Mage? Magic Engineer!

"Old Mercer, I’ve come to discuss something with you today." The village chief said, nervously fiddling with the box. "This gold... it’s from Rorschach."

The couple showed only a flicker of surprise before quickly replying, "If Rorschach gave it to you, then you should keep it. You helped him so much back then..."

"No, it’s not for me personally!" The village chief picked up the gold coins. "Your son’s intention was to use this money to help the village children with their education."

"No wonder," Old Mercer said, the realization dawning on him. "I was wondering how you suddenly had the money to continue your sponsorships." He still didn’t pay the gold coins much mind.

"Well, that’s what I came to talk about..." the village chief began with a sigh. "You know the situation this year. The older kids have all gone to the front lines, and most of them are past school age anyway. As for the younger ones... there aren’t many in the village these days, and with the public school, it hardly costs a thing."

In other words, Rorschach had given them far too much. It was impossible to spend it all.

The village chief shared his idea. "Something unexpected has come up. The Empire’s grain collection team is on its way. They claim they’ll leave us with some rations, but it looks like they’re planning to strip us bare. We had a bountiful harvest this year, but if we have to pay the levy according to the official notice, we’ll surely starve!

"So, I was thinking... maybe we could use this money to do some maneuvering. We could also use it to pay the levy in cash instead of grain, covering as much as we can for the villagers. Since Rorschach isn’t here, I came to discuss it with you and see if that would be an acceptable use for the funds."

While Old Mercer was still mulling it over, Madam Mercer spoke up first. "Yes, of course you can. Rorschach left that money to do good for the village."

But Old Mercer muttered, "Since we have the money, why not wait until there’s a real grain shortage to buy more? What if we don’t end up needing to?"

"Because grain in your hands means a full belly. Gold can’t fill an empty stomach. If what the village chief says is true, and the Empire takes this year’s entire harvest, then grain prices will skyrocket by winter and spring. It’ll be hard to feed the whole village then, even if you have the money to buy it."

"Exactly, that’s the reasoning..." The village chief started to nod, then froze. That voice just now was clearly... "Rorschach?"

Rorschach materialized in the living room, giving Old Mercer—the so-called "pillar of the community"—a huge fright. Madam Mercer, however, rushed forward, patting and hugging him, just to be sure it was really her son.

Once she confirmed he wasn’t a hallucination, Madam Mercer yelled up toward the second floor, "An-ge-laaa! Your big brother is home!"

Rorschach had no time to reminisce. He got straight to the point. "What’s the story with that Mill Master? Why haven’t I heard of him before?"

His tone made Old Mercer even more nervous. He had never been like this before.

The village chief remained calm. "He’s an outsider. Compared to the mills owned by the nobility or the state, his mill barely charges anything and doesn’t take a cut of the grain. That’s why everyone from the surrounding area likes to go to him. Some people even haul their grain for miles just to save the money.

"Once the villagers accepted him, the fellow started organizing some sort of ’Charitable Association.’ If you ask me, it’s just a front for his proselytizing. And a lot of people have joined."

"Why didn’t you say so in your letter?"

"Because..." As Old Mercer hemmed and hawed, the village chief muttered with a sidelong glance, "When I was writing the letter for him, I urged him to discuss it with you, but he wouldn’t. Heh, Rorschach, you might not know this, but the Charitable Association’s biggest benefactor in this village is your own father!"

"What?" ’This is as absurd as a master demon hunter’s parents getting swindled out of their life savings by a back-alley fortune teller.’ He really hadn’t been home enough. He never thought Old Mercer would play this kind of trick on him.

Rorschach almost laughed in exasperation. "Why didn’t you tell me? You knew this was wrong, didn’t you? So why were you still giving him money?"

His voice rose with each question, his tone growing sharper. Angela’s voice cut through Rorschach’s aggressive interrogation. "Big brother, Mom and Dad don’t believe a word of that outsider’s nonsense! Don’t you understand why they sponsored him?"

Angela had come downstairs, and her words took him by surprise. "Hm? Why is that?"

"You’re not home, and our other brother is off in the army. Are there any strong young men left in this house? Everyone knows our family has money. If Dad didn’t pay up, that outsider would just stir up other malicious people to come after us. If something were to happen then, would a letter even reach you in time?

"Mom and Dad didn’t want to tell you in their letters, but we’ve had burglars a few times. If it hadn’t been for the village chief’s shotgun, I don’t know what horrible things might have happened."

The village chief nodded slowly.

"Why not hire servants and Guards?"

"And hire them from where?" the village chief added. "All the young men are on the battlefield; the Adventurer’s Guild is practically shuttered. The older, experienced hands are all settled in with their current masters. No matter how much money the Mercer Family has, on paper, you’re still commoners. Who would leave an Earl and Viscount’s Mansion to come work here? Even if your parents were willing to pay, they don’t have the right connections."

But Rorschach wasn’t having it. "I admit, I share some of the blame. I was too focused on supporting you with money and failed to pay closer attention. But I will not accept your twisted logic.

"You shouldn’t have hidden this from me—the one person most capable of solving the problem. Besides, by funding that outsider’s Cult, aren’t you just helping it grow stronger, allowing it to harm even more people?"

’I used to worry that if I moved the family to Bayern, they’d cause trouble by throwing my name around. Now I see my fears were completely misguided. Dad, you really don’t leverage my reputation at all, do you! The family of a Great Mage, reduced to being extorted by some third-rate proselytizer and meekly paying tribute.’

’Sigh, at least this means I can bring them to Bayern without worrying...’ Rorschach made up his mind. "Alright, let’s not argue about who was right or wrong. Everyone in this house is coming with me to Bayern. It’s safe and prosperous, and I’ll be able to look after you there."

The last time Rorschach had returned, he was still a mild-mannered young man. Now, he exuded an air of unshakeable authority, despite being the second-youngest person in the room.

"I can’t go," Old Mercer finally said, his voice steady. "This is what I was afraid of—that you’d try to take us away, make us leave this land, leave our home. Besides, if we move now, what about Franz? How will he find us? How will we find him?"

"You don’t need to worry about that." Rorschach produced a letter from his younger brother—one that could never have reached them under normal circumstances. "I’ve already found Franz. He’s still in the army, but he’s auditing classes at a military academy. He’s perfectly safe.

"On my way back to the village, I saw the Mill Master riling up the villagers. Staying here any longer will only bring more danger."

The Empire itself lacks a powerful Church. As the Town Mages—who usually kept such things in check—are conscripted and mobilized for the war, many parts of the Empire, especially villages and small towns, have been left mystically defenseless.

As the saying goes, "any ground you don’t hold, the enemy will seize." The Mother Goddess Sect, which had once vanished, was now rising from the ashes. Meanwhile, the Mages who were supposed to be stamping out these fires had all been drafted into the army. Judging by the incident at Moncado Fortress, the Mother Goddess’s awakening was still proceeding, and the Sect—along with other, similar entities—would only continue to spread in its wake.

This was especially true in areas that had seen death, paid a heavy price, and endured great suffering because of the war. Even a peaceful little village like this one was now being infiltrated.