After taking care of the affairs regarding the Kingdom of Dawn, Roland returned to his mansion deep down the campsite.

The manor, which consisted of several attached two-story stone houses, a huge front yard, and a backyard, used to belong to a wealthy merchant. Since its original owner went missing during the Hermes riot, Roland used it as his temporary residence.

When he entered the master bedroom, he found Anna sitting at his desk reading the book he had retrieved from the Dream World. The sunlight that fell through the window blazed off her bangs and gilded her pale face with a rim of gold.

"Is the meeting over?" Hearing his footsteps, Anna turned around and asked him happily.

"Yes, I told them everything they should know. Nana and the others will take off first thing in the morning."

"Have a foot bath first." Anna rose and put a water basin on the stool next to the bed. She then helped Roland take off his shoes and socks. The boots Roland wore on the plateau were made of st.u.r.dy leather, quickly giving him sore, smelly feet. Therefore, the first thing Roland did after work was to take a foot bath and put on a pair of light, soft shoes. At first, he insisted on doing it himself, but Anna was determined to help and refused to take no for an answer.

"How's the temperature?" Anna put her Blackfire into the water and let it sink to the bottom.

"Maybe a little hotter than this... Ah, that's perfect." Feeling the warmth wash over his feet, Roland sighed deeply.

Apart from heating up the water, the Blackfire could also turn into a rollerball to ma.s.sage the back of his feet and soles. It would then cover his feet and dry off the water residue.

This is such a pampered life. 

"What about you?" Anna sat down next to him. "Are you leaving with Nana?"

"No, but Sylvie is. Her monitoring ability is irreplaceable for the garrison." Roland held Anna's hands. "My return would certainly ease their minds, but they have to learn to solve problems without me. Besides, the main force of the First Army is not ready so I would be of little use. Once Maggie transports Nana and Sylvie, she'll transport us."

Since Hummingbird's ability did not apply to living beings, Maggie could only take around two people on her back at a time. The maximum number of people depended on the weight of each individual. Lightning could also carry one pa.s.senger, but she would fly much lower when loaded, almost touching the tips of the trees. Her service was thus considered not very safe for a long-haul flight but could serve as an alternative in the event of an emergency.

It was a long trip from Hermes to Neverwinter. Even if Maggie continued to fly after the sunset without taking a break to search for food, it would take nearly three days to cover the distance. Roland had no choice but to gradually transport witches based on how urgent their tasks were needed.

Fortunately, the troops would slowly advance toward the south along the inland river, which would shorten the wait time for the transportation services.

"If only there were a faster commute." Anna looked up. "For example, a machine that soars through the sky."

"That isn't easy, unless —" Roland was about to say that it was impossible to build a real aircraft without an internal combustion engine when an idea suddenly flashed across his mind. He instantly withdrew his previous remark and said something else instead. "Hang on, that's probably doable."

"How?" Anna's lake-blue eyes flickered with excitement.

"By using Wendy's and Mystery Moon's abilities," Roland answered meditatively. "If it's an aircraft with the purpose of transportation, it might work if we combine their abilities!"

Roland was actually inspired by Maggie's bombing plan. If he did not pursue generalization and ma.s.s production, a lot of witches' abilities could actually replace machines.

After three years of research and development, he had successfully obtained light aluminum materials in Neverwinter and had also established an Arithmetic Academy capable of performing large-scale computing. Together with a central carrier used to verify computing results, there was a significant chance that he could build a glider that required little or no power.

The most important part of this attempt was Wendy's control of the wind and an electric motor that powered Dawn I.

Simply speaking, an aircraft can fly because its engine produces thrust that pushes the plane forward. In the meantime, a pressure differential created by the airflow on the upper and lower surfaces of the airplane wings generated a lifting force.

Due to the limitations of the current technologies in Neverwinter, the electric motor presently in use was not powerful enough to lift a plane. However, Wendy's wind could provide a lifting force to the aircraft by directly creating an "air pressure differential" beneath the wings. In that case, the electric motor would only need to provide a horizontal thrust force. In the same way, in which Lightning had adjusted the direction of bombs in the air, Wendy was required to apply moderate force to help the plane take off.

"To enhance the flight's duration, the glider's wings should be as long as possible." Roland became increasingly excited as he recollected what a glider looked like in modern society. "But to maximize the lifting force before its takeoff, the aircraft must have a wide wing to fully embrace Wendy's wind control area. Also..."

A regular, well-designed glider, relied on hot airflow to increase its flight alt.i.tude and enhance its flight duration. Roland's unique glider, however, would be supplied continuously with upward airflow generated by the witches. This meant that the aircraft could operate as long as Roland wanted to, provided that the magic power didn't run out.

In other words, once a runway was built at the destination, the aircraft could transport at least 10 people at a time. Even the slowest glider could reach a speed of more than 200 kilometers per hour, which was three times faster than Maggie in the form a Devilbeast. With such a glider, they could reach any city in Graycastle within a day.

Needless to say, it would be a slow and time-consuming process to manufacture the prototype and train the pilot. Even if he started the project now, by the time the glider was launched, the witches and the First Army would have already arrived at Neverwinter.

Nevertheless, the idea of inventing a glider exhilarated both Roland and Anna, who dwelled on this subject for quite a while. For human beings who came from and returned to the earth, flying was their biggest ambition. Unlike a lame hydrogen balloon, a glider allowed people to truly soar the sky.

Edith gave Roland wise advice on ruling the kingdom, whereas Anna shared his thoughts and ideas on new technologies and innovations. She was the only person capable of having a conversation with him on such an academic level.

"By the way," Anna carefully organized and put away the sketch of the glider and meeting notes, "was there any good news during the meeting? You haven't looked as relaxed as today ever since you received the letters from Neverwinter."

"Well, sort of." Roland curled up his lips into a smile and told her about his conversation with the Pearl of the Northern Region briefly.

When Anna heard Edith's reasoning, she could not help bursting into laughter.

"What's wrong?" Roland asked curiously.

"I want to say that she's overconfident in our learning ability. To understand everything you've taught us? I'm having a difficult time learning advanced mathematics, let alone physics and chemistry..." Anna grimaced. "I feel like I'll never completely understand the orange book even if you give me another 100 years."

"Haha." Roland laughed. "There are many similar books in the Dream World."

"And I don't think the future will turn out the way she thinks."

"Really? What do you think will happen?"

"She thinks it's better to let the Kingdom of Dawn sink into chaos if you aren't able to secure a dominant position on the continent through a flanking attack. However, I, believe there's more than one way to win people's respect. When you lead us to fight against demons and eliminate all those fearsome enemies who invade our kingdom, you'll be treated with reverence, an honor that no other king can possibly attain," Anna said in a serious tone. "When you eradicate the church and win the Battle of Divine Will, the witches would all remember your great services and the Taquila witches would also be proud of you. Your name will be found in every book you've written, and you'd be permanently a.s.sociated with the knowledge you've brought to the ma.s.ses. You'll not only become a part of our history but will also be remembered by everybody in present time. You would enjoy such high prestige that the lords from other kingdoms would come to seek your protection and request to be under your jurisdiction. n.o.body would challenge your authority because those who betrayed you have already provided an ill.u.s.tration of what happens when they commit treason. In the foreseeable future, there would probably be only one kingdom, with its territory reaching to the Fertile Plains, where mankind is vigorously reviving the glory of the human race..." Anna paused for a second and then asked, "Is there anything wrong with my prediction?"