Desperately reminding herself that she could not save everyone in this world, Mirha devoted herself to her apprentices’ training again today.

“Today we’re going to try riding a road eagle. You have a talent for horsemanship, so riding an eagle shouldn’t be too difficult for you.”

A full month passed since Rain officially became Mirha’s apprentice, and Mirha, Rain, and Taniel were at the order’s flight training ground.

It was a wide open field on the outskirts of Santir, about an hour away from the Moonlight Night Palace by rail.

“Taniel, show him how it’s done first.”

“Yes, Teacher.”

Taniel gave a crisp nod and approached the eagle.

She untied the reins of the eagle tethered to a nearby post and swung nimbly onto its back. Rain watched with a look of pure terror.

Just as Mirha said, Rain already showed a talent for riding horses, but mounting a horse and galloping on solid ground was an entirely different matter from clinging to the back of a flying creature and cutting across the sky.

[Both are actually the same. Whether you fall off a horse or fall off an eagle, the odds of dying are pretty high either way. Ground or sky, there’s not much difference. So don’t worry too much.]

Taniel’s words of comfort from the day before were no help whatsoever.

‘The odds of dying are high either way……?’

Rain stared at Taniel with a face so drained he looked ready to throw up or faint on the spot.

“Please be careful, Senior.”

The words burst out of him before he could stop them. Taniel, perched on the back of a bird as large as a sturdy horse, looked so small and fragile. Oblivious to her junior’s distress, Taniel laughed brightly.

“Of course, Rain. I’m always careful.”

‘I don’t think that’s true.’

Unable to openly contradict someone he looked up to so much, Rain grumbled only in his head.

In his eyes, Taniel was far too reckless on a regular basis. She was, quite often, a thoroughly willful young lady.

For all her mischievous tendencies, her skill was undeniable. Even as a young apprentice knight, she was already talented enough to be mentioned as a future candidate for order captain.

Taniel in particular handled horses and eagles almost like extensions of herself. That was why Rain felt so genuinely glad when he discovered his own talent for riding.

He was glad that someone like him shared something in common with Taniel. He was grateful to have earned the right to follow in his senior’s footsteps.

Hope took root in him that someday he might dare to stand shoulder to shoulder with his teacher and his senior.

The eagle-riding lesson looked set to become the first obstacle to that hope. The thought of clinging to the back of such a large and fearsome creature and flying through the sky filled him with dread he couldn’t shake.

Unlike her junior, who already wore the face of a dead man, Taniel grinned and took firm hold of the reins. Her thick, glossy brown braid caught the sunlight and gleamed bronze.

“Hiyah!”

She spurred the eagle the way one would a horse. The training bird spread its massive wings and pushed off the ground with its hooked talons. The road eagle shot into the air in an instant, and Rain sucked in a sharp breath.

“Senior!”

The cry escaped him before he knew it. Taniel pulling away faster than he expected sent a jolt of fear through him.

Rain stepped forward on reflex, as though to chase after the eagle, but Mirha gripped his shoulder firmly and pulled him back, worried he might get hurt.

By then Taniel had already soared upward like an arrow. She held the reins with confidence, skillfully commanding an eagle twice her size as she traced a wide circle in the sky.

The time she spent aloft was shorter than expected. The altitude wasn’t particularly high either.

The purpose of the flight was only to demonstrate for her junior, so Taniel suppressed her urge to show off how fast and high she could go and descended obediently before long.

Rain stood rooted to the spot, his face drained of color, watching his senior. Soon the road eagle touched down, and Taniel dismounted with the same easy grace she showed going up.

“Rain, did you watch carefully?”

“……Yes, Senior.”

“It’s not that hard. You picked up riding quickly too. I’m sure you’ll handle the eagle just as well.”

He wanted to protest that there was no way. But Rain swallowed the denial that rose to the tip of his tongue.

‘Right, Senior is right. I picked up riding quickly. I can definitely do this. I have to.’

