When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist-Chapter 635 - 596 Leonardo Lippo
"I initially wanted to keep this painting for myself." Leonardo Lippo cherished the white oak frame inlaid with copper threads, and said through gritted teeth, "12 gold pounds, you can take this 'Resurrection of the Saint Master'."
The noble opposite him leaned close to the painting, examined it carefully, and only spoke after a long pause: "I naturally trust Master Leonardo's paintings; however, I've just fled from Dawn Island and don't have that many gold pounds on me. I'm afraid I can only offer 10 gold pounds."
"Holy Father, 10 gold pounds? Are you joking? Previously, Lady Yasal offered 24 gold pounds, and I didn't sell it. I'm already giving you a half-price deal." Leonardo clenched his hand tighter around the frame.
"But I can really only squeeze out 10 gold pounds; that's the highest price I can offer."
The two younger students beside him began to persuade: "Sir Leonardo, it's chaotic near Dawn Island, and we need to save up for travel expenses. Selling whatever amount helps."
"Then I won't sell it." Frustrated, Leonardo picked up the exquisite painting and began repackaging it with paper, "I'd rather take out a high-interest loan; anyway, if I take this painting to the Kingdom of Falan, selling it for 20 gold pounds wouldn't be too much."
Seeing Leonardo really intended to repackage and leave with the painting, the noble who fled the combat zone at Dawn Island quickly intervened: "Alright, alright, how much did you say?"
"12 gold pounds, not a penny less." Leonardo stubbornly turned his head.
Two clock turns later, with several fellow students, Leonardo left the rustic home, weighed the money bag in his hand, and couldn't help but sigh.
"I know, you think we sold it too cheaply, leaving us moneyless in the future." Curly-haired student Luni consoled, "But today is different from the past; let's fill our bellies first."
Leonardo shook his head: "I don't think the painting was sold cheaply, just that he was a vulgar noble who didn't understand art, merely pretentious, much like those kings and dukes who recklessly spread plague, death, and misery."
"Nobles are always crude, but we cannot do without them; otherwise, who would sponsor our art and scholarship?" Luni lifted his robe and stepped over the muddy path.
"If there were a place free from noble interference, hm, and also free from Church interference, where we could research freely, that would be wonderful." Speaking about it, Leonardo felt his chest tighten with pain, "My perpetual motion machine, my perpetual motion machine."
He had scrimped and saved, furiously sold paintings, and spent a fortune constructing the prototype of a screw hydraulic perpetual motion machine.
This time, unlike the previous ball bearing perpetual motion machine, he had a vague premonition that this mechanism, utilizing the principles of water and object descent, might have already touched the threshold of a genuine perpetual motion machine.
If this perpetual motion machine could be realized, farmers would no longer need the lord's mill, businessmen wouldn't need horse-drawn wagons, and even reducing the scale and installing wings like those of a dragonfly, one could fly!
Leonardo had already completed the designs, just waiting for the perpetual motion machine to be finished and published as a thesis, so he could finally graduate.
However, just when it was left with only the final construction phase, war erupted.
From February to May, King Jiji Ginijis and his two uncles engaged in a fierce tug-of-war at the border of Dawn Island and River Island.
Leonardo initially thought the two dukes were advancing near Changge City, and the war would soon end.
But unexpectedly, not only did it not end, it intensified, rapidly affecting most social groups, scholars included.
First, the artisans were taken to build siege weapons, then soldiers stormed the university, extorting money and looting warehouses, followed by the cholera outbreak, and then the medical students were forcibly drafted.
If Leonardo hadn't fled quickly, he would have been turned into a military engineer accompanying His Majesty the King to the battlefield.
But the cost was, after an extension of fifteen years, he had to extend again this year.
A great dream was about to be realized, only to be shattered by the selfish desires of these inferior nobles; how could Leonardo not be vexed?
Together with fellow student Luni, Leonardo led three servants, and the five of them walked along the fences and rural paths. After more than ten minutes, they arrived at a farm outside the town.
Located near the main road, one could still see farmers working in the fields or herding sheep nearby. Occasionally, the howls of wolves could be heard from the nearby woods, where demon hunters employed by the town were hunting wolves.
Unlike the last few days, when the entire main road was filled with people escaping to the countryside, Vincent Port, located at the edge of Dawn Island, was more peaceful, being far from the battlefield.
"Old Sani, why are your eyes red?" Carrying the money bag, Luni greeted the gatekeeper outside the farm.
The old gatekeeper rubbed his eyes, "Getting old, can't sleep well."
Leonardo didn't feel like chatting idly with the old gatekeeper; he greeted him softly and pushed the door open, entering River Island Royal University.
This farm was now River Island Royal University, or rather, a branch of River Island Royal University.
The Imperial University was very different from modern universities. Modern universities have schools, funds, and teachers; that's what constitutes a university. The Imperial University was established on the presence of a master.
They didn't even have the concept of a university in the early days; it was more like the Dragon Language Scholar Association, a scholar guild that served as both an academic and educational institution, as well as a business entity, with its own artisans and shops.
For scholar guilds, education was merely supplementary, not the main purpose.
Not until 1268, when the Salin Scholar Association relocated southward from Golden Horn Bay, did a dozen of the empire's renowned masters and scholars unite, pooling resources to educate students, did the university concept take shape.
In 1357, under the acknowledgment of the then Imperial Emperor and King of Falan, Huaqiu Imperial University was formally established.
Thereafter, it split and reorganized multiple times internally, eventually forming eleven universities within the Empire.
Falan has seven, Leia has three, while the Norn Kingdom has only one, which is often stripped of its title by the Pope.
The one Leonardo, as the illegitimate son of nobility, attended was Changge City's River Island Royal University.
After the outbreak of war, besides the few closely connected to the King, most of the faculty and students temporarily fled the conflict zone, either hiding temporarily or heading to other universities.
Currently, Leonardo's group was still hesitant about avoiding the conflict or heading to other universities.
A dozen carriages were parked in the farm, loaded with various manuscripts and tools, bustling with scholars in academic robes coming and going, while artisans and servants loaded food supplies onto the carriages.
Seeing Leonardo return, the artisan laborers all doffed their hats in salute, while university students and scholars nodded in greeting.
In the farm's largest Knight Hall, Leonardo knocked on the door and then pushed it open, entering.
Several scholars, who were having lunch inside the hall, raised their heads and, seeing Leonardo return, hurriedly wiped their mouths and rose to greet him.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Libo."
"Good afternoon, Dean Senius."
"Good afternoon, Mr. Libo."
"Good afternoon..."
After greeting the four professors one by one, Leonardo walked directly to the soup pot.
"Sold two paintings today, totaling 22 gold pounds. This travel fund should last another two weeks or so." He ladled a bowl of pea soup, carried the chickpea puree and bread to the table, "We must decide how to proceed in these few days; we can't delay any longer."
