After taking care of official business that night, Roland returned to his bedroom and saw Anna arranging her clothes. Beside her was a huge suitcase.
"Uh … What are you doing?"
"You'll know once you see it." She patted the folded clothes in the closet. "Preparing for a long journey."
"Then Neverwinter will have to shut down," Roland said half-jokingly. "Is it really alright for the Minister of Industry to leave without saying goodbye?"
"Don't worry. Other than a few finished products like steam turbines and reinforced piston engines, the factory can basically produce them. At most, the passing rate will be lower. Also, the members of the Society of Wondrous Crafts that you brought back are quite talented. It won't be a problem to let them manage the department. "
"Wait …" Roland suddenly sensed that something was amiss. The clothes Anna had picked out were all simple and durable. There wasn't a single silk dress or skirt that she usually wore at banquets or other formal occasions. It did not look like she was joking. "Where are you going?"
"The floating island, with you." She revealed a look as though he needed to ask. "You aren't planning on waiting in Neverwinter for the results of the frontlines, right? I can tell that you have already made up your mind after your conversation with the Three Chiefs of Taquila. Besides, heading to the Bottomless Land from the sky is far more convenient than walking along the ridge of the continent. Even if you don't return, you have a good reason to do so. "
"That won't do —" Roland subconsciously rejected. "Let's not talk about the final battle with the demons. No one knows what's in the Bottomless Land. Besides, I heard from Hackzord that it has been occupied by the Sky-sea Realm. It's not like you don't know how risky this trip is — "
"Pa."
Anna reached out her hands and gently patted his face, forcefully straightening his shaking head. Then, she rubbed his cheeks. "Of course I know. It's because I know, that's why I'm doing this. "
Her voice wasn't loud, and there was even a sense of gentleness to it. But just by looking into her eyes, it was obvious that this matter was not to be rejected.
For an instant, her appearance overlapped with the first time they met.
At that time, Anna was still a little childish. Apart from her abilities, she had nothing else. But even so, it was extremely difficult to change her mind once she had made up her mind.
Roland had to make one last attempt. "You're different now. As a queen, it's not mature for you to abandon everything in Neverwinter and take this unnecessary risk —"
"If they were truly mature, they would never agree to let you enter the Bottomless Land without knowing anything." Anna pressed her hands down and interrupted him. "What will you become in the end, whether you fail or disappear, are all possible endings. In other words, this attack might very well be the last time we meet. Do you think I will still stay in the city? Since it's going to be an adventure, it doesn't matter if I'm included. "
"…" Roland knew that his final attempt had failed. After all, if it were him, he wouldn't be willing to wait alone at a time like this. "If we don't make it back …"
"Then the situation can't get any worse, right?" Anna let go of her hand and smiled. "But even so, I won't regret it."
…
Passing through the distorted black and white lines, Nightingale walked into the empty office.
It was already late at night, and most people were asleep. Only the flickering flames could be seen in the courtyard.
After drawing the curtains, she opened the drawer and placed the Stone of Lighting on the lamp holder.
Soon, the room was illuminated by a gentle light.
The fragments of the teapot had long been removed by the maidservants, and the carpet had been completely changed. There were no traces of the previous accident, as though it had never happened.
Nightingale walked past the telephone table and quickly found her target — a wooden box placed on the table, covered in messy documents.
In the fog, she did not need light to distinguish objects. The ever-changing domain was like another world, eternally maintaining its tri-colored state. Even without light, the black, white, and gray outlines could be seen clearly.
There was only one exception.
She opened the box, and inside was a stack of papers filled with words, as well as a few translucent stones.
Nightingale held one of the stones in her palm and attempted to enter the fog. The surging magic power suddenly dissipated before it could form, as though it was obstructed by something.
"As expected …" She sighed and sullenly threw the stone back into the wooden box.
It was a report from the "Magic Tower," written by either Agatha or Celine, or Isabella. Of course, it was more likely that they wrote it together. The crisis of the Deity of Gods had just been averted, and the Red Mist on the Hermes Plateau had yet to completely dissipate. The Taquila Witches also needed to digest the findings and experiments of the Pure Witches, so Isabella decided to temporarily stay in Neverwinter. Coupled with the technology obtained from the demons, they seemed to have produced a lot of results during this period of time, and a report would be sent to the office every few days.
Usually, Roland would finish reading it on the same day, but today was an exception. The separation of the North Slope Mountain and the test flight of the large plane were arranged on the same day, so he did not have the time to open the box.
Nightingale had noticed its existence from the start. After all, in the world of fog, there were only two things that would not be affected. One was the colorful magic power, and the other was the pure black hole created by the God's Stone. Of course, according to Isabella's research, the two could be classified as the same thing.
As such, she had discovered the black light when Roland met with Banach Lothar. But compared to an ordinary God's Stone, its range of influence was much smaller, and it was obvious that it had been modified by Isabella. As it was a sample related to the report, she did not pay much attention to it.
This was the reason why she did not use Transient Steps when the teapot fell. The black light blocked the falling teapot, and the moment she entered the fog, her body had already made the judgment that it was "irreversible".
If that was all, it was just a small accident. However, Nightingale saw a line that formed the table bounced forward under her touch, passed through the black light, and finally hit the teapot, changing its falling trajectory.
Any distortion in the fog was uncontrollable, and even she had to be wary of those restless lines at all times, or she would be the one who would be cut.
This was the first time she had seen such a thing.
But Nightingale wasn't sure if it was just a coincidence, or if something had really happened to her.
She used her ability again, repeatedly touching the corner of the table in the fog, and simulated the situation at that time to rush forward a few times, but nothing happened.
It seemed that she was thinking too much. Nightingale withdrew her hand awkwardly. Agatha was right. She could not think that evolution was easy just because many witches in the Union had done it. Fortunately, she did not say it at that time, or she would definitely be laughed at by Roland.
She put the Stone of Lighting back into the drawer and left the office the way she came.
"Crack..."
Suddenly, there was a soft sound in the quiet room.
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