Mage? Magic Engineer!-Chapter 68 - 65: The Court Banquet Begins

Brilliant lanterns shone as ceremonial music filled the air.

"Great Mage Lionel Kano has arrived! Mage Rorschach has arrived!"

As the announcement was relayed from guard to guard, Rorschach submitted to a security check and followed Kano into the Royal Palace. He felt the security inspection was little more than a formality—better than nothing, he supposed. For instance, they hadn’t confiscated his Storage Ring. And with his Casting Ability, he could easily spirit away an ordinary person, though the guests here were anything but ordinary.

The high collar of his formal attire chafed Rorschach’s neck, and the whole procession into the palace felt rather uncomfortable. They passed through the Mirror Hall, where the marble floor radiated a chilling cold. It wasn’t until they reached the banquet hall that things finally warmed up; opening its great doors was like stepping into springtime.

"During wartime, unless one swears fealty to the King and becomes a Court Mage, Casters are forbidden from approaching the Royal Palace."

Kano said as he stepped into the dining hall. At the highest point in the center of the room, His Majesty the King’s seat was vacant, flanked on both sides by the guest tables. Rorschach followed him in and perceived a faint, orderly flow of Magic Power—protective or alarm Magic, it seemed. The fluctuation in the Ether was so weak that Rorschach was sure he would have missed it without his orange ’Magic Control’.

Ever since an assertive King took the throne a century ago, all the Great Nobles holding true power have been required to dine frequently with the monarch. The banquets were lavish and lengthy, but attendance was mandatory. Only severe illness or active duty in a foreign war were accepted as excuses. It was a tradition demonstrating fealty to His Majesty. Today, an attendant led Kano and Rorschach to the very first table on the left—right next to the King’s seat.

"A Master of Arcane Magic has sat in this seat, as has a special envoy from the Empire. But you’re the first Low Tier Mage to be seated here," Kano remarked with feeling. Unfortunately, the novelty of the Royal Palace’s decor had already worn off for Rorschach, who was now only interested in what delicious food would be served at the banquet.

"Don’t get your hopes up," Kano whispered, leaning closer to Rorschach. "It’s absolutely not as good as the food at the Starlight Torch Restaurant." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Announcing the Chief Minister of the Secretariat, Lord Bishop Dipresy!" A man in red robes walked in with a pronounced limp, the tap of his cane on the marble floor echoing in a brief lull in the music.

He sat at the first seat to His Majesty the King’s right, facing Master Kano and Rorschach. Upon seeing Rorschach, Dipresy nodded in acknowledgment.

Rorschach could only nod back. Kano raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Next, "Announcing the Minister of Finance of the Secretariat and Treasurer of the Royal Family, Lord Nekker!" Nekker entered with a light step and an affable smile. Valon followed behind him, visibly thrilled; his ears were flushed, and his face was bright red. Rorschach couldn’t help but think his blush looked a little unhealthy.

Upon seeing Rorschach at the head table on the left, Valon thought he looked familiar and couldn’t help but stare a little longer. As the time for conversation drew to a close, Kano couldn’t resist using the [Communication Skill]. "Kid, you seem to know a lot of the Kingdom’s upper crust."

Kano felt better after getting that off his chest, but now it was Rorschach’s turn to be miserable. ’I don’t know this damned Trick!’ He was now staring intently at the new, grayed-out [Communication Skill] on his panel, absolutely itching to respond to the one-way communication.

Amid the ceremonial music, more guests took their seats. Some had already been waiting in the Mirror Hall for a good while, but etiquette and the Holy Kingdom’s rigid hierarchy dictated they could only be seated after the major dignitaries.

Rorschach noticed that some of the Nobility had brought their wives, while others, possessing the privilege to bear arms, took their seats while openly wearing their swords. Granor arrived with his wife, sitting with the other nobles on the right side. Nemo, Yina, and François had also arrived and were seated on the left with Kano and Rorschach.

"Kid, if it weren’t for me, you’d be sitting down there with them."

’I’d rather be sitting with Yina and François!’ Rorschach thought. Relying on his ’Magic Mastery’, he carefully sensed how the Ether was being converted into sound waves and precisely delivered into his ear. On his panel, the grayed-out [Communication Skill] faded slightly, as if it were about to turn white.

