"Why?" ’They’re not actually going to get rid of me, are they?’ Rorschach silently tightened his grip on his staff, ready to act.

"TA-DA! Rorschach, Middle Level Mage, allow me to proudly introduce to you—the Advanced Magicless Technology Laboratory!" Snow snapped his fingers. His buddies quickly got to work, and a large, steel-frame shed materialized out of thin air in the wasteland.

’So they’re using an Illusion Technique to cover up a lab for magicless technology? Anyone with Arcane Vision could tell something was up. This is just to block out mundanes...’ Rorschach found the entire setup ridiculous.

The two walked into the shed, and Snow began his introduction. "For some reason, Master Kano asked our Alchemy Department to research replacement technologies that can function without magic. The goal is to ensure that basic functions like long-range communication and power can be maintained for the Guild even under extreme conditions where magic fails. And that’s how we got this awesome lab."

It was called a laboratory, but the interior was extremely spacious. A vaulted ceiling supported by a steel frame provided ample room. Rorschach saw that the steam engines and generators, which used to be in the power room of the research building, had all been moved here, along with some processing equipment and cables.

"I have to say, with the added restriction of ’no Ether allowed,’ achieving our previous technical specs has become quite a challenge. But even though it’s harder, it’s also a lot more interesting!" This came straight from the heart.

’Are you guys masochists or something?’ Rorschach mused as he observed the lab’s bustling, fervent atmosphere. He couldn’t help but speculate if Kano already knew the Empire possessed technology to suppress magic, and had therefore proposed and vigorously pushed for this seemingly redundant project.

Clearly, the Magic Guild wasn’t completely ignorant of the Empire’s movements. Most of the people Rorschach saw were Mages, but there were also some former teachers from the Valuva High Masters, especially from the Artillery Academy. To be precise, they were engineers specializing in battlefield applications.

"Rorschach Mage!" Andre was here too. He waved when he saw Rorschach. Seeing Andre seemed to jog Snow’s memory. "Oh, right, I forgot to tell you! We built a third unit underground here to supply Ether. I mean, just because we’re developing technology that doesn’t rely on magic doesn’t mean we can’t use magic during the development process, right?"

The current lighting and the maintenance of the Illusion Technique were all sustained by a continuous supply of Ether. Rorschach rolled his eyes at the head of the Alchemy Department. "When did you ever inform me?" The second unit had also been a case of acting first and reporting later.

However, Rorschach knew a new Collector had been built. The proof was that the experience points for his [Divine Exile Technique (Blue)] were increasing faster. He just hadn’t known it was built here.

Rorschach focused briefly on his symbol. Sure enough, a highlighted point of light appeared in his vision, located underground to the east. There was another, dimmer core underground in a symmetrical position to the west, which seemed to be inactive.

"Are you planning to build another one?"

Snow was startled. "You could guess that, my friend? Impressive! Our funding is just too generous, so we’re planning to build one more. And do a few other things at the same time."

Snow didn’t elaborate on what these "other things" were, and Rorschach didn’t press him.

The research personnel in the lab were collectively called the "Magicless Replacement Technology Research Group." It wasn’t just members of the Alchemy Department; they had also recruited people from all walks of life. This would have been unthinkable in the past and could be considered one of Kano’s "enlightened new policies."

"Those teachers from the Artillery Academy were having a rough time. Before they started working here, they were only making two New Gold Coins a week. They’re a bargain to hire and super useful." Snow, confident that the mundanes couldn’t hear his Communication Skill, was blunt in his praise for "the perks of cheap engineers."

’Is that how you talk about him?’ Rorschach ignored the smug Snow and turned his attention to Andre. "Now that they’ve switched to New Coins, should I double your funding?"

"No, no, Rorschach Mage, I couldn’t possibly..."

"Don’t be polite with him. This kid isn’t short on cash." Snow gave Rorschach’s shoulder a hard squeeze. Fanta Company was making payments to him through the Magic Guild. Since the funds were transferred in Empire Gold Coins, their purchasing power had skyrocketed after the Holy Kingdom’s currency depreciated. As a result, Rorschach’s cash flow had actually increased instead of decreased.

The first project the laboratory was focused on tackling was "long-distance communication." The Communication System currently run by the Magic Guild had its advantages, but also significant disadvantages.

First, it was essentially a network of Teleportation Arrays. Under artificial power limitations, it only allowed ordinary people to send letters and other lightweight items. However, with sufficient Ether, it could also transport other physical entities, including people, and the transmitted information would never be distorted.

The downside was that both operation and maintenance required Casters, which was an incredible luxury. This drove the cost to absurd heights, and the Guild would be thrown into chaos whenever communication demand surged. The recent "stock market craze" had caused a massive increase in the volume of messages being sent and received, which had instantly overwhelmed the system’s capacity.

Another issue was that both the sending and receiving ends had to be fixed in place, requiring a massive investment of resources to build. Expanding to a new node meant permanently setting up a Teleportation Array and assigning a team of personnel to operate it. The current communication network and system were the result of a century of the Guild’s accumulated efforts. Portable Communication Arrays also required a fully equipped receiving or sending terminal and could only establish a single point-to-point connection.

During his trip to the Sub-plane, Rorschach had seen a telegraph-like device similar to a radio. However, it still required a Caster to use Ether and relied on the feedback of a Vibration Crystal to a specific frequency to transmit messages.

Unfortunately, the Alchemy Department and the other team members hadn’t realized that radio waves could also permeate space and act as a carrier for information, just like Ether.

Snow introduced an invention by the former Artillery Academy teachers. It was an idea developed from military Signal Flags. "We can build Signal Towers in two locations. By observing three different colored signal markers placed in different positions through a Telescope, we can create over two hundred different combinations."

This system was similar to beacon towers. The signal markers increased the amount of information that could be transmitted. Of course, adding more colors would increase the data volume further, but the probability of error would also rise dramatically. Three colors was the optimal number determined through multiple experiments.

Although the amount of information it could transmit was extremely small and its efficiency was very low, the results were surprisingly good when paired with a cannon-sized Telescope—its maximum range was 24 kilometers under good weather conditions.

"On clear days, or at night with illumination," Snow emphasized.

"You actually ran tests on this?" Rorschach looked down on this method of communication. It was only a tiny bit better than beacon towers, its maintenance costs were just as high, and it was still limited by the weather.

"This is big business!" Snow explained. To prevent the merchant companies under the Guild from going bankrupt in the Holy Kingdom’s terrible economy, the Magic Guild was investing large sums of money into those enterprises for infrastructure construction. Once the new signal system was built, it would be opened to the public, and its future market potential was incalculable.

The Magic Guild wasn’t the only one making an effort. The Valois Currency Issuance Committee (the official name for the institution issuing the New Coins) would join with its backing banks to continue providing loans to the Kingdom. These loans would be used to repair the Kingdom’s roads and to renovate and build water conservancy facilities, thereby saving bankrupt businesses and absorbing the unemployed and landless labor force.

’Building your way to a miracle, huh?’ Rorschach had a feeling that this kind of elegant solution that solved multiple problems at once was the result of that man—Nekker—scheming behind the scenes.

.....

「Meanwhile, in a certain part of the Empire.」

"Faster, faster!" a Dwarf’s voice echoed through the valley. Something called a "railway" was appearing outside the Dwarven Federation for the first time. It began in the heartland of the Empire and stretched continuously southward.