When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 711: The Invention Fever of the Holy Court

"Sorry, I was distracted." Rafael turned his eyes away from the commotion on the other side of the river and said to Leonardo in front of him with a slightly apologetic look.

Leonardo waved his hand: "It's human nature."

Rafael and Leonardo sat in front of a smokeless charcoal stove on either side of a round table with a hollow center.

There was an iron kettle on the stove, with grease bubbles bubbling out of it, and Rafael had to throw cold milk and sugar into it to calm it down.

They are now on the north bank of the Pala River in winter, opposite Caishi Street.

Unlike the noisy markets on the South Bank, here is a row of simple bookstores, pharmacies, paper and ink shops, bakeries and cafes.

The walls, which are bonded with bricks and mortar, are painted with light yellow or off-white slurry.

At the corner you can see the protruding eaves, on which sit little angels or griffins, and on the roof is a iron rooster sign indicating the wind direction.

A wooden sign hung from an iron chain, clearly engraved with a triple crown and the name "Pope's Café".

Whenever the cold wind blows the sign back and forth, it seems to be inviting passers-by to come in and have a cup of steaming hot coffee.

Due to the general prohibition policy of Horn and Meliati, alcohol was not allowed to be served at breakfast, people were prohibited from drinking on the streets, and heavy taxes were imposed on alcohol.

People generally needed a new drink and snack to replace alcohol, and blue coffee came into being.

In rural areas, alcohol remains the number one consumer product.

But in urban areas where alcohol is strictly prohibited, Pope cafes have sprung up in every corner, especially on the north bank of the Para River.

Scholars always seek a kind of "respectability" that is different from ordinary vulgar people, and being drunk is not conducive to academic research.

So after the guards and Horn brought back blue coffee, it quickly gained favor among scholars.

The coffee shop became a place for college students and scholars to relax and gather.

During the day, scholars and monks can be seen holding newspapers and discussing with each other.

Every night or weekend, a group of college students would come to debate, write or play cards.

At this time, although it is a cafe, the owner still provides some low-alcohol beer and braised food.

However, it was daytime now, and the round tables behind the blinds were naturally occupied by respectable people like Leonardo and René.

Taking a sip of the blue coffee, Rafael smiled bitterly and said, "These students and inventors are a little too noisy. Since last year, the military police and night watchmen have to deal with them vandalizing public property every day."

"Hahaha, this is a loss we have to bear." As a mechanical engineer, Leonardo naturally stood on the side of his own people, "Otherwise where will the new machinery come from?"

"But can't we conduct experiments outdoors?" Rafael couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the various traces of destruction left by the college students on the street.

He had seen enough of them these days, such as pedal scooters, gliders, sickle chariots, auger drills, flapping-wing aircrafts...

All sorts of weird and imaginative things popped up.

Regardless of whether it is useful or not, it is true that many people have been killed by falling, crashing, or explosions.

After the establishment of those universities and research institutes, the north bank of the Para River has been bustling.

Especially after the "Charter of Freedom", a large number of engineers, craftsmen and scholars who were dissatisfied with the empire began to move into the Thousand Valleys.

After the Battle of Black Snake Bay, the Black Snake Bay Federation sent a large number of combat mages to military academies and a large number of research mages to the Dragon Language Alchemy University.

After receiving a large amount of compensation from the nobles of Lilac Corridor and a large amount of cash from the nobles of Red Leaf Hill who invested in the sugar workshop, Horn immediately waved his hand and allocated a large amount of funds to these research institutions. Any university tutor, especially tutors in mechanics, natural sciences, and alchemy, can easily apply for a large amount of funds and resources.

Leonardo dared to say that the Holy See was the city that respected scholars the most in the entire empire.

Horn even issued a bounty for inventions, listing the inventions and requirements needed and setting several milestones.

For example, indicators such as usability, economic value, and mass production.

Anyone who can invent one will not only receive a handsome reward, but also a lifetime allowance.

The bounty generally starts at one hundred gold pounds, and depending on the scope of application and economic benefits, the lifetime allowance can reach 10 to 40 gold pounds per year.

Even if you can just reach this level, you can get an incentive of more than ten gold pounds.

This led to the emergence of a large number of folk inventors and countless pamphlets such as "Concise Mechanics" and "Concise Alchemy".

Then these "monsters" made of iron plates, rivets, wood, chains, belts and gears appeared on the streets every day.

The residents complained repeatedly to the town hall, which put pressure on the night watchmen and the gendarmerie.

As the head of the gendarmerie, Rafael really didn't want to deal with this mess.

"It's too troublesome to go to the wilderness every day. Besides, compared to the main urban area, isn't this the wilderness?" Leonardo spread his hands.

"But those things are not useless to me, they are really useless." Rafael couldn't help but complain, "Last time, the belt treadmill that was supposedly used to train the military police to run had no brakes in the spring compartment and a locked railing outside.

I couldn’t get out before the clockwork was released. One of my subordinates ran away once and didn’t come to work for three days.”

Leonardo smiled awkwardly: "Didn't you keep the fast hair clipper? It means it's still somewhat useful."

"No, the Cheka is taking him away as a torture instrument."

"But they are useful." Leonardo's tongue froze, and he quickly tried to make up for it, "There's also the horse-drawn seed drill, and the double-roller sugar press, and oh, and the thresher."

"Forget it, let's not talk about it anymore. Anyway, just don't cause any trouble on the South Bank." Rafael picked up the notebook, "Let's get back to the topic. Think about it carefully and see if there are any new clues, such as the color of the eyes."

"It was pitch dark, if I could see clearly, would I need you to remind me?" Leonardo smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Anyway, he was a short guy, he jumped out of the window and ran away when he saw me.

Damn it, I live more than ten meters above the ground."

"Did he steal the blueprints with a purpose? Which blueprints did he take away?" Rafael continued to take notes.

Leonardo was somewhat helpless: "I have said these words more than once in the Night Watch Hall. Why don't you just go and retrieve their transcripts?"

"I was wondering if you have any new details." Rafael dipped his quill pen into the ink. "Some drawings of a hand-cranked calculator, and some scraps of a perpetual motion machine... The demon hunters are becoming more and more rampant."

"It's not a scrapped draft. I haven't given up on it yet." Leonardo immediately clarified, "Maybe they came for my perpetual motion machine."

"Oh really?" Rafael recited without any emotion. "That's terrible."

"It's mainly the hand-cranked calculator, which is used for complex astrological calculations and mathematics. What do they need it for?"

"I don't know. Considering that Hemordin was robbed and attacked at the same time, they are probably going after the clockwork cannon."

"The clockwork cannon is no longer my project. Can I leave now?" Leonardo rubbed his hands impatiently.

Frowning, Rafael flipped the notes in his hand back and forth, thinking for a moment before standing up: "You can go now, thank you for your cooperation."

(End of this chapter)