When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

#641 - The Holy Temple under construction

The feud between the Dragon Language Alchemy Society and Seneus's faction of scholars has been long-standing.

Originally, it was just some academic disputes, but it truly escalated into animosity during a scholar gathering held by the Imperial Council.

At this symposium, the Dragon Language Scholars Society and Seneus College of Kingsriver Island University submitted nearly identical papers on botany.

Both sides accused each other of plagiarism, ultimately leading to their expulsion from the event.

Seneus was aware that Scholar Kerben was at the Holy Machine Court, but he didn't expect to run into him at this moment.

"What are you doing here?" Scholar Kerben looked around, his gaze shifting from Seneus to Leonardo and then to the gleeful university students, and he instantly understood.

He had painstakingly persuaded Lady Hilov and Lord Horn to invest money in the Dragon Language Alchemy Society to build its own university.

It was only halfway built, and these Lya bastards had already caught wind of it and come to steal the fruits of his labor.

"Shameless creatures," Scholar Kerben thought, erupting in anger. "I spent so much time running around, barely managing to secure investment and a place for a university, and you rats who plagiarize other people's articles immediately come to freeload, do you?"

"Don't twist the facts and confuse people here!" Seneus immediately pointed at Scholar Kerben's nose and shouted, "You're just a bachelor's degree holder, a scholar who was stripped of his doctorate; what right do you have to accuse me of plagiarism?"

"If you're so capable, go build your own university; what's the big deal with always stealing from others?!"

"The Holy Machine Court's City Hall invited me here; did they invite you? Why are you running here?"

"Seneus, I curse your mother!"

Watching the two middle-aged scholars bickering like fighting cocks, Silvanik couldn't help but cover his face with one hand.

If Kerben hadn't been here, they might have had a chance to negotiate, but with this direct confrontation, they were determined to secure this university in the Holy Machine Court.

Leonardo, on the other hand, looked suspiciously at Lufiel, who was elegantly covering her mouth and giggling, wondering if she had deliberately timed it so that they would run into the people from the Dragon Language Alchemy Society.

He slowly walked to Lufiel's side and tapped her shoulder: "Miss Lufiel, pardon my intrusion, but your father asked me to bring you a message."

The originally smug, fox-like smile on Lufiel's face instantly turned to panic, but she quickly regained her composure and shouted to the students: "Leonardo and I are going to buy you hot water bottles, toothbrushes, and toothpaste; it's on me."

"Awesome!"

"Long live Senior!"

The commoner university students cheered; these essential little things were indispensable expenses, and with such a generous benefactor, they naturally cheered.

It was just a pity that in their excitement, they forgot that whether or not this university would be established was still undecided.

Pulled by Lufiel's sleeve, Leonardo staggered as he was dragged out of the campus, and the two walked in silence to Clock Tower Square.

Perhaps feeling the atmosphere was too awkward, Lufiel spoke first: "Turn left; we'll go to the daily market."

"How long does Miss Lufiel plan to stay in the Holy Machine Court?" Leonardo turned to look at her purple beret. "Mentor Quevalin also specifically wrote me a letter, asking me to inquire about your intentions."

Lufiel suddenly fell silent. Since arriving at the Holy Machine Court with Armand, she had originally planned to stay for only a week or two before leaving.

But she didn't know what curse this city held; Armand, Venise, and Abbaz had left one after another, but she hadn't left.

Not only had she not left, but she had also inexplicably found a job at the theater, met Fritseva and other theater stars, and even bought a row house by the Pala River.

She had originally planned to leave after staging just one play, but inspiration came one after another, forcing her to drag it out until October.

With her father and mentor urging her so urgently, she should have returned long ago; perhaps it was time now?

"Miss Lufiel?"

Shaking her head, Lufiel didn't answer, but lowered her head and walked slowly forward, her deerskin boots dragging the stones and blades of grass on the ground, rolling into a messy ball.

But the rough, uneven road quickly turned into a gray-white mortar road, and her mood improved a little.

Walking on the smooth and spacious cobblestone streets of the Holy Machine Court, Lufiel was always looking around.

She walked the ring road around the city every week and had new feelings each time because the city was different every week.

She had never seen a city with such rapid construction and high efficiency.

Under the rotation of the gears that made huge roaring sounds, heavy beams and stones were hoisted up, and the streets were full of laborers wearing leather helmets.

