Recaps

The five great mages of the Lampari Kingdom discussed the surge in low-rank mages taking certification exams, which they traced to new jobs in the magic machinery industry. Their debate about human and elven magic ended with Camilla revealing that studying magic arrays at the Xinfei Merchant Guild had greatly improved her own abilities.

• The five great mages reviewed the certification exams and noticed that many more low-rank mages, including older ones, had registered.
• Great Mage Eisenka explained that magic machinery merchant guilds were hiring mages to draw arrays and using certification ranks to judge applicants.
• Great Mage Truchi criticized mages for pursuing paid work, but Eisenka argued that they needed income to live and study.
• The great mages discussed Xu Yi’s work and the relative merits of human and elven magic, until President Allen pointed out that Xu Yi had invented magic machinery before any great mage had.
• Great Mage Eisenka admitted that Xu Yi was a genius, and President Allen worried that mages might prioritize industry over magical study.
• Great Mage Camilla said her magic had improved rapidly through array research at the Xinfei Merchant Guild and that she now had the strength of a level-four great mage.

Great Mage Camilla told the other Great Mages that studying the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s magic arrays had helped her advance a rank, prompting a discussion of magic research and patent protections. After the group settled on a provisional plan for overseeing mage examinations, President Allen asked Camilla to stay, and his first words left her frozen.

• President Allen and the other Great Mages congratulated Great Mage Camilla on advancing a rank and asked how studying magic arrays had helped her improve.
• Great Mage Camilla explained that the machinery’s low-level arrays demanded precise, complex research, while Great Mage Torres admitted he had underestimated them.
• Great Mage Camilla and the other Great Mages discussed how the Patent Law Bill had encouraged mages to publish discoveries and advanced magical research.
• President Allen and the four Great Mages agreed provisionally to rotate two Great Mages through examination oversight alongside him if candidate numbers remained high.
• After the other Great Mages left, President Allen asked Great Mage Camilla to stay, and she froze when he began speaking.

Great Mage Camilla discussed official cooperation between the Mages' Guild and the Xinfei Merchant Guild with President Allen, who also proposed a private factory partnership for his son, Anko. As she left, Camilla reflected on how magic machinery could give low-rank mages livelihoods and reshape their future, then spotted Alex outside the Mages' Guild.

• President Allen proposed that the Mages' Guild help place its members in magic machinery research, and Great Mage Camilla agreed to discuss the plan with Xu Yi.
• President Allen asked Camilla to pass along Anko's proposal to open a Xinfei-brand factory near Anvilmar City, and she agreed to relay it without promising Xu Yi would accept.
• Camilla concluded that the Mages' Guild's official cooperation could help struggling low-rank mages find work, while President Allen's private proposal sought personal advantage.
• Camilla left the Mages' Guild reflecting on the impact of magic machinery and noticed Alex as she was about to board her carriage.

Alex sold Xinfei Merchant Guild research notes to a middleman to pay off his debts, but the notes reached President Allen, who intended to use them to develop independent technology. Allen left the young mages to study the stolen information at a new workshop site south of Anvilmar City.

• Alex traded a thin notebook of research notes to a middle-aged man for two thousand gold coins, then handed over a much thicker notebook as well.
• The middle-aged man copied Alex's notes and took them to President Allen, who paid him three thousand gold coins for the information.
• President Allen brought the copied notebook to a construction site south of Anvilmar City, where workers were building workshops resembling those of the Xinfei Merchant Guild.
• President Allen instructed a young mage to study the Xinfei secrets and develop their own technology rather than depend on Xu Yi.
• President Allen compared Xu Yi's confidence with the abilities of his own mages and envied Great Mage Camilla for having Stille.

After receiving the Moon Goddess Baptism, Xu Yi discovered that his magical perception and growth had improved, though he still prioritized building a magic industry system. On his return to Bunta City, he reflected on his investments in the Stantin Duchy and the expanding prospects of the merchant guilds.

