Sending a Letter Through the Mage Guild

Mage Guild staff were often connected to mage families, while the higher-ranking managers were mostly apprentices who had failed to advance. The receptionist at the front desk barely acknowledged visitors, not even lifting her eyelids at Rorschach. "Divination is to the right. Next."

Rorschach could only activate his Mage Emblem and present it at the desk. Upon seeing the blue-glowing insignia, the woman at the front finally corrected her attitude and looked up at the young man.

Why was there a duck standing on his shoulder?

"Quack!"

"My apologies, Mage. There are too many people seeking divinations during the festival. I hope you can understand. Please register, then follow me upstairs."

"Quack!"

The second floor was suddenly much quieter than the noisy hall below. Heavy wooden doors shut out the shouting from downstairs. Rorschach settled into a comfortable armchair, and his buttocks and thighs, sore from being jostled on horseback, relaxed tremendously.

The receptionist brought him a cup of tea. After a while, a new attendant emerged from an office nearby. He was a capable-looking man wearing a monocle. "My apologies. Our Guild Master and the city's resident mage have gone to a banquet. I am the Guild Master's assistant. Mage Rorschach, what brings you to our branch?"

Rorschach took a sip of tea first. It differed from tea in his previous life, apparently brewed from some dried herb. It had a fresh fragrance similar to mint. It was neither good nor bad.

"I came to send some letters, but first I need somewhere to write them." Rorschach shrugged. "It has been inconvenient to put pen to paper while traveling."

"Certainly. Please use my office. There is paper and ink there."

"Thank you."

The assistant's office was very plain. Once Rorschach sat down and picked up a pen, the man tactfully left. "Call for me when you are finished."

Rorschach wrote the first letter to his nominal parents in this world, briefly describing his circumstances. In any case, the Village Chief would probably read it aloud to them in the end.

The second letter was for Rorschach's employer, the long-unseen bald Agency Chief. After considering it, Rorschach chose to use their agreed cipher. Thanks to the legacy of the Old Empire, the entire continent spoke Common Tongue, or at least used the same Common Tongue alphabet. The lowest security rule was to shift every letter in the plaintext four positions forward to form the cipher.

"An Underground Cult called 'Return Mother' has appeared. The Viscount of Limburg and the civil officer are high-ranking members. Unidentified goods transported by the Luowei Merchant Guild have become targets of the cult. Investigation required."

After some further thought, Rorschach picked up his pen again and wrote to Teacher Caroline about his recent circumstances.

"Mr. Assistant, I have finished. I will leave the rest to you."

"Certainly. Please follow me."

The assistant led Rorschach into the basement. The Mage Guild's underground floor was a somewhat dim room. At its center stood a broad round wooden table, its entire surface covered in complex patterns. Rorschach immediately recognized it as a magic array. Beside the Round Table stood brass instruments with a distinctly punk-like style, fitted with rows of numbered dials. Cabinets lined the walls, storing all sorts of documents.

A map of the entire continent hung on the wall directly south, glittering with points of light. Rorschach glanced at it and guessed that each point represented a Mage Guild outpost. The points marking the Imperial Capital, Valuana, and Storm City, Istarani's capital, were the largest.

"For security reasons, not every outpost is displayed on the map," the assistant explained, noticing Rorschach's gaze.

"Can letters be delivered to the mountains in the south?"

"They can be sent to the nearest outpost, then forwarded through the local postal system."

There were two other employees in the room. As Rorschach spoke with the assistant, the magic array on the Round Table flashed, and a sealed paper tube appeared. One employee inspected it while the other recorded its information. Then they adjusted the instruments. The array flashed again, and the paper tube vanished.

"The Teleportation Array has limits on both capacity and distance. Every array serves as both a receiving and sending station, as well as a relay station. Andorilla is celebrating the Harvest Festival these days, so we are short-handed. I will handle the transmission for you."

The assistant separately sealed the three letters into paper tubes like the one that had just arrived, then filled in the addresses and recipients. "This one requires three relay stations. The other two, bound for the Imperial Capital, require four each. The total is one Gold Eagle Coin and one silver coin."

Before Rorschach left, the assistant gave him a small cloth bag to fasten beneath Gassediaz Yazi's rear, making it easier for the bird to relieve itself whenever necessary.

"I keep a starling myself. Seeing that your pet is also... a bird, I hoped this might help. Happy festival."

"Thank you." "Quack!"

It was nearly evening by the time Rorschach left the Guild. He noticed that every household here had hung a bundle of wheat stalks outside its door.

"Hey, young man over there! Don't stand in the middle of the road! The parade will be here soon!"

"Sorry, I am from out of town and do not know the situation well."

The guard walking toward Rorschach was startled when he saw the Mage Emblem on the young man's chest, and his expression changed. "My apologies, Mage. You are so young. My tone was not very good just now. I only wanted to remind you..."

"It is fine. Why is every household hanging wheat stalks now?"

"Legend says that long ago, a farming family kindly rescued and took in a man who had collapsed in their fields. Because the farmers owed money to a noble lord, when the harvest came, the lord sent people to cut away every ear of wheat, leaving only stalks in the fields.

"At that moment, the man they had taken in walked through the farmers' fields. Wherever he went, the cut stalks bore abundant grain again. He turned out to be Mars, the god of agriculture and livestock! Ah, that farming family was truly fortunate. They became a household blessed by a god, and even the noble lord no longer dared cause them trouble.

"That is why there is a custom here. Today's parade will carry Mars's holy statue past every household. If any family's wheat stalks grow ears again, that family will receive the God of Agriculture's blessing."

So there was such a legend. Mars was also one of the fallen gods. It was said that the Hero King, founder of the Old Empire, had been His descendant. But how had a god ended up collapsed in the middle of a field? Rorschach was rather curious.

"Thank you." Rorschach thanked the guard and headed back to the inn along the side of the road. There were more and more people on the streets, all wearing smiles. The women even wore wreaths woven from wheat stalks and grass.

What a lively atmosphere! Unlike the quiet, isolated campus, this was the first time Rorschach had seen such a crowded scene in this world during his journey through the countryside.

"Senior, hurry up! Everyone is here. Let's go!"

As he neared the inn, he heard Tasia calling. She waved as she bounced up and down, standing out from the crowd. When Rorschach approached, she planted her hands on her hips and puffed up her cheeks. "Senior, you were too slow! We could have caught up with the parade!"

"Now that Mage Rorschach is here, let us set off. Do not worry, Miss Tasia. We can cut straight across this street to the square. The parade will make a circuit and arrive there." As expected of a traveling merchant, Mr. Arle had figured out the shortcuts and festival schedule within a single afternoon.

"Miss Hill does not like noisy places, so she stayed behind to watch over the cart and goods. The drivers are drinking in the inn's dining hall."

"Is Uncle Sing drinking too?"

"Young Master Rorschach, I'm right here!" A somewhat resentful dwarf's voice rang out.

"Sorry, there were too many people. I did not see you at first!"

"Quack!"