CHAPTER 332: MAGIC DRONES

While Aisha and Julie were still staring at him in a daze, struggling to process how easily he’d just dismissed the problem as "already solved," Skadi’s reaction was the complete opposite.

Her eyes lit up instantly, her tail giving an almost playful flick before she all but bounded toward him.

"Master!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around him in an enthusiastic hug. "You’re so smart! You’re such a genius!"

She squeezed him tightly, practically vibrating with excitement.

"It didn’t even take you a few minutes to come up with a solution that none of us could figure out no matter how hard we thought about it!"

Cassius chuckled softly, though he didn’t pull away from her. Skadi tilted her head back to grin at him before turning that grin into something far more smug as she glanced over at Aisha.

"See? That’s why we need someone as smart as Master on the team." She said with a mockingly sweet tone. "Unlike you, he actually has a real brain and knows what he’s doing."

Aisha blinked at her, then narrowed her eyes sharply. "What did you just—"

But Skadi had already tightened her hug around Cassius, clearly enjoying herself. The challenge in her smirk made Aisha’s jaw tighten, but when her gaze shifted back to Cassius, she couldn’t help it, her irritation melted into something closer to awe.

She really couldn’t believe it.

He’d just listened to the same conversation they all had, taken in the same facts, and yet somehow, in less time than it took them to start arguing about possibilities, he’d come up with a concrete plan.

No hesitation. No "let me think about it." Just...a solution.

Julie, still astonished herself, took a slow step forward. "Wait...Cassius." She said carefully, her voice somewhere between skepticism and hope. "This plan of yours, are you saying it can actually take care of the bandits...and still keep us on schedule for the mission?"

He glanced at her with that same maddeningly calm smile, still rubbing Skadi’s back.

"Yes." He said simply. "Not only will we be able to exterminate the bandits, but we’ll also widen the road as well, so the rest of the caravans can travel it faster and safer. And the best part...." He let the words hang in the air. "...is that it will all happen while we’re still moving forward. We’ll keep our pace toward our destination without losing a single day."

That was enough to make Aisha’s composure crack. She stepped forward, her eyes narrowing, her voice filled with barely contained curiosity.

"And what exactly are we going to do? How is that even possible?"

Julie, Skadi, and Aisha were now all looking straight at him, their gazes filled with anticipation, silently demanding the answer.

Cassius just looked back at them, his expression unchanging.

"I’m not the type to explain every little step of my plan." He said casually. "It’s tedious. And honestly...I’m too lazy for that."

"...All I’m asking is for the three of you to trust me. Do as I say, and everything will work out exactly as it should."

The three of them exchanged quick glances. A silent question passed between them, could they really trust him on something like this?

But the answer came almost instantly, without the need for words.

...Of course they could.

Every time in the past when Cassius had told them to trust him, no matter how outrageous his claim sounded, he’d followed through.

There was the time he swore he could save all their lives when they were certain they were about to be massacred...and he did.

The time he said he would take over the Holyfield Family in a single night...and he did.

Not once had he failed to deliver.

So when he asked for their trust now, none of them hesitated.

Julie gave a firm nod, her lips curving faintly. "Of course. You’ve never let us down before."

"If you say it’ll work...then it will." Aisha smiled, soft but sure.

Skadi’s voice was the most animated, as usual.

"Yes, Master! I trust you! I trust you more than anyone else in the world!" She hugged him again for emphasis, her tail swishing behind her.

Cassius’s smile deepened slightly at their responses, but before he could say anything more, Aisha leaned in a little, her eyes bright with anticipation.

"Alright then...what exactly are we supposed to do?" She asked. "Because whatever this plan of yours is, I already know it’s going to be good, and I want to start right now."

Julie and Skadi mirrored her eagerness, all three of them now standing expectantly in front of him, waiting for the next move.

Cassius didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he let the anticipation hang in the air, that knowing little smile tugging at his lips as if he was enjoying how much they were itching for him to speak.

Then, without a word, he lifted one hand and pulled two objects from the storage ring on his finger.

In his left palm sat a strange looking apparatus, small enough to hold comfortably, yet clearly intricate in design.

It vaguely resembled a drone, except instead of fans or rotors, its top held four smooth stones in place, each engraved with runes that shimmered faintly in the light. They looked as if they had been carved by someone who understood not just magic, but the very language of the elements themselves.

