A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 19 The Magic Guild Sends a Letter

The staff of the magic guild were often relatives of mage families, while higher-ranking managers were mostly apprentices who had failed their promotions. At this moment, the receptionist barely acknowledged the newcomer, not even glancing at Rorschach: "Fortune telling, go to the right, next one."

Rorschach could only activate the mage badge and hand it to the front of the table. The lady at the front desk saw the blue glowing badge and finally straightened up, looking up at the boy.

Why is there a duck standing on my shoulder?

"Gah!"

"I'm sorry, Venerable Master! There are too many people coming for divination during the festival. I hope you can understand. Please register and follow me to the second floor."

"Gah!"

The second floor was a stark contrast to the noisy lobby, with heavy wooden doors shutting out the shouts from below. Rorschach settled into a comfortable armchair, finding great relief from the jolting of the horse's back against his thighs.

The receptionist brought over a cup of tea, and after a moment, a new receptionist emerged from the adjacent office. He was a sharp-looking man wearing a monocle: "I'm sorry, our president and the resident monk have gone to a banquet. I'm the president's assistant. Venerable Luo Xia, what brings you to our station?"

Luo Xia took a sip of tea. Unlike the one in his previous life, it was made from some dried herbs and had a minty fragrance. It wasn't particularly delicious, but it wasn't bad either.

"I'm here to mail a letter, but I need to find a place to write it first." Rorschach shrugged. "It's really inconvenient to write while I'm constantly traveling."

"Okay, please come to my office. There are paper and pens there."

Thank you.

The assistant's office was simple. After Luo Xia sat down and picked up his pen, the assistant tactfully left. "Call me when you're done writing."

Rorschach's first letter was written to his adoptive parents in this world, briefly introducing his situation. In any case, the village chief was probably the one who read it aloud for his parents in the end.

The second letter was addressed to Rorschach's boss, the long-absent bald-headed head of the agency. Rorschach considered it and chose to use the agreed-upon cipher. This world benefited from the legacy of the old empire; the entire continent spoke a common language, or at least the written language used the common language alphabet. The rule for the lowest level of secrecy was to write the plaintext letters four letters back in order to form the ciphertext.

"An underground cult called 'Our Lady of Return' has emerged, with the Viscount and Tribune of Limburg as high-ranking members. Unidentified items being transported by the Lowe Trading Company have become the cult's target, requiring investigation."

After thinking it over, Rorschach wrote to Professor Caroline to tell her about his recent situation.

"Assistant, I've finished writing. Now, I'd like to ask you to finish."

"Okay, please follow me."

The assistant led Rorschach to the basement. The guild's basement was a dimly lit room with a large, round wooden table in the center. Intricate patterns covered the entire surface, which Rorschach recognized as a magic circle. Beside the table were punk-style brass instruments with rows of digital knobs. Against the wall were rows of cabinets filled with various documents.

On the south wall hung a map of the entire continent, dotted with glowing dots. Rorschach glanced at it and guessed that each dot represented a stronghold of a magic guild, with the largest dots in the Imperial Capital, Valuvana, and Storm City, the capital of Istani.

"For security reasons, not all outposts will be shown on the map," the assistant explained, noticing Rorschach's gaze.

"Can you ship to the mountains in the south?"

"It can be sent to the nearest post office, and then forwarded to the local postal system."

There were two other employees in the room. Rorschach and his assistant were talking when the magic circle on the round table flashed, and a sealed paper tube appeared. One employee checked the paper tube, while the other recorded the information on it. Then, they adjusted the equipment, and with another flash of light from the magic circle, the paper tube disappeared again.

"The teleportation arrays have limited capacity and distance; each array serves as both a receiving station and a relay station. Andorella is celebrating the Harvest Festival these days, and we're short-staffed. I'll arrange the teleportation for you."

The assistant sealed the three letters into the same paper tubes as before, filled in the addresses and recipients. "This one needs to be transferred through three stations, the other two are in the capital and need to be transferred through four stations, for a total of one Golden Eagle Coin and one Silver Coin."

Before leaving, the assistant gave Rorschach a small cloth bag to carry on Gast Yaz's backside so he could relieve himself whenever he needed to.

"I own a starling, and seeing that your pet is also a bird, I hope this helps. Happy Holidays!"

"Thank you." "Gah!"

It was almost evening when Rorschach left the guild, and he noticed that every household had a bundle of wheat straw hanging in front of their door.

"Hey, young man over there! Don't stand in the middle of the road! The parade is coming soon!"

"Sorry, I'm from out of town and don't know much about the situation."

The guard approaching Rorschach was startled upon seeing the mage's badge on the boy's chest, and his expression changed. "I'm sorry, Master, you're so young. My tone was a bit harsh just now; I meant to remind you..."

"It's nothing. May I ask why every household hangs wheat stalks these days?"

"Legend has it that long ago there was a kind-hearted farming family who took in a man who had collapsed in the field. Because the farmer owed money to a nobleman, the nobleman sent people to cut down all the wheat ears during the harvest, leaving only wheat stalks in the field."

Then the adopted man walked through the farmers' fields, and wherever he went, the harvested wheat stalks yielded abundant harvests. It turned out that he was Mars, the god of agriculture and shepherds! Oh, how lucky the farmers were! They had become a family favored by the gods, and even the noble lords dared not cause them any trouble.

So there's a custom here: during today's procession, an image of Mars will pass by every house in the area, and if a family's wheat stalks sprout new ears, that family will receive the blessing of the god of agriculture.

So there's such a legend. Mars is also one of the fallen gods, and it's said that the hero king who founded the old empire was his descendant. But how did a god end up collapsing in the fields? Rorschach was curious.

"Thank you." Rorschach thanked the guard and hurried back to the inn along the edge of the road. More and more people were on the road, all with smiles on their faces, and the women wore headbands made of straw and grass.

What a lively atmosphere! Unlike the quiet and isolated campus and the fields this journey passes through, this is the first time Rorschach has experienced such a bustling scene in this world.

"Hurry up, everyone! We're all here, let's go!"

As they approached the hotel entrance, they heard Tasia's shouts. She skipped and waved, standing out from the crowd. Rorschach walked up to her, hands on hips, pouting, "You're too slow, senior! We could have kept up with the parade!"

"Now that Master Rorschach is here, let's set off. Miss Tasia, don't rush. We'll go straight through this street to the square. The parade will circle around there." Mr. Aller, being a seasoned merchant, had figured out the shortcut and the arrangements for the festival in just one afternoon.

"Miss Hill disliked commotion and stayed behind to watch over the wagons and goods, while the drivers drank in the hotel's dining hall."

"Is Uncle Singh drinking too?"

"Young Master Rorschach, I'm here!" a slightly resentful dwarf's voice rang out.

"Sorry, there were too many people and I didn't see it for a moment!"

"Gah!"

Currently interning, updating daily for 2k words.

(End of this chapter)