After a month of filming, Let Magic Fly was finally finished.
Everyone who saw the Magic Film praised Annan's new work. But they had less faith in his claim that it would "awaken the civilians of the Rikaner Kingdom."
Let Magic Fly was both direct and subtle. On the surface, it was a simple story about someone posing as a city lord, taking office in a city, defeating the nobles who ruled it, and dividing their money among the poor. It hit exactly the right nerve. Beneath that straightforward tale, though, lay a second story worth pondering—and writing a two-thousand-word response to.
People who spent every day struggling to survive had no energy left for pointless reflection.
But Annan said understanding the first layer was enough. After all, they weren't trying to win over only civilians. They also needed the knights, soldiers, and middle class whom the Kingdom still kept in the dark and bound to it through shared interests.
They were fewer than the civilians and less influential than the nobles. Looked at another way, though, they outnumbered the nobles and had more of a voice than the civilians.
Not long after Let Magic Fly was sent back to Free City, Eternal Magic Stones and ordinary Magic Stones began flowing to Commercial Streets like snowflakes. Most, however, were delivered to Annan inside the Kingdom.
He had cannonballs, but he still needed a cannon to fire them. Annan had planned to borrow some people from the Crimson Princess, but the Stuart Family had recently run into a little trouble and couldn't lend a hand for now.
"What kind of trouble?"
"The Ratfolk have been making some unusual moves. They've sent people to keep an eye on them."
The Crimson Princess hadn't asked for help, so it was probably nothing serious.