Education
"Fuiii..."
It was my first experience from start to finish.
"Thank you for your hard work, Mileina-san. Here's something to drink."
"T-thank you. Tinia-san."
It's Eugenia-san's friend who gives me a cold drink.
"Honestly, there was a part of me that looked down on you for being a commoner. It's amazing how suddenly you transferred to this grade but you won't let it get to your head."
"I-Is that so?"
"Oh yeah, the reading, writing, and arithmetic exercises are enough, but the magic... is a little weird."
"Ahahaha, I had nothing to do with magic."
Everyone in the classroom is preparing to go home.
Everyone who was with Eugenia-san... Huh?
"Where did Eugenia-san go?"
"Ojousama? Oh, I think she went to the usual place."
"Usual place?"
"If you're curious about it, you should go to the library."
―――
"Excuse me..."
When I entered the library, Eugenia-san was reading a book by herself.
"Oh, Mileina-san, do you need something?"
"No, I asked Tinia-san and she said you were supposed to be here."
"I see…"
"What are you reading?"
"This one."
Then Eugenia-san shows me the cover of the book.
[History of another world, Part 6] is written in large letters.
"A history of another world, huh?"
"Yes, I'm interested. Mileina-san, do you know about the otherworld called Earth?"
"Sorry, I've never heard of that."
"I see... it is said to be a far, far away world that Elfriade came into contact with a long time ago when it was at its peak."
"Far away..."
"It's a world that we would never be able to meet. It is said that the Polaris Empire, located north of here, has acquired tremendous technology through the knowledge of Earth."
Is there such a thing?
I don't know anything about it
"I've never been to the Empire and I've never seen that technology, but if it really exists, I'd like to see it. Earth's technology."
"Is Earth written in that book?"
"Yes, this story I'm just reading is very interesting."
On that page, there is an introductory text about a person named Shoin Yoshida.
"What kind of person is he?"
"It seems like he was teaching knowledge to a lot of young people."
"You mean he's a teacher, right?"
"That's right."
"I admire it."
"Don't copy him, okay?"
"Eh?"
"He was executed."
"Even though he's a teacher? What did he do?"
The reason was listed in the sentence Eugenia pointed to.
"Toppling the regime…?"
"I don't know anything about this far away world, but he was trying to correct political corruption. At least that's what he seemed to think."
"Hmm, there are people like that."
"Furthermore, it seems that his students grew up feeling that way too."
"How did it come to that?"
"There was dissatisfaction, because knowledge was given there."
"Knowledge…"
"Mileina-san, if you want to teach everyone to read and write someday, you should remember too."
Eugenia-san had kind eyes as usual.
But she tells me with a very serious expression
"Giving knowledge to others can be both poison and medicine."
"Knowledge is poison..."
"Yes, do you know why the commoners on this continent are not so literate?"
"Is that because… there’s no one to teach them?"
"Well, there aren't many people who teach on this continent. But let's think about why that is, even though it's said that 90% of the people in the Empire can do basic reading, writing, and arithmetic."
"...I'm sorry, I don't understand."
"It's simple, the royal aristocrats don't want to teach commoners how to read and write."
"Eh, why? If they taught them, everyone would be able to do their jobs, right?"
"If people could read and write, there would be more jobs for commoners and poverty would be reduced. That's a wonderful thing."
"But who doesn’t like that?"
"Yes, royalty and aristocrats. Their jobs will be taken away by commoners."
"I see..."
"That's not all. If you have knowledge, you may question the orders of the royalty and aristocrats. You may find out that they are taking a lot of tax revenue."
Eugenia-san's finger is pointing at the Yoshida Shoin page as she talks about this.
"In order to teach the commoners knowledge, and still have the commoners bow to the kings and aristocrats, the kings and aristocrats must make even more effort. Do not commit fraud, do not tolerate wrongdoing, do not make mistakes, do not fail. Rather than doing something like that, we would rather live a comfortable life without losing credibility.''
"So they don't want to tell everyone anything?"
"Yeah, but they found out."
"The Empire, right?"
"Yes, our country, Shelma, first came into contact with the Empire 300 years ago. When the Holy Queen Eriol first met Samariel, the royal ax and spear."
She closes the book and returns it to the shelf
It's already dusk outside, but the conversation isn't over.
"It is said that at that time, the commoners of the empire had wisdom comparable to the royalty and aristocrats of Shelma. Do you understand how terrifying this is?"
"What do you mean?"
"The current total population of the Polaris Empire is said to be 1.5 billion people. In other words, there may be 1.5 billion people who are comparable to royalty and nobility. Of course, this is a wild argument. In reality, there are children and the elderly. However, considering that there are sick people and orphans, there can't be that many.''
"That's scary, isn't it?"
"Yes, the Holy Queen Eriol may have been scared inside. That's why she may have considered accepting the Empire and gaining its knowledge."
"Um... you mean...?"
"The story is that not everyone who tries to acquire wisdom is a good person, and some may harm others with that wisdom. But if we don’t spread it quickly, we will fall behind the Empire. It may be too late. That's why the Shelma Kingdom and other countries have chosen to teach commoners."
"Eugenia-san, are you saying that it’s not a good idea to teach everyone how to read and write?"
"I will say that it depends on who teaches you. Mileina-san should feel at ease about that, so please don't worry about it."
"Will it be okay?"
"I will give you my stamp of approval. If anyone says anything, tell me, and I will defend you, saying, [This woman has a flower garden in her head, but she would never do anything wrong]."
"Is that... a compliment?"
"I'm praising you, you know?"
"Yay!"
"…You have a flower garden in your head after all."
"Eeehh~?"
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