Release That Witch

"Your Highness, I wanted to ask you when we entered through the door," began Hogg, looking like he was finally able to breathe. He was next to a barrel with an empty pot of ice water that he had finished. "The painting in the hall... I'm afraid that an average person couldn't draw it. Whether it's the realism or that it's from the perspective of the air overlooking the Earth." He paused and lowered his voice. "This is... A witch's work?"     

Roland looked at Margaret and she nodded. "Your Highness please rest assured, Hogg is my old friend of many years. He is no threat to witches."     

"You guessed it. It was indeed a witch that drew it." Two days ago, after sightseeing around the beach by hot air balloon, Roland wanted to capture the magnificent view that he had seen. Plus, the castle living room was simple and humble, without a single painting at all. He simply let Soraya change the stone wall behind the main seat into a huge mural. With the art backdrop, the hall's style was instantly raised several grades.     

"I knew it," said Hogg with a sigh, "although they were propagated as the demon's minions, those strange abilities are really enviable. Ordinary people can't fly like they do, or paint such exquisite murals."     

"You are only correct with the first half." Roland shook his head. "Ordinary people who don't rely on magic powers can fly up higher than an eagle, faster, and even more swiftly."     

"You can be really humorous." said Hogg as he laughed loudly, "Unless we had a pair of wings and also became lighter than the birds."     

Margaret asked, startled, "Really?"     

"Of course," said the Prince with a laugh. "I can show you proof."     

Having a businesswoman take a look at inventions was an effective way to improve their relationship and expand their trading paths. From mugs to liquor, even with a sale going out, exporting was another matter. Anyway, the caravans would stay in the town for several days. The regular business negotiation process should be to eat, drink, and finally sign. Anna was also very interested in traveling by hot air balloon. Just letting her body take a rest for a moment from the busy work could be beneficial for multiple reasons.     

Roland quickly finished inflating the hot air balloon Cloud Gazer. However, this time he called the witches who had not been able to get into the hot air balloon last time. Lucia also timidly asked whether she would be able to take her sister to see and Roland said that she could join them.     

When the balloon carrying the people slowly rose, Margaret surprisedly covered her mouth, while Hogg clutched the edge of the basket. People could not tell whether he was excited or afraid. Ring was too short to see the scenery outside the basket, so Lucia had to hold her up on her shoulders and told her not to tamper with anything. As the navigator and the rescuer, Lightning had been circling around the hot air balloon. From time to time she would make faces at Ring.     

In this way, the hot air balloon once again made its way along the southern coastline, and then swung in a circle to complete the aerial sightseeing tour.     

…     

After returning to the castle, Hogg's legs were still trembling. He stammered, "I-I-I never thought that looking down from the sky would be that terrible. I felt like we would fall at any moment."     

"Fly a few more times and you will be just fine." Roland laughed. "The first time a person's feet leave the ground, they will have that kind of illusion, like a man who has never been out at sea and will stumble on a bumpy ship."     

"You're right," exclaimed Margaret, "It was incredible to see the scenery today. From the sky to the edge of the sea, it's like a blue arc."     

"But Your Highness, I don't seem to be wrong," said Hogg, drinking a swig of white liquor, "Ordinary people may be able to fly in the sky, but it's still due to the witch's credit. If not for their contribution, this big guy should not be able to fly up."     

"No, my old friend." Roland was not able to open his mouth before Margaret spoke. "Do you not realize it? Miss Anna is only releasing the flame. I also asked Lightning and she told me that as long as the airbag was filled with heat, it would be able to rise into the sky. Flame isn't the privilege of the witch alone, Your Royal Highness, am I right?"     

No wonder she, a businesswoman from the Fjords, could have a firm foothold in King's City, both the observation and thinking ability she had were particularly outstanding. Roland nodded with a smile. "The hot air rises and the cold air sinks... This is the reason why they're called hot air balloons."     

"It really only needs to use something like a brazier?" Hogg asked wonderingly.     

"That isn't enough, because you want to let it float in the air. It must continue to heat, but the wood itself is very heavy. The balloon is unable to carry too much of a load and so we have to use a special way to solve this problem."     

"Can you do that?" Margaret could not wait to ask.     

"Well... We should be able to..." Roland thought for a moment. "But there still are some minor issues."     

"That's great," she said immediately, "I hope I can buy four or five hot air balloons from you. Not too big, but enough for just one person."     

"Do you want to put it on the ship?" asked Hogg.     

"Well, the mast can't be stretched indefinitely, but the hot air balloon can. As long as there's a line tied to the balloon's basket so that it doesn't fly off with the wind. With a hot air balloon looking ahead, we could then have earlier detection of nearby pirate ships. Unless there're unpredictable storms and tsunamis, the biggest harm is the droves of pirates."     

"But it's cost, it's probably not very low." Roland estimated in his mind. "I expect to need more than 1,000 golden royals."     

If you don't use the witch to heat it, the hot air balloon will have to use a gas fuel. The easiest to get is undoubtedly gasoline. Unfortunately, the mine at Coldwind Ridge of the Kingdom of Graycastle is too far away from Border Town. According to the current traffic conditions, there's almost no way to transport it over. If replaced with the hydrogen balloon, then it would be easier to achieve, but there was the need to solve the problem of the gas tank. If they were not able to charge and discharge it freely, then there would be no practical value."     

"1,000 gold royals for each one, how's that?" Margaret also said, "If you really made this kind of thing, I can guarantee that all of the caravans coming and going to the Fjords would want to buy one or two."     

"Had the Crescent Moon Bay Caravan come as usual, they would certainly be the next big order." Hogg drained the white liquor he held in his hands. "However, I don't need it. Although the hot air balloon looks very magical, I only want to get my steam engine as soon as possible."     

Their offer of price left Roland overjoyed. 1,000 gold royals was his estimate of the price increase after a five-time premium. He did not expect the other side would actually accept something twice the price of the steam engine. But when thinking about it, the goods carried by the ship were likely to be more than that price, not to mention the entire business fleet and ship sailors. As long as they avoided being looted by pirates, the deal was still cost-effective for maritime businessmen.     

In addition, 1,000 gold royals was not the exact cost of buying it. Whether it was hydrogen or gas, they were consumables. When they ran out, they would have to fill them up again in town, which was an extra cost... Of course, if one purchased many gas tanks at once, they could consider discounting or giving an additional number of inflations. At this point, the 4S shop and the two barrels of oil were examples of his learning and imitation.     

Roland pretended to hesitate for a moment and then finally nodded. "It's a deal."