Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Chapter 331: Chapter 20: The Police Station

This was an ordinary day in early September, and there hadn’t been any more violent animal attacks for over half a month. It seemed the wolf disaster was thoroughly over.

Life in Wolf Town was gradually returning to normal, but in some ways, it would never be able to return to its original course.@@novelbin@@

Winters had been in office for over a month, and he had gradually become familiar with and adapted to life in Wolf Town.

The days here were bland and quiet, and the people around him were all very friendly. Before he knew it, his “salted fish” attributes had stealthily awakened, and he began to entertain the idea: perhaps settling down in this quiet little town wasn’t a bad choice.

That afternoon, after leaving the carpenter’s house, Winters went straight back to the town hall.

Pushing the door open, Panveche was still hunched over his table, writing and calculating as always. Nodding in greeting, Winters walked into the office.

Gerard wasn’t in the town hall, and the only person in the room was the old mendicant monk Reed, who was comfortably dozing in a recliner by the window.

Winters, irritated, lightly kicked the recliner. It took a while for the old man to slowly open his eyes.

“Where are they?” Winters asked.

“Perhaps they snuck out to play?” Monk Reed replied indifferently.

“You’re not going to do something about it?”

“The master leads the way, personal cultivation is up to the individual. I’ve always been…” The old monk yawned and with a sing-song intonation recited a foreign saying, “[Celican] Jiang Taigong fishes, those who are willing will take the bait.”

Winters couldn’t understand what the old monk was saying in the latter half, but he knew that arguing with a charlatan was a complete waste of breath.

He stormed out of the town hall, and yelled toward the backyard, “All of you, get over here!”

Soon enough, Bell was the first to come over with his head hung low, followed by Anglu, and then Pierre, the son of Mayor Mitchell.

The three youngsters didn’t dare to meet Winters’ gaze, trying their best to avoid the lieutenant’s eyes, and Winters rounded them all up and brought them back to the town hall.

Monk Reed coughed softly and began to lecture with feigned seriousness, “[Celican] I am well-versed and well-travelled, deigning to come enlighten you. Yet you boys fail to appreciate it, little do you know that while you may play today, you will surely regret it later…”

“Who understands what you’re saying!” Winters couldn’t help but shout, “Don’t use a language others can’t understand to lecture!”

After getting to know him better, Winters had discovered that the old charlatan liked to mumble in Far Eastern language whenever he had drunk alcohol or when he wanted to tease someone.

“I accidentally slipped into my mother tongue, sorry, sorry.” There was no hint of an apology in Monk Reed’s expression, “But these youngsters neglecting their studies, Lieutenant Sir, you are also responsible.”

“What responsibility do I have?”

The old monk spoke eloquently, “For something like basic education, Mr Panveche is more than capable. Isn’t it a misuse of your great talent to have me doing this sort of thing?”

“I would be delighted to have Mr Panveche do it,” Winters said with a sneer, “How about you take over Mr Panveche’s clerical work and you two switch jobs?”

It was only after bringing the groom and the young Hunter to town that Winters realized how appalling the two boys’ level of education was.

They could identify individual letters, but when strung together, they didn’t recognize the words. Two boys, fifteen or sixteen years old, couldn’t even write their own names, and they had to use their fingers to add or subtract numbers within ten.

It wasn’t really their fault, because most people in Wolf Town were illiterate. The Dusacks were even more so, and Mayor Gerard Mitchell himself was also illiterate.

Winters, who hailed from the Republic, believed that possessing some writing and arithmetic ability would be very useful to Bell and Anglu. At the very least, they would be able to understand the simplest contracts and accounts in the future and not be cheated.

Therefore, Winters decided to hire a teacher for Bell and Anglu, to teach them the most basic words and arithmetic.

The most suitable for this job was, of course, Panveche. The middle-aged steward wrote a beautiful script and kept clear accounts. What was most admirable was that he was diligent, serious, and responsible.

But Panveche was already burdened with multiple roles, including steward, scribe, and accountant, and his work was very busy. Winters really couldn’t bear to add another burden to him.

The cultural level of the two clerics at the Wolf Town church was also sufficient, and it was said that some great nobles would employ priests as family tutors, and the rest would simply hire someone to read and write for them.

But Priests Anthony and Caman wouldn’t come to teach two poor lads to read and do arithmetic, even if Winters himself asked.

As for the other literate farmers and craftsmen in Wolf Town,they could barely read and write themselves, and teaching was probably beyond their ability.

After much consideration, Winters realized that only Monk Reed was left as an option.

Although the old mendicant monk was from the Far East, after his conversion and sanctification, he had also studied for several years at the Catholic seminary, so his educational level was beyond doubt.

And based on Winters’ own impressions: Reed did not have the inherent arrogance that other clerics did.

As “God’s shepherds,” even the most humble clerics are arrogant at heart, because they believe themselves closer to God and heaven than anyone else. The metaphor of “shepherd” itself is the greatest arrogance.

But Monk Reed, this old charlatan, did not have this problem. He could apply for a copyist job without a blush, and teaching poor boys to read probably wouldn’t hurt his dignity. It was likely just as the old man himself said, “I became a priest for the convenience of traveling.”

So after some negotiations, Winters agreed to pay an extra salary for a teacher, and Reed agreed to teach Bell and Anglu literacy and arithmetic.

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