A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 69 Embassy Invitation

"Trading was extremely active on the first day of trading, and a stampede occurred at noon. One of the parties involved, Mr. Ale, a senior partner at the Lowe Chamber of Commerce, stated in an interview that he will pursue legal action against those responsible for the incident for losses incurred due to not buying in time..."

At 5 PM, the closing price per share settled at 531 francs and 7 livres. The general manager of Saliana Mining Company promised that the bond-to-stock ratio would be increased to 450 francs per share the following day. Trading in the Kingdom's bonds was active…

Sir Buffon, Director of the Holy Kingdom Museum and Head of the Royal Study, issued an analysis report on the highly anticipated natural gold nugget, confirming it to be relatively pure gold, but with a small amount of unidentified substance attached…

The Governor of the Sareanna Region, Earl Grenard, has promised investors that a stable dimensional portal will be constructed by next summer at the latest, and discussions are underway regarding a gold mine development plan…

A quick flip through the newspapers revealed that all the headlines were about Saliana Mining, especially information about its newly opened stock exchange.

There was little reporting on the sub-planes and the gold mines themselves, with only a small mention: In response to appeals from church members, the church stated that it has plans to build a church in a royal territory in a sub-plane and is currently in talks with the royal palace…

Meanwhile, the Elemental Truth Gazette, a publication under the Magic Guild, featured Rorschach and his companions' adventures in the sub-plane on its front page. The report was filled with exaggerated and fabricated descriptions, resembling a third-rate novel. Rorschach (referred to as Loka in the text), the protagonist under a pseudonym, never gave any interviews. Interestingly, the entire article made no mention of gold or gold mines.

"How does it feel to become famous and increase your net worth by three thousand gold coins a day without doing anything?" Kano read the headline of the morning paper at the group meeting, and Pascal was extremely envious.

"Teacher, it's the stock price that increased by three thousand lang. Lang and gold coins might not be worth the same someday. Besides, I'm not the protagonist of that novel." Rorschach grasped two key points: Mr. Aller survived the fire and even seemed to have been promoted; the entire report was missing a key figure from the event.

"A low-level mage from the north, a young man as bright as a morning star—at least the guild's mages and the apprentices here know who he is. You can't keep a low profile among the mages anymore." Kanochon Rosha winked.

"By the way, it seems that no other newspapers have mentioned the Magic Guild."

"Two factors," Cano yawned. "The Holy Kingdom and the Church have always tried to downplay our presence among the people, and we're happy to do so."

Secondly, Master Rorschach, you underestimate our guild. How could we possibly wade into such muddy waters? You'll never see the words "Magic Guild" and "Gold Mine" appearing in the same article in any newspaper.

Kano pulled out several booklets and distributed them to Rorschach, Pascal, and Paulina. Rorschach took one; it turned out to be his own thesis. The cover was dark blue kraft paper with a gold-embossed title, and there was also a pressure-volume diagram representing the Kano-Rorschach cycle.

"With the Earl's help, your thesis is receiving the highest treatment in the guild, and its publication speed is just as fast as mine."

Pascal touched the cover and blurted out, "I wish I could go to a sub-plane."

Paulina rolled her eyes: "You didn't go when we asked you to at first. Besides, what use would an apprentice like you be?"

Thus, Rorschach formally reported his experiences in the subplane to the group. Rorschach didn't hide anything—after all, Ina and other mages were present throughout.

He simply concealed the effect of the vibrating quartz powder, attributing the final victory to the divine spell [Deryaz Forest] he obtained in his dream.

"This is the image of the stag god Dryuyaz, and the shapes and leaves of the trees projected in the Forest of Dryuyaz. I consulted natural history records and confirmed that most of them are common tree species in the Black Forest, but there is one species for which I could not find a corresponding one."

Rorschach handed over his own drawing.

"You can paint? Are you really not from a noble family?" Kano joked, and the three of them passed the painting around for a look.

"This appearance... is the first time I've seen it. It's like the attire of a druid from the northern continent of Istani."

