The Nobility didn't merely think it was right. They were the ones who had proposed it.
Just as on the mainland, Magri's merchants were tools the great Nobility used to make money. How could a tool speak without its owner's permission?
Giulio nodded, thanked the shopkeeper, and walked out.
The shopping center was large and seemed well stocked, but without manufactured goods from the mainland, no member of the Nobility—even one whose family had long since fallen on hard times—would shop there.
The little shops on Sennar Avenue were where the Nobility ought to go, even if their goods cost more than a hundred times as much as similar ones here.
Just as she was about to leave, she saw a man approaching in a sky-blue robe and cloth boots of the same color.
A priest? What's a priest doing here? Giulio glanced at him. He looked to be in his thirties, with a crew cut, a square face, and a wispy beard on his chin. His blue eyes gave her a peculiar feeling, as though... as though she could see the gears of fate.
Why would I think something so strange?
Giulio fluttered her fan to hide her curiosity. Then she saw the priest trace a gear over his chest, and a rich voice sounded.
"Hello. What do you think of the Kingdom of Magri banning mainland manufactured goods from its markets?"
"It's a damn stupid idea," Giulio said angrily. "Those Nobility banned mainland goods to protect their own products from competition. But they don't realize they'll only create a flood of smuggled goods, and their products will face competition anyway. The only lasting solution is to make their own goods cheaper and finer than the mainland's."
The priest looked at Giulio and smiled warmly.
"Then what would you