"Of course not," Roland said, affectionately tapping her forehead, "Besides, this idea sounds very much like your style."

"Then why were you happy about Edith's words?" Anna asked, puzzled.

"What pleases me isn't the scenario she predicted – because history itself is full of all sorts of possibilities," Roland laughed, "It's rare enough to see the past clearly, let alone predict the future. Perhaps the Third Battle of Divine Will will be successfully weathered, but the Fourth Battle of Divine Will hundreds of years later will collapse completely, or perhaps the enemies lurking under the sea are far more numerous than imagined, and the people on land can only be divided, surrounded, and eliminated... At that time, not to mention the kingdom's immortality, even the continuation of mankind will become a problem."

"Hmm... that guess does sound like your style," Anna mimicked his tone, "Then what exactly are you happy about?"

"Her perspective," Roland spread his hands, "When she said those words, Edith had already transformed from a noble official into a state official."

"State... official?" Anna repeated the somewhat awkward term.

"That's right, the position she stands in is no longer just the Northern Lands, but treats Graycastle as a whole, thinking about policies by inferring the overall trend of the kingdom. This is a very rare thing for the people of this era – you know, even Barov hasn't done it. In the mind of the chief of the City Hall, he always measures gains and losses from the perspective of Neverwinter City alone."

This was a leap-like change. From the beginning, Edith Kant still regarded herself as a member of the Northern nobles. Her words, deeds, and strategies, while assisting the person in power, were also striving for benefits for the Northern Lands. This is the most common consciousness of feudal nobles: only the land where the family resides is the individual's only home. Even if they are loyal to the king, the interests of the territory are above the king's orders.

"There is another point, which is her view of witches," Roland continued, "Being able to realize that witches can bring technological leaps, and treating their abilities as a development strategy, puts her ahead of most people just from this point of view."

Doing it on the surface and knowing why to do it are two completely different things. Although he proposed the concept of "technology is the primary productive force, and witches are the best catalyst for technology" in textbooks, most City Hall officials do not understand the significance of treating witches favorably. They do so only because of His Majesty the King's orders. The people also don't understand. They and the witches get along more and more harmoniously because some witches have brought convenience to their lives, nothing more. This coexistence relationship is as fragile as a bubble. When encountering major conflicts or setbacks, the situation of both parties is very likely to regress. Only when the concept that witches are indispensable is deeply rooted in people's hearts can this problem be fundamentally solved.

It can be said that the former makes Roland more satisfied. After all, with the acceleration of centralization and the disappearance of feudal differences, more and more officials will accept the view of one country, one rule. But to make them understand the essence of witches' abilities, it may take a long time.

Of course, Edith is not without shortcomings. Although her vision surpasses most people, it still hasn't surpassed the era. What she envisions in her heart is still a perpetual and immortal Graycastle Kingdom.

But considering her current age, which is comparable to Nightingale's, it's not surprising that she has such thoughts. Roland is looking forward to seeing what kind of administrator she will become in twenty or thirty years under his guidance.

After roughly explaining, Anna tilted her head and said, "Since the future cannot be predicted, and you don't consider Graycastle after your departure, if we can survive the Battle of Divine Will, what do you want to do?"

"You already know, don't you?" Roland stared into her rippling eyes.

Similar topics had been mentioned more than once on nights when the two embraced and fell asleep – crossing the Fertile Plains to see the Dawn Territory, or even the devil's territory; crossing the sea line to spread the footprints of mankind to the other side of the sea; unveiling the veil of the gods and understanding the truth of this world. To this end, he would use all available resources. Not only the Graycastle Kingdom, but everyone living on this continent would dedicate their share of strength to this exploration. And any stubborn person who tried to stop it would be his enemy.

"Remember to take me," Anna grinned, "I don't want to miss such a sight."

"Yes, I will definitely be with you – even if

it's to the end of the world," Roland kissed her lips.

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

Neverwinter City, Third Border City.

Tilly stood guard in front of the Magic Core, watching its every change. The surging magic power was like azure seawater, causing the outer skeleton to rhythmically expand and contract, as if breathing. In the center of the prism, a huangsè sphere of light flickered, like a jewel washed by waves, and also attracted all her attention.

As long as the sphere of light was still lit, it meant that the Five-Colored Magic Stone was still intact.

"If you're tired, you should rest." Pasha's words suddenly echoed in her mind, and at the same time, rustling friction sounds came from behind, "If there's any news here, I'll notify you as soon as possible."

Tilly turned around and saw a huge fleshy lump hanging down from above. Although the transformed high-level witches all looked the same, after these days of getting along, she found that she could vaguely distinguish their differences.

"I'm not tired, it's only been five days..." she said, and couldn't help but yawn, "...I'm just a little sleepy."

"When I still have consciousness, there's not much difference between being sleepy and tired," Pasha waved her tentacles, "Don't worry, the unbroken magic stone means that those witches are still safe. If they really encounter devils, they will definitely crush the stone."

Tilly also understood this, but she couldn't help but worry. She wished she had gone with them at the time, she thought with some annoyance, never expecting that she would be persuaded by that idiot Ashes.

In theory, this trip would not be too dangerous. The selected witches were all the best who had fought against the church, and the infiltration method was similar to when they captured the Fjords Cathedral – Lotus was responsible for creating collapsing cavities underground, and Trace unfolded passages for short-distance travel, allowing everyone to travel between the two cavities in an instant. For the enemy, even if they discovered the strangeness underground, digging up the soil layer would only reveal a closed cave.

The key lies in the last step. In order to allow the Illusion Instrument to obtain a broader view, the position where the magic stone is crushed should be as high as possible. Tilly originally planned to bring a flying magic stone herself to complete the positioning, but Ashes snatched the task in the end.

If they acted at night, the chances of being discovered by devils were almost negligible. Several rehearsals before departure were also very successful, but Ashes still dissuaded her with the reason that it was not appropriate for the leader to personally take risks. As a result, she could only stay in front of the Magic Core and worry in vain, without being able to do anything.

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