"So does this mean that regardless of era or place, humans can never escape tyranny?"
A prisoner asked.
Erin shook her head.
"Not so. In my view, as long as our leaders reach the standard of a 'Philosopher King,' tyranny can be avoided."
Elashia questioned from below the stage: "Then may I ask, what defines a 'Philosopher King'?"
Erin answered: "To govern with virtue is like the North Star, which remains in its place while all other stars position themselves around it.
Simply put, a 'Philosopher King' is a ruler who is both kind and understands 'philosophy.' A good leader should be like the moon, not the sun.
The moon's beauty lies primarily in how the stars complement it.
A 'Philosopher King' need not master military affairs, or even directly control politics. As long as they know how to recognize talent and place the right people in the right positions, they are a 'Philosopher King.'"
While the others contemplated Erin's words, another prison guard posed a question.
"Do you believe a 'Philosopher King' would allow your dream of [Complete Magic Disclosure] to be realized?"
His question instantly drew everyone's attention.
Because this was why Erin had been imprisoned.
A hundred years ago, Erin was a member of a great family, possessing both magical talent and exceptional diligence that allowed her to quickly develop a set of practical and easy-to-learn spells.
She believed magic existed for everyone.
So ten years ago, she broke the prohibition and, under the pretext of traveling, systematically disclosed all her developed spells to the common people.
The secret spells now circulating among commoners mostly originated from her.
And at the end of her journey was prison.
That's why people called her the "Teacher of All Teachers."
Erin pushed up the glasses on her nose.
"I believe she would."
"Magic shouldn't be the exclusive patent of nobility, but should belong to everyone."
Hearing Erin's answer, Elashia smiled with satisfaction.
Elashia spoke up:
"If that 'Philosopher King' were eager to train a group of magic users and hired you as a teacher, would you be willing to serve her?"
This question was somewhat strange and abrupt, but Erin's answer came without hesitation.
"Yes."
"Good!"
Elashia immediately used magic to communicate with the warden, ordering him to come down at once.
The warden, who had been standing by, arrived at the scene within half a minute.
"Your Majesty, what are your instructions?"
Your Majesty?
All eyes suddenly converged on Elashia.
Everyone, including Erin, was stunned.
The pink-haired girl before them was... the current Emperor of Elasia?
"Erin, a gentleman's word is as good as a bond."
Elashia smiled at her.
"Release her."
Elashia pointed at Erin with her thumb.
"As commanded!"
The well-prepared warden immediately removed Erin's magic-sealing collar.
The moment Erin's magic-sealing collar was removed, a surging wave of energy immediately burst outward in all directions with Erin at its center.
[System detects powerful energy fluctuation, automatically activating Appraisal skill]
Oh?
Elashia only now learned that the system would automatically appraise.
[Character: Erin]
[Mage Level: 35]
[Mana: 3000
[Energy: 60000]
[Occupation: Forbidden Magic Mage]
[Weapon: None]
[Affiliation: Elasia Empire]
My goodness.
Elashia knew Erin was powerful, but she truly had no idea Erin was THIS powerful.
Before the Undead Calamity, the limit for human mages was level 45.
And mages above level forty only existed in history books.
Humans had existed for tens of thousands of years, and mages above level thirty were already legendary figures.
A mage of this caliber was equivalent to at least ten thousand troops.
Mages of this level were called "Magic Saints" by the people of the Abyss Marsh continent.
The Elasia Empire had not produced a single Magic Saint since its founding.
In other words, Erin before them was practically one of the strongest mages in this world.
Well, this small country truly harbored exceptional talents.
Elashia was overjoyed.
In contrast, Erin was now dumbfounded.
The change was so drastic that she couldn't process it.
Huh?
Just like that, I'm released?
Who is this pink-haired girl?
Why did the warden call her "Your Majesty"?
Erin was confused.
But Elashia was also confused.
Because she saw the system options appearing before her eyes.
[Task One: Leave directly and say, "Find Candice if you need anything." Task Reward: "Salted Fish" (A sword with freezing effect)]
[Task Two: After leaving, take her directly to meet Candice and explain the situation. Task Reward: "Throw Hand" (Fist technique)]
[Task Three: Don't rush into official business, take Erin for a tour of the Royal Garden and have a conversation. Task Reward: "Basic Group Healing" (Skill)]
Wait, are the first two tasks even humanly acceptable?
She just got out of prison and hasn't even adjusted to the current changes. How could anyone just dump her with Candice?
In the game, Erin was a very cautious person. If "Elashia," who genuinely wanted to do good, simply released her without doing anything else, Erin might just leave Elasia altogether.
After all, Elasia was also the place that had imprisoned her for over a hundred years.
To make Erin stay, she had to appeal to the ideal Erin had cherished for hundreds of years—making all magic in this world public.
"I choose three."
[Understood]
Before Erin could react, Elashia pulled her toward the outside.
[Task completed, reward distributed]
Erin saw the bright smile on the young girl's face and wondered what exactly she was so happy about.
Erin had imagined countless times what it would be like when she was released.
The only common point in these imaginings was—she would no longer fear the power of the Elasia Empire.
Even if she couldn't win in a fight, she could certainly escape.
The reason was simple—before beginning her journey as a forbidden magic mage, Erin had developed a very peculiar spell that, once activated, could not be stopped unless voluntarily cancelled by the caster, continuing to function even if the spell was sealed.
The spell was called—[Second Soul].
A mage's foundation lies in the soul, with magical power and spell intensity all dependent on the strength of the soul.
And [Second Soul] was a terrifying forbidden spell that could train automatically.
When she was imprisoned a hundred years ago, her magical power was already nearly the pinnacle of the Elasia Empire.
Now, after a hundred years of cultivation, she had become unimaginably powerful.
She had even considered directly using force to threaten the current emperor to make all of Elasia's magic public.
After all, she knew that magic was the foundation of a country, and no emperor would willingly make even a fraction of the country's magic public.
Perhaps only that "Philosopher King" residing in the realm of ideals could understand her.
And this pink-haired girl pulling her along was telling her—"The Philosopher King you've been waiting for is me."
Although the pink-haired girl before her certainly didn't match the image of the "Philosopher King" she had anticipated, she was willing to believe her for now.
Erin had enough confidence in her own abilities.