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That’s why I suggested it, but the three seemed to have guessed it and didn’t touch on that topic.

“I see… How many households are making their children work now?”
“That would be 28 of them. To break them down, it would be mostly families belonging to the Agriculture Guild and families of the Trading Guild that run inns.”

Ector answered it right away. Frank gave me a wry smile as I was surprised at his love for his citizens.

“The other families aren’t exactly making them work, but they either have their children become apprentices to gain experience, or have them remain at home and study using the materials Illya made.”
“She made teaching materials?”

Bernard reacted to Ector’s words.

I mean, while elves were famed for having knowledge of the gods, they also had an impression of being isolated from the outside world, so it was natural to doubt their knowledge was enough to make teaching materials.

“Then I can relax.”

Or so I thought, but he accepted it right away.

How come? As I thought about that, Sofia bowed a few times apologetically behind him.

“Do you have a concrete draft?”
“I have the study syllabus ready. What is left is the approval of you three, providing an explanation to the citizens, securing a location, and managing the budget.”
“Budget? Are you planning to make an exclusive school building?”

I denied Frank’s question.

“No. I’m not sure if there would be so many students, so I’m thinking of choosing one room in the branch as the location. The funds are for the equipment necessary for class work like a blackboard to show written instructions to the students. If we had extra budget, I would’ve liked to use it to hire a specialist to provide guidance… However, I’m thinking of using the tuition fees from the students’ parents for school meals, if possible.”

Seeing the shocked expressions of the four, I thought I had finally done it after so long and gave a dry smile.

I said it in the heat of the moment, but in educational institutions that are equivalent to schools in this world, teachers do not explain the instructions on the blackboard in front of the students. It is more common to use a method where teachers explain when students have questions about the teaching materials or explain the incorrect answers in tests.

Additionally, there are no school meals. In educational institutions where affluent children attend, chefs prepare meals in the cafeteria and servers deliver them, while in schools that are a little lower in class, students are supposed to bring their own packed lunches.

“Hmm… Miss Illya. Could you explain about school meals?”

Bernard asked, full of interest.

I planned to explain from the start, but seeing the other three being even more curious than him, I decided to choose my words better.

“It is a system to collect monthly fees as compensation for teaching the students and use it on everyone’s share lunch. The advantage is that making the same dish in large quantities lowers the unit cost of it, while a nutritious diet will also support the students’ growth.”

Frank and Ector nodded in understanding.

Bernard on the other hand hung his head and trembled a little.

Lathovester Religion’s creed was that all life brought to life by the World Trees was equal. So I expected him to have no opposition, but…

“Wonderful!!”

His reaction was as expected, or perhaps beyond expected.

“Please, entrust the management of that school to the church!”
“T-That would be most welcome, but…”

Frank and Ector shrunk back from his excitement.

His suggestion was like a sudden windfall for me, so I stayed quiet and hoped he’d push his pay forth.

“We will use the subsidiary aid of the church for the equipment funds. And everyone will find their way if we use a room in the church!”

I was taken aback by his nature to run wild when he got heated, which appeared to remain unchanged. Then, I met eyes with Sofia who was similarly taken aback and we both broke into gentle smiles.

We weren’t making fun of him at all, but when he noticed our expressions he couldn’t help but avoid our gazes in embarrassment.

Then, Ector finally found a place to interject and opened his mouth.

“Pastor, your suggestion is the best I could ask for. However, are there no issues in using the subsidiary aid of the church for that?”

Bernard nodded with conviction.

“The use of the subsidiary aid is entrusted to the local discretion as long as it does not harm the maintenance of the church or the church’s teachings such as diffusion of the teachings. Let me see… If you could allot some learning time to teaching about the importance of life, even the cathedral would be satisfied.”

I’m not sure a pastor should be saying that last part. Look, even Sofia is smiling wryly.

“If you want it to be part of learning, I already considered adding a morality lesson, so that wouldn’t be a problem. However, we would need an equilibrium with the rest of the classes, so could you make a lesson plan? Later I will provide another lesson plan for you as a reference.”
“Of course!”

I said all that so believably, but I just wanted to build a school and didn’t really have a concrete plan. Creating a curriculum and learning program, huh…

Well, it’s not like we have higher education systems like high schools and universities here, so it should be fine to cut corners a bit.

Regardless, a concrete plan would tell us what they would do beforehand, and we could officially protest it if they started teaching things not included in the plan.

If it makes you feel like you’ve covered all your bases, it’s enough.

“Is there anything we can do?”
“It would be enough if you could take a stand that suggests the kingdom and the guild approve of it. Ideally… it would be great if you could guarantee jobs for those who finish the full curriculum, but… as we’re still in the trial stage, it would be an unknown territory both for the employers and the employees.”

If I could ask for more, I would wish for special course classes, but that would be jumping the gun.

The results are important, but reaching them needs following a proper process.

It would be best to prioritize raising the overall literary ability and test the possibilities alongside it.

“Then, let us decide on the concrete proposal and the day for the information session.”
“Thank you.”

Ector apparently considered raising the scholarly level in Luneville, but the conversation proceeded very smoothly after that.

Seeing how Bernard was completely on board from start to end, it would be impossible to realize that an evil god had settled in him without the Eyes of God.