Mage? Magic Engineer!-Chapter 41 - 38: A Nearly Busted Rendezvous

Rorschach continued to read the newspaper, discovering the second page was entirely advertisements. Even though they were just small classifieds, Rorschach read them with great interest.

For one, it was a way to learn about the popular goods here and get a sense of the prices. For another, according to his bald boss’s arrangements, the organization would use a newspaper ad to contact him.

’There really is one?’ Rorschach focused his eyes and found an advertisement for the "Pachaluka Trading Company" in the bottom-right corner. In the Jabber Language, Pacha meant Light, and Luka meant ’peak’ or ’sublime.’

To an ordinary person, the trading company’s founder would seem to be a follower of the God of Light and Order. However, members of the organization would see the peculiar name and share a knowing smile. ’A bald head? Isn’t that our boss!’

Rorschach quickly finished his bread, rolled up the newspaper, and returned to his room. He took out a codebook from his Storage Ring to check the ad: The fifth... three in the afternoon... East River Bank Bibo Tea House.

The teahouses of Valuva were scattered all over the city. They weren’t like the ones from his previous life, the authentic city teahouses with signs saying "Do Not Discuss State Affairs." Instead, they were shops that would brew you a cup of frothy herbal tea and primarily sold desserts.

’The fifth? That’s today.’ Rorschach didn’t copy down the decoded message. Instead, he put away the codebook and committed the details to memory.

...

"Everyone, take a look. This is the bathhouse where Heroic King Oduff bathed when he passed through Valuva... the ruins of it, that is. The magnificent building next to it is the Royal Theater."

The boatman, who also worked as a tour guide, was introducing the sights along the river to his passengers. The Seine River flowed through Valuva, connecting the major cities in the northern Holy Kingdom.

After leaving the Tower of Stars, Rorschach had boarded a tour boat on the Seine River and was occasionally checking his map.

"Sir, this is my stop."

"Alright then, hold on tight, everyone." The boatman poled the boat to the bank. This stretch of the river, flowing through the Royal Capital, had been renovated; the banks were reinforced for flood control and modified to make it easier for passengers to get on and off.

Rorschach counted out a few Copper Coins, the price they had agreed upon before he boarded. "Thanks." After paying, he stepped onto the stone embankment.

The spot marked with an X on the map was right in front of him.

Bibo Tea House. The name sounded rather tacky, but it seemed to be extremely famous in the Royal Capital. When he asked the apprentices back at the Tower, a local had immediately pointed out its location on the map for Rorschach.

"This teahouse is frequented by many playwrights and great authors. If you’re lucky, you might even see a popular actor rehearsing their lines. The Valuvanan people jokingly call it the Royal Theater’s true backstage."

Those were the apprentice’s exact words. Rorschach approached the small, unassuming teahouse and found a good seat by the window with a view of the river.

"I’m waiting for someone... For now, I’ll have a cup of hay tea with sugar, and then a pudding and a meringue... That should be it."

"Right away, sir."

As his first dessert arrived, a man in a hat appeared across from Rorschach. He sat down without asking, placing his hat on the empty seat next to him.

’The mustache looks fake...’ "Brother Jun?"

"What kind of way is that to address me! Here, you can call me Mr. Falcon." Brother Jun scanned their surroundings. The shop was filled with idle young people chatting. The string music playing in the teahouse blended the conversations from every table into an indistinguishable background noise.

"Waiter! A cup of nettle tea, with extra sugar on the side, and a berry tart. That’s all." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"You’re paying for your own order, by the way. Go on, what’s up?" Rorschach waited for the server to walk away before speaking.

"Did you see the headlines?"

"I did."

"That shipment you sent—a few pieces from it fell into our hands. The organization needs you to decipher them and report on the contents."

Rorschach scooped a spoonful of pudding into his mouth. The ratio of egg and milk was perfect, giving it a delicate texture, and the flavor of the melted caramel was simply divine. The wonderful sweetness seemed to quicken Rorschach’s thoughts, and he made a sudden leap of logic:

"The ’unnamed heroes’ were you two?" ’I can’t believe the Empire’s secret service came all the way to the Kingdom to do good deeds!’

