fourth bird! We’ve reached our goal!”

“Lexia, don’t just jump off without thinking like that!”

“You scared me…!”

“It’s because our lunches were about to be stolen!”

“Which do you value more, your life or the lunches?”

“Both are important! You can’t say that with a hungry stomach! …Moreover, the two of you will take care of it, right?”

“T-that’s true, but… you〜〜〜〜…!”

“Fuwah, thank goodness you’re all right…”

Luna came to her senses and turned around.

“T-that’s right! What was that explosion earlier?”

“That was it! Noel’s ‘Gently Catch-kun No.1’ suddenly exploded!”

“Eeehh?”

“A-are you okay?”

Then Noel, covered in black smoke, appeared, wiping her glasses.

“I see, the limit of continuous use of the ‘Gently Catch-kun No. 1′ is three times.’ There is room for improvement. Thanks to you, I was able to get good data. After all, there is no better experiment than a real test. This time, I’ll increase the output of the wind attribute magic ore and… fufu, fufufu.”

“Um, are you sure you’re okay…?”

Tito asked Noel, who was mumbling something, timidly.

Noel answered, “Yes.” She put on her glasses and brushed the dirt off her clothes with a familiar gesture.

“The magic tools are still in their developmental stages, so they are always next to danger. That is why it is essential to conduct trials and experiments in the field. By the way, everything in this backpack is a prototype, and it explodes at least once out of two attempts.”

“Magic tools are scary…”

Tito was frightened, her cat ears flattened, but Noel’s glasses shone brightly.

“Failure is the source of success. It is through repeated failures that we can make technological breakthroughs.”

“That’s awfully positive, this girl…”

“That’s good! I love your willingness to take on challenges!”

On the contrary to Lexia, who was impressed, Luna was worried that Noel might be a piece of crap in the skin of a genius.

＊＊＊

“Kuee, kuee.”

Luna looked back at Tito amidst the anxious cries of the Vehicle Hawks on the ropes.

“So how are we going to tame them, Tito?”

“Uh, Master was patting around here, as I recall. Then the Vehicle Hawk seemed to become more docile…?”

“Kuee?”

When Tito gently approached and stroked the feathers on the back of its neck, the previously wary Vehicle Hawk was entranced and rubbed its head against Tito’s hand.

“Kuee, kuee~!”

“Wow. Fufu, I’m glad it seems to feel so good.”

“I see, so you groom them so that they recognize you as their companion.”

“It’s a reasonable method that makes good use of the monster’s habits.”

Luna and Noel soon got the hang of it and succeeded in taming the Vehicle Hawk.

“Humph, it’s pretty easy, isn’t it? I think it’s, uh, somewhere around here?”

“Kueeeeeeeee?”

Lexia, too, ruffled the feathers as she watched.

The Vehicle Hawk was instantly in a good mood and pinched Lexia’s head with its beak.

“Kuee, kue, kuee!”

“W-why? Don’t eat me!”

“A-amazing! That’s the highest expression of love from a Vehicle Hawk, Lexia-san!”

“Oh, really? Glad to hear it, I love you too──Ufufu, ufufufu, all right, all right, don’t lick meee.”

“Why do the monsters like you so weirdly, like you did with the Sahar Camel in the Kingdom of Sahar?”

“Does it smell good? Interesting.”

Thus, the four of them secured a means of transportation to the Romel Empire.

＊＊＊

The four of them ate lunch before leaving and shared it with the Vehicle Hawk.

They used a rope as a rein to attach to Vehicle Hawk, and they each climbed on its back.

“Wow, it’s so soft and fluffy! It’s like riding a cloud!”

“It’s really quiet, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. I was worried that I might be shaken off, but now I feel safe.”

“Fufu, good boy. Good, good.”

It stands on the cliff and spreads its wings.

“Then, are you ready?”

“Yes!”

With a tug on the reins, the four Vehicle Hawks swooped into the wind.

“Wow, wow, they really flew!”

“It’s more stable than I thought it would be.”

The ground quickly moved away from them as the four of them cheered.

Lexia pointed to the northern sky.

“Let’s go, then! Onward to the Romel Empire, land of snow and ice!”