People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

"Build schools, hire teachers, mandate school enrollment for school-age children, and develop education. These are things that must be done!"

Ernst was well aware of Scherrag's current situation. Those important figures, such as the Grand Elder, Actos, and Latatos, were by no means unintelligent; they were simply limited in their vision by the social environment they lived in, just as Nohis Edwis had once commented on Ernst.

The older generation has almost fixed ideas and a habitual way of life, so it's difficult to ask them to change. But children, especially young children, are different!

Why was Ensiodis Shivaesh able to become the pioneer of modernizing Sherag? Was it because he was exceptionally talented or had a forward-thinking vision?

No, that's Ernst's ability as a time traveler.

Enciodes, on the other hand, is different in that he received an education: the education from his parents and family when he was young, the education from studying abroad when he was young, and the education from his social rivals when he grew up.

What if more and more Sherag people received a better, more modern, and more systematic education?

That would lead to more Ensiodis, more Kallan trade, and more like-minded people dedicated to the modernization of Shelag.

Every social change requires a suitable environment, and Ernst was cultivating that environment.

Looking into Ernst's eyes, Enciodes remained silent for a long time before finally nodding.

“You’re right. Education—I’ve overlooked that, but it’s definitely one of the keys to success.”

He stood up and watched Ernst's retreating figure, his morale high, as he was about to leave the office to show his skills. The emotion contained in his silver-gray eyes was surprisingly heavy.

After Ernst left, he slowly put on his cloak and walked out of the simple office. Outside the door, one of his trusted subordinates, Matthon Yerk, had been waiting for a long time and opened the door of the mobility scooter for him.

Enciodes bowed slightly as he got into the car. Once Matthorn was in the driver's seat, he let out a long sigh and gave the order:

"Matterhorn, go to the Snow Goblin's camp and tell them to be ready to assemble at any time."

"Master?" Matthon Yek glanced at Enciodis's expression in the rearview mirror in astonishment, and advised, "But the Snow Demons' training isn't finished yet. If we let them appear now..."

“Do as I say.” Enciodes replied firmly, his gaze not shifting, but Ernst’s emotional tears welling up in his mind again. He pursed his lips and said, “I will not help him, but I will not stand by and watch him be imprisoned.”

"Let's see how long my amazing brother can keep up this elaborate act."

...........

Northeast of Tukarim, abandoned land.

Although no systematic census has been conducted, it is a generally accepted fact that Kjerag has a population of over one million. These one million people are not scattered like beans across the hills and fields of Kjerag; they live in concentrated communities in dozens of habitable lake and forest areas, serving as subjects under the rule of three major families.

This is precisely why Kherag, a place whose name might be larger than the map itself on Terra, has remained sparsely populated, with vast amounts of undeveloped wasteland.

When it comes to pioneering, Colombians have a lot to say.

As a pioneering consultant for the Magnus Bank in Colombia and a renowned pioneering master throughout Colombia, Anton Magnus felt his blood pressure spike whenever he saw the wasteful pioneering methods of the Sherag people.

To him, Sherag was a miraculous land, comparable to the Promised Land proclaimed in Lateranism. It possessed abundant natural resources, a dense biota, a primitive indigenous civilization, and a sufficiently intelligent and enlightened president… no, he should be called the Prime Minister!

He sincerely hoped that every Sherag person he encountered would be so reasonable, like this aggressive Ursus man before him.

“Sir, we are employees of the Magnus Bank of Colombia. We have been granted permission by your government to conduct on-site inspections and tours here. You have no reason to stop us.”

Anton's bodyguards kept repeating their origins, but the rude Ursus man seemed to completely ignore them, charging recklessly towards Anton while shouting:

"Explain yourself! What are you here for?"

After a third attempt to persuade him to leave failed, the bodyguard drew his weapon, ready to teach the disobedient Ursus man a lesson, but Anton waved him off. The pioneering consultant adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, straightened his snow-covered suit, pushed aside the security guard, and stepped forward with the utmost formality, looking down at the Ursus man, saying:

"Sir, no matter who you are or what your purpose is, please don't interfere with our work, okay?"

“Work?” Guro broke free of the hand holding him, straightened his back, and retorted defiantly, “I heard what you were saying, that you’re going to turn this land into something… a snow mountain villa district? Sell it to those Colombians! What kind of work is this? Who gave you the right? This is Shelag!”

Anton Magnus looked speechless, but still tried to explain:

“I apologize for our inappropriate wording. This land does not currently belong to us, and I can apologize for our words and actions. But I must also remind you, sir, that the purpose of our visit is to check the eligibility of this area as collateral for a loan. If we simply want to take a walk, you have no right to stop us.”

As he spoke, he reached out to the clerical staff member beside him, took the folder containing contract attachments and copies, and handed it to Guro.