Facing the scorching sun and the cold autumn wind, they pushed wheelbarrows, transporting mortar and bricks to the construction sites in the Holy Machine Court.

Almost every month, a new block was completed, and a large number of furniture orders were even scheduled for next year, forcing them to import from Jeanneburg and Mander County.

Not only above ground but even underground; it was said that next spring, the City Hall would close the main street and build a two-layer sewage and water system under the main street.

She never doubted that if given five years, this city would become a metropolis with a population of 100,000, a place that people would go out of their way to pass through.

As they walked, Leonardo, who was originally just accompanying Lufiel to relax, was instead attracted by the city.

Not because of anything else, but because the city was too well-organized.

He had traveled north and south and seen many cities, but other wildly growing cities were like huge labyrinths, with roads that were sometimes wide and sometimes narrow, full of strange dead ends and false dead ends.

Even in Flower Hill City, without a guide, it might take an outsider half a year to walk from the hostel to the tavern.

But here it was different; Leonardo could tell with the naked eye that there were four types of roads.

The main street, which could accommodate eight carriages side by side, the ring road composed of six carriages running through the main street in a semi-circle, the main roads between the blocks that could accommodate four carriages side by side, and the alleyways between the houses.

They were not randomly pieced together, but all the main streets were eight carriages wide, all the ring roads were six carriages wide, radiating like a spider web from Clock Tower Square.

Seeming to notice Leonardo's confusion, or perhaps just by chance, Lufiel pointed to the road along the river in front of them: "The Holy Machine Court is composed of curved ring roads and straight main roads, looking like a spider web, but it's easy to identify.

The road parallel to and along the river is called First Avenue, and then the roads gradually become perpendicular from north to south, and so on to Eighth Avenue.

This way, starting from Clock Tower Square, you only need to walk in a straight line to get almost anywhere."

"The designer of this city must be a genius."

"Yes, why is the design of Flower Hill City always so terrible?" Lufiel sighed. "The Holy Machine Court always makes the best use of talent; there are very few elderly people who occupy high positions and refuse to step down."

Leonardo couldn't help but cough; one of the major charges against her grandfather when he was driven away by Prime Minister Lorenzo was "senile dereliction of duty."

Along the river were two rows of long wooden tarpaulin sheds, and under the sheds were shelves 10 centimeters deep, displaying hoes, nail hammers, chisels, as well as pork, leather, and kitchen knives.

There was also a dazzling array of salt, colored pottery, glass cups, insect repellent powder, and writing boards, and even soft bows and short arrows for children.

"The old Holy Machine Court people are all from mountain villages, and there are also many retired soldiers who love archery," Lufiel introduced to Leonardo. "If you want to integrate into life here, even if you don't know how to shoot arrows, you should go out and walk around more, because the Holy Machine Court people like picnics.

Also, you'd better know that in the Holy Machine Court, servants are employees; you can't really treat them as slaves, otherwise, the night watchmen will come to your door to inquire.

Oh, right, don't casually mock people with disabilities, because you never know if they might be a Cheka."

As she spoke, Lufiel dropped a few dinars, picked up a cast iron frying pan from the stall, and handed it to Leonardo: "The prices of spices and pork in the Holy Machine Court are very low; you'll love stir-fried dishes."

"I don't know how to use a frying pan," Leonardo said helplessly, holding the frying pan. "And I don't necessarily have to like this place, do I?"

"Believe me, if you live here for a few days, you'll definitely want to integrate into it," Lufiel said with a mysterious smile.

Once you've adapted to civilized life, it's hard to go back to the wilderness.

Leonardo curled his lips in disdain; he had been to Flower Hill City and Longsong City; could this remote little town really make him reluctant to leave?

"Living in the Holy Machine Court, cleanliness is the most important thing," Lufiel picked up a toothbrush and toothpaste and threw them into a small basket. "Toothbrushes and toothpaste are specifically for ordinary people to brush their teeth; they don't have expensive mouthwash.

The toothbrush is made of horsehair, and the toothpaste is a secret recipe. Remember to choose Cecil brand toothpaste produced by the Papal Palace Workshop; it's fiery hot after brushing, but very clean, and the price is also very cheap."

"Miss Lufiel, you still haven't answered my question," Seeing that Lufiel was always evading the topic, Leonardo had no choice but to forcibly bring the topic back to its original place.

Sighing, Lufiel put down the cup in her hand: "In three days, my latest play will premiere; I'll go back after I've seen the performance."