A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 101 Unsettling News

As night deepened, a grand exchange between the Grand Magisters of the Tower of Stars and the Tower of Forest was in full swing.

Master Kober was the first to comment that being able to hide one's footsteps behind a Nature-type being who excels at perception is truly impressive.

Master Kano also praised him, saying that he was truly impressed that Kano could sneak in so quietly while he was on watch.

The three of them laughed together, filling the study with a joyful atmosphere.

"Sir, please empty the bag so we can inspect it!"

As Kober pulled books out of his dimensional bag, he said, "Now that both sides are here, let's not be sneaky. Let's share them, one for you and one for me. We can even exchange copies after taking the originals, right? Friendly exchange between the two towers, isn't that right?"

Master Cano remained silent, but taking advantage of Kober's inattention, he beckoned the bag over from a distance and mercilessly flipped it inside out, successfully causing it to spit out two exquisite tomes. After Kober let out a long sigh, the "spoils-dividing meeting" officially began.

Rorschach selected three books to carry with him: first, the epic myth "The Song of Rada," recorded by the elves, which included not only text but also extensive poetry, with melodies marked in elven musical notation; second, an unnamed book documenting elven rituals and totems; and finally, the elder's notes.

Kober was very reluctant to part with the third book that Rorschach had chosen, and repeatedly instructed him to send a copy to the Forest Tower as soon as possible.

Cano's focus was on the Elven astronomy, calendar, and information about the world, which were closely related to his research.

Since the Forest Tower was, after all, a fellow traveler of these forest dwellers, all its materials, especially ancient texts, could supplement the Forest Tower's research on elves and druids, and Kober wanted them all.

Finally, Rorschach told Couber something very important: "I once met an apprentice from the Tower of the Forest. Later, she transferred schools and her name became Anastasia."

"Oh, who was that child again?"

Whether Kober remembers or not is unimportant. Rorschach continued, "She entered the Forest Tower under the control of the Earth Mother Cult, and there are members of the cult monitoring her inside the tower."

Coubert's expression finally turned serious: "Young friend Rorschach, do you have any more information about the Order?"

Rorschach then recounted his encounters with the Order and the problems with the local nobles:

"Therefore, I suspect that the cult is corrupting and infiltrating the south-central part of the empire and even a wider area. Judging from Tasia's description, it is selectively recruiting noble believers and expanding into the Forest Tower."

On behalf of myself, I would like to suggest that you oversee a thorough investigation within the Forest Tower to eliminate any members infiltrated by the cult.

"Ah, thank you for the reminder, young friend. The old man and the Forest Tower will begin their self-examination."

The members of the Forest Tower remained in the forest to handle the aftermath. As for the Star Tower, Master Cano was to join their magic circle and temporarily reside at the ruins of the elven village as a representative. Cavendish and Rorschach were taken out of the Black Forest by Master Humboldt and returned to Pema City.

Pema City remains bustling, now in the peak season for fur trading. As a major southern city of the empire and one of the hubs of commodity trade, every house facing the street has shops, and signs for leather, timber, and horse merchants can be seen on every street.

Seeing people coming and going and hearing the noise of the bustling city after so long, Rorschach and Cavendish were both filled with a sense of joy at finally returning to human civilization.

At the airship's airport, Humboldt saw the two off.

"Master Humboldt, Master Rorschach, I apologize for my initial attitude." Before leaving, Cavendish placed one hand on his chest and bowed solemnly to the two men.

"Well, your alchemy map played a crucial role," Alexander comforted the apprentice from the Tower of Stars.

"Don't worry, the report will put a good word for you." After Rorschach finished speaking, Cavendish felt like he had been granted a pardon and kept saying thank you.

"Aren't you going back to the Tower of Stars with the apprentice?"

Rorschach watched Cavendish leave: "I'll go to the capital first and then go back to the academy."

In the Empire, if a mage says "academy," they are referring to the Royal Academy of Magic. Master Humboldt nodded in understanding and bid farewell to Rorschach.

