"Tsk." Playing the part of a "Magic Lamp" at the finest restaurant in Wertzburg, Rorschach accidentally made an uncivilized sound while sipping his tea.

After three nights of cram sessions, Bart had successfully learned the Resuscitation Skill, the Blue Light Barrier, and the Mapping technique. The latter, in particular, allowed him to cast many small Illusion Techniques.

"Is it tasty?" Bart asked, holding a bucket of popcorn out to the Little Princess.

"It’s delicious!"

Only after letting Amelia have several handfuls did Bart remember his good friend. "Um, Mage Rorschach, would you like some?"

"No thank you, I don’t like sweets."

Amalia considered the popcorn seriously. "Perhaps it would be delicious sprinkled with spices and salt, too."

"My Milly is a gourmand, I see." Bart then started performing another Trick. He folded a napkin into a small rabbit, then used Activation and Mapping to make it move.

Amalia carefully touched the "living" rabbit with her slender fingertips, then gently teased its ears.

An immensely regretful Rorschach glowed dazzlingly as he finished the meal. He had taught a long-out-of-practice Town Mage two spells and one technique in just three nights, practically performing a teaching miracle in the annals of Magic History. But now, ’all the great Teacher Rorschach felt was regret.’

’Teaching and learning benefit each other. I guess this counts as reviewing and organizing my own magical theories and Casting Skill...’ Thus Rorschach, stuffed full of their romantic displays, consoled himself.

"Your Highness, Mage Bart, Mr. Pierre has sent word for me to return to Munich for a bit."

"Is it about the beverage factory?" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"I’m not sure yet. I’ll find out when I get there. But I will definitely be back before your important day."

For the past few days, Rorschach had been training his friend while also waiting—waiting for an extremely valuable shipment.

...

"Mage Rorschach, your package."

"Thank you." Upon arriving in Munich, Rorschach headed straight for the Magic Guild and received the largest package. It was right at the limit allowed by the Teleportation System; any bigger or heavier and it would have been rejected.

He was holding the Transformation Dust Transmission Array sent by Master Kano. The master had adjusted it based on the coordinates of Rorschach’s current location, while also avoiding the collection points of the devices currently being operated by the Tower of Stars.

The complete Teleportation Array was incredibly complex; even with the original blueprints, it would have taken Rorschach half a day to inscribe it onto the Metal Disc. Now that he had the "finished product," he only needed to make a minor adjustment to lock onto Lanshite City’s coordinates.

The awkward part was that his Storage Ring was full. He didn’t dare store the blueprints too far from his person, so he had no choice but to carry the package out in his arms.

The carriage Mr. Pierre had arranged was already waiting at the entrance. It was a freight wagon, and tied to the back was a large, cylindrical metal shell, wrapped in burlap to conceal it from view.

Rorschach placed the disc on the wagon as well, and Pierre dismounted to help him tie everything down securely.

"You’re driving it yourself?"

"Money has to be spent where it matters most, so we’re saving every bit we can right now. Don’t you worry, Sir. When it comes to driving carriages and riding horses, I’m an old hand."

"Is that so?" Rorschach eyed the stout, barrel-chested merchant. His thighs had grown fleshy from a lack of riding, straining his trousers taut.

But he understood. The business wasn’t fully profitable yet, and the marketing campaign centered on the Princess’s wedding was a constant expense. Both Mr. Pierre and Rorschach were low on cash now, with the marketing efforts relying primarily on capital injections from the Balderom Chamber of Commerce.

So, not only did they need to cut expenses, they also needed to open up new revenue streams. Rorschach planned to immediately build the first Transmutation Dust Extractor within the borders of the Bayern Kingdom. However, he wouldn’t directly replicate the "Nuclear Reactor" model. Instead, like the first prototype, it would produce blue Dulled Transmuting Dust.

For one, the former model was terrifyingly expensive and required a highly professional construction team. Rorschach currently had his doubts about the Mason Brotherhood, with its "Venerable Lord" and "Inner Ring," and didn’t trust them with the project.

For another, Rorschach’s Mage Tower hadn’t been built yet, so there was no need to output raw Ether. Rorschach could assemble the initial model that produced Blue Crystals by himself. It required a small investment, and the output could be sold for cash to replenish their funds.

