Mage? Magic Engineer!

Chapter 410: Chapter 407: Well-intentioned... False Advertising

In Rorschach’s previous life, there was a saying: "seeing is believing." This saying was a reflection of an era where both magic and technology were underdeveloped.

Fortunately, the people of this Otherworld were, for the most part, simple and honest. After all, the vast majority of mages considered it beneath them to deceive commoners. And even if they were deceived, the commoners would likely go their whole lives without ever realizing it.

Now, Rorschach was going to play the villain!

An impromptu gathering suddenly appeared in the Kempson countryside. No one knew why—it wasn’t a regular market day, yet tents had been pitched and small vendors had appeared. But since there were still a few idle days before the spring plowing, people figured they might as well go and have a look.

At first, the gathering seemed normal, but then two behemoths, each nearly three meters tall, shot out into the open. Their bodies were the color of bare steel, and they scuttled about domineeringly like four-legged crabs. The people were terrified and about to flee, but someone quickly called out:

"Don’t be afraid! It’s Rorschach Mage’s plowing beast! I’ve seen it up on the mountain!"

The Giant Beasts indeed showed no hostile intent, so the crowd, which had begun to scatter, slowly gathered again. Who could blame them? Curiosity and the love of a good show are just human nature.

The mechanical farm tools first bounced and spun around nimbly. Then, one used its "pincers" to turn the soil, while the other, fitted with a different set of "pincers," began to plow the ground on the spot.

The people began to applaud. A few of the bolder ones even went up to inspect the Giant Beast’s work and found it had, indeed, done a fine job.

Standing behind the Giant Beasts were two young men: Bart and Rorschach.

Bart had no interest in farm tools. "Why did I have to come with you?"

"Because we’re the only two who know the growth-acceleration Magic, and we’ll need it for the upcoming demonstrations. That said, I’ve been meaning to ask you—what are you even doing here?"

"It’s a long story..." After completing his mission, Bart felt the Special Zone had great potential, so he began pulling strings, leveraging the financial power of his family’s Guild and the influence of the Royal Family.

At the time, Bart’s official status was a "conscripted Town Mage." After completing his mission of escorting the refugees alongside the army, he chose to remain attached to the escorting military unit, becoming a temporary Military Mage.

Once the paperwork was finalized, the City Hall "coincidentally" proposed that the area where the refugees were gathered might suffer from poor public safety and thus required a permanent military presence. The King agreed, and so Bart, this temporary "Military Mage," quite naturally became Kempson’s temporary Town Mage.

The logic was sound, the process seamless, and the paperwork all in order. Not a single trace of manipulation.

As soon as Rorschach was notified, he immediately dragged Bart over to help.

Rorschach couldn’t help but roast him. "Going through all that trouble to transfer from a big city like Wertzburg to a small border town... aren’t you getting a raw deal?"

"In the Empire’s records, I’m still officially stationed in Wertzburg. My being in Kempson is just a case of ’the Kingdom’s security situation has changed, and it now faces a severe test,’ requiring me to support local public safety."

’Things are perfectly fine here,’ Rorschach thought. ’You’re just slumming it out in the sticks to pad your resume, aren’t you?’ But before Rorschach could fire off a second volley of snark, Bart continued with a somewhat dejected look.

"But it’s true I went through a lot for nothing. I finally managed to become the representative of the Trade Alliance, but as soon as the war broke out, the Duma River Alliance existed in name only. The country doesn’t need it anymore, because some new behemoth has swallowed up all the old guilds..."

As he finished, a trace of resentment crept into his words. Only then did Rorschach recall—how many pillar guilds had Bayern even had? In any case, he remembered that the sole survivor, the Brewing Guild, seemed to have never recovered after the wartime grain controls were put in place.

My, my!

"In that case, how about running for a seat on the Special Zone’s Autonomous Committee?"

Bart’s eyes lit up. "You’ll support me?"

"Of course. When my brother handles things, I can rest easy." ’Since he enjoys dealing with the refugees so much, I might as well let him have free rein,’ Rorschach thought. ’The more seats we control on the committee, the easier it will be for me to push my own goals.’