Flights within the Empire have slightly different specifications, and Rorschach had a single cabin this time. After checking that there were no signs of magic, he spread out paper and pen and began to write a report for the Chief of Staff.

I'll have to revise and rewrite it again for Cano later.

"I am Rorschach."

"Please come in."

When Rorschach saw the bald boss again, his dark circles were less noticeable, and there weren't as many unprocessed documents piled up on his desk. Rorschach casually pulled up a chair and sat opposite Sabines across the table.

"Report on this operation." The report that Luo Xia submitted to Ji Guan focused on describing the characteristics of the power of "Mother Earth" and analyzing the cultist Peterson who was lurking in the Forest Tower.

"There are indeed followers of the 'Mother Earth' in the Forest Tower. This time, a second-tier mage was killed on the spot by us. However, it has not been confirmed whether he was a member of the 'Return to Our Lady' cult. The archmages of the Forest Tower are now on guard against the infiltration of cults."

Sabins nodded in approval of Rorschach's report: "But our organization still needs to understand and grasp the situation regarding the evil god and his followers."

"I have an idea," Rorschach said, recalling the intelligence he had previously gathered: "It's said that grain production decreased within the Empire last year?"

The bald man shook his head slightly. "Yes, His Majesty the Emperor and the Imperial Council attach great importance to this."

"Hold on, that's not what I'm here to hear you say. I'm saying that a large number of mages and apprentices from the Forest Tower will be in the fields until spring planting to investigate and prevent pests and diseases."

Sebins stroked his chin: "You mean we can use this opportunity to investigate the members of the Forest Tower separately?"

"Don't disturb their research. The investigation is simple: if the people sent by the Forest Tower try to spread an unknown belief to the villagers or local nobles, or participate in unknown religious activities such as rituals, they can be suspected of being cultists."

However, if the Forest Tower discovers this before you have solid evidence, you might face trouble from the Magic Tower and the guild.

In the past, the bald man would have told Rorschach to trust in the mechanisms' capabilities, but now he only cautiously replied, "Very useful advice, I will consider and implement it carefully."

After saying that, the bald man got up and took out a bag of gold coins and a codebook from the safe.

"Wasn't it supposed to be done strictly according to official procedures?"

At this point, the head of the organization's face darkened slightly: "The Pacharuca Chamber of Commerce is currently undergoing major personnel adjustments and organizational restructuring. This money includes past compensation and an advance payment for the next six months, so you should no longer have any contact with the trading company."

From now on, I'll rely on newspaper advertisements for one-way communication with my boyfriend, or contact him through the embassy, ​​and change my password.

Rorschach took the bag and the new codebook. The leather bag was full of gold coins and felt unusually heavy. Ah, it's good that it's heavy; the Holy Kingdom's paper money feels so light these days, it makes one uneasy. "In that case, I'll accept it. Thank you."

Before leaving, Rorschach was suddenly stopped by Sepins, who added a seemingly unrelated remark: "If one day you receive an evacuation notice from the embassy in Valuana, return home immediately. Do not stay."

Could it be that...?

"Stop guessing, just do what you're supposed to do," Sabins said, dismissing him.

"Then I'll take my leave."

Teacher Caroline hadn't returned yet. After confirming this, Rorschach left the academy.

There was a general store on the way from the academy to the hotel, and Rorschach bought ten days' worth of the Marin News in one go. It was the best-selling daily newspaper in the heart of the Empire and one of the mouthpieces of the Imperial Diet.

The young wizard thought for a moment, then bought all the issues of the "Commercial Daily" from the 5th to the 30th of the past three months. Finding older stock required specific dates, and Rorschach successfully earned an unfriendly look from the shopkeeper. Fortunately, the stock of the Commercial Daily was still there; the oldest issue was still stained with oil.

What are you looking at? I'm helping you clear out your inventory, I didn't ask you to chop meat sauce.

Sabines's last words echoed in Rorschach's mind, a disturbing hint:

"Is the Empire going to war with the Holy Kingdom?"

Chapter 100! Yay! Thank you for your support, readers!

(End of this chapter)