Release that Witch

A week later, Tilly put the list of the names on Roland’s office desk.

”How was the recruitment? Did it go well?” Roland poured a cup of tea for her and asked carefully. He has always felt a lingering sense of guilt when facing this nominal ”sister” of his. Except for Anna to whom he told the truth on his own initiative, Tilly was the first one to discover that he was not Prince Roland. When the flying demons attacked Neverwinter, Tilly’s protective actions made him realize that she had completely accepted their alliance but the guilt in his heart has not relieved at all.

After all, it was he who occupied the body of Prince Roland.

At the very beginning, he had planned to occupy the identity of her brother without giving any explanation. However, when he found out that she did not blame him, he, instead, became uncomfortable.

Of course, he just kept that in his mind, but would not repeatedly mention it. Most of those people who insisted on getting an answer would die for it, which he knew well.

”It went well, except for the number of the trainees.” Tilly took the teacup and blew lightly before drinking it, ”I selected 124 people from the migrants, and 73 from official citizens. Less than 200 people... I’m afraid such a small group of people may have little impact in our fight against the demons.”

”It’s always difficult to start,” Roland read the list. ”After you set examples, you’ll surely attract more people in the second round of recruitment. Then it won’t be limited to Neverwinter.”

Though different people had different visions, humankind’s longing for the vast space was engraved in the bones. From the moment the civilization was born, people had begun to look up at the starry sky. Whether it was imitating the birds or making balloons, the exploration of the sky was not unique in the era of aircraft. The explorers from the Society of Wondrous Crafts were the best example. Therefore, Roland was not worried about the attraction of Air Force to people.

The first thing to do was to cultivate a team that could fly.

Anyhow, he knew that training of pilots was by no means an easy task.

In an era when the flight control system was still immature, the most important quality of a pilot was... talent. No fear of height, resistance to dizziness, and physical coordination were just basic requirements. The sense of spatial orientation, understanding of the plane, and even the reaction speed all determined whether a person was qualified to be a pilot.

The obedience and reliability of the veterans of the First Army were extremely high. It was okay to select a few outstanding soldiers as core military officers, but it was impossible to transfer all of them into the Air Force.

This was why he decided to select from the new migrants.

Knowledge could be acquired by learning, but the talent was inherent. It would be better to find more qualified people than forcing those who were not.

According to the report, nearly 3,000 people signed up within a week and nearly 200 of them were qualified. From this point of view, it was indeed a wise move to include temporary residents from the very beginning.

Turning to the last page of the name list, Roland was surprised and asked, ”Six people failed to pass the oath part?”

”Their thoughts were different from the things they said, so they were taken by Vader to interrogate,” Nightingale answered. ”Two of them were official citizens of Neverwinter.”

Roland frowned. In theory, this was not something worth a fuss. People’s fickleness was ordinary, and it took an instant to change from good to evil. He had never expected those people would remain the same forever. Yet, when he really encountered it, he still felt a sense of disappointment.

They could have followed him into a better new era.

They had even seen the threshold of the new era.

In spite of that, they gave up in front of the threshold.

”Did you find out the reason?”

”I have planned to report to you after doing a thorough investigation,”, said Nightingale carelessly. ”They were bought by a foreign tradesman, hoping to infiltrate into the army so as to get more information about the firearms. The police department acted but only caught the tradesman’s assistants who stayed in the hotel. Then I asked Summer to create flashbacks and discovered a letter from the old king’s city. From the content, the mastermind behind it seemed to be a nobleman. Anyway, we have known his whereabouts, appearance, and identity, and his portrait painted by Soraya was sent to Theo by the Animal Messenger. I think he won’t be able to escape for a long time.”

Hearing this, Roland could not help laughing, and the previous unpleasantness was driven away. In the face of such an unreasonable investigation model, the revolters were really miserable.

”Er... what’s the problem?” Nightingale blinked.

”No, you did a good job,” Roland pressed down his smile. ”Since they are reluctant to give up, the North Slope Mine area still needs more hands.”

It seemed the former nobles did not completely give up. As long as they found any chance, they would try to recover the noble system. He was not surprised by it. After all, the feudal system had lasted for nearly 1,000 years and still existed in the other three kingdoms. It was impossible to make it disappear overnight.

”Well,” Tilly cleared her throat, changing the subject back to business. ”The problem of trainees is solved. Where is the plane?”

”Well... By the way, Evelyn has recently made a type of Chaos Drinks with excellent taste. Do you want to have a try?”

”Oh? Great—no!” Tilly soon recovered, ”We’re talking about the plane. You haven’t even made a prototype plane, have you?”

Bingo!

”Anyway, they have to start from learning to read and mastering basic theory. If it’s just for demonstration, then a glider...”

”No,” Tilly interrupted seriously, ”Even if we used a glider, a modified version would be totally different from the original one in practice, not to mention a new plane. If I did not operate it in person, how could I instruct others? It’s indeed early for the trainees to drive the plane, but I have to spend at least a month in advance so as to thoroughly understand its performance and make an adjustment to the Flight Manual . Not to mention the following modification. Since you asked me to take charge of it, I’m naturally responsible for urging you to do what you should do.”

It was the first time for Roland to see the serious aspect of Princess Tilly.

Apparently, she was indeed fond of this ”big toy” which could fly and match her ability.

The only problem was that Roland underestimated the difficulty of making a complete plane. He intended to make a biplane which only had a set of power and fuel equipment more than a glider, but its complexity had already multiplied, even if he could look up the various materials in the Dream World. If he had to design it alone, he probably would not finalize the prototype plane in a few years.

”I know,” he shook his head helplessly. ”In two weeks, I’ll give you a finished prototype that can fly.”

”Then that’s a deal,” Tilly smiled slightly. ”By the way, where is the new type of Chaos Drinks with great taste? Please let me have a try.”

...

”Strange...” After Princess Tilly left with a full bottle of Chaos Drink, Nightingale muttered in a low voice.

”What’s the matter?” Roland asked.

”She addressed you as brother several times in public before, but when she sees you in private, she rarely does... Isn’t it strange?”

”Is it?” He was surprised, ”But... why?”

”I don’t know either.”

They stared at each other and stroked their chins, pondering over this difficult puzzle.