Mage? Magic Engineer!

The Emperor made Richard an offer: "I want you to become the Chief Military Mage."

Richard, of course, shook his head and refused. "Your Majesty, my abilities and qualifications are hardly sufficient for such a position."

"Is saving the Emperor not a great enough accomplishment? Besides, you are the disciple of the former Chief Mage and have a distinguished background..." The new Emperor had not expected to be refused so quickly by a subject. His right hand unconsciously came to rest on his left arm again.

Richard desperately wanted to tell His Majesty the Emperor that, in the eyes of other Casters, none of the points he had just made amounted to much.

After the night of unrest in the Imperial Capital, the greatest beneficiary, William II, had begun to distrust the existing Empire Factions. He harbored serious suspicions about the rank and file of the Empire Army and had loathed the Civil Servants since his youth. As for the politicians from the various States and local regions, the Emperor felt like quietly telling whoever set fire to the Empire Parliament Building that they’d done a good job.

So who did he trust? Given the performance of Richard and Libusse, coupled with the influence of his good friend Helmut, he now placed more reliance on the Great Nobles who had once fallen from favor. In his very first audience, the Emperor summoned the younger generation of other prominent noble families. He earnestly implored them to follow the example of Richard and Helmut, bear the responsibilities of the new era, and bring about a great revival of the Empire Nobility.

Yet now, his chosen role model had directly refused a position of great importance. The young Emperor, somewhat displeased, spoke up. "Fine, youngest son of the Dalberg Family. What kind of reward do you want from me, then? How about I act as the witness at your wedding to Miss Libusse?"

"...Your Majesty, you’ve misunderstood. For now, we are only friends." Richard’s categorical reply made Libusse’s jaw drop, but he failed to notice and continued, "The Empire is not yet at peace. I have no intention of considering personal matters."

"Then you two... Never mind." William suddenly lost all interest. "Colonel Richard, since you are so loyal to the Empire, you should return to the front lines as soon as possible. I hear you are still supposed to be recuperating, but judging from your performance last night, you seem to have recovered quite well."

At the Emperor’s signal, an attendant brought out two nearly identical medals—one to be returned to Hench, the other for Richard—along with a brand-new military uniform. The rank insignia was that of a Major General.

However, William II withheld the new uniform. "This was prepared to go with the title of Chief Mage, but you refused."

"Yes. I was only recently promoted to Colonel. Advancing so quickly would make it difficult to command respect..."

Seeing Richard remained unmoved, the Emperor inwardly cursed, ’What a Diehard,’ and dismissed them from the palace.

Inside the carriage, the blindfolded girl was a little curious as to why Richard had refused nearly all of the Emperor’s commendations.

"Compared to most generals, I’m not qualified to hold that rank right now, nor do I have more troops to lead. Rashly accepting an Honorific Title would only invite pointless criticism." As for the position of Chief Mage, that was a hot seat if there ever was one. He wasn’t a Great Mage; he would never be able to hold onto that position. The unruly Military Mages under him would undoubtedly cause even more trouble.

Richard wasn’t worried about the rewards. From what he’d picked up over the years, the Emperor would surely bestow some boon upon his family to compensate for his refused promotion.

"There’s also..." He hesitated for a moment before deciding to share his thoughts with the girl, but he did so using the [Communication Skill]. "His Majesty is leaning toward reusing the old Great Nobles, hoping to create a balance of power against the Civil Servant Group led by the former Prime Minister, the Empire Army dominated by the lesser nobility, and the various regional powers."

"But will that solve the Empire’s problems? Will it quell the resentment of the low-ranking officers, the common soldiers, and even the general populace? The future those mutineers represent is certainly awful, but the current situation... and the attempts by the Emperor and the former Prime Minister to simply patch things up and maintain the status quo might not be any better."

"You’re too pessimistic, Richard," Libusse said, leaning back. "As long as the Empire keeps winning its wars and the people have bread to eat, there’s no reason for an upheaval like the one in the Kingdom."

