A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 136 Dark Clouds Loom

"If possible, I hope to stay and teach at the Tower of Stars," Paulina said quickly, indicating that she had this idea for a while.

Kano crossed his arms and paused for a moment before speaking: "To be honest, Paulina, it's easy for me to ask you to be a teaching assistant, just like Rorschach is now, but becoming a full-fledged teacher is indeed difficult. Snow was also excellent back then, but you know, the only way he could stay was in the Alchemy Department."

Paulina nodded to indicate that she understood. Archmage Cano continued, "But you are not suited for the Alchemy Department. You have wasted a lot of time. You are probably better suited to work at the Magic Guild than here. I will write a letter of recommendation."

"You can still stay in Valuwana with your guild work, and you can still see Pascal often. You can see each other every day if you want, just not during the day." After saying that, Cano gave a mischievous smile.

"I'm not okay, I'll consider it." Paulina nodded.

"And you?" Cano tapped the table and asked Roscia.

"Me? Master, to be honest, you should talk to your senior brother about this. I'm still just a child!" At least Luo Xia's body won't reach the adult standard of his previous life until next year.

"You're a child, humph. Pascal is more like a child at heart. Let him figure out what he wants to do while he's by my side!" Cano said with concern as he drank his tea. "I'm worried that you'll be in an embarrassing situation in the near future."

Rorschach knew exactly what the "awkward situation" was for someone from an imperial background.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but the consensus among the higher-ups in the Magic Guild is that the Empire is preparing to fight the Holy Kingdom," Kano said casually, putting down his teacup.

"How did you determine that?" This confirms what Sabins said.

Paulina rose to take her leave. Cano nodded, and after she left and closed the meeting room door, he continued, "Do you think the Holy Kingdom's economy was in a very bad state before Minister Neker took office?"

Rorschach nodded.

Kano chuckled: "So the Empire is all that great?"

Huh? Rorschach really didn't feel anything. Rather, his perspective was quite limited when he was in the Empire, but he had more opportunities to enter and exit the upper echelons of the Holy Kingdom.

"According to publicly available reports, the Empire's previous council delayed finalizing the annual budget until January. I teach the history of magic, and you substituted for me for a semester. Do you know what that means?"

Luo Xia hadn't expected Kano to pay attention to this: "Representatives, it should be said that there are conflicts of interest in various regions of the Empire, and the degree of conflict is quite intense."

"I won't go into details about your own situation, but in short, based on the intelligence gathered by the Senate of the Magic Guild and the Imperial Branch, this deformed, cobbled-together giant has irreconcilable internal conflicts, which your emperors have covered up very well."

"Through war."

Kano nodded: "The core of the empire, the Kingdom of Marin, was originally established by military might. It led the entire empire to fight against the barbarians in the northern ice sheet and the eastern grasslands, and used military merits to enfeoff small manor nobles who directly pledged allegiance to the emperor. The people plundered were sent to the north as serfs or to the workshops in the south, and the wealth filled the national treasury and fattened an army that could sweep across the continent."

"Fighting further in the north will lead to conflict with the dwarves, and going beyond the eastern grasslands would exceed the empire's limits, but this war machine won't stop easily. So I'd like to know, what will your choice be when the empire marches south?"

Rorschach did not answer immediately: "Will war between the two countries be imminent?"

"No, the Holy Kingdom isn't just a place of decadent debauchery. I estimate that the peace will last at least long enough for you to complete your current projects. The two largest behemoths on the continent aren't something you can just fight over. But they do indeed loom over the continent like a dark cloud, and you and I must at least consider the possibility of war before deciding where you go."

Rorschach thought for a moment: "If war breaks out, I will not stay in the Holy Kingdom." Sabins' instructions were to make a run for it if things got tough, so he probably wouldn't want to do anything behind enemy lines himself.

"Then it's better to stay in the Tower of Stars. For mages, especially intermediate mages, you have the ability to break free from the constraints of nationality. Kings and emperors cannot threaten you, and guilds and the Tower of Stars are willing to provide protection."

"There are people I value in the Empire." After contacting the Baldorom Merchant Guild, Rorschach had an idea: he hoped to build his own "magic tower" in the south of the Empire, preferably one that could mass-produce some "special products" that did not yet exist in this world.

