Mage? Spell Engineer!.

Chapter 433 Extremists
"The weather changed so quickly?" Prime Minister Otto stood up and looked at the sky which was becoming dim and gloomy. It was almost noon and the sunlight, which should have been getting stronger and stronger, was shrouded in dark clouds.

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

More importantly, the Prime Minister can take advantage of Bart's admiration for him, like a ripe fruit. He gently "presses" it with words, and the information he wants flows out like juice, except for things related to Rorschach.

He was worried and he was restraining his expression.

It doesn’t matter, the Prime Minister thought with relief, because he would soon meet Rorschach in person.

"Yes, the weather has changed." Bart also stood up from the meeting room and looked out the window. "This is the weather in Byrne from spring to summer. The weather can change in the blink of an eye. The shepherds on the meadow should be gathering their cattle and sheep now."

The chancellor nodded and said, "It won't happen so suddenly in the north of the empire. I am not familiar enough with the climate in the south."

The Istani people would start a conversation by talking about the weather. Now that they were talking about the weather, it meant that the conversation was coming to an end. Andre pushed the door open at the right time and said, "Prime Minister, Master Rorschach is back. He invites you to dinner."

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

Barth showed a look of reluctance and regret, and Chancellor Otto took the initiative to shake hands with the young man who was chatting with him: "You have left a deep impression on me. Thank you for accompanying an old man like me."

The final courtesy wiped away Bart's little emotions and he said goodbye happily.

The dining location was the circular restaurant in the central tower of the steel plant, and the Chancellor and Rorschach had completely different feelings. The Chancellor saw the circular steel plant through the window, and his first impression was that it was clean, larger in scale and more integrated than all the Thyssen plants, with fewer chimneys.

Most chimneys simply spew out white steam, unlike the Thyssen, which is filled with thick smoke containing carbon ash and slag that can dye people black.

Rorschach would think of the Starlight Torch Tower, wondering if Archmage Kano was still having a meal there.

"Sorry, you came so suddenly, and I had something I had to deal with." This was a lie. Going to the Air Elemental Plane was more driven by interest.

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

The prime minister's personal secretary was also present during the meal. The food was ordered from the cafeteria and included beef consommé, sausages, bread and butter, and salad with a choice of mayonnaise or vinegar. The prime minister took a quick glance and saw that except for the sausages, all the dishes were from Valois.

"Excuse me." The secretary poked the dish with a long needle and used the [Purify Food] scroll. Rorschach did not comment and just started eating.

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: "I'm sorry, the attacks on the top leaders 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 costs are 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 magical item. "May I ask who dared to attack the prime minister of the empire?" "Of course it was the most unscrupulous group of people on the continent, the spellcasters."

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

"I agree with this, but what you said just now was not accurate enough. In addition to spellcasters, they also hire and train adventurers and people from other professions, and insist on using methods that do not show the involvement of magic, such as causing airships to crash."

"Airship crash?"

"Yes, for example, your former leader, Mr. Sabine, 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 files to look at the records of his 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 files were interrupted.

Why was it interrupted before the war? Did the director 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 is also responsible for intelligence activities, but their members are all excellent spellcasters."

"So the Mage's intelligence organization took out the agency?"

The Prime Minister shook his head. "In the end, it was indeed annexed. Now everything is under the command of the chief military wizard. The ones who are really biting the 'high-value targets' like mad dogs are the retired members of the organization. They are required by the chief not to join the Wizard Tower or teach at 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 little masters. Not to mention the spellcasters, even among ordinary retired officers, there are many people at the bottom who are not satisfied with such an arrangement. Especially those who were born as civilians, they saw that their comrades had noble blood and had a bright future after gaining military merit, while they could only guard dozens or hundreds of acres of land and serfs brought from the north in peacetime.

These former soldiers actually do not have much in the way of material pursuits. Their adherence to discipline allows them to live a Puritan-like life. Some of them use the small fortunes they have to speculate, while others are dissatisfied with the status quo and demand greater say and the same upward channels as officers with aristocratic blood.

It is just such a group of people, and spellcasters are special. Many of them are low-level spellcasters produced by the academy. The pride of the mages makes them unable to tolerate the pastoral life, even if they can get something for nothing. There are also those who failed in speculation, and they are extremely resentful of the current situation of the empire.

These people are entangled with each other. They openly use the banner of "Retired Officers Club" but secretly organize and advocate war. They are eager to be drafted and to get a bigger share of the spoils of war.

Anyone who hinders the war in the empire is an enemy, 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 magician organization, which they hate.

Now these people have achieved their goal, the war has begun, and the chief military wizard has reused them. This organization has become the underground thugs of the Prince Faction and the Hawk Faction.

He is indeed a mad dog, who thinks that extreme, terrifying violence can solve all problems. This information reminds Rorschach of the incoherent assassination before Bart's wedding.

(End of this chapter)