Translator: Cinder Translations
...
After Ladia asked this question, Paul hesitated for a moment in his heart.
"Dear Ladia…" he replied hesitantly but with utmost sincerity, "If what I say next offends you or your group, I apologize in advance."
Upon hearing Paul say this, Ladia's confusion deepened.
Paul stood up and faced the south wall's window, looking outside with his back to Ladia, as if he was unwilling to face her.
"To me, current magic is an extremely unstable force. You could say my concern is akin to a joke about fearing the sky will fall, but I certainly do not want the development of human society to rely on an unstable force."
Paul's words made Ladia understand somewhat; those close to the matter know it best. Indeed, current magic, as Paul said, is quite unstable. The instability is primarily reflected in the emergence of spellcasters, which seems to be an extremely rare randomness. You cannot deduce whether a person will become a spellcaster or when they will become one. Although it's long been rumored among spellcasters that if both parents are spellcasters, the child has a higher probability of becoming one, there are no concrete statistics to support this. Furthermore, the abilities of spellcasters are uncertain; some can master various spells while others can only grasp one or two types. Before a person truly encounters spells, it is impossible to predict what spells they will master. Even the spells themselves are uncertain or mysterious; people do not know why certain incantations must be recited, why specific gestures are required, or why particular materials need to be prepared. Everything seems to depend on the accumulated experience of generations of magicians—doing it this way yields results, so just do it this way.
"But is it really necessary to be so guarded for just an experiment?" Ladia still did not understand.
"It is necessary; it's called preventing problems before they arise!"
"Preventing problems before they arise?"
"Yes, I do not want human scientific development to rely on so-called magic, not even a hint of it, even if magic becomes stable and controllable one day in the future. Oh, perhaps stable and controllable magic would make things worse for the vast majority of mortals."
Paul spoke somewhat hastily, inadvertently giving his words a rather impolite tone.
This made Ladia uncomfortable; she felt a hint of anger rising within her.
"Paul, didn't you say you have no prejudice against magic?"
Paul raised his hands in front of him. "Madam, I'm not trying to anger you intentionally; you know that."
Ladia also noticed her agitation and made an effort to calm herself.
"Based on my observations and judgments, spellcasters are an absolutely small minority in the human population, and it is extremely dangerous for human society to become dependent on such a small group. Firstly, if dependence reaches a certain level, and for some reason the number of spellcasters significantly decreases, it could cause human society's development to stagnate or regress dramatically. Just think about it; in extreme cases, all technological paths might have to start over—what a terrifying scenario. Secondly…"
At this point, Paul hesitated.
"While I don't want to speculate on the worst sides of human nature, when spellcasters realize how much human society relies on them, will they see themselves as a part of humanity, as friends in ordinary people's lives or as helpers in work? I fear that spellcasters might feel superior, with some extreme cases believing they are the saviors of human civilization. At that point, a ruling class that is powerful to the point of being nearly unshakeable will naturally emerge."
"Heh, Lord Grayman, it's quite amusing for a noble like you to say this!" Ladia remarked sarcastically, her tone indicating this was the first time she spoke to Paul in such a manner.
"Ah, yes, that is indeed an awkward fact." Paul rubbed his nose, acknowledging the sharpness in Ladia's words.
"However, precisely because I happen to occupy a similar position, I can assure you that if spellcasters really find themselves in such a highly dependent state, human civilization will undoubtedly slide into a terrible future. Furthermore, the things nobles use to control ordinary people—honor, oaths, lineage—are all relatively intangible. Once people's thoughts develop to a certain extent, these things will naturally lose their effect. But spellcasters are different; their abilities are a tangible coercion for ordinary people. The deeper their connection to human society, the stronger this coercion becomes. Spellcasters may gain the most powerful control in history, achieving a situation where nothing changes for thousands of years."
Paul's words left Ladia feeling very dejected. She stomped her foot on the floor, "I didn't expect you to think so much. I... I just wanted to help you."
"Oh, dear Ladia, I appreciate your good intentions." Paul reassured her, "In fact, if every conventional method has truly been exhausted and the goal cannot be advanced, I wouldn't mind accepting the help of magic. However, we are far from that point now."
"Why isn't now the time? Just look at how overwhelmed the alchemists are." Ladia asked.
"No, we are far from that point." Paul firmly repeated this phrase. "There must be some means to help Wells and the others."
He winked at Ladia. "Let the mortals try to overcome various difficulties themselves, using their intellect to establish a development path that belongs completely to the majority."
...
Tennyson tiredly walked out of the chemistry laboratory's archives. He hadn't slept for two days and nights, frantically researching information about the combustible substance.
He felt he should first clarify what the combustible substance actually is.
With this thought in mind, Tennyson once again headed toward the school cafeteria. "Hey, isn't that Tennyson? I heard you offended Lord Grayman?"
After turning a corner, Tennyson encountered a person—his former classmate, Nick.
Speaking of Nick, he was quite the envy of others at Weiss Academy. After the Usurper War ended, the Council of Administration had dispatched several surveying teams to Emden, and Nick was part of one of those teams. However, this guy was quite clever; he solved the artillery surveying problem using trigonometry and was rewarded by the lord upon returning.
Now, Nick didn't often come to the academy; he had started a company with several friends, specializing in selling so-called optical devices, such as rangefinders and telescopes.
(End of the Chapter)
---
Read (FF) on Pa.treon@CinderTL - c802.
Early Access at $5.
Translated (5) Series, (2K+) Chapters, (2.5M+) Words.