Morning sea mist shrouded Free City as it woke.
After a full night's rest, the residents were ready to get to work. Before the sea mist had cleared, cooking smoke rose over Free City, which was still little more than a town.
Lef had just lost his job because the city had stopped putting up new buildings. He was about to try his luck at the Great Wall to the north. Free City had no city wall, but a long wall was under construction there, stretching east from the Foot of the Forest Mountains.
Then the City Lord's Mansion recruited him. Apparently, a magnificent Church was going up in the city.
His wife, whom he was proud to have—fewer than one in ten people in Breeze City had a wife—urged him to go without even asking about the pay. Everyone considered it an honor to build a Church for the god they worshipped.
Lef had only a little faith in the Goddess of Wealth. His neighbor Jimmy, on the other hand, was a devout believer, but he had been assigned to dig the river. Jimmy even came to Lef's door with several pounds of dried fish, hoping to trade places—
"Sorry, I'm just as devout in my faith."
Lef turned him down... What if the Goddess of Wealth blessed those who built the Church?
He set off for the Church site, which was still a stretch of wasteland. Commercial Street was right next to it.
"Who can read blueprints?"
The Minister of the Construction Department shouted. Lef could hear him, but couldn't see him.
"I..." Realizing his voice had been swallowed by the noisy crowd, Lef raised his hand and shouted, "I can!"
The crowd parted, and a short barrel of a man came "rolling" over.
"Good. You're a Captain