As Finken had said, there were hardly any people in the huge academy. The three of them passed through buildings and buildings, and finally stopped in front of a towering courtyard wall.

"This is..."

"The west side of the airfield wall," Finken said, moving a wooden ladder from the corner and leaning it against the wall. "Follow me."

Gude hesitated for a moment, but still followed him up. When he climbed over the wall, he couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice—the setting sun was gradually approaching the sea, and the shimmering waves reflected the sea surface in gold; the sky, changing from blue to yellow, seemed to have a thicker layer, and the clouds above extended all the way to the horizon, like a slope sliding into the sea, while the empty and flat airfield under his feet was the starting point for reaching the sky.

The sea breeze blew towards the earth, instantly dispelling the stuffiness in his chest. He couldn't help but close his eyes, slowly stretched out his hands, and imagined himself floating in the air with the control stick, waiting for the take-off command.

"The scenery is good, right?" Finken chuckled. "This is the treasure I discovered. The only thing to be careful about is not to fall."

Heinz climbed over the wall last. "Phew, what should we do next?"

"Of course, go there," he said, pointing to a row of warehouses not far away. The Seagull, which he first saw, seemed to have slid out from there as well. The tail end of the warehouse was not far from the wall, only about two meters away. "But we have to bring the ladder with us."

Walking on the narrow wall top was not unfamiliar to the three of them—the usual balance training was also carried out on a single-plank bridge. A quarter of an hour later, they approached their destination.

These warehouses were probably two or three meters higher than the wall, and it was not realistic to climb directly up, but their high windows were exactly opposite the wall top. As long as they tiptoed, they could see the scene inside the warehouse.

"Montbeug airplanes... Montbeug airplanes... Ah, found it!" Finken suddenly stopped and said.

Gude followed his gaze and couldn't help but feel a tremor in his heart.

He saw four biplanes neatly placed in a warehouse, but their bodies were not covered with linen, but were generously displayed in front of the three of them. The smooth wings and streamlined body made it difficult for Gude to look away for a while. The thought that one day he could fly such an incredible thing with the birds made him feel endlessly excited.

What is a knight, the sky is where he should go!

Finken placed the ladder against the window sill and patted his hands triumphantly. "In this way, we didn't set foot in the airfield, and it doesn't count as violating the no-entry order."

Although he knew that this statement had obvious loopholes, Gude still couldn't resist the impulse in his heart and followed him into the warehouse through the high window.

Incredibly, the uneasy mood he had just had calmed down after seeing the real thing.

After landing, the two partners ran to the plane closest to them at the same time, while he walked at the end.

"Wow, this is really... amazing." Heinz stroked the fuselage and said, "It looks like it's made of metal."

"That's right, and it's as thin as a layer of skin, look—" Finken stretched out his finger and pressed hard, and a small depression appeared on the surface. "I really don't know how this was made."

"Hey, be careful, it's over if you break it!"

"Don't worry, don't worry, it's very elastic."

"Really? I'll try it too..."

Gude, however, did not surround the plane and click his tongue like the two of them. He felt as if he was being pulled by something, and he climbed onto the plane along the lower wing as if possessed. There seemed to be a voice calling in his heart, guiding him to the nose of the plane.

On the cover of the Flying Manual, Princess Tilly Wimbledon was sitting in that position, turning the land and sea into a picture under her.

Then Gude stepped into the cockpit and sat firmly in the seat.

So... is this what the world looks like in the eyes of an air knight?

The long straight wing above and the support frames on both sides blocked most of his vision, but also completely focused his gaze on the front. The chair behind him was wrapped in soft leather, and he could even smell the milky smell unique to new leather; the instrument panel was no longer two circles painted on a wooden board, but a pointer covered with transparent glass. The control stick and pedals were also made of metal, and the top of the former was covered with a layer of semi-soft gel, which was comfortable to hold and not slippery.

Gude held the hand lever and pulled it down slightly, and a clicking sound suddenly came from behind him.

