"Sure enough, someone's already jumped out of the woodwork."
Inside the Mage Tower, in the Academy Office.
Roland sat behind the large desk, looking at the letter delivered through the magic array. Entirely unsurprised, he sighed, then picked up his pen and added an instruction: "Contest the suit actively and resolve it as soon as possible."
He then gathered his mana and stamped his Arcane Mark on it.
Then he sent it back through the Small Teleportation Array.
Atrelin and an alliance of several arcane nations placed great importance on patent rights. To some extent, the legal system they had established had created Roland's wealth and protected his interests.
Anyone who refused to follow those rules could easily find themselves shut out of the magical world.
At the same time, however, that system served greater financial powers and stronger individuals. Sometimes, they could turn it around and use it as a club against others.
Thus, what he told Queen Rosa afterward was, "We need to find a way around any freezes and avoid getting tangled up in the disputed portions."
Research should continue, and so should production.
They weren't about to let a little obstacle stop them in their tracks.
Rosa asked, "What if they make an issue of that too and keep harassing us?"
Roland said, "Sometimes, our enemies aren't the only ones who can use dirty tricks. We can use them too."
He had good reason to say that.
In the short term, the Scroll Association had no ability to come to Lainer World to investigate or enforce anything.
So what could they do besides issue a few condemnations?
That was the advantage of a school controlling its own home base.
The means available to Rawls could only take effect outside Lainer World, in an attempt to confine