Facing Landen's question, Honnier explained unhurriedly, "My lord, my grandfather once said that Hindukush has over a hundred thousand humans in total, with more than twenty thousand Mana-Wielders. In the Scorch Wolf mines to the south, humans are practically the only miners, while most of the farmers in the Forest Cat Clan's fields are human as well. Those two major tribes alone require more than seventy thousand laborers."
Landen was somewhat surprised. "That many?"
"Yes. The Forest Cat Clan has not one city, Xingtian, but three: Xingtian, Riverside, and Ironbank City." Rather than rushing to explain, Honnier slowly began recounting the history.
"For centuries, Riverside City was the capital of the catfolk, while Xingtian and Ironbank City were two major mining sites. All three cities possessed Magic Furnaces left behind from ancient times. The catfolk Retainers were stationed in Riverside, while smaller branches of the clan were sent to Xingtian City and Ironbank City to oversee humans mining mithril and gems.
About ninety years ago, Xingtian's veins had nearly been exhausted. My grandfather, Rosef, meanwhile, earned the recognition of the entire Basin through Life Magic and became the Basin's sole human Archmage.
The catfolk handed Xingtian's governance over to Grandfather, and he transformed it into a city centered on agriculture. Later, as more and more Retainers were delivered by his hands, it became a cradle for Retainers. Later still, as the Retainers needed Magic Potions while growing up, several Workshops sprang up in Xingtian City..."
Honnier went on and on, practically recounting the history of Xingtian City in meticulous detail. Rosef could be said to have successfully transformed this resource-extraction city into a new city integrating agriculture, Magic Potion processing, and medical services.
"My lord, I tell you this to make one point: the reason the human population in the