Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 83 (Part 2)

He ended the afternoon’s lessons a little early. For some reason, he felt like giving his mind a break today.

“Kids will be kids, after all.”

Since the day of the kidnapping, Larry and Bianca hadn’t left Rodin’s side for a while, fearful that such an incident might happen again.

But that behavior didn’t even last ten days.

At some point, they started sneaking up to the deck, and now, they went out to play on the deck every day. Sometimes, they even missed meals.

“I wonder what they’re up to.”

Rodin had set a water spirit, Undine, to watch over Larry and Bianca. If they had been in any danger, there would have been fluctuations in its mana usage. The fact that there hadn’t been meant they were playing safely.

He made his way to the deck, where many passengers were enjoying the breeze.

“Oh, really.”

In one corner of the deck sat Captain Krondel of the *Capelton*. Next to him, Larry and Bianca were munching on snacks and looking out at the sea.

“So, you were here?”

“Oh? Big Brother!”

“Big Brother Rodin!”

“Ah, Rodin, you’ve come up. Why don’t you sit here?”

Rodin sat in the seat that Captain Krondel offered him.

Perhaps because he was the captain, his chair was a plush sofa, the kind one might find in a luxury inn. Larry and Bianca were also sitting on the sofa, and Krondel was half-reclined against it as well.

“Thank you. The breeze feels nice.”

“Indeed. It’s almost as if we’ve been blessed by the sea god. The winds have been just right lately.”

If the wind was too strong, the ship would be in danger, and if there was no wind, they wouldn’t be able to pick up speed. The current breeze was perfect for sailing.

“Is such weather rare?”

“Yes, it is. The sea is unpredictable and fickle. It likes to mess with ships that have smooth voyages.”

“I hope this wind stays with us for a while. By the way, have you two been here the whole time?”

“We were playing with a friend, but their mom called them in.”

Bianca looked disappointed. Judging by Larry’s calm expression, it seemed the friend was more Bianca’s than his.

“Why did you come out, Big Brother?”

“I just wanted to get some fresh air. It’s nice out here. I’ll have to come up more often.”

“You should. Rodin, you should come out more often. There are quite a few people among the passengers that it could be helpful to know.”

“Is that so?”

Rodin scanned the passengers on deck. All of them were dressed in fine clothes, gathered in small groups and chatting.

“Does it make you uncomfortable?”

“A little, yes.”

“Most of them are refugees. For now, they act like nobles with their noses in the air, but once they reach the Central Continent, their attitudes will change.”

It wasn’t that the Central Continent didn’t recognize the nobility of the Western Continent. Nobles from any nation were generally treated with respect.

But that was only true as long as their country still existed.

No one acknowledged the nobility of a fallen nation. If a former noble had a lot of money, they might be treated as a wealthy commoner, but if they had no money, they would just be considered a commoner who had once been noble.

“In any case, they can at least escape the war, right? The Central Continent is more peaceful than the Western Continent, isn’t it?”

“Hahaha, you’ve got it all wrong. The Central Continent experiences war far more frequently than the Western and Eastern Continents combined. If you count the number of wars, the Central Continent surpasses both by a long shot.”

“Really? So, the idea that it’s peaceful is just a rumor?”

Rodin recalled Bron telling him that the Central Continent was peaceful. Since Bron was from the Central Continent, it seemed unlikely that he was mistaken.

Rodin wondered for a moment if Bron had deceived him, but he couldn’t think of any reason why Bron would lie about that.

“Hmm, it’s a bit tricky to explain. To understand it properly, you need to realize that the cultures of the two continents are different.”

“What kind of differences?”

“In the Western Continent, the country is the center of power. The king holds great authority, and a single word from him determines the fate of everything in the kingdom.”

“That seems pretty natural, doesn’t it?”

“It’s not natural at all. In the Central Continent, families—noble houses—are the center of power. Countless noble families rule over their own territories like kings. There are noble families known for swordsmanship, magic, scholarship, and even commerce.”

Rodin found it hard to grasp this concept of families being more central than the state. After all, even on the Western Continent, noble families wielded significant power in their own territories. It didn’t seem all that different.

“I don’t quite understand.”

“Here’s one way to think of it: In a noble’s territory, the laws are made by the noble. Even the king cannot interfere. As long as it’s not rebellion, the lord has virtually unlimited authority within their domain.”

“Hmm. Sounds like a recipe for chaos.”

“You could see it that way. And indeed, there are some territories where that’s the case. But most lords have ruled their lands for hundreds of years, so they don’t want to see their territories ruined. They manage their lands more carefully than most kings on the Western Continent.”

Rodin’s ears perked up at the mention of lords managing their territories better than kings.

Since a territory is smaller than a country, it would be easier to manage. And with a smaller population, governing the people would also be more straightforward.

“If their autonomy is that strong, do they even need a king?”

“For the most part, no, they don’t. The king is often seen as just the head of the largest family. But the king does serve one very important role.”

“Is it defending against foreign invaders?”

“Exactly. The royal family doesn’t meddle in domestic affairs, but when another country invades, they defend the territories with all their might. In return, they collect 10% of the annual taxes from each territory.”

In the Riyaz Kingdom on the Western Continent, the king collected 40% of the taxes from the territories. Since they took so much, the nobles had to collect even more from their lands to make up for the deficit, which only added to the suffering of the people.

“Protecting the country with just 10%… Can they really maintain a military with that?”

“This system wouldn’t work on the Western Continent. When armies march here, it’s usually with at least tens of thousands of soldiers. But in the Central Continent, the king’s personal forces are usually only a few thousand strong. Even the largest armies barely reach ten thousand.”

So, since the forces of each region were more or less equal, the 10% tax was enough to maintain the balance. In other words, no country sought to raise vast armies that would require heavier taxation to maintain.

“Interesting. So, is it easy to become a resident of these territories?”

“It’s not as simple as you might think. If a group gets too large, they’re not seen favorably. Even if it’s just 100 people, it might be considered too much of a threat.”

“Too much power within the territory, then.”

“Exactly. This is why the Central Continent prefers small, elite forces.”

Kser and Habinon from the Special Forces Training School were already aware of this. That’s why they decided to bring only a small group of elite trainees to the Central Continent, to avoid drawing too much attention or suspicion from the local lords.

“But what did you mean earlier when you said wars happen frequently?”

“Ah! I was referring to territorial wars. Territories fight among themselves all the time. They clash over minor profits, pride, you name it.”

“Captain Krondel, what would you recommend for someone looking to settle down? I’d like to ask your advice.”

Hyung_Otaku2

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