Mage? Magic Engineer!-Chapter 74 - 71: Rorschach’s Storytelling Session and Two Listeners

"You ask if I support the recent measures taken by Charles XVI and Minister Nekker? Of course, I support them. But as for whether there’s actually a gold mine... No comment!"

Rorschach maintained his usual stance, stating that the sub-plane was a barren wasteland and that he had no idea if there was a gold mine or not.

He then started telling stories about creating water and building houses on the sub-plane. The important figures dispersed, leaving two or three young people who were willing to listen to his experiences.

Someone asked, "Did you really discover a giant worm lurking underground afterward? How did you defeat it?"

That was a complete fabrication by the *Elemental Truth Newspaper*!

"Yes, it had a grayish-purple shell, and every segment was covered in eyes that stared right at you. The head was the most terrifying part. Its massive mandibles could secrete a corrosive venom, and when it opened its great, tooth-filled maw, it looked as if it could swallow the world. Every time you broke off a segment, the creature would split into even more monsters. Each piece could individually transform and grow its own head..."

"Good heavens..."

"Those were all the heart-pounding encounters of ’Loka’ the Mage—the hero from the *Newspaper’s* story. Our actual situation was more of a natural disaster." Rorschach found a way to explain. "Ladies and gentlemen, please imagine the heaviest snowfall in our homeland on the Northern Continent—one that blots out the sun, heavy enough to crush trees and the farmers’ thatched huts.

"That’s already terrible, isn’t it? Now, imagine that every snowflake is a dangerous shade of pink. As soon as it touches sand or rock, it causes erratic transformations. If it touches a person, it makes them grow tumors and bone spurs. This lethal substance once filled the air, capable of passing through rock walls, raining down a pink, twisted death..."

A young man who had joined Rorschach’s storytelling circle late was the most moved. Oh, and he also had the silkiest hair—parted in the middle, his black locks drooped down like two curtains. "Pink snow falling, ever-changing, a dance of curses and death... Snowstorms are a common theme in music. To depict such a dangerously beautiful scene with musical notes..."

"I must thank you, Rorschach Mage, for giving me the inspiration to create. Hello, please call me Franz. I am the performer of the music at this reception. What did you think of the earlier piano piece? I adapted it from a local symphony after I arrived in Valuva..."

"A pleasure, a pleasure. Good music always brings us the purest joy, and your performance is undoubtedly among the best." Rorschach couldn’t very well admit he was musically illiterate. Before transmigration, he’d listened to pop songs. After, he had no clue about symphonies, ballads, concertos... or full-bodied cabernets.

As the reception drew to a close, Rorschach excused himself from the circle and slipped away to the savory food section. It was filled with all sorts of long-missed sausages, but here they were sliced and served on small plates. There was also a type of white sausage, for which a dedicated attendant stood by. When a guest wanted some, he would scoop it out of hot water and peel off the casing for them with a knife and fork.

’This goes well with bread, but the garlic is so strong...’ With the goal of filling his stomach, Rorschach tried all the breads and sausages before preparing to move on to the desserts...

"Mr. Rorschach, please follow me to the reception room. The ambassador is looking for you."

Rorschach walked in still holding a plate of cake. He didn’t wait for the ambassador to speak and said bluntly, "Mr. Ambassador, if you’re asking me about the gold mine on the sub-plane, I have only one thing to say: I don’t know. No comment." After speaking, he took out a bag and placed it on the table. Inside was a handful of orange-red earth—a sample Rorschach had collected on the very first day.

Viscount Gottfried froze for a moment after opening the bag, then signaled his subordinate to close the door securely. "In that case, I’d like to know the Valuva Magic Guild’s stance on the gold mine and the Mining Company."

Rorschach didn’t answer immediately. He cast [Magic Detection]. The ambassador and his guards all had a Magic Aura, and beneath the room was a blurry expanse of light—a Magic Array whose details were indistinct.

The Viscount continued, "Please rest assured, there are no means of recording sound or any other senses here. We have put up shields against the Prophetic System. Our conversation will only be left as an anonymous, encrypted report."

"The Magic Guild insists on not getting involved with the gold mine or the company, although Nekker has been trying to pull us in." The recent court banquet was a prime example.

"Clearly, the Minister of Finance hopes to use the Magic Guild’s credibility to endorse the Mining Company, but this attempt failed after the Guild ’took care of’ the media. As for the stocks and their value, most Mages don’t care. A few individuals might participate in trading, I suppose."

"One more thing." The Viscount laid out several colorful slips of paper on the table: notes for one livre, ten livres, five livres, and one livre.

"Five banks have now started issuing Paper Currency. Rorschach Mage, what is the Casters’ attitude toward them?" Paper money was still a novelty on this continent. Although checks and money orders existed, they were merely instruments for large transactions, not credit-based currency.

Recalling what Kano had said, Rorschach replied, "I don’t know what everyone thinks, but at the very least, the high-ranking Mages are convinced these slips of paper will definitely depreciate."

That was also the Empire’s assessment; they were well aware of how terrible the Holy Kingdom’s financial situation was. "But unexpectedly, the recent upward trend in commodity prices has been curbed."

"Mr. Ambassador, two things are soaring in price—so much so that they’re making headlines every day. And the more they rise, the more people scramble to buy them."

"The Mining Company’s stock and government bonds."

"Exactly. With these two reservoirs, Nekker and his banks can issue currency boldly. He’s also recovering a large amount of metallic currency through the sale of bonds and stocks. Regardless of whether there’s a gold mine, he should have a considerable amount of hard currency on hand now, and by issuing paper money, he can mobilize even more resources."

The ambassador recalled recent intelligence: "The Holy Kingdom used Gold Coins to urgently import a shipment of grain and flour from Istani and the city-states on the continent’s southern tip. It was all sent to Valuva." The Holy Kingdom was supposed to be the largest grain producer, but its population was also massive. Any fluctuation would cause bread prices to skyrocket. Istani, on the other hand, had a relatively stable capacity for grain exports.

Clearly, Nekker had turned around the Holy Kingdom’s tight financial situation. Having money made it easier to get things done.

"The boom will certainly last for a while longer, but the bubble might be deliberately burst by this financial genius."

The ambassador, thinking this was information from the Magic Guild, hastily asked, "Deliberately? Does that mean there’s a plan and a timeline?"

"It’s just a guess." Rorschach shook his head. The current game was just a new form of borrowing, and the promised dividends on stocks were much more costly than the interest on government bonds. Based on the knowledge Rorschach had accumulated from his pre-transmigration life tapping away at a keyboard, the Minister of Finance’s game plan was crystal clear.

For now, at least, whether it was exchanging debt with the banks for the right to issue currency, or swapping government bonds for stocks, Nekker was doing two things at once. "When the citizens of the Holy Kingdom have forked over their very last physical gold coin, and when the Minister of Finance has successfully converted all government bonds to be valued in credit currency... POP."

After their conversation, Rorschach and the ambassador left the reception room at different times. The evening’s event concluded perfectly with the ambassador’s closing speech. The reception was a success, but Rorschach was far from satisfied, especially since his stomach was only a third full. He left the residence to find that Muxi Street had few shops, only sparsely spaced kerosene lamps.

’Looks like I’ll have to find a late-night snack at the Tower of Stars...’ Rorschach thought as he set off.

The further Rorschach went, the fewer vehicles he saw, until he was the only one on the street. He didn’t know the exact location and could only trust in his Alchemy Horse’s intelligence, which was said to be comparable to that of a Tower Spirit.

However, he was unaware that at the other end of this very street was someone he knew—Floran, who was sprinting frantically in a disheveled state.