Hearing the princess volunteer her help, Vanessa couldn't help smiling slightly. It was unusual for someone as young as Christina, and with as high a status as her, to actually be concerned with the lives of others.
Even so, Vanessa decisively shook her head, "There may be some things here in Redwood Town you can help with, Your Highness, but don't forget, the reason you're here is to avoid attention. Making use of your name or status in any way would be… counterproductive."
"Ah… en," Christina gawked slightly before she nodded sheepishly. Since arriving in Redwood Town earlier today, her identity had been exposed not once, but twice.
First, it was by Lucas being too perceptive for his own good, then it was Christina volunteering the information to her new Sworn Sister.
Whether Eris had put together who Christina really was, was questionable, but that didn't change the fact that the princess had told the Baron's daughter her real name.
Additionally, whether it was her Aunt Celestina, her Aunt Vanessa, Sir Green, or really any of the other Spirit Initiates in Redwood Town, all of them were well aware of who Christina was, so at a certain point, the princess had somewhat forgotten that she was supposed to be concealing herself.
She had even taken off her Aura Concealing Cloak and replaced it with a much simpler necklace-type Spirit Tool that simply blurred her Cultivation Aura as long as didn't actively use her strength, rather than completely concealing her presence.
Only after Vanessa reminded her just now did Christina remember this important fact, causing her to blush slightly, I can't believe I keep making a fool of myself like this!
Christina, used to being perfect in everything she did, found herself screwing up quite frequently today, making her wonder just what had gone wrong.
"Your Highness…? Your Highness?"
"Princess!"
"Ah, ahem, yes?" Christina was abruptly brought back to reality when Vanessa called out to her loudly, blushing even brighter as she coughed awkwardly.
"Perhaps you should get some rest, Your Highness," Vanessa suggested, "You've had a long flight and long day."
Pursing her lips, Christina nodded, "Yes, I am feeling a bit fatigued. Thank you for your consideration, Commander Clark."
"En," Vanessa nodded, "In that case, I won't keep you any longer."
With that being said, both women got to their feet and prepared to leave, but just as she was about to open the door, Vanessa thought of something and had to ask, "Sir Green, regarding this town's defence…"
"Where the Princess goes, I go," Sir Green immediately cut in, declaring his intent in no uncertain terms.
Vanessa, having expected this, could only nod.
Before all else, Sir Green's mission was to protect Christina, so while it would probably not be an issue for him to participate in critical battles like the one that happened earlier today, expecting him to stand watch or go on patrol was asking a bit too much.
"We'll have to keep the rotation as is, then," frowning slightly, Vanessa let out a sigh before mumbling under her breath, "Maybe Lucas has a solution…"
"Pardon?" Christina's ears perked up at the mention of Lucas' name.
"Hm?" Vanessa tilted her head and asked back.
"You mentioned that little bas… that boy, Lucas, just now, Commander Clark. Why?" Christina asked, trying to feign an indifferent curiosity.
Raising her brow, Vanessa didn't miss how her niece was now fidgeting slightly at the mere mention of the strange little boy she had met in Redwood Town. It was impossible to tell just what Christina was thinking at the moment, but it was an unexpected reaction.
Still, Vanessa saw no reason to conceal anything and explained, "Even with all the masters present in Redwood Town, we're still short-handed, but Little Brother Lucas often comes up with… interesting ideas to ease the situation. His way of thinking is quite different and he sometimes finds solutions to problems that others think are impossible to solve."
Christina was stunned when she heard this.
She had experienced Lucas' skills first-hand, and over the course of the day, she had listened to Eris go on and on about how smart her little brother was, but those were just the musings of a 13-year-old girl, so the princess took those stories with a health dose of scepticism.
It was obvious to Christina that Lucas was no ordinary child, but many of the boy's achievements that Eris had credited him with seemed far-fetched in her opinion.
However, her Aunt Vanessa, a Peak-Rank Spirit Initiate and First Regiment Commander of the Golden Wings Legion, was now also offering very high praise for Lucas, even going so far as to call him 'Little Brother' while seriously thinking of consulting him regarding the current crisis.
It seemed to Christina that she was still greatly underestimating Lucas, "Is he really that smart?"
