Chapter Summaries

Xu Yi approved Avita’s Magic Airship research project and urged her to manage the institute’s research and guard against accidental leaks. He also directed her to prepare for a Magic Crystal refining factory, while Avita watched him leave with mixed feelings.

• Xu Yi examined Avita’s model Magic Airship and gave her project Level Two Priority, authorizing the Magic Research Institute to develop an airship capable of carrying ordinary people.
• Avita worried that the institute was wasting research funds after Kennard urged caution, but Xu Yi defended substantial investment in research and said he would discuss the matter with Kennard.
• Xu Yi told Avita about information reaching the Anko Mana Merchant Guild and asked her to remind researchers to protect guild secrets; Avita agreed to handle it discreetly.
• Xu Yi instructed Avita to work with the Magic Machine Tool Research Center on refining equipment ahead of a planned Magic Crystal factory, and Avita said the preparations were feasible.
• Xu Yi said goodbye and left, while Avita watched him go with a complicated mixture of disappointment and hope.

Xu Yi inspected the overworked factories in Falling Rain Valley and urged Amulode to improve the Night Song Plastic Processing Factory’s efficiency so its elves could interact more with humans and dwarves. Amulode agreed to seek Heinz’s guidance, while Xu Yi planned to discuss the factory’s orders with Delier.

• Xu Yi inspected the Tire Processing Factory, where high demand and overtime kept workers busy, and reminded its manager about safety and rest.
• Xu Yi visited the Night Song Plastic Processing Factory and found Amulode personally helping package products amid a heavy workload.
• Xu Yi criticized Amulode for failing to improve the factory’s efficiency and for keeping the elves isolated from workers at other factories.
• Amulode admitted he had forgotten Elder Elusia’s aim of encouraging contact with humans and asked Xu Yi for advice.
• Xu Yi told Amulode to consult Heinz about factory management and said he would ask Delier to stop accepting every order and consider outsourcing simpler work.

Stille’s nausea turned out to be a sign that she was pregnant, and Xu Yi struggled to take in the news that he would become a father. He and Stille disagreed over whether she should stop working, but Elder Elusia reassured them that Stille could continue while taking care of her health.

• Stille reported nausea, and Xu Yi prepared to bring a physician to examine her.
• Elder Elusia examined Stille and concluded that she was pregnant, delighting Anise and leaving Xu Yi stunned.
• Xu Yi urged Stille to stop working and rest, but Stille insisted that she would not abandon the New Moon Merchant Guild.
• Elder Elusia explained that Stille should care for her health but did not need to treat herself as fragile, and the couple made peace.

Xu Yi and Elder Elusia discussed ways to help the Night Song Tribe integrate into human society, and Xu Yi came up with an idea. Later, Haines visited to congratulate Xu Yi and Stille on their coming child, then revealed that the king had made a surprising decision.

• Elder Elusia praised Xu Yi for treating Stille tenderly and thanked him for improving conditions at the elves’ factory.
• Elder Elusia asked Xu Yi to devise a way for elves to show humans another side of their people, and Xu Yi said he had an idea.
• After the Bunta Daily reported Stille’s pregnancy, people sent the couple many gifts, including President Cruz’s offer to build a lavish manor for their child.
• Haines gave Xu Yi a lifetime complimentary membership card at the Shelton Hotel for the child and asked whether Xu Yi preferred a son or a daughter.
• Haines discussed the importance of a family heir and told Xu Yi that the king had recently made a surprising decision.

Xu Yi welcomed Servini as Bunta City's new City Lord and learned that Prince Eric had chosen to govern Loren City, displacing Earl Stark from the post. Servini asked Xu Yi to guide her in developing Bunta City, while news of the appointments revealed that the royal siblings were being tested as possible heirs to the throne.

• Xu Yi greeted Servini as she took over as Bunta City's City Lord, and she said Count Samo had welcomed her appointment.
• Servini explained that Prince Eric had chosen Loren City, leaving Earl Stark without an assignment, and reported that Stark had praised Xu Yi and urged her to support the Xinfei Merchant Guild.
• Servini asked Xu Yi to provide her with his fullest support and advice on governing and developing Bunta City.
• The Bunta Daily announced Servini's appointment, and Bunta City's closed shops reopened as the city quickly became lively again.
• The Bunta Daily reported that Servini and Eric were governing Bunta City and Loren City to demonstrate their abilities as potential heirs, while Prince Mifam went unmentioned.

