svetikya Chapter 89 The Good Princess, the Dog General, and the Bird Wizard
Chapter 89 The Good Princess, the Dog General, and the Bird Wizard
Chapter 90 The Good Princess, the Dog General, and the Bird Wizard
The scratched steel frame gleamed under the lights of Connor's reception room, and an hourglass made of hardened artificial crystal swayed gently within it, with grains of sand flowing down its surface.
This hourglass is one of Connor's wonderful collections. It can be considered an antique, its only advantage being its sturdiness. It doesn't have much value, but Connor likes it very much.
The function of the hourglass in marking the time is not important; what is important is that it reminds Connor that time is passing, and what is important is that the sight of each grain of sand falling allows Connor to concentrate and feel the meaning of time.
"I am honored to have a moment of your precious time."
An overly humble voice came from the old, elegant man in front of Connor.
With a smile, the old man leaned forward, and his overly sweet scent filled Connor's nostrils.
The scent made Connor a little dizzy. He leaned back slightly, and the sound of Robert turning the pages of a book reached his ears. His eyes were fixed on the sand falling in the hourglass, which helped him to resist the dizziness brought on by the old perfume.
Capio's gaze fell on a corner of the room.
A blond boy sat on a sofa in the corner of the room, looking down at a book, his gaze focused, quiet and well-behaved.
He wore a blue short-sleeved linen shirt embroidered with gold olive branches, revealing his strong, muscular arms. He looked to be about thirteen or fourteen years old, but was quite tall. Even sitting on the sofa, Capio couldn't accurately estimate his height.
"Your adopted son? I've heard some rumors..." Capio asked with a smile.
"Strange rumors, right?" Connor said with a smile. "But he's just an ordinary kid, only he grows up faster. I suspect he has Illium blood."
"Ms. Euton is going to be doing a thorough cleaning with the servants today, so to prevent the child from causing trouble, he's temporarily staying with me. Let's talk about our business."
What Connor didn't tell Capio was that whenever important guests visited, Euton would organize a major cleaning so that Robert could legitimately stand aside.
"It's hard to imagine that such a well-behaved child would misbehave and talk about our business."
Old Man Capi smiled and nodded to the child, then turned his gaze back to Connor.
"You've seen my proposal, haven't you? The temple has controlled Macragge's banking sector for far too long."
"Of course, I am not denying the temple's contributions to Macurag."
"In the early years of the Age of the Wizarding King and the Age of the War King, society was in chaos and order was broken. The only stable social institutions were the temples. People naturally tended to entrust their savings to the temples, and only the temples had the ability to recover the loans after they were made."
As he spoke, a rather gentle smile appeared on Capio's lips.
"But now, with your and Lord Jalan's rule, there is a stable order. Even the barbarians of Illyria have been at peace for so many years. It's time for us to give the gods back to the gods and the rulers back to the rulers."
Connor rested his elbows on his knees, crossed his hands in a pyramid shape, and placed them in front of his nose.
On the surface, she was thinking, but in reality, she was using this action to isolate herself from the overly sweet perfume scent on Capio.
"The temples are also an integral part of Macurag politics, and many high priests of the temples have the same title of elder as you."
"I find it hard to imagine that a temple would voluntarily relinquish its banking function. What would the Temple of Warlords, the Temple of Simeneta, the Temple of the Broken Lighthouse, and the Temples of Thalassa think of your proposal?"
Connor asked this question.
"The temple is only one part of Macrag's politics, and the high priests are only one part of the Senate."
Kempi Europa spread his hands and said, "We are a democratic country. As long as you and Lord Jalan support us, and as long as we have the support of most of the elders, the attitude of the high priests can be ignored."
"Moreover, there are many young priests in the various temples who are disgusted by the temples' excessive secularization, and they will support us."
""
"I see... I will consider your proposal, and I will discuss it with Lord Jalan when I have time." Connor reached out and gently turned the hourglass on the table upside down, and the sand slid back into the crystal.
"I would be very grateful for that, and I will speak with Lord Jalan soon." Capio stood up and bowed to Connor in an exaggerated manner.
Instead of leaving immediately, he went over to Robert Guilliman Jr., who was reading.
"Little one, what book are you reading?" Capio leaned closer to the child and asked in a gentle voice, "Can you tell Uncle?"
...It's "The Good Princess, the Dog General, and the Bird Wizard!"
The child held up the picture book in his hand and showed it to Capio.
The book cover features a beautiful girl, a red hunting dog in armor, and a small blue bird holding a staff in front of them.
