"Sorry, I was distracted." Drawing his gaze back from the commotion across the river, Raphael apologized slightly to Leonardo in front of him.
Leonardo waved his hand: "It's human nature."
On either side of a round table with a hollowed center, Raphael and Leonardo sat in front of a smokeless coal stove.
On the stove was an iron kettle, from which bubbling fatty bubbles were erging, waiting for Raphael to throw in cold milk and sugar cubes to calm it down.
They were currently located on the north bank of the Parra River in winter, just opposite the Vegetable Market Street.
Unlike the noisy marketplace on the south bank, here lay a row of simple bookstores, potion shops, and shops selling paper and ink, bread and pastries, as well as cafés.
The walls, bonded by bricks and mortar, were painted in pale yellow or off-white plaster.
At the corners, you could still see protruding eaves topped with small angels or griffons, while the rooftops featured iron rooster signs indicating the wind direction.
Iron chains hung with wooden signs, clearly carved with a triple crown and the na "Pope's Cafe."
Whenever the cold wind blew the sign swinging back and forth, it seed as though inviting passersby in for a steaming cup of coffee.
Due to Horn and Moliat's widespread policy of alcohol prohibition, forbidding alcohol during breakfast, banning citizens from drinking on the streets, and levying heavy taxes on alcohol.
People generally needed a new beverage and leisure food to replace alcohol, and so blue pulp coffee found its way to the table.
In rural areas, alcohol was still the primary consumption item.
But in the strictly alcohol-prohibited urban areas, Pope's Cafe had proliferated in great numbers, especially along the north bank of Parra River.
Scholars were always seeking a more "decent" lifestyle different from that of the common vulgar populace, not to ntion being drunk was not conducive to scholarship.
Therefore, after the Close Guard Cultivators and Horn introduced blue pulp coffee, it quickly beca favored by the scholars.
The café thus beca a venue for university students and scholars to relax and gather.
During the dayti, you could see scholars and monks holding newspapers talking passionately.
By night or the weekend, crowds of university students would surge in to debate, write, or play cards.
At that ti, even though it was a café, the owner would still offer so low-alcohol beer and snacks.
But currently, it was dayti, and naturally, sitting at the round tables behind the blinds were dignitaries like Leonardo and René.
Sipping the blue pulp coffee, Raphael bitterly smiled: "These students and inventors are a bit too noisy; since last year, the Military Police and Night Watchers have been handling their public property damage."
"Hahaha, it's a loss we must endure." As a chanical engineer, Leonardo naturally sided with his own, "Otherwise, where would new machinery co from?"
"But, can't they experint in the outdoors?" Raphael couldn't help but sigh as he looked at all the destruction leftover from the university students on the street.
These days, he's seen quite enough of them, things like pedal-driven scooters, gliders, reaper war chariots, spiral drill earthmovers, flapping wing devices...
No matter what nonsensical whimsical ideas they were, they all erged.
Not to ntion whether they were useful or not, but a lot of people did die from crashing, falling, or blowing up.
Ever since those universities and research institutions were established, the north bank of Parra River had been bustling incessantly.
Especially after the "Freedom Charter," a large number of engineers, artisans, and scholars dissatisfied with the Empire began migrating to the Thousand River Valley.
And after the Battle of Black Snake Bay, the Black Snake Bay Federation dispatched a large number of combat mages to military academies and many research mages into Dragon Language Alchemy University.
Receiving a hefty compensation from Clove Corridor nobles and large cash investnts from Red Leaf Hill nobles for sugar workshops, Horn imdiately made lavish allocations to these research institutions.
Any university ntor, especially in chanics, natural sciences, and alchemy, could effortlessly apply for large sums of funding and resources.
Leonardo dared to say, Ry Court Barracks was the city in the whole Empire that respected scholars the most.
Horn further issued invention reward orders, listing necessary inventions and requirents, and setting a few milestones.
For example, usable, economically valuable, able to be mass-produced, and other criteria.
If one could invent such things, not only could they receive a considerable reward, but also a lifelong stipend.
The reward usually started at one hundred gold pounds, and depending on the scope of application and economic benefit, the annual lifelong stipend could reach 10 to 40 gold pounds.
Even if it only reached the usable level, they could still receive an encouragent bonus of dozens of gold pounds.
This led to a proliferation of grassroots inventors and innurable booklets of "Concise chanics" and "Concise Alchemy."
These then resulted in daily street appearances by these "monsters" made from iron plates, rivets, wood, chains, belts, and gears.
The residents were fed up, repeatedly filing complaints with the City Hall, which in turn pressured the Night Watchers and Military Police.
As the head of the Military Police, Raphael really didn't want to deal with this ss.
"Going to the outskirts every day is too troubleso, and besides, compared to the main city, isn't this place the outskirts?" Leonardo shrugged.
"But those things, they are not just unhelpful, they're really useless." Raphael couldn't help but complain, "Last ti, there was that so-called running exercise belt treadmill for military police, but its spring warehouse had no brakes, and there was a locked rail outside.
A subordinate of mine ran once and didn't co to work for three days."
Leonardo laughed sheepishly: "Didn't you keep that quick haircut machine? So it's sowhat useful."
"No, that was taken by Cheka to use as a torture device."
"But it was still considered useful." Leonardo's tongue got tied, so he hurriedly redied, "And there's the horse-driven planting machine, the double-roller sugarcane press, oh oh oh and the threshing machine."
"Forget it, let's not talk about it, as long as there is no trouble on the south bank." Raphael picked up a pen, "Let's get back to the main topic; think carefully, are there any new clues, such as eye color or so?"
"As dark as it was, if I could see clearly, would I need your reminder?" Leonardo shook his head with a bitter smile, "Anyway, it was a short guy who jumped out the window as soon as he saw .
Damn it, the place I live is more than ten ters above the ground."
"Was stealing the blueprints targeted? Which blueprints did they take?" Raphael continued making a note.
Leonardo seed a bit helpless: "I've said these things more than once in the Night Watch Hall; can't you check their notes?"
"I was thinking, hoping you might recall so new details." Raphael dipped his quill in ink, "Part of the hand-cranked calculator blueprints and so perpetual motion machine draft papers... The Demon Hunters are getting bolder."
"Those aren't drafts, I haven't given up yet." Leonardo imdiately clarified, "Perhaps they are after my perpetual motion machine."
"Oh really?" Raphael recited expressionlessly, "That's so terrifying."
"The main concern is that hand-cranked calculator, which is used for complex astrological calculations and mathematics; what use could they have for it?"
"Unknown, considering Haimodin was also hit with theft and attacks at the sa ti, they are probably targeting the Spring Cannon."
"I'm no longer responsible for the Spring Cannon project; can I leave now?" Leonardo impatiently rubbed his hands.
Furrowing his brow, Raphael flipped back and forth through his notes, thought for a mont, and then stood up: "You may leave; thank you for your cooperation."
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