Meikadu received his class-two driving license and ran into Erika, the Xinfei Merchant Guild receptionist he had rudely treated before. He apologized, persuaded her to help him choose a Magic Locomotive, and bought a Medium Mana Bus; the chapter ended with them agreeing to lunch so he could ask her about it.

• Meikadu received his driving license, then collided with Erika outside the guild's driving center and apologized for both the accident and his earlier behavior.
• Erika told Meikadu she held no grudge and asked about his license and plans to buy a Magic Locomotive.
• Meikadu asked Erika to help him choose a vehicle, and she guided him through the guild's showroom models.
• Meikadu bought a Medium Mana Bus for 860 gold coins after learning about the promotional gift offer.
• Meikadu invited Erika to lunch to ask about the bus, and she accepted while asking about his intended use for it.

Meikadu enjoyed a meal with Erika before traveling to Bunta City to arrange an independent rental service using a Medium Mana Bus. He signed a cooperation agreement with President Pombelli, but left puzzled by President Xu’s requirement that privately operated Magic Locomotives be registered and inspected annually.

• Meikadu invited Erika to lunch, charmed her with conversation about Magic Locomotives, and secured her permission to visit again.
• Meikadu rode a Medium Mana Bus from Falling Rain Valley to Bunta City and went to the Feilson Carriage Company headquarters.
• Meikadu gave President Pombelli his contract for purchasing a Medium Mana Bus and discussed starting an independent rental service.
• President Pombelli offered Meikadu a cooperation agreement, explaining that President Xu had supported giving him an opportunity.
• Meikadu questioned a clause requiring annual registration, inspection, and qualification reviews for his privately owned Magic Locomotive, but signed the agreement after President Pombelli refused to remove it.
• Meikadu left the headquarters wondering why President Xu had imposed the requirement and why President Pombelli had accepted it.

Xu Yi warned Servini that Bunta City lacked regulations for magic locomotives and urged her to establish local safety rules after an untrained driver crashed a Medium Mana Bus. The inspection ended with Servini and the Bunta Daily reporters discovering that more than three hundred elves worked at the fertilizer factory, all from the Moon Shadow Tribe.

• Xu Yi told Servini that the spread of magic locomotives without enforceable safety regulations posed a danger to Bunta City.
• Xu Yi described an untrained Feilson Carriage Company driver crashing a Medium Mana Bus and suffering serious injuries.
• Servini agreed to have the City Lord's Manor study regulations and invited Xu Yi to help draft them.
• Xu Yi led Servini and three Bunta Daily reporters into the fertilizer processing workshop, where they saw hundreds of elves at work.
• Xu Yi noted that the workshop's elves came from the Moon Shadow Tribe, unlike those at the Night Song Plastic Processing Factory.

Xu Yi showed Servini and Bunta Daily reporters the fertilizer factory, where Servini publicly declared that agricultural and commercial development could advance together. After the reporters left, Servini admitted she had been acting to announce her governing policies and vowed to follow through on them.

• Xu Yi explained that the fertilizer factory had produced eighty-seven thousand tons last month and expected to exceed a hundred thousand tons this month.
• Servini asked Xu Yi to reserve the surplus fertilizer for Bunta City's autumn plowing and emphasized the importance of agricultural production.
• Servini told the reporters that agriculture and commerce were not in conflict and pointed to the fertilizer factory as proof they could support each other.
• Servini cited the Fruit Canning Factory in Korol Village and said Bunta City's people could now pursue a better life beyond simply securing food.
• After the reporters left, Servini admitted to Xu Yi that her public performance had been exhausting, and Xu Yi warned her to govern consistently with the policies she had announced.
• Servini vowed to follow through on those policies.

Xu Yi reflected on Servini’s plans for Bunta City and discussed agricultural development with Cantona, who reported a massive rice harvest in the Stantin Duchy. The chapter left Cantona preparing to meet the City Lord’s Manor’s crop targets while Xu Yi focused on industry and transport.

