Chapter 128: The Scarecrow and The Country of The Sky (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 128: The Scarecrow and The Country of The Sky (2)
After pouring out his story, the old scholar quietly caught his breath.
His expression held a hint of relief, overshadowed by a greater sense of lament.
Sophia asked him.
“What do you research in this city? Is it just calculating and verifying the formulas and theories Elphaba demands?”
“Half right, half wrong, I'd say. Back when this old man was still in his prime, we'd solve Elphaba's requests and spend our free time on other research.”
His eyes grew distant, as if longing for the past.
“Trying to turn useless mold into medicine, attempting to make clothes from spiderwebs, or studying the sex lives of flies to curb their reproduction. Most of it was fanciful and rather useless, I suppose. But it was fun.”
“However,” the old scholar added with a sigh.
“That kind of research requires time and money. Nowadays, Laputa is too busy researching the ‘immediately useful’ technology demanded by the surface. We don't have the luxury for research that's interesting but lacks tangible results. What can we do when they threaten to drop the island if we don't listen?”
In response to the scholar's lament, Sophia asked again.
“Did you say it was Elphaba who gave the surface dwellers the weapon to drop the island?”
“That's right. It was a tower capable of firing a giant magic spear into the sky.”
“Has that weapon ever actually been used on this sky island?”
“No. They must have missed on purpose, as a threat. But its power was enough to cause immense damage to this island.”
“And you're saying every single city on the surface has a weapon like that?”
“That's right.”
“Then you can ignore the surface's demands. They can't fire it anyway, and even if they did, it wouldn't be enough to harm you.”
“Hmm, is that so? …Huh?”
The old scholar's doubt registered a beat too late.
The sheer confidence in Sophia's calm tone and expression, as if she were stating the obvious, had made him unconsciously accept her absurd claim.
Before he could fully process it, Sophia spoke to him.
“I have something I'd like to say to the scholars of Laputa. Could you gather some people for me? The more, the better.”
*
Watching the people gather one by one in the outdoor lecture hall, Sophia suddenly felt a sense of nostalgia.
A city-state. A society that held scholarship and reason in high esteem. A place where countless scholars, each cherishing their own theories, conversed with one another or immersed themselves in research.
Laputa was remarkably similar to her old home.
Right down to the fact that it was being twisted and oppressed by powerful outsiders.
It was so similar that she wondered if the Wicked Witch of the West knew of her home and had created this place in its image.
‘…Though the positions of the sky and the surface are reversed. Or perhaps that, too, is the Witch's own brand of humor or sarcasm?’
Sophia imagined a certain nation in the continent's skies, being threatened by people from the surface, growing restless and groaning in distress.
Indeed, that seemed like it would be a rather amusing sight.
She felt a great sense of regret that time was short.
So many interesting possibilities came to mind: discussing various academic subjects with the city's scholars, attempting to sow discord among the surface cities, or delving into the Wicked Witch of the West's intentions and life through the records here.
But it couldn't be helped.
By cutting the golden thread, she had eliminated the “minus,” but to go beyond that and become a “plus” for her companions, she needed to act now.
If she was a sacrificial pawn, a mere bluff, then her duty was to make the enemy waste as many resources and as much focus as possible, as grandly as possible.
‘Besides, I want to teach that witch, who so clumsily imitates the heavens, a lesson.’
With that thought, the scarecrow who loved God but not the heavens opened her mouth.
“Everyone, thank you for gathering here today. I will never forget the warmth and consideration this city has shown me, a mere stranger. Therefore, I wish to offer you a small token of my gratitude in return. However, before I get to the main point, I'd like to engage in a little Q&A with you all.”
The scholars' reactions were twofold.
Half were pleased by her kind words, while the other half were puzzled by the rather abrupt turn in the conversation.
“A farmer is raising a goose that lays golden eggs. The goose lays one egg each day, a process that is incredibly taxing for it.
One day, the exhausted goose protests to the farmer. In response, instead of listening, the farmer lets some dogs loose around the goose's pen.
Then he tells the goose, ‘I have given those dogs the key to your pen. If you disobey me or the dogs, they will open the gate, come inside, and eat you.’
Terrified by the farmer's threat, the goose continues to lay golden eggs without stopping.”
Sophia paused for a moment.
After confirming she had everyone's full attention, she asked:
“Here is the question: can the dogs truly eat the goose that lays golden eggs? Yes, you, the scholar with the glasses. Please answer.”
“I believe it's impossible.”
“And your reason?”
“If the dogs lack the intelligence and wisdom to understand the purpose of a key and use it, they obviously cannot open the pen. And even if they had such an ability, they would not harm the goose. A creature with that level of reasoning would also understand how enraged the farmer would be if they harmed the goose.”
“I see. Are there any other opinions? Yes, you, the red-haired scholar. Please answer.”
