Miracle Card Shop: All My Cards Can Be Actualize

701  Teaching young Arthur

Daniel smiled faintly. "Maybe… maybe not. What do you think?" he teased.

Seeing his playful smile, Morgan snorted. "Hmph! I think you're just trying to trick me into being interested in you," she pouted before flashing a knowing smile. "A clever little ploy to court me, am I right?"

"Did it work?" Daniel asked, his mischievous grin widening.

"Hmph!" Morgan didn't answer directly. Instead, she snorted again, stood up, and began walking back to the tower. After a moment, she paused and turned back, flashing her tongue at him playfully as she did so before quickly running to the tower.

Daniel let out a small chuckle. He had to admit that Envy, during this era, still retained the refreshing charm of youth. Yet, she clearly had always carried that mischief within her. Her antics just now, coupled with her cheeky smile, were a perfect reminder of it.

"She never changes, huh?" Daniel muttered to himself.

[Correction: Sir, since this is the past, it would be more accurate to say that Lady Envy has always been like this. It's part of her nature,] came the voice of Nexus Prime, the independent AI program embedded in his wrist console. The remark caused Daniel's smile to fade, replaced by a mild scowl of annoyance.

"Choosing to annoy me instead of keeping that to yourself… You're becoming more and more human-like, aren't you, Prime?" Daniel said sarcastically.

[No, sir. The statement I made was purely a factual correction. It was intended to remind you that we are in the past, sir. There was no intention to annoy you behind it,] Nexus Prime replied matter-of-factly.

"Thanks, I guess," Daniel muttered, forcing a stiff smile. It was clear he didn't believe the AI's claim at all.

[You're welcome, sir,] the AI responded in its usual formal tone.

—

Within the tower, Morgan le Fay returned to her room. She sat before her dressing table, gazing into the clear mirror that reflected her features. Her face was flushed red. It was the first time in her life that a man's teasing had made her heart stir like this.

The fluttering feeling and the warmth surging within her heart… This was the first time she had felt such emotions since surviving the sack of Rome.

She had thought that after losing her entire family and being reborn with new power and the ability to wield magic, she had left behind everything that used to define her as the noble girl she once was.

The daughter of a noble family who enjoyed a carefree life... until it all came crashing down when the Visigoths sacked Rome.

It wasn't as if this was the first time in her long life that she had been teased or courted by a man. But she hadn't felt anything like this... this... feeling until now.

"Merlin… hm?" Morgan muttered under her breath. One of the main reasons she had fled the scene earlier was because she didn't want to show Merlin her blushing face. It was… embarrassing for her.

The powerful witch unknowingly smiled sweetly in front of the mirror, as if she had gone back to a time before she became a witch—just a girl dreaming of love and longing for a strong suitor protection.

But a moment later, when she noticed her smile reflected in the mirror, she harrumphed and pouted before lying on the bed, trying to force herself to sleep. After rolling and tossing for a while, the witch finally calmed down and drifted off into slumber.

She didn't know why, but in her dream, she found herself walking out of a kitchen, carrying various dishes. She served Merlin and a young girl who appeared to be their daughter. Her face in the dream lit up with a bright smile. They sat together, enjoying the meal while discussing and bantering about life's simple, everyday matters.

As the sweet dream goes, a smile unknowingly adorns her face in her sleep.

— A Week Later —

Morgan still didn't seem eager to return to Ealdorman Keep; she enjoyed the books in the tower library. Meanwhile, Arthur was studying under Daniel's guidance. Naturally, all that Daniel taught was knowledge from the future—primarily basic concepts that modern-day people would know.

For example, Daniel introduced Arthur to topics like basic economics, bartering systems, banking, and even some forms of social security—not too crazy like modern-day social security, which is impossible to implement in the ancient era like the Dark Ages due to technology and resource limitations.

He implemented these teachings by explaining the concept of compensation for various roles, such as knights and soldiers. Daniel stressed that these positions should be compensated to match the risks involved in their duties.

However, from the tests Daniel conducted before teaching Arthur, he immediately realized that Envy must have pulled a fast one on him. Arthur's results didn't reflect the aptitude he had supposedly demonstrated during the tests.

Envy must have helped Arthur pass those tests. But since it was Envy who orchestrated this, Daniel chose to ignore her little trick.

"Teacher Merlin, from what I know, the best way to enrich a nation is through war and plunder," young Arthur said, using the Roman Empire as an example. "Looking at history, Rome's territory was vast and rich because they relied on war to enrich their country."

"You're half correct, My King," Daniel replied. "It's true that war and plundering can temporarily enrich a country, but that's only in the short term. Where would you find soldiers to fight for you without a strong economy and resources to sustain your army? Moreover, as great as Rome was, without a solid foundation, continuously expanding their territory was like building a tower on muddy soil... it couldn't last."

Daniel paused and turned to Arthur with a question. "My King, do you know why the Roman Empire fell?" @@novelbin@@

"Isn't it because of invaders?" young Arthur responded, his tone uncertain.

Daniel smiled warmly. "That's only one of the factors, My King. The fall of the Roman Empire involved many factors, but the ones that played the biggest role started from within."

Daniel paused again and began drawing a graph to help explain his point to young Arthur.

"Listen well, my king. When the fall of a kingdom or empire comes, more often than not, the major factors come from within, not from external threats. The fall of Rome is no exception."

"The primary causes of Rome's downfall can be boiled down to two key factors: economic instability and overexpansion." Daniel raised two fingers to signify the two points, trying to help young Arthur, who still looked confused.

"Imagine this: how much food do you think it takes to feed just one soldier?" Daniel drew a small pile of grain on the paper in front of him. "Now... multiply that by ten thousand if you have ten thousand soldiers. In fact, I believe even the paper here isn't enough to demonstrate the scale properly. But where does all that food come from?" Daniel paused, waiting for Arthur to answer.

"It's from the levy of farmers and villagers," the young king responded.

"Correct. That food becomes goods. And when it comes to goods, we also have to consider transportation. How do we move the goods from the villages to the keeps where the soldiers are stationed?" Daniel asked, continuing his lesson.

"By land... Oh, I mean... by cart! Yes!" the young king answered, his confidence growing.

"Exactly! By foot, by cart, and by caravan. These are all logistical challenges we face when feeding a large army and supporting the people within our domain. Now, consider this: how large was the Roman Empire? Do you see how difficult it must have been to maintain such a vast empire? How much food do you think they needed to sustain their territories? And how many people do you think were required to make it all work?" Daniel pressed further.

With this question, young Arthur froze, the realization dawning on him. To maintain such a large territory... even the thought made his head spin, let alone calculating the resources and solving the countless problems it would require.

"I... I see..." Arthur let out a wry smile. He was beginning to regret his decision to come here and participate in this trial.

Just listening to Merlin's teachings was enough to make his headache. He didn't even want to imagine what would come after he became king.

"As I said, the primary factors that lead to the fall of any kingdom or empire often come from within. Without food, you cannot sustain your military strength. Soldiers won't fight on empty stomachs, and that, in turn, weakens the military and compromises your country's defenses.

And without an efficient logistical system... something that becomes harder and harder to maintain as an empire expands—it becomes impossible to supply the army properly. This food shortage further weakens the military, opening the door to even more problems. Eventually, your weakened empire becomes vulnerable to invasion because your military can no longer protect it," Daniel explained.

Young Arthur nodded repeatedly, but his expression showed clear confusion, as though his brain was on the verge of overheating.