The staff at the Magic Guild were often connected to Mage Clans, while the higher-level managers were mostly Apprentices who had failed to advance. Right now, the receptionist was giving visitors the cold shoulder, not even looking up at Rorschach. "Divination is to the right. Next."
Rorschach had no choice but to activate his Mage Badge and present it at the counter. When the lady at the front desk saw the blue-glowing insignia, she finally corrected her attitude and looked up at the young man.
'Why is there a duck standing on his shoulder?'
"QUACK!"
"My apologies, Master Mage! So many people are coming for Divination during the festival, I hope you can understand. Please register, and then follow me to the second floor."
"QUACK!"
Compared to the noisy hall, the second floor was refreshingly quiet. A heavy wooden door blocked out the shouts from below. Rorschach sank into a comfortable armchair, and his butt and thighs, sore from the jolting horse ride, were finally able to relax.
The receptionist brought him a cup of tea. A moment later, a new attendant emerged from an office to the side. He was a sharp-looking man wearing a monocle. "My apologies, our Guild Master and Resident Mage have gone to a banquet. I am the Guild Master's assistant. Master Mage Rorschach, what business brings you to our branch?"
Rorschach took a sip of the tea. It was different from the tea in his past life, brewed from some kind of dried herb. It had a fresh, mint-like aroma, and was neither good nor bad.
"I'm here to send some letters, but first, I need a place to write them." Rorschach shrugged. "It's been inconvenient to write while on the road."
"Of course. Please come to my office; there's paper and a pen there."
"Thank you."
The assistant's office was simple. After Rorschach sat down and picked up the pen, the man tactfully excused himself. "Just call for me when you're finished."
Rorschach wrote the first letter to his parents in this world, briefly explaining his situation. The village chief would probably end up reading it to them anyway.
The second letter was for Rorschach's boss, the bald Mechanical Director he hadn't seen in a long time. After some thought, Rorschach decided to use their agreed-upon code. Thanks to the legacy of the Old Empire, the entire continent spoke a common tongue, or at least used the common tongue's alphabet. The lowest-level cipher rule was to shift each letter of the plaintext four places forward to create the ciphertext.
"The Underground Sect 'Return of the Holy Mother' has appeared. The Viscount and Protector of Limborg are high-ranking members. Unidentified items transported by the Lowe Commerce Association have become the Sect's target. Investigation needed..."
Finally, after some more thought, Rorschach picked up his pen again and wrote to Teacher Caroline about his recent situation.
"Sir, I'm finished. I'll have to trouble you with the next part."
"Of course. Please follow me."
The assistant led Rorschach to the basement. The Guild's first sublevel was a somewhat dim room with a large, round wooden table at its center. A complex pattern covered the entire tabletop—Rorschach recognized it as a Magic Array without a doubt. Beside the round table were brass instruments with a rather steampunk feel, complete with rows of numbered dials. Against the walls stood rows of filing cabinets, storing all sorts of documents.
A map of the entire continent hung on the southern wall, dotted with shining points of light. Rorschach glanced at it and guessed that each point of light represented a Magic Guild outpost. The lights for the Imperial Capital, Valuva, and Istani's capital, Storm City, were the brightest.
"For security reasons, not all outposts are displayed on the map," the assistant explained, noticing Rorschach's gaze.
"Can you send a letter to the southern mountains?"
"We can send it to the nearest outpost, and from there it will be forwarded to the local postal system."
There were two other employees in the room. As Rorschach and the assistant were talking, the Magic Array on the round table flashed, and a sealed paper tube appeared. One of the employees inspected the tube while the other recorded the information on it. Then, after adjusting the instruments, the Magic Array flashed again, and the paper tube vanished.
"The Teleportation Array has limited capacity and range. Each Magic Array serves as both a sending and receiving station and a relay point. It's the Harvest Festival in Andorrella these days, so we're short-staffed. I'll handle the teleportation for you."
The assistant sealed the three letters into separate paper tubes, just like the one that had arrived earlier, and filled out the addresses and recipients. "This one needs to be relayed through three stations. The other two are going to the Imperial Capital and require four relays. The total is one Golden Eagle Coin and one silver."
Before he left, the assistant gave Rorschach a small cloth pouch to be tied around Gaisde Yazi's rear, so it could relieve itself whenever it needed to.
"I keep a starling myself. Seeing that your pet is also... a bird, I thought this might help. Happy festival."
"Thank you." "QUACK!"
It was almost evening when Rorschach left the Guild. He noticed that every household had hung a bundle of wheat stalks in front of their doors.
"Hey, young man over there! Don't stand in the middle of the road! The parade procession is about to arrive!"
"Sorry, I'm not from around here. I don't know what's going on."
The Guard walking toward Rorschach was startled when he saw the Mage Badge on the young man's chest, and his expression changed completely. "My apologies, Master Mage, you're so young. My tone was a bit rough just now; I only meant to warn you..."
"It's fine. Could you tell me why every household is hanging wheat stalks right now?"
"Legend has it that a long time ago, a farming family kindly rescued and took in a man who had collapsed in their fields. Because the farmer owed money to a noble lord, the lord sent his men during the harvest to cut down all the ears of wheat, leaving only the stalks in the field.
At that moment, the man they had taken in walked through the farmer's fields, and wherever He went, the cut stalks grew abundant grain once more. It turned out He was the God of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Mars! The farmers were so lucky—they became a family blessed with Divine Favor, and the noble lord didn't dare trouble them again.
So, there's a custom here. During today's parade, the Holy Statue of Mars will pass by every home. If anyone's wheat stalks grow new ears, it means their family will receive the favor of the God of Agriculture."
'So that's the story.' Mars was also one of the fallen gods. Legend had it that the founder of the Old Empire, the Heroic King, was His descendant. 'But why would a perfectly fine god just collapse in a field?' Rorschach was a little curious.
"Thank you." Rorschach thanked the Guard and hurried back to the inn, keeping to the edge of the road. The street was growing more and more crowded. Everyone wore smiles, and the women wore circlets woven from wheat stalks and blades of grass on their heads.
'What a lively atmosphere!' It was a far cry from the quiet, isolated campus and the empty fields he had traveled through. This was the first time Rorschach had ever seen such a bustling crowd in this world.
"Rorschach, hurry up! Everyone's here, let's go!"
Just as he neared the inn's entrance, he heard Tassia's shout. She was jumping and waving, standing out from the crowd. When Rorschach reached her, she put her hands on her hips and puffed out her cheeks. "You're so slow! We could have caught up to the parade by now!"
"Now that Mage Rorschach is here, let's set off. Don't worry, Miss Tassia, we'll cut straight across this street to the square. The procession will circle around and end up there." As expected of a traveling merchant, Mr. Ah Le had already figured out the shortcuts and the festival's schedule in a single afternoon.
"Miss Hill doesn't like all the commotion, so she's staying behind to guard the cart and the goods. The drivers are drinking in the inn's dining hall."
"Is Uncle Singrev drinking too?"
"Young Master Rorschach, I'm over here!" a slightly plaintive Dwarf's voice called out.
"Sorry, it's so crowded I didn't see you at first!"
"QUACK!"