Yes, Madam Prime Minister

It is also called the Orans Machine because it was invented by Orans, the founder of the Golden Eagle Dynasty and the Golden Eagle Lord. This device can test whether a person has the talent to learn magic and is the foundation for the birth of magic academies.

Of course, the Vatican has consistently claimed that this was a shameless plagiarism by Oranz of the research findings of his former mentor, Bishop Lafayette.

The Papacy located within Venaia is not the same as the Church. Ninety years ago, Lawrence, who was still a "tyrant" and not a "holy king," was a regional bishop who, with a filial son, "urged" the capital to become the king. He recognized himself as the archbishop of the kingdom, which was equivalent to finding himself an obedient "godfather." From then on, the archbishop of the kingdom's church was appointed by the king. As for his "biological father," he had been kidnapped by bad guys, and his words could not be listened to.

However, when it comes to "filial piety," Willand, who has been in a love-hate relationship with the kingdom for hundreds of years, is more filial. He simply supported the Protestant Church in finding him a "new father."

"In the future, there will only be more filial children."

As Ronan sighed, he walked through the school gate.

The testing machine was essentially a large circular platform with three coffins standing on it, allowing three people to be tested simultaneously. The exact prototype of this machine is debated and impossible to verify, but it was designed to test whether a person could enter a meditative state, that is, whether they could absorb magical power.

Magic is fair; regardless of wealth or social status, everyone may or may not have magical talent. Summoning magic is an exception, as it is a hereditary form of magic.

The testing machine is very expensive, and it's not sold to you in China. Instead, they charge a hefty transportation and installation fee upfront, and then charge an annual rental fee for 55 Little Golden Eagles.

Trying to renege on the debt is not an option; this item is produced and rented out by the Wang Family United Chamber of Commerce.

Build one yourself? Sure, but be prepared for your whole family to be killed.

"Fortunately, the transportation and installation costs were covered by the Sama City Hall, and the rental fee was borne by Pro City. Xinhai City didn't spend a penny."

Ronan was glad that New Sea City had saved him some money.

The reason for this is that Sama has been declining in recent years. The discovery of the New World has gradually shifted the center of trade from the Mediterranean coast to the northwest coast. As business elites leave, many people who came to work in the surrounding cities are also leaving, and its population is declining year by year.

Sama City hopes to retain some of the wealthy businessmen who want to relocate entirely through the magic academy. Although they know that doing so may not be very effective, they will keep as many as possible, since this amount of money is nothing to Sama City anyway.

Pro City had a similar idea, partly because Pro City also had a naval port, and the military thought it would be a good thing to recruit some junior mages nearby.

Sama City clearly has the money, so why doesn't it build its own magic academy? The answer is simple: establishing a magic academy requires the king's personal approval. Without his approval, you can't build it, no matter how much money you have.

"Unfortunately, we can't recruit many students."

Since the testing machine is so expensive, the testing certainly can't be free. Generally, testing costs three silver dragons. It doesn't sound like much, less than the monthly salary of Ronan's two newly hired maids. It seems like the lowest-paid people could save up enough money, but in reality, the lowest-paid people can't afford it because they can't save money. All their income has to be used to maintain their most basic survival.

Therefore, people who are not middle-income earners or above in the city absolutely cannot afford this test fee.

Even if they could afford it, they might not take the test and gamble, because even if they have magical talent, it is difficult to learn magic if they have not received basic education, cannot read or do arithmetic, and many middle-income people are actually illiterate.

Looking at the brand-new test machine, Ronan couldn't help but sigh, "Finally, the hardware is basically in place, now we just need the software."

Currently, the principal has been confirmed as Yvette, who will be primarily responsible for managing various administrative affairs.

The school's true pillar of teaching is Karl, who voluntarily took a pay cut. If he, a third-tier magician, hadn't taken a pay cut, a junior magic academy like Xinhai City really couldn't afford to hire him. Another is Xia Er, who was hired at a high salary. He is a local of Xinhai City and also a first-tier magician. The reason Xia Er was willing to come was not only because of the good salary, but also because Ronan promised that after Yvette retired in two years and Karl returned home, he would support him to become the principal.

