Chapter Summaries

Xu Yi showed Haines how Bunta City's new public transit reflected the city's rapid growth, then revealed he would soon travel to the Black Rice Wasteland and the Stantin Duchy. Haines warned that Sophia might visit and hinted that she was pursuing Xu Yi, but Xu Yi failed to understand.

• Haines praised Bunta City's public carriages after riding all eleven routes, and Xu Yi explained why the system could succeed where Anvilmar City's could not.
• Xu Yi told Haines to investigate local farming families to understand how ordinary people's incomes had risen.
• Xu Yi said he would leave Bunta City for the Black Rice Wasteland and then the Stantin Duchy for at least half a month.
• Haines told Xu Yi that Sophia might arrive soon, and Xu Yi was relieved he would be away when she came.
• Haines asked whether Xu Yi understood why Sophia kept bothering him, but Xu Yi remained confused as Haines called Sophia a fool.

Xu Yi traveled toward the Black Rice Wasteland with President Vincent, who hoped to expand the Armani Merchant Guild’s clothing business and hire elves. After visiting the Falling Rain Valley, Xu Yi joined workers developing a new tire design and urged them to test it thoroughly.

• President Vincent explained that he wanted to sell clothes to beastmen and asked Xu Yi to recruit elf fashion designers and clothing models for the Armani Merchant Guild.
• Xu Yi reminded President Vincent to offer dwarf-sized clothing and told him that elves would need legitimate labor permits to work in human society.
• Xu Yi parted from President Vincent at the Falling Rain Valley and visited the tire processing factory, where elves, dwarves, and humans discussed narrower tires.
• Xu Yi praised Ankato for advocating repeated tests to ensure the new tires would work safely under different conditions.

Xu Yi inspected the new tire and asked Yildan whether elves would leave the Xinfei Merchant Guild for higher salaries, then visited the steelworks and met with the dwarf chiefs about forming a guards unit. The dwarves agreed to serve under a separate Falling Rain Valley Dwarf Guards Corps, preserving their pride alongside the elves while accepting Xu Yi’s commands.

• Xu Yi approved the tire’s overall design and learned that Yildan would not leave the guild even for a much higher salary.
• Xu Yi explained that another merchant guild wanted to hire elves and decided he would ask Elder Elusia whether she would accept the offer.
• Xu Yi reviewed plans for two new steel furnaces and considered the guild’s growing steel and household magic machinery markets.
• Chief Slubi and Chief Monto showed Xu Yi three hundred dwarf warriors who had volunteered for service but did not want to join the guild’s Guards Corps like ordinary subordinates.
• Xu Yi proposed creating a separate Dwarf Guards Corps that would officially protect the dwarves and maintain valley security while also following his commands, and the chiefs agreed.

Xu Yi brought elven and dwarf warriors equipped with remarkably durable, machine-made weapons and armor to Samara Town, convincing President Reilsa to buy three hundred sets. At the Worrel Werewolf Tribe, he delivered supplies and explained the conditions for orcs to receive labor permits, including a limit of one permit per household.

• Xu Yi entered Samara Town with a hundred elven warriors and two hundred dwarf warriors, drawing widespread attention with their equipment.
• President Reilsa tested the dwarves' armor and weapons, then offered Xu Yi one hundred gold coins each for three hundred sets.
• Xu Yi, President Reilsa, and President Vincent arrived at the Worrel Tribe with over thirty supply wagons, delighting the tribe with the delivery.
• The Worrel Chieftain asked about labor permits for his people, and Xu Yi confirmed orcs could apply if their tribe had not attacked humans and permit holders followed human laws.
• Xu Yi added that each orc household could receive approval for only one labor permit, leaving the Worrel Chieftain astonished.

Xu Yi and President Reilsa opened the Worrel Nonferrous Metals Mine and found rich copper and aluminum deposits. After seeing the cost and labor advantages of hiring werewolves, Reilsa accepted Xu Yi’s plan, while Xu Yi explained that labor permits would help keep Beastmen workers and their tribes invested in maintaining peaceful relations with humans.

