A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 500 Franz's Ideas

Everyone else thought Rorschach's brother could be used as a bargaining chip, but Cano never thought so.

If Rorschach truly values ​​this relative, then Franz would have some value as a bargaining chip. However, in doing so, using a blood relative to threaten or exchange for benefits would be a serious offense to him.

They're all a bunch of low-EQ idiots. They don't understand that free things are the most expensive, or what can be put on the table and what should be kept off the stage. Kano felt that without him in the Tower of Stars, relying on those single-minded people would only lead to more trouble than success.

So he decided to use Franz to do his former student another favor and took him to the lounge next to the conference room: "There's someone waiting for you."

Huh? Rorschach observed that Cano's expression was complex, seemingly tense yet not quite, so it couldn't possibly be Pascal or the others. He couldn't help but reflect on himself; he had always maintained a clean reputation during his studies abroad and there was absolutely no way he could have had any romantic entanglements. So who could be waiting for him?

"elder brother!"

Who? Rorschach heard a completely unfamiliar voice calling his name. Upon closer inspection, the features seemed somewhat familiar—it was Franz!

Forgive Rorschach, that guy went through a growth spurt and voice change, plus the location where he appeared was really bizarre, so he was dazed for a moment: Who the hell are you talking about?

However, in Cano's eyes, it was simply a reunion of the two brothers, and Rorschach's stunned expression was due to his emotion and surprise.

The chief was also a sentimental man, and his voice softened slightly as he spoke: "You two brothers should catch up and not worry about the trivial matters outside." He then gently closed the door.

Rorschach was unaware that he was being misunderstood as a kind and loyal older brother; he just wanted to figure out the situation and asked Franz several questions.

After figuring out how this guy was captured in his first battle, Rorschach remarked: "Should I say you're lucky or unlucky? You were captured in the first battle, but you didn't lose any limbs and were even brought to me."

Franz was overjoyed to finally see his older brother. For Franz, the number of times the two brothers had met since he could remember could be counted on one hand, but after experiencing the battlefield and being captured and taken to a foreign land, the presence of his brother brought him peace of mind.

He looked at Luo Xia carefully and nodded in confirmation, "As expected, Brother Luo Xia is a very powerful mage."

How did you know?

"The monk who came in with you just now, everyone else treated him with great respect. He was wearing a red robe, and so was my elder brother. And he treated my elder brother very well."

Hmm. This kid's pretty clever. Rorschach patted him on the shoulder: "With me here, you'll definitely get out of here. But what about later? Why don't you come back to Byrne with me? If you can read and do math, I can let you transfer to a school, and if you pass the exams, you can even go to the engineering college."

Transferring to another class would only allow him to go through basic education first. At most, Rorschach himself or a teacher could give Franz some extra tutoring to speed things up. Whether he could get into the engineering school would still depend on his own exams.

"Or go to a precision manufacturing plant and learn a trade from a master craftsman." This is also a good option. Precision manufacturing plants are the safest and most relaxed, and the salary level after learning is also very high, much better than other factories with high temperature, high pressure and explosion.

To everyone's surprise, Franz simply shook his head after hearing this. He publicly declared in Valois territory, "If I can go home, I will continue to serve in the army."

Luo Xia was surprised that Franz was still willing to fight: "If you are really willing, I can find a way to help you get a stable position in the army." The money for the Imperial Army's logistics department has already been spent, and the people have been found. We can apply for a replacement or more money to give Franz the whole logistics job.

But he still had a question: "But before that, I want to know why you still insist on joining the army."

Franz paused for a moment, then stammered, "Because the boss told us to win honor for the Empire, for His Majesty the Emperor."

"real?"

"And military merits."

Luo Xia felt that he wasn't saying what he really thought, and stared intently at Franz.

Franz felt completely exposed, and finally, in a fit of despair, he shouted, "Because I'm going to get married! I'm going to marry a woman from the city!"

After the Merkel family became wealthy, they tried moving to town. They were initially surprised by how many rooms the houses had, how many toilets they had, and how soft the beds were, but soon many problems arose.

For example, at school, Angel and Franz were ostracized. Franz himself gave up going to school and instead apprenticed to learn a trade. What influenced him most was that the women in the city were all exquisite and had a fragrance.

So he secretly vowed to find a city girl to be his wife.

The problem was that the Merkle family were outsiders, with no social connections in town and no integration into the local community. The elderly couple had simply moved back to the village after the war began, and it was unlikely that any family would marry their daughter from town to the countryside. Only Franz still harbored the dream of marrying a city woman.

Since Rorschach almost never goes back, apart from the resident mage, no one in the town knows that the Merkle family's ancestral graves were emitting rainbow-colored smoke. Even if they did hear about it, Rorschach's absence wouldn't have any real impact or impression on the town's residents.

Franz decided to rely on himself and follow the path his elder brother had not chosen—to gain military merit, obtain a small fiefdom, and then marry into a wealthy family. In his mind, a wealthy family was no more than a town mayor.

In addition, there is another reason: if Franz goes back now, the Merkel family will definitely be gossiped about and called deserters.

Franz was still somewhat shy and hesitant, and it took Rorschach a while of probing before he finally understood the sixteen-year-old boy's thoughts. Rorschach then asked, "What if you really sacrificed yourself, instead of here?"

"But you're still here at home, brother! You're such a powerful mage, you shouldn't be afraid of guns and cannons, you won't die. If I can't go back, then you'll take care of Mom and Dad. If I sacrifice myself for the empire, our family will also receive glory! There are families of fallen soldiers in town, the mayor personally goes to offer condolences and even gives them money."

"And what about you? Your life ends, and you'll never have the chance to get married."

"Big brother, can't you bring me back to life?"

Rorschach shook his head: "Life isn't that cheap, or that easy to bring back."

Franz was somewhat frustrated, but he persisted in his thinking: "It's alright, I still have a piece of armor. The village chief gave it to me before I left." He pulled open his coat, revealing the old leather armor.

Rorschach glanced over and saw that there was indeed a magical loop, but it was very old and no mage maintained or charged it. It was at most equivalent to a level one [Spirit Armor]: "It can only block one bullet for you, no more."

Seeing Franz in disarray, Rorschach stood up from the sofa in the lounge: "Perhaps you haven't thought it through yet, that's alright, there's still time. Have some dessert here, I'll be back in a bit."

Rorschach was also somewhat confused. He didn't know whether this person could be considered his brother or not, and how he should act in a way that would be responsible to him and to the Merkle family.

When Kano, who was waiting in the corridor, saw Rorschach come out, he didn't take the young man back to the negotiating table, but instead took him into his office: "Let them talk about the details and annoying terms! Let's have a real talk between master and apprentice, about the 'Starship' project you support."

(End of this chapter)