"Perhaps you’re right... Is that a prophecy?"

"No. Right now, you are all I can see. It’s true. In this state, I can only see that your destiny is..."

"Is what?"

"I’m not telling. After all, we only have a ’shallow friendship,’" the girl said, turning her head away in a huff.

The Dalberg family manor was suddenly flooded with uninvited guests. They came either as representatives of other families bearing gifts, or as noble ladies paying personal visits to express their concern.

Concern about what? At first, Richard’s parents were completely bewildered.

Piecing together snippets of conversation from the visitors, Richard’s mother nearly fainted. She had assumed he had simply slipped away from the ball in a fit of pique to go amuse himself, never imagining he had been involved in such a major incident.

The bad news: A massive uprising had broken out in the Imperial Capital last night, initiated by Empire Soldiers, and Colonel Richard was involved.

The good news: Both Colonel Richards played a crucial role in quelling the unrest, acting as mainstays of the Empire. The noble scion, in particular, had turned the tide and was credited with protecting the sovereign.

The bad news: At some point, Richard had been labeled as part of the Crown Prince Faction.

The good news: The Crown Prince had ascended the throne ahead of schedule! He was now the esteemed His Majesty William II.

Richard’s father wanted to draw his sword and cut down the guest for delivering the news with such dramatic pauses. For his mother, the good news was that the young ladies from last night’s ball had become even more enthusiastic, constantly asking when Young Master Richard would be back.

The bad news: That wild girl, the daughter of the "Barbarian Chief," was missing. A servant reported seeing her ride off on a horse, chasing after the young master.

When the pair emerged from the luxurious carriage dispatched by the Emperor, and she saw her son helping Libusse alight, the matriarch could only accept the reality of the situation. Then she noticed that the girl—the prime suspect for the role of her future daughter-in-law—was dressed in hunting attire, which accentuated certain... personal assets that the loose Pomeranian dress from the previous night had concealed.

Just as his mother was on the verge of convincing herself, Richard announced that they were only friends and that, as a soldier, he had to return to the front lines immediately.

Madam Dalberg fainted for the second time, and this time, even the smelling salts barely worked.

...

Rorschach thought it was just another unremarkable summer morning, and he planned to kick off his day with a glass of concentrated, iced Energy Potion. His secretary had already thoughtfully laid out the morning papers for him.

"Why is the Empire’s paper on top today? ... PFFT—"

"What’s wrong?" It was the first time Caroline had ever seen Rorschach use the Skill "Spray Water" on a newspaper. The effect was dramatic.

"AHEM... Nothing. Your student has really made a name for himself..."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Is that your way of praising yourself?" She paused to think. "Did you make it into the Empire’s papers?"

"Not me, Richard... See for yourself." Rorschach offered her the soggy newspaper, which she eyed with disdain. Caroline picked up a second copy, delivered by the Imperial Capital Guild, and her eyes widened as well.

Rorschach, meanwhile, was pondering. ’Didn’t I accidentally reset Richard to his factory settings? How did he become the heroic savior of the Imperial Capital? There can only be one reason,’ Rorschach concluded. ’My "Spell Cloud" must be absurdly powerful. All you old fogeys better watch out, because this is the era of "Scientific Ninja Tools"!’

"The Empire Parliament Building has been burned down. At the groundbreaking ceremony for its reconstruction, the new Emperor delivered an important speech. He plans to accelerate reforms to the electoral district system while also promoting the fine traditions of the Empire Nobility. He proposes to follow the example of Istani and establish an Empire Court Conference to preside over the Empire Council, allowing the traditional Nobility to serve as the Empire’s ballast in these changing times..."

"The new Emperor is a young man. If he’s truly determined to push things forward so quickly, then we’ll have to accelerate as well." Rorschach could only think of one thing to say to the Bayern Royal Family: ’This might get a little rough. I hope you’ll bear with me.’