Right now, inside his mind, the ideas were falling into place.
They weren't grandiose fantasies or delusions of power.
They were simply… solutions.
He had spent enough time in Hateno to understand something fundamental.
Distance.
Broken roads, impassable mountain passes, swamps, hills infested with monsters.
Everything moved slowly because of physical limitations.
But suddenly, the sky stopped being a limit not just for the Rito, but for Hylians as well.
Eric rested a hand on the glider.
A thought surfaced, sudden and sharp.
An aerial caravan.
One that could reach places a land convoy would take days to access… or never reach at all.
Regions surrounded by cliffs.
Small, isolated villages barely surviving under constant monster attacks.
Routes where every journey became a deadly gamble.
From the air, those problems simply ceased to exist.
He could transport more cargo than a single cart could ever bear, distributed across compartments suspended beneath the wing.
Ambushes would be avoided entirely, leaving only flying enemies to worry about.
Something a few Golem heads could deal with easily.
Eric narrowed his eyes, mentally evaluating adjustments.
—A larger wing… —he thought—. Reinforced edges. More load points, not more concentrated weight—
He didn't see impossible obstacles. Only improvements.
If he could make it bigger, more stable, more durable… then he could move goods.
Eric smiled, not with arrogance, but with that dangerous expression that appears when someone realizes the world could suddenly work better.
For now, though, he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and simply allowed himself to enjoy this moment of realization.
A few seconds later—
One villager fainted.
Another began to clap… alone… slowly… until everyone joined in.
Eric's siblings were the first to react.
—HE FLIES LIKE A RITO!!! —one shouted.
—MOM, ERIC IS FLYING!!! —another shrieked, jumping in place.
—I WANT ONE!!! —the youngest added, having no idea what he was asking for.
Eric's two younger sisters stayed silent, the little ladies they were, but their eyes couldn't hide the longing to fly as well.
Then—
Lyra stepped forward.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
Eric smiled nervously.
—Mom—
She hugged him.
Hard.
Too hard.
—One day —she said through clenched teeth— you're going to give me a heart attack.
—But I landed just fine —he replied, pointing at the intact aircraft.
Lyra released him, looked him up and down… then examined the structure.
—…I'll admit, it's impressive.
She was proud.
Eric puffed out his chest.
—See?
—That doesn't mean you get to do it again over a village full of people.
—…What about over the wheat fields?
—ERIC!!—
The villagers crowded around the aircraft as if it were a sacred relic.
—By the goddess Hylia, this could carry so much heavy cargo—
—Kid, does this thing shoot too?
—How fast does it fly?
—Can it be rented?
—IS THIS SHEIKAH TECHNOLOGY?
—IS IT FOR SALE?
—CAN IT TAKE ME ANYWHERE?
Eric raised a hand toward the gathered merchants.
—No, no, no, and absolutely not. At least not until this is completely safe. This is still in the testing phase—
—It's just a prototype —he added, trying to escape the tightening circle around him.
That did not help at all.
—I don't care! I want to reserve one, TAKE MY MONEY!
—MOVE ASIDE!! I WAS HERE FIRST!
Naturally, Eric had no intention of handing this over so easily. Not yet. It still needed many improvements and safety measures.
After countless refusals, people finally stepped back, their curiosity at least somewhat satisfied.
Eric let out a breath of relief.
His mother looked at the neatly arranged crates on the ground.
—What did you bring this time? —she asked, rubbing her hands together.
Eric simply smiled.
Lyra wiped her hands on her apron, her eyes already shining before she even saw the contents.
—Don't tell me… —she murmured.
Eric opened the lid.
Inside lay the spoils of several days spent scouring the surroundings of Hateno.
Keese eyes, carefully separated. Intact wings. Chuchu jelly sorted by color.
Bokoblin fangs. Lizalfos claws. Tails still flexible.
Dried Octorok balloons. Moblin tusks and horns.
Lyra let out a stifled laugh.
—…You're insane.
Then Eric opened the second crate.
And the third.
The fourth.
Each one was a small fortune, organized with obsessive precision.
Everything had a purpose: alchemy, upgrades, trade, research.
All of it would be in high demand in her shops.
Lyra began calculating almost immediately, murmuring numbers, lips moving rapidly.
—This… this… and this… —she stopped and looked up—.
—How much? —Eric asked, amused by the sight of his mother like this.
Lyra took a deep breath.
—Around one hundred thousand rupees —she said—. Maybe more, given your recent reputation and ties with the Zora—
—One hundred thousand…?
Nair stared at his ten small fingers in amazement, trying to imagine how much one hundred thousand rupees actually was.
Lio simply asked if that meant they could eat meat every day. Eric ruffled his hair and told him that, in fact, they could for years.
Tiran just kept admiring his brother's glider.
Sila and Eira were more reserved, but even they couldn't hide the way their mouths watered at the thought of meat.
—You brats stay out of adult conversations —Lyra scolded them, and the kids ran back into the house.
Eric didn't seem surprised.
As he used Ultrahand to unload the remaining crates and move them into the warehouses, Hateno continued with its routine.
When the last crate was stored away, Eric leaned against a post for a moment to rest.
The exhaustion hit him all at once.
.
.
.
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