A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 332 Resisting Pressure to Marry Until Becoming a Great Magician

Rorschach wanted to take out the newspaper to read, so he had to unwrap the sausage first.

Fortunately, even with the oil stains, the headline was still clear. It stated that a state of emergency had been declared throughout Valois, with each town establishing its own new authorities; some had formed their own parliaments, some were centered around the courts, and others retained their previous structures.

In the chaos, in order to protect themselves, various places set up camps, built strongholds, and trained militias. Some cities signed mutual protection agreements, while others, unwilling to pay the tax, declared autonomy and kicked the tax collectors out of the city.

Because it was a newspaper published by Bain, it presented and analyzed the situation in the Holy Kingdom without restraint, even with a hint of schadenfreude. In particular, the Speaker of the National Assembly invited Charles XVI to give a speech, hoping that all parts of the kingdom could unite closely around the capital, complete tax payments on time and in full, severely crack down on grain exports, and prioritize supplies for the residents of the capital.

Then the news died down, since the paper used to wrap sausages doesn't need to cover a large area.

Luo Xia hadn't expected that the Holy Kingdom seemed unable to collect taxes after the National Assembly came to power, and he remembered that the new currency was issued with tax revenue as collateral.

I'd like to offer just one word: I wish Mr. Necker, the greatest alchemist of our time and a finance minister ahead of his time, a smooth escape!

"How are our raw material procurements from Valois going?"

Andrei didn't expect Rorschach to suddenly ask this question after looking at the food packaging. He was only in charge of the transmutation dust extractor and was not familiar with the factory's main business. However, the purple soda was still being produced continuously, so he guessed that everything should be normal.

Andrei nodded: "All I know is that production is going smoothly, but Mr. Hassai complained that the price of raw pulp is getting higher and higher, and he is demanding immediate settlement in cash."

It seems the Newsingan uncle and nephew aren't having an easy time either. Given the current economic climate, even Rorschach, whose main assets have been transferred to Byrne, is powerless to help. The best help they can get is for the Lanster factory to continue providing them with cash flow.

There are more checkpoints throughout Bain now. As they travel on the main road that runs north to south, they are checked not only when entering and leaving major cities, but also when entering and leaving some of the larger towns. So the carriages have to stop and start frequently.

They finally arrived in Würzburg at night. Fortunately, Andrei's mother had prepared enough food to feed the two young men.

While there's a kind of hunger that "your mom thinks you're hungry," isn't the amount prepared a bit too much? It was enough for two people, and there was even some left for the driver.

Andrei sighed: "My mother told me to eat more and do some physical labor."

"Huh? Why?" Luo Xia didn't quite understand Andrei's mother's thoughts.

"She's inquired and found out that the girls here all like strong, young men, and she hopes I can do it as soon as possible."

There's pressure to get married in every world. By today's standards, Barth and Amelia are a model couple. Rorschach and Andrei, on the other hand, are young people whose "flowering period is coming to an end."

Alas, traditional ideas

"Tell her that mages usually marry very late, and love will only distract you from your magical research. As long as you remain single until you're thirty, your magical power will greatly increase." By then, even if you're not a great mage, you'll be a great mage.

"My mother said she doesn't care what other mages are like, she just wants me to start a family as soon as possible, and she even used Lord Bart as an example." Andrei lowered his head dejectedly. He was relaxed when he was home, but this vacation was not easy. If it weren't for the fact that he still needed to look after the collector, he would have even planned to stay in Würzburg.

"This is such a familiar tactic!" Rorschach shuddered, cursing inwardly: "Damn Bart!"

"Then you should say that according to the customs of Byrne, people look for their ideal girl on May Day, and tell your mother not to worry."

On May Day

"On that day, you either have to lie and say you're sick and stay in bed all day, or you have to study magic with me. Either way, you'll have an excuse." This is called concentrating the pressure to get married within a specific timeframe and then dealing with it in one go. Unfortunately, this method can only be used once, and its effectiveness will gradually weaken as you get older.

"Sigh," she sighed twice as she got off the bus.

Bart was in a good mood lately. He kissed his wife goodbye and happily returned to his post.

After his grand wedding, he became quite famous. Everyone had a good impression of this young master of Baldorom because this "prince consort" would greet people kindly on the street, and as the resident mage, he would actually provide inexpensive potions and solve various problems with minor spells.

Although Bart's goal was to win people's hearts and minds and vie for the seat of senator, judging by his actions rather than his intentions, this guy persisted for almost a year and could definitely be named "Bain's National Son-in-Law," "One of the Ten Most Touching People in the Empire," and "One of the Ten Best Resident Mages of the Empire."

Click, the door to the mage tower opened, and Andrei welcomed him inside. Bart was quite satisfied with this young man; compared to his previous assistants from the merchant guild, this apprentice's knowledge and personal qualities were far superior.

"Thank you." Bate nodded in response. Unfortunately, Andrei's magical talent was limited and developed too late. He would probably only be able to barely become a formal mage in his lifetime.

Andrei was somewhat embarrassed: "We have a guest at the Mage Tower—Mage Rorschach arrived in Würzburg with me last night, but he insisted on staying at your Mage Tower instead of a hotel, so he didn't inform you."

"It's alright, I'll go check on him." With that, Bart walked towards the guest room.

No, he insists on sleeping in the bathtub, so you need to go to the bathroom to find him.

"Huh?" This caught Bart off guard. After knocking on the bathroom door without response, he slowly pushed it open.

Bart turned to his apprentice and said, "If you see anything you shouldn't, I'll close the door, and we'll pretend nothing happened. Don't tell Rorschach."

Rorschach was fast asleep in the bathtub, still wearing his velvet pajamas, so there was nothing Bart wanted to see but shouldn't. But it seemed there was indeed something he shouldn't have seen:

The entire bathroom was filled with magic-gathering and self-charging arrays, guiding Rorschach's location. He himself was immersed in diluted alchemical potion, his eyelashes, hair, and the area around the bathtub covered in tiny, iridescent crystals.

What kind of ceremony is this? Bart was startled: "Rorschach?"

"Hmm? Oh, Bart. Long time no see. Is it morning or noon?" He groggily climbed out of the bathtub, spilling alchemical liquid all over the floor.

Sleeping in a bathtub is certainly not comfortable, so Rorschach cast a healing spell on himself to save his numb limbs and bent spine. Then, looking at the mess in his own body and the room, he wiped away all the liquid with a wave of his hand.

Bart, witnessing Rorschach's fluid and skillful maneuvering, exclaimed, "Your spellcasting skills have improved once again."

In response, Rorschach observed his friend, scrutinizing him from head to toe before struggling to speak: "You seem more approachable now." He couldn't very well say his friend had gained weight, could he? But that was normal; at least it proved that Bart had successfully regained the weight he lost after fighting with the "Dragon."

"Why are you sleeping in the bathtub? And what are these magical loops for?"

"Gather enough magic to help you sleep. It's a long story."

Bart waited for him to continue, but Rorschach sighed and said directly, "So I won't say anything more. I'm here to talk to you about something important."

(End of this chapter)