• Xu Yi explained that he was testing whether he could sense and match the frequencies of surrounding magic elements, a skill associated with Great Mages.
• Xu Yi recalled that the Moon Goddess Baptism had made his perception sharper, meditation more effective, and spellcasting faster, potentially bringing his path to becoming a Great Mage forward to age thirty-five.
• Xu Yi described finalizing mine development and a road-building agreement in the Stantin Duchy, while paying the Grand Duke and ministers nearly a million gold coins in unrecorded investments and gifts.
• President Cruz complained about Xu Yi investing in the Stantin Duchy and praised the Black Rice Wasteland's beastmen as capable, inexpensive workers.
• Xu Yi argued that higher wages in Bunta City had expanded the market and increased merchant guild profits, while the Amli Merchant Guild grew into a multinational construction company taking on housing projects.

Xu Yi returned to Falling Rain Valley after persuading President Cruz to pursue commercial housing built around the Magic House concept. Teresa Ika revealed that she was a Level Four Mage and joined the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s Magic Research Institute, while Xu Yi headed to the Magic Machine Tool Research Center.

• Xu Yi parted from President Cruz, who planned to investigate a commercial housing project along the Sandy River and seek Earl Stark’s approval to buy the land.
• Vivian and Teresa Ika met Xu Yi in Falling Rain Valley, where Teresa thanked him for rescuing her and he invited her to spend the New Year with his family.
• Teresa declined the invitation at first, then asked whether she could qualify for work as a mage at the Xinfei Merchant Guild.
• Teresa demonstrated a Level Four Wind Vortex spell, convincing Xu Yi that she qualified for the Magic Research Institute.
• Xu Yi sent Vivian to take Teresa to see Avita, then headed toward the Magic Machine Tool Research Center.

Xu Yi saw Canby and the researchers demonstrate their first working Wind-Type Magic Engine, and celebrated the breakthrough while urging them to improve it. The prototype established that magic-powered engines were viable, and Xu Yi went to Great Mage Camilla’s laboratory to address the other problems standing between the breakthrough and magic locomotives.

• Xu Yi arrived at the research center and watched the prototype Wind-Type Magic Engine propel a wheeled iron plate around a track.
• Canby told Xu Yi that the prototype ran steadily for three days at one thousand revolutions per minute and produced power comparable to three strong horses.
• Xu Yi praised the researchers’ breakthrough, awarded each of them three hundred gold coins, and urged them to complete and improve the engine.
• Xu Yi left the research center, reflected on the engine’s importance to industry and future locomotives, and headed to Great Mage Camilla’s laboratory.

Xu Yi helped Great Mage Camilla improve her magic welding technique by introducing welding wire, then advised her to focus on the welding torch and collaborate with skilled craftsmen. After discussing his dealings in the Stantin Duchy and a rumor involving Teresa, he left for the new Magic Research Institute to address the misunderstanding.

• Xu Yi watched Great Mage Camilla weld two steel plates, explained that she should use welding wire, and helped her produce a stronger weld.
• Xu Yi tested the welded plates with an impact, found bubbles in the seam, and told Great Mage Camilla that craftsmen should help refine the welding process.
• Xu Yi urged Great Mage Camilla to focus on developing the magic welding torch and its Transformer Array while Canby and the Design Institute handled manufacturing.
• Xu Yi told Great Mage Camilla that his trip to the Stantin Duchy had gone smoothly despite the exhausting negotiations over money.
• Great Mage Camilla teased Xu Yi about buying the Stantin Duchy and marrying Earl Stark's younger daughter, then warned him that Stille knew about Teresa.
• Xu Yi protested that he had only met Teresa twice and went to the new Magic Research Institute in Falling Rain Valley.

Xu Yi visited Avita’s laboratory, where her revised Magic Crystal Refining Array produced crystals with nearly uniform properties. He established the ai as a standard unit of mana and explained his plan for a unified mana network, then asked Avita to help him write a book on mana standardization.

