Mage? Spell Engineer!.

Chapter 610: Special Border Earldom
The weather was clear at this time. In the royal garden, the grass and trees gradually turned from light green to emerald green and dark green. It was the flower season. Two people were competing on the lawn, crossing the colorful flowers.

"Your Majesty wins!" After the referee announced, Richard immediately stopped his sword.

William also stopped attacking, made a sword flower, and sent away the maid who wanted to come forward to wipe his sweat.

Richard called the maid who wanted to leave, took two flannel towels, and naturally threw one to William II.

The emperor smiled and reached out to take it. He waved his hand again, and not only the maid, but also the referee and other servants retreated. The guards walked back a few steps and hid among the flowers.

The emperor wiped his sweat and looked at the scoreboard: "My dear, you are not paying attention."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Richard admitted this generously.

William snorted in anger, but did not immediately ask Richard what he was thinking. Instead, he continued, "Before I was not the crown prince, I could still fight with real swords happily, even though I was only 11 years old.

"Since I was named heir to the empire, fencing has become a boring game for me, scored by dot." He raised the tip of the sword, which was wrapped in a small rubber ball and covered with velvet cloth.

"I think it's great. It's not as dangerous as real swords and is suitable for more people to experience this sport." Richard expressed his opinion seriously.

"Perhaps. Even country boys would fight with sticks." The emperor suddenly asked himself with a subtle evil thought: "So sticks are enough for them. Why do they need blunt swords?"

Richard did not reveal his opinion this time, but instead told the emperor what he was thinking: "A spaceship almost flew across the entire empire. As far as I know, it came from the plane of air element, carrying a new variety of food developed by the Forest Tower, which is said to be guaranteed not to be contaminated by the Mother Goddess."

William nodded: "I already know that before the match with you, I have sent people to ask for an explanation from the Forest Tower."

But this was not what Richard wanted to say the most. He spoke again: "In addition, the Senate of the Arcane has announced a set of <safety standards> in response to the threat of evil gods in the mysterious realm."

"Hmm." The emperor's expression turned slightly colder.

“Rather than being a regulation or law, it’s more of a technical guide. It’s said that the Magic Guild has also released a matching technical manual.

"That is to say, an extremely advanced production system framework has been made public. And all complex industrial products that do not meet the relevant standards will not be able to circulate and trade in Valois and the eastern part of the empire.

"It is said that the Dwarven Confederation, Istani, and the Southern Kingdoms will follow suit."

William II took off his protective gear and said, "Oh, my foreign minister and finance minister dare not bring up this matter. When I ask them, they have to act dumb for a while before they are willing to tell me some information. But I have my own channels to learn about it. My dear, you are the first minister who speaks frankly in front of me."

Richard also took off his armor. In fact, he didn't need it. "This standard is built entirely around a new spell system. And it relies on the support of Master Rorschach. In other words, magic cannot be avoided. Perhaps this is what the other ministers are concerned about. Considering your attitude towards magic, they guess you don't want to hear this."

Now they were in the area of ​​the magic-forbidden device, and Richard felt a little uncomfortable. During this period, the installed capacity of magic-forbidden equipment in the empire increased rapidly, and in the imperial capital and several major cities, the dead magic zone that completely covered the urban area had been initially built.

"Do these techniques have to be mastered and manipulated by the caster?"

"Your Majesty, I have an analogy that is by no means discriminatory against anyone - can a blind person paint?"

The emperor nodded slowly: ".I understand."

Maybe in the future, Richard felt that Rorschach was working towards this possibility. Since it was something he had decided on, he would definitely be able to do it. Richard believed in his friend like this. Therefore, he insisted on advising the monarch: "No matter what, the empire cannot fall behind others. Congratulations to your majesty on the smooth progress of the ban plan, but the safety of our country cannot be tied to one plan. Resisting the Mother Goddess requires stronger logistics and military force. We should cultivate a group of talents and enterprises to research and catch up with the most advanced technology, whether it contains magic or not, and use it in people's livelihood and defense.