In his right hand was something that looked suspiciously like a remote control, though far more elegant. A small crystal screen rested in the center, framed by thin metallic edges and more etched runes along the sides.

The moment Aisha saw it, her eyes lit up. She took a quick step forward, leaning in to examine it from every angle.

"What is this?" She asked, her voice filled with eager curiosity. "It looks so strange...almost like some kind of remote. And these..." She pointed at one of the stones "...these are wind-elemental runes. And here..." She tapped the underside "...a projection rune? Is this thing...meant to fly? Or maybe project an image?"

Cassius gave a low chuckle. "You’ve basically just figured out everything without me even saying anything."

Aisha straightened, looking a little smug. "I told you, I have an eye for interesting gadgets."

"Mm." Cassius nodded, then raised the device slightly so they could all see. "This is, for lack of a better term, a drone. It uses Aether crystals as its power source and those runes you noticed keep it aloft, while others stabilize it midair. Think of it like...a bird you can control."

As he spoke, he pressed a small button along the side.

With a faint hum, the runes lit up. A gentle breeze rippled outward from the stones, and the device began to rise, slowly at first, then steadily, until it hovered above his hand, floating effortlessly in the air.

Julie’s brows rose slightly, and Skadi’s jaw dropped.

"Master, it’s like a bird! It’s—"

She stopped suddenly, tilting her head.

"No...it’s more like a dragonfly. Just floating there..."

Her expression shifted into a frown.

"I want to smash it for some reason."

Cassius laughed and held a firm hand on her shoulder before she could even think of making a grab for it. "No, Skadi. We need that. I’m not letting you smash it down."

She pouted but didn’t press the matter further.

Cassius then extended the remote toward Aisha. "Here. You control it. The controls are simple, you’ll figure it out in seconds."

She blinked, surprised, then carefully took the device from his hand as if she were holding something priceless.

The moment her fingers wrapped around it, the projection rune in the center flared faintly. She tested the controls, moving the small joysticks, and the drone responded instantly, tilting, banking, circling slowly over their heads.

Her eyes widened with delight. "It’s so responsive...!" She bit her lip, grinning as she guided it around in wide loops.

Julie watched quietly for a moment, then let out a soft laugh. "And why exactly did you make something like this? Don’t tell me it was on a whim, like half the other strange things you’ve built."

Cassius shook his head. "No, not this one. This one actually has a purpose."

That made both Julie and Aisha glance at him with new interest.

"One day." Cassius began. "I was having a picnic with my wife, Isabelle. She was lying back on the grass, looking up at the sky, watching the birds. And she said...how nice it must be to be one of them. To see the world from above. That it must be beautiful."

His voice softened slightly, a faint smile ghosting over his face at the memory.

"So, hearing that...and hearing her wish she could fly like that, I went home. Spent some time tinkering. And eventually...I made this. So she could see the view from the sky, just like a bird."

Julie’s eyes lingered on him, her expression subtly shifting. She didn’t say it out loud, but it struck her, how one simple comment from his wife had been enough for him to put in that much effort.

It wasn’t just the skill or the magic behind it. It was the fact that he’d done it without hesitation.

Cassius truly loved his family...Deeply.

He then stepped closer to Aisha, gesturing toward the drone now hovering a little higher.

"Just like a bird can see the world from above...so can this. Watch."

He pressed another button on the remote.

Immediately, the small crystal screen lit up, displaying a live view from the drone’s perspective, the forest canopy stretching out beneath it, the caravan in the distance, and the group standing together below.

"The drone sends a signal to this display, think of it as a projection screen. The image is transmitted from a small crystal recorder inside the drone." Cassius explained.

Projection screens and video capturing technology did exist in this world, but they were exceedingly rare.

Only the wealthiest noble families could afford them, and they were almost exclusively used for recording important events, coronations, royal weddings, treaty signings. Everyday people had never even seen one in person, let alone used one casually on a roadside.

And here was Cassius, handing one to Aisha like it was a toy.

Aisha, now moving the drone in smooth arcs, couldn’t hide the wide grin on her face. Skadi chased it lazily below, swiping at it halfheartedly while muttering that it was "too shiny to be trusted."

Julie, meanwhile, still looked at Cassius, completely engrossed in thinking if she were his wife and he asked him if he could allow her to actually fly like a bird, would he accomplish it just to see her smile...