Release That Witch

The manufacturing principle of hot air balloon was simple. There were only obstacles they needed to overcome: the combustion equipment and airbag.     

The first difficulty was the hot air balloon must depend on firewood or charcoal to heat the air without the pressure vessel providing the gas. Never mind the low efficiency, the balloon would not be able to fly long distances. That was also why people still choose to use hydrogen balloons in actual combat when they had already discovered the manufacturing principle of hot air balloon. Roland gave up on producing the combustion equipment and relied on Anna to do the heating work.     

The second difficulty was the airtightness of the airbag. But this was easy to solve for Roland who had learned from the predecessors' experience. He used three layers of cloth to make the airbag, with a durable canvas as the outermost layer, bovine skin as the middle layer, and thin gauze as the inner layer. When the layers were stitched together, they not only sealed the air in, but acted as defense against birds' pecking.     

Roland stretched the bottom of the airbag so Anna could spew out Blackfire towards the inside. Blackfire's temperature was almost like the common fire, making the airbag expand, which looked like white gourds with wrinkled skin. Considering the hot air balloon needed to carry him and Anna, so the widest diameter was five meters. It took almost one week to stitch 12 bovine skins up. Roland could not afford such a big toy if he were not the lord of this town.     

"So does the hot air balloon use the lift from the buoyancy of the hot air?" Anna asked. "I remember the book once mentioned that hot air is always rising."     

"Yes, it's a common natural phenomenon that hot air rises and cooler air falls. To explain it from the perspective of the particle theory, the hot air particles move faster and strengthens the diffusion process. The air volume becomes larger and the density lower. The air becomes lighter compared to the air nearby and rises."     

After his explanation, the other three looked very confused, except Anna. He could not help lamenting how important talent was.     

When the airbag was bulging and rising, the drag rope was gradually pulled straight. Roland was the first to jump into the basket. He then helped Anna who was climbing in.     

"I'm still a little worried," Nightingale said anxiously, "Why don't you let me try first?"     

"Trust me. It'll be fine." Roland laughed. "Besides, Lightning's here if anything happens."     

"I'll take care of them. Don't worry," said Lightning, patting her chest.     

"And me too, coo!" Taking her cue from Lightning, Maggie also patted her chest.     

The hot air balloon held the basket and slowly lifted off the ground with a shake. They soon flew over the top of the castle, the full view of the town spreading ahead of them.     

For Roland who had seen high-rise buildings, the scenery was not particularly extraordinary to him. But it was a totally new experience for Anna. She leaned over the basket, with one hand around Roland's arm, and stuck her head out. She looked around, a little breathless and excited.     

Roland first saw Anna like this. It was natural to have slight acrophobia for someone who had never flown in the sky.     

The drag rope beneath the basket was soon stretched tight, stopping the rise of the balloon. The rope was 50 meters long, about 15 or 16 story-high from where Roland came from. He told Anna to slow down so the hot air balloon finally became still in the air.     

After seeing the nacelle finally stop rising, Lightning was relieved and started playing the tag game with Maggie around the hot air balloon.     

From above, they could see clearly everything below, from the roof of the castle, to the town under construction, to Redwater River flowing from the west to the east, and to the picturesque farmlands by the river.     

"How do you feel?"     

Roland raised the question with a smile after he waited for Anna to withdraw her head from outside the basket.     

Anna was very excited. "Thank you for your gift. So I can also fly this high."     

"You can fly even higher." Roland sat next to the wall of the basket. "If the rope is long enough, it's no problem to go 10 times higher. But the air flow gets more complicated the higher we go and we can't ensure our safety. Besides, this balloon is just a prototype. When we make the piston engine later, even commoners can fly higher and faster than the birds. In the future..." He turned towards to the blue sky and continued, "... People can even fly to the infinite outer space."     

"..." Anna held her breath. There was a glow and an exaltation in her eyes.     

Roland was amused by this. "I can't promise that we can fly to the outer space, but when we make the piston engine, I think I can promise that commoners can fly like birds in my time." With Anna's help, the process capability was not a problem to him. What he needed to focus on was the materials. He could use poor quality pig iron for the steam engine and wrought iron for the cannon. It was not a big deal to use Blackfire make steel revolving firearm. But he might need high quality cast iron, steel, and aluminum to make the internal combustion engine. "It's all because of you that Border Town can be so prosperous today, Miss Anna."     

Anna was stunned to hear his words. After a while, she leaned closer to him and whispered, "My mother died in a fire, but I became a witch instead of burning to death. For a long time, I thought it was my awakening that caused the fire and I hated myself for being a witch. When I was in prison, I thought I could get a closure if I die, but you saved me and taught me how to use my power... I've never thought that my fire can be so helpful apart from burning things and causing misery." After a pause, Anna continued, "I should be very grateful to meet you, but I realized my mind has changed. Sometimes I even feel depressed about it. I want more."     

She leaned on Roland's shoulder. "Even if I'm that way, will you still use me?"     

Her blue eyes were shining and her breath on Roland's face itched. He could feel the softness of her body and her rapid heartbeat through her thin clothes. Even so, Anna did not avoid his gaze. She was passionate and forward whenever Nightingale was not around.     

"Lighting and Maggie are..."     

Before Roland could finish, Anna kissed him, preventing him from talking anything.     

Roland gasped lightly for air after their lips parted. "Miss Anna, I want to use you. Always."     

"Hmm."     

This time, it was Roland who took the initiative to kiss her, holding her.     

…     

"Eh? Hang on." Maggie stopped mid-air after playing with Lightning for a while, staring at the empty basket. "They're gone, coo!"     

"Ah?" Lightning tilted her head and took a look. "Don't worry, they're just sitting down. That's why you can't see them."     

"But don't they want to see the scenery outside?"     

"They can see the scenery any time, but opportunities like this are rare."     

"Opportunity?" Maggie quivered her wings and perched on Lightning's shoulder. "I don't really understand. Should we go check on them, coo?"     

"No." Lightning held Maggie in her arms. "This is a holy ceremony that can't be interrupted."     

"Coo?"     

"You'll understand in the future. Times like these, you just have to pretend you didn't see anything. That's what the greatest explorer in the world, my dear father, told me." Lightning threw Maggie out and held her waist with one hand. "Now run. It's my turn to chase after you."