Translator: Cinder Translations
...
"Underhanded tactics?" Sevya felt a tightness in her chest, but she refused to admit it.
"Lady Setia, I don't know what you're talking about," Ladia sneered. "Do you think I couldn't tell that you were trying to hint at something that night?"
Confronted directly, Sevya remained unflustered and replied, "Same to you. Weren't you following me for an entire night? I didn't expect to be visited the next morning."
Ladia decided not to engage further, turning to Paul. "Lord Grayman, do you have any further arrangements? If there's nothing else, I'll be heading back to Alden Town."
Paul stroked his chin and thought for a moment before responding, "Hmm… I was invited to visit a weaving factory this morning. Don't be in such a hurry to leave; come with me to take a look."
Ladia was pleased and said, "I'd love to accompany you."
An idea suddenly popped into her mind, and she suggested, "Why don't we bring Miss Asitini along? It would be good for her to learn about the local customs of the Northwest Bay."
Paul agreed, "If Miss Asitini has the time, I have no objections."
Sevya stepped forward, "Lord Grayman, I'm honored."
...
When the factory owner, Patrick, saw the lord's party appear at the door of his factory, he immediately ran over to Paul's carriage with small steps.
"Welcome, Lord Grayman! Your presence is truly an honor for me."
As Paul and his party dismounted from the carriage, he smiled and said, "Patrick, I hope my visit won't disrupt your work."
"Not at all! Everyone in the factory is thrilled to see Lord Grayman; they're even more motivated to work."
Patrick wore a fawning smile as he led Paul and the others inside the factory. Since he had inquired about Paul's preferences in advance, he didn't prepare any formal welcome ceremony.
Paul and Patrick walked ahead, chatting as Ladia, Sevya, and the other attendants followed behind.
As Sevya walked alongside Ladia into a workshop, she was taken aback by the scene inside.
The spacious area was filled with machines arranged neatly in rows, with a worker at each machine operating it.
It was easy to see they were weaving fabric; as the workers alternated pressing the pedals with their feet, the rows of warp threads on the loom interlaced up and down. With each pull of a rope, a shuttle threaded through the weft threads, rapidly forming cloth at a visible speed on the loom.
Sevya had seen others weave fabric when she was young. In a traditional loom, the shuttle used to pull the weft threads would be passed from one hand to the other by the operator, rather than flying from one side to the other at high speed like the shuttles on the machines before her.
This unfamiliar loom not only greatly increased the speed compared to traditional looms but also produced fabric widths far beyond what a conventional loom could achieve. A traditional loom operated by a single person typically produced fabric widths of about 40 centimeters, while the machines before her produced fabric widths of nearly one meter.
Clang, clang...
The entire building echoed with the sound of machines weaving fabric, resembling a grand chorus of machinery.
The expansive space, the numerous neatly arranged looms, and the busy workers created a scene filled with an indescribable beauty.
"What kind of power can be considered 'great power'?"
Suddenly, the voice of the Green Witch echoed in her ear. Naturally, it was magic! If it had been before, Sevya would have answered without hesitation, but now she felt that Ladia was hinting at something.
"You should know my answer. What do you mean by asking this?" Sevya countered.
Ladia looked at the looms and replied, "Like you, I once thought magic was the greatest power in the world. It can make you unbeatable in battle, it can easily take lives, it can toy with others at will, and it can even control a person's mind, making them obey you."
"That's true; I thought so too," Sevya responded.
But Ladia continued, "However, since coming to the Northwest Bay, my thoughts have changed significantly. Fighting, killing, ruling, and deceiving can be accomplished not just through magic."
She turned and stared at Sevya.
"There are also swords, wealth, power, and conspiracy. We spellcasters are no different from skilled knights, wealthy merchants, or capable rulers."
"You..." Sevya felt somewhat unconvinced, but she couldn't find a rebuttal, as Ladia's words seemed to hold some truth.
She asked, "Then what about you? What do you think constitutes great power?"
Ladia shook her head. "I currently don't have the qualifications to make any rash conclusions. But I can share some of my shallow insights with you."
Sevya listened attentively as Ladia spoke.
"Sevya, my sister, although we spellcasters are often misunderstood by the world, we must acknowledge that there are many arrogant people among us, harboring varying degrees of superiority complex."
"Indeed," Sevya agreed.
She recalled her first successful spellcasting; the immense joy and pride from that moment still stirred her heart today.
I must be one chosen by the heavens, she thought at the time.
A saying that circulated widely among the wizarding community further intensified her sense of pride in her new identity—spellcasters possess powerful magic that ordinary people do not. The distinction between spellcasters and ordinary folk is akin to that between fine steeds and nagging horses. The nagging horses, envious of the fine steeds that can travel a thousand miles in a day, persecute the fine steeds, hoping to eliminate them, believing that if fine steeds ceased to exist, they would no longer feel the slowness of nagging horses.
Setting aside her memories, she heard Ladia speak somewhat self-deprecatingly: "If you think about it, those knights with martial prowess and those rulers holding power are also similar. Everyone views the world from a self-centered perspective, believing that they are extraordinary individuals separate from ordinary people due to their lineage or abilities, and that they possess power."
"These extraordinary individuals, including us spellcasters, believe they are writing history with their strength and shaping the world with their power. But upon closer reflection, how much has their power truly changed history and the world?"
Ladia's words left Sevya somewhat bewildered.
Has history and the world never changed? Although she wasn't a scholar, Sevya had read quite a few books.
If history and the world had never changed, then how did the grand tales of the rise and fall of kingdoms and the stirring heroic sagas come into being?
(End of the Chapter)
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