Chapter 460

The Kind of School They Want
Kiri's second request was the construction of a school.
This one, I must admit, was a bit troublesome.
What should I do about it?

"Um, to be honest, I can’t really say either way. Even the schools within the domain are only allowed to operate under special permission from His Majesty..."

"Ah, my apologies. I didn’t mean to raise your suspicions. The kind of school we want isn’t one that teaches advanced knowledge like... double-entry bookkeeping, was it? Like the ones in your country. We simply wish to teach basic knowledge like reading, writing, and arithmetic."

Hmm? Just that?
If it's only that, I feel like they could manage on their own.

"To our shame, we don't have the means to train teachers. We do try to offer reading, writing, and arithmetic lessons alongside our sermons, but the turnout is still poor. It seems the idea that such knowledge is necessary hasn't yet taken root among the people."

So it's a matter of changing how the commoners think. That’s a pretty big hurdle.
At my school, we hold classes for children on weekdays and provide lunch at the same time, so it’s perceived as "a place where you can get lunch and knowledge for a small fee."

Also, though not every week, there are days each month when we hold classes for adults on Darkday.
These don’t include lunch, but attendance is still high.
That’s probably because the content we teach includes the latest knowledge newly introduced by the Trade Guild.

In other words, my school attracts students with lunch and the newest information.
According to what Marquis Vardmoi told me, apart from the school I run, it’s mostly the children from relatively well-off families who attend school.
It seems the tuition varies by region, but the benefit of school lunches really made a big difference.

Now, back to the topic.
It sounds like Kiri wants to build a school to spread knowledge.
But that alone won’t bring in students.
Unless people understand the value of learning, it’s only natural they won’t be motivated to study.

So, what can be done?
Apparently, it's possible to keep the cost of running the school as low as possible.
By hiring teachers from outside and paying them properly, they can operate the school at a fairly affordable price.
But even if it’s cheap, people won’t come to learn unless they have a strong reason to.
In this world, even children are an important part of the workforce, and many are expected to take over the family trade, so they don’t see much need for knowledge beyond what’s needed for that.
Unless this mindset is changed, things won’t move forward.

"I see. Lady Lily, how did you resolve this issue?"

"Well, we do offer free lunches, but we also teach things like the latest agricultural techniques being developed in various regions, practical knowledge for different types of craftsmen, and efficient map reading."

"You teach about crafts as well?"

"Yes. We’ve partnered with various artisan guilds and they send instructors to us. For the guilds, it’s an opportunity to scout for new talent, send in rookie craftsmen to train together, and expand connections across different trades—it’s been very well received."

"I see, there are all sorts of ideas."

"Convincing them was hard, though."

It really was difficult to persuade them.
Smaller guilds with hardly any successors were one thing, but the bigger ones just wouldn’t agree easily.
In the end, thanks to Marquis Vardmoi speaking on our behalf, they agreed to observe for a while, and when the results were good, they allowed it to continue.
It’s only natural for established groups to be conservative.

"Hmm, I guess running a school isn’t that simple after all..."

"I do think setting up a school is important. But unless you can clearly show how people will study there and how they can use what they learn, they won’t come."

"I myself was raised in a school in an elven village, so I know the importance of education—but it’s not so easy, is it?"

"It’s hard to say. Services only thrive when there’s demand for them."

Running a school is tough.
Teaching everyday knowledge is incredibly important, but that doesn’t mean people will necessarily understand that.
I get how Kiri feels, but maybe she should build a firmer foundation first.

What do you think about this chapter?