• Avita told Xu Yi that Stille had said she would accept him keeping private mistresses, but Xu Yi rejected the idea because he wanted to remain faithful and spend more time with Stille.
• Avita showed Xu Yi her revised Magic Crystal Refining Array and data demonstrating that it produced crystals with consistent quality from inputs of differing sizes and quality.
• Xu Yi examined a tiny refined Magic Crystal and learned that Avita measured its mana in ai, based on how long it could sustain a standard Flame Array.
• Xu Yi defined one ai as the mana needed to sustain a standard Flame Array for a hundred hours and praised Avita’s work.
• Xu Yi explained that standardized mana could support a unified network for magic machinery and asked Avita to collaborate on a book titled “Mana Standardization.”

Earl Stark faced Bunta City’s falling revenue and began doubting whether his agriculture-first policies could sustain the city. Xu Yi visited to discuss increasing grain yields, ending the chapter by invoking the Elf Race’s long agricultural history.

• Earl Stark reviewed Bunta City’s annual fiscal report and saw that revenue had collapsed after his policies drove away merchants and workers.
• Earl Stark considered restoring support for commerce but doubted the expelled merchant guilds would return, and questioned whether grain alone could ensure prosperity.
• Xu Yi arrived at the City Lord’s Manor, and Earl Stark received him privately.
• Xu Yi said he had come to discuss Bunta City’s agricultural development and claimed he knew how to raise grain yields per unit of farmland.
• Xu Yi invoked the Elf Race’s thousands of years of agricultural experience, startling Earl Stark.

Xu Yi secured Earl Stark’s tacit permission for the canal project to resume, and Smilla Porter prepared to restart construction after the New Year. Xu Yi returned to Falling Star Manor, where Stille teased him about Avita and questioned what he thought of her.

• Xu Yi told Smilla Porter that Earl Stark would no longer interfere with merchant guild business, but warned him to resume the canal project discreetly.
• Xu Yi and Smilla Porter scheduled canal work to begin on the seventh day of the New Year and discussed using new model 2.0 Magic Excavators.
• Smilla Porter told Xu Yi that Eiffel City might purchase construction Magic Machinery and asked about the future Mana-Powered Ships.
• Smilla Porter headed to the canal entrance on the Sandy River to prepare for the project’s return, while Xu Yi went home to Falling Star Manor.
• Stille teased Xu Yi about discussing a mistress with Avita and asked whether he found Avita pretty and appealing.
• Xu Yi praised Avita as kind and considerate, and Stille kissed him before leading him into the manor.

Cook spent New Year’s Day celebrating with the Worrel Werewolf Tribe, while Afalia's Father and Yaqi visited fellow farming families in their new home in the Stantin Duchy. After Yaqi and Leia went out together, their parents agreed to arrange their marriage without telling them.

• Wolf brought Cook to the Worrel Werewolf Tribe at the chieftain’s invitation, where the villagers welcomed him warmly.
• The Worrel Chieftain thanked President Xu for improving the tribe’s fortunes, and Cook drank New Year’s toasts with him.
• Afalia's Father and Yaqi visited Leia’s family, and the two young people left to spend the day by the sea.
• Afalia's Father and Leia’s parents agreed to arrange Yaqi and Leia’s marriage after the New Year celebrations.
• Yaqi and Leia headed to the seaside unaware that their parents had settled their marriage.

Viscount Leslie learned that his family had arranged his marriage and read Xu Yi’s warning that the Northern Garrison faced an equipment crisis. He agreed to the marriage but resolved to claim leadership of the Stark Family, while Lampari the Thirteenth reviewed how heavily the kingdom’s tax growth depended on Bunta’s magic-machinery businesses.

