A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 499 Preventing Problems Before They Arise: A Good Start

With the Republic of Valois deploying its giant mechanical breakers to the front lines, the demand for mana resources has become even greater. Therefore, even without industries such as automobiles, the need to build a transmutation dust extraction and refining plant is extremely urgent.

Therefore, Rorschach's idea was first implemented in Valuva, with funding raised by the nation, the Valuva Magic Guild, and businesses, and the first magic energy company was about to be registered in Valuva.

However, the Tower of Stars insisted that the Alchemy Department needed the permission of Mage Rorschach himself to authorize the technology for the Transmutation Dust Collector. This was not only the opinion of the Tower of Stars, but also the demand of the entire guild and other magic towers.

Respect for the Archmage is a pretext. The core issue is that Rorschach, the first inventor, also possesses the technology to manufacture transmutation dust collectors. The Alchemy Department hopes that the new company will achieve a monopoly within Valois, so it must first reach an agreement with Rorschach, who may disrupt the monopoly.

Although the National Salvation Committee was very unhappy, it still nodded in agreement to allow Kano and the other mages to talk to Rorschach.

"I don't know the ins and outs of business, so I'll leave the negotiations to you," Rorschach said to Varen before they set off.

"You're too modest, but I understand. Leave this small matter to me!"

As they spoke, the two were guided by guild staff onto the teleportation array.

Actually, when Caroline went to Valuvana last time, she and Cano set up a point-to-point teleportation portal, so neither side had to worry about the power consumption of teleportation magic. However, Rorschach insisted on using the guild's teleportation array, while the other negotiating clerks used the teleportation portal opened by Caroline.

If you have the authority but don't use it, wouldn't you have wasted your promotion?

Soon to be back in Valois, Valen, the descendant of a fallen nobleman, couldn't help but puff out his chest. He had fled Valois in disgrace, but now he had a much stronger and more powerful patron than the former treasurer; he was, after all, returning in triumph! He wondered if those ladies and young women still remembered him.

Seeing that the sycophantic air about someone was practically overflowing, and the left corner of his mouth was uncontrollably twisted upwards, Rorschach couldn't help but remind him, "There's something I haven't told you yet: Mr. Necker is dead."

"Huh?" Varon was caught off guard by the news, as if struck by lightning.

"Although he stepped down along with the conservative cabinet when it resigned, he continued to have his wife host salons in an attempt to maintain his influence. Later, some documents were made public, revealing that he had dealings with the Restorationists, Conservatives, and Mountain Faction members, as well as many unclear financial issues, especially during his first term as Finance Minister and his time with the mining company."

Luo Xia glanced at Varon, whose forehead was now covered in fine beads of sweat: "And then?"

"Various factions are using him to attack their political enemies, and Mr. Necker himself has been imprisoned, with his trial being dragged on. He was recently found dead in prison—no, not exactly killed—after committing suicide." Seeing that things were going well, Rorschach concluded, "The turmoil in Valuvana has never stopped; in fact, it's intensifying. Once you arrive, you can act on your own, but don't leave the protection of the guild or the magic tower, otherwise..."

"I suddenly remembered I still have important work to hand over. Can I not go?" Varon thought for a moment, "Or you could cast a disguise spell on me or something."

At this moment, the staff finally finished adjusting the teleportation array and sent Rorschach and Valon to the Republic's arrhythmic heart with a whoosh.

As soon as they arrived at the guild headquarters in Valuwana, the waiting carriage immediately set off. This carriage did not have the emblem of the Tower of Stars, but only three large concentric circles painted red on all four sides.

This is the symbol of "special envoys." In order to achieve centralization and the most efficient allocation of material resources, the National Salvation Committee dispatched special envoys to various places. They had almost unlimited power and represented the will of the Committee in local areas and on the front lines.

Of course, this was still a vehicle from the Tower of Stars. When Rorschach looked out the window, pedestrians avoided the vehicle like the plague, covering their faces or turning their heads away and quickening their pace, as if it were a hearse that could bring death.

But Rorschach also noticed that people's clothing had changed again. At first, pedestrians' clothes were lively and bright, but after a period of decline, many people's clothes became worn and tattered. Now their clothes have become neat again, but the styles and colors are much simpler. The committee advocates for simple styles, with colors mainly being near-primitive shades of gray-white, yellow-white, and grayish-blue.

The streets were mostly filled with women and the elderly, with the occasional young person or horse-drawn carriage passing by, most of whom were wounded or injured in battle.

Rorschach still had the mind to observe the pedestrians, while the frightened Varon simply huddled in a corner of the carriage and covered his face with a newspaper.

The apprentice entered the chief's office at the Tower of Stars: "Master Cano, the delegation from Bain has arrived. Master Rorschach is in the carriage and is expected to arrive soon." The negotiations and signing ceremony will be held in the conference room of the research building.

The appearance of Varon surprised the mages who recognized him slightly. It seemed that he was representing Rorschach in today's negotiations, while Rorschach himself sat to the side without saying a word.

Rorschach's demands can be summarized into three main points: restricting the future operating area of ​​the Valois Company, allowing other countries to invest in the company after the war, and allowing Rorschach's Mage Tower to participate in the formulation of technical standards.

The first point was what the mages of Valuwa hoped for, but it required a two-way guarantee of non-interference; the second point was certainly unacceptable to the National Salvation Committee, but what the post-war world would be like was still unknown; the third point drew misunderstanding. The mages of the Alchemy Department frowned: "Why the rush to set standards now?"

He subconsciously believed that Rorschach wanted to use his involvement in setting standards as a pretext to find out about the Alchemy Department's improvements to the mining technology.

Rorschach finally spoke up to explain himself: "Of course it's important. Passivation transmutation dust also has specifications. What should its transportation form be? Should it be directly extracted, or compressed into higher-density crystal blocks? Or released into alchemical reagents to become liquid energy carriers?"

"Also, what is the standard energy density of the product? Have the specifications of mature collector models been finalized? Can the safety information for transmutation dust be comprehensively measured?"

"Most importantly, establishing unified standards for the continent now is crucial to prevent future divisions between the North and South." The processed transmutation dust is essentially pure magical matter, so setting standards isn't essential. The key is ensuring compatibility between the North and South within its supporting systems. Rorschach doesn't want to see historical issues cause the magical industries on both sides to operate independently.

To prevent problems before they arise, we need to guard against catastrophic issues like the frequency discrepancies between the Kanto and Kansai power grids in a certain developed country. Starting with the most basic standardization of the energy industry is a good beginning.

"Could it be that Byrne is also planning to establish a magic energy supplier?"

Rorschach corrected the person across the table: "It should be said that it is the supplier of the entire empire. Bassf has established a subsidiary, 'Bassf Energy'." The special zone's industries have undergone a slight restructuring, with coal smelting being separated from the steel mill and placed under Bassf's umbrella. Whether it is used for burning or made into other products, it is all handled by this group.

The newly established energy company was not open to the Bain royal family or other Bain nobles; it was established only through the injection of capital from the Arcane Tower, the Empire, and the Special Zone.

The alchemists tensed up: "The Empire will also receive a large-scale supply of magic?"

Rorschach smiled. "Do you want to know what it's used for?"

Of course I want to! But before the other mages could speak, Kano interjected, "I'm tired, I'll take a break. Rorschach, come with me to see someone."

(End of this chapter)