Author: Sociable Hermit
Category: Reincarnation
Go to read content：https://thereadnovel.com/enlightened-empire/chapter-18
"No, look. There’s not *that* many vowels. Only fifteen. There’s also not that many symbols in total, pretty close to your own script. It’s not excessive if I ask you to memorize a handful of symbols, right? It’s really just memorization, and then the rest is nothing but listening for the right sounds." Frustrated, Corco tried his hardest to keep a calm voice while he explained his new writing system to the most recent batch of students.
"But Master Corco, why do we need to learn these? We already know how to read language. Why would we ever need any letters besides Vetrin?" Just as he had been taught, one of the newly hired Fastgrade merchants raised his hand before he asked his question, though the question itself was as ridiculous as the one his classmates had asked before. In total, there were seventeen in this room, studying the scripture Corco had invented, built from the phonetic alphabet in his head. All of them had doubts about accepting his teachings. It really was tiring, but from Corco’s experience, the first session always was the hardest.
"Okay, back to the beginning. I’m sure you’ve heard from your colleagues about some of the stuff I’ve been teaching, like interest rate calculations or modal logic?"
All the men nodded their heads with vigor, like good students. Of course they had heard. As far as Corco understood, it was the only reason they were here and listening to a merchant’s lecture. All of his teachings were voluntary, so he had needed a compelling reason for them to listen to a stranger without formal university training. Still, even when he first offered his wisdom to his employees, at least a few had been more than ready to learn, in this continent in which knowledge was a rare and special privilege. It hadn’t taken long for the first students to show off their new knowledge in front of others. The result was a chain reaction. Soon, his classrooms had been filled with students willing to accept his conditions. In the end, he had to expand his classes. Whenever he wasn’t busy going over the company books or writing down new knowledge, he would be in here, imparting wisdom and getting his men ready for their great purpose.
"Alright, since everyone here wants to learn what I have to teach, you should also understand the contract you enter when you do so. I will teach you advanced mathematics, natural laws, grammar and logic. However, the books which store this knowledge are not written in any arcavian language or scripture. This script is exclusive to the Medala Empire across the Weltalic Sea. At this point, it is no secret inside the company that I wasn’t born in Arcavia. Once I return home, and I will return home, I expect you to follow along and support my endeavors there, for no less than five years. That is my condition for imparting my teachings. If you want to be of any help in a foreign country, you will need to know both the local language and the script. Now you will either accept my terms and learn everything I have to teach you, or you can leave right now. I understand that the prospect of leaving home to a far-off land is scary and that some of you might have family. Thus, I won’t fire or disadvantage anyone for that choice, that I will guarantee."
As he tried to suppress his worries, Corco’s look swerved over the seventeen new students who sat before him, paper and feather quill in their hands. In fact, he hadn’t told the full truth in his lectures, especially when it came to the letters he had introduced. They were, in fact, not something any scholar in Medala had ever seen. However, once he returned home, Corco, the crown prince, would take over the Empire. If he wanted to introduce concepts like universal compulsory education it would be necessary to get rid of the complicated letters of the upper classes.
There was a strong class divide within Medala, with the two upper classes far removed from the lowly commoners at the bottom. This reflected in the letters used by nobility as well. The medalan script of Yakua had been designed in a convoluted fashion to exclude the common folk from knowledge, something Corco was determined to change. Plus, he wouldn’t pass up the chance to fix his country’s messed up orthography. Replacing the myriad of pictographic symbols for a mere fifty-one letters would be a godsent, even more so since they encompassed all phonetic sounds their language had to offer. They were perfectly simple to learn and perfectly simple to use. As an added bonus, they would also be much easier to handle on a printing press, another important innovation he intended to bring across the sea. While it was already wide-spread in Arcavia, the countless letters of Medala would be a terrible fit for the presses and hinder their proliferation.
Just as Corco set off to continue the lecture on his New Yakua script, a small gong went off to halt the teacher in his tracks. Sounding out besides him was a complex construction of gears and springs. The clever automaton was a mechanical clock, something he had been delighted to find present in Arcavia as well. Though the clock was primitive and a bit imprecise, its mere existence would save him much time and trouble. It also showed how far Medala was behind the Arcavians in terms of technology, something else he would have to remedy. Crown Prince Corco was sure that his return would signal a new era for his people. Although in this instance, the gong had no such lofty meaning. Instead, it signaled the end of their session.