Aside from them, the other teachers were a few old men that Dinia had poached from the logistics department of the mage corps; they would arrive in a few days.

The mage squad's combat personnel were all in their prime positions, but the logistics department was not. The logistics department consisted of junior mages, and these old men had little hope of promotion. So Dinia simply invited them over, treating it as a way to retire here. The scenery was beautiful, the food was good, and the cost of living was low.

Finally, add about ten local, younger, novice magicians, and the teaching staff will be about complete.

Because a single term can't recruit too many students, since magical talent is something that only one in a hundred people possesses.

Although the combined population of the three cities of Sama, New Sea, and Pro is over one million, which is close to one-tenth of the kingdom's population, the total number of children or teenagers from well-off families who have received some basic education, as well as some young people in their twenties who have already started families, is no more than 20,000.

It can only be said that in the Kingdom of Fas, the economic and educational levels in the south are ultimately incomparable to those in the north.

Out of 20,000 people, only 200 can learn magic.

Moreover, the church will also establish schools to poach students, so in the future, the number of new students enrolled in the magic academy will probably only be a dozen or twenty each year, or even just a few.

Therefore, a teaching team of about twenty people is more than enough to handle the teaching tasks.

At that moment, Carl's voice came from behind Ronan, "The book you wrote is not suitable as an introductory textbook for students under ten years old."

“I know that,” Ronan replied, “but this time, there will definitely be quite a few teenagers, or even people in their twenties being recruited.”

The meditation method he wrote is suitable for beginners in magic who lack talent and cannot even pass the initial level, but who are highly educated and have good critical thinking skills.

Therefore, Lady Antari and Count Aquitaine both experienced significant results using this method and are now novice magicians. Meanwhile, two maids, Chloe and Rutas, who are over fifteen years old, directly used this method to begin their studies.

"If it really works, you'll probably become famous in the magic world, and you might even win an award. After all, many people with magical talent never even become a beginner magician, let alone a full-fledged one."

Carl said.

"How about I give you a second authorship?" Ronan asked.

Karl's expression immediately darkened. "I'm that kind of person?"

"What I've proposed are just some theories that haven't been widely verified yet. You're the one to verify them, then further refine them to form real academic achievements. Don't you deserve to be a second author? Besides, I'm just an amateur, while you're a traditional academic. Without you, I'm afraid many people would accuse me of plagiarism." Ronan couldn't help but laugh at the end of his sentence.

Although the circle of people engaged in magical research is small, there are still academic cliques.

Chapter 189 School Starts, Just Kidding, Let's Have a Competition

In early September, as the weather turned cooler, the Southern United Magic Academy opened its doors to ninety-seven students.

Ronan had to admit that he had overestimated the number of parents willing to take the gamble, and also overestimated the chances of wealthy children succeeding.

Of these ninety-seven people, without Ronan's meditation method, perhaps a third of them would never have become novice magicians in their lifetime.

As for a true mage, there might not be even one among these ninety-seven.

Of course, there are definitely fifty or sixty novice mages. These fifty or sixty people cannot be said to have a bright future, since they come from well-off families. It can only be said that they will definitely live a very comfortable life, since after reaching the novice level, they will have physical qualities far exceeding those of ordinary people, and their aging will be slowed down.

If they want to be police officers, it's just a formality; if they want to join the army, it's just a little screening, and they can become well-paid mage musketeers.

After arranging everything, Ronan brought the students' information to the city hall early the next morning and gave Dinia a brief report.

Dinia simply took a sip of coffee and remained silent in response to the result.

"Is it because there are only four girls?" Ronan asked.

Dinya did not answer immediately, but after a moment, nodded.

Ninety-seven people, ninety-four boys and three girls. She didn't have any particular thoughts about the result, since it was quite normal. She was just a little sentimental.

Ronan sat down and poured himself a glass of water. "Dinia, this isn't something for our generation."

Dinia emphasized in a low voice, "I know."