• Viscount Leslie tore up his mother’s letter arranging his marriage to Miss Alemann, then read Xu Yi’s questions and warnings about the Northern Garrison’s supplies.
• Viscount Leslie recognized that the garrison’s equipment was running low because the Military Department lacked funds, but refused to abandon his comrades.
• Viscount Leslie wrote Xu Yi about the garrison’s difficulties and told his mother he would return to marry Miss Alemann while declaring his intention to become head of the Stark Family.
• Lampari the Thirteenth reviewed the year-end financial report and saw that Xinfei and businesses influenced by it had contributed a large share of the kingdom’s tax revenue.
• Lampari the Thirteenth noted that Bunta City had remitted far less tax than the businesses based there had generated and coldly anticipated the objections of his opponents.

Bunta City’s leaders and merchants changed course toward cooperation with the Xinfei Merchant Guild, which opened a chemical fertilizer factory after reaching an agreement with Earl Stark. Cantona persuaded skeptical farmers to use the fertilizer by citing Xinfei Farm’s unusually large rice harvest in the Stantin Duchy and explaining that Xu Yi had obtained the formula from the Elf Race.

• Earl Stark endorsed the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s farmland machinery, and Smilla Porter announced that canal construction would resume.
• The Xinfei Merchant Guild announced a fertilizer factory in Bunta City, prompting speculation that Xu Yi and Earl Stark had reached a deal.
• The City Lord’s Manor ordered Bunta City’s farmers to buy fertilizer, leading Sakeqi to ask Cantona why they were being forced to use it.
• Cantona told Sakeqi and the village representatives that fertilizer had helped Xinfei Farm harvest nearly four tonnes of rice per hectare in the Stantin Duchy.
• Cantona said Xu Yi had obtained the fertilizer formula from the Elf Race, convincing the farmers to trust its effectiveness.

Xu Yi explained to Haines that he built a fertilizer factory in Bunta City to free workers from farming and move them into magic industry, while Haines gathered details about the fertilizer’s production and use. Haines revealed that Earl Stark might soon lose his post as city lord, leaving Xu Yi uncertain whether another change would help Bunta City.

• Xu Yi told Haines that the Lampari Kingdom needed more people in industry and could prosper by selling goods to other countries.
• Haines said Princess Royal Servini planned to inspect Sewell City’s industrial district, and Xu Yi denied directing Count Samo’s plans or discussing the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s private agreement with the Drake Duchy.
• Xu Yi gave Haines fertilizer application and factory output figures, explaining that the elves had handled most of the fertilizer’s research and development.
• Haines finished interviewing Xu Yi and said rumors suggested the King might soon remove Earl Stark as Bunta City’s lord.
• Xu Yi reflected that Earl Stark’s policies had pushed the Xinfei Merchant Guild to expand elsewhere and hoped any new city lord would prioritize Bunta City’s development.

Bateru confronted Old Sakeqi after Luke Village’s wheat crop fell far behind Mexilan Village’s because Bateru had refused fertilizer. Old Sakeqi promised to arrange fertilizer for Luke Village’s autumn crop and persuaded Bateru to consider leaving farming for better-paid work.

• Bateru saw Mexilan Village’s thriving wheat fields and rushed to confront Old Sakeqi over the fertilizer he had refused.
• Old Sakeqi reminded Bateru that he had rejected the fertilizer quota himself, then offered to arrange fertilizer for Luke Village’s autumn crop.
• Bateru lamented his lost harvest and the villagers’ anger, while Old Sakeqi argued that farming brought too little income to justify clinging to rented fields.
• Old Sakeqi suggested that Bateru lease his fields to the Cantona Chamber of Commerce and seek work with a merchant guild or at a construction site.
• Bateru’s anger and despair faded as he realized that he could find a better livelihood beyond farming.

Bunta City’s fertilizer-driven wheat surplus brought debate over Earl Stark’s decision to stockpile grain, and the Kingdom Parliament transferred him to Loren City. Before leaving, Earl Stark met Xu Yi to discuss their differences and asked whether Xu Yi truly lacked confidence in Prince Eric.

