Mage? Spell Engineer!

"The weather has changed so quickly?" Prime Minister Otto stood up and looked at the sky, which had become somewhat dim and gloomy. It was close to noon, and the sunlight, which should have been getting stronger and stronger, was covered by dark clouds.

In the past few hours, he had been talking to a young man named "Bart" and learned about Byrne through him. This is a good person to talk to. He lived in Byrne with his family when he was a child and had a certain understanding of its past. He studied at the magic academy in the imperial capital and recognized the system of the empire. Now he is inserted into the upper class of the kingdom as the "spouse of the princess".

More importantly, the prime minister can use Bart's admiration for himself. Like a ripe fruit, he gently "presses" in his words, and the information he wants flows out like juice, except for things related to Rorschach.

He is worried and he is restraining his expression.

It doesn't matter, the prime minister thought easily, because he will meet Rorschach himself soon.

"Yes, the weather has changed." Bart also stood up from the conference room and looked out the window: "This is the weather in Bain when it turns from spring to summer. The sky can change its face in a blink of an eye. The shepherds on the meadow should be gathering cattle and sheep now."

The Prime Minister nodded: "It won't be so sudden in the north of the empire. I am not familiar with the climate in the south."

The Istani people talk about the weather as a start of a conversation. Now the two of them are talking about the weather, which means that the conversation is coming to an end. Andre pushed the door in at the right time: "Prime Minister, Master Rorschach is back. He invites you to dinner."

As for Bart, Andre added: "Master Bart, two officers in the garrison camp are looking for you. There are things that you must decide."

Bart showed a look of reluctance and regret. Prime Minister Otto took the initiative to shake hands with the young man who was talking and speculative: "You have left a deep impression on me. Thank you for accompanying me, an old man."

The last courtesy swept away Bart's little emotions and said goodbye happily.

The dining place was the circular restaurant in the central tower of the steel plant. The Prime Minister and Rorschach had completely different feelings. The prime minister saw the circular steel plant through the window. His first impression was that it was clean. It was larger and more integrated than all the factories in Thyssen, and had fewer chimneys.

Most of the chimneys only spewed out white water vapor, unlike Thyssen, which was full of thick smoke with carbon ash and slag that could dye people black.

Rorschach would think of the Starlight Torch Tower, wondering if Master Kano would still have dinner there.

"Sorry, you came too suddenly, and I had to deal with something." This was a lie. Going to the elemental plane was more driven by interest.

"But I received a grand reception that was carefully prepared. Thank you, Master Rorschach." This was the truth, and the prime minister emphasized the word "carefully prepared".

There was also the prime minister's personal secretary during the meal. The meal was ordered from the cafeteria, including beef soup, sausages and buttered bread, as well as salads with optional mayonnaise and vinegar. The prime minister glanced over and saw that except for the sausages, they were all Valois dishes.

"Excuse me." The secretary took the lead in poking around in the dishes with a long needle, and then used the [Purify Food] scroll. Rorschach did not comment, but just started eating first.

Now the chancellor has to do this "ritual" for every meal, including the food purchased before departure, which is also inspected and purified by the secretary first. Mr. Otto explained: "Sorry, the attacks on the top of the empire have increased recently, so I have to give up the hottest first bite and let the poison test needle taste it first."

"Then your meal cost is quite high." Rorschach noticed that the long needle was not an ordinary silver needle. There was a magic circuit on the wooden handle at the top. It was actually a magic item. "May I ask, who dared to attack the chancellor of the empire?"

"Of course it's the most unscrupulous group of people on the continent, the spellcasters."

Old man, aren't you killing the conversation like this? Rorschach tried to save his reputation: "If it was really a wizard who did it, I think your current methods would hardly work."

"I agree with this, but what I said just now was not accurate enough. In addition to spellcasters, they also hire and train adventurers and other professionals, and insist on using methods that do not seem to involve magic, such as crashing airships."

"Airship crash?"

"Yes, such as your former leader, Lord Sabines, who is my good friend." The prime minister asked the secretary to put the file on the table. He pushed the file towards Rorschach.

Rorschach stopped eating and opened the file to check his recorded actions, the reports written by "Patrol Falcon" and "Night Owl", his own reports, and the articles he had published until before the war, when the records in the file were interrupted.

Why was it interrupted before the war? Did the head of the agency die at that time? Rorschach watched silently, without expressing any emotion.

The prime minister said to himself: "The agency was established with my support and with the emperor's promise, but at the same time there is also a secret organization among the military mages, which also undertakes intelligence activities, but their members are all excellent spellcasters."

"So the intelligence organization of the mages killed the agency?"

The prime minister shook his head: "In the end, it was indeed annexed, and now everything is under the command of the chief of the military mages. The ones who really bite the "high-value targets" like mad dogs are the retired members of the organization. They are required by the chief not to join the Mage Tower or teach in the academy. They can only get a manor as a farmer like other meritorious officers."

The "field masters" mentioned by the prime minister are the owners of the manor, but those people are obviously not satisfied with being a little master. Not to mention the spellcasters, even among ordinary retired officers, there are a lot of people at the bottom who are not satisfied with such an arrangement. Especially those born in civilians, seeing that their comrades have noble blood and have a bright future after gaining military merit, while they can only guard dozens or hundreds of acres of land and serfs brought from the north in peacetime.

These former soldiers do not have much material pursuit. Adhering to discipline allows them to live a Puritan-like life. Some of them speculate with the small wealth in their hands, while others are dissatisfied with the status quo and demand greater voice and the same upward channels as officers with noble blood.

It is such a group of people, and spellcasters are special. Many of them are low-level spellcasters produced by the academy. The pride of the mage makes them unable to tolerate the pastoral life. Even if they can get something for nothing, there are also people who fail in speculation, and they are extremely angry about the current situation of the empire.

These people are entangled together. On the surface, they are under the banner of the "Retired Officers Club", but secretly they are organized to advocate war. They are eager to be recruited and eager to get a greater share of the results of the war.

Those who hinder the war in the empire are enemies, such as Sabines, who knows the potential of Valois and hopes that the empire will make more preparations. The head of the agency is certainly not a dove, but his rational restraint is an obstacle in the eyes of those people, especially the checks and balances between the defense agency and the mage organization, which they hate.

Now these people have achieved their goals, the war has begun, and the chief military mage has reused them. This organization has become the underground thugs of the prince faction and the hawk faction.

It is indeed a mad dog, thinking that extreme and terrifying violence can solve all problems. This information reminded Rorschach of the assassination before Bart's wedding.