"Don't you have anything to do?"
After Annan walked past her for the twelfth time, Ingrid had had enough.
"No."
Ingrid was blunt. "Bountiful City is still untouched territory. You could go adventuring there."
"I'm not going!"
Because someone else was going in Annan's place: Joan and West.
Annan had Ingrid summon Joan and West, then stopped bothering her. He asked which of them wanted to go to Bountiful City to trade, mainly to sell Magic Stones and introduce Star-Moon Bay.
"Leave it to me, Boss Annan!" West promised, thumping his chest.
Annan gave West twenty Magic Stones. Since this was Star-Moon Bay's first trade mission, Annan hired the Lion Mercenary Company, which he had worked with before, to provide an Elite and four other professionals as guards.
Under normal circumstances, an Elite could handle most problems.
But once West had set off, Annan found himself with nothing to do again.
Maybe I could visit Illymoyas... No, better not. Perhaps the melting snow had made Star-Moon Bay too damp; the Blue Dragon had been in a foul mood lately.
Unable to sit still, Annan had the captain of the Personal Guards bring a horse, and the two secretly rode to a hillside south of Star-Moon Bay, near Glacier Harbor.
From there, Annan saw scattered houses, workers hauling materials, and signs of logging everywhere. Ugly bare Tree Stump spread across the land.
Star-Moon Bay bustled with construction, while Glacier Harbor looked miserable. Even from too far away to make out their faces, Annan could tell how hard its ragged, staggering laborers were being worked.
That exploitation, along with a head start of several dozen days, had put Glacier Harbor well ahead of Star-Moon Bay... but only for now. Its workers could collapse at any moment, while Star-Moon Bay's Subjects were full