Mage? Magic Engineer!

The space-time rift behind Rorschach felt as if it led to a place of low temperature and low pressure. A chill made him shudder, and he quickly pulled his hand out of Ella’s grasp.

Rorschach was about to turn, but the rift, instead of expanding into a temporary Teleportation Gate, snapped shut. The message was clear: he was on his own to get there.

When he looked back, the Apprentice and Ella had identical expressions of amusement, clearly enjoying the spectacle.

"Ahem. You all saw that. I have other business, so I have to get going. Please make a copy of the analysis results and give it to... well, I won’t be here, so give it to the young man who’s been looking after you."

"Mage Andre?"

"Yes. If you are leaving tomorrow to return to the Tower of Forest, we will prepare a farewell party tonight. If you’d like to visit other cities for a bit, you can also mention it to Andre, and he will arrange it for you."

"There’s no need to go to all that trouble. We’ll be departing as soon as we can. We’ve already stayed here longer than we planned."

"I appreciate it." With that, Rorschach hurriedly levitated, then used an Air Cannon to propel himself toward the school. It was the fastest way to travel, second only to teleportation. To ordinary people, the streaking Rorschach would have been a blur, but to a Caster...

The Apprentice watched Rorschach disappear into the distance. "Why doesn’t the Master use a Teleportation Spell?"

"I don’t know... Perhaps he’s training his body and his Casting Skill? Years ago, the investigation team with myself, Master Rorschach, and Master Humboldt also entered the Black Forest one step at a time."

"Does that actually work...?"

...

That day was September tenth, the day the Special Zone’s Engineering College began its semester and the Rorschach Mage Tower welcomed a new batch of joint-program apprentices. To save time and effort, a single, combined opening ceremony was held for both institutions. As the Tower Master and the nominal principal of the Engineering College, Rorschach was naturally expected to attend and deliver a speech.

The good news for the drowsy students was that the leader taking the stage hadn’t prepared some long-winded speech. In fact, he hadn’t prepared a single word.

"Master Rorschach, you’re up next," said Caroline, the college’s acting principal, as she straightened his crimson ceremonial robe. "Time to make a grand entrance."

Rorschach adjusted his bow tie. "Please, just call me Rorschach. It feels strange when you call me that."

"Then you should call me Senior Sister."

"No, no, no. A teacher is a teacher. ’A teacher for a day, a teacher for...’ Er..." ’Facing Caroline, would that make it ’a mother for a lifetime’?’ Rorschach cleared his throat. "In any case, it carries great significance."

"What signifi—" Before Caroline could finish, Rorschach pulled her onto the stage with him.

The two of them stood at the lectern together. When the apprentices and teachers in the audience saw the crimson robe and the Purple Robe appear side-by-side, they all sat up straighter, their spirits lifted. The apprentices from the Tower of Secret Techniques who were part of the joint program felt a particular sense of vindication. ’Wow, I never expected Rorschach Mage to become a Great Mage so fast! How on earth did I get so lucky to join his Mage Tower?’

The new students of the Engineering College, however, were still largely in the dark. They had only just completed their most basic literacy education and had been admitted to the college after a selection process that placed special emphasis on mathematics. Most were the children of workers and city dwellers, with a few who had struggled to climb their way up from the countryside.

Most of these children couldn’t grasp the stature of their new principal. Their impressions were simple: the people on stage were younger than their own parents, the man was handsome, the woman was beautiful, and their robes were incredibly impressive. They made a mental note to drape a bedsheet over their shoulders when they got home.

This was the Engineering College’s second intake of students, but its first formal opening ceremony, and it had been prepared on a grand scale. Rorschach scanned the decorated hall, where over a thousand students and teachers were seated, filling the space without it feeling crowded.

This was a considerable number, but it was far from enough for the entire Special Zone. Even after recruiting a large number of recent university graduates as teachers, the faculty and the school’s capacity couldn’t keep up with the number of eligible students, nor could they meet the future demand for a high-quality workforce needed to expand production.