Vanessa was now convinced that her niece had taken an interest in the countryside son of the local blacksmith. As for what kind of interest, Vanessa couldn't speculate, but it was interesting, regardless.
Smiling lightly, Vanessa explained, "While Lord Charles and Lady Sasha are the ones in charge of the overall situation in Redwood Town, many of the plans and operational details were put together by Lucas. He's had a hand in everything from setting up the food distribution to using the Sunchaser as an evacuation craft."
Surprised, Christina asked in a startled tone, "General Balfour agreed to allow her precious Skyship to be used to evacuate the ordinary townsfolk here?"
"En," Vanessa nodded.
It was a shocking idea to Christina, who knew that Skyships were precious assets which were only ever used sparingly due to their immense consumption of Spirit Crystals when in operation. Using one to ferry poor farmers and labourers to safety was certainly not something an ordinary person could come up with.
After getting over her initial shock though, Christina suddenly noticed an issue and asked, "Commander Clark, I recall you saying on our way here from the capital that General Balfour's Skyship was running low on World Qi. How can it be used to evacuate thousands of people from this town to the nearby city? Surely that would take dozens of round trips which would require far too much World Qi."
"That's where Lucas really showcased his creative thinking," Vanessa chuckled, "He proposed that several Tartans be tethered to the Sunchaser, likes horses to a carriage, and then used to pull it back and forth between Redwood Town and Herald City to conserve World Qi."
When she heard this, Christina's jaw dropped. Even the always stoic Sir Green flinched slightly, though his expression was still hidden beneath his helmet.
The idea of trying to tow a Skyship through the air using flying beasts was so far outside of what they considered common sense that they temporarily failed to make any meaningful response.
When the princess finally came back to her senses, she immediately blurted out, "That's impossible!"
"It's not only not impossible, they've already begun work on implementing it," shaking her head, Vanessa replied as she smiled wryly at her little niece's reaction.
In truth, she had the exact same reaction at first, but when her former teacher told her they had already conducted a successful small-scale test, Vanessa had no choice but to believe it.
While using her Legion's precious Tartans like draft-horses was somewhat off-putting, as it seemed beneath the dignity of the vaunted Aerial Knights, Vanessa also couldn't help feeling both interested and eager to see just how things would turn out.
She had always possessed a carefree spirit and a strong sense of adventure, so this innovative plan had piqued Vanessa's interest more than enough to overcome any misgivings she might have had.
In any case, with General Balfour's full support behind the plan, it really wouldn't have mattered if Vanessa had any objections or not.
On top of all that, after the most recent battle, where a number of her fellow Spirit Initiates had suffered injuries to repel the Saberclaw Raptors, Vanessa knew well just how vital it was that they evacuate Redwood Town as quickly as possible.
The longer they remained so close to the Great Western Forest, the more likely it was that some threat capable of wiping them out and feasting on their remains would appear.
Re-focusing on the immediate situation, Vanessa concluded, "In any case, I need to discuss things further with the rest of the leaders. If there's something that we need your assistance with, I will inform you, Your Highness."
"En," Christina, still a bit dazed by the absurdity of what she had just heard, could only nod along reflexively.
"Actually," Vanessa suddenly had a thought, "would you like to join the discussion, Your Highness?"
"Certainl…" Christina was about to agree, when she suddenly thought of something and began hesitating.
This abrupt halt in her words drew the eyes of both Vanessa and Sir Green, causing Christina to feel even more uncomfortable. Still, she wouldn't get anywhere if she didn't speak up, so she gathered her courage and asked, "Um, who will be at the meeting?"
Raising her brow slightly, Vanessa at first wondered why the little princess was asking such a question, but not seeing any reason to not answer, she simply replied, "Other than myself, it should be General Balfour, the local Lords, Charles and Sasha, the Town Guard Captain, Anna, and Lucas. A few others may be asked to join if their expertise is required."
"Ah… en," Christina nodded slightly before stuttering, "A-Actually… um…"
After what happened earlier today, Christina was still feeling a bit awkward about meeting both Celestina and Lucas, so she ended up stuttering, "Um… a-actually…"