The Dulled Transmuting Dust Rorschach had shown off after his visit to the Tower of Secret Techniques had left a deep impression on the mages. It would be a waste of a market opportunity if he didn’t make a tidy profit off them.

"Was the cargo in the back made to my specifications?"

"No problem. I inspected the goods myself. The metallurgical technology here in Bayern is quite good. They were able to manufacture the equipment for our beverage factory according to the blueprints, and it’s running smoothly now."

"That’s good." The outer shell and inner walls of the Transmutation Dust Extractor had been custom-ordered and procured under the guise of beverage factory equipment. Rorschach would inscribe the Magic Circuits himself. That way, the components—just a cylindrical body, filter screens, and so on—would indeed look similar to other devices.

Rorschach thought for a moment. "Let’s add a few engines to our factory in the future."

Mr. Pierre, driving the wagon, looked troubled. "Steam Engines are a restricted export from the Holy Kingdom. The Istani Kingdom’s are better quality, but as far as I know, it takes a lot of paperwork to get them into the Bayern Kingdom. The Empire seems to be regulating them as well."

Mr. Pierre was secretly puzzled. ’The beverage factory’s water wheel power is cheap and works just fine. What do we need Steam Engines for?’

However, he didn’t voice his thoughts. From his long experience dealing with the mages from the Tower of Stars, Mr. Pierre had learned a valuable lesson: Pascal’s words were *possibly* correct, the words of Snow and the other folks in the Alchemy Department were *probably* correct, but Mage Rorschach’s words were *absolutely and eternally* correct.

’Without Lord Rorschach, there would be no "Hercules" today!’

"Mm, let’s talk about it later then."

But the newly enlightened Mr. Pierre became energized. "The Balderom Chamber of Commerce can definitely find a way! We can source them from the Northern Dwarves, or we could just import the core components and commission a local company to manufacture the casings and such. Perhaps that could bypass the regulations."

"Alright, do as you say."

"But the money..."

"New funding is on its way."

"Right!" Mr. Pierre, moonlighting as a coachman, drove with renewed vigor.

...

The "Fanta" beverage factory wasn’t far from the residential area of Lanshite. With a steady cash flow, the artisans were also considering building houses in Lanshite, causing the city district to expand closer to the factory area.

It was built on the riverbank, downstream, so the soil was waterlogged, which made excavating a basement quite an ordeal for Rorschach.

After compressing the soft earth and sweeping over it with a Molten Beam, the basement finally stopped seeping water for the most part.

’Should have just dug a cave in the mountains...’ After finishing his "grand project," Rorschach had the workmen help him carry the shell from the wagon inside.

"You can just put it here. Thank you." Rorschach sent everyone away, leaving himself alone to slowly inscribe the Magic Circuits.

He assembled it by himself using his Mage’s Qilin Arm, tightening screws and securing the interface flanges.

’So tired...’ He climbed out of the basement and swiped a cup of dark purple concentrate directly from the warehouse.

The cloying sweetness was mixed with the strange taste of an Energy Potion; it was nowhere near as good as cola or the "blue toilet bowl cleaner."

"This is disgusting. I need to develop new flavors..." Bayern was rich in fruit. Besides the grapes used for wine, there were various berries, quinces, and citrus fruits used for making jam. Rorschach also planned to investigate some dye workshops and select a few low-toxicity dyes to use as coloring agents.

The young man wiped his mouth and got back to work. The sugar from the concentrate and the ingredients of the Energy Potion worked in concert, restoring some of his stamina. Relying on his magic, he single-handedly finished assembling the Transmutation Dust Collector.

Without a Steam Engine to provide an input of Magic Power, he had to rely on his own physical output. Rorschach built a platform out of crates, climbed to the top of the Collector, and engaged his Magic Control at full capacity, barely managing to light up the Teleportation Array.

The eruption lasted but an instant, yielding a minuscule amount of blue crystals. Rorschach tried three times, finally managing to collect a small vial of the product, drenched in sweat. He weighed it in his hand; including the glass vial, it was no heavier than an egg.

"It’s like this was squeezed directly from my own body," the young man muttered to himself, wiping away his sweat. "I’ll have to swindle my colleagues at the Tower of Secret Techniques into buying this for a fortune."