"No, no need, I'm... almost done." The slightly panicked voice of Scroll came from behind the curtain.
Roland raised his eyebrows involuntarily—this was his first time seeing Scroll nervous. Usually she was extraordinarily calm and imperturbable and no matter what happened she always maintained a cool head. In fact, this trait of hers added to Roland's anticipation at seeing Scroll's appearance after she changed into her new outfit.
Whoosh—
The curtain pulled open and Scroll cautiously stepped out of the changing room.
"Is this... okay?"
Roland's eyes lit up.
Scroll was dressed in a tight-fitted royal blue high neck sweater, beautifully emphasizing the figure of her upper body. Draped over it was a red and black long coat, the flaps of the coat began from underneath her shoulders and reached her calves, giving off a formal evening gown vibe. The coat parted at her chest and ended as an inverted V at her waist, teasing the lines of her full bosom and flat abdomen. It created an indescribable sense of beauty.
Overall, deep and dark tones encompassed the theme of her clothes, and did not give off any sense of frivolity at all; instead, it seemed regal and solemn. Adding on Scroll's black-framed glasses and the black plaits that reached her waist, her mature and intellectual beauty was even further accentuated.
"So beautiful," Phyllis exclaimed. "You're stunning even among the witches."
"I told you I made the right choice!" Ling's declared smugly.
"But... isn't it too revealing?"
Scroll subconsciously covered her chest with her hands.
"Not at all, aren't you wrapped up pretty tightly?" Faldi laughed. "You were fine with the dress during the evening party; this modified winter outfit is nothing compared to that."
"Also everybody wears clothes like this in the Dream World, right Your Majesty?" Ling added.
Roland smiled and shook his head. Even though she had undergarments and the sweater, it was understandable that she would be quite unused to a coat that was split at both the top and bottom in comparison to the long robe she usually wore. "What's important isn't what other people wear, but what Scroll thinks of it." He paused and looked at Scroll. "Do you think you like this outfit?"
Scroll looked at herself in the mirror—it was a get-up that she had never seen before, however even though there were huge distinctions between the two worlds, beauty was something that traversed boundaries and resounded with everyone. She couldn't help but concede that she liked her current outfit.
"Yes... Your Majesty," she replied softly.
"Then that should do." Roland called for the salesperson, "I want this entire set."
"You have excellent taste sir. This is the newest style this winter, and it looks absolutely perfect on this lady over here!" The salesperson took out a calculator and pressed a few buttons. "That's twenty-four thousand yuan, please make payment over here!"
"Eh—" Roland stopped breathing for a moment. That was almost a third of a price of a minivan! But his grand promise had already been made so it was too late to go back on his word. He looked to his side at Ling. "How on earth did you choose those clothes?"
"I selected the ones with the biggest numbers on the tags!" Ling stuck out her tongue. "My classmates at school said that price never lies."
Roland couldn't help but place his hand to his forehead.
"Your Majesty, are these clothes... really expensive?" Scroll went closer to him and murmured in a low voice, "Let's just forget it then..."
"I'm the creator of this Dream World; how could money be a problem to me? Piece of cake." He pretended like it didn't bother him at all and bought the clothes. "Next, we'll have dinner on the second floor of the shopping mall!"
"As you command!"
The three witches cried cheerfully in unison.
"Your Majesty... what about the test?"
"Relax." Roland waved his hand, "Time flows faster here, so not much time will be delayed in reality. Moreover it's your first time in the Dream World, you should enjoy it to your fullest before you do anything else, tell me whatever you want to eat!"
He had already pulled out the big guns with the clothes, so no matter how much they ate, their expenditure couldn't get much worse. He thought he might as well make everyone happy.
Scroll looked at the four thrilled people, feeling both resigned and amused. She shook her head. "I understand."
...
Everybody's stomachs were bulging when they walked out of the bustling shopping mall.
Under Roland's lead, the line of people had basically swept through every single restaurant and food stall in the mall, ordering anything that looked good: from piping hot crab roe buns to ice cream mixed with nuts. To Scroll, everything they ate was mouth-watering and delectable. Although some of them could be found in Neverwinter as well, compared to here, the gap was as wide as His Majesty's car and the steam-powered truck.
No matter how much she tried to restrain herself, the only thing she could maintain was a graceful appearance while she ate.
"A world like this is... so wonderful..." While leisurely strolling across the wide streets, Scroll sighed while gazing out at the deep night sky. Although the stars were obscured, the city lights were nevertheless ablaze with all their glory. Rows of street lights illuminated the path and snowflakes danced in midst of the gentle light, like pixies embellishing the curtain of the night. "It's like a dream... The city is dazzling and gorgeous, the faces of all the passers-by are glowing with happiness... Will we be able to make reality like this one day?"
"Of course, as long as we gain enough knowledge," Roland said with his hands clasped behind his back as he walked. "This is the biggest difference between the two worlds. Through knowledge, Border Town was able to become Neverwinter. One day, Neverwinter can also become the Dream World. And the key to beginning this journey is right before you now."
"Right... before me?" Scroll was stunned.
"Yes." Roland raised the corner of his mouth. Shopping was not the only reason he had brought Scroll here. After they crossed the road, they stood in front of a beautiful building. Before the huge entrance hung a golden plaque with the large words, "City Library" on it.
Upon entering the library, Scroll couldn't help but gasp.
The vast hall was just as large as the central square in Neverwinter. The roof above them was over ten meters high and looked like a transparent patio. Around them, automatic escalators carried people up and down, and five stories of corridors spiraled up the hall in layers upon layers. Innumerable book shelves were lined up in rows and every shelf was filled with books.
All the books in Graycastle... no, even all the books in the Four Kingdoms added together would not compare to the number of books here.
Scroll subconsciously put her hand to her chest, clearly realizing why His Majesty had brought her here.
"This is the place that you will come often in the future." Roland smiled. "Bring the key to our world for me."
She inhaled deeply, bowed her head at Roland and solemnly promised, "Your Majesty, I will definitely not let you down."
This was destined to be a time-consuming job, and it would be difficult to see any immediate effects in a short amount of time.
But all changes came from small steps like this.
Knowledge was like fertilizer.
As long as it was scattered, it could propel humans to grow.
In the past Roland had always been pushing this project forward. Sending Ling and the others to school was also for this goal, and Scroll's upgrade would unquestionably dramatically accelerate this progress.
There's a saying that goes: "It takes ten years to grow a tree and a hundred years to bring up a generation of good men".
Roland was certain that one hundred years later, the real world would experience tremendous changes.
It didn't matter if it was people without magic power or witches with magic power.
At that time, they would all use their own two hands to craft a brand new 'Dream World'.