Miracle Card Shop: All My Cards Can Be Actualize

Chapter 701 Teaching young Arthur

701 Teaching young Arthur

Daniel smiled faintly. "Maybe... maybe not. What do you think?" he teased.

Seeing his playful smile, Morgan snorted. "Hmph! I think you're just trying to trick me into being interested in you," she pouted before flashing a knowing smile. "A clever little ploy to court me, am I right?"

"Did it work?" Daniel asked, his mischievous grin widening.

"Hmph!" Morgan didn't answer directly. Instead, she snorted again, stood up, and began walking back to the tower. After a moment, she paused and turned back, flashing her tongue at him playfully as she did so before quickly running to the tower.

Daniel let out a small chuckle. He had to admit that Envy, during this era, still retained the refreshing charm of youth. Yet, she clearly had always carried that mischief within her. Her antics just now, coupled with her cheeky smile, were a perfect reminder of it.

"She never changes, huh?" Daniel muttered to himself.

[Correction: Sir, since this is the past, it would be more accurate to say that Lady Envy has always been like this. It's part of her nature,] came the voice of Nexus Prime, the independent AI program embedded in his wrist console. The remark caused Daniel's smile to fade, replaced by a mild scowl of annoyance.

"Choosing to annoy me instead of keeping that to yourself... You're becoming more and more human-like, aren't you, Prime?" Daniel said sarcastically.

[No, sir. The statement I made was purely a factual correction. It was intended to remind you that we are in the past, sir. There was no intention to annoy you behind it,] Nexus Prime replied matter-of-factly.

"Thanks, I guess," Daniel muttered, forcing a stiff smile. It was clear he didn't believe the AI's claim at all.

[You're welcome, sir,] the AI responded in its usual formal tone.

—

Within the tower, Morgan le Fay returned to her room. She sat before her dressing table, gazing into the clear mirror that reflected her features. Her face was flushed red. It was the first time in her life that a man's teasing had made her heart stir like this.

The fluttering feeling and the warmth surging within her heart... This was the first time she had felt such emotions since surviving the sack of Rome.

She had thought that after losing her entire family and being reborn with new power and the ability to wield magic, she had left behind everything that used to define her as the noble girl she once was.

Daniel smiled warmly. "That's only one of the factors, My King. The fall of the Roman Empire involved many factors, but the ones that played the biggest role started from within."

Daniel paused again and began drawing a graph to help explain his point to young Arthur.

"Listen well, my king. When the fall of a kingdom or empire comes, more often than not, the major factors come from within, not from external threats. The fall of Rome is no exception."

"The primary causes of Rome's downfall can be boiled down to two key factors: economic instability and overexpansion." Daniel raised two fingers to signify the two points, trying to help young Arthur, who still looked confused.

"Imagine this: how much food do you think it takes to feed just one soldier?" Daniel drew a small pile of grain on the paper in front of him. "Now... multiply that by ten thousand if you have ten thousand soldiers. In fact, I believe even the paper here isn't enough to demonstrate the scale properly. But where does all that food come from?" Daniel paused, waiting for Arthur to answer.

"It's from the levy of farmers and villagers," the young king responded.

"Correct. That food becomes goods. And when it comes to goods, we also have to consider transportation. How do we move the goods from the villages to the keeps where the soldiers are stationed?" Daniel asked, continuing his lesson.

"By land... Oh, I mean... by cart! Yes!" the young king answered, his confidence growing.

"Exactly! By foot, by cart, and by caravan. These are all logistical challenges we face when feeding a large army and supporting the people within our domain. Now, consider this: how large was the Roman Empire? Do you see how difficult it must have been to maintain such a vast empire? How much food do you think they needed to sustain their territories? And how many people do you think were required to make it all work?" Daniel pressed further.

With this question, young Arthur froze, the realization dawning on him. To maintain such a large territory... even the thought made his head spin, let alone calculating the resources and solving the countless problems it would require.

"I... I see..." Arthur let out a wry smile. He was beginning to regret his decision to come here and participate in this trial.

Just listening to Merlin's teachings was enough to make his headache. He didn't even want to imagine what would come after he became king.

"As I said, the primary factors that lead to the fall of any kingdom or empire often come from within. Without food, you cannot sustain your military strength. Soldiers won't fight on empty stomachs, and that, in turn, weakens the military and compromises your country's defenses.

And without an efficient logistical system... something that becomes harder and harder to maintain as an empire expands—it becomes impossible to supply the army properly. This food shortage further weakens the military, opening the door to even more problems. Eventually, your weakened empire becomes vulnerable to invasion because your military can no longer protect it," Daniel explained.

Young Arthur nodded repeatedly, but his expression showed clear confusion, as though his brain was on the verge of overheating.