"You will face just as much pressure in the Empire."

"Master Kano, may I have a chance to use the Magic Guild's teleportation network in an emergency?"

Cano rubbed his palm, ignoring Rorschach's question: "Interested in setting up your own magic tower? The guild is willing to support you, kid, I'm telling you."

Why are you suddenly bringing this up? Did this old guy use mind reading?

"If you're willing, the Magic Guild can provide assistance; constructing a fixed magic circle connecting to the teleportation network is a piece of cake." Kano took out a map. "If your personal magic tower can be set up in the Kingdom of Bain or other regional members of the Duma Alliance, the guilds of the Holy Kingdom and the Empire will provide support."

Was Master Kano showering people with goodies from the sky on behalf of the Magic Guild? Even as he thought this, Rorschach kept a straight face: "I'll consider it."

Do you want the Empire to win?

Rorschach froze, then shook his head solemnly: "I am a mage." In Rorschach's eyes, shouting "Long live the Emperor!" was no different from kissing Charles XVI's boots. Making him a military noble and then turning people into slaves to work on his manor was not the future he wanted.

Ideally, we should take down all the crowns and other royal ornaments.

Cano smiled, seemingly satisfied with Rorschach's answer: "Me too."

After Rorschach left the meeting room, Cano poured out the cold tea and replaced it with a glass of wine. He recalled the recent secret meeting of the Arcane Senate, attended only by the wills of the thirteen magic towers. Among them, the representative of the Arcane Tower in the Kingdom of Bain presented a very interesting map:

The area of ​​the "Duma River Trade Union," the states and provinces surrounding the Black Forest were marked out separately, and clearly separated from the northern part of the Empire by the border.

"His Majesty the Emperor's reach is growing ever wider, both for us and for the Grand Duke and the southern states. Discontent is accumulating and has reached the brink of a tipping point. We judge that such a new map is more advantageous to the entire guild and all mages, and it is feasible. As long as 'His Majesty the Great Emperor' declares war on the Holy Kingdom, the Arcane Tower will fully support all of His Highness Albert's actions."

His Highness Albert is the King of Bain, and "all actions" clearly point to only one direction, but it is not yet time to announce it, even in the most secretive council of Arcane Elders.

"We support this judgment and will cooperate," echoed the representative of the Forest Tower. If Rorschach were present, he would certainly recognize who it was.

The other representatives did not express a clear opinion, but the other representatives of the magic towers within the empire neither affirmed nor denied it.

The representative of the "Storm Tower" in Istani scoffed, "When did the Forest Tower become so confident? Did they grow Kabbalah or Yggdrasil from planting trees?"

The representative from the Forest Tower ignored the ridicule and began discussing information about an underground cult with the representative from the Star Tower.

This scene, like any other meeting, was an illusion connecting the thirteen archmages, bound by multiple vows and locked firmly in the minds of the participants, making it impossible to directly recount. However, this did not prevent the delegates from taking action for the meeting.

The consensus reached this time is that the guild will support mages to establish magic towers in the southern part of the empire in their personal capacity, especially outstanding young mages. Rorschach is one of the key targets for support on the list, and he was surprisingly handpicked by representatives of the two major magic towers.

Dong—dong—dong, the bells of St. Miller's Cathedral rang out.

"War. Who will be fighting whom?" Cano downed the last drop of his amber-colored liquor in one gulp.

感谢书友「超不稳定的强固饼乾」「幽狼King」「紫羽铭枫」「雾骇zjl」「*睡猫*」「饿了就吃东西」「晚上加餐」「Mo129」「自黑狂魔王小白」「hlyu09」「书友2017032401283504」「书友3302120798508」「沃德」「三六春夏二九秋冬」「君？见」「何堪与」「书友16070802567780」「天下有只熊」「书友20200324114249112」「书友20200717084742341」「日月源澈」「蚀泉酒」「红细胞2002」的月票支持！

Thanks to the following readers for their recommendation votes: "Red Cell 2002", "SEERS", "There's a Bear in the World", "Jun? Jian", "An Old Friend Came Under the Moon", and "Old Man Under the Moonlight".

(End of this chapter)