Looking at the stunned scholars filling the hall, Coleridge felt a ripple of emotion, though her expression remained as aloof as the chill of early spring.
This is the power of the Arcane Society, this is the power of the Spellcaster.
As a core member of this wizarding organization, Coleridge certainly knew what the war between the Gabella Empire and the Light Church was all about.
The war broke out as planned, or more precisely, within the timeframe expected by the designers, and judging from the news reaching Northwest Bay, the war also achieved the goals the designers hoped to achieve.
Having suffered a defeat and lost the formidable power of the War Elephant Legion, the Light Church is now utterly disgraced.
However, the witch still felt regretful that she had been absent at such an important turning point in history and had not contributed her own strength, which was truly unfortunate.
"Then…" she glanced at Alvis in the distance again, "let's make up for it a little with the blood of this traitor."
"Calm down, calm down..." Coleridge reminded himself silently, trying to suppress his restless heart.
The first day of the academic conference mainly focused on astronomy. Not only did Cable give a presentation, but many astronomy scholars and astrologers also took the stage to share their discoveries and insights.
Although their content was not as groundbreaking as Cable's heliocentric theory and three laws, everyone still listened with great interest.
What Cable just said did not occupy all of their minds; many people still have doubts and need to go back and take the time to verify them.
Many of the speakers still associated astronomy with mysticism, after all, most people who study astronomy today are so-called "astrologers," and even Cable himself comes from this profession.
This is unavoidable. The establishment of the science system requires a step-by-step process of weeding out the dross and retaining the essence. Even in the 20th century, things like superpowers and qigong were studied by countries such as the United States, China, and the Soviet Union. If something is dismissed as superstition without sufficient verification, this attitude itself is pseudo- science, or another kind of superstition. Science is a method, a description of the process of distinguishing the truth from falsehood of a target, but not a description of the target itself.
Time flew by, the sun set, turning the sky a languid orange-red, and evening arrived silently, marking the end of the first day of the meeting.
As dusk slanted through the stained glass, it bathed the departing crowd in a layer of flowing, shimmering gold.
Paul left with Catherine and her sister, La Di, and others.
Cable was still caught up in the situation, surrounded by a crowd of people holding up star charts and bombarding him with questions about the details of the elliptical orbits. His faded blue robe sleeves were covered in chalk dust as he futilely tried to answer multiple questions at once.
Coleridge, however, never strayed from her goal.
As dusk settled, the witch's white hair disappeared into the shadow of her hood, like a wandering ghost following Alvis through the academy's arcades.
As he walked out of the academy gates, the old scholar took out his pocket watch and glanced at it, completely unaware that the person chasing him was hiding not far away.
Alvis walked through the streets and soon turned into an alley, stopping in front of a two-story house with a yard.
Paul naturally wanted to retain Alvis, a renowned scholar from the Scholars Tower who was famous in another country, and thus showed great interest in winning him over.
He personally gave Alvis a sum of money to help him settle down in Lakeheart Town. This mansion was recently purchased by Alvis, and Marek remained with Alvis as his butler.
Coleridge hid in the shadows behind the wall, watching as the gate opened and a young man came out to welcome him inside.
She recognized the man as Marek, Alvis's bodyguard. It was truly a blessing that the two of them had safely crossed half the continent to Northwest Bay.
The witch surveyed the mansion but found nothing unusual. It seemed that the two of them had been living a very relaxed life since moving to this town.
Just as Coleridge was trying to sneak into the mansion, he suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves and bells in the distance.
A carriage emerged from the alley to the north and headed this way, accompanied by six knights, all dressed in uniform blue double-breasted short jackets.
Coleridge was somewhat surprised. Judging from the entourage of the visitors, could it be that some powerful or influential person had arrived?
She quietly slipped into the shadows again. The carriage stopped in front of Alvis's residence. The door opened and three people got out: one man and three women. The man was none other than the local lord, Paul Greiman. Unlike his formal attire during the day, he was now dressed in casual clothes.
As for the three women, two of them had blonde hair and could be identified as sisters by their features, while the third had emerald green hair. It seemed that they had all been seen in the academy's assembly hall.
Why are they here? Coleridge wondered.
"Welcome, welcome!" The gray-haired old scholar came out of the mansion to greet the visiting guests.
"It's an honor to visit your new home!" Paul greeted him with a smile.
He and Catherine followed Alvis into the mansion. The guards who had come with Paul were divided into four who stayed outside to keep watch, while the other two followed them inside.
The group took their seats in the restaurant, where a table was already set with exquisite dishes, specially ordered by the butler Marek from a nearby restaurant.
"Thank you for inviting me to share in your housewarming joy." Paul raised his glass to Alvis. "I'd also like to discuss a few things with you."
"Please speak freely, Marquis," Alvis replied, raising his glass.
Paul took a sip of his drink. "It's about Weiss Academy. When I first established this academy, my original intention was to meet the needs of the rapidly developing economy of Northwest Bay and to continuously produce engineers, mathematicians, researchers, and other talents, which I collectively call... STEM talents."
Alvis nodded. "A very apt description."
Paul looked at him. "But now I need to cultivate a large number of scholars who study the cultures and social systems of peoples around the world. This can be called social science! This is something that the current Weiss Academy cannot provide. I need to establish an institution to accomplish this goal."
Alvis asked, "What is your reason for this need?"
After getting to know him for a while, he felt that the Marquis Glaeman was a very purposeful person, and it was unlikely that he would make this decision on a whim because of his interest in a different culture.