Summer had already arrived, and the sun hung high in the sky, scorching the land below.
Yet even in such sweltering heat, the entrance to City Hall was still packed with people.
Back when he promoted universal education, Aven had made a promise: anyone who passed the civil official selection examination would be able to become an official of Pokémon Domain.
It was precisely the implementation of this system that caused the atmosphere of learning within the territory to surge. Large numbers of commoners, in hopes of becoming officials of Pokémon Domain, threw themselves into study.
There were also many commoners who sent their young children to schools to receive an education, allowing them to begin learning from an early age so that they could participate in the civil official selection examination when they grew up.
In the past, learning to read and write had held no real meaning for these commoners, but now it had become an opportunity to change their fate.
Recently, Eva had been studying at City Hall.
At this moment, as she looked at the commoners registering in front of City Hall, she pondered the words Aven had spoken: providing universal education for all commoners and recruiting commoners into City Hall.
This was a path completely different from the existing system. Not only were commoners able to become Trainers, but even the officials governing the territory could now be chosen from among commoners—something that completely overturned the noble system.
Yet it was undeniable that whenever any department now needed to recruit manpower, they could always find large numbers of suitable candidates, truly drawing in a wealth of talent.
At present, City Hall was composed of a large number of officials. Each official had to oversee many matters, yet City Hall chose to distribute tasks down to individuals one by one.
Under such circumstances, efficiency instead increased greatly. After all, each official's energy was limited, and assigning matters in such detailed fashion made errors unlikely.
At the same time, only those who passed the examination were allowed to enter City Hall.
In this way, for the sake of having a chance to work in City Hall, for the sake of obtaining a well-paid position, people were driven to study.
The benefits of doing so were obvious. The emergence of large numbers of talented individuals could make the territory even more prosperous, and departments would no longer have to worry about a lack of manpower.
Furthermore, the implementation of this system itself held tremendous appeal for commoners in other territories as well. In order to obtain a better life, more and more commoners would inevitably flock to Pokémon Domain.
It could be said that the execution of this system would allow Lord Aven to gain unimaginable prestige among the commoners, firmly placing him on their side.
In order to change their own fate, these commoners would surely unite around Lord Aven. Compared to the former lords, they did not need to think much at all.
Coupled with the Trainer system that Lord Aven had previously implemented, allowing ordinary commoners to possess a certain degree of strength, and with those commoner Trainers who now had power continuing to support Lord Aven—
When she thought of this, Eva could not help but inhale sharply. She could already see the terrifying power this entire system could unleash.
Once the power of the commoners grew to a certain extent, they could utterly crush the nobles like rotten wood. Even the powerful knights would be unable to stop the advance of these Trainers.
What was more, once those knights themselves became part of the Trainers, the situation would only become more dire. Whether it was Trainer knowledge or the resources of the Pokémon Breeding Houses, these were things knights simply could not refuse.
"This is the inevitable choice of the times. The noble system will become a thing of the past, and the commoners will take charge." Aven's words involuntarily surfaced in her mind.
"Perhaps… it's time to make a choice." Eva closed her eyes. She was a smart person; once everything had been thought through, the choice no longer seemed so difficult.
She then turned her gaze to the space beside her. Uxie's figure was quietly floating there, and she could sense that the aura of wisdom emanating from Uxie was growing ever stronger.
"Eva, go ahead and do it. This is also my choice!"
Inside City Hall, Aven had personally come to preside over matters.
This was the first civil official selection examination in Pokémon Domain—and indeed in this world—carrying an entirely different significance.
"Your Highness, the commoners have begun registering one after another."
"This is the list of commoners who registered on the first day. Please review it, Lord Aven."
Fessen entered carrying a list. After having gone through the official Trainer examination process, he was already very familiar with this entire procedure.
"Mm, thank you for your hard work," Aven nodded as he took the list.
Because the number of applicants for this civil official selection examination was truly enormous—not only commoners from Pokémon Domain, but also many from other territories had poured in—
Pokémon Domain therefore set certain requirements for the examination. Only those who met the criteria could register, with the most important requirement being that applicants had to write down their own areas of expertise.
If any commoner possessed a particular skill, they would receive certain preferential treatment during the examination. Some specialized departments, such as the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Construction, would give priority to farmers and craftsmen.
After briefly scanning the list, Aven instructed Fessen to separate the applicants by the departments they had applied for and hand them over to the corresponding department heads. He was becoming increasingly accustomed to delegating authority.
Now that City Hall in Pokémon Domain had fully entered a stable operating phase, he could also appropriately let go and delegate some powers. Only by doing so could City Hall maintain efficient and healthy operations.
"Your Highness, Lady Eva has arrived," the secretary's voice suddenly sounded from the doorway.
Without making Eva wait long, Aven directly had her brought into the study. "Lady Eva, may I ask what brings you here in such a hurry?"
"Lord Aven, the choice you asked me to make earlier—I've already made my decision," Eva took a deep breath. "I hope to join the Pokémon League!"
Her voice was filled with determination. Clearly, she had already thought everything through. After personally witnessing all of this, she no longer had the slightest hesitation about her choice.
"In that case… welcome, Lady Eva and Wisdomhall City, to the Pokémon League!" Aven took a deep breath, stood up, and shook Eva's hand.
With this, in addition to Aspiration City and Marina City, Wisdomhall City would also become a new city for spreading the Pokémon League system. Moreover, with Lady Eva herself involved, resistance would surely be much less.
As the two shook hands, all barriers between them were completely removed. Now, they could both be considered members of the Pokémon League, standing on the same side.
In the time that followed, Aven held nothing back with Eva, bringing out the Pokémon League system he had already formulated earlier, and the two began to discuss it together.
(End of Chapter)