“I think you should be happier,” Ronan said, taking a sip of water. “The reforms to the civil service have been quite successful, the municipal government’s institutional reforms have gone smoothly, the economy comprised of collective farms and emerging manufacturing industries is developing well, and the farmers’ associations and labor unions are playing a role in the future. The magic school has started smoothly, and as for the council, the elections for council members will be completed next month, which is also the soybean harvest season. It can be said that by the end of this year, all the plans and promises you made before and after taking office have been fulfilled.”

Dinia looked at her reflection in the coffee cup. "I'm probably too surprised to react for a moment. Before coming here, I was prepared to accomplish nothing in my first year, but I never expected it to turn out like this in just one year."

Ronan put down his water glass. "There's no way around it. Under your brilliant leadership, Xinhai City is bound to change rapidly."

"Would it kill you to stop flattering me?" Dinia retorted with a hint of disdain.

Ronan shrugged and said helplessly, "I'm used to it."

This is not just a habit, but also a form of psychological suggestion, suggesting to oneself that one is loyal to one's boss, Dinya.

Of course, it's only convenient for him to do this with his fate magic. Loyalty doesn't have a rigid standard and is more flexible, while some oaths of heaven are more rigid and inflexible.

Dinia finished her coffee in one gulp. "Although there are still many things about you that I don't like, that doesn't stop me from sincerely thanking you."

Ronan waved his hand. "It's pointless for us to talk about this, isn't it, comrade?"

“Yes,” Dinia replied, a slight smile appearing on her face, but she quickly suppressed it. “Then, comrade, can you tell me what your law of destiny is?”

“Didn’t I say? My rule is loyalty,” Ronan said calmly.

Loyalty? Dinia stared blankly at Ronan for a long time, then slammed her fist on the table a few times to keep from bursting out laughing.

Ronan looked at Dinia, "It's your turn."

Dinia took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, then seemed lost in memories, remaining silent for a long time before speaking, "My purpose is to bring death and new life."

"Ha, that sounds like the evil villainous wizard from a chivalric romance novel," Ronan joked.

“Ha, I’m the villain, what are you?” Dinia asked.

Ronan clicked his tongue and replied, "Me? In those people's writings, someone like me would probably only be a wizard's underling, a self-proclaimed clever buffoon who always ends up making things worse. So, to prevent being written as a villain or a buffoon, next year's focus will be on further cracking down on corruption."

Who is corrupt? Those who stand in the way Ronan planned are the corrupt officials.

Ronan's plan was for the blind man to take his place as secretary-general, the mute man to go to the oversight department, for Ambrina to send someone she trusted to be mayor, and for Mrs. Antari to continue as the mayor's private secretary, ensuring that the New Sea City route remained unchanged.

Just then, the clock tower of the city hall chimed, signaling the nine o'clock in the morning. A meeting was scheduled to begin in fifteen minutes.

Dinia stood up and straightened her collar. "I'll stop talking now. Come to my place tonight."

"Okay, I'll be going now." Ronan said goodbye and left Dinia's office.

The meeting had two main themes: one was to summarize the gains and losses of the past six months, and the other was to discuss the upcoming parliamentary elections.

The former was actually a sycophantic meeting. The city hall summarized the gains and losses, but there were only gains and no losses. Even if there were mistakes, they were due to force majeure.

Anyway, just praise the mayor and that's it.

The latter is just a bunch of nonsense. What about upholding the principles of fairness, impartiality, and openness, what about promoting the spirit of democracy and freedom? Isn't that just empty talk? Is there any election process without backroom deals and money-for-power exchanges?

If we don't resort to some underhanded methods, it would be an insult to the excellent traditional culture nurtured by the two-thousand-year-old pirate and bandit civilization of the West, and we would have to apologize to all the people of the Western Continent.

After a morning meeting, work resumed as usual in the afternoon.

After getting off work in the evening, Ronan went home, ate a quick bite, and then headed straight to Dinia's place.

To Ronan's surprise, Dinia was waiting for him at the door, carrying two bottles of wine.

“Let’s go to the beach,” Dinia said.

"Okay." Ronan summoned his shield; walking there would take too long, flying would be much faster.

At the fourth rank, he had twice as much energy as when he was at the third rank, and he could now withstand the drain.

Ronan leaped onto the shield, followed closely by Dinia. Magic adhered to the shield beneath their feet, and in the next instant, the shield took flight.