If he couldn’t do it well, he would at least get used to it and catch up to his senior and teacher no matter what. So he could stand proudly at their side. So he could be a junior and apprentice they wouldn’t be ashamed of.

“Rain, come here.”

Taniel beckoned, and Rain walked over without resistance. Mirha watched quietly, giving Taniel the space to take on the teacher’s role for now. Taniel began passing on what she learned with reliable steadiness.

“First you need to bond with the eagle. Just like horses, they’re animals with a strong sense of self. Start by making eye contact…… that’s it. Now bow your head slowly. And wait until the bird responds to you. If the eagle takes a liking to you, it’ll show you.”

A moment later, after Rain finished his bow and waited with nervous anticipation, the bird slowly dipped its head toward him. Joy spread across Rain’s face. Taniel, watching from the side, grinned.

“Good, you managed to bond with it. Can you stroke its head a little? The texture is fluffier than you’d expect.”

It was true. The road eagle’s feathers, which looked smooth as silk from a distance, were surprisingly soft, like down. Rain’s eyes went wide as he carefully stroked the bird’s head.

“Now take the reins and climb onto its back. The saddle sits higher than it looks, so be careful.”

Rain took a deep breath and pushed off the ground. Drawing on his sacred power to enhance his physical ability, as knights typically did, he leapt up with far more agility than an ordinary person and settled onto the bird’s back.

“Well done, Rain!”

Taniel clapped her hands in encouragement. Rain broke into a bright, open smile at the unguarded praise from his respected senior. It made him look truly like a fairy.

“Well done, Rain. Now all that’s left is to actually fly.”

Mirha said calmly. Rain’s face went rigid. He shrank back with a frightened expression and began nervously glancing around, and Mirha turned to Taniel.

“Taniel, would you like to ride along? I think it’d be better for the two of you to fly together for a while.”

“Yes, Teacher.”

“Rain, ride with Taniel and get used to it gradually.”

“Yes, understood.”

The children each nodded. Taniel climbed back onto the eagle. She settled into the saddle and reached her arms forward to wrap around Rain from behind, and Rain tensed instantly and swallowed.

“I’ll hold the reins at first. You hold onto the saddle grip.”

“Yes, Senior.”

Following Taniel’s instruction, Rain gripped the pommel at the front of the saddle with both hands. Taniel pressed her chest against Rain’s back and took hold of the reins comfortably.

“Then let’s go.”

Taniel said. Each time her lips moved, a soft breath tickled Rain’s cheek.

The boy, still a full head shorter than his senior, hunched his shoulders with tension. It was a tension that had nothing to do with riding a bird and flying for the first time in his life.

“Hiyah!”

Taniel urged the bird again, and the eagle spread its great wings once more and pushed off the ground.

“……!”

He thought it looked fast from the outside, but actually being on the bird’s back exceeded anything he imagined. It was as thrilling as the first time he rode a horse at full gallop, no, even more so than that.

Rain held his breath. He told himself not to look down, yet he turned his head without thinking and looked back at the ground growing farther away. He was fully airborne now. Dizziness swept over him all at once.

“Hey, careful!”

Taniel cried out from behind. Rain’s small body tilted sharply, and Taniel braced him urgently with her arm. In doing so she nearly lost her grip on the reins, and now both of them swayed together.

“Whoa!”

“Ah……”

Rain clutched the grip tight. Fortunately Taniel recovered her balance quickly. She straightened herself up again. Holding the reins steady, Taniel called out:

“Rain, are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine!”

The wind was already so loud they had to shout to hear each other. Taniel called out with her heart pounding.

“Keep holding on tight! Even with the guards on, falling from this height will hurt badly! You scared me!”

“I’m sorry!”

“Don’t apologize! Just be careful from now on!”

The two children kept shouting back and forth as they cut across the sky. The eagle, which first climbed at a diagonal, leveled off once it reached a sufficient altitude and began flying parallel to the ground.

“Ah, haha……”