Mage? Magic Engineer!-Chapter 81 - 78: Revisiting Old Haunts

Sibins silently took the bag and weighed it in his hand. "Gold Coins from the Holy Kingdom?"

Rorschach nodded.

The Mechanical Director slowly ran his left hand over his clean-shaven bald head as he pulled open a drawer with his other hand. "First, I guarantee you that not a single coin of the money meant for your parents will be missing. Second, as for what the Trading Company shorted you, I’ll reimburse you for it now."

"There’s no need. I’m not short on money right now. What I want is for the Holy Kingdom’s Pachaluka Trading Company to give me what was agreed upon. I want this handled by the book."

"By the book. Fine. You’ll receive it the next time you go to the Holy Kingdom. I guarantee it."

Having received two guarantees, Rorschach picked up the money bag and turned to leave.

The Mechanical Director had a scarred patch on his head, which was impossible to see clearly unless one was a full head taller than him. When the old wound healed, it left a bald spot, so he had simply taken to shaving his head completely and refused to wear a wig.

His left hand continued to stroke his head as the Empire’s Mechanical Director stared at a painting on his office wall. It depicted a scene of a single Mage fighting numerous soldiers.

The Mage was a figure of imposing power, dangerous balls of light erupting from his hands. The soldiers were in disarray; those still standing before the Mage trembled with fear, you could almost hear the wails of the fallen, and some were already lifeless, face down in the dirt.

Different people saw this painting from different perspectives. To others at the academy, the painting was a bit odd. It was strange that the protagonist’s enemies weren’t the usual Evil Dragons or monsters, but soldiers of an indiscernible allegiance. Naturally, the Mage was the hero of the piece.

But Sibins’s perspective was different: he saw himself and his comrades-in-arms. One of them, like him, had been lucky enough to survive. With Sibins’s help, he’d secured a comfortable position to live out his retirement, even taking into account his old wounds that ached in the winter by placing him in the warmer, more pleasant south... Sibins had also placed great trust in this brother with whom he’d faced death, entrusting him with the organization’s network in the Holy Kingdom.

It had been a decision born of personal feelings, trust, and the grim necessity of having no one else to turn to when the organization was first founded.

He took the painting down and tore it apart in a fit of rage.

Rorschach, feeling great after his righteous complaint, hummed a little tune as he followed his memory to Caroline’s office. Inside the academy, he wore a black Magic Robe with purple trim. Apprentices who saw him instinctively greeted him with, "Hello, Teacher," only to wonder behind his back when the academy had hired such a young instructor. Rorschach returned their greetings without a second thought. ’After all, I do have a temporary teaching position at the Tower of Stars,’ he reasoned.

"Teacher Caroline? Teacher Caroline?" He knocked on the door, but there was no answer from the office.

’Is she in class?’ Rorschach was hesitating, wondering if he should check all the classrooms, when the door next to him opened. A teacher he didn’t recognize explained, "Master Caroline isn’t at the school right now. And you are?"

"Hello, Teacher. I’m a former student of Teacher Caroline’s. I came to the academy to see her today."

"Master Caroline is on a long leave of absence in Istani. Early next year, there’s a comet cluster observation point in the Atlas Sea, and she’s already gone ahead to Istani."

"Thank you for letting me know. What a shame. Did Teacher Caroline leave any contact information for her time in Istani?"

"We only know that she should be in Storm City until January of next year. She’ll probably move on after that."

"I see."

His next stop at the academy was the Library. Comparing the two, the books here were indeed more practical than those at the Tower of Stars. At least here you wouldn’t find ancient, handwritten tomes—possibly one-of-a-kind originals—with incomprehensible titles. The books here, regardless of the depth of their content, were all straightforward and clear, likely the result of the academy’s teachers specially compiling them.

Rorschach quite liked this style. Unfortunately, he was here to return books.

"Student Rorschach... I mean, Rorschach Mage, all the books you’ve borrowed are overdue." The academy’s librarian was an older woman, and she was very displeased with his tardiness.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble it is for us to restock the library? The inventory, the reports, the approvals... Why can’t you just be on time? Look, now I have to close out your record... Here’s your deposit of three Silver Coins. Take it."

Rorschach took the books out of his Storage Ring one by one:

*Three Royal Commanders*, *Comprehensive Guide to Basic Level Spells*, *Standard Magic Array Geometric Analysis*, *Human Magical Circuit Anatomy*...

Rorschach had found the time to read through all of these books, but to be honest, they weren’t much help anymore now that he had the panel.

For example, the *Comprehensive Guide to Basic Level Spells* was more like an index with brief descriptions of effects; a proper guide to casting would likely require an entire book for each spell. As a result, any spell one didn’t know still had to be learned through a Mage’s demonstration or a Learning Scroll.

Only when he got to *Standard Magic Array Geometric Analysis* did Rorschach hesitate for a moment. Ever since seeing the Topological Array on the Airship, he had been interested in studying Magic Arrays. "Can I renew this one? I can pay another deposit."

"What? No. You’ve already graduated. Not unless you’re a teacher at the academy."

"Then can I buy this book?" He didn’t want to go to the trouble of running to the Guild’s bookstore, and even then, there was no guarantee they’d have it in stock. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The librarian fell silent for a moment, then replied in a much softer voice than before, "Four Golden Eagle Coins." The price was quite fair; Magic Books had always been expensive.

"Can I pay with coins from the Holy Kingdom?"

"Paper Currency? Sorry, I don’t accept..."

"Gold Coins, of course. How about five?" There was no helping it; the old Gold Coins from the Holy Kingdom were a notch below the Empire’s Golden Eagle Coins in both weight and purity. And now, the newer Langs had zero gold content, being made of nothing but fiber.

Before leaving, Rorschach glanced at the entrance to the Library and saw the booklet of his thesis on display. He couldn’t help but smile as he left.

After Rorschach left, the librarian looked around. Seeing no one waiting to check out books, she decisively pulled out Rorschach’s borrowing and return records. She copied them onto a blank form and placed it in the file folder; the newly transcribed document was now missing one book: *Standard Magic Array Geometric Analysis*. She slipped the five Charles XVI coins into her pocket.

Upon graduation, the son of a farmer had lost his permanent residence in the Imperial Capital, even though Rorschach was now a Middle Level Caster, a pillar of the Empire. Fortunately, there was no shortage of hotels near the Empire Magic Academy. They were all luxurious, as the academy recruited from all over the country, and there was always a demand for lodging from the families of minor Nobility and merchants when new students enrolled.

In addition, many students who couldn’t get used to the dorms became long-term hotel guests. The even wealthier and more influential ones simply bought "school district housing." Over time, living off-campus became a tradition, to the point that living in the school dorms was seen as a loss of face among Apprentices from wealthy merchant and noble families.

As a result, many of the academy’s dorm rooms were empty, which was why Rorschach, a mere Apprentice at the time, had been able to have a room all to himself.

By the time he had checked into a room, it was already noon. Rorschach went to the Moonlight Lake Restaurant alone.

It was the familiar sound of an Elf Harp, the decor still predominantly blue. There were Apprentices wearing the academy’s insignia, laughing and talking. When they saw Rorschach enter, they took in his young face, his purple-trimmed Magic Robe, and his Mage Badge, their expressions turning to envy and admiration.

Rorschach stood at the entrance, scanning the room in a futile search. Of course, there were no familiar faces. ’Strange,’ he thought. ’Strictly speaking, I barely even saw those two.’

A waiter came over to seat him, first asking how many were in his party.

Rorschach smiled and replied, "Just me."