The door to the audience chamber was closed again, leaving Todd alone in the large room once more.

Todd leaned back in his chair, slowly closed his eyes, and let out a long sigh.

In the soul space, Todd tried again to contact Jerry, who was on a reconnaissance mission, but received only a blank screen. Todd slowly opened his eyes and whispered, "If I had been more alert, if I had thought things through more thoroughly, if I had done better, perhaps..."

Before Todd could finish speaking, a guard announced from the doorway: "Your Majesty, Mr. Randall and Miss Barbara of the Crusader request an audience. They say they have an appointment with you."

"Let them in."

"yes."

Randall and Barbara entered the room and bowed deeply to Todd, who was sitting in a chair.

Before they could speak, Todd looked at them and said with a smile, "I've heard that you've been subjected to a lot of disdain in the Crusader lately?"

Barbara nodded, somewhat annoyed, and said, "Your Majesty, I don't understand. You've already agreed to my marriage with Randall, so why are you delaying the announcement?"

Todd took a thick stack of papers from his desk drawer and placed them in front of Randall and Barbara.

Randall and Barbara casually flipped through a few documents, most of which were from the Crusader's shamanic groups or high-ranking commanders, requesting the Dragon God to order the cessation of unions between humans and elves.

"The bloodline of the Crusaders is pure and noble, and humans who have not undergone the purification ritual will utterly defile it."

"If a human is allowed to be with an elf, a trend will sweep through the city, and every human will turn their attention to our kind."

"Humans should not be included in the ranks of the Crusaders; there should be distinctions between races."

Reading the protest letters from Crusader members of different races and social classes, Randall shrugged helplessly, unlike Barbara's fury: "In the end, everyone is pointing the finger at my human identity."

Todd looked at Randall and asked, "When you asked to participate in the transformation ceremony, I rejected your proposal and hoped that you could marry Barbara as a human. Do you know why?"

Randall pondered for a moment, then finally shook his head.

Barbara guessed, "Does His Majesty intend to use our marriage to send a signal to all his subjects, to tell them that all races, whether human or otherwise, should exist as equals, thereby stabilizing relations between the kingdom's races?"

Todd nodded slightly: "That is indeed one of the reasons."

"As we all know, the relationship between humans and the Crusader races within the Dragon Kingdom is not harmonious. The Crusaders regard humans as an ancient species and consider themselves superior, which is not the outcome I want to see."

Todd slowly said, "Whether human or Crusader, we are all subjects of the Kingdom. Although we may look different and have different abilities, the merit of a creature should not be judged by its strength, but by the nobility of its soul. Therefore, your marriage is tantamount to informing everyone of the concept of racial equality."

Todd paused for a moment, then looked at the two of them and said in a deep voice, "There is one more thing I must tell you. The union of a Crusader and a human may bring incurable harm to your offspring, such as infertility or congenital disabilities. One of the reasons I have delayed announcing your marriage is precisely because of this."

Barbara asked in surprise, "Is this your curse on us?"

"It is indeed a curse, but it is not the outcome I wanted to see." Todd's expression was grave. "Not only humans and Crusaders, but any union between two humanoid races could potentially produce offspring with congenital disabilities. I am telling you this today so that you may be mentally prepared."

Randall took Barbara's hand, looked at her tenderly, and said firmly, "No matter what happens, I'm prepared."

Barbara nodded vigorously: "Me too."

Seeing this, Todd said with deep feeling, "Randall, I have a task for you."

"Your Majesty, please give your orders."

Todd took another document from the drawer, placed it on the table, and said, "This warrant has my signature and the king's seal on it, and it grants you the power to use all the resources of the kingdom."

"Use all resources?"

"Yes, funding, manpower, weapons, diplomacy, religion... even resources from the Heterogeneous Society and the Security Bureau."

Randall asked in surprise, "Your Majesty, what do you want me to do?"

"I want you to infiltrate the Papal States' capital, Terro, and rescue the scholars trapped inside."

"scholar?"

Todd explained, “Terrence and Abel gave me a list of the most famous scholars in Tyro City. They have long corresponded with Muxi University, and these people have developed many new devices and put forward many great theories based on the academic foundations of Muxi scholars.”

Todd recalled, "Among these people was Miriam Orso, the vice-chancellor of the Royal University of Taylor, who was also Terence and Abbott's mentor. He proposed the design concept of the Tesla coil dual-wavelength interferometry electron microscope based on the heterogeneous focusing microscope; and McFadden Olstead, the chief professor of natural sciences, who proposed the experiment on the activation efficiency of microorganisms in an electric pool based on bacterial cluster culture technology..."

Todd remarked with emotion, "I never imagined that in the heart of the church's persecution, there would be scholars who could produce such amazing scientific results."

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