"Though many of you may already know me, allow me to introduce myself: I am Rorschach. I’m twenty years old, and I was born in the Empire."

Was that it? Everyone waited for him to continue, but he just paused. After a moment, his expression grew serious. "Seems short, doesn’t it? An Empire soldier named Joseph Mueller died on the battlefield. His tombstone bears only his name, his age, his legion, and his final battle."

"Countless others—young people from Bayern, the Empire, and Valois alike—don’t even get their own tombstone. They end up in nameless mass graves. But you are sitting here, about to begin a new stage of your education. You have plenty of time and opportunity to earn yourselves a long introduction."

"So I only have one hope for all of you: cherish life, respect knowledge, and seize opportunity. That concludes my speech. Thank you."

Rorschach started to leave the stage, but took one step and turned back. "I forgot to mention, I am a very busy man. So, whether as Tower Master or Principal, I am merely a figurehead to you all. As for the apprentices and teachers in the audience, if I ever seek you out, it will most likely be to give you a job to do."

"The person you’ll be dealing with is Teacher Caroline—or, to be more precise, the esteemed Executive Principal Caroline."

Rorschach noticed some apprentices failing to hide their disappointment. After all, Caroline was merely a Purple Robe. In the upper echelons of the Tower of Secret Techniques, if you dropped a book, you’d have a good chance of hitting one. By the Tower’s standards, the female mage on stage was utterly unremarkable—a sentiment held, ironically, by apprentices who were themselves struggling to advance.

He concluded, "Don’t underestimate Master Caroline. She is, after all, the teacher who produced a Great Mage. And though it may be shameless of me to say, that Great Mage... is me."

"’Teacher Caroline’s other students are also excelling in their own fields, so I hope you will all work hard as well.’ ’After all,’ Rorschach thought, ’based on my latest intelligence, Richard has already been promoted to Brigadier General. As for Bart... he’ll soon go down in history as the man behind the world’s first female senator. All three of them have bright futures. Wonderful, just wonderful!’"

Now Caroline understood the "great significance" Rorschach had mentioned before they came on stage. She didn’t have a prepared speech either, so she also kept her remarks brief. The students, however, were now inspired by Rorschach, and their attitude had completely changed. They gave Caroline a fervent round of applause.

...

On one hand, a joyous opening ceremony, brimming with energy and hope. On the other, along the southern front of the Empire’s occupied zone in Northern Valois, the National Guard was cleaning its cannons and rifles, preparing to wage war against the enemy on their nation’s soil.

Artillery General Druao was about to enter his first battle since his promotion, commanding a reorganized heavy infantry division. In the National Guard, a branch-specific general was equivalent to a Brigadier General in the Empire. While he owed his promotion in part to the merits of his subordinates, his own military expertise had also been recognized by high command.

Druao raised his telescope, then lowered it. He could see that the wheat fields had already been harvested. The Empire Army’s trenches cut several ugly scars across the landscape. The general couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

"’The National Salvation Committee and the National Assembly have been wrangling for ages, holding us back for far too long! I bet those Empireists are eating grain grown by our own people right now, just sitting there comfortably and waiting for our attack.’"

After the Second Battle of Moncado Fortress, large numbers of troops had needed to rest and regroup. But just as they were ready, the upheaval in Valuva had disrupted every aspect of the military, from personnel appointments to logistics, delaying the counter-offensive to liberate the homeland by a full month.

But no matter what, he had to give this battle his all. As part of the eastern front, Druao’s forces had two objectives: retake lost land, and make the Empireists believe the National Guard’s main assault was directed at the strongest defensive line in history.

Meanwhile, his former subordinate Paul—now an artillery general of equal rank after a special promotion—would lead his forces through the Lowland Duchies to the west. They would take the shortest route, striking from west to east and south to north, directly at the Empire Capital.

Druao glanced at the object lying under a heavy tarp—the Giant Mechanic Breaker—and offered a silent prayer that it would live up to its full potential.