"Ah, the woes of being an unsung hero... Anyway, this meeting is to let you know that once you’re settled in the Royal Capital, the organization will use the Pachaluka Trading Company as a channel to give you your monthly stipend.

Under the pretext of purchasing Scrolls and Alchemy Potions, you can just make anything, and we’ll buy it at a premium. Information can also be passed through the Scrolls and Potions you ’sell’ to us."

"But if the company gets investigated, won’t we be exposed immediately?" Rorschach frowned.

"That’s the first layer. The second is that your fake transactions with the company won’t go through their official books. Instead, they’ll be private deals with a clean employee. The cover story is that you two met on the black market, and your Scrolls and Potions will also be funneled to the black market.

This way, to outsiders, it will just look like you’re dealing on the black market. Because you’re using a company employee as a middleman, you’re just borrowing the company’s name to launder your black market earnings, with no real connection to Pachaluka itself.

If it really gets investigated, that employee might take the fall for cooking the books or tax evasion, but they won’t do anything to a Caster from the Tower of Stars."

"The Holy Kingdom’s authorities aren’t idiots."

"Exactly. But as long as you aren’t pinned with charges like espionage or subverting the throne, you’ll be fine. That layer of separation provides you with an out. What can I say? You’re a Mage."

Rorschach reluctantly accepted the arrangement. "Fine. Where are the goods? Let me take a look."

"Follow me."

"You should’ve just told me to go straight to where you’re hiding the goods!"

"Why would we publish a safe house location in the paper? Even an encrypted one? And didn’t you notice I’m here alone? Night Owl is on lookout, checking if we have a tail."

Rorschach quickly ate his meringue and left the teahouse with the man. As they were leaving, Rorschach noticed that at some point, a large group of young people had gathered in the teahouse. One of them, a leader figure, had climbed onto a table and seemed to be preparing to give a speech.

"Mr. Falcon" led Rorschach through a series of winding alleys, at times having to step over drunken sans-culottes.

"Cops!" Forest Patrol Falcon said, a little nervous. Peeking out from the alley, he could see a squad in black uniforms on the main street—the Security Team, a higher-ranking division than the standard Security Team.

"They’re probably heading for the Bibo Tea House."

"Are they after us?"

Rorschach shook his head and told Brother Jun to keep leading the way. He thought of the young people gathered at the teahouse.

Rorschach then recalled Kano’s words: ’Valuva hasn’t been so peaceful in recent years. You must, must not participate in any, um... gatherings of radical young people.’

"We’re here." Forest Patrol Falcon knocked on the door—three short taps and one long one. A moment later, Night Owl opened the door for them.

"Rorschach, quick, give us a hand." Six pieces of Leather Armor and a pair of Leather Gloves were laid out in the room, all bearing scorched marks.

Rorschach first tried using [Touch of Frost] on the Leather Gloves, but there was no reaction. He then tried the Leather Armor, and sure enough, it contained something.

"What’s the principle behind this? Revealing Magic?"

Rorschach shook his head. "If it were hidden with Magic, it could be detected quickly with [Reading Magic] from the Prophetic System."

"Then it’s..."

"It’s thermochromic. Probably a special chemi—Alchemy Potion. It doesn’t require Magic Power and only appears at low temperatures." As he spoke, he pressed his "Ice Palm" onto the Leather Armor, leaving behind a palm print completely covered in text.

"Quick, what does it say?"

Rorschach glanced at it. It was the same familiar manuscript, the same familiar handwriting, and the same long-winded boasts of a self-proclaimed genius. He read it aloud as he went.

Finally, he reached the critical part: "Neither manpower nor current Magic Guide Devices can achieve the required channel width and scanning speed..."

"And then? Why did you stop?" Night Owl, who was taking notes, had to stop writing.

"That’s it. The rest seems to have been burned beyond recognition."

But there was more. A short line of text written in the ancient Jabber Language, a language only studied by the Nobility, Priests, and Mages:

But I have found the perfect crystal! Vibrating Quartz! As long as the influx of Magic Power exceeds the threshold, it can block all Magic!