• Xu Yi and President Reilsa delivered the final supplies and mining machinery, then held a ceremony to open the joint Worrel Nonferrous Metals Mine.
• The mine yielded less than a ton of ore on its first day, and surveys showed that the vein held abundant aluminum and especially rich copper deposits.
• Xu Yi considered the copper and aluminum valuable for future magic machinery and alloy research, though he treated electricity as a supplement to magic.
• President Reilsa watched ten werewolves work and recognized their strength and low labor costs, despite their inexperience with mining machinery.
• Xu Yi insisted that humans remain the majority of the workforce and explained that limiting labor permits would discourage Beastmen families from harming humans.
• Xu Yi said Beastmen who gained stable work and improved lives would be reluctant to lose those benefits.

Xu Yi finalized investments in the Stantin Duchy, then helped introduce five Night Song Tribe elves as Armani Merchant Guild designers and models, turning them into local celebrities. As Stille worried that she had become useless, Xu Yi suddenly thought of a job she might enjoy.

• Xu Yi left President Vincent in the Worrel Werewolf Tribe and finalized factory investment contracts with Patriarch Wellen and the Grand Duke of Stantin, paying them an extra 130,000 gold coins.
• Anise returned with five elves sent by Elder Elusia, and Xu Yi learned that the elves had spent two months studying the Night Song Tribe's cooperation with his guild.
• Xu Yi explained that Anise was valued for her design talent, not her looks, after she wondered why she had never been chosen as a model.
• The Armani Merchant Guild presented the five elves as designers and models, and they quickly became famous as new local gods and goddesses.
• Stille told Xu Yi she felt useless because she could no longer follow the research at the Magic Research Institute, and Xu Yi suddenly thought of a job for her.

The Xinfei Merchant Guild introduced bicycles to Bunta City, sparking excitement over the human-powered machines. Xu Yi used bicycle development to train his engineers and tested a Wind-Type Magic Engine-powered model, but unstable output and rapid bearing wear kept it from being practical.

• For a week, two riders on unfamiliar machines raced past carriages on the road to the Southern Suburbs, and curiosity about the contraptions spread through Bunta City.
• The Bunta Daily identified the machines as Xinfei Merchant Guild bicycles and reported that they could travel nearly as fast as the finest carriages, prompting crowds to seek them out for purchase.
• Xu Yi explained that he had developed bicycles partly to teach Canby and the other dwarves about mechanical engineering and transmission technologies.
• Xu Yi observed tests of a bicycle powered by a Wind-Type Magic Engine and found that bearing-induced airflow interference caused the engine to stop and fluctuate.
• Xu Yi concluded that rapid wear in the bearings and gears remained unresolved and trusted Chief Slubi's Materials Research Institute to find better materials.

The Xinfei Merchant Guild debated whether bicycle demand justified expanding production, and Kennard argued that affordability would limit sales outside prosperous cities. Xu Yi backed Kennard’s judgment and reassured Heinz about relying on him, then showed Heinz a guild restructuring plan.

• The Xinfei Merchant Guild sold out its initial ten thousand bicycles in one morning, while orders rose to nearly one hundred thousand and overwhelmed the factory’s limited production capacity.
• Kennard presented a sales map and argued against adding production lines because most orders came from wealthy Bunta City and nearby areas, while most people elsewhere could not afford bicycles.
• Sebas and Xu Yi explained that Bunta City residents had higher incomes and greater trust in the Xinfei Merchant Guild than people in other cities, and the meeting agreed to follow Kennard’s judgment.
• Heinz privately warned Xu Yi that Kennard might return to the Emma Family, but Xu Yi defended Kennard’s character and said the guild needed capable managers beyond himself.
• Xu Yi handed Heinz a document titled “Xinfei Merchant Guild Restructuring Plan.”

Xu Yi and Great Mage Camilla discussed the demolition of her old tower and the Mages' Guild’s new magic patent regulations. After Camilla destroyed the tower, the Xinfei Merchant Guild began preparing a mysterious new building on its site.

