Evil dragon has a warm heart
Chapter 269 - 269 268 The Natural Polymath (Extra Chapter

Chapter 269: Chapter 268: The Natural Polymath (Extra Chapter, Requesting Monthly Passes) Chapter 269: Chapter 268: The Natural Polymath (Extra Chapter, Requesting Monthly Passes) Russell was unable to meet his father and elder brother in Baron Roman’s tower; as the Finance Minister, Baron Roman had been incredibly busy these last few days.

There were too many matters of post-war consolation and award distribution to attend to, involving substantial financial expenditures for the Grand Duchy, each of which required Baron Roman’s signature for review.

And Roland, who had jumped from being an assistant to the Lord Seal Minister to an assistant to the Finance Minister, had no choice but to spend every day reviewing documents with his father. Forget about sleeping in until the sun was high in the sky, he couldn’t even find time to embrace his lover at night without having to look at documents.

“Mr. Russell, according to the master’s schedule these past few days, he should return after nine o’clock in the evening,” said the tower’s butler.

“What about Roland?”

“Mr. Roland sometimes returns with the master, and sometimes he goes back to his own courtyard.”

“Alright, find me a manservant who knows the way; I’d rather go out and do my own thing than wait around in the tower,” Russell replied indifferently, and soon headed out with one of the tower’s servants as his guide.

“Sir!” Grove prepared to follow.

But Russell stopped him, “Don’t follow me; I’m just taking a walk around Red Castle. Use this time to get in sync with Bill.”

Since Red Castle was safe and Russell was a Phantom Beast Knight who didn’t require protection, Grove complied, “Understood!”

Immediately after,

Russell rode out on Unicorn Polly.

Red Castle loomed like a small mountain, also known as Red Mountain, but it could indeed be considered a mountain. Although massive, the castle was actually composed of a series of independent small fortresses scattered across the low hills of Heartlake Island in an orderly fashion.

The highest point was the grand hall within the inner fort of Red Castle, a grand and magnificent palace.

The Outer Fort, encircling Heartlake Island, housed the majority of the administrative institutions of the Grand Duchy, residences for officials, and many side branches of the Shadowflame Dragonblood Family, also dwelling within the Outer Fort area.

Therefore, while the Outer Fort was indeed part of the castle, it also boasted a bustling marketplace providing for the daily necessities.

The streets were crowded with pedestrians, and carriages weaved through them.

Fantasy Beasts also strolled proudly down the streets.

And even just by looking up, one could see Bipedal Flying Dragons gliding overhead.

Of course, the most spectacular sight was the nearby Shadowflame Volcano, a perfectly round crimson volcano that seemed like an ancient and immortal creation, frequently wrapped in clouds and mist, forming an interesting cap at its peak.

Hot air continuously blew down from Shadowflame Volcano, baking the earth and nourishing the growth of countless crops.

“Mr. Russell, if you turn left at the street corner ahead, you will see a tower. That is the Great Scholar Tower you are looking for,” the manservant guided from horseback, swiftly leading Russell to his destination, a distinctive tower.

This tower had a sharp spire, standing significantly taller than the other surrounding towers.

And at the apex, a large triangular sculpture was inlaid, within which was an eye.

It was as if this eye, from its lofty vantage, overlooked all beings below, or pierced through the fog to discern the true nature of the workings of things.

Upon reaching the entrance of the Great Scholar Tower, Russell signaled for Polly to wait outside, and presented his Scholar Medal along with his identity papers to the gatekeeper.

“Respected Scholar Russell, please come in,” the gatekeeper said reverently after verification.

Once inside, a blonde-uniformed lady came forward with a sweet smile, “Hello, are you visiting the Great Scholar Tower for the first time? I am a guide for the tower; you can call me Alus.”

“Hello Alus, I am Scholar Russell. I have a new technological invention ready to submit to the Grand Scholar Roundtable. Could you tell me how to proceed?”

