Exploring Technology in a Wizard World-Chapter 1271 - 1269: Fame Precedes

"Is this your first time in Shaya, sir?" Mars looked at Richard and asked.

Richard nodded, "Yes."

"It’s like this, sir," Mars said. "Shaya’s situation might be different from what you expect. Although it’s your first visit, many people were already paying attention to you before you even arrived. I’m afraid once they know you’re here, they’ll definitely come to visit. I can help you turn away those with lesser status, but there’s nothing I can do about those with higher standing; after all, I’m just a servant with somewhat strong capabilities."

Before he even arrived, someone was already paying attention to him... It must have something to do with the dark-faced elder, Oscar...

Blinking, Richard looked at Mars and asked, "Who are these people of higher status you’re talking about?"

"Well..." Mars opened and closed his mouth a few times, spread his hands, and said with some difficulty, "Sir, it’s hard to say, but I can tell you a little — there are some Royal Family members."

"Royal Family members?" Richard raised an eyebrow.

...

Soon, in the afternoon, what Mars had said was confirmed.

Richard hadn’t been in the residence for long when the only servant left ran in from outside, anxiously reporting that the Prince of the Soma Alliance’s Royal Family had arrived.

Then, on the first floor of the Stone Building’s reception room, Richard met this Prince.

The Prince was about 30 years old, very composed and courteous. He chatted for a long time without revealing the purpose of his visit, leaving behind a pile of gifts before departing.

Not long after the Prince left, the servant ran in again to report that the Second Prince of the Soma Alliance Royal Family had arrived.

The Second Prince was younger, about 27 or 28 years old, less composed than the Prince, but more enthusiastic. After chatting courteously for a long time, he left a pile of gifts no less than the Prince’s and left just as quickly.

Richard was wondering if the Third Prince would visit next in this order. Instead, the servant reported that the Fourth Prince of the Soma Alliance’s Royal Family had arrived.

The Fourth Prince was even younger, about 23 or 24 years old, somewhat arrogant, looking like he disdained everyone, but restrained himself during the meeting. He said the same courteous words as the Prince and Second Prince, left his gifts, and departed again.

After that, Richard received visits from many Royal Family members and officials, with the gifts he received almost filling up the storage room of the Stone Building.

By the end, he still didn’t understand why these people were visiting him.

...

When night fell, having finally met the dark-faced elder Oscar, Richard asked about his confusion.

"Why did so many people visit me today, Mr. Oscar? I feel like I need an explanation."

Oscar smiled slightly upon hearing this and then sighed lightly, commenting thoughtfully, "This is politics."

"Hmm?"

"Although you’ve always kept your distance, when you gave the list of the Truth Society’s Southern Free Alliance to us, it was already considered a great contribution to the entire Soma Alliance. The Emperor has expressed his concern for you multiple times. Naturally, when you become exposed to the public eye, people will notice. If you hadn’t come to Shaya, it would’ve been fine, but now that you’re here, out in the open, all kinds of people will inevitably come to you."

"Is that all?" Richard glanced at Oscar’s dark face, not entirely believing him, and asked skeptically, "Why do I feel there’s more to it? In our previous exchanges, I mentioned to you that I don’t like getting involved in politics. I think, if you wanted, you could’ve arranged to keep me in a quiet place, away from disturbance. But now, it seems more like you deliberately exposed my identity."

"How would that benefit me?" Oscar blinked and asked seriously.

"That’s something you need to ask yourself, Mr. Oscar," Richard said.

"Alright, alright, let’s change the subject," Oscar redirected the conversation after glancing at Richard. "Speaking honestly, I thought you’d wait a while before coming to Shaya. I didn’t expect you to come so quickly."

"That’s because, besides you wanting to meet and discuss certain things personally, I also wanted to discuss some things with you."

"You wanted to find me too?" Oscar showed interest and asked, "What for?"

"I want to borrow some books from the Soma Alliance Royal Library." Richard didn’t hide and directly stated his purpose.

"Why?" Oscar furrowed his brow and asked.

"To conduct some research," Richard said, not revealing the entire truth but providing a general reason, "I’ve acquired some very ancient texts that need deciphering, and a wizard friend of mine told me that only certain books in the Royal Library could help..."

After listening to Richard’s lengthy explanation, Oscar nodded, "I see." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Oscar didn’t agree immediately but thought for a bit and said, "You might be disappointed, but I have to tell you that this matter is more challenging than you expect. I’m guessing you want to exchange one of the three favors I promised you in the past for permission to borrow books, right?

In theory, there’s no problem with that. If you wanted books from my personal collection instead of the Royal Library, I’d give them all to you. But the Royal Library is a different story.

Because, officially, the Royal Library belongs solely to the Emperor, and without the Emperor’s permission, no one can enter, let alone borrow anything. The Royal Library is not just a library; it holds many treasures and secret documents.

In this case, I can’t promise you anything here; I’ll have to ask the Emperor before giving you a reply. Frankly, you don’t need me to ask the Emperor; you can ask the Emperor yourself."

At the end of this, Oscar looked at Richard.

"Ask myself?" Richard raised an eyebrow, sensing there was a deeper meaning in Oscar’s words.

"Yes, ask yourself." Oscar smiled slightly, "I can tell you now, the reason I invited you to Shaya was not primarily because I wanted to talk to you, but because His Majesty wants to speak with you. Ever since you handed over that list last year, His Majesty has wanted to thank you and meet you, to learn more about you."

Richard squinted, feeling that things weren’t as simple as they seemed on the surface.

There are many ways for an Emperor to express gratitude, not necessarily a face-to-face meeting, at least not in such a big show that almost the entire Royal Family and high-ranking officials of the Soma Alliance know about it.

From what he knew about the current Alliance Emperor, he’s meticulous and never does anything without purpose. This public and open desire to meet him must have some consideration at play.

The visits he received earlier in the day also hinted at the Emperor’s intentions, though the specifics were unclear; it seemed to him that the Emperor wanted to associate him with the Alliance’s politics.

And that’s exactly what he didn’t want.

From the start, he was averse to politics. To him, politics was about competing with people, and people, viewed scientifically, are incredibly unstable — loyal today, potentially traitorous tomorrow. Additionally, even if he expended great energy and time in political battles and won, it would hold little significance for him. The spoils of political victory seldom aligned with his needs, and the things he needed, politics couldn’t provide.

For him, the main function of politics was to waste time. Rather than squandering time on politics, he preferred to remain on its outskirts, focusing more on research.

With so many thoughts in mind, he didn’t voice them, but he looked at Oscar and asked, "The Emperor really wants to meet me? When?"

"Well, it was originally scheduled for a week later because I didn’t think you’d arrive so soon," Oscar said. "But since you’re here, if there are no issues, we can arrange for tomorrow afternoon."

"Tomorrow afternoon? So soon?"

"Yes, is that alright?"

"That’s fine," Richard nodded, not refusing. On one hand, he needed a favor regarding the books from the Royal Library; on the other, he wanted to meet this possibly most powerful person on the continent to understand his intentions and purposes.

"Alright then, tomorrow afternoon, I’ll have someone send a carriage to pick you up," Oscar decided upon hearing this.

Richard nodded, saying no more.

...

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