Dinia put a hand on Ronan's shoulder, and after a while, Ronan actually felt a transfer of magic. "What's going on?"

“I’m not sure. I had a feeling when I touched you just now, so I tried it out, and it turns out that I can transfer magic to you just by touching you,” Dinia replied. This only works on Ronan, probably because Ronan has the same regenerative ability as her, which comes from the original species.

Only Ronan gained regenerative abilities after drinking her blood; it had no effect on others. The reason for this is likely that Ronan drank an enhancement potion given to him by Tyr, the gardener on the ninth floor of the Obelisk.

Soon, the two arrived at the seaside.

Dinia placed two bottles of wine. "Let's have a match. I'll only use basic magic." As soon as she finished speaking, a cavalry saber formed from condensed magic appeared in her hand.

"How can we determine the winner and loser?" Ronan asked, conjuring a one-handed sword with magic.

Dinia frowned when she saw that Ronan hadn't used his own conjuration magic to materialize his sword and shield. Instead of answering the question about how the outcome would be determined, she asked, "Aren't you going to use your conjuration magic?"

Chapter 190 Victory or Defeat, Next Stop, You're Hopeless

"It's just for fun, no need," Ronan said, then suggested, "Limbs, torso, head—whoever hits all three first wins, how about that?"

“Okay,” Dinia replied.

On the beach, Ronan, wielding a one-handed sword, and Dinia, wielding a cavalry saber, stood ten meters apart. After nodding to each other, the battle began instantly.

Dinia showed no sign of holding back, accelerating rapidly. Even though the beach was uneven, ten meters was still less than half a second for her. Her movement was as if time had been pulled away; one moment she was ten meters away, and the next the knife was already at her.

As Ronan parried with his sword, he kicked out, striking Dinia's shinbone. This kick, imbued with magic, snapped the iron pipe in two, but Dinia was unharmed. Almost simultaneously, the swords clashed.

If Ronan were using his manifested sword, he could easily break through Dinia's magic-based blade and cut off her hand. However, since he was also using a magic sword, he was unable to withstand Dinia's magic blade. Now, Dinia's magic blade had cut halfway into the blade of his magic sword, without damaging the blade at all.

Just before Dinia's magic blade was about to sever Ronan's magic sword, Ronan's magic sword suddenly transformed into a soft whip. The middle part of the whip wrapped around the military knife, and the head sprang out like a venomous snake, striking towards Dinia's face.

In terms of physical fitness and magical power, Ronan is inferior to Dinia. However, Ronan is a genius Rationalist who mastered the seven basic magics at the age of fifteen, while Dinia awakened the magic of destiny at the age of five and is a Mind Magicist who does not need to learn the basics. Simply comparing the application of basic magic, Ronan is confident that he is a cut above Dinia.

Just as the attack was about to hit, Dinia suddenly spat out a magical arrow, deflecting the attack.

Missing his first strike, Ronan quickly withdrew his weapon and dodged back, while Dinia's attack also missed.

Dinia's eyes turned serious. "You get one point."

"Hmm?" Ronan asked, puzzled.

Dinia said, "Although that was just a basic spell using magic, being able to cast spells on every part of the body is a technique of a shapeshifter. I cheated."

Before he could finish speaking, Dinia was already in front of Ronan again, the blade magnified in Ronan's pupils, and this vertical slash was aimed directly at his head.

Just as the blade was about to fall, the vertical slash suddenly turned into a horizontal slash. However, Dinia's change of move did not fool Ronan at all. Elena had been tired of this kind of simplistic change of move ten years ago.

Ronan ducked and sidestepped the attack, simultaneously grazing Dinia's calf with the tip of his sword.

Two to zero.

Ronan scored again, but what he didn't expect was that Dinia suddenly started and charged at him with a huge amount of magic power, sending Ronan flying.

Dinia followed up immediately with a sweeping slash, determined to hit the leg, body, and head from bottom to top in one go, securing three points.

However, just before her knife was about to reach Ronan's head, Ronan had already pierced her torso with his sword.

At this moment, the score is 3 to 2, Ronan has won.