Release that Witch

”Of course there isn’t.” Roland poked her forehead affectionately. ”On the contrary, I feel it’s exactly something you’d dream.”

”Why are you so happy about what Edith said then?” Anna asked in bewilderment.

”I’m not happy about her prediction. History itself has a lot of variables and possibilities,” Roland replied smilingly. ”It’s already hard to learn from the past, let alone to predict the future. For instance, we may survive the third Battle of Divine Will but suffer a miserable defeat in the fourth one 100 years from now. Another option is that the enemies lurking at the bottom of the ocean are too powerful for us to conquer them, causing us to be exterminated from Earth’s surface... By that time, we don’t even know whether the human race could persevere, not to mention the continuity of our kingdom.”

”Hmm... this is something you typical for you to think about,” Anna commented, mimicking Roland’s tone. ”What makes you so happy then?”

”Her vision on things.” Roland spread out his hands. ”When she said something like that, she became a governmental officer rather than a regular noble with a title.”

”A governmental... officer?” Anna tried to repeat the mouthful word.

”Correct. She wasn’t speaking as an official from the Northern Region but as one who governs the entirety of Graycastle. She’s making policies based on the direction the entire kingdom is heading toward, which is a rare and invaluable quality for people born in this era. It’s something that even Barov fails to pay attention to. As a City Hall director, he always weighs pros and cons from the perspective of Neverwinter.”

It was indeed a game changer. From the beginning, Edith Kant, as an ordinary noble in the Northern Region, had been assisting the ruler in governing the state, while at the same time seeking benefits for her own local region. It was the most common mindset among local nobles. Only the territory granted to their family was what truly belonged to the noble, causing them to place their own benefits over that of the king, although they had pledged alliance to the monarchy.

”Another thing is her attitude toward witches.” Roland went on, ”It’s foresightful of her to associate witches with technological revolutions and then incorporate their abilities into the development strategy.”

Roland knew it was entirely different to blindly follow an order than to understand the reason behind it. Although he had developed the idea of ”science and technology constitute a primary productive force and witches are the best driving force” in his book, most City Hall officials did not really see the significance of treating witches fairly. They did so merely because it was the king’s order. The public did not understand the rationale behind it either. They gradually accepted witches because of the convenience the latter brought to them. Their mutual relationship was, as a matter of fact, as delicate and fragile as a thin thread that could easily snap off upon a conflict or a misfortune. Only when people fully recognized the absolute necessity of witches would they engage more deeply.

In fact, Roland was more pleased with the shift of Edith’s attitude toward witches than the change in her political mindset. With the centralization of power and the diminish of feudal rights, more officials would eventually accept the concept of unity. However, it would probably take a much longer time for them to grasp the nature of the witches’ abilities.

Having said that, Edith was not perfect. Although she was more insightful of the future than most people, she failed to see some other possibilities besides the continued dominance of the Kingdom of Graycastle. Her thoughts and ideology were still primarily bound by the era.

Nevertheless, Edith was, after all, a young woman about the same age as Nightingale. It was thus healthy for her to have an ambition of building an everlasting empire. Roland was curious what kind of governor she would become in 20 or 30 years when she had been imbued with all sorts of modern concepts and ideas Roland was currently striving to advertise.

After hearing Roland’s explanation, Anna tilted her head and asked, ”Since the future is unpredictable and you don’t care about what Graycastle would look like after your death, what are you planning to do if we survive the Battle of Divine Will?”

”You already know, don’t you?” Roland looked into her azure eyes.

They had discussed their future several times when they had been cuddling in bed. Roland intended to visit the Land of Dawn across the Fertile Plains and even take a look at the demons’ territory. He also planned to cross the Sealine and reach the other end of the ocean. Apart from that, he wanted to unveil the mystery of the deities and learn the truth of the world. To this end, Roland would use every resource available and force not only residents in the Kingdom of Graycastle but every single person on the continent to contribute to his entrepreneurial undertaking. Anyone who attempted to stop him would be viewed as his enemy.

”Remember to take me with you.” Anna grinned. ”I don’t want to miss the adventure.”

”Of course. I’ll definitely take you wherever I go, even to the end of the world.” Roland pressed a kiss to her lips.

***************

Neverwinter and the Third Border City.

Tilly stood captivated before the magic core, watching its every movement. Its outer frame dilated and contracted as the magic power rose and declined, like blue sea water as if the core was breathing. At the center of the pyramid flickered a yellow light orb. Like a gemstone washed and polished by tidal waves, the orb got Tilly’s full attention.

As long as the orb was illuminating, the Five-Colored Stone would be fine.

”If you feel tired, go take a rest.” Pasha’s voice suddenly popped up in her head. In the meantime, Tilly heard a rustle behind her. ”If I notice something, I’ll let you know immediately.”

Tilly turned around and found a huge blob drop down from the ceiling. Although all the Senior Witches looked the same after their conversion, she could somehow tell them apart after staying with them for a few days.

”I’m not tired. It’s been just five days...” Tilly yawned at these words. ”... I’m a bit drowsy, that’s all.”

”When I still felt sensations, there was no difference between those two.” Pasha swayed her tentacle. ”Don’t worry. The Magic Stone is intact, which means that the witches are still safe. If they do encounter demons, they will break the stone.”

Tilly also knew that, but she could not find peace in her mind. She regretted staying behind and felt a little annoyed at the fact that she had been persuaded by Ashes’ silly argument.

Technically, the operation should not be too dangerous, all the selected witches were excellent combatants who had participated in the battle against the church. The way they insinuated themselves into demons’ lair would also be pretty much the same as that they had attacked the church at Fjords — Lotus would be responsible for creating an underground shelter, and Orbit would dig a short passage for the rest of them to travel in between two locations. With this method, the enemies would only be able to find an enclosed cave beneath the earth even if they saw something out of character.

The key lay in the final step. To expand the visual field of the phantom instrument, they should break the magic stone somewhere with a relatively high altitude. Tilly had planned to locate the spot with the Stone of Flight herself, but Ashes took over her job.

Tilly had confirmed through the few maneuvers before the operation that it was highly unlikely for demons to spot her if she took action at night. However, Ashes insisted that a leader should not put herself in danger. As a result, she was left behind with the magic core, unable to do anything.