Time passed so quickly. It had already been ten years. Laurist strolled around Dawn Academy, looking at the familiar scenery and feeling a myriad of emotions in his heart.
Today, Earl Kenneth, Baron Filim and Baron Shahin brought their women to the most famous commercial street in Morrent City, Triumph Avenue, for a shopping spree. Dina and the other two girls followed them. Schwald was also given a break by Laurist to accompany his little fiancée. Laurist said he had something to do, so he left the guards to the three girls and slipped out alone. He was going to visit Dean Levins and Grandmaster Swordmaster Kelud.
What Laurist found strange was that he had given Dean Levins the production process and material formula for the green glass and oil glass to be auctioned off. This was also an opportunity to start a glass war between the Trade Union and the Telimbo Kingdom. He remembered that the newspaper reported that the auction was a success. Both the formula and production process were sold for a high price, so Dawn Academy must have made a lot of money. But why was the layout of the academy still the same as it was ten years ago? There were no new changes at all …
Only then did Laurist realise that the bustling and bustling academy was empty. There were very few students wearing the academy's uniform and badges. Even if there were a few people passing by, they were all in a hurry. The huge academy looked very bleak and lonely …
The greyish-green tower looked a little worn down with the passage of time. Although it was still intact, Laurist felt that it was on the verge of collapse.
Dean Levins was very surprised by Laurist's visit. The seventy-year-old man had age spots on his face, and his body was failing. It was still July, and the weather was very hot. Laurist only wore a long-sleeved shirt, but Dean Levins was sitting on a recliner wrapped in a wool blanket.
"Little Locke, I didn't think you would come to see me …" Dean Levins pulled on a bell rope beside him with difficulty. After a long time, a fat maid came. Dean Levins ordered her to boil water and get Grandmaster Swordmaster Kelud to come over.
"You're welcome, Old Dean. Why did your body suddenly become so weak? You were still very energetic two years ago … "Laurist said.
"Old people are useless. It's almost time for me to return to Sigwa's divine kingdom." Dean Levins laughed self-deprecatingly. "Little Locke, you didn't expect this, did you? Dawn Academy is also closing down …"
"What did you say?" Laurist was stunned. "Headmaster, what's going on? Does the academy lack money? If that's the reason, I can sponsor the academy to tide over this crisis … "
"Lack of money … Haha, Dawn Academy is rich. It's never had so many Gold Fords. It's even filled up its underground vault." The dean chuckled. His laughter was filled with remorse and helplessness. "Locke, the two recipes you gave us about the production of glass have earned the academy nearly two million gold coins. The academy has even formulated a ten-year development plan and is ambitious to develop Dawn Academy into one of the top three academies in Morrent City's academy district.
However, a glass war, a change in the Lordship system, brought about a result that no academy could have predicted. The Forde Commercial Union used to be the link between dozens of countries. We welcomed guests from all over with an open, free, and peaceful embrace. Morrent City's academy district was the home of hope for many scholars.
Now, a glass war, a change in the Lordship system, has destroyed all of this. This was a regression in history. It went against the will of the founder of the Commercial Union, the Duke of Forde. It once again divided the people of the Commercial Union into three, five, six classes, and once again created a class of nobles.
Now, the Commercial Union had leapt to become the largest country in Galinthea. It had even surpassed the former Chrison Empire. Even the people of Morrent City had begun to feel proud of being the largest nation. However, they did not know what they had lost!
The Commercial Union used to be full of friends. Trade routes led to all the countries on the continent. All the countries welcomed our merchants with smiles, admiring our glorious history of fighting against the former Chrison Empire for hundreds of years. But now, we've become the former Chrison Empire's characters. We've begun to stretch our dirty hands towards our friends who once helped us! The whole world's friends have become the whole world's enemies. The trade routes have been severed, and our former allies are now guarding against us like enemies!
Last month, there was even an idiot who clamored to expand the Commercial Union's military power. He wanted to use the invincible and powerful Commercial Union army to crush the countries that obstructed the trade routes. Since gold coins did not work, then they would use their fists! That idiot's speech was applauded and welcomed by even more idiots …
This was the result of the merchants ruling the country. They were short-sighted and only had benefits in their eyes. They did not have the slightest moral restraint. Even if they wore the gorgeous clothes of nobles, they were still rotten vultures deep down. In their eyes, there was only the flickering gold coins. They really thought that the Commercial Union had become the strongest nation in the Great Furnace. However, they did not think that this was a rotten world. They just did not rot as fast as they did!
