Mage? Spell Engineer!

After a long ceremony, introductions and toasts, the dinner finally started. Rorschach didn't know what time it was, and he remembered that he didn't buy a pocket watch.

The experience of those who have been there is correct.

The dishes at this banquet are indeed not as exquisite as those at Xingguang Ju Restaurant, and are full of the best skills and ingenuity of the chefs, but as a state banquet, it is all smooth and the taste is restrained and palatable, except for the dessert - it is too sweet!

The highest praise for desserts should be: delicious, not sweet.

Oh, and there’s another heavyweight:

For the first main course, the servants pushed a delicate trolley and brought a huge white balloon to each table. If you look closely, it is bulging, with veins popping out on its surface and steam rising out of it.

When the main course of the banquet arrived, everyone was able to talk again, and His Majesty the King was chatting with Duplesi while eating. "Is this a pig's bladder?" Rorschach asked Kano in a low voice.

"Inside is a tender and plump gelding, cooked by the steam locked inside." The prime minister's voice answered Rorschach's question, but it looked like he was still talking to the king.

"I remember this is a delicacy from Du Plessis' hometown?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, it was not easy to eat when I was a kid."

It's not easy to think of such a method. Using a stomach bag is not so outrageous, right? Rorschach watched as the minion punctured his bladder, letting the steam escape. The whole chicken was exposed after being cut open, with two black truffles attached to its back.

The servant elegantly and precisely cut off the wings, thighs and small portions of the chicken breast, shaved off the bones and cut them into bite-sized pieces, and put them on Rorschach and Kano's plates.

Fortunately, it's not a heavy flavor. It doesn't have the fishy smell of pig or chicken. It's similar to the texture and taste of plain chicken. Even dipping it in the sauce won't cover up the meaty aroma. Even if you come here, you can say it tastes like chicken.

The next main course was barbecue, huge and hard-roasted poultry, suckling pigs and lambs. Without exception, they were served whole between the two rows of seats, facing His Majesty the King. The servant first cuts off the best and presents it to the master of the palace and kingdom, and then distributes it to the guests according to their distance from the monarch.

During the main course, the animals whose ribs were shaved were deliberately left in the banquet hall. Gluttony symbolizes violence. It is said that in the past, nobles used this way to show their dominance and enjoyment of prey to show their subordinates' troops and servants that they were capable of eating large chunks of meat and gulping down alcohol. The piles of white bones were proof of the clean eating.

"Master Kano, are the banquets in the palace still to your liking? I remember that when my father was here, you often complained about the food in the palace. Master, do you think Old Tim's craftsmanship has improved?" During this period, Charles XVI also chatted with Kano for a few times. sentence.

"I haven't eaten for a long time and I feel a little nostalgic. Thank you for your invitation." Rorschach heard Kano euphemistically express that the palace chef was standing still. It sounds like his teacher is an old acquaintance of the royal family.

While everyone was speaking, only the plates of bones were left in the hall, and the knives and forks touching the white porcelain plates formed a symphony. Charles XVI especially ate a lot, while Rorschach and Du Plessis were the ones with poor appetites at this time. The bishop was entangled in troubles and only focused on drinking. Every time the waiter took away the last plate, there was still more than half of the food.

Rorschach somehow lost interest. In order to let the guests taste it, he would serve a small amount of the main course first. If the guest thought it was delicious, he would push the plate forward, and the waiter would fill it with a full portion. Rorschach only finished the first plate of each dish.

He didn't know why he was very tired. He wanted to go back to the dormitory and lie down instead of sitting upright here.

The desserts after the meal are also over. Is it finally coming to an end?

"Your Majesty." Necker stood up and motioned to the main table, and the king nodded.

After getting permission, Necker clapped his hands and gathered the attention of all the guests who were talking.

When Valan heard the applause, he immediately left the table and took out a beautifully framed wooden box from the side of his chair. He opened the box and showed the paper inside. The paper is obviously much larger than the banknotes, it should be a document.

"Everyone! At the end of this feast, on behalf of His great and merciful Majesty, I would like to give you a special gift! This gift is also related to the guests of today's banquet."

He walked to the left, the side with many mages: "The secondary plane exploration team of the Magic Guild, the discoverers of the gold mine! Although they experienced desperate situations, they overcame all difficulties with their outstanding courage and extraordinary wisdom. , and selflessly reported the amazing discovery, let us sincerely applaud the heroes!"

Granol and his wife took the lead in applauding, and other grand dukes and counts also gave warm applause when they saw His Majesty the King clapping their hands gently. Rorschach and the others had to stand up and respond.

"Without them, His Majesty the King would have missed out on a huge amount of wealth! This wealth is like rain and dew in a severe drought in the current kingdom. It has solved a major crisis and made me, the finance minister, breathe a long sigh of relief." Necker When I said this, I wiped my forehead exaggeratedly and showed my signature business smile. The audience chuckled a few times in cooperation.

"But someone here must be thinking, what does this have to do with you? Don't be ashamed. Selfishness is part of human nature. According to my observation and thinking, it is one of the backgrounds given by the Creator to all life. If you really want to be ashamed, just be Your Majesty’s generosity and kindness will be ashamed!”

Valan began to distribute the pieces of paper, and Necker became more and more excited as he spoke: "Your Majesty, in order to share this joy, every guest here will receive fifty shares of the 'Saliana Mining Company'! Especially, the discovery of gold mines Each of you, the heroes of the Holy Kingdom, has one hundred shares! Each share is worth five hundred francs, and next year the shareholders will receive a dividend of two hundred francs per share! If you hold public bonds, you only need four hundred francs to purchase the designated shares. exchange for one share.”

Rorschach received the document, which was beautifully printed: "One hundred shares of the original stock of Sariana Mining Company"; shareholder: Rorschach

There is also the time, the royal seal, the signature of the Minister of Finance, the badges of the Seremban Bank and the Valuana Stock Exchange.

Valuauna Stock Exchange? This finance minister knows how to play. Rorschach carefully looked at the addresses of the company and the stock exchange. They were still right next to each other. They just needed to write a line at the back: Uncle, come and play, come and trade stocks!

"To Your Majesty! To the Kingdom!" Necker led everyone to drink the last glass of wine at the banquet.

It's quite the casino style to give out free chips and discounted chips to new customers.

Although stocks have been played by the Istani people, Necker is still the first genius in the world to play with paper money. Rorschach expressed deep admiration for the finance minister. He could foresee that the "star" in front of him would become the most famous "alchemist" in history, and a ruthless man who was expected to compete with Shang Yang on the settlement screen.

Du Plessis stared at Necker's performance with a gloomy face, and then pushed back his stock certificate without saying a word, leaving Valan in a dilemma.

"Mr. Duplesi, just accept it. This child is in trouble."

"It was not my intention, Your Majesty." The cardinal had no choice but to take the piece of paper.

After the dinner, Necker took several nobles to the side hall to play cards. Granol also went, leaving Francois to accompany his mother home first.

Kano and Rorschach were also about to return, but they were brought to the door of a study by a servant: "Master Kano, Master Rorschach, His Majesty the King has summoned them."

This week's updates are not on time, so I'm adding an extra chapter to express my apologies. Thank you book friends for your support!