And they now reached the last five minutes of the great competition. Many of the townsfolk had set their clocks; yes, the time had come! The community all crowded around to catch glimpse of the business to arrive back first!
They would now crown the next Town Engineer! Joyous Day!
... Ahem.
Everybody lined the streets of the town, the fountain in the plaza, and the dirt roads. Eve, The Minister of Mechanics, and Chung, the boy who had studied under her, patiently waited for a plane to come.
In the distance, a thing came into view. The wings were green, and it soared mightily in the skies. Like a hawk. Or an eagle. Or perhaps even a vulture. Voices in the crowd picked up, one by one, and people began to move out of the way so the plane had a proper spot to land. The green contraption directed itself to the ground, the wheels gently touching the dirt road and rolling to a stop.
One by one, the four passengers unloaded, first Elsword and Raven, then the girls carried down by the guys. Once Aisha was on her feet, she rushed to Chung and gave him a big hug-slash-tackle. "Chung!"
"H-Hey Aisha." Somewhat startled, Chung patted her back then appreciatively returned the hug.
Elsword walked up to his blond friend and patted his back a bit too hardly. "Did you hold up well?" He asked with a silly grin.
"Yeah!" Remembering what Chung had been doing while they were gone, Aisha released him. "What'd you learn from The Minister?"
The silver-haired Minister and Chung both exchanged glances; it was actually supposed to be an educational experience for him. Sorta.
"W-Well, E-err," almost forgetting the casualness of her name but catching himself quickly, he addressed her by title, "The Minister has taught me a lot! I've learned some stuff about metals and recommended parts for certain machinery." Suddenly absorbed in what he was saying, Chung clapped his hands together. "Oh yeah! She also taught me the purpose of all tools you can use, and different ways to weld metal. Oh! Also–"
Eve noticed the uninterested looks on Aisha and Elsword's face. Sure, they looked happy Chung was learning, but it seemed like they were expecting something else. What a quizzical thing, Eve thought to herself.
"I see..." Aisha said while putting a hand to her chin.
Chung blabbered on, beginning to name different non-metals they never even spoke about while he was with Eve. Eve had the urge to slap him in the face for his aimless speech, but then again, that would be some bad publicity— that wasn't even mentioning her drones' stellar response. So she began running through other options to shut him up. Once her mind skimmed over a certain one, though, her body automatically moved without considering other options. For once, she Eve let the feeling override her senses.
"Eh...?!" Chung made a tiny noise as Eve kissed his cheek briefly, and his friends gaped slightly. "I-I..." He practically froze in the middle of his sentence. Eve realized that the Congress of Engineers would figure out the secret relationship they had been hiding because of this action being witnessed by so many. She'd deal with it later.
"Now then," turning back to the two businesses, Eve put on a more composed look. "To whom does this green plane belong?" Of course, she remembered, but she asked again for the sake of the clueless audience around them. It was her job to keep a professional and informative act when with outsiders of the central conflict.
Elsword looked over at Rena. She was holding Raven's hand, smiling at the red-haired boy without speaking up.
Why wasn't she saying anything?
Elsword stepped forward. "This plane belongs to The Titanium Wel-"
"Wha?" The green haired lady broke in, acting flabbergasted by Elsword's words. "T-That's not my plane!" Rena's voice had a fake tone to it though.
"Rena," Aisha leaned forward to look at her, "you earned the title fair and square. It's alright."
Rena covered her mouth with her free hand "... Really? Are you sure?"
"Yes!" The owner of Gearworks yelled. "Now hurry up and get that title, for pete's sake! I'm hungry!" After all that had happened, it was amazing Elsword could say those words with such joy and exasperation.
It didn't make any sense to Rena, why they chose her. Elsword and Aisha were far too gracious to her, and it nearly brought her to tears. But, with newborn confidence, Rena fought the tears back and walked five steps forward, stopping in front of The Minister. "This plane belongs to The Titanium Welder." She kneeled on one knee. "We have completed the task you put before us."
"Titanium Welder, you indeed have accomplished the task I assigned. Well done." The mayor walked over to The Minister with a steel pipe on a purple pillow. She touched the cool, stainless, and shiny pipe with her thin and calloused fingers, picking it up like glass. Then, The Minister turned back to Rena.
"Ms. Rena," The Minister's voice was smooth and calm, "I am now honored to bestow upon thou the traditional title passed down through generations, through your elders."
"Leader of The Titanium Welder..." The Minister tapped Rena's right shoulder with the steel pipe.
"Town Engineer." The Minister tapped her left shoulder.
The townspeople began cheering. The dispute between the businesses was done.
... Of course to those that were highly familiar with the titling process, the businesses and the mayor to be precise, they were aware that something was happening. It had been so long since the last titling process that very few could clearly remember all the steps, but the title of Town Engineer was traditionally given when you tapped the head, not the left shoulder. In fact, The Minister had skipped over the part that honored the past.
"And..." Nobody but the few aware heard The Minister's last words. Eve smiled at them, something so genuine that maybe nobody had seen it before.
"Aviator of The Era."
The Minister tapped Rena's head quickly, then placed the steel pipe back on the pillow. "Congratulations, for becoming the first known person to fly around the world."
Rena gleamed and stood to her feet. The others began clapping loudly, and she turned to look at them. Looks of glee filled their faces, and it was unspoken that there were no hard feelings for the older lady. That was in the past.
"Well done!" Aisha exclaimed, jumping slightly.
Elsword grabbed Aisha's shoulder. "Yeah! Way to go lady!" He received a jab in the side from the purple-haired girl for his improper words.
Rena looked at Raven. He didn't say anything, but she knew that he was proud just by the look on her face.
This was finally the beginning of something new for all of them.
Chung stood nearby, watching the happy events. He'd nearly forgotten about Eve in the mix of it all, which was ironic and strange considering she was in the mix of it all. Eve came up behind him and squeezed his hand once, less with love and more with awkwardness. "Hey Eve." He said as he turned around.
"I shall be departing now." Eve declared quietly to him.
"Okay." Chung responded.
The two maintained eye contact, neither wanting to break away. But then, Eve hesitated for a brief second before awkwardly hugging him. "I will never forget these last weeks."
Chung wanted to tell her something, but the words didn't come. It would hurt too much if he said something that could make her cry again. Instead, he embraced her for a second before letting her walk off and away. He waved at her, and she waved back. Despite his sadness, he knew she truly meant what she said. That would be enough, at least.
"Chung, get over here!" Elsword waved him over. "We're getting some grub!"
With a tiny, forlorn smile, Chung walked over to join his friends and fellow engineers. Everything was over, and he'd finally get to hear about their big adventure!
And that concludes Chapter 26 of Aviators of The Era. I've got one more bit for your to chew on(if you've made it this far, thank you soooo much!), so tune in!
Special thanks to all you lovely people that took the time to read this and review/favorite/follow. I couldn't have finished this without all the wonderful emails notifying me about you all! It's been a pleasure writing this, and I hope I can muster the strength to write another for you all again!
Anyways, signing off! Enjoy the last bit of Aviators of The Era!
~Melodoki