Cough, cough, cough … "Perhaps because he was too emotional, Director Levins suddenly burst into violent coughs.
Laurist hurriedly went forward to support him and patted his back gently.
Director Levins let Laurist push him to the window and struggled to stand up with the help of the window railing. "Little Locke, when you were still an instructor in the academy, our academy was so lively. There were people coming and going, and it was full of vitality and vitality. Do you still remember how many students we had back then?"
Laurist thought for a moment and said, "I remember Shredder telling me that there were more than nine thousand students in the academy."
"Yes, there were so many students back then. It was so noisy all day, and it gave me a headache. It was such a beautiful time …" Director Levins closed his eyes, as if reminiscing about the past.
After a while, Laurist heard Director Levins sigh softly. "Little Locke, did you know that there were only fourteen hundred students in the academy last year? There were only seventy-four new students …"
"What? That's impossible!" Laurist blurted out. No matter what, Dawn Academy was still one of the top eight academies in Gallinthea. How could there only be so few students enrolled?
"I forgot to tell you that these seventy-four new students are citizens of the Commercial Union. Most of them are from Moronte City. Also, the total number of new students in the top three academies is 325. Dawn Academy has already calculated it. Do you remember San Marcelo Academy? They only had eight new students last year … "
"What do you mean?" Laurist suddenly understood.
"Last year, four out of the twenty-seven academies in Moronte City's academy district closed. Another eleven closed in May this year. By next year, Dawn Academy will be closed too … Sigh …" Director Levins sighed and sat down again.
"There's no more students …" Laurist murmured.
"Yes, there's no more students. If there's no one coming to school, why are there still so many academies? At this year's fellowship, there was a proposal to keep only the top three academies and integrate the students from the other academies into these three academies. So, regardless of whether our Dawn Academy has the money or not, we'll definitely close next year. There's no point in keeping an academy open without more students … "Director Levins smiled bitterly.
Laurist understood now. Moronte City's academy district was famous in the Galinthea Continent because it provided education without discrimination. Students from any country could enroll as long as they met the requirements. They could even work in Moronte City for two years to raise enough money to continue their studies until they graduated. Of the twenty-seven academies, less than ten percent of the students belonged to the Commercial Union. Most of the students came from various countries in the continent. Of course, they were mostly the children of nobles and the rich. There were also many free citizens who were motivated to work part-time. It was their existence that made Moronte City's academy district prosperous and famous as a holy land for learning.
"A glass war, a change in the lordship system. It made the Commercial Union the largest country in Galinthea? Bullsh * t, I only know that it destroyed the academy district and twenty-four academies! No one came to Moronte City to study anymore. The trade route was severed and the reputation was lost. No one was willing to come to Moronte City to study anymore. The students that we educated now see the Commercial Union as their enemy.
Do you know, Locke? When the Commercial Union's army swept through seven countries and occupied their territories, the residents of Moronte City celebrated their victory while the students of those seven countries were crying. Many students from other countries were packing their luggage to leave the academy and the Commercial Union … "
"The war has been won, and all the participants have received their rewards. The Commerce Union has held a grand victory ceremony and started to distribute titles and territories. No one knows that at this moment, the Commerce Union has become the enemy of all the neighboring countries. No country will treat the Commerce Union as an ally anymore. They will band together to guard against the Commerce Union, just like how they guarded against the Christen Empire in the past.
I rejected the Union Council's offer of a Baron's seat and the territory in the Christopher Hills. My biggest dream in life was to make Dawn Academy flourish and become one of the most famous academies on the continent. Now that my dream has been destroyed, what's the point of having a title and territory … "Dean Levins muttered to himself." Dean, it's my fault.
"Dean, it's my fault. I shouldn't have given the two letters to you to auction. If I had done that, the glass war wouldn't have happened, and this wouldn't have happened. I'm the one who harmed Dawn Academy …" Laurist felt really guilty. There was nothing crueler than destroying an old man's lifelong dream, while he was still alive.
Back then, he had given the two letters regarding the production process and formula of glass to Levins to be auctioned off. He wanted to cause a conflict between the Trade Alliance and the Telimbo Kingdom, diverting the Trade Alliance's attention from the former Crisen Empire. At the same time, he wanted to reduce the pressure on his family's territory, the Silovas Island. After all, it was much easier to deal with the Chikder Merchant Association than the entire Commercial Union.