"As for who gave us this power, you can go to your country's government office and ask your government staff, instead of getting entangled with me. I am simply exercising the rights stipulated in my contract."

Contracts, government, what other loan collateral is needed?

Guro felt as if a bunch of unknown knowledge had been poured into his mind, instantly turning it into a mess.

He took the folder Anton handed him, opened it, and began reading the contract written in both Kjeragón and Colombian.

His level of education is indeed not high; even with a bilingual contract, he can only understand a small part of it.

But this small part was enough for him to understand what had happened.

Anton Magnus was getting impatient. He reached out to take the copy of the contract back from Guluo's hand, but then he sensed something was wrong.

The Ursus man, who had just been agitated and rude, now seemed to show no understanding of their work after reading the contract. Instead, his chest heaved violently, and his face, half-hidden by the folder, turned bright red.

To everyone's surprise, he suddenly roared, ripped the photocopies out of the folder, tore them to shreds in a few quick movements, threw the folder into the snow, glared fiercely at Anton and his group, and was about to attack when he realized he was outnumbered. He then shouted a threat:

"You just wait! You better not leave!"

"Enciodes! Lord Actos! By Jeragand! Ernst is going to sell our home!"

Chapter Thirteen: Dare!

In Sherag, there is only one thing that is considered an absolutely inviolable bottom line: betraying Jeragand.

The great Jeragund created the kingdom of Kjerag for his ancestors amidst the wind and snow, guiding their exploration, reproduction, and survival, and igniting this small beacon of civilization among the mountains. Therefore, He is the only king of Kjerag and the eternal god worshipped by Kjerag.

Anyone who disagrees with this, regardless of their identity or status, will be an enemy of all of Sherag!

But there is always a bottom line. Just like the Church of Christ, their bottom line is that they only believe in one God. But as a church, in order to maintain its existence for a long time, they began to add to this bottom line, which gradually evolved into a systematic and rigorous faith process.

If you don't believe in God, then you're a heretic. We're completely incompatible, and I have nothing to say to you.

But if you believe in God but don't follow my procedure, then you are a heretic and have seriously damaged my interests as God's sole representative. In that case, I will deal with you severely!

This is why heresy is more abhorrent than paganism.

The things that Manju Academy and the church do are actually no different.

Jeragand created Sherag, sheltered it from natural disasters, and established the Manju Institute to give humanity the opportunity to decide its own direction. Did it intend for the Manju Institute to rigidly maintain everything as it is?

Ernst was unsure of the gods' thoughts, but he knew that if Jeragund was truly as described in the Epic of Jeragund, then He must be a god who wanted the Sherag people to live a happy life.

Such a deity would certainly not deny the current trend of development or the necessity of Sherag's reforms.

Unfortunately, all of this was just speculation. Ernst could not know the will of the gods, and as a standard pragmatist, he certainly could not be considered a deep believer in Jeragund. And when he attempted to interpret Jeragund's oracles and stories in other ways, the heretical trial that awaited him was inevitable.

"No land sales allowed!"

"Sherrag belongs to Jeragand, not to you!"

"By not convening a meeting of the three races, nor reporting to the Manju Academy, and keeping all the Sherag people in the dark, is the Shivaish family trying to betray their country?"

Shouts and curses echoed around the low bungalow that served as his office. Just a few days ago, Prime Minister Ernst could be politely praised as "not bad," but now he seemed to have become the public enemy of the entire Shelag, branded as a traitor to Jelagand.

Squeezing through the angry crowd into the room with difficulty, Lola's face was filled with worry, and she couldn't help but suggest:

"Young master, it's not safe here anymore. Shall we go somewhere else?"

But Ernst shook his head, his posture in his office chair showing no sign of weakness, and comforted her:

“I’m fine, Lola. The Prime Minister won’t leave his post. Besides, I believe that since Lord Actos and Miss Latatos are already seated here, my safety should be guaranteed. Isn’t that right?”

He looked at Actos Perroche, who was sitting on the sofa in the room with a pipe in his mouth, and Latatos Blantau, who was leaning against the window and staring blankly at the angry crowd outside, and said as if asking a question.

Actos looked up at Ernst, his expression one of undisguised disgust, and grinned, saying:

"That's not necessarily true. I never hold back when it comes to those who betray Jeragand."

Latatos, however, turned her head slightly, lowered her arm from her chin, and crossed her arms over the plain in front of her chest, asking in return:

"What's the reason?"

"Make money," Ernst replied.

Latatos frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the answer, and pressed further:

"And then what? What's your reason for making money?"

The Blanto family has always believed in checks and balances. Although they are not as wealthy as Shivaesh and not as powerful as Perroch, they have been able to maintain their position among the three major families, thanks to their checks and balances and their caution.

They also engage in money-making schemes. Aside from the rare items imported through the Kalan trade, almost all the goods in Tukarim town come from the territory of the Brantao family.