• Bunta City harvested 870,000 tonnes of wheat, with fertilizer accounting for much of the increase, and Earl Stark stored 120,000 tonnes in a new granary.
• The kingdom debated Earl Stark’s grain stockpile, then the Kingdom Parliament appointed him City Lord of Loren City for his agricultural ability.
• As Earl Stark prepared to leave, Bunta City’s commerce revived and he summoned Xu Yi for a final conversation.
• Earl Stark congratulated Xu Yi on winning their wager, and Xu Yi said they shared the goal of developing Bunta City but differed in their methods.
• Earl Stark asked whether Xu Yi considered himself a merchant or a noble, warned that he would eventually have to choose, and then asked whether he truly had no confidence in Prince Eric.

Xu Yi showed President Pombelli and President Cruz the new Bluewater Sky community before taking them to see the completed magic locomotive. On the way, he proposed a partnership between their merchant guilds to build a logistics business, leaving them eager to hear more.

• Xu Yi avoided giving Earl Stark an opinion about Prince Eric and then left the City Lord's Manor.
• Xu Yi told President Pombelli that the magic locomotive was ready, but first took him to the Bluewater Sky community, where he discussed its successful villa sales and Bunta City's growing middle class.
• President Pombelli suggested a public carriage route to the community, and Xu Yi explained that bicycles would make the trip faster and cheaper.
• President Cruz joined Xu Yi and President Pombelli, and they set off for Falling Rain Valley to see the locomotive's first official transport run.
• Xu Yi unfolded a map of the Lampari Kingdom and proposed that the two merchant guilds cooperate in transporting and distributing goods, calling the business logistics.

Xu Yi explained how the First-Generation Magic Locomotive could improve freight and passenger transport, and proposed a logistics partnership with President Pombelli’s Feilson Carriage Company and President Cruz’s Amli Merchant Guild. He left them considering the opportunity while revealing that Xinfei would train locomotive drivers and require them to obtain licenses.

• Xu Yi described the Magic Locomotive’s speed, one-metric-ton hauling capacity, and ability to climb slopes, astonishing President Pombelli and President Cruz.
• Xu Yi asked President Cruz to keep new roads mostly level and promised to discuss winding mountain roads and viaducts later.
• Xu Yi used the highway between Bunta City and Anvilmar City to show how better roads had shortened Feilson’s passenger journeys, then asked President Pombelli about freight transport.
• President Pombelli worried that merchant guilds might buy their own Magic Locomotives, and Xu Yi urged him to use Feilson’s early partnership to build a specialized logistics and passenger transport company.
• Xu Yi offered priority service and driver training to Feilson, then revealed that he had asked Princess Royal Servini to propose requiring Magic Locomotive drivers to hold Xinfei-issued licenses.

Xu Yi demonstrated the magic locomotive to President Cruz and President Pombelli, who decided to buy one each after seeing it haul a heavy load. Meanwhile, Meikadu headed to Sankton Industrial Zone seeking work, then froze with the other passengers when he saw what was approaching the carriage stop.

• President Cruz and President Pombelli watched Canby drive the magic locomotive at more than fifty kilometers an hour and asked Xu Yi to sell them one each.
• Xu Yi showed the presidents how a trailer could carry more than a tonne of goods, and they watched Canby haul it around the track.
• President Pombelli asked Xu Yi to name his price, and President Cruz waited for the offer as well.
• Meikadu set out for Sankton Industrial Zone, hoping to find work at one of its returning factories.
• Meikadu and the waiting crowd froze when they looked toward the approaching Feilson public carriage.

Passengers rode the new Medium Mana Bus from Bunta City to the Sankton Industrial Zone, marveling at its speed and design. After arriving, Meikadu stayed behind to ask Kruş about driving the bus and learned that operators needed a license from the Xinfei Merchant Guild.

• A Medium Mana Bus arrived at the stop, and passengers boarded after recognizing it as a new Xinfei Merchant Guild vehicle.
• Kruş collected two silver coins from each passenger, explaining that the trial route charged a flat fare and had no fare collector.
• Kruş drove the bus to the Sankton Industrial Zone in about twenty minutes, while Meikadu watched him operate it.
• Meikadu stayed aboard after the other passengers got off and asked Kruş how the bus worked.
• Kruş explained that drivers needed to pass the Xinfei Merchant Guild's training and tests to earn a driving license.

