A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 168 Stirred Up a Sausage Nest

"Rorschach and Mr. Pierre, please check into our hotel. We have arranged the best private room for you."

"The Baldorom Merchant Guild is truly powerful, managing to own such a large business in the city center." Pierre, despite coming from the most prosperous and decadent city on the continent, acted like a country bumpkin visiting a village. Rorschach felt there was an element of performance involved, a Newsingen-style compliment.

Bart waved his hand: "It's nothing. As a partner, your company is the largest liquor merchant in the Holy Kingdom!" Then he pointed to a building not far from the hotel and introduced: "This is the newly built city hall." He inadvertently emphasized the prime location.

The main building of the new city hall is a magnificent and solemn stone structure, with more intricate reliefs and a more pointed roof than those of the Holy Kingdom. Statues of past kings stand on the stone pillars of the facade, with a single-headed eagle grasping a blue and white diamond-patterned shield.

Just as the hour arrived, the bronze windowsill under the pointed roof, partially open, not only rang bells, but also featured small wooden puppets riding horses, holding swords, carrying flags, and blowing horns, who took turns appearing on stage, drawing crowds of passersby to stop and watch.

There were also people in the square sketching postcards, buildings, and portraits; business was booming, suggesting that many of the people in the square were tourists. Small stalls along the edge of the square also saw considerable foot traffic. Rorschach realized that Munkiek was indeed a tourist city.

"Are there many tourists here?"

"Yes, the entire Kingdom of Bain is quite interesting. I can show you around tomorrow." Bart scratched his head. "Mr. Pierre, Hassai is traveling by carriage and is still on his way back. Tomorrow is a private matter between Rorschach and me, you..."

"Don't worry about me, you two mages, please feel free to do as you please. I can wait for Mr. Hasai and take the opportunity to inspect the kingdom's capital."

"Thank you for your understanding." Bart informed Rorschach of the arrangements; he would take Rorschach around the area the next afternoon, followed by a small banquet in the evening.

Rorschach actually expended a lot of energy on the airship. The passivated metamorphic dust alone could not sustain the airship, which had been burned to a skeleton, for so long. In the end, he relied entirely on his own manipulation of the environmental ether.

Rorschach envisioned that the accompanying sorcerer would use the last of the hydrogen gas to ignite the gasbag, continuously heating the air inside and reducing its density to provide buoyancy. However, the fire that Bart and the others ultimately saw actually started in the power room.

"Finally arrived." Luo Xia finished washing up, collapsed onto the big bed, and drifted off to sleep.

"Rorschach? You just woke up?" In the afternoon, Bart rang the doorbell for a long time. If Rorschach hadn't opened the door in time, he would have broken it down.

"I've been sleeping until now. Let me get ready, then take me to get something to eat." Rorschach slept peacefully, successfully missing breakfast, brunch, and lunch.

"You've come at a good time; it's market day, and there's plenty of good food in the town hall square, plus you can go to the pub."

The proper restaurants are closed now, of course, but all sorts of stalls have been set up. According to Bart, there are specialized market merchants throughout the Kingdom of Bain who travel around the kingdom and even the entire Duma River Alliance region to hold markets.

It's market month in the capital city of Munnik right now, and local vendors are being given permission to operate in the city hall square.

No wonder it was so lively yesterday. But when Luo Xia arrived at the square, he was still surprised: the entire square was now occupied by stalls, and the shouts of vendors were incessant.

The men here wear waist-length suspender pants or black wool vests, with small round hats, and all wear matching white shirts underneath. The older men all have large beards and big bellies.

Women's skirts were mostly floral or plaid, but not particularly elaborate, and bibs were essential. All of these were clothing items for working people.

As for what Bart was talking about, Rorschach could guess without even looking: various sausages paired with beer/hard bread/vegetable tubers, plus all sorts of combinations of frying, boiling, and cooking.

In short, when it comes to eating, they've really gotten to the heart of the matter.

The impressions of the Empire's culture and customs held by the Holy Kingdom and other parts of the continent largely come from the Kingdom of Bain, a region known for its frequent trade and large flow of people. This is not actually the case in the northern regions like the Kingdom of Marin. In terms of autonomy, Bain is a small empire within the Empire; in terms of cultural exports, the Empire should be called a mini-Bain.

Rorschach chewed on his alkaline bread as he went city walking with Bart, listening to the resident monk introduce him to various tourist attractions.

Albert was surprisingly a very forward-thinking king. He supported various public performances, built many buildings, and supported festivals throughout Byrne. He not only enjoyed art and decorated his home like other nobles, but also consciously developed the tourism industry.

Besides Byron's own tax revenue, the money for tourism also comes from payments from the Imperial Chancellor. Yes, the Empire actually provides funds to appease the unruly southern kingdoms.

"Isn't your base in Würzburg? How come you know so much about the food, drinks, and entertainment here?" Rorschach discovered that someone might be seriously neglecting their duties. In less than a year, they knew exactly where the theaters in Munnik had the most new plays, which beer halls had the best beer, and which place had the best crispy pork knuckle.

"Because Millie likes it here. And it's normal for me to be familiar with it since the family business is based here." Someone said righteously.

Rorschach wasn't just concerned with culinary pleasures as he walked the streets. He noticed that the beer hall offered a wide variety of glassware in addition to ceramic and tin cups, indicating a glass manufacturing capacity that could supply bottles to beverage factories. While residents had a strong willingness to consume, they were accustomed to beer and preferred soft drinks with a more pronounced grainy texture, demanding better sealing.

No, I have an even more important purpose.

Rorschach casually asked, "Bart, how many magic towers does Byrne have?"

"Not many. Apart from those in remote mountains and forests, most prominent mages choose to join guilds and the Arcane Tower, as well as us resident mages."

"Don't be fooled by how tall my office looks; it's really just a tower. The Empire doesn't have the resources to actually build magic towers for us."

Rorschach probed, "Aren't you planning to use the Chamber of Commerce's resources to build a real magic tower?"

"My goal is the Parliament, the Parliament, the Parliament! But Millie seems to want to live in a real magic tower; she's read too many stories." Bart realized what was happening and stopped in his tracks: "You're not planning to build a mage tower in Byrne, are you?"

"Yes and no," Rorschach said with a smile. "My first step is to build the beverage factory."

Bart hadn't yet figured out the connection between building the beverage factory and the magic tower. Their walking journey came to an end, and they stopped in front of a mansion, which was also in the city center.

Bart rang the doorbell. The door opened a crack before opening fully, and a stern-looking housekeeper opened it for them, simultaneously announcing to the inner room, "Miss Amalia, the monk Bart and his friends have arrived!"

Thump, thump, thump, the wooden floorboards creaked underfoot, and only the housekeeper's call of "Miss Amalia" slowed her pace. A smiling girl appeared in the corridor, her skirt styled the same as the women in the square.

"I asked Sadofie to buy it for me, isn't it nice?"

"Now I see the spirits of spring." This was the kind of greasy, straight-man answer that Rorschach saw in his eyes, but the little princess just kept giggling.

Huh? Did you use [Charm]? Rorschach frowned, but he didn't sense any trace of etheric fluctuations.

(End of this chapter)