"Great! You’re a true brother! Now Amelia will be happy too. One in the south, one in the north, perfectly complementing each other..."

"Wait a minute, I have no idea what you’re talking about."

"You’re my brother, and you’re supporting me, so it’s fine to tell you. Amelia isn’t satisfied with just being a princess. She..."

"Stop. It’s our turn to go on." Rorschach cut off the conversation. It was a good thing they were using the Communication Skill.

The demonstration by the mechanical farm tools was over. He and Bart leaped on top of them, their elevated position drawing everyone’s eyes.

From the crowd, the same voice that had told everyone to stay calm now yelled, "Look, it’s Rorschach Mage and... and Hart Mage!"

’Useless shill, can’t even remember the name,’ Rorschach fumed internally. ’I’m docking your pay for this!’

Even though their plant in the crowd was incompetent, it didn’t hinder Rorschach and Bart’s performance.

They each took out a wheat seed, then pulled a bagged fertilizer from their Storage Rings and used Mage’s Hand to lift the compound fertilizer and pour it into their hands.

The compound fertilizer used for the demonstration had a balanced mix of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. The base material was similar to soil, so it looked like earth when poured onto their hands.

Bart almost gagged at the smell of the ammonia fertilizer. Only then did Rorschach realize he’d been so absorbed in their conversation that he’d forgotten to remind his dear brother to put up a Filtering Air Bubble.

After blocking out the smell, the performance continued. Rorschach yelled, "Folks, I have just planted a wheat seed in my hand! Now, watch closely!"

Bart summoned some water and lightly watered the wheat seed.

Then, to the sound of Rorschach chanting "Grow! Grow! Grow!", the wheat seeds in their hands shot up as if on fast-forward, sprouting into seedlings, budding, growing heads, and flowering right before the crowd’s eyes.

Next, the short-lived flowers closed and began to produce grain. The entire plant turned a withered yellow, but the head of wheat was already heavy, its plump kernels bending the stalk low.

Seedling burn? Pests? Non-existent. With the fertilizer, plus the brute-force ripening from the "Su Sheng" Magic, the results were incredibly direct.

"It’s a miracle!" the shill yelled, once again stirring up the crowd.

’So dramatic!’ Rorschach cringed, but the effect was undeniably good; the crowd was completely captivated. Rorschach and Bart passed the two flash-grown wheat stalks down. The onlookers in the front row accepted them with trembling hands, studied them intently, and passed them to the next person.

"Are the heads of wheat full and plump?"

"Full and plump!"

"Don’t you all want the grain in your fields to grow this well?"

"Yes! Who wouldn’t?"

"Then come and buy our fertilizer! Alchemy Fertilizer! Even though none of you can use Magic, and even without any Magic Power, Alchemy Fertilizer will make your crops grow exceptionally well!"

Rorschach then made it clear that the effect they just saw was for demonstration purposes only. While the fertilizer he was promoting couldn’t speed up the growth of wheat, it could increase everyone’s yields.

Rorschach admitted he was skirting the line of false advertising, but his intentions were good.

After that, salespeople from the Agricultural and Commercial Society began explaining the rules for renting or buying the farm tools and how the fertilizer was sold. They also presented a "use now, pay later" policy, which allowed farmers to use their future harvest as collateral.

Finally, they brought out the ultimate incentive: any farmer who signed a letter of intent could take five eggs home with them.

Instantly, the entire fair was filled with a joyous atmosphere.

"How many more of these performances do we have to put on?"

"Kempson has twelve large villages. We can hit four today, and then there’s still Lansite..."

"You better pay me for this, you bastard!" Bart couldn’t help but sniff the hand that had held the fertilizer, wanting to smear it on Rorschach’s face.

Rorschach was perfectly calm. "A seat on the Autonomous Committee..."

"I’ve suddenly realized that supporting rural construction is a very important and meaningful activity." Bart’s expression became noble and resolute.