Coming out of the theater, Rorschach noticed several gentlemen leaning on walking sticks.

’A walking stick?’ A thought suddenly struck him. He realized he was still missing a tool to aid his Casting.

The Empire’s academies didn’t bother with theory. They only taught the basic use of Casting tools like Magic Staffs and Crystal Balls. Rumor had it that Mages in the Empire had planned to develop a "Standard Casting Accessory Pack" to equip their military and Town Mages, but the project was abandoned when they failed to develop a low-cost mana storage unit.

The Tower of Stars didn’t seem to care for such things, either. Kano, for example, was ridiculously rich; Rorschach had noticed he would often rely on gems or crystals for quick Casting—disposable ones, at that! ’I can’t be that wasteful...’ In contrast, every Mage and Apprentice from the Tower of Forest carried either an Oak Staff or a Birch Staff.

’Are those things Magic Staffs or hiking sticks?’ he wondered, recalling their performance during the trip to the Black Forest. It seemed only Alexander Humboldt, the Great Mage, had truly used his Magic Staff, plunging it into the ground to transform it into the Guardian Tree.

Rorschach’s desire for a Casting aid wasn’t just a whim. When he first debuted... oh, right, graduated from the academy, he was so poor he could barely afford Learning Scrolls, let alone a Magic Staff. He’d come into some money recently, but he’d been feeling pretty good about his own abilities and hadn’t given it much thought.

The idea first came to him during his fight with the Apprentice, Paul. In that battle, Rorschach discovered that casting Forbidden Magic Roar using only his own power, without the help of the Vibrating Quartz, required intense focus. It was difficult to prepare a subsequent spell while casting it.

If Rorschach hadn’t seen through Paul’s "hidden" charged-up Magic and interrupted him, catching him off guard, the time Rorschach needed to prepare a second spell would have been fatally long. For a seasoned veteran, at least, that opening would have been a perfect opportunity to counterattack.

Against a Caster, landing a "silence" with an initial Forbidden Magic Roar while simultaneously following up with an instant-cast attack would surely have an excellent effect. And against non-Caster enemies, having an instant-cast spell ready could be a lifesaver if a Mage were suddenly ambushed in close quarters.

’Always have to keep an ace up my sleeve...’ Rorschach thought back to Leopold, the Order Knight from the Holy Mother Order he’d encountered when he was just starting out. Only now did he feel a sense of belated fear.

Scrolls couldn’t be cast instantly. Furthermore, because they were written with Alchemy Ink on a flexible, thin material, they would gradually lose their effectiveness even with an energy storage unit. A Magic Staff was, therefore, Rorschach’s best option.

’As for a Crystal Ball... I’m not about to carry a ball around all day.’ That thing was better suited for setting up a stall to earn some extra cash when he was short on funds. A customer looking to have their fortune told would definitely think the stall owner was a professional if they saw a crystal ball.

In the Tower of Stars, Rorschach ran into his Senior Brother. The guy seemed to be in a good mood lately; even on his way to the Library, he couldn’t suppress the slight upturn of his lips.

"Master Pascal?"

"Hm?" His Senior Brother turned his head. Seeing it was Rorschach, he said, "Junior Brother, calling me that sounds so formal. It’s like you’re trying to distance yourself from me, even though you’re just saying hello."

"Senior Brother, do you know where I can buy Magic Tools?" Now that Rorschach was actually looking to buy a Magic Staff, he realized there didn’t seem to be any public channels for selling such items in Valuva. Strange.

"Hmm... If you asked anyone else, the answer would definitely be the Alchemy Department. But since it’s my dear Junior Brother asking, I’ll recommend the watchmaker, Julius Viole. In our world, however, you must call him Mr. Fulcanelli. He’s not open on his days off, though."

Pascal’s meaning was clear: if you were looking for "Julius Viole," you could only get your Pocket Watch repaired. But if you were looking for "Fulcanelli," you could buy some of the good stuff.

’How does he know all these different sorts of people?’ Rorschach chuckled and replied, "So if I’m looking for my Senior Brother, I should call him Master Pascal. But if I wanted to meet with the social activist, should I be asking for Thor?"

"Shh! Don’t joke like that... If you’re really looking for Thor, please go to the ’Friends of Universal Love and Equality’ club." His Senior Brother hadn’t given up on dragging... or rather, recruiting Rorschach into the fold.

Rorschach took the business card for "Mr. Fulcanelli." It had the name and address of his clock shop. As a thank-you, Rorschach gave Pascal two tickets to tomorrow’s performance.

"How did you get tickets?! Ever since Karon and I lost touch, his shows have been impossible to get tickets for." In this day and age, an opera served the same purpose for a couple’s date as a movie, and Pascal was in desperate need of opera tickets.

’As long as you’re willing to spend the money, Senior Brother, there isn’t a ticket you can’t get.’ In any case, Mr. Falcon had already reimbursed him for the cost. A sudden thought occurred to Rorschach: ’Does this count as a faction from the Empire funding a small group of rebels in the Holy Kingdom?’

’No, no, no, it’s just a club. One of Valuva’s vibrant social organizations, that’s all.’

Rorschach decided not to explain where the tickets came from. Instead, he brushed the question aside by making a request his Senior Brother couldn’t refuse. "One ticket is to express my gratitude. But for the other ticket, I’ll need you to do me another small favor."

...

On the first day of the tenday, March 1st, Rorschach was originally scheduled to proctor an exam for the High Masters. If he were proctoring his own class, he would have been very interested in watching his students’ miserable faces as they struggled with the test. Unfortunately, the teacher, subject, and class assignments were all randomized. Having lost interest, Rorschach found Pascal to cover his shift.

He, meanwhile, followed the business card to the "Violet Clock Shop." The small storefront was squeezed into an alley in a middle-class residential area. Here, most residents, whether to keep up with their neighbors or for practical work needs, owned a watch. In theory, business should have been good.

But when Rorschach arrived, he found the shop was tiny, with no one coming or going. These days, major watchmakers would open stores with large glass display windows in wealthy districts with good security to showcase their masterpieces. This shop didn’t even have a normal window. It did, however, have a chiming clock on its sign, featuring a wooden owl with its eyes closed.

Though the owl was crudely carved, it was exceptionally lifelike, giving Rorschach the strange feeling that it would open its eyes at night.

Rorschach stood at the entrance and pulled out the business card to check it one last time. To his surprise, the card suddenly broke free from his grasp. The pale-yellow cardstock came alive with a spiritual energy, fluttering as it transformed into a butterfly. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

’Illusion Technique? Transformation Skill?’

It all happened so suddenly; the card had shown no signs of being unusual until now. Rorschach quickly activated his Arcane Vision to investigate. He saw the little yellow butterfly fluttering, its wings tracing an elegant trajectory—a trajectory that was real, appearing in his eyes as a faint Magic Aura.

The door opened by itself. As the doorbell went DING-A-LING, the butterfly flew inside, circling once as if to urge Rorschach to follow. Only then was the young man convinced that the Alchemist Pascal had recommended was truly skilled.

As he stepped inside, a young man was holding a small pair of tweezers in one hand, the paper butterfly perched on the index finger of his other. He had been wearing a monocular loupe, the kind used by jewelers and watchmakers, but now took it off to greet the customer.

"Welcome, young guest. You followed the butterfly, so you must be looking for Mr. Fulcanelli? Hello, I am his Apprentice, Canselit."

"Good morning. I’m Rorschach. A friend recommended I come here to purchase Magic Tools."