A rumor has recently been circulating in Twilight City—King Todd from the Holy Spirit World possesses the 'key' to heaven.
It's difficult to verify where such rumors originated. Some say they came from a group of art-obsessed scholars, while others say they came from His Majesty's personal guards.
Regardless of the version or story, one thing is undeniable—someone has visited another world and returned safely to the present.
Meanwhile, Todd, completely oblivious to the rampant rumors circulating outside, was busy meeting with Emerson and Terence in the King's Chamber, hoping to promote the "examination-based selection of officials" method.
"I still have some doubts. Can an exam truly judge a person's ability?" After a week of seclusion at home, Terence reappeared before Todd, looking somewhat thinner, but much more energetic than before. "Furthermore, regarding this selection of the 'Kingdom's Chief Legal Advisor,' Your Majesty voluntarily relinquished the power to set the exam questions, hoping that scholars would form teams to collaborate on completing them. This matter..."
Terence looked somewhat embarrassed: "I really doubt whether those scholars can match your knowledge and abilities..."
Todd glanced at the books on the table.
"The Sacred Law", "The Saxon Code", "The Beauvais Collection of Customary Law", "A Review of Taylor's Jurisprudence"...
There are no fewer than twenty legal books in total, and each one looks so thick that it could be used as a shield.
A tremor ran through him. Todd turned to Terence and declared with righteous indignation, "In my eyes, the law should belong to the people, not be a plaything of a privileged class. Only by gathering the wisdom and consciousness of the broadest range of scholars can the true meaning of the law be revealed!"
Terence's eyes lit up, and his gaze toward the king was filled with respect. He nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, your wisdom is unparalleled! Throughout history, no monarch has ever been willing or even dared to utter the words you just spoke!"
Emerson stroked his mustache, glanced at Terence, and slowly said, "Then, Your Majesty, how should the kingdom select the examiners? And how can we ensure that these scholars will not mix their own interests and opinions into the examination?"
While recalling the exams from his previous life, Todd analyzed, "First, in selecting the examiners, we must consider their ability, qualifications, and character to ensure the academic purity of the exams; second, once the examiners are selected, have them all move into the Knights' headquarters and not allow them to contact the outside world until the exams are over; finally, during the exam-setting process, I hope you two will act as supervisors, adjusting and revising the exam papers as needed."
"There are many variable factors regarding the methods and formats of exam question setting. For example, each scholar could be required to set their own questions, and then all the questions could be compiled together, from which questions could be randomly selected during the exam; another example is that two sets of exam papers could be prepared, A and B, to reduce the bias caused by human factors."
Terence listened and nodded: "Indeed, there are many ways to maximize the fairness and effectiveness of the exam."
"You can figure out the rest yourselves. I promise not to interfere with the written test, but I will still participate in the interview." Since it involved kingdom officials, Todd decided to proceed with caution.
Watching Emerson and Terence leave the room, Todd rang the bell on the table and said to the servant who came in, "Take all these law books off the table, and hurry up!"
Seeing the books being emptied, Todd, out of sight, out of mind, breathed a sigh of relief.
"Your Majesty, Lord Cumberland has arrived."
Todd asked curiously, "Didn't he take the lance regiment out for field training?"
After receiving the king's permission, the old knight entered the room, his strange expression leaving Todd somewhat puzzled.
"Your Majesty, you're not busy right now, are you? Hehehe."
Todd shook his head and said, "What? Is there another war in the east?"
Cumberland hurriedly replied, "The barbarian army that plundered the Silver Ring Kingdom has already turned north. Just last week, the church alliance, which came upon hearing the news, was envious of the wealth they carried and broke the peace agreement, starting a war again."
"The barbarians and the church are fighting again? That's good, that's good." Todd felt a little relieved, then turned to Cumberland and asked, "So you abandoned your training and ran back here because...?"
His usual booming voice had turned into a whisper today. Cumberland looked at the ceiling and said, "I've heard that Your Majesty, you can..."
Todd was getting impatient.
"Just say what you need to say, there's no need to beat around the bush!"
Cumberland straightened his face and made the sign of the cross: "I've heard that Your Majesty has a way to guide our souls to visit the Kingdom of Heaven and return safely. I'd like to ask if you could take me with you?"
Todd covered his face with his hands, looking exasperated, and said, "Where did you hear about this?"
“Old tortoise Emerson! He wrote to me about it! And he said he wanted to go too!”
Cumberland betrayed his old friend without hesitation.
“I must tell you beforehand, there are risks going there…” Looking at the resolute old knight, Todd completely abandoned the idea of persuading him: “But I bet you don’t care at all. Never mind, find a chair and sit down…”
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The last rays of the setting sun shone on the carpet between the kings.
Todd leaned against the windowsill, looking at the crowds outside, listening to the chimes beside him, and sighed deeply.
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