A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 178 The Devil's Kiss

Looking down on Würzburg from its elevated position, three distinctive features stand out: the palace, the university, and the vineyards.

Within the Kingdom of Bavaria, those interested in mathematics and astronomy should go to the capital, Münnik, where guild schools and universities are concentrated. Those majoring in poetry, art, and literature should go to the University of Würzburg, whose history can be traced back to the late Old Empire, expanded from a monastery school.

This area is also a white wine producing region. From the window of the top floor of the Tower of Saints, Rossio could see that the edge of the city was covered with vineyards and fields. Because the terrain was not particularly flat, Rossio could see not only buildings of varying heights, but also terraced fields developed along the mountainside.

Bart took out a grape leaf with brown spots: "Hey, recently some wineries have reported that the new grape buds and leaves after the spring are not quite right. Now is the time for budding, and grape growers are all on edge. They came to me hoping I could solve this with magic."

"This falls under the jurisdiction of the resident mage?" Luo Xia looked shocked. "What does this have to do with you? Bart, you're not a graduate of the Forest Tower, you could have just refused."

Bart, holding the leaves, looked desperate: "Normally it wouldn't be a problem, but these cunning growers insist that the grapevines are possessed by demons and demand that I perform an exorcism. The brewing guild knows the supervisor is here to assess the resident sorcerer; if they complain to me these next few days, I'm finished!"

Wow, these are truly unruly people! Rorschach was shocked by the farmers' shameless behavior. However, he had never worked at the grassroots level of the church. If he were a priest, he would understand that bizarre incidents occurred one after another in the parish: someone went mad because they were possessed by the devil, someone's sheep were carried away by something because the devil did it, and a poor harvest was because the devil passed by.

Anyway, my family is in such a terrible state, it must be because of some kind of evil spirit. You can't just ignore this, sir!

If it were an orderly church, the priest would bring him a cup of holy water from a dark little room. Whether he drank it or sprinkled it, it would at least do some good and get rid of the troublemaker. Sincerity works; if it doesn't, it's the Lord testing you. Good, good.

After the church left, this tactic was used on the resident mage, causing Bart great torment. He couldn't offer the placebo called holy water (which might have worked in the old imperial era), and the members of the brewing guild weren't easily fooled. Besides, this guy had planned a roundabout way to advance, aiming to run for trade representative the following year.

If you neglect your duties, your public support will collapse. Do you still want to be elected? You'd better complain to the patrol supervisor first!

Luo Xia took the grape leaf sample, and a blue light suddenly appeared in his hand. Fireflies merged into the wilted grape leaf, successfully bringing it back to life and making it plump and green again.

"I knew you could do it! Great and wise Intermediate Mage Rorschach, I praise you!"

Rorschach spread the leaf out for Bart to see: "Don't get too excited yet, look for yourself."

Only then did the anxious resident monk notice that the brown spots in the center of the newly nourished leaves had increased in number and size, and were even showing a tendency to turn black. Just as Luo Xia had estimated, the causative agent was some kind of microorganism, and the "resurrection" treatment applied to the leaves had accelerated the progression of the disease.

Anyone who studied junior high school chemistry in their past life knew about a blue pesticide, but no one in this world has yet accidentally discovered it. Of course, knowing about it isn't enough; there are many precautions to take.

After a quick mental calculation, Rorschach patted Bart on the shoulder and said, "Come on, take me to the scene."

The winery reported to Lord Bart was the Citizens' Welfare Institute Winery, which was sponsored by the winemaking guild and had a vineyard to maintain its operation.

"Lord Bart, you've finally arrived. And this lady behind you is..." The old woman from the orphanage came out, wiping her rough hands on her bib.

Among those who came were Bart and a young man on crutches.

"I am Rorschach, assistant to the mage Bart, and Mother Abigail." Rorschach shook hands with her, his knuckles rough and his palms calloused. "You have to see things for yourself to find the clues."

"Well said! It's a pity Lord Bart is always so busy." The old woman led them down into the field, to the rows of grapevines.

"Look, there are more and more like this now, the new shoots are mostly black." The old woman broke off a rotten tender branch, and clear, viscous sap flowed from the wound.

"Is this also a symptom?" Bart dipped his finger in the juice, brought it closer to observe and smell it; it was colorless and odorless.

Luo Xia took the broken branch: "No, this is normal when the buds sprout in spring. It's the sap flow period for grapes now."

"Lord Bart has found a capable assistant!" The old woman nodded and then showed them other things, mainly brown spots growing along the veins on the leaves.

"If it's like this when the fruit falls in the fall, we're doomed!"

"Mother Abigail, I believe this is just some kind of illness."

"Some kind of disease!" The burly woman's voice suddenly rose, startling Bart slightly. "Are you saying I'm just making things up, or is this a minor issue for you? But this is the livelihood of the entire orphanage! Please come with me, and allow me to present the evidence to the adults."

The old woman led the two into the cellar, through barrels of stored goods, until they reached the library at the end. She unlocked the large cast-iron lock and pulled a stack of tattered items from the dust.

"This is."

"A record from 420 years ago! Look at that."

This is a genuine artifact… Holding the nearly rotten parchment in his palm, Rorschach struggled to decipher the writing on it, which was in cursive script.

"The Devil's Kiss"

It seems a similar disease had broken out before, and then it was cured by holy water. At the time, the caretaker of the orphanage was a priest, and he left this cursive record.

The charlatan named it "Devil's Kiss" in his own style, and all the grapevines he kissed would be cursed, and the fruit they bore would be blemished.

Not only must the kissed plants be removed, but the soil that has been diseased must also be sprayed with holy water to thoroughly purify it.

Rorschach became increasingly convinced that the disease was caused by some kind of microorganism.

"Bart, I remember there were dye houses in Würzburg, right?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"We need slaked lime and azurite."

……

Bart carried a wooden bucket containing azurite dissolved in a large amount of water; Rorschach preferred to call this beautiful, pure blue crystal copper sulfate.

Luo Xia then asked the old woman to prepare lime slurry, and according to his instructions, he mixed the lime slurry into the copper sulfate solution.

"Ouch, what's all that noise!"

"It's alright, hold on tight and continue." That was Rorschach's third hand stirring inside the wooden bucket, much better than any rotor. Another use for [Mage's Hand] was added.

The finished product was a beautiful sky-blue emulsion. Rorschach carried the bucket and went with Bart to the plants that had been afflicted with the disease.

Rorschach used the [Communication] spell to command the resident mage: "Follow my instructions."

Seeing that Bart had become serious, the old woman said solemnly to her, "Mother Abigail, my assistant and I are about to perform the exorcism ritual. Please watch carefully!"

Then Bart started gesturing wildly and muttering to himself. The old woman couldn't hear a single word the adult was saying, but she felt that his posture was very professional.

"Please have my assistant apply the alchemical solution!" Rorschach poured the prepared Bordeaux mixture evenly onto the grapevines around the diseased plant, being careful not to use too much, lest the plant suffer the consequences.

The normal procedure for Bordeaux mixture is supposed to be preventative; now that spots have appeared, it's beyond saving. But Rorschach and Barthes can use magic!

"Ha!" Bart's eyes widened, and the old woman could feel the sorcerer casting his magical spell.

A raging fire!

Bart's performance—or rather, his brilliant spellcasting—enacted the curse on the grapes kissed by the devil, and the old woman nearly fainted at the sight of the sudden, horrifying scene.

(End of this chapter)