He didn't expect that the two sheets of glass production technology and formula would cause such a huge storm, causing a glass war between the Commerce Alliance and the Tellimbo Kingdom. Although this was mostly due to Tellimbo VII's stupidity, escalating a dispute that could have been easily resolved through negotiation into a war that destroyed seven nations, the outcome was beyond Laurist's wildest imagination. The current situation and outcome of Dawn Academy was an accident that was not part of Laurist's plan.
"It's none of your business." Dean Levins shook his head. "You had good intentions. You just wanted to get some funds for Dawn Academy to develop. However, the situation has changed beyond our expectations. No one expected the Kingdom of Telimbo to take such drastic measures, causing the situation to spiral out of our control. Furthermore, the Trade Alliance is trying to implement the Lordship system, and they are suffering from a lack of fiefs. Therefore, some people with ulterior motives have pushed for this outcome. This is not your fault, you do not have to feel guilty. "
Laurist gently pushed Dean Levins back to his desk, and poured the old dean a cup of boiled water. He still remembered the old dean's preference. He liked to drink it plain, without milk or sugar.
There was a knock on the door, and Master Swordmaster Kelud pushed it open and entered.
"Huh? Locke, when did you come? "
"Just now. I had a chat with the dean. We talked about the current situation of Dawn Academy."
"You know all about it?"
Laurist nodded. "Instructor Kelud, how many people are there in the academy now? Also, do you and Instructor Anfeya have any plans? "
Instructor Kelud sighed deeply. "What plans can we have? Anfeya and I don't want to leave Dawn Academy. The old dean has no children, so we have to take good care of him. Even if Dawn Academy closes next year, we will stay here. Perhaps in the future, Dawn Academy can open again. Most of the instructors have left, and there are only a dozen or so left. They are also leading two classes that will graduate this year. When they graduate, there will be no students left in Dawn Academy. "
Laurist pondered for a while, and looked at Dean Levins. "Dean, have you heard of this saying? Since the academy district in Moronte City can't support Dawn Academy, why don't we build another one in another country?"
Master Swordmaster Kelud laughed. "Locke, it's not that simple. It's not that we haven't thought of this, but none of the countries around us are willing to let us run our academy in Moronte City. San Marso Academy has asked all the countries around us, but all they got were rejections. Setting up an academy isn't something that can be done just by talking about it. We still need a place, a building, and funding. In the future, we'll also need to provide a large amount of sponsorship every year. Those small countries can't afford it, and they don't want to carry an unnecessary burden. "
"Then are you willing to go to the north? Go to my family's territory, and I can move Dawn Academy there. You don't have to be responsible for the land, buildings, and funding. The Norton family will take care of everything. We will also give you a sum of sponsorship every year so that you can run your academy with peace of mind. You only need to provide the teachers and staff. If you are willing to go to the north, you will be treated well. We will provide the teachers with a good living environment. We won't let them suffer, "Laurist said.
"Haha, little Locke, it's none of your business. Don't worry about Dawn Academy closing down. You want to compensate us?" Dean Levins smiled and shook his head. "The north is remote and sparsely populated. How many people will come to run a school there? It will only add to the burden on your family. Forget it."
Laurist laughed. "Dean, you underestimate the north and the Norton family. Our family's territory alone has a population of 1.2 million people, and they all live very well and are very wealthy. There is already a Nicol Academy in our territory. It was opened by the daughter of a famous female scholar from the Crisen Empire, Lady Nicol. However, Nicol Academy believes in the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, Siming Ryder. They don't take in many students, and they are very strict. So, our territory needs a comprehensive academy. If Dawn Academy is willing to move there, I believe it will have a bright future.
As for funding, you don't have to worry about it. You should know that our family conquered the Haneabada Kingdom last year and destroyed that evil slave kingdom. So, we still have enough resources to develop our territory for more than twenty years. It won't be a problem to allocate a sum of money to the academy every year. Maybe there will only be a few hundred students in the first few years, but I believe that with time, Dawn Academy will be able to develop greatly.
Of course, my words are not proof. How about this, when I go back, you send someone with me to investigate. It will only take about two months to go back and forth by boat. What do you think? "
Dean Levins and Master Swordsman Kurud looked at each other and nodded. "Little Locke, since you say so, let us know when you go back. We will send someone to investigate. Thank you."
"You're welcome, Dean. I will always be a member of Dawn Academy."
…
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