"What story are you telling?" Capio asked in a tone that sounded like he was teasing a child.
"It tells the story of an evil bird wizard in a great forest who killed Grandpa Deer, causing the trees in the forest to wither and also bullying the poor little animals."
"A kind princess couldn't bear to see the little animals being bullied, so she found General Dog and together they punished the bird wizard."
"And Mr. Lighthouse also helped them by throwing stones at the bird wizard."
"But just as they were about to achieve victory, the good princess heard someone crying, so she ran over to see what was happening, only to be bitten by the snake lady from the Sea of Anasis, and fainted. Then the snake lady pretended to be the good princess... I haven't finished reading the rest!"
The child closed the picture book and said to Capio.
"What a great story!"
Capio seemed amused by the child and couldn't help but clap his hands softly.
"Study hard, so your dad can be proud of you."
"If your dad says you've been a good boy/girl when your uncle comes next time, your uncle will treat you to candy, okay?"
"Yes! I will be a good boy and study hard so that Dad can be proud of me!" the little boy said earnestly with a sweet smile.
Capio burst into laughter.
After Capio left, Connor looked at Robert Guilliman.
The smile on the child's lips had vanished, and his indifferent expression revealed nothing of his inner thoughts.
"Keppio Commodus Nerva, whose family can be traced back to the time of the Wizard King, was one of the eighty-eight clans that initially followed the War King in establishing the city of Maclag. His family branch was relatively wealthy, with assets of about 22 million dinars, making him one of the wealthiest classes among the senators. There are currently about six slaves in his palace, and the rest are free people employed by him. He has a relatively moderate attitude towards abolishing slavery and can be considered one of the representatives of the moderate faction."
""
"He has recently made several contacts with Marcus Guilliman, trying to gain your favor through his relationship. In addition, he has been trying to contact Jaran and has already established a friendship with him. His goal is the aforementioned Reformation Act, which abolishes the temple's function as a bank."
"Historically speaking, the temple will eventually have to relinquish its banking function, but the key question is who will replace it: the Macurac state itself, or the wealthy nobility?"
"Is Keppelin implying that if you support the aristocracy, led by him, to control the banking industry, he can lead the moderates to support your reforms and the abolition of debt slavery?"
"I'm also very concerned about what Elder Kepi Euro meant by the so-called young priest's aversion to the temple's excessive secularism and his potential support for him."
"Beyond the banking industry, does he also want to get involved with the temple itself?"
Robert Guilliman's voice was flat, calm, and rational, more like a machine than Connor's Thinker.
"Debt slavery and the lending system are interdependent. If we only abolish debt slavery and hand over the banking system to the wealthy class, it is just giving debt slavery a new skin. I will not hand over the functions of the bank to the wealthy class. Banks and lending must be controlled by the state."
Connor smiled, reached out, and ruffled Robert Guilliman's blond hair before looking at the picture book in Guilliman's hand.
"It's really hard on you to read these children's picture books to pass the time."
"Fortunately, this one is different; it has a deeper meaning."
Robert Guilliman glanced at the picture book in his hand, "The great forest is Macurag, the bird wizard is the king of magic, the good princess is Simeneta, the dog general is the king of war, and Mr. Lighthouse is the god of broken lighthouses."
"This picture book is actually about the story of Simeneta, the Broken Lighthouse, and the Lord of War joining forces to defeat the King of Sorcery."
"But... who was Grandpa Deer who was killed by the Bird Wizard? Was he Macragge's ruler before the King of Wizardry?"
"And who is the Snake Lady? What does it mean that she bit Simonetta and pretended to be Simonetta?"
"Furthermore, this... is the snake lady from the Sea of Anasi."
"Anath is a word in the Illyrian language that means end and beginning, the farthest reaches and the other side, chaos and disorder, the return of things to their origin, and... the warp."
"The Serpent Lady comes from the warp, from that ocean of energy that once allowed humanity to navigate. What does that mean?"
At this point, Robert Guilliman paused, recalling the psionic skills Zhou Yun had demonstrated, and the unintentional remark Zhou Yun had made...
"In fact, this universe is not rational at all; the ocean of emotions is always rising and falling beneath the veil of reality."
He repeated the sentence in a low voice.
"Teacher, you have so many secrets..." Robert Guilliman murmured to himself.
"It seems your teacher really taught you many different things," Connor said with a smile.
"Come on, today is the day we go hunting together out of the city. We can chat on the way about what your teachers have taught you."
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