344 344 Grand Plans
Once the dinner service was finally over and the Headmistress chased everyone back to their rooms for the night, Cassie and Ella took out a rolled blueprint for Wolfe to look at and spread it across the table.
“This is the plan for the next airplane that we are planning to make. It’s large enough to seat twelve plus the pilots, uses a larger motor and a slightly differently shaped wing, narrower at the end, so it should be a bit more maneuverable, even with its huge wingspan.
It’s supposed to be able to carry about four tonnes on its own, but we can supplement that with magic if we need it, and it will carry all the supplies that we could possibly need to deliver.
Instead of the wheels on the other one, this one has a pontoon, and it’s smooth enough to land on grass, but I wouldn’t try to land it on a road without an Air Magic spell under them.
This way, we can land it on the lakes further out into the mountains and the swampy areas of the Frozen Wastes once the ground gets too soft for wheels.” Ella explained.
“Well, that’s good news. We will have a plane that can land anywhere that we need. Did you already make the air spell for the pontoons, or should I make an array for the protection?” Wolfe asked.
“We were waiting for you. It’s not going to be an easy task to make the Array, so it was put off until you returned, but it looks like we will need the plane right away.
As an added bonus, it can land on the river next to the forest, so we don’t need to worry about runway length. We can head straight down the river to take off and use as much space as we need when the plane is taking off fully loaded.
“Alright, give me a few minutes to work on the Array while you work out the rest of the logistics. Do we have any mana crystals, or are we going to have to make them?” Wolfe replied.
“We will make them tonight. It’s actually really easy once you know the trick. It’s just a holding shell, the actual energy inside is much more intensive, and we can all do that without any trouble.” Cassie informed him with a smile.
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The air magic cushions on the chairs were the same Array, only they were modified to be softer, where this would want to be more abrasion resistant and smooth so that sliding down the ground didn’t damage the Array and deplete the plane’s mana.
“Alright, I have the array for the pontoons ready. Did we need to change anything else?” Wolfe asked.
“This plane has one motor on each wing, so the power feeding array will have to be altered, but other than that, it’s the same basic design, just scaled up,” Ella explained, showing him the spots on the design that he would likely have to change.
“Why did we go with two this time? It can’t need that much more power. The other plane was barely working to get to speed.”
“So that it could fly more easily with only the motors magic. We went from a three to a four-bladed propellor to keep ground clearance but then decided that twin four-bladed propellers on the wings would be best.
The Motor is the most efficient part of the whole plane, and it barely uses any extra when it increases in speed, so we made a design that would fly much faster with its own power without using so much mana that it would run out while making deliveries.
It still needs a Witch to fly it, but this way, it will barely need them to do anything but activate the Arrays. The Crystals will do the rest.”
Wolfe nodded in understanding. “So the plan is to let it recharge itself overnight, and then any witch can fly these with only a basic ability to use mana. Or even the girls you’re taking back will be able to do it.
They are Magi-blooded, so they can channel mana but not use Witch Magic or create new spells. Think of them more as a support group. But they can activate the arrays with ease, even now.
It would be a good career for them if we started to expand enough that we needed to make regular flights somewhere.”
Cassie smirked at him. “Are you thinking of controlling enough territory that you need a private plane to get around, Mister Demon Lord?”
Wolfe leaned forward to give her a kiss, then picked her up with his hands under her backside. Cassie wrapped her legs around his waist, and Ella began to laugh.
“You were apart for one day. One single day, and you can’t focus long enough to finish doing the plans.”
“Wolfe sat down on the bed with Cassie wrapped around him before answering.
“The Frozen Wastes are nearly two thousand kilometres diagonally across from the Forest in the Northwest to the far Southeast corner where the Mundane Army entered this winter.
At some point, it is going to become important to be able to scout that far and to have connections along the way so that we can prevent invasions.
We have an agreement with Myrrh Coven, so the West is relatively safe. There are only a few paths through the mountains, so the North is also not too bad, but the East leads to nothing but human nations, and who knows what they’re capable of after what we saw this winter?”
Ella frowned. “Well, this plane flies fast, but only a little over two hundred kilometres an hour at cruising speed. That’s still a long trip to get to the far side of the Wastes.”
“But it would be a day trip. That’s good enough. If I can make it there in a day and give them supplies to slow any invasions coming our way, it should be good enough for a lot of the villages to accept a deal to create an alliance.
We would also be able to get news over the radio that the broken spells of the Wastes prevent us from hearing at home.”
“Alright, we will go with your grand plan. What’s next for us, oh glorious Demon Lord?” Ella joked, mimicking Cassie’s tone.
“Take that dress off, and I’ll show you.”