791 Should We Have Noodles or Rice for Breakfast?
A brand new day had dawned on Rodu. Due to the return of Alex, many people were beginning to reassess the situation. Even though not many details had been revealed about the battle that had taken place the night before, the coincidental appearance of the second prince on the scene drew a lot of suspicions.
Back when news of Alex’s assassination had first spread three years ago, the king himself had made a public announcement of the cause of Alex’s death, executing a few orcs and demons as a result. However, there were still some conspiracy theorists who were convinced that foul play was involved, and that Josh was actually the one who had orchestrated the assassination.
Josh just so happened to have appeared in the battle that had taken place the previous night, and there were even rumors that he had faced Alex in battle. This information suddenly made the conspiracies surrounding Josh seem not so implausible after all.
There had always been a delicate balance maintained between Josh and Sean. As long as the king refrained from choosing an heir, the balance would continue to exist, and everything would appear to be quite tranquil and peaceful.
However, Alex’s return was like a sledgehammer that brutally shattered this frail balance.
With his enormous power and his position in the hearts of the citizens of the Roth Empire, his choice would undoubtedly be capable of tipping the scales. Even the king himself couldn’t simply ignore his opinion.
Regardless of whether Josh was involved in the assassination three years ago, most people were of the opinion that Alex wouldn’t choose to side with Josh following his return. He had endured battles of life and death on the empire’s borders with Sean as his comrade, so the first prince was clearly the better choice. Following Alex’s passing, the first prince had mourned and fasted for Alex for three days and three nights; that was a clear indication of the close bond that they had shared.
All of the officials who had already made their choices were considering whether they had made the wrong decision, while some of the fence-sitters were also being tempted to pick a side.
The storm that had taken place the night before had shaken the entire Roth Empire.
Of course, some people were completely unaffected by this incident. These people included the normal citizens of the city, as well as the scholars who were heading toward Carlo Church in an excited manner.
…
Carlo Church was situated in the western region of Rodu on a vast plot of land that had been cordoned off using black railing. At the center of a yellowing lawn stood a grand round-domed church, beside which were two rows of large white stone pillars. There was a plaza that had been paved with slabs of white stone in front of the church, and white pigeons were searching for grass seeds in the gaps between the stone slabs.
The black-robed priests wore serious expressions as they traversed through the long corridors of the church. There was no hint of a smile on their faces whatsoever, and all of them seemed to be in a hurry.
The church had a longer history than even the Roth Empire. During the war among species, priests had roamed the entire Norland Continent, administering treatment to the humans who had been wounded during the war, and fostering the children who had lost their parents to battle. As such, they were deeply respected and revered by the masses.
Furthermore, the church also played an imperative role in uniting the humans during the war among species. It was through a common faith that everyone banded together, and the church had developed many exceptional knights and magic casters for the human race.
The royal family of the Roth Empire at the time were the spokespeople for the church. They led the humans during the war and ensured the survival of the entire human race, securing a vast territory in the process.
However, following the founding of the Roth Empire, all of the past kings had been trying to lessen the influence and the power of the church.
This trend was especially apparent during the several decades when Andre had been in power. From the many churches that had once stood all over the Roth Empire, this Carlo Church was now the only one that remained. Most of the church’s influence had been absorbed by the Magus Tower, and the people who had been part of the war among species had all passed away. As such, this century-old church was now merely a symbolic existence, marking a chapter in the history of the human race.
Even though the church was still supposedly respected by the royal family, it was heavily restricted and essentially no longer had any power.
The cavernous Carlo Church had even been reduced to a venue for some officials when holding major events, such as this debate.
All of the elderly priests naturally weren’t responsible for attending to such matters, and all of them stayed in the back rooms, reminiscing about the good old glory days.
Even though the church had been steadily on the wane, it was still not a place that could be defiled by anyone; the Roth Empire’s department of education was only allowed access to the main hall of the church, and they were prohibited from accessing any other areas.
The young priests wore serious expressions as they poured tea for the white-robed elders before standing off to the side with their hands clasped behind their backs.
Even though they didn’t like these people for being so boisterous and noisy in the church, they had to force themselves to serve them, so it was no wonder that their expressions were rather sour.
The main hall of the church was paved with marble that was glistening with a faint golden sheen, and natural light was passing through the clear crystal dome up above, illuminating the entire hall.
There were beautiful pieces of art carved on the stone walls within the church, all of which were images depicting the members of the church lending their assistance to the human warriors during the war among species.
During those chaotic and tumultuous times, it was none other than the priests who led the humans out of the darkness, allowing them to finally become a force to be reckoned with on the Norland Continent.
There were currently hundreds of white-robed and azure-robed people sitting cross-legged before the pieces of wall art. Some of them were quite old and wizened, while others seemed to have barely graduated out of their teens. There were clearly less azure-robed figures among them, and the people were also quite a bit younger than the average age of the people present.
Meanwhile, there were 10 people who were also seated cross-legged on the tall platform. Half of them wore white robes, while the other half were in azure robes, and they were sitting on either side of the platform with a clear division between them.
The white-robed figures were all elderly men with white hair. In contrast, among the azure-robed figures, aside from Byron, who sat at the center, all of the other four weren’t even middle-aged yet, so their group appeared to be far more youthful.
All of the azure-robed figures present wore rather nervous expressions as they glanced at Byron from time to time. This was going to be the final one of 10 debates, and the result of this debate would decide whether they would adopt the new numerical system or stay with the old hexadecimal system.
During the previous nine debates, the trend was that more and more people were joining the azure-robed camp. However, there were still more conservative and stubborn white-robed, and it was very difficult to counter their arguments surrounding tradition and inheritance.
If they were to lose this debate, then all of their past efforts would go to waste. The multiplication table that they were hoping to popularize would also be buried in the sands of time. This was something that no one wanted to see.
A black-robed middle-aged man made his way toward Byron, and said, “Master Byron, it’s 9 am. We should begin the debate now.”
Why isn’t Mr. Mag here yet?
Luna was standing at the entrance to the hall, casting her gaze into the distance with an urgent expression on her face.
Byron also glanced at the entrance before withdrawing his gaze as he nodded, and said, “Let’s begin.”
…
On a certain food street, Amy looked up at Mag, and asked, “Father, should we have noodles or rice for breakfast?”