TravelingDreamer
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Chapter 80 – To Educate a Future King
🕑 Added 2024-05-28 08:14:07 +0000 UTCAuthors Note
Ignoring the Declaration, this is a tiny chapter because I wanted to focus on 1 thing.
you will get another one with "real meat" later. 🙃
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Lis needed Mahya's help with a project he was working on, so I went to the cloth wholesaler without her. She gave me ten thousand euros and told me to buy her stock, preferably in bright colors.
Alfonsen decided to join me. Apparently, he wasn't interested in going over blueprints.
On the way, I asked him, "You said you wanted to fill in the missing classes. Do you know which ones you want?"
"No."
"If you don’t mind me asking, what classes do you have?"
"I am a Monarch [in training] and a Heavy Warrior, and I hold the Profession of an Alchemist."
"Heavy Warrior? How did you even get that?"
"I cleared dungeons and mana occurrences."
"Alchemist sounds interesting."
"I find it unpleasant; I was compelled to dig in the mud to gather plants. I lament that I pursued this profession.”
"Then why did you take it?"
"It awards 4 points to vitality; I aspire to extend my life."
"So, you'll probably have to level it up to benefit."
"Yes."
He didn’t look happy.
"And what do you have to do for the Monarch class [in training]?"
"I should be regal."
"Doesn't sound right to me. From what I learned from Lis, to advance a class you have to study and then do. Just being something doesn't get you anywhere."
"I am uncertain as to which subject to pursue."
"Let me think about it; I'll find you something."
After buying a large stock of fabrics for Mahya and me, I went back to the hotel and went through the books I had in search of something suitable to give to Alfonsen.
I found a small booklet detailing the Human Rights and decided that was a good starting point.
"Alfonsen, study this booklet, and we'll discuss it."
He looked at it disdainfully and said, "I do not comprehend how this might be of assistance."
"Read it, and you tell me."
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Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
Article 8
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
Article 9
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Article 10
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
Article 11
Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.
Article 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
Article 13
Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
Article 14
Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 15
Everyone has the right to a nationality.
No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
Article 16
Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
Article 17
Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Article 20
Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
Article 21
Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
Article 22
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
Article 23
Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
Article 24
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
Article 25
Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
Article 26
Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
Article 27
Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.
Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
Article 29
Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 30
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.
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At the hotel, Lis and Mahya were still busy with their blueprints.
I told them, "We need to rent a warehouse or something. I bought a large stock of fabrics and need to tell the factory where to deliver them. I don't think the hotel will be happy to receive deliveries by the truckloads."
"We're not leaving Beijing?" Lis asked.
"Yes, soon, once we're done with all the wholesalers. There's a huge selection here, and Mahya and I have a lot of money we need to convert into merchandise."
"I should also join you when you buy tools, especially small ones; I'm sure I'll find many things here to help with my class."
"Then I'll start looking for a warehouse."
I found a warehouse to rent for a short period, and the four of us went between wholesalers and bought stock. Lis was not interested in purchasing goods to sell because, as he said, "I have more money than I know what to do with; I'm interested in useful things."
Alfonsen seemed constantly lost in thought, and after three days, he came to talk to me.
"I disagree with the document you gave me to consider."
"What do you disagree with?"
"The first section, for example, ‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.’ I am a prince; I have more dignity and more rights. It is unseemly to compare me to a commoner."
"The fact that you are a prince is just a chance of birth. You could just as well have been born as the son of a baker or a shoemaker. So, think and tell me what gives you more dignity and rights regardless of the circumstances of your birth. What traits in your character or what have you done that gives you more dignity and rights?"
He didn’t look happy but nodded.
The next day, he told me in a small voice, “Nothing.”
It took me a minute to remember what I asked him and understand that he answered my question.
“So reread the declaration with this viewpoint and see if it makes more sense.”
“I will, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
I must admit I was surprised; it was the first time he thanked any of us.