"If one day such technology can be used by everyone and everyone can benefit from it, how can your Majesty's people be left out?"

"You are right. I will accept your advice. But since I have promised you one thing, you have to promise me one thing in return." The emperor showed a victorious smile, as if he had won another round.

"Why do I feel like I've been tricked?" Richard muttered to himself on the way home.

He recalled the scene at that time. After practicing sword in the garden, the emperor immediately invited him to move to the study.

William II actually came up with an almost complete plan. He wanted to establish a border earldom in the north, which would not be covered by the Empire's forbidden magic area, but correspondingly, it would directly face the pollution of the Mother Goddess at the junction of the Empire and the Dwarf Confederation. Since the destruction of the First Flame Tower, this place has often erupted in disasters caused by evil gods, and it is jointly controlled by the Imperial Army and the Dwarves.

In this special territory, the flow of any technology, trade and personnel will not be restricted by the emperor of the empire, but will be determined by the lord. These relatively barren and cold lands will be distributed to spellcasters within the empire, where they can cast spells and conduct research without restrictions.

In terms of economy, the earl also had freedom almost like that of the lords in the Middle Ages. William even promised to exempt the earldom from taxation. Instead, the lord would completely decide and control the circulation of money and goods. With his own permission, he could propose legal provisions that were different from those of the empire and were not subject to supervision by the Imperial Parliament.

Ideally, the border counties would defend against the invasion of the servants of the Mother Goddess, while other parts of the empire would defend against these mages with anti-magic devices. Of course, the above idea was not safe, and some ministers were worried that this would give birth to a second Byrne.

It can be predicted that this border earldom must be highly militarized, and it is allowed to accept advanced technology from the most dangerous "rebels" now, obtain resources from the Dwarf Confederation, and trade with Istani from the sea. If those already dissatisfied imperial spellcasters rebel again, the consequences of marching southward will be disastrous.

Richard thought that this plan had some merits, especially the opening of a special area to introduce magic technology as a bridge for the increasingly closed empire to communicate with the outside world. He advised the emperor that he had no illusions about being able to completely lift the empire's ban on magic, so such a plan was acceptable.

But there was also some naivety, especially the fact that the Empire had almost completely let go of the earldom and gathered many spellcasters together. They were like unstable explosives, and the emperor intended to put them in a barrel. In William's vision, the "explosive barrel" actually had only one insurance, which was a trustworthy lord.

Richard von Dahlberg, of course.

It can be said that the entire plan is designed around his existence. Whether the entire earldom will get out of control and whether the empire will be threatened from the north - whether it is the Mother Goddess or the rebels - all depends on this one person.

When the emperor told Richard all about his plan, he raised his head and recalled: "I have revealed this idea to the courtiers, the prime minister and the marshal, and they all don't think I can find a suitable candidate for the earl.

"The empire needs a powerful and loyal wizard to control other spellcasters and resist the threat of the Mother Goddess. He also needs to understand military affairs and have the ability to govern a region. Everyone believes that in terms of ability alone, the youngest son of the Dahlberg family is the only one in the empire who can take on such an important task.

"But they suspect you. They accuse you of having a close relationship with the leader behind the rebels. But I absolutely believe in you, my dear." William II firmly believed that without Richard, he might have died on a winter night:

"I once suspected that you would betray the Empire and join the so-called Alliance.

"Since we can meet again, as king and subject, it proves your loyalty and my wrong assumption. I want to apologize to you."

He hesitated for a moment, then asked a question: "But what are you loyal to, Dahlberg? This country? Its people? Or... Sometimes I even hope that you return to me because you are loyal to our friendship."

"I don't know, maybe both." Richard answered in a daze, and after expressing his willingness to accept the title and territory, he hurriedly left the palace.

(End of this chapter)