“If I were that farmer, I wouldn't have given a real key to mere dogs in the first place. I would have given them a convincing fake, just to intimidate the goose.”
“What is your reasoning for thinking so?”
“Because if, by some chance, the dogs actually did eat the goose, the loss would be unbearable. If a goose that lays golden eggs truly existed, its value would be incomparably greater than a few mere dogs. Why would the farmer risk it becoming dog food?”
After that, Sophia posed the question to a few more scholars, but the answers she received were largely the same.
“According to your opinions, then, the goose that lays golden eggs is an incomparably precious asset to the farmer. Even if the goose grumbles or gets lazy, the farmer cannot harm it. In fact, it leads to the conclusion that if the dogs were to try and harm the goose, the farmer would have to protect it.”
“Correct. Now then, shouldn't we be hearing this ‘main point’ of yours?”
“Ah, of course.”
Sophia smiled brightly.
“This Laputa is the goose that lays golden eggs. That is my main point, and it is my gift in response to your kindness. I hope it serves as a worthy repayment!”
Silence fell.
Most were focused on processing what they had just heard, while those who had sensed where the story was going but had thought, ‘Surely not,’ were shocked to realize their suspicions were true.
And then, a wave of realization swept over them mercilessly.
The young man who had demanded she get to the point spoke, his voice trembling.
“So, Miss Sophia, you're saying… that those on the surface are the dogs? And the weapon they use to threaten us is the key?”
“Yes. And you yourselves have already explained why that key is useless.”
Her reddish eyes gazed upon the scholars' bewildered faces.
“If the people of the surface are wise, they can never use the weapon for more than a threat. And even if they are foolish, it doesn't matter. Elphaba would never have given them a proper weapon in the first place.”
“But the weapon was real! We saw it being used with our own eyes!”
“In a situation orchestrated by Elphaba, it's easy enough to put on a convincing ‘show.’ To instill fear in you, she would have had to show you the real thing at first. After that, even if she put up a fake, you would cower on your own.”
“Young lady, your words are nothing but conjecture. Do you have any physical proof?”
“No. As you say, it is all conjecture, merely a play on words. But isn't it your job to find the truth within that wordplay?”
The scholars began to murmur amongst themselves.
“Does that even make sense?”
“But logically, it's not wrong. If something happened to us, Elphaba would be the one to lose out in the end.”
“It seems like too much of a gamble.”
“I hope that story is true. It would mean we no longer have to be swayed by the tyranny of those surface dwellers.”
“Come to think of it, it's plausible.”
“Dammit, why didn't I realize something so simple until now? To know all the theory but not recognize it was our own story… how is that any different from being a blind man with open eyes!”
“Isn't Elphaba just a trading partner? Is there a need to think of her as a villain?”
“A trading partner. Right. But what have we ever received from her?”
The commotion grew rapidly.
It might have been different if Sophia had led the discussion from the start, but all she had done was present a problem. The scholars themselves had provided the answers.
It was like a puzzle that seemed impossible to solve suddenly coming together with a single hint from someone at your side. Like how, in that moment, the person wonders, ‘Why didn't I see this?’
Once the block in their thinking was cleared, they began to develop the logic without hesitation, refuting and reinforcing it.
“Wait, there is only one goose, but there are many of us. Even if it's impossible to harm all of us, it's entirely possible she could make an example of a few.”
“That's all the more reason we must band together. If we're all selfishly thinking ‘as long as it's not me,’ we'll all be exploited. But if we unite, even Elphaba won't be able to touch us so easily.”
Watching the scene unfold, the old scholar asked Sophia.
“Young lady, who are you really? The explanation I was given—”
“Ah, you don't need to worry about that. It was all a lie from start to finish, anyway.”
Sophia's cheerful admission left the old scholar even more bewildered.
The woman he had thought of as young enough to be his granddaughter now felt like an alien being whose identity he couldn't fathom.
“Who I am isn't really that important on this island. The embers have already spread, and what happens next is up to those who remain. If I'd had more time, I would have tried various things, but for now, this is my limit.”
“…Young lady, you should run, now. Elphaba will not forgive you.”
“It's fine. In fact, please, sell me out without hesitation. Trying to protect me will only complicate things.”
Thinking of the spy likely hidden among the murmuring scholars, Sophia felt like a fisherman who had just cast out some magnificent bait.
She had caused a strange disturbance in this place, which must have been quite important to the Wicked Witch of the West. The witch's mood must be an absolute mess.
Still, to ensure that as many search parties as possible would gather here in Laputa rather than elsewhere, Sophia spoke once more.
“Ah, everyone, I have one more gift! It's a story about an incident from 30 years ago and your ancestors. You must hear this!”
Sophia's speech, delivered with a beaming smile, was only brought to an end when a massive horde of golden monkeys forcibly stormed the area.
It was, indeed, all according to plan.