• Xu Yi watched Servini leave for Bunta City after they had discussed her plans to develop agriculture and commerce together.
• Cantona arrived at the fertilizer factory in a Medium Mana Bus, and Xu Yi warned him about driving recklessly before joking about an F1 Racing Car.
• Cantona told Xu Yi that the Stantin Duchy’s rice harvest was expected to exceed two hundred thousand tonnes.
• Xu Yi told Cantona that Servini had approved his chamber’s leases and additional farmland, provided it met the City Lord’s Manor’s requirements.
• Xu Yi set a target of more than fifty thousand tonnes of wheat from three villages, while Cantona confidently promised to meet it.
• Xu Yi recalled how the Fruit Canning Factory had improved Korol Village and watched cargo vehicles approach, thinking that transport would boost industrial development.

Bateru and Sakeqi drove a Cargo Magic Locomotive from Bunta City to Karamay City to deliver mechanical parts, discussing driving safety and the vehicle’s fuel needs along the way. After they finished the delivery and set off for town, they saw a convoy of at least twenty Cargo Magic Locomotives approaching.

• Bateru nervously drove the Cargo Magic Locomotive while Sakeqi teased him, and a sudden swerve nearly sent them off the road.
• Bateru and Sakeqi discussed driving regulations, seat belts, freight earnings, and how the vehicle’s magic crystals affected its range.
• Bateru and Sakeqi reached Karamay City and delivered mechanical parts to Chernor’s factory.
• Chernor checked the goods and paid Sakeqi three gold coins, then Sakeqi invited Bateru to go into town for a drink and local food.
• As Bateru and Sakeqi left the factory, they saw a convoy of at least twenty Cargo Magic Locomotives approaching.

Sakeqi and Bateru watched a Feilson Carriage Company convoy carrying Xinfei Merchant Guild cargo toward Karamay City, while Ankato explained Xinfei’s unusual policy of encouraging smaller competitors. The convoy reached the Xinfei–Falkor nonferrous metals mine and smelting factory, where Ankato found something that made his visit worthwhile.

• Sakeqi urged Bateru to build their small freight business over time, and Bateru noticed Xinfei Merchant Guild cargo on the passing convoy.
• President Pombelli dismissed Sakeqi as no threat to the Feilson Carriage Company, while Ankato said he had come to explore the local household magic machinery market and study the Feidu Merchant Guild’s fan design.
• Ankato told President Pombelli that Xu had instructed him to encourage the Feidu Merchant Guild and potentially help it grow by sharing production technology.
• The convoy reached the jointly built Xinfei and Falkor nonferrous metals mine and smelting factory near Karamay City.
• After touring the factory, Ankato realized that his visit had been well worth the trip.

Ankato examined Porto’s new aluminum-tungsten and lead-based alloys and saw potential uses for Xinfei’s machinery, but the guild’s dependence on restricted nonferrous-metal supplies remained a problem. He then visited the Feidu Merchant Guild and offered to sell technology that would complete its magic fan and kettle production lines, leaving President Chernor stunned.

• Porto showed Ankato an aluminum-tungsten alloy suitable for household magic machinery and construction, and Ankato planned to tell the President about its uses.
• Porto presented Ankato with a dense lead-based alloy that could withstand pressure and impact, but they acknowledged that Xinfei could not freely mine or obtain the metals it needed.
• Ankato negotiated with the Falkor Merchant Guild for increased zinc production, then watched President Pombelli’s convoy carry seventeen tons of nonferrous metals toward Bunta City.
• Ankato visited President Chernor of the Feidu Merchant Guild and offered to sell the technology needed to complete its magic fan and magic-powered kettle production lines.
• President Chernor realized Xinfei might grant his guild access to the rest of its production technology and reacted with excitement.

Xu Yi and Servini finalized a plan for Bunta City's new magic machinery industrial district, with Servini moving it farther from Falling Star Manor to protect the pregnant Stille from construction. After discussing future transport projects, Xu Yi and Servini left together to visit Stille, and Servini described the private mana car she wanted.

