Breeze City

Annan felt like a country bumpkin seeing a big city for the first time.

Never mind that he was riding in a carriage bearing the Winchester family crest, which made pedestrians along the way step aside.

He pressed against the window, gazing at Breeze City in wonder. A broad street wide enough for eight carriages stretched straight ahead, as though leading to the distant Snow Mountains. The buildings were tall and sturdy, their sloped roofs facing every which way. As the clouds parted, they gleamed in the sunlight.

A strange shadow fell across the carriage. Annan looked up and saw two Wyverns beating their wings, casting shadows as they glided toward the magnificent Mage Tower rising in the northwest of the city.

Shop windows along the street displayed food, wine, sweets, and magic materials. The mingled scent of spices drifted into the carriage, and even Tasia looked up from Bastard, which she had not put down since they set out.

Professionals Annan would have been lucky to spot a handful of on the busiest street in town were everywhere here: bards in hats adorned with colorful feathers, priests spreading their teachings, children darting around pedestrians and carriages, and travel-worn mercenaries.

Annan even saw the elves he had longed to see. The elves who had appeared in Pinglin Town had vanished as quietly as they had arrived. These elves were as beautiful as the legends said, so lovely they seemed to have stepped out of paintings. Some elven rangers wore leather armor that let them move freely, showing off their graceful, athletic figures. Others wore luxurious nature-themed robes, their long, pale-gold hair woven into fine little braids adorned with glittering jewelry.

"They're so beautiful..." Annan could not help exclaiming.

Soluman Copperbeard gave a muffled snort behind him, as if mocking humans' terrible taste.

"Are elves related to goblins?" Annan asked, pointing at his ears. "They both have pointy ears..."

At his words, an elven ranger on the street turned sharply, her gaze shooting toward the carriage window like an arrow. Her hostility eased when she saw only a handsome boy inside, then vanished when she noticed the Winchester crest on the carriage.

A potential incident came to nothing, but Soluman Copperbeard liked Annan even more.

She liked the idea that goblins and elves were related.

As the carriage approached the noble district where the Winchester family lived, fewer people wore plain, drab linen, while more passersby appeared in lavish clothes.

Annan saw nothing from the industrial age along the way, no steam-powered cars or factory chimneys. He could more or less confirm that industry in this world was still in its infancy.

Before long, the two carriages stopped outside a manor. Situated in the heart of Breeze City and sprawling across acres of land, it silently proclaimed the Winchester family's status.

Lindy stepped down from the carriage. After telling Annan and the others to wait outside, she entered the manor with her female guard. Not long afterward, the guard returned to the carriage carrying a box of books.

"My lady says she'll rest at the manor for a day. She wants you to meet her here tomorrow afternoon."

Annan took the box. He could more or less guess why Lindy did not want them inside: mainly, she did not want her aunt to run into him.

But she had left them the carriage. A carriage bearing the Winchester family crest could spare them a great deal of unnecessary trouble.

Annan and Tasia exchanged a glance, then both looked at Soluman Copperbeard.

The dwarf woman had spent the whole journey boasting that she knew Breeze City as well as her own dwarven stronghold. Now it was time for her to show them around.

Morning Breeze Inn.

The name sounded as if it had something to do with Faster's Dawn Tavern, and in fact, it did. Besides Soluman Copperbeard distributing wine to the inn, its owner had once been a member of the Secret Society.

"But that coward quit when a legendary figure stood against us."

The dwarf woman hopped down from the carriage and pointed at the middle-aged man coming to greet them.

"Are you sure you want to mock me in front of your new friends?"

The long-haired middle-aged man gave a rueful smile, placed a hand over his chest, and greeted Annan and Tasia. "Andrew Luna."

"Annan, and this is Tasia," the dwarf woman introduced them.

Andrew Luna had the air of a bard, especially with the feather at his collar. Annan was half right: the dwarf woman said he was a melancholy poet.

"We're staying here for a day. Get us three rooms," Soluman Copperbeard said without ceremony.

"Follow me."

Andrew Luna glanced at the carriage parked outside and led them into the inn.

As they climbed the stairs to the second floor, Annan noticed Andrew Luna's curled-toe shoes. Paired with his somewhat flamboyant nobleman's outfit, they made him look like a theater actor.

The rooms were fairly neat and clean, but with only single-plank walls, soundproofing was a distant dream. Fortunately, it was still morning.

Soluman Copperbeard stayed downstairs to catch up with Andrew Luna. Tasia remained in the room with Annan, watching as he eagerly opened the Meditation Method. Before long, he set the precious book down, looking a little strange.

"You can't understand it?"

"That's not it..."

This Summoning Meditation Method contained no overly complicated terms. It was easier to read than many literary works crammed with flowery language. What troubled Annan was that meditation was not some vague, obscure matter of "letting the mind sense magic." The book did provide clear steps, but there was a prerequisite:

Meditation required a ritual, and setting up that ritual required magic materials. The more expensive and high-grade the materials, the better the results...

Of course, he could meditate without setting up a ritual. The cost would be time itself.

Bang, bang—

Soluman Copperbeard knocked on the door. "I found out where the traveling merchant is. Want to go take a look?"

"Of course."

Annan, still deflated by what he had learned about the Meditation Ritual, perked up considerably.

Tasia joined them in the carriage. They first went to the traveling merchant's lodgings, learned he was still negotiating with the publisher, then went over to meet him.

Near noon, the carriage stopped outside the publishing house.

"Come in with us," Annan said to Soluman Copperbeard.

"You want a dwarf to help you negotiate?"

"I don't know how anything works here."

Tasia stayed in the carriage while Annan and the others entered the publishing house. After explaining why they had come, they were taken to the second floor, where they could see the street below and their carriage.

"This is the author of Law Breaks the Sky," the traveling merchant introduced him.

"Law Breaks the Sky doesn't have the structure of a multi-act play, thought-provoking narration, or a cast of characters..."

"That's what he told me too..." the traveling merchant whispered.

At that moment, the publisher glanced discreetly at the carriage on the street below.

"But its straightforward plot, numerous innovations, and memorable characters make it an excellent work that will sell."

The traveling merchant stared in astonishment. The deal he had spent days trying to close was settled with ease. Law Breaks the Sky would go to print and be sold within a month, and Annan would receive sixty percent of the net profits.

After Annan signed the contract with the publisher, the man tactfully asked how he was connected to the Winchester family.

"Margery and I are friends."