• Xu Yi and Stille visited the Great Mage’s Tower, where Camilla explained that she wanted it demolished and replaced with a new kind of magical building.
• Camilla told Xu Yi that the Mages’ Guild had adopted patent regulations based on his proposals, while warning him not to reveal the most important inventions.
• Three days later, Camilla demolished her twenty-year-old tower with an Explosive Great Fireball as Bunta City residents watched.
• Count Samo publicized the tower’s history and Camilla’s plans for a new building, though he had opposed tearing the tower down.
• Two days later, the Amli Merchant Guild enclosed the site and posted a sign announcing the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s New Concept Modern Magic House, opening in three months.

Xu Yi discussed Bunta City's record spring harvest and rising prosperity with Count Samo, who told him he would soon leave to become Sewell City's lord. Count Samo's successor would be Earl Maniel Stark, leaving Xu Yi concerned about the future of their joint projects but determined to negotiate cooperation.

• Count Samo reported that Bunta City had harvested 630,000 tonnes of wheat, while kingdom-wide production had risen enough to feed everyone and leave a surplus.
• Count Samo told Xu Yi that the Noble Senate had blocked his promotion, then praised the Xinfei Merchant Guild's major contribution to Bunta City's tax revenue.
• Count Samo revealed that he would leave in two months to become Sewell City's lord and that Earl Maniel Stark would replace him in Bunta City.
• Xu Yi and Count Samo planned how to hand over their joint development projects before Count Samo's departure.
• Xu Yi returned home and wrote letters to Princess Royal Servini and Viscount Leslie.

After a quiet April for the Xinfei Merchant Guild, Xu Yi discussed Stille’s work as an agent for the Night Song Tribe elves and suggested she create an agency merchant guild to help other races find work with humans. Stille considered the idea while preparing for her wedding to Xu Yi, which was only three days away.

• Bunta City saw faster road construction and workers installing magic streetlamps as the Xinfei Merchant Guild continued its municipal projects without making other major moves.
• Xu Yi laughed at a Karma Daily article claiming he had lost his ambition, while Stille tried on her wedding gown and asked whether it suited her.
• Stille told Xu Yi that she was happy acting as an agent for Marta and the other elves, helping them negotiate with the Armani Merchant Guild and adjust to human life.
• Xu Yi suggested Stille expand her work by establishing an agency merchant guild to help elves, dwarves, and beastmen employed by human guilds.
• Stille considered the proposal, and Xu Yi reminded her to focus on looking beautiful for their wedding before they kissed.

Xu Yi and Stille married in a lavish ceremony at their manor, drawing nobles, merchants, and ordinary farmers from Bunta City and its surroundings. They began their life together after exchanging vows and receiving blessings from their many guests.

• The Bunta Daily announced Xu Yi and Stille's wedding, prompting widespread excitement and heartbreak among their admirers.
• Xu Yi and Stille chose May 3 for their wedding, following local traditions and avoiding Stille's twenty-second birthday.
• Count Sean Samo officiated the wedding at the manor President Cruz had given the couple, while Great Mage Camilla represented the bride.
• Nobles, merchant guild presidents, and ordinary farmers attended, and Xu Yi welcomed them all.
• Xu Yi and Stille swore vows before a priest, Count Samo, and Camilla, then received blessings from hundreds of guests.
• Stille boldly offered Xu Yi her lips, and they kissed as the gathered guests cheered.

Servini visited Xu Yi and Stille after their wedding to warn them that Prince Eric’s faction was gaining power and that the Military Department would force the Xinfei Merchant Guild to surrender its Magic-Powered Stone Thrower technology without compensation. She also announced that Bunta City, Karma City, and Sartan City would become a Special Economic Zone, but Xu Yi doubted the new policy would survive Earl Stark’s takeover.

