章 32: Chapter 32: Reasoning
Summoning Tadhla was a spur-of-the-moment decision.
Rama indeed had a task for her, but her unexpected question made him realize something was amiss with Tadhla.
Falcons rarely asked why.
The tribe trained them to understand their tasks without questioning the reasons behind them.
Although Rama didn't demand such behavior from Tadhla, this was the education she received before being assigned to monitor him.
When she asked a question that didn't align with her role, it indicated a problem with Tadhla.
Who could silently replace Tadhla and speak in her place?
Only Nahida, the Dendro Archon, remained as a possibility.
Rama smiled subtly.
There were many ways to contact Nahida, but none were reliable.
Although her physical body was confined within the Sanctuary of Surasthana, her consciousness could reach almost all of Sumeru.
Rama could visit Aaru Village and interact with the mad scholars, or he might randomly encounter a child in the rainforest who happens to be under Nahida's influence.
But these probabilities were too low.
The best option was still Dunyarzad. Her circumstances were indeed peculiar. Theoretically, the gods love all their followers equally, but they are emotional beings.
With emotions comes favoritism.
In all fairness, what Dunyarzad did truly deserved a bit of Nahida's favor.
After all, she was the only follower in current-day Sumeru who raised the banner of the Lesser Lord Kusanali.
Efforts don't always yield rewards, but without effort, there's no right to expect them. Dunyarzad's dedication, coupled with her affliction with Eleazar, naturally earned her more of Nahida's favor.
And this unexpected joy had led to a new outcome.
The world is full of surprises. A plan may seem viable, but an unexpected event can force modifications.
"I answered your question, so you should answer mine now," Nahida said seriously. "What is your goal, Rama?"
Rama thought for a moment.
Saying it's to gain experience would sound absurd, so he chose a simpler answer.
"To resist injustice, for justice, that's why I came."
His answer was neither impassioned nor a joke, but a simple statement.
"Resist injustice, justice... So, you stand with the desert people," Nahida mused. "That's reasonable."
She couldn't favor the rainforest.
Sumeru has long encompassed both the rainforest and the desert, both theoretically her territories without any bias.
Moreover, the actions of the Six Sages hardly warranted any favor from her.
Without personal bias, she would treat the matter fairly and objectively.
Yes, it should be resisted.
"The Akademiya controls the flow of knowledge, forbidding scholars from teaching in the desert, treating Aaru Village as a prison for exiling scholars who violate the laws."
The term "exile" alone reveals what status Aaru Village holds in the sages' eyes.
"Moreover, while they recruit scholars from the desert, they restrict their learning resources, denying them the same treatment as rainforest scholars."
"These actions might seem reasonable to the sages, but to you, they are blatant oppression."
Rama was speechless.
You see, everyone understands reasoning.
"I also know that oppressing the desert people makes sense for the rainforest," Rama laughed. "A scholar once described it this way:
'We're also in a pit of fire. If we find more people to cushion us, we won't get burned.'
'There's only one way to live comfortably in this world, and that's to let others bear the suffering.'"
Nahida stared at Rama.
"I've heard that free healthcare is now widespread in the rainforest. Meanwhile, my other friend still dedicates herself to sending homeless desert orphans to the rainforest for education."
Rama laughed. "Because the desert has no educational environment, knowledge is passed down orally. Children must learn to wield weapons before they learn to read and write."
"Weapons can protect them and their loved ones, but knowledge cannot provide the same protection."
His expression was casual, as if chatting with a friend, without any sharpness or harshness.
"But from my experience in the desert, if there's a day when I can eat my fill, it's because the tribe's warriors have brought back enough prey."
"Effort and reward: though the one who puts in the effort may not necessarily reap the reward, someone has to put in the effort for others to gain."
"So, is Sumeru's high standard of welfare because their productivity is so high, or because they've shifted the costs and burdens onto others?"
High welfare comes with high costs. A simple truth: a general only pays soldiers the basic wages daily, offering rewards only when their lives are at risk.
High standards of welfare cannot be sustained long-term; such expenditure burdens the governing bodies. Occasionally providing it or giving it to a select few is manageable.
But making healthcare free in the Akademiya is a high standard of welfare.
Frankly, unless these people rarely fall ill, it doesn't make sense.
Meanwhile, the desert lacks even the seeds of an education system. Dehya's greatest hope and effort in life is to send desert children to the rainforest for education.
She isn't someone who despises the desert, but she knows the desert lacks the environment for such pursuits.
So, she'd rather invest all her earnings to ensure children leave their homeland to study.
She understands that these children have no future in the desert.
Compared to the desert, the high welfare in the Akademiya is problematic.
Either the Akademiya can endlessly print money, producing enough to support such high standards, indicating extremely high productivity that makes such expenditures trivial.
Or someone else is bearing the costs.
Like in the age of maritime colonialism, where a nation's development depended on exploiting its colonies.
The pit of fire is indeed hard to endure.
In any country, the lower classes always live relatively hard lives.
But if they find someone beneath them to bear the burden, their lives will improve significantly.
For rainforest people, who else but the desert people would bear this burden?
"Effort and reward: though the one who puts in the effort may not necessarily reap the reward, someone has to put in the effort for others to gain."
Nahida was silent for a moment. "What you say makes sense."
(End of Chapter)
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット