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I Pioneered Scientific Magic - Chapter 467
🕑 Added 2024-03-17 06:57:16 +0000 UTCChapter 467: This is Not Just a Peasant's Life, But the Majesty of the Law!
Looking at the rings in Alade's hands, the few wizards present were somewhat puzzled, but still took them as instructed.
Ivina, following Alade's instructions, placed the ring on her ring finger. After infusing a small amount of magic to activate it, her consciousness seemed to plunge into an endless deep sea.
In a daze, Ivina felt as if she had forgotten something, then heard a series of calls.
"Officer... Officer!"
Ivina abruptly opened her eyes, surrounded by seven or eight plainly dressed peasants, looking at her with faces full of surprise.
"Officer, you’re awake?" The one who spoke was an elderly farmer.
"Officer?" Ivina hesitated for a moment, her mind still a bit muddled, but quickly remembered that she had been selected by the council and had become an officer for the eastern territories of the kingdom.
Today was her first day on the job, patrolling the territory with the townspeople and then volunteering to help everyone with farming, probably too exhausted, she had fainted.
Strange, her physical condition shouldn’t allow for such...
Ivina frowned but before she could think further, any slight doubt was washed away by the villagers' enthusiasm. She quickly gathered her emotions and started her life as an officer!
The first week, Ivina did not rashly do anything but spent her time interacting with the townspeople, understanding the current situation of the village.
Like the rest of the reclaimed territories of the kingdom, everything here reeked of conservatism and decay. The local lord, who often oppressed the peasants, had been hanged on a crooked tree at the city's entrance a week ago, leaving behind a group of illiterate farmers, who knew nothing but farming and hunting, in stark contrast to the vibrant and ever-changing City of Fire Oil.
Moreover, a significant number of locals devoutly worshiped "Aila," and after centuries of church propaganda, the people were very wary of wizards—this was even after the musketeer troops had dealt with the local oppressive nobility, employing methods like land redistribution and striking against the wealthy.
Her task was to dissolve these peasants' faith and lift them from the old era of hunger and lack of clothing.
Ivina felt the heavy responsibility on her shoulders, and her first action was to stop all cultivation of wheat!
After all, the price of grain had reached an all-time low, and with magic bread available, it was foreseeable that for a long time, the price of wheat in the kingdom would hardly return to its original level.
In fact, if not for the council buying grain at the price of one copper, wheat would have been worthless by now!
Change was necessary!
After conducting surveys, Ivina quickly learned that the local baron, who had been hanged, owned a winery that brewed a unique blueberry wheat beer, which had always sold well among the nobility.
Considering this, Ivina immediately sought out several winemakers from the winery, asking in detail whether blueberries could be planted on a large scale and the potential yield. After receiving satisfactory answers, she started her first step in the village renovation plan—replacing wheat with blueberries in this year's autumn planting and establishing more wineries.
Ivina believed that the kingdom's citizens, who had entered the workshops for higher wages, would not be content with just a few pieces of bread. This unique taste of blueberry wheat beer, unavailable elsewhere, was their advantage!
And with the current low price of wheat, they could use this to their advantage, acquiring enough brewing ingredients without spending much money!
Ivina's idea was excellent, but it met with significant resistance from the townspeople. No one knew whether brewing so much blueberry beer would be sellable or yield the expected profits.
If it failed, wouldn't everyone starve?
The farmers, accustomed to generations of cultivation, were not willing to try such a risky change. Regaining land from the nobles had already satisfied the townspeople; no matter how low the grain price, at least growing wheat meant they had food to eat!
Instead of arguing with each farmer, Ivina rented all the lands outright, boldly promising.
"Everyone just do as I say. If we make money, I want seventy percent of the profits. If we don’t, all losses are on me!"
With the assurance of real money and Ivina's promise, the strategy to change crops was barely implemented.
To ensure success, Ivina even specially invited an elemental wizard skilled in agriculture to use magic for fertilizing, pest control, and increasing yield.
Ivina's bold and aggressive strategy undoubtedly achieved excellent results, transforming a poor village into a production base for blueberry wheat beer. The entire village participated, responsible for everything from planting to brewing to selling. Ivina smoothly passed the assessment and became the local mayor!
However, she soon discovered that becoming mayor did not
reduce her troubles; instead, they multiplied. Ivina was almost too busy to stop, with various bizarre or quirky issues needing her decision every day.
Today, a farmer's camelop was stolen, tomorrow two villages fought over a water source...
These were minor problems compared to the most troublesome issue: a formal wizard had gotten into a dispute in a tavern and killed a townsman with magic!
According to council law, depending on the severity of the act, the murderer could be sentenced to death or imprisonment for labor for over twenty years!
The uniqueness of this case was that the murderer was a wizard, belonging to a grand wizard's school. Both new officers and mayors advised her that it was just the death of a peasant, not worth prosecuting a wizard over, angering a school with a grand wizard. Better to have the party pay some money and let it go.
Wizards are the masters of this kingdom, just like the noble lords of old, holding powerful magic, far more valuable and higher in status than a peasant could ever be.
"No, that's not right. A single wrongful judgment will gradually erode the trust the council has painstakingly built among the common people, encouraging more wizards to act recklessly... thereby undermining the entire kingdom's order!" Ivina spoke firmly.
