As the only professional with overseas experience, Lightning naturally took on the role of a guide.
In truth, she was equally fascinated by the barge's peculiar design and unusual materials. Though it appeared crude, it had all the essential components for a vessel. Yet whether it could move was uncertain. After all, at sea, she was mostly a spectator—her father always rejected her requests to take the helm or raise the sails herself.
In keeping with the tradition of a new ship's departure, Lightning would smash a can of wheat beer on the bow before ordering the sails to be hoisted. As the commander, Carter naturally didn't want the young girl to take his place, so after she shouted the command, Knight would always follow up with the same order.
The sails of the Border Town ship are crafted from animal hides, primarily cowhide and sheepskin, blended with local Border Town specialties like wolf and bear skins. This results in a patchwork of varying shades—brown, white, and gray—resembling tattered cloth with countless patches. The trapezoidal sails are divided by four wooden beams, with cables passing through iron rings at the mast tops and hanging down onto the deck. A simple tug on the cables lifts the entire sail into the air.
To simplify operation, the town ship's front and rear sails are single sails, parallel to each other and perpendicular to the centerline. If a typical double-masted sailboat were designed this way, one sail would have minimal wind catch, effectively rendering it useless. However, with Wendy's wind control ability, this design ensures even power distribution on both sides of the centerline, making steering easier for the helmsman.
As soon as the sail was hoisted, the commander directed the workers on land to untie the hemp rope. The weather was still favorable, with occasional snowflakes falling from the sky. Driven by the gentle breeze and the current, the boat slowly moved away from the shore.
The little girl landed beside Brian and shouted, "Full right!" Carter echoed, "Full right!" "What does 'full right' mean?" Brian scratched his head. "Turn right a few times?" "No, turn left all the way," Lightning said, resting her hand on her forehead. "Forget it, I'll do it." She had forgotten that these were first-timers in sailing, not even grasping the basics. A standard two-masted sailboat probably wouldn't have its sails unfurled by now. With fewer than ten people, the stone ship still managed to leave the shore—proof that the town's design was truly ingenious.
She gripped the steering wheel handle taller than herself, feet off the ground, and pivoted sideways—the massive horizontal rudder was a Herculean task for an ordinary woman, requiring her to work against the water's resistance to turn the entire iron deck beneath the hull without mechanical aid. But for Lightning, the flying one, this was no challenge. Noticing the anti-rotation flaps beneath the handle, she couldn't help but wonder: "They say Your Royal Highness designed this ship himself. How could he know such details?" After all, even seasoned sailors at sea might not fully grasp the intricate structure of a vessel.
"Sister Wendy, let the wind rise," she stood on the roof, her face a mix of laughter and tears. It was because of this that Her Highness had asked if she had acrophobia. Pushing the sailboat herself? Recalling her daily tasks—like drying meat and clothes—she felt a subtle sense of irony. She spread her arms, adopting her usual practice stance, letting the wind blow evenly from her feet and head, striving to balance the force on both sails.
Frankly, Wendy never imagined this seemingly simple request would be so difficult to handle.
Though she had awakened as a Witch fifteen years ago, she never truly mastered her powers. Whether summoning gusts of air to shatter stones or unleashing tempests to sweep enemies away, she always channeled massive amounts of Magic Power in one go. Even when tending to camp chores, she adjusted the wind's intensity—just enough to get the job done. Now, recalling Anna's earnest practice days, Wendy felt a sudden pang of embarrassment.
The first thing you need to do is to practice your ability repeatedly until you fully master it—just like Anna.
So let's start now... She took a deep breath and focused all her attention on sensing the wind.
Despite the uneven wind, the sails swelled up, their relentless force making the mast creak as the bow began to tilt to the right.
"It actually moved," Carter exclaimed.
"Your Highness turned a stone into a boat and made it float on the water," Tigu said with a grin, stroking his mustache. "What else could he not do?" The Townboat drifted farther from the shore, gradually moving toward the middle of the river.
Wendy could only generate wind from thin air, but couldn't make the pre-existing north wind disappear. With the combined force of the two winds, the ship's forward direction wasn't a straight line, requiring constant rudder adjustments. Lightning couldn't explain this clearly and could only let Brian experience it firsthand. To help him quickly grasp the sensation, the young girl first guided him through several full rudder adjustments, allowing him to feel the relationship between the rudder wheel's rotation angle and the ship's bow sway before making further fine-tuning.
After a half-hour voyage on the Chishui River, Wendy finally gave up.
It's not that the Magic Power is exhausted, but the body has reached its limits.
Even when wrapped in a zongzi-like bundle, she could not fully resist the assault of the cold wind. A thin layer of snow had accumulated on her cotton hat, and her hands and feet were nearly numb from the cold, making her precarious on the roof. Had it not been for lightning detecting the anomaly during its aerial patrol, she might have persisted until losing consciousness.
The lightning bolt shot toward Wendy, wrapping around her body as it shouted for Brian to dock.
The helmsman turned the rudder sharply to the right, causing the ship's bow to tilt leftward. Lightning followed Wendy down the slope, and though the deck only offered a single sail for shelter, it at least provided temporary protection from the cold wind, preventing her from losing body heat too quickly. Moreover, docking—a task requiring precise control—was something Lightning wouldn't dare entrust to a novice helmsman, even though she herself was no expert.
After a series of maneuvers, the small town boat finally docked. The moment it collided with the riverbank, everyone's hearts leapt. The hull emitted a dull thud during the impact, but fortunately, it appeared unharmed. The crew quickly hoisted the sails and climbed onto the gangplank to disembark.
Fortunately, during the trial run, the crew didn't stick to a straight course but instead maneuvered around the wider sections of the river, keeping the Townboat close to its starting point.
The lightning bolt whizzed toward the castle, carrying Wendy. Carter gazed at the stone ship and sighed. Without the witch's help, they wouldn't have a chance of getting the ship back to the dock.