Mage? Magic Engineer!

"The Southern Countries are conducting an orderly retreat... they’ve signed a treaty with the Valois Kingdom for massive grain reparations... and a civil war has broken out in the Sardinia Kingdom. Rumor has it the rebel leader is the supreme commander of the allied forces." Andre clicked his tongue in amazement at the morning paper’s headlines.

His teacher, a certain Great Mage, had been missing for several days. Andre himself, along with Kano and the others, remained calm. Only Caroline was frantic with worry.

During these past few days, Rorschach’s main body had just awoken before vanishing without a single word.

Of course, he had been teleported by Hercules to the south of Valois. It happened so quickly that he hadn’t had time to explain anything. So, from Caroline’s perspective, he had simply "evaporated" right before her eyes.

In that instant, she could, of course, recognize the formation of a spatiotemporal rift. But the power that tore through space-time made her tremble with a deep, instinctual fear. She suspected it was the work of a Divine Spirit.

Kano, Feuerbach, and the others she notified weren’t focused on Rorschach at all. Instead, they were concerned about the Starship, all of them believing that Rorschach was "blessed by fortune."

Kano even suggested that Caroline could pray to the Master of Light and Order. Not understanding the implication, she grew a little angry, thinking her teacher was joking with her. In reality, it was a suggestion that might have actually worked.

At that very moment, even Rorschach’s apprentice, Andre, was leisurely reading the newspaper, which drove her mad. "Your teacher is missing, and you have the nerve to read the paper?"

"Please, don’t worry." Andre raised a hand, summoning three silver stars to orbit his head. They glittered brightly. "Look, Master Rorschach’s new Magic System hasn’t failed. The Spell Cloud is operating normally. He’s definitely fine."

"How can you be so sure the Spell Cloud is tied to Rorschach?"

"Isn’t it?" Andre realized he had never considered any other possibility. "Isn’t this a grand-scale Magic that Master Rorschach developed all by himself?"

Andre had never been to the Boundary Land. He had always assumed the Spell Cloud was essentially a continuous, collective casting led by Rorschach. ’So, you’re saying the Spell Cloud can maintain itself without Rorschach?’

"Forget it... I’m going to the Boundary Land again. You’ll take charge of matters at the school for now." The headmistress resolved to find Rorschach.

"I can’t, Lady Caroline. The Master gave me a very important task. Today’s the day we test the large-scale Weaver Number One. I don’t have a moment to spare..."

"That’s right. Andre has his mission. Don’t give him a hard time." A familiar voice rang out.

"Rorschach!" "Master Rorschach!"

"Ow, ow, ow..." The person who had just appeared was viciously poked in the side, a slender finger twisting and digging in.

"Are you really in pain, or are you faking it? Can a magnificent Great Mage’s defenses be broken so easily by me?" Caroline had no intention of stopping.

Rorschach shot a look at Andre. "Now that I’m back, you should hurry and get to your work."

Andre remembered something. "Oh, an honored guest from the Kingdom of Pomerania has been waiting for you. Please go to the reception room when you have a moment."

"Waiting for me? Okay, got it." Rorschach sent Andre on his way and turned back to Caroline. "Alright, I’ll report everything that happened in full detail..."

"Don’t you have an honored guest to meet? You’re a very busy man now. I wouldn’t dare waste your time."

"What honored guest? I don’t know them. They’re not as important as you..."

...

The Duke of Pomerania’s nephew, Pavel, was curious about everything in Bayern, just like his cousin Libus.

Bayern was Pomerania’s southern neighbor. In terms of area alone, Pomerania was actually larger. However, its history wasn’t as long as that of kingdoms like Bayern or Marlin. It was only elevated from a border marquisate to a duchy a few hundred years ago during a continuous eastward expansion, and was seen by those from the Empire’s Core Area as being tainted by a "barbarian" air.

However, Pomerania paid no mind to the disdain from other members of the Empire, because the Empire was powerful, and Pomerania was willing to submit and be a part of it. Now, Bayern was also powerful. This strength wasn’t reflected in its military, but rather in its import-export trade and the Empire’s special attitude toward it...

During the period when the Empire was secretly sanctioning Bayern, Pomerania had taken on many industrial orders that originally belonged to Bayern. However, once Bayern returned to the Empire’s fold, its industrial goods flooded the market and washed away Pomerania’s workshops, leaving the duchy stunned.

Meanwhile, Libus, who often visited in private, was full of praise for the kingdom, bringing back all sorts of novel stories and goods each time.

The above were Pavel’s secondhand impressions. His firsthand impressions came from his travels in the Special Zone over the last few days.

Now, the person he most wanted to meet in the Bayern Kingdom had appeared. This young Great Mage was said to be the creator of Bayern’s modern-day miracle.

"My apologies for the long wait." Master Rorschach entered the Meeting Room, one hand on his waist. "How should I address you? Mr. Pavel Crook? Or Major Crook?"

Andre had already done a background check for Rorschach:

The young man before him was the eldest son of Duke Crook’s younger brother but had never accepted a fief or title. This situation was likely in preparation for him to be formally adopted as the Duke’s heir at a moment’s notice. If Libus’s future husband lacked the bloodline, ability, and recognition to inherit the duchy, and the Duke had no other children, then the next Duke Crook would be Pavel.

"My visit to Bayern is a personal trip. Just call me Pavel, Master." Pavel stood and bowed. "I took the liberty of visiting today because I wished to witness your greatness for myself."

’Am I some kind of giant panda? What’s there to see?’

Rorschach had intended to just go through the motions, but he hadn’t expected this "Duke Reserve" to start with a barrage of effusive praise. Pavel began with his various experiences in Bayern, finding an angle to compliment every single one, making Rorschach feel an urge to start a motivational magazine just for the guy.

"It’s not hard to see that you’ve had a pleasant journey and that this place has left a deep impression on you. But what is it you’re trying to say?"

"I mean to say, if Pomerania wanted to follow Bayern’s example and achieve the same success, would it be very difficult?" He didn’t wait for Rorschach to answer, continuing on his own. "Aside from internal resistance, there’s also resistance from the entire Empire... Clearly, Pomerania isn’t powerful enough to force the Imperial Palace to compromise the way Bayern has."

As he spoke, Pavel was driven by his emotions to stand up. "The times are changing! The Empire used to be far more powerful than the Holy Kingdom. The ultimate reason was that the Empire’s system was superior. It was more enlightened, more willing to open paths of advancement for the common person."

"But now, the Empire has known nothing but defeat in its war against the Republic. Why? Because the Republic’s system has now surpassed the Empire’s. The new system in Valois grants every adult citizen equal rights from birth, which means every one of them will fight to defend those rights."

"I marched deep into the Republic with our legions and witnessed it all. It may be chaotic there, but every person I saw, even the poorest commoner, held a noble faith in their nation. That is something you don’t see in the Empire."

"Now the Republic’s army is marching on the Imperial Capital itself. Do you think the Empire’s crisis will be over if we just drive them away? No. If we want to revitalize it, we must push it to undergo a complete reformation."