"Why don’t you and Mr. Pierre get settled in at our hotel? We’ve already arranged the best suite for you."

"The Balderom Chamber of Commerce is truly impressive, to have such a large establishment right in the city center." Pierre, despite hailing from the most prosperous and decadent city on the continent, was acting like a country bumpkin on his first trip to the big city. Rorschach suspected it was all for show—a Nixingen-style compliment.

Bart waved his hand dismissively. "It’s nothing special. As our partners, your esteemed company is the biggest liquor merchant in the Holy Kingdom, after all!" Then, he pointed to a building not far from the hotel. "That’s the new City Hall," he said, casually highlighting the prime location.

The new City Hall was a magnificent, stately stone structure. Its reliefs were more intricate than those in the Holy Kingdom, and its rooftops were more sharply pointed. Statues of past kings stood atop the facade’s stone pillars, and a single-headed eagle clutched a crest bearing a blue and white diamond pattern.

As it happened to be the top of the hour, a set of semi-open bronze windows below the steeple chimed. A procession of small wooden figures emerged—one riding a horse, another holding a sword, one raising a banner, and one blowing a horn. Passersby in the square all stopped to watch.

There were artists in the square as well, sketching postcards, buildings, and portraits for people. Business was brisk, leading Rorschach to deduce that many of the people in the square were travelers. Small stalls lined the edge of the square, also enjoying heavy foot traffic. Rorschach realized that Munich was quite the tourist city.

"Are there a lot of tourists here?"

"Yeah, the entire Bayern Kingdom is a lot of fun. I can show you around tomorrow." Bart scratched his head. "Mr. Pierre, Hasse is traveling by carriage and is still on his way back. Rorschach and I have some private plans for tomorrow, so..."

"Don’t mind me. You two mages go ahead. I can wait for Mr. Hasse and take the opportunity to survey the Kingdom’s capital."

"Thank you for your consideration." Bart then told Rorschach the plan: he would take him sightseeing tomorrow afternoon, followed by a small banquet in the evening.

Rorschach had actually expended a great deal of energy on the Airship. The Dulling Transmuting Dust alone couldn’t have kept the vessel flying for so long after it had been burned down to its frame. In the end, he had been forced to draw upon the ambient Ether himself.

According to Rorschach’s plan, the accompanying mages were supposed to ignite the last of the hydrogen to continuously heat the air in the gasbags, thereby reducing its density to provide lift. However, the massive fire Bart and the others had seen had actually started in the engine room.

’Finally,’ Rorschach thought. After washing up, he collapsed onto the large bed and fell into a deep sleep.

...

「In the afternoon.」

Bart had been ringing the doorbell for a while. "Rorschach? Did you just wake up?" If Rorschach hadn’t opened the door just then, Bart would have broken it down.

"I slept in... Give me a minute to get ready, then take me to get something to eat." Rorschach had slept so soundly that he’d successfully missed breakfast, brunch, and lunch.

"You’re in luck. It’s market day. There’s good food in the City Hall square, or we could go to a tavern."

Proper restaurants were closed for the afternoon, of course, but all sorts of small stalls had been set up. Bart explained that there were dedicated market merchants throughout the Bayern Kingdom who traveled on a circuit, attending markets in the Kingdom and even across the entire Duma River Alliance.

It was currently market month in the capital, Munich, and local vendors had been given special permission to operate in the City Hall square.

’No wonder it was so lively yesterday...’ But when they reached the square, Rorschach was still taken aback. The entire plaza was now occupied by stalls, and the air was filled with the unending cries of vendors.

The men here wore high-waisted trousers with suspenders or black woolen vests over simple white shirts, topped with small, round hats. The older men all sported large beards and even larger bellies.

The women mostly wore floral or plaid skirts, which, while not particularly exquisite, were always worn with an apron. All of this was the attire of working folk.

As for the "good food" Bart had mentioned, Rorschach didn’t even need to look to guess what it was: all sorts of sausages served with beer, hard bread, or tubers, prepared in every combination of fried, deep-fried, and boiled.

In short, when it came to food, they had stumbled into a hornet’s nest of sausages.

The impression that the Holy Kingdom and the rest of the continent had of the Empire’s culture actually came mostly from the Bayern Kingdom, with its frequent trade and constant flow of people. The northern regions, like the Marlin Kingdom, were not like this at all. In terms of autonomy, Bayern was an empire within the Empire; in terms of cultural influence, the Empire might as well be called "Lesser Bayern."

Rorschach munched on a piece of pretzel bread as he and Bart went on their city walk, listening to the Town Mage point out various attractions.

Albert, it turned out, was a surprisingly forward-thinking king. He supported public performances, commissioned numerous buildings, and encouraged festivals all over Bayern. Unlike other nobles who merely sought enjoyment or used art as a status symbol, he had also been deliberately developing the tourism industry.

In addition to Bayern’s own tax revenue, the money for tourism development also came from payments made by the Empire’s Prime Minister. That’s right—to appease the unruly southern kingdoms, the Empire actually paid them.

"Isn’t your post in Wertzburg? How do you know so much about all the food and fun here?" Rorschach realized that someone might be seriously neglecting his duties. In less than a year, Bart could rattle off which Munich theaters had the newest plays, which beer halls served the best beer, and where to find the tastiest crispy pork knuckle, as if he were listing family heirlooms.

"Because Milly likes it here," Bart said, a little too righteously. "Besides, my family’s business is centered here, so it’s only natural that I’d be familiar with the city."

As he walked, Rorschach wasn’t just thinking about food and drink. He noticed that in addition to ceramic and pewter mugs, the beer halls also offered plenty of glass cups. ’This proves they can produce glass here,’ he thought, ’which means they can supply bottles for the beverage factory. The residents have strong purchasing power, but they’re used to beer. Any soda would need to have a very pronounced fizziness and require a better seal...’

’No, I have another, more important goal.’

Rorschach asked casually, "Bart, how many Magic Towers are there in Bayern?"

"Not many. Aside from the ones hidden away in the mountains, most respectable mages choose to join the Guild or the Tower of Secret Techniques. Then there’s us Town Mages."

"Don’t be fooled by how tall my office is; it’s just a regular tower. The Empire doesn’t have the resources to provide us with actual Magic Towers."

Rorschach tested the waters. "You don’t plan on using the Chamber of Commerce’s resources to build a real Magic Tower?"

"My goal is the Council! The Council, the Council! Though, Milly does seem to want to live in a real Magic Tower. She’s read too many stories..." Bart’s eyes widened as it dawned on him. He stopped in his tracks. "You’re not planning to build a Mage Tower in Bayern, are you?"

"Yes and no," Rorschach said with a smile. "My first step is to get the beverage factory built."

Bart couldn’t immediately grasp the connection between building a beverage factory and a Magic Tower. Their walk came to an end as they stopped in front of a mansion, also located in the city center.

Bart rang the doorbell. The door opened a crack, then swung wide. A housekeeper with a stern-looking face opened it for them, announcing to the rooms within, "Amalia... Miss, Mage Bart and his friend have arrived!"

THUMP THUMP THUMP. Hurried footsteps sounded on the wooden floor, only slowing when the housekeeper called out, "Miss Amalia!" A smiling girl appeared in the hallway, holding up the hem of her skirt, which was in the same style as those worn by the women in the square.

"I had Sados help me buy it. Do you like it?"

"I am looking at an Elf of the spring." The cheesy, straight-guy line made Rorschach cringe inwardly, but the esteemed Little Princess just giggled uncontrollably.

’Huh? Did he just use Charming Humans?’ Rorschach frowned, but he couldn’t sense any trace of Ether fluctuations.