Meikadu went to the Xinfei Merchant Guild to seek a driving license but learned that tests and private Magic Locomotive sales were not yet available. After hearing his idea for using a magic bus as a taxi, Xu Yi recommended him to President Pombelli, then returned to negotiations with three merchant guild presidents who hoped his kindness would make him more willing to compromise.

• Meikadu traveled to Falling Rain Valley to apply for a driving license, but the Xinfei Merchant Guild receptionist told him that tests were not yet being offered and Magic Locomotives were not being sold to private individuals.
• Meikadu shouted at the receptionist and swung at Xu Yi, who stopped his punch with a whirlwind and calmly asked him to explain his complaint.
• Meikadu told Xu Yi that Magic Locomotives would replace horse-drawn carriages and proposed using a medium-sized magic bus to serve places beyond existing routes.
• Xu Yi praised Meikadu's taxi idea, wrote him a recommendation to President Pombelli of the Feilson Carriage Company, and had a guard escort him out.
• Presidents Lanke, Vincent, and Morgan praised Xu Yi's magnanimity, while Xu Yi recognized that they hoped he would make concessions in their negotiations.

Xu Yi explained why the Xinfei Merchant Guild would not transfer magic locomotive technology or sell locomotives to the other guilds yet, citing their limited ability to use the technology and his guild’s insufficient production. He promised public sales within three months and accepted President Morgan’s order.

• Xu Yi reminded President Lanke, President Morgan, and President Vincent that their guilds had failed to support him during Earl Stark’s campaign against the Xinfei Merchant Guild, unlike the Amli Merchant Guild and the Feilson Carriage Company.
• Xu Yi said the other guilds could not yet absorb magic locomotive technology, pointing to the persistent quality gap between Xinfei magic fans and those made by other guilds.
• President Lanke asked to buy magic locomotives, but Xu Yi said monthly production was too low to meet the Feilson Carriage Company’s needs and explained that the company specialized in logistics for the kingdom.
• Xu Yi promised to begin public sales within three months, and President Morgan immediately placed an order, which Xu Yi accepted.

Xu Yi and Kennard discussed expanding the Xinfei Merchant Guild beyond Bunta City and competing against other magic machinery makers. The chapter ended when Kennard reported that Anko Mana Merchant Guild was using unshared Xinfei technology, suggesting an insider had leaked it.

• Kennard showed Xu Yi orders for thousands of magic locomotives from several merchant guilds, and they discussed expanding into new markets rather than discounting household machinery.
• Kennard showed Xu Yi a map of magic machinery guilds across the Lampari Kingdom and warned that Xinfei’s superior products could crush fledgling competitors.
• Xu Yi said the guild would compete normally, insisting that machinery industry left no room for shoddy products, and cautioned Kennard that quality did not guarantee sales.
• Kennard presented a sample testing report showing that Anko Mana Merchant Guild’s products contained details identical to Xinfei machinery, including patented technology they had never shared.
• Xu Yi realized Xinfei technology had been leaked, and Kennard suspected an insider in the merchant guild.

Xu Yi investigated a minor leak of Xinfei Merchant Guild technology before an accident in Avita’s research room led him to discover her magic airship model. Avita demonstrated that she could remotely control its flight, leaving Xu Yi to hear how far her airship research had progressed.

• Xu Yi learned from Kennard that the Anko Mana Merchant Guild had obtained minor technical details, and he ordered a quiet investigation and improved security.
• Xu Yi went to Avita’s research room, where a flying object struck his forehead; while she tried to help him, they accidentally kissed.
• Avita showed Xu Yi her magic airship model and used a Wind-Riding Array to make it float.
• Avita explained that she had used Akali’s Magic Array Frequency Resonance Technology to control the model remotely, then made it fly around the laboratory.