Summoners War: Only I Summoned Divine Beasts - Chapter 732

Chapter 732: Education
“Still, if you have a suggestion, please don’t hesitate to say it.”

“I don’t know if my opinion will be correct or not. After all, I’m good only in a what-if situation.” Nathan shook his head helplessly.

“We are the ones who will determine whether your suggestion can be implemented or not. So, you don’t have to worry about that.” The king raised a finger. “Besides, I have heard a lot of your suggestions through my daughter. While some are not applicable as they are, after some modification, they can be implemented on a large scale.

“All your suggestions definitely have value, so you shouldn’t beat yourself.”

“I understand.” Nathan nodded. “Well, this might not be a suggestion, but… it might not hurt to focus on education.”

Nathan closed his eyes, recalling. ‘There are a lot of kingdom-building stories. They’re abolishing slavery and increasing the country’s education. This place doesn’t have slaves, so it’s not a problem. However, education is important. Even back on Earth, the government subsidizes basic education or even makes it free until high school or college.

‘While I don’t know if this is suitable for the current situation, I wonder what they think about it.’

To Nathan’s surprise, it felt like he was in one of those stories where the main character just said one random thing and his subordinates would praise him for his genius as one of his subordinates explained his brilliant thinking.

“This is…” The prime minister widened his eyes in shock. “I haven’t thought about that.”

The king squinted his eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“Our country adopts the combination of meritocracy and monarchy. Hence, this system can actually be adopted.

“What I’m talking about is regarding giving people free education.

“We have been too focused on strengthening the power of summoners. While they benefit a lot of summoners and strengthen the kingdom, we can’t abandon the normal people.

“For example, if the nation’s education level increases, it will change a lot of things. We don’t have to do something drastic.

“What if a random child on the street, instead of thinking, ‘The rain is pouring down, so I have to wait until it’s over before going out,’ actually thinks, ‘The rain is pouring down? Is there a tool that allows me to go out right now?’

“One person might not necessarily reach the answer, but if we implement it on a national scale, one person out of a million might reach this answer. The same can be applied to all kinds of questions.

“Like the wise people said, sometimes, quantity is better than quality. Having 1,000 brains thinking about one problem might give you more unique answers compared to 1 magnificent brain.

“That’s why if we give children basic education, it might help the Azilia Kingdom in the long run.”

Flora gasped before looking at Nathan, not expecting a suggestion at this level.

On the other hand, the king noticed one big problem. “Still, even if we give out free education, people might not attend it. After all, they’re worrying about what they should eat tomorrow, so they don’t have the time to learn at school… No, wait. Eat?”

The prime minister smiled. “That’s right. We are distributing food. So, people don’t really have to find food.

“As a result, they have time to learn at school. However, the target in my mind is actually the children.

“Their fathers will be going to work while their mothers take care of their houses. Meanwhile, the children can’t really do much, especially in this situation. Instead of wasting their time in the house, why not create a school for free? They can play in the school while learning a thing or two.

“This is actually a perfect time to implement this system. We won’t be able to reap the benefits right away, but if we plan in the long term, the people’s education in the Azilia Kingdom will be much higher than in other kingdoms in a few decades.

“If normal soldiers have been taught some basic math and other things, the logistics might become much easier. If they are taught how to read a simple map, they’ll be able to follow their instruction more accurately.

“That’s why I’m targeting the children.”

Julius gulped down. The logic was there, so he couldn’t help but ask, “What about the nobles?”

“The nobles can’t do much in this situation. Their movement has been severely restricted by the ash cloud, so there won’t be much opposition.

“However, there is indeed one problem. If we increase the people’s education level, they will be much more aware of the situation within the kingdom. In other words, they might start criticizing the government.

“Still, we’re targeting children. And the education won’t be significant enough to change anything for the next several years. I think we can discuss the policy and gradually perfect it,” the prime minister explained.

Julius fell silent, considering everything. On the other hand, the war minister muttered, “If they have more education, the competition will be much more intense. Instead of picking whoever is available, we can actually choose the best out of the best. It can actually elevate the performance of every department.”

“This will make the nobles feel insecure because the people can do their jobs better. At the same time, there are already people who are climbing through the ranks even in this castle, so it might actually be possible.

“Besides, with a lot of great minds, there will be a lot of new inventions. Basically, it will be similar to the Magic Tower, where thousands of people are thinking about new things. However, it won’t be limited to anything related to ena. The inventions will also be related to normal farming and other things.” Julius crossed his arms, contemplating.

After several minutes, he said, “Submit the idea. We will have to convince the children and their parents that it’s for their future to get as many people involved as possible.

“And arrange the number of teachers. There is no need for a high level of education yet. Even basic math or teaching them how to write and read is enough for now. We will discuss further education at a later date.”

“Understood.” The prime minister nodded.