A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 71 Rorschach's Storytelling Session and Two Listeners

You asked me whether I support the recent actions of Charles XVI and Minister Necker. Of course I do, but whether there are any gold mines involved... I have no comment!

Rorschach maintained his consistent stance, stating that the sub-plane was a barren wasteland and he didn't even know if there were any gold mines there.

Then he began to talk about creating water and building houses in the sub-plane. The big shots dispersed, leaving two or three young people willing to listen to his experiences.

Someone asked, "Did you really discover the giant worms lurking underground later? How did you defeat them?"

This is a complete fabrication by the Elemental Truth Newspaper!

"Yes, it has a grayish-purple shell, and each segment has eyes staring at you. The most terrifying part is its head; its enormous fangs secrete corrosive venom, and its gaping maw, filled with sharp teeth, seems capable of devouring the world. Every time you break off a segment, it splits into more monsters, and each segment can develop its own head."

"Oh my god."

"Those were the harrowing experiences of the 'Loka' mage (the protagonist in the Pravda). Our reality is that we encountered a natural disaster." Rorschach thought of a way to explain: "Madam and sir, please imagine the heaviest snowfall in our hometown in the northern part of the continent. It covered the sky and the sun, and the trees and the thatched houses of farmers were about to collapse under the weight."

This is bad enough, isn't it? Imagine every snowflake is a dangerous pink, changing erratically upon touching sand or rocks, and causing tumors and bone spurs to grow on a person. This deadly substance once filled the sky, able to penetrate rock walls and bring down pink, distorted death.

A young man who joined Rorschach's Story Club later felt this best; oh, his hair was also the silkiest, his black hair parted in the middle and hanging down to form two strands: "Powdered snow falls, ever-changing, bringing down curses and a dance of death. Snowstorms are a common theme in music, and such a dangerous and beautiful scene is depicted with musical notes."

I want to thank Venerable Rorschach for inspiring my composition. Hello, please call me Franz, the musician for this reception. What did you think of the previous piano piece? I adapted it using the symphony orchestra here after arriving in Valois.”

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Good music always brings us the purest joy, and your performance is undoubtedly among the best." Luo Xia couldn't say he was completely illiterate in the field of music. Before transmigrating, he listened to pop songs, but after transmigrating, he knew absolutely nothing about symphonies, ballads, concertos, or grand, richly colored pieces.

As the party drew to a close, Rorschach excused himself and slipped away from the circle to the savory food area, where all sorts of sausages were on display. The difference was that they were sliced ​​and served on small plates. There was also a white sausage, for which a waiter would take it out of the hot water when someone came to collect it and peel off the casing for the guest with a knife and fork.

This bread pairing is good, but the garlic flavor is too strong. Rorschach, aiming to fill himself up, ate all the bread and sausage, then prepared to move on to dessert.

"Mr. Rorschach, please come with me to the reception room. The ambassador is looking for you."

As Rorschach entered, he was carrying a stack of cakes. Before the ambassador could speak, he said bluntly, "Mr. Ambassador, if you ask me about the sub-plane gold mine, I'll say it again: I don't know, no comment." He then took out a bag and placed it on the table. Inside was a handful of orange-red soil—a sample Rorschach had taken on the first day.

Viscount Gottfried opened the bag, paused, and gestured for his men to close the door. "Then I'd like to know the Valuwana Magic Guild's attitude towards the gold mine and the mining company."

Rorschach did not answer the question immediately. He released [Magic Detection]. The ambassador and the guards were surrounded by magical light, while the area below the house was a blurry expanse of light, a magic circle whose details were indistinct.

The Viscount continued, "Please rest assured, there are no means of recording sound or other senses here; we have taken precautions against oracle systems. Our conversations will only leave behind anonymous, encrypted reports."

"The Magic Guild insists on not getting involved with the gold mines and the company, even though Necker has been trying to get us on board." For example, that court banquet.

"Clearly, the Finance Minister wanted to use the Magic Guild's credit to endorse the mining company, but this attempt failed after the guild 'took care' of the media. As for the stocks and their value, most mages don't care; perhaps a few individuals will participate in the trading."

"There's one more thing." The Viscount laid out several colorful pieces of paper on the table: Ichiro, Juriv, Goriv, ​​and Ilriv.

"Now that five banks have started issuing paper money, Venerable Luo Xia, what is the spellcaster's attitude towards them?" Paper money is still a novelty on this continent. Although there are checks and drafts, they are only means of circulation for large transactions, not credit money.

Recalling Kano's words, Rorschach replied, "I don't know what everyone is thinking, but at least the higher-ups believe these pieces of paper will definitely depreciate in value."

This was also the Empire's assessment; they were well aware of how dire the Holy Kingdom's financial situation was. "But unexpectedly, the recent upward trend in commodity prices has been halted."

"Mr. Ambassador, there are two things whose prices are rising, making headlines every day, and the higher they go, the more people rush to buy them."

"Stocks and bonds of mining companies."

"That's right. With these two reservoirs, Necker and his bank can issue currency with confidence. A large amount of metal currency is also being recycled by him through the purchase of government bonds and stocks. Regardless of whether there are gold mines or not, he should have a lot of real gold and silver on hand now. He can mobilize even more resources by issuing paper money."

The ambassador recalled recent intelligence: "The Holy Kingdom used gold coins to urgently import a batch of grains and flour from Istani and the city alliance at the southern tip of the continent, all of which were shipped to Valuwana." The Holy Kingdom should have been the largest grain producer, but its large population meant that bread prices would surge if there were any fluctuations, while Istani had a relatively stable grain export capacity.

Clearly, Neker has reversed the Holy Kingdom's financial woes; with money, things become much easier.

"The economy will definitely remain prosperous for some time to come, and this financial genius may deliberately burst the bubble."

The ambassador, thinking it was news from the magic guild, hurriedly asked, "Proactive? So that means there's a plan and a timeline?"

"I'm just guessing." Luo Xia shook his head. The current tactic is a new form of borrowing, and the promised dividends from stocks are much more expensive than government bonds. Based on the knowledge Luo Xia had accumulated from typing before his transmigration, the Finance Minister's strategy was clear.

At least for now, whether it's exchanging debt and banks for the right to issue currency, or exchanging government bonds for stocks, Necker is doing two things at the same time: "While the citizens of the Holy Kingdom have emptied their last physical gold coin, while the Finance Minister has successfully converted all government bonds into fiat currency. Boom."

After the conversation, Luo Xia and the ambassador left the reception room separately. The evening's events concluded successfully with the ambassador's concluding remarks. The reception was a success, but Luo Xia was far from satisfied, especially since he had only eaten about a third of his fill. As he left the mansion, he noticed that Osmanthus Street had few shops, only kerosene lamps spaced far apart.

"Looks like I'll have to go to the Tower of Stars for a late-night snack," Rorschach thought to himself as he drove off.

As Rorschach walked, fewer and fewer cars joined him, until he was left alone on the street. He didn't know his exact location and could only rely on the intelligence of the Alchemist, which was said to be comparable to that of the Tower Spirit.

However, he was unaware that someone he knew was at the other end of the street—Floran was running frantically in a sorry state.

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(End of this chapter)