Release that Witch

Tilly quavered. She slowly turned around, and there was a multitude of feelings in her eyes. As if confirming what she had just heard, Tilly asked, “What… did you say?”

“I said that Ashes might be still alive,” Roland repeated slowly. He knew he could not retract now.

“No… brother,” Tilly mumbled as she managed a smile. “I know you want to comfort me, but you can’t…”

“But it’s not what you think,” Roland cut across her. “To be honest, I was as incredulous as you when I heard the news, and I know it’s unfair to tell you before I confirm that it’s true. However, I don’t want to regret it later.”

Tilly fell silent.

She stared at Roland out of his countenance as if processing the information. She suddenly realized that what Roland had said was probably something unusual.

Tilly was one of the smartest and most open-minded witches among all.

After about seven minutes, she asked tentatively, “Who told you that?”

“Lan.”

“I’ve never heard of her…” Tilly muttered as she lapsed into thought. “Does it have something to do with the Dream World?”

Roland was not surprised that Tilly had quickly made the connection. He answered calmly, “Slow down. I’ll tell you everything.”

…

By the time Roland finished, the first hint of dawn was visible in the east. The first ray of sun broke over the horizon behind the mountains and gilded the roofs of the buildings in the distance.

Tilly was still lost in thought. She muttered to Roland as much as to herself, “That means… as long as you control the Realm of Mind, you’ll be able to bring Ashes back?”

“Technically, yes,” Roland replied while nodding. “According to Lan, after a witch becomes a Transcendent, she’ll leave a mark in the Realm of Mind. This is consistent with Kabradhabi’s statement.”

During the interrogation, Kabradhabi had told Zooey that their souls would return to the Origin of Magic. Once their kind dominated the world, he would come back. Although it was quite different from what Lan had told Roland, there was one thing in common.

That was, the Realm of Mind accepted souls.

“In addition, in the ancient book of the underground civilization, the author also wrote that the journey to the Divine Will is the process of a magic power upgrade. The winner will eventually rival God. If we view the Realm of Mind as the pinnacle of magic power, then Lan’s words, in a way, fits the description.” Roland paused for a second before he continued, “Nevertheless, considering that this information may be all from God, we can’t completely trust it. The best way is to verify its validity myself.”

“Brother…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll penetrate the Realm of Mind as soon as I can and try my best to retrieve Ashes, if she’s really there. Therefore, I want you to protect yourself before I find her, as I don’t want to infuriate a Transcendent who has exceeded her limit and is beyond the restriction of God’s Stones of Retaliation…” Roland said in a half-joking manner. Then he suddenly found that Tilly did not look right.

She was trembling, her head hanging, and she was mumbling under her breath as well. Roland held his breath and listened.

“That’s great… That’s great…”

Roland suddenly did not know what to say.

Tears started to trickle down Tilly’s cheeks and splattered against the back of her hand.

Looking at the quivering princess, Roland sighed internally as he slowly stretched out his hand and patted her head.

The next moment, Tilly threw herself onto him and held him tight. The trembling gradually perished into sobs, and Roland felt as though he had traveled back in time to that night again. However, Roland sensed that something had changed.

Unlike last time where Tilly had cried for hours, this time, she dried her eyes within 10 minutes. When she looked up, she forced Roland to turn away.

“Don’t… don’t look at me.”

Then he heard Tilly sniffle and clean up her face behind him.

It was a while before Roland was allowed to turn around.

“Sorry… I made you worried,” Tilly said in a low voice.

“I’m pleased that you’ve realized it,” Roland said while folding his arms. “You should also reconsider your request last time — ”

“Are you referring to the plane used to kill the demons?” Tilly said while blinking. “No, my request stands, brother.”

“Oi…”

“You need my help to reach the Fathomless Abyss. Now, it’s very likely that the demons have already erected a full-grown Obelisk. With that being the case, it’s going to be even harder for us to restrict the Devilbeasts. If we can’t dominate the sky, the First Army might not be able to crush the enemy so easily,” Tilly said as she stuck out one finger to stop Roland. “You’re right. I didn’t care about whether I’ll survive when I made that request. I just wanted to kill as many demons as possible. But now, I’ve changed my mind.”

“And you know what a difference it could make with someone assisting you. Not a single Aerial Knight knows how to fight demons. I’m the only person who can teach and train them,” Tilly went on while patting the chest. “I promise you that I’ll look after myself and wait for you to enter the Realm of Mind.”

Roland found it hard to decline her request. The sparkles in Tilly’s eyes came back, her demeaner as poised as ever, and she was radiant from within.

“Alright then… but you must keep your promise.”

“Of course.” Tilly resumed after a brief pause, “Also… thank you for telling me that.”

“I’m not sure whether this method would work —”

“I’m more than content. At least, we now have a mutual goal,” Tilly said as she again pressed herself to Roland’s chest. “I’m glad you’re my brother…”

…

After Tilly took her leave, Nightingale returned to the office and asked, “What did you say to Princess Tilly? I saw her just come out, and she looks like a different person…”

“The connection between the Dream World and the reality. If you want to know, I can tell you as well, but not now,” Roland said as he fumbled with the drawings. “I just received a message from Honey, saying that a fleet will be arriving at the port of the inner river in two days. They should bring the immigrants from the Kingdom of Wolfheart. Before that, I should finish the drawing for the new project.”

Nightingale shrugged and said, “Never mind me. Haven’t I told you? I won’t insist if you don’t want to say.” She walked to the desk and studied the drawing for quite a while before she said, “It looks like… the vehicle Anna drove the other day in the yard.”

“It’s the same thing, only a lot larger,” Roland said smilingly. “Didn’t Barov talk about the logistics in the meeting? This is the solution.”

Apart from expensive trains, there was also a cheap alternative, a wheeled truck. There were various types of wheeled trucks. Although they were not as efficient as trains, they were more flexible and also easier to operate than a tractor. They could run on a flat, hard-surfaced road easily.

There were many inner rivers in Graycastle and the Kingdom of Dawn, but none of these rivers were connected. Therefore, a fleet of wheeled trucks could facilitate the transportation between the two countries.