Unlike the wooden lever of the training platform, he felt that he was indeed pulling something—the vibrating steel wire gave him clear feedback, rather than the previous empty sense of powerlessness, and even as he continued to exert pressure, the control stick became heavier and heavier, as if responding to his movements.

"My God, what are you doing?" Heinz's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Uh—" Gude suddenly let go of his hand. "I just..."

"Want to practice?" Finken teased, "Who was it who said I was crazy before—but when I got here, I climbed into the cockpit silently, and said I was just looking?"

"Sorry, I couldn't help it for a moment..."

"Don't worry," he interrupted, "Since training is done this way, it shouldn't break it to try it. But come down quickly after you're done, I haven't been in to see it yet."

"Wait a minute," Gude said reluctantly, "I only tried the lever just now, why don't you sit in the back seat first?"

"Wait, what about me?" Heinz also climbed onto the wing.

While the three were vying for it, the tightly closed door suddenly made a piercing unlocking sound.

Gude's face suddenly changed drastically!

Heinz also panicked. "At this time, h-how could anyone come?"

"What should we do?"

Only Finken was still calm. "It's too late to run, hide first!"

However, there was no place to hide in the empty warehouse, and the narrow seats were not enough to fit three adults. Before they could climb off the plane, the people outside had already walked into the hangar.

"Who is it?"

"Stop, don't move!"

With a few soft clicks, Gude found himself surrounded by the First Army Guard.

Facing the muzzles of the guns, the three did not dare to make any resistance and were quickly pressed to the ground.

"What happened?" A familiar figure appeared in front of them—it was Princess Tilly Wimbledon. "Are there intruders?"

Before the guards could answer, Finken had already buried his head and shouted, "Your Highness, we were wrong! We are all students in the first phase, just because we were curious and wanted to see what the plane we were going to fly would look like, so we sneaked in here, please forgive us!"

So you also know that this is a violation of the ban, Gude cried out in his heart, this is over.

After questioning all the situation, Princess Tilly nodded expressionlessly. "So that's what happened. According to the regulations, you will be punished with fifteen days of confinement or more, and then you will permanently lose the qualification to become air knights. As for whether you will serve as ground crew or chores afterwards, it is up to you to choose. Go back and report to your superiors."

"Y-yes, Your Highness..." the two said with bitter faces.

Gude's heart sank to the bottom. Seeing that the guards were about to drag them out, he didn't know where a surge of courage came from and shouted, "Your Highness, please! I just want to become a pilot, I am willing to give everything for it! And... and I think I lack a certain feeling of flying, no matter how much I practice, it is of no help, so I came here, not just because of curiosity!"

"Oh?" Tilly suddenly raised her eyebrows. "You mean—feeling?"

"Yes, I can't correlate the regulations in the manual with the operation, like I'm obviously flying, but I can't feel the wind... uh, no, it should be..." he pondered, "I don't know how to describe it, I just feel that no matter how I practice, I'm not coordinated..."

"Nonsense, what kind of reason is this."

"Tsk, is this guy crazy?"

"Hurry up and drag him away, lest he annoy Princess Tilly."

The guards whispered.

Tilly looked at him thoughtfully. "Your name is Gude, right? I remember Ermu reported that your grades are pretty good, and you were the first to adapt to the magic shadow training, and you practiced very hard."

"I..."

Before he could speak, she interrupted, "How was it? The feeling of boarding the plane."

"Ah?" Gude was stunned.

"Didn't you say you lacked a certain feeling of flying? What about now? Do you think you can fly?"

He hesitated, clenched his fists, "Your Highness... I think I can."

"Then try it." Tilly turned around and stopped looking at him. "In fact, I plan to start actual flight training tomorrow. For others, there is another chance if they fail, but you don't. If you don't succeed, you will be completely expelled from the academy. Of course, you can also accept the punishment, you can choose for yourself."

"I want to fly." This time, Gude answered almost without hesitation.

"Then let's do this." Tilly paused. "By the way, the other two have also been dealt with in the same way."