This was not just a matter of whether a peasant or a wizard's life was more valuable, more important, but also about whether the majesty of the kingdom's laws was upheld!
Considering this, Ivina personally took action to arrest the person... and troubles followed. Many wizard schools criticized her for making such a fuss over a peasant's life and death, even proposing to revoke her mayorship.
To address these criticisms, Ivina was exhausted but stood firm, eventually receiving recognition from the council. The case was tried in the capital, sentencing him to fifteen years of forced labor and paying a substantial compensation.
Although Ivina felt the sentence was too light, she understood that demanding a life for a life was unlikely, but at least a substantial compensation could save a family.
With these achievements, Ivina quickly rose to become the mayor of Steel City.
Then her incompetent and long-lost brother came seeking help, begging her to pull strings in this year's officer examination to ensure his selection.
Ivina looked at the familiar yet strange face, lost in thought.
Where did this brother come from?
...
Meanwhile, outside the examination hall, all the papers had been sent to the conference room for evaluation and grading by eight grand wizards.
The basic questions were manageable, with standard answers, just requiring consideration of right and wrong. The application questions were different, with no fixed answers. They had to assess whether the decision was effective, highly subjective, with endless discussions about various strategies.
For example, one grand wizard greatly appreciated Monroe's paper, his decisive and merciless approach, not quite suitable for an officer but excellent for an investigator.
Naturally, the most debated was about the punishment for a wizard killing a peasant, with the eight grand wizards almost split.
Training a formal wizard consumes significant resources, requiring selection from citizens with magical talent, then years of study and consuming the Source of Magic, with less than a forty percent chance of advancement.
Not to mention, relying on magic, a wizard is equivalent to dozens of laborers and combatants, far more important than a peasant in every aspect, let alone worth a life for a life!
"The kingdom is a kingdom of wizards, how can we judge a wizard for a peasant's death? According to the standards of wizard lands, a fine of twenty should suffice!" Grand Wizard Sanchez scoffed.
He believed that as an officer of the kingdom, one must understand this point. Those who made judgments, even harsh ones against wizards, must carefully consider their capabilities.
"Why don't you take a look at this paper?" Raphael, having no intention of arguing further, simply passed a paper over.
Sanchez took it with a sneer, believing a wizard's value could not be compared to a peasant's, but his brow furrowed as he glanced through it.
This paper did not judge whose life was more valuable but approached from the perspective of upholding the majesty of the council's laws. It argued that if this issue were not handled justly and the wizard were easily let go, it would cause a severely negative impact, damaging the trust the council had slowly built among the common people, and potentially leading to similar incidents...
"Whose paper is this?" Sanchez asked after pondering for a long time.
"It's from a witch named Ivina," Raphael replied succinctly. "I think her paper is very good and should be considered the top paper!"
After reviewing this paper, the other grand wizards nodded in agreement. Ivina had given relatively reasonable answers to most application questions, fitting well with the council's previous decisions.
Or rather, she had specifically researched their strategies implemented in the kingdom to provide similar answers.
The last question, considering from the perspective of maintaining the law, was already a cut above the others.
Even Sanchez, who advocated for
leniency, couldn't argue against it.
As Raphael and others debated each paper fiercely, Lynn was observing how the formal wizards, pulled into the magical realm, would deal with the various issues they had just answered.
How many were insincere, and how many could adhere to their principles.
Some things are much harder to do than to say!
"Good thing you managed to persuade the Mystical Arts Society to use the microcosm for this," Victorio remarked, impressed.
Lynn smiled without responding. After all, it was the council's first selection examination, naturally deserving of attention.
Not to mention the kingdom was filled with spies from the church, and internal opposition was not in short supply. The selection of senior managers had to be extremely cautious.
The magic worked somewhat like dreaming, with subjects in the magical realm in a state of memory blur. It had no effect on grand wizards, and formal wizards needed the Medallion of Arcane as a medium,
While the rest of the peasants didn't require so much effort, being handled by psychic wizards with a dream-guiding spell.
Compared to taking an exam in a conscious state, this method's answers were obviously more trustworthy. Each person would face their choices truthfully in the dream, virtually eliminating the possibility of lying.
Of course, this wasn't a permanent solution.
After all, people change. Maybe they could maintain their initial intentions for three to five years, but longer under the temptations of power, some would inevitably falter. Then, a comprehensive monitoring and reporting system would be necessary.
No matter what, Lynn had done his best in this election examination, even secretly adding some "ingredients" to expand the brain's computing network, leading to an unexpected discovery.
Among the seventeen wizards participating in the examination, one was particularly special: Monroe!
The brain couldn't decode his mental fluctuations, surprising Lynn, knowing even Harof, Victorio, and others couldn't resist the brain's psychic decoding, while Monroe was just a formal wizard!
Was it some unique artifact, or was someone providing him some protection...
Lynn's mind filled with information about Monroe.
He belonged to the White Dove school, obliterated by the church, arriving in the City of Fire Oil with Ivina through the Wizard Mutual Aid Society, performing averagely in the wizard academy, even somewhat poorly, unlike Ivina, whose performance was consistently good.
The brain had no problem decoding the girl's psychic energy, just not enough time to probe her memories due to the short duration.
Lynn pondered for a while, realizing he needed to pay more attention...
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