"The Golden Tower Must Focus on Steam Engines"

The imperial decree fell suddenly, leaving the mages in the audience chamber dumbfounded.

“Y-Your Majesty!”

“Actually,” Kanbraman added, his tone sharp, “there’s no need for mages to work on steam engines at all. The artisans of the imperial workshops can handle it just fine. Now, begone—all of you!”

Of course, the emperor had no real intention of disregarding or persecuting the mages. Assigning the creation of steam engines to the artisans was, in itself, a heavy burden. No artisan would eagerly manufacture a machine that threatened their livelihood. Even with an imperial …