But she did this with a purpose: to counterbalance the Perroch family, restore order to the Tri-Clan Council, and prevent the Perroch family, now without a competitor, from swallowing her up. Therefore, the Shivaish family's return to the Tri-Clan Council and the establishment of a branch of the Karan Trade in Shelag were both orchestrated by them.

She didn't believe Ernst's motives were so simple.

Six hundred million—that's an unimaginable sum!

But Ernst fell silent, as if avoiding the question.

There's no way he can say that he's raising money to overthrow you and establish a truly powerful Sherag government, can he?

Ernst would certainly give such a bureaucratic answer in order to build up Shelag, but such words are enough to get by in public. If you were to give such a stilted speech when the two families were interrogating you behind closed doors, they would probably think you were a fool.

The remaining 20% ​​is a slap in the face, to see if you still go crazy.

After much deliberation, just as Latatos was about to lose her patience, Ernst finally spoke:

"For the sake of Sherag's future, so that I won't have any regrets."

Latatos's already furrowed brows furrowed even more deeply.

She didn't believe Ernst was unaware that his words carried no weight. But he said them anyway.

What do you mean? I'm just going crazy, let's see if you dare to slap me twice?

"Damn it! You sell the land of Shelag to those Colombian robbers and you still have the nerve to say it's for the future of Shelag?"

Actos was utterly enraged. He slammed his pipe on the table, stood up abruptly, and strode towards Ernst. His imposing, bearded appearance and well-developed physique, which would intimidate even Ensiodis, now stood directly in front of Ernst, looking down at him and cursing:

"I originally thought that putting you, little leopard cub, in this position would quiet down that rebellious guy, Ensiodis! I didn't expect that while he's quiet, you've jumped up and down!"

"I'm telling you this today, as long as I and Perroche are alive, not an inch of Shelag's land will be sold to Colombians!"

"To be precise, I only borrowed money, and the collateral for that money was that piece of land."

Ernst said slowly,

"As for your accusations against me, Lord Actos, didn't you expect this to happen when you were doing all this?"

Ernst's gaze met Actos's directly, his eyes also brimming with long-suppressed anger.

"You put me in this position to warn my brother, whom you can't handle. This kind of balancing act is probably beyond your comprehension. Miss Latatos must have been involved in the planning, right?"

"In the end, none of you understand me, nor do you intend to. You only see me as a useless puppet, believing that since I sit in this powerless position, I should act according to your orders and deal with my brother. Have you never considered that once this so-called puppet obtains the title of Prime Minister, even if he has nothing, he might still want to do something?"

He sneered:

“Ugly and selfish, the moment you learned that I took out a loan, you weren’t thinking about Sherag, but about the potentially huge Shivaesh family and those 600 million Colombian gold notes. You are not conservative at all when it comes to matters of principle; you are only willing to look after yourselves first.”

“But I will tell you that this money was borrowed in the name of the Sherag government, and I will not spend it solely on Shivaish territory. I will plan its use across everyone's territory according to population size. Because this money is related to the future of Sherag!”

Children are the future, and educating children is educating the future!

Unfortunately, a warrior like Actos wouldn't understand. He would rather the school's curriculum consist entirely of physical education classes, so that students could learn how to hunt in the mountains and forests, and then have them teach their own children, passing the knowledge down from generation to generation in a cycle.

"you!"

Seemingly provoked, or perhaps simply out of embarrassment and anger, Actos made a move to raise his hand and punch Ernst, but Lola stood in front of Ernst without hesitation.

He recognized Lola; she was a girl born in their Perroch family territory, from Ursus in the snowy mountains.

At this moment, however, she stood on the opposite side of him.

Lola was not as tall as Actos, but she did not back down in the slightest. Instead, she glared at the lord before her and said seriously:

"What Master Ernst said is true!"

She believed Ernst unconditionally because Ernst had shown her the outside world.

Actos's arm froze in mid-air, his eyes widening as he said, "It's alright, I'll hit them both at once!" but he hesitated to swing his arm again.

Seeing this, the silent Latatos shook her head helplessly, looked at Ernst, and slowly said:

“Ernst, I don’t believe what you’re saying, but I think you deserve a chance.”

"According to the tradition of Shelag, if we encounter a problem that the Three Races Conference cannot resolve, we can go up the Holy Mountain, worship the sacred stone of Yeragand in the Holy Stone Square, and ask for His will."

"But you need to think this through. You are still young. If you make a mistake, as long as you admit it in time, given your status, there is still room for redemption. Although you may step down because of this, you will still have the opportunity to make a comeback in the future."

“But once you set foot on the Holy Stone Square and are rejected by Jeragand, you will have nowhere to go in Sherag.”

Latatos said seriously:

"That's the bottom line."