Different World Card Master: Change the World with Cards

212: braggingHowever, this concern was actually unnecessary. After all, the Queen had greeted many people today, and Xu Bai was currently, on the surface, a half-crippled person, not conspicuous at all.

After passing the competition area for the students from the Tianlong Republic, the expressions of the judges and teachers from many countries became a bit off.

The reason for this was the comparison. So far, they had seen the cards of students from several countries, but none were as excellent as those from the Tianlong Republic.

In other words, their countries’ next generation of Card Makers couldn’t compare, and the Tianlong Republic was more likely to win the awards this time.

The Queen also felt helpless about this. The restrictions on learning for Card Makers in the Luo Lan Empire were too great.

In the Luo Lan Empire, only nobles could receive a good education. At the same time, Card-Making Masters had a strong sense of family and only wanted to cultivate their own family’s descendants, unlike the Tianlong Republic, which had education for all.

Oh, and although the Empire also wanted to change things and established an Imperial Academy, the Imperial Academy is now merely a name. The quality of its teachers can’t keep up, and students mostly still learn from the Card Makers in their families.

The Queen thought for a moment, then pulled her thoughts back. No matter what, she would make her son king. Other matters could wait until her son became king.

If her son couldn’t become king, whether the country improved or worsened would have nothing to do with her... The arena was dimly lit at night.

The lighting here still relied on torches and kerosene lamps, so many areas were not clearly visible.

Since all the competing works were here, guards occasionally patrolled. These guards carried torches and patrolled along their usual routes.

A shadow flashed by, making no sound and attracting no one’s attention.

The shadow moved stealthily among the exhibition stands, but it didn’t take anything. Therefore, it shouldn’t have been there to steal but rather to look for something.

If someone had seen the shadow’s route at this time, they might have noticed that it was the same as the Queen’s route during the day. This meant the Queen must have hidden something among these entries.

A team of guards patrolled over.

The shadow quickly lowered its body, using the display stands for cover to avoid being discovered by the patrolling guards.

“Damn it, I heard those great nobles’ homes all use electric lights. Why don’t they put some lights here? That way, we wouldn’t have to worry about someone sneaking in.”

“Yeah, yeah, I heard my cousin say that with lights on, everything in the room can be seen clearly. If they used lights here, we could just stand in one spot and watch.”

“That powerful? I really hope my home can use lights someday.”

“For us to be able to use lights, we might have to wait another six months. If the nobles really like them, we might even have to wait several years.”

“Captain Hall, why is that? Is it because lights are scarce?”

Charles, who had just become a junior soldier, scratched his head, not understanding the intricacies of it all.

He was born into an ordinary commoner family. Because there were too many children in his family, he couldn’t afford food. As the eldest child, he couldn’t possibly watch his younger siblings starve to death, so he said goodbye to his family, packed a few clothes, and enlisted in the army.

Joining the army in the Luo Lan Empire might not have been a good choice, but joining the army meant he could eat. In fact, most commoners who joined the army would be assigned to battlefields facing exotic beasts, a situation of ten deaths and no life.

Charles was prepared for this. He had nothing to cling to; he just wanted to eat a few full meals before he died.

However, he didn’t expect his luck to be quite good. He was assigned to the arena area and currently only needed to patrol daily.

Being able to eat his fill every day and not having to worry about dying at any moment, Charles felt there was nothing happier than this.

Hall looked at the confused young soldier in front of him and said earnestly.

“Sometimes, some things cannot be bought not because they are scarce, but because the nobles do not want ordinary people to use them. As far as I know, ordinary commoners in the Tianlong Republic all use electric lights. Oh, by the way, they don’t call them commoners there; they call them citizens.”

As Hall said this, a hint of longing appeared in his eyes. If possible, he also wanted to be born in that country.

“Why?”

This question made several other patrolling team members gather around.

They were also very curious.

Although they hadn’t used them, they had seen them from afar. In their eyes, these electric lights were very convenient. Why wouldn’t the nobles want ordinary people to use them?

And weren’t they protecting the nobles’ property? Didn’t they worry about their own property?

Hearing the guards question him, Hall was a bit smug, thinking he was the smartest among them. After all, only smart people knew a lot, and he was a smart person.

So he casually picked a spot to sit down, intending to explain in detail to the guards.

The others saw him do this and also found a spot next to him to sit down.

The shadow hiding nearby stiffened. These people were only about three meters away from him. If someone turned their head, he might be discovered.

Fortunately, their attention was all focused on Hall, and Hall’s mind wasn’t even there, so he didn’t notice anyone.

“Let me tell you, do you know how much a single light costs in the Tianlong Republic?”

Hall asked, pretending to be knowledgeable.

Hearing this question, the guards started discussing.

“I don’t know.”

“How could we possibly know that?”

“We haven’t even been abroad.”

“Officer Hall, someone in your family seems to have been to the Tianlong Republic. Did you hear it from him?”

“Wow, going abroad, that’s amazing. We can’t even go abroad.”

“Not everyone can go abroad; you need to get permission.”

...“Ahem.”

Hall, of course, knew that his subordinates didn’t know, after all, they were just ordinary commoners, and they themselves couldn’t go abroad, nor could their family members.

Hall was just satisfying himself. He interrupted the guards’ discussion, making their attention refocus on him. He thoroughly enjoyed the guards’ gazes.

At this moment, he suddenly felt that going to another country wasn’t good anymore. After all, in this country, although his family was a small noble, they were still nobles. As a noble, he had certain privileges, and he could become a guard captain. If he went to another country, he might only be able to be a junior soldier.

However, no matter what, it didn’t prevent Hall from bragging about the Tianlong Republic.

“I’m telling you, over in the Tianlong Republic, lights come in all sorts of varieties. The good-looking ones are, of course, very expensive, but the cheap ones, I heard, only cost 3 yuan. 3 yuan! That’s equivalent to 1 Luo Coin for us, and we need 5 Luo Coins just to buy a loaf of bread.”