"Have you noticed that no one at the head table has a female companion? Our Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, and myself. Oh, His Highness the Prince doesn’t count. He failed in his courtship. Everyone knows that ambitious old goat is drooling over the southern Duke’s daughter..." Kano began to gossip.

’Keep talking, keep talking! I can almost turn on my mic!’ Rorschach was starting to get the hang of it. His panel now displayed [Communication Skill (Light Gray)] and below it, "?", and "Frequency Vibration (White)".

"So, this pattern just goes to show that women only get in the way of achieving great things. There is one exception, however. I’d support you finding a fellow Mage for a wife. Young Rorschach, what do you think of Mage Yina? You still haven’t told me what happened between you two in the Sub-plane... I think she’s quite attractive. She might be a bit older, but for us Casters, an age gap like that is nothing. Want this old man to play matchmaker...?"

’Still calling yourself "this old man," you shameless, feudal coot.’ Rorschach inwardly scoffed at the discriminatory notion. When Rorschach didn’t reply, Kano felt rebuffed. "Don’t tell me you don’t even know the [Communication Skill]. Careful, or I’ll enroll you in a Zeroth Ring Spell course when we get back."

The music suddenly swelled, and amid a grand roll of drums and a blast of horns, a voice announced, "His Majesty the King has arrived!" Rorschach saw the most powerful man in the Holy Kingdom up close with his own eyes. The King’s face was expressionless, his thoughts unreadable, and he wore a meticulously coiffed wool wig. Before the King was seated, Rorschach also caught a glimpse of His Majesty Charles’s short, thick calves, stretched taut by white silk stockings.

The monarch, who had inherited the throne from his father and his grandfather and was lauded as being "great as the sun," was not a tall man. His face was dusted with pale, lead-white powder, and the loose, sagging skin revealed a double chin. He had the physique of a kitchen hand; in short, he was the very opposite of a heroic figure.

If Rorschach were to go by stereotypes, this king was neither the imposing, martial sovereign with a straight back and great physical prowess, nor the wise old monarch with a long white beard and deep, intelligent eyes. He simply did not look the part of a king. As soon as the monarch appeared, the entire hall rose. The Mages and Dipresy applauded, while the Nobility, led by a master of ceremonies, cheered for His Majesty three times.

"A bit disappointing, isn’t he? I’ve seen the Emperor of the Empire, and he’s powerful and strikingly handsome. The difference in quality between this banquet’s food and the Starlight Torch Restaurant is about the same as the difference between His Majesty here and your Emperor." ’Who would have thought the great Master Kano would be such a chatterbox during a royal banquet,’ Rorschach mused.

’[Communication Skill (White)]! I can finally turn on my mic!’ Rorschach thought, and hastily replied, "I’ve never seen the Emperor, nor have I eaten at a palace banquet, so your analogy is completely lost on me!"

"What the hell! Why are you so loud!" Kano couldn’t risk a breach of etiquette in the King’s presence, so he had no choice but to endure the ear-splitting mental shout from Rorschach’s clumsy use of the [Communication Skill].

"Sorry, sorry! I just figured it out, I’m not very good at it yet."

"Gentlemen. While the [Communication Skill] may not trigger the magical wards, using it to gossip about His Majesty is highly improper, is it not?" Rorschach hadn’t realized this private call could turn into a group chat. He recognized the second voice. Its owner, Archbishop Dipresy, was glaring at them from the opposite table with a dark expression.

"No more talking, no more talking," Kano hastily sent. "I forgot Dipresy is a Living Saint. How is his damned Perception so high?" Kano hadn’t expected his [Communication Skill] to be intercepted by Dipresy, either.

Although he hadn’t attempted to encrypt it or use any special Casting Techniques, he was a Great Mage. He was confident that even if Granor pressed his ear right up against Rorschach’s, he wouldn’t have been able to hear a single word. Yet his message had been intercepted by the Archbishop sitting across from them.

Dipresy had just proven to the two Mages that as one of the most powerful figures in the Holy Kingdom, the Lord Chancellor’s mastery of Divine Arts was also second to none.