Exploring Technology in a Wizard World-Chapter 1273 - 1271: No Debts Owed

This is a tragedy, a tragedy triggered by a book.

But once the tragedy started, it had to continue.

Under the Emperor’s expectant gaze, Richard continued his philosophical discourse, gradually expanding the scope from Aristotle’s thoughts to Descartes’s, from the Cynicism School to the Epicurean School, from mysticism to the unity of heaven and man, transforming the conversation into a philosophical forum, filled with a genuine philosophical atmosphere.

The Emperor seemed to truly enjoy this atmosphere, occasionally interrupting to offer his insights.

Richard had to admit, some of the Emperor’s insights were quite novel. If disregarding his political identity, calling him a profound philosopher would not be an exaggeration.

Thus, the two discussed philosophy for one hour, two hours, three hours...

If not interrupted, they might have talked until midnight. Fortunately, a servant hurriedly arrived, whispering, "Your Majesty."

"What is it?" The Emperor, just about to share new insights into the pleasure-centric Epicurean School with Richard, was noticeably displeased to be interrupted.

"Your Majesty, Mr. Motes has arrived and says he has important matters to report to you." The servant replied cautiously, bracing himself.

"Let him wait," the Emperor decided with a wave of his hand. "Tell him I’m busy and will listen to his report once I’m done here."

"But..." The servant, somewhat fearful, tried to stick to his principles, reminding, "But... Your Majesty, Mr. Motes says he has urgent matters to report, and he hasn’t rested at all on his way back to Shaya."

"Really." The Emperor frowned, somewhat annoyed. "Why couldn’t he stay well in the Southern Free Federation, rushing back like this?"

Taking a deep breath, the Emperor adjusted his mood and turned to Richard, saying, "In that case, let’s pause our discussion for today. I’ve had quite an enjoyable time talking with you, and my impression of you is better—well, much better—than I expected. I have things to attend to today, so I won’t keep you. If there’s time in the future, we can continue our discussion. Oh, regarding the matter of borrowing books from the Royal Library you mentioned to Oscar earlier, I’ll have Oscar discuss it with you. Don’t worry too much, we’ll try our best to meet your requests, given your significant contributions to the Alliance."

"Alright, Your Majesty, I’ll take my leave then."

"Okay." The Emperor waved his hand, signaling the servant to escort Richard out and then shifted on his wide chair as he watched Motes, whom the servant had mentioned, stride quickly into the palace.

Motes’s first words were, "Your Majesty, something has happened in the Southern Free Federation."

"Hmm?"

...

...

Richard didn’t know what Motes and the Alliance Emperor discussed. He left the palace under the servant’s guidance and got into the carriage Oscar had sent, returning directly to his residence.

Back in the lavishly decorated stone building, he asked the only remaining manservant to brew a cup of hot tea. Sitting at his desk, Richard sipped slowly, reflecting on the conversation with the Alliance Emperor.

I must say, the discussion with the Alliance Emperor turned out to be one of the most surprising exchanges in this world for him.

Before the conversation, he had imagined the Emperor could embody many personas—dignified, affable, rough, irritable—but never imagined him to be so profound and with such deep insights into philosophy. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

What was the real purpose of his several-hour conversation with me?

It couldn’t possibly be, as he said, just a casual talk, could it?

This doubt lingered until the evening when Oscar came to visit, at which point Richard asked openly without reservation.

In the reception hall of the stone building, Oscar listened, sipped the tea prepared by the servant, and chuckled, answering, "You needn’t be too surprised; our Emperor is always different, often breaking convention in his actions. Since he said it was just a casual talk, it was indeed just that. There shouldn’t be any hidden meanings."

"What about my request to borrow books from the Royal Library?"

"I came specifically to discuss this with you," Oscar replied. "Actually, shortly before you entered the palace, the Emperor had already expressed to me: he could agree to your request, but, given the Royal Library rarely makes exceptions to outsiders, he can provide access but with conditions."

"Conditions? What conditions?" Richard asked, not overly surprised.

"The conditions cannot be disclosed now because it isn’t the right time, nor has there been a conclusion," Oscar explained earnestly. "But, one to two months from now, rest assured you’ll receive an answer."

"One to two months later?" Richard frowned slightly. "I can’t simply wait indefinitely, can I?"

"It won’t come to that," Oscar shook his head. "Considering your eagerness, although we can’t fully meet your request now, we can lend you some books in advance, for your use. Some of these are what you applied to borrow, while others contain valuable content, such as fragments of taboo spells, ancient secrets, etc."

Finishing his words, Oscar called out towards the door, "Zong Hu!"

Having met before, the Level 4 Wizard Guard accompanying Oscar walked in, gave Richard a deep glance, and placed a case on the ground, opening it to reveal dozens of thick books and a pile of scrolls inside.

"How about it?" Oscar looked at Richard and asked, "The content here is enough for you to study for some time. By the time you’re nearly done, we can tell you the real conditions."

"Well..." Richard squinted slightly, not immediately agreeing.

Thoughts raced through his mind, quickly analyzing the pros and cons: Accepting Oscar’s materials now would certainly be beneficial, aiding in the interpretation of the Balta text and providing valuable insights from fragmented taboo spells and ancient secrets. If lucky, perhaps he could uncover something akin to the Energy Furnace.

But the issue is, accepting all these without any payback might make it challenging to refuse the actual conditions when proposed, leaving the terms entirely in their hands.

He definitely wanted this transaction to be successful, yet he didn’t want to experience being entirely led by others, even if those others were high-level figures in the Soma Alliance or even if behind them was the Alliance Emperor who held a great impression of him.

After considering, Richard turned to Oscar, saying, "I’ll accept these, but I don’t like to owe favors. Mr. Oscar, earlier you mentioned that regarding the Royal Library, you couldn’t make the decision nor fulfill those three promises, so how about I exchange it with something else? It relates to that opposing Truth Society of yours, you might find it interesting."