• Servini apologized for missing Xu Yi and Stille’s wedding and said she could not reveal the political matters behind her difficulties, though Xu Yi declared his support for her as the kingdom’s best heir.
• Servini warned Xu Yi that Earl Stark’s succession would harm the Xinfei Merchant Guild and urged him to avoid giving Prince Eric’s faction an excuse to target it.
• Servini told Xu Yi that the Military Department and Kingdom Parliament had ordered the Xinfei Merchant Guild to hand over its Magic-Powered Stone Thrower manufacturing technology and train the kingdom’s arms factory without compensation.
• Xu Yi agreed to surrender the technology because he could not oppose the Military Department, but warned of serious consequences and said Servini was the only person he trusted.
• Servini announced that Bunta City, Karma City, and Sartan City would become a Special Economic Zone with preferential commercial policies and a unified tax rate.
• Xu Yi acknowledged the tax benefits but questioned whether the policy was intended to build Earl Stark’s prestige and whether Stark would support commerce as Count Samo had.

As the Xinfei Merchant Guild expanded after the successful launch of its Magic-Powered Refrigerator, Xu Yi reorganized its management and handed daily operations to Kennard. The chapter ended with Xu Yi worrying that people were creating trouble for the guild, while Kennard expressed confidence that it would be protected.

• The Xinfei Merchant Guild launched the Magic-Powered Refrigerator, selling more than twenty thousand units in its first week and earning over three hundred thousand gold coins in net profit.
• Xu Yi appointed Ankato head of the Household Magic Machinery Department and raised his monthly salary to fifty gold coins; he also raised Avita’s salary to the same amount and let her set pay for the other researchers.
• Xu Yi reorganized the guild, made Kennard its chief executive officer, and left Heinz as his assistant without a specific post.
• Xu Yi announced that he would stop handling the guild’s day-to-day management and focus on its overall direction, joking that he wanted time for his honeymoon with Stille.
• Kennard suggested publicizing the guild’s high management salaries to attract talent, then asked Xu Yi whether he truly planned to step back from operations.
• Xu Yi said he was delegating daily management so he could consider the guild’s future, and worried that unnamed people were creating trouble; Kennard reassured him that the guild and the Princess could withstand it.

Xu Yi inspected the Fruit Canning Factory in Korol Village and urged Factory Manager Will to meet the Walmart Merchant Guild’s order without compromising food safety. On the way to Falling Rain Valley, Xu Yi explained to Stille that the visit showed the guild he was stepping back from daily management while remaining its president and supporting Kennard’s authority.

• Korol Village’s residents sent their harvested sand pears and star fruit to the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s new Fruit Canning Factory, which was preparing canned fruit for the Walmart Merchant Guild.
• Xu Yi asked Factory Manager Will about production and urged him to find a way to fulfill the order for one hundred thousand jars while maintaining hygiene and quality.
• Xu Yi and Stille toured the factory’s finished-product workshop before leaving Korol Village for Falling Rain Valley.
• Stille asked why Xu Yi inspected the factory, and Xu Yi explained that he wanted to demonstrate his retreat from daily operations without undermining confidence in the guild or Kennard.
• Xu Yi told Stille that he was strengthening Kennard’s authority so he could spend more time with her, though he privately recognized that his presidential responsibilities were growing more complicated.

Xu Yi persuaded dwarf chiefs Slubi and Monto to sign legally valid employment documents for their tribespeople, despite their trust in him. As he explained that he would eventually die and they might not trust his successors, an unexpected voice suggested that he could extend his life.

• Xu Yi and Stille explained to Chief Slubi and Chief Monto that their existing contracts lacked legal protection and that new documents would protect the dwarves.
• The two chiefs questioned why Stille was handling the paperwork, and Xu Yi clarified that he had insisted she act as their agent.
• Slubi and Monto agreed to the process and signed the authorization letter and related contracts without reading them.
• Xu Yi told the chiefs that he would eventually die and asked whether their fellow dwarves could trust other humans in his absence.
• An unidentified speaker suggested that Xu Yi could extend his life.

