Recently, two things had become the talk of Castel's islanders.
The first was the advanced class opened by the lord. Someone had seen Sister Chloe attending it as well.
It was quite a rare sight. People had only ever heard of others going to church to learn prayers; this was the first time a nun had gone elsewhere to study.
But what could a nun possibly study? How to clean the church better?
Some believers really did go ask Miss Chloe, only to be seized by an excited Chloe and lectured on mechanical principles for more than half a day.
"It was terrifying. Miss Chloe's eyes lit up, and she was unbelievably strong. I tried to sneak away twice, but she dragged me back both times!" the believer said, still shaken.
And so, the title of "studious nun" spread like wildfire. Everyone on the island knew there was a diligent young nun at the church. As a result, even more people began going there to pray, and they even discussed what they had learned in class inside the church.
The islanders had yet to notice that they—the fishermen, farmers, and craftsmen who made their living by hand—had also begun to enjoy discussing technical matters more and more.
Not many people had attended the advanced class, but the number of people who understood mechanical principles, physics, and chemistry was gradually increasing. Theus did not forbid the advanced-class students from passing on what they had learned. In fact, he even encouraged it, merely setting down a few rules.
Theus had indeed fulfilled his promise, sharing knowledge with the islanders almost for free. Yet no one cared much about such trivial matters anymore—the islanders no longer doubted Theus's promises. It had become everyone's common understanding that the lord would keep his word.
This