Duke Windsor was far from the only person who wanted to take direct control of the Xinfei Merchant Guild. Marquis Southgate was another.
Midsummer was drawing to a close, and the wheat on Marquis Southgate's private fief in the southeastern part of the Malo Empire had fully ripened. The autumn harvest had officially begun.
At this time in previous years, no matter what other important matters Marquis Southgate had to attend to, he would set them aside and dutifully stay on his private fief to prepare for the autumn harvest.
Although he did not need to perform any physical labor or take on much work himself, as the lord, he had to give the harvest his utmost attention. He could not afford the slightest negligence.
Food was the foundation of every nation on the Sains Continent, their highest priority. From the exalted His Majesty the Emperor down to the lowliest slave, everyone had to give their all during the harvest, sparing no effort to gather even one more grain.
Filling one's stomach was a basic human need. In the face of that, nothing else mattered.
In previous years, the atmosphere on Marquis Southgate's private fief would certainly have been tense by now. Everyone knew how precious the harvest season was and had to make every moment count. Otherwise, they might miss the window, causing problems with the harvest whose consequences would be extremely serious.
This year, the atmosphere on Marquis Southgate's private fief was still tense, but it was completely different from previous years.
Previously, the tension had come from the demanding work about to begin. This year, it came from uncertainty about something unknown.
As they watched the strangely shaped pieces of Xinfei Farmland Magic Machinery race back and forth across the fields, cutting down swath after swath of