Xu Yi met Elder Elusia and Moon Shadow Tribe elves, who wanted to experience human life and commerce. Elder Elusia revealed that the Night Song Tribe planned to open a plastic and rubber processing factory in Falling Rain Valley, and Xu Yi welcomed the plan.

• Stasha asked Xu Yi to help the Moon Shadow Tribe elves find work at human merchant guilds other than the Xinfei Merchant Guild, and he directed them to Stille.
• Elder Elusia told Xu Yi that becoming an Archmage could greatly extend his life, explaining that the dwarves and elves hoped he would live long because they trusted and depended on him.
• Elder Elusia asked whether the Night Song Tribe could open a factory in Falling Rain Valley.
• Elder Elusia said the Night Song Tribe planned to establish a plastic processing factory that would also handle rubber.
• Xu Yi welcomed the Night Song Tribe's factory plan and offered the Xinfei Merchant Guild's support.

Elder Elusia proposed that the Night Song Tribe establish a plastic processing factory in Falling Rain Valley, hoping it would help elves integrate into human society, and Xu Yi agreed to guide her. Meanwhile, Stille secured authorization to represent 1,276 nonhuman workers as their Labor Permits were prepared.

• Elder Elusia decided to deepen the Night Song Tribe’s cooperation with the Xinfei Merchant Guild by opening a plastic processing factory in Falling Rain Valley.
• Xu Yi welcomed the proposal and explained that the factory would need official approval, advising Elder Elusia to prepare its site, production process, and sales plans.
• Xu Yi taught Elder Elusia basic business principles, including putting profit first and reducing costs, while she listened and asked questions.
• Stille completed procedures authorizing the New Moon Merchant Guild to represent 1,276 nonhuman workers and began compiling their information for new Labor Permits.
• Xu Yi urged Stille to find help with the paperwork, then reflected that their former roles had reversed as she stayed busy and he had free time.

Xu Yi returned to Bunta City with several elves and learned that Count Samo would leave in three days, leaving Earl Stark as his successor. Count Samo then showed Xu Yi the soldiers Major Maikongli had promised him, whose unexpectedly large number left Xu Yi stunned.

• Xu Yi traveled back to Bunta City with Anise, three Moon Shadow Tribe elves, and two Night Song Tribe elves, while Stille arranged accommodations for them.
• Xu Yi discussed the elves’ long investigation of the Night Song Tribe with Anise and considered Elder Elusia’s reasons for building ties with the Moon Shadow Tribe.
• Stille took the five elves to Sankton Manor, while Xu Yi went with Anise to the City Lord’s Manor.
• Count Samo told Xu Yi that Count Stank would arrive in three days to take over as city lord and cautioned him to focus on growing the Xinfei Merchant Guild rather than getting involved in dangerous political matters.
• Count Samo led Xu Yi to the Small Parade Ground, where Hart was drilling the men Major Maikongli had supplied; Xu Yi was shocked by how many there were.

Xu Yi learned that the Xinfei Merchant Guild would receive five hundred elite retired soldiers because Princess Royal Servini and the King supported the arrangement, while the Military Department recognized the guild’s contribution to victories at the Northern Border. He won over the hostile veterans by promising generous pay, benefits, compensation, and pensions, as the Military Department prepared to discuss the Magic-Powered Stone Thrower with him.

• Count Samo told Xu Yi that Major Maikongli had assembled five hundred elite soldiers at the King’s order and with Princess Royal Servini’s support.
• Count Samo explained that the Military Department approved the transfer because the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s weapons and Magic-Powered Stone Thrower had helped turn the tide at the Northern Border.
• Count Samo warned Xu Yi that the Military Department might soon send representatives to discuss the Magic-Powered Stone Thrower.
• Xu Yi welcomed Hart and the five hundred veterans, who initially resented being assigned to a merchant guild’s Guards Corps.
• Xu Yi announced salaries of fifteen gold coins a month, practical benefits, compensation for injuries and deaths, opportunities for promotion, and pensions, winning the soldiers’ enthusiasm.