“Ah, you are a Scholar? You’re so young; I thought you were here to request technology at the Great Scholar Tower,” Alus exclaimed in surprise, as typically those who received the title of Scholar were at least in their forties.

Young scholars as fresh-faced as Russell were indeed rare.

“The great dragon watches, and slight gains are made,” Russell said with a restrained smile.

“Have you made a new technological invention, Sir? Given your status as a scholar, you may directly liaise with the Grand Scholar on duty today,” Alus’ smile grew more enthusiastic, “Please follow me this way, we need to take the elevator.”

The elevator, as the name implies, is simply a lift.

However, on the Dragon Sleep Continent, the development of electricity is virtually non-existent; the elevator is powered by the abundant magic power of gemstones, a specially designed mechanical device.

Once inside the elevator, Alus pulled the lever, and with creaking and groaning, the elevator began to ascend.

“What’s the principle behind this?” asked Russell.

“It uses a gemstone array to form a small flywheel, which uses the rotation of the wheel to drive the ropes and thus raise or lower the cage we are in,” Alus explained, noting the principle was not complicated.

Russell nodded and didn’t pursue the matter further.

The elevator stopped on the eleventh floor, and Alus swiftly led Russell into Grand Scholar Alexis’ office.

“Sir Alexis is an authority in the field of botany, celebrated for overseeing the compilation of ‘The Detailed Explanation of Plants of the Shadowflame Grand Duchy’, which records most of the plants across the Grand Duchy’s territories, particularly the elf crops, in great detail,” said Alus as she guided the way.

Russell soon met the plant expert, an older man with white hair, who was writing something at great speed.

“Great Scholar Alexis, Scholar Russell has a new technological invention he wishes to present to the Grand Scholar Roundtable personally,” called out Alus.

Alexis finished writing a line, then looked up and turned his gaze to Russell.

Surprise flashed across his face, quickly replaced by a sincere smile, “Russell, a young scholar praiseworthy for his filial piety! Your invention of reading glasses for the elderly Lady Ingrid has been a great help to us seniors!”

Russell noticed that Alexis was also wearing a pair of reading glasses.

He smiled slightly, “It is my honor to assist the Grand Scholars in their search for truth and contribute my strength.”

The technology behind reading glasses was nothing extraordinary, but when it came to winning people’s hearts, it was exceptionally effective.

Most of the Grand Scholars were indeed old. Those who had practiced Battle Qi were still in good health, so their physical functions hadn’t declined too much. But nearly all the others who hadn’t practiced Battle Qi suffered from presbyopia, and reading glasses were their blessing.

“Truth is with the Shadowflame Dragon; how could we slacken in our relentless quest?” Alexis recited the motto of the Grand Scholar Roundtable.

He then smiled and invited Russell to take a seat, “Alus tells me you have an inventive new technology, please enlighten me.”

Russell presented the Retting Fertilization Skill data organized by Charles and Catherine, “This is a technology I’ve tested in my territory, the Retting Fertilization Skill. It transforms harmful manure through pile fermentation into beneficial fertilizer.”

“Oh?” Alexis showed interest. “Can the manure of root burners have this effect?”

Having quickly reviewed the few pages of data, Alexis marveled after finishing, “I see, manure that has not fermented indeed poses a danger to plants, but after fermentation, it can aid in plant growth!”

“Indeed, it is so,” said Russell. “This phenomenon was something I discovered unintentionally.”

He then fabricated a story on the spot, claiming he had observed manure out of boredom.

He noticed that fresh manure did not promote grass growth around it, but after the manure had been left to sit for a while, lush grass sprouted instead. Hence, he invented the Retting Fertilization Skill, speeding up the fermentation process and converting harmful manure into beneficial fertilizer.

After listening to Russell’s account, Grand Scholar Alexis exclaimed yet again, “Lord Russell, I must say, you are a born scholar!”

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It’s the last day of April, Old White is adding a chapter for monthly ticket votes~

Also, there will be an explosion of five more chapters tomorrow!