New Things, New Trade Routes

In the bleak chill of late autumn, cold winds swept across the fields and wilderness. No birds flew through the clear autumn sky.

Farmer Kahn bent over, lifted a heavy winnowing basket, and tipped it into the wooden trough beside him. The golden beans poured out with a deeply satisfying rustle, flowing like a stream of gold into the channel and rolling into the grain store buried underground. The steadily swelling sound made the wrinkled man smile, his eyes narrowing and the corners of his mouth rising despite himself.

Maple beans were among the last crops harvested in autumn in the southern regions. With this batch of thoroughly dried beans stored away, all the year's hard work had finally borne fruit.

It would be another winter in which no one starved to death—if luck was on their side. If the nearby factories happened to hire extra hands, then not only would no one starve this winter, but the family might even have meat several times a week.

Kahn straightened up and wiped the fine sweat from his forehead. A Magic-infused Vehicle carrying timber passed along the newly paved road in the distance. The young man driving it leaned out and happily waved to someone far away. At the square at the end of the road, light and shadow flickered—that was a Holographic Projection cast by a Magic Net Terminal.

Magic-infused Vehicles and Magic Net Terminals were both unbelievable new gadgets. It was said that they had yet to become widespread in more remote areas, but this was, after all, a town near Cecil City. Advanced Magic-Conducting Technology was bound to be more common here.

Kahn did not understand the secrets behind that Magic-Conducting Technology, but at least he no longer screamed in fright whenever he saw a Magic-infused Vehicle. He