Once November arrived, even the Rulson Kingdom, situated in the south of the Sains Continent, inevitably grew cold.
Cold winds blew down from the north, mingling with the sea breeze to add a bone-piercing chill that made the people huddled in the corners of Nixi City's harbor shiver uncontrollably.
Rodick walked out of a shop and glanced at the ragged people huddled against a wall across the street. He could not help shaking his head and sighing.
"Has the Candel Empire's blockade really hit the Rulson Kingdom this hard? Even Nixi City has far more beggars than usual."
His companion Sko glanced at them, chuckled, and curled his lip in disdain.
"They're just lazy. The Rulson Kingdom might not have nearly as many jobs as our Lampari Kingdom or the Stantin Duchy, but it's still much better than it used to be, isn't it? Our Xinfei Merchant Guild alone has opened more than a dozen factories here. If these people weren't lazy, how could they possibly fail to find work?"
"Not necessarily." Rodick clearly disagreed with Sko. "Ever since the Candel Empire joined forces with the other countries to blockade the Rulson Kingdom, they haven't been able to sell their goods abroad. I heard from our guild's people in Kuraka City that a lot of magic machinery merchant guilds and factories have shut down throughout the kingdom. Plenty of other merchant guilds have closed too. There are far fewer jobs here than before, so you can't just say they can't find work because they're lazy."
"How is it not because they're lazy?" Sko's face remained full of disdain. "Our guild's recruitment notice has been posted at the harbor for over a week, hasn't it? And we still haven't filled all five hundred positions. You say these people aren't lazy? Then