In mid-April, the beverage factory—backed by supernatural forces—began its trial operations. Theoretically, it was a subsidiary of Hercules, but since it operated across two countries with a less-than-friendly relationship, the Bayern branch opted for relative independence.
For instance, the new factory broke from the Holy Kingdom’s tradition of naming things after mythological figures and was called "Fanta," which ans "joy" in the common tongue. At Rorschach’s insistence, the Fanta Beverage Factory also hired two forr apprentices from the Tower of Secret Techniques who couldn’t graduate, forming the initial core of its Research and Developnt Departnt.
If the Holy Kingdom and the Empire were to one day go to war, Fanta would have to produce its own syrup.
Rorschach’s funds were now nearly depleted. The bulk of the cash he had acquired from Duke lovinca by trading stocks had been invested into the construction of Fanta.
In this Otherworld with magic, the construction team from the Mason Brotherhood could have its progress "accelerated with microtransactions," just like in a browser ga. However, the price was so "beautiful" that Rorschach had to step in himself. Using his [Stone Shaping Skill] felt like it saved him a ton of money.
Currently, Hercules and Balderom had ford a joint venture and registered a new company in Bayern specifically for the logistics, distribution, and marketing of the beverage. anwhile, since all the cash for the Fanta Beverage Factory ca from Rorschach, his personal stake was 73%, with Mr. Pierre providing the rest of the capital.
The glass bottle factory was established with the share distribution agreed upon previously. However, the Glass Guild had already fractured into two factions: those who supported the bottle factory and those who didn’t. Workshops had also begun relocating to Lanshite one after another and, miraculously, started producing colored plate glass.
Due to the exodus of nurous apprentices and artisans, the large workshops shrank drastically. So clever Workshop Masters began experinting with giving their artisans shares in the business, rather than exploiting them until they were driven away to start their own workshops elsewhere.
A few nasty incidents occurred during this period, which only further fueled the apprentices’ resentnt toward the Workshop Masters. After the Guild President resigned in disgrace, the once-coveted position, which previously would have required intense lobbying, now had no takers.
This marked the mont when Rorschach was delighted to see the Glass Guild, which had once caused him trouble, swept into the dustbin of history in less than a month.
As outsiders, Rorschach and Pierre absolutely did not fan the flas alongside the Bart Family’s chamber of comrce.
"What’s the word from the Mining and tallurgy Association?"
"Many of their old clients have gone under, so we now have the upper hand in negotiations," Mr. Pierre reported. He had practically beco the young man’s secretary these past few days. After a mont of thought, he added a reminder, "The Brewing Guild hasn’t proactively contacted us yet."
"Leave it to Balderom. I can’t possibly keep track of all these trivial matters." Now that the beverage factory was established and on the right track, Rorschach no longer handled everything himself. He left matters concerning the sales end to the local powerhouse.
"Bart’s wedding is coming up soon. I’m going to head to Wertzburg to take a look."
Rorschach left the greatly changed Lanshite and took a boat north.
’These newspapers have too much ti on their hands!’ With ten days still to go before the grand wedding, news of the beautiful Little Princess’s marriage was already plastered all over Bayern’s gossip columns. However, as a selling point for the story, the groom’s identity had been kept under wraps.
All that was known was that he was a commoner with no noble title.
Bart was on duty at the Mage Tower today. His post, which he had inherited from his predecessor, offered a view of the entire city.
The fiancé slamd his fist onto the newspaper. "If I ever beco a councilor, I’ll definitely propose stricter press regulations to shut up all these noisy scoundrels!"
So creative editor had started a "letters from readers" section, inviting citizens to guess the groom’s identity. Unsurprisingly, people were already placing bets.
So said he was one of the Princess’s personal guards, while others claid he was her riding instructor. These represented the two prevailing theories: the Knight-and-Princess trope and the student-teacher romance.
’Heh, the masses love this stuff no matter what world you’re in.’ Knowing the answer, Rorschach was tempted to join in on the fun. He flipped through the paper and saw a large advertisent: "Enjoy Fanta, feel the energy! A wondrous nectar from Valuva!"