He came to me later that evening and said, “I do not comprehend Article 15.”
"In the kingdom you come from, is there anything that indicates that a person is a resident of your kingdom and not of another kingdom?"
"No. Some individuals reside in our domain. They can relocate to another kingdom if they so desire."
“So this specific article doesn’t apply to your kingdom. It applies only if a specific document states that somebody is the resident of one place and not another.”
“I also disagree with article 21. We do not hold elections to choose the monarch – we are the ruling family and have been so since the kingdom was established.”
“Yes, monarchy and democracy work differently. But is your family the only deciding ruling body, or do they have some council or a body of representatives that can voice the concerns of the people?”
“We have the advisory council that is comprised of all the guild leaders.”
“Are those guild leaders chosen or appointed by your family?”
“The guilds chose their leaders.”
“So, in your case, those are the ‘freely chosen representatives’.”
“What about article 22? I do not understand it at all.”
“In your kingdom, do you have a method or somebody responsible for taking care of the people that can’t take care of themselves for various reasons, like orphans, cripples, elderly, and the like?”
“I do not know.”
“So, you should find out and ensure you have such a person or governmental position.”
He nodded and started reading again. After a few minutes, I felt something shift in the mana; Alfonsen straightened up, took a deep breath, and his eyes began to glow brighter. He had the biggest smile I had ever seen on his face. Actually, I never saw him smile.
"What happened?" I asked him.
"My mana increased by 600 units."
"What is your center of power?"
"Mind and Spirit. Our family possesses a double-mana heritage."
I looked up and asked in my head, "How is it that he reads a small book and gets 600 mana, and I've already studied dozens of books and got nothing? How is it fair?"
I didn’t get an answer.
Comments
TravelingDreamer
Not really - they are inherently different. Alchemy is highly dependent on magic, which throws the scientific method out of the window, and stomps on it so it wouldn't raise its head again.
JJB4345_80_815
Since Alfonsen is an Alchemist, would workshops on Chemistry be beneficial for him? Would info on the scientific method help?
Carl Mason
There are some rather blatant biases in that video that definitely need checking before producing videos of that type, but it does show some real problems with the conception of human rights. Which as a whole, listed in this chapter, are flawed and incomplete while also presuming more rights than are guarantable.
cm123
I understand this is a fiction and not an in depth study of history and politics, but if I have to nitpick, I find the "oh gee, why didn't I think about it" attitude of Alfonsen (after a token protestation) a bit difficult to believe. Granted, Alfonsen is not supposed to be bright and is already annoying enough without giving him a "debate bro" disposition :D However, the notion of human rights depend on a lot of presuppositions that make sense in our society, but might seem nonsensical to an external observer. Not to mention that human rights can be challenged on their own logic, or on their consistency (and contradictions) with reality, something an outsider would also be well placed to notice. Here's an example of such criticism I find interesting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhRBsJYWR8Q . But as I said, just a nitpick, the "arrogant young master getting face-slapped" moment doesn't always have to be believable :)
TravelingDreamer
He progressed from reading and understanding them. On RR, I have an option to it in a spoiler. Unfortunately, Patreon has a limited interface. The progress of the plot is that Alfonses will become "normal" at some point—it turns out he can learn.
Athena Alexandria
While I appreciate the refresher on human rights, I don’t know if it’s necessary to list them all. They take up a lot of space and don’t progress the plot or character. Maybe only mention the ones brought up by Alfonsen?
TravelingDreamer
You're on to me, that's actually on the list with some other stuff. He needs to get his head out of his ass.
TravelingDreamer
I plan to, Patreon platform is limited in its abilities.
Obran
The universal declaration of human rights? Next you’ll have him reading Rawls.
Lu
Whoah, the prince is making progress. I recommend putting the articles in a spoiler when you post this on RR. Or, have the relevant articles copied again when he complains, because I had to scroll up and down a bunch.