After discussing for a while, Cano gave Rorschach a reading list and told him to look up relevant materials in the library himself. Finally, he said:

"The so-called pact with the gods... I remember your hometown is in the mountains? When you go home, take some time to visit the Black Forest. You can apply to the guild to organize an expedition. Hmm... I can write to the Forest Tower to explain the situation; those guys will be interested. I'll extend your holiday for the Holy Chant Festival by ten days."

"Even if we don't reach an agreement, there's no need to panic. The era of gods is over. With me here, even if the skeletons in the tomb cause trouble, it won't amount to much. Of course, you must report any unusual activity to me immediately."

His mentor was always considerate and reliable in crucial moments. Luo Xia felt a warmth in his heart, then realized: this series of troubles seemed to be caused by someone.

Luo Xia recalled someone guaranteeing that they wouldn't put the students in danger: "Respected Master Kano, may I ask why none of the high-ranking mages have detected the danger in the sub-plane?"

Kano began to stammer and ramble, saying things like the planes were too vast for even a grand mage to fully sense, the divine remains had unusual forms, the calamities in the planes were purely accidental, and that apart from people like Granor who wanted to claim territory, no one cared about the barren lands...

"Ahem, let's not talk about that. Let's talk about something happier: the Feast of Sacramento holiday is next month, and as usual, I'm giving you your allowances for this month and next month. Be careful with your spending, so you don't end up strapped for cash during the holidays."

With a wave of his hand, three leather bags floated out of his storage ring, the coins inside rattling as they drifted towards the three men.

"Thank you, Master Kano!" "Thanks." Kano smiled broadly, looking a bit like an old man giving out New Year's money.

Finally, he announced: "There's one more thing. This is the last time we'll issue metal coins. Next year, in response to His Majesty's call, we'll issue paper money. Well, the amount will still be calculated based on the value of gold coins."

The last group meeting of the year was rather lackluster. Apart from Rorschach's paper at the beginning and the report and discussion on sub-planes, it was mostly mundane matters. What was touching was that Cano didn't care about the students' meager contributions and didn't withhold them or try to collect them back after giving them a stipend.

Back in his dormitory at the Tower of Stars, Luo Xia prepared to write the opening report for the next phase of his research, focusing on the issue of magic conversion. Of course, the research could only be conducted after he returned from his vacation. He calculated the days ahead, knowing he needed to gather as much information as possible about Deliyaz and the Black Forest before the holiday, and there were also some other matters to attend to.

"Master Rorschach, there's a letter for you in the mailroom," the tower spirit reminded Rorschach.

The sender was both unexpected and perfectly logical—the Imperial Embassy.

Venerable Master Luo Xia:

Congratulations on the publication of your paper, "An Investigation into the Efficiency Limits of Thermodynamic Conversion and Heat Engines," in all the magic guilds across the continent. We are proud of your achievement and have heard about your exciting adventures in the sub-planes.

We cordially invite you to the Ambassador's Reception in the latter part of the month, to be held at 8 p.m. on the first day of the month. The reception will be hosted by Ambassador Viscount Gottfried and attended by many distinguished members of the Empire in Valuana. Please reply to our letter to confirm your attendance. We look forward to hearing from you.

26 Rue de la Musi, 7th arrondissement, Imperial Embassy in Valuana

感谢书友「冰原旅者」月票x2、「一个悲伤到体无完肤的人」月票，「书友20190923215716709」月票x2，「unlimit」月票，「卦方巽」月票、「书友20221029145409398」月票、「超级拉屎侠」（supershitmen？）月票x2、「牧迷途的羔羊」月票x2、「哥舒惠」月票、「七罪的暴食」月票、「亡者路人卯」月票x2、「桀桀梦魇」月票x2、「为何无月」月票x2、「遂-古-之-初」月票x2以及感谢「晋安妖仙」「一I工了」「得了让人精神的病」「天下有只熊」等诸位书友的推荐票支持！手打好累，书友的id都挺有意思的

(End of this chapter)