Mr. Pierre had always been a marketing master. Although sales hadn’t officially begun, so tavern waiters were already secretly promoting the "miraculous drink from the Holy Kingdom" to earn a little extra cash. Additionally, painted posters had appeared on the streets of Munich, Wertz, and Newren.
’Hurry, we need to be ready to stock the shelves before May first!’
What neither Rorschach nor Bart expected was that the rchants behind them were the ones fanning the flas of the wedding hype. The Balderom Chamber of Comrce had personally intervened, blocking any rumors about their own young master while paying newspapers to run stories about the Little Princess’s wedding.
This was all in preparation to launch one hundred thousand bottles of soda in Munich and Wertzburg on the day of the wedding. Half would be freely sponsored for the Royal Family and distributed to the citizens, while the other half would be sold to various restaurants and hotels.
Wertzburg’s layout was more closed-off than Munich’s. Its city walls were concentrated to the east and north, while the south opened up to a network of waterways. Frankly, this layout would make anyone from the northern Empire do a double-take and think: ’Who are you defending against?’
"Welco! I’ve been swamped lately. After finishing my work, I still have to plan the wedding. Milly is too young, so she can’t be expected to decide everything." Rorschach had traveled by boat to the foot of the tallest tower in the city; this was Bart’s domain.
His timing was perfect; he ca down from the tower just as Rorschach was disembarking from the boat.
"Don’t you have a royal master of ceremonies?" The two chatted as they went upstairs. The Town Mage’s tower couldn’t really be considered a proper Magic Tower. Through Rorschach’s [Arcane Vision], the Magic Aura was pitifully faint; inside the Tower of Stars or the Tower of Secret Techniques, he would have been blinded by the light.
"Yes, but this is Milly’s and my wedding, not a puppet show for the distinguished guests."
"If it were , I’d probably be happy to be a puppet for a little while."
"You’re the type to take the easy way out. But it seems you’ve stirred up quite a bit of trouble since graduating. I’m starting to not get you." Bart didn’t dwell on it. He and Rorschach had already reached the top floor.
It was less a Magic Tower and more a fortified watchtower. The tower was hexagonal, with windows on five sides overlooking the city, while one side was completely blocked by a wooden shutter.
The decor inside had so personal touches, like Bart’s insignia, his letter of appointnt as Town Mage, and so on. It also had the requisite bookcase and Alchemy Platform.
But they were rely there, on a "better-than-nothing" level.
"We can see the whole city, except in this direction," Bart said, pointing to the closed window. "That’s Wertzburg Palace, His Majesty the Emperor’s forr royal residence. It belongs to His Majesty the King now, though he doesn’t visit often. Out of respect for the Lord, tradition dictates this window is not opened during peaceti."
’Seems more like a formality...’
As he spoke, Bart waved Rorschach over. "Seeing as Milly’s and my wedding will be held at Wertzburg Palace, I can open a crack for you to take a peek from up high."
Rorschach leaned toward the opening. Peeking through the dense cluster of houses, he saw a garden that took up a massive amount of space, complete with wooded paths, fountains, and various sculptures. At the center of the garden was a beautiful palace.
"It’s said to be the work of Balthazar, the Empire’s master architect," Bart continued. "But you’ve spent ti in Valuva now, so you should recognize the style, right?"
"If Charles XVI ever visited, or was captured and brought here, he’d definitely feel right at ho."
"Exactly! Our master architect borrowed a little too heavily from the palaces of Valuva. And now my best friend is selling a beverage from Valuva with my family. Is everything from the Holy Kingdom just that magical?"
Rorschach closed the window and ran a finger over a dusty glass bottle. "Speaking of magic, have your own skills gotten a little rusty?"
"I can’t exactly study and make money at the sa ti like you can! Rorschach..." Bart steeled himself to bring up sothing difficult to talk about.
"The circuit inspector dispatched by the council is coming to Wertzburg for an assessnt soon! And from today until the wedding, there are only eight days left. You have to do a favor!"
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