• Servini pointed out that Xu Yi's industrial district plan would bring construction close to Falling Star Manor and disturb the pregnant Stille.
• Xu Yi revised the map, and Servini moved the district's nearest point to more than five kilometers from the manor before approving the plan.
• Xu Yi said he would discuss the district's roads and facilities with President Cruz and the Amli Merchant Guild.
• Servini asked about private mana carriages, and Xu Yi said the Research and Development Center was focused on freight Magic Locomotives and Medium Mana Buses.
• Xu Yi told Servini that Magic Airship development had reached the point where Avita's latest model could fly while carrying ten kilograms.
• Servini chose a compact, understated, patterned private mana car, and she boarded a carriage with Xu Yi to visit Stille.

Servini visited Falling Star Manor, questioned Xu Yi about his intentions toward Teresa, and urged him to give more attention to pregnant Stille. After Servini left, Xu Yi considered the risks of their close relationship and worked on plans to rebuild Bunta City's industrial district, where small guilds remained wary of investing.

• Stille told Servini she preferred not to hire more servants, while Servini asked about her pregnancy and offered help.
• Xu Yi asked Vivian how former scholarship students felt about their assignments and asked Teresa about her work at the Magic Research Institute; Teresa said she enjoyed it.
• Servini privately questioned Xu Yi about his attitude toward Teresa, then reminded him to spend time with Stille and arranged to meet him at Korol Village.
• After Servini departed, Xu Yi reflected on the political risks of their closeness, then returned to Stille and later began working in his study.
• Xu Yi reviewed plans to renovate the former Sankton Industrial Zone, while he and Servini faced the challenge of restoring small guilds' confidence in Bunta City.

Xu Yi assessed the rapid spread of magic industry across the Lampari Kingdom and considered how to address guilds exploiting Servini’s tax incentives and the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s production shortages. He mapped out plans to expand factories and share manufacturing technologies, leaving the kingdom’s next growth routes marked on his map.

• Servini introduced tax concessions and priority rights to encourage Bunta City merchant guilds to enter the magic machinery industry.
• Merchant guilds flooded the market with low-quality magic fans to qualify for tax breaks, while magic locomotive routes helped magic machinery sales spread throughout the kingdom and into neighboring countries.
• Xu Yi considered the rising demand and limited capacity of Xinfei factories, noting that the guild had opened production bases in Sartan City, Norton City, and Canberra City.
• Xu Yi planned to expand production into more cities and gradually share household magic machinery technologies so other guilds could contribute to supply and development.
• Xu Yi drew routes on the kingdom map toward several cities and marked Canberra City and Sewell City as future directions before someone knocked on his study door.

Xu Yi rejected Linda and Liss when Stille offered them to him as a substitute during her pregnancy, then confronted Stille about the arrangement. He reassured her of his devotion, and the chapter ended with Stille sending him away to bathe while teasing him about Liss.

• Linda told Xu Yi that Stille had asked her to satisfy him, but Xu Yi stopped her and urged her not to offer herself just because she was a slave.
• Linda insisted that she and Liss wanted to be with Xu Yi, but he dressed her and sent her to rest, explaining that he was not ready.
• Xu Yi confronted Stille and learned that she had also intended for Liss to take Linda's place.
• Stille confessed that pregnancy had made her insecure and worried Xu Yi would be attracted to Princess Caroline or Teresa, and Xu Yi reassured her.
• Stille sent Xu Yi away to bathe and teased him about whether he wanted Liss instead, prompting him to retreat.

Xu Yi agreed that Stille could return to work after three months of pregnancy and discussed recruiting more workers of other races from beyond the Lampari Kingdom. He then joined Servini and other business representatives to launch Bunta City's New Agricultural Base, as the city faced a parliamentary demand for sharply higher grain and tax revenues.

• Xu Yi discussed Stille's boredom and workload with her, and they agreed she could resume her post after three months of pregnancy.
• Xu Yi urged Stille to arrange for workers of other races to recruit more people from neighboring countries while migration remained possible.
• Servini opened the groundbreaking ceremony for Bunta City's New Agricultural Base in Korol Village, and business representatives turned the first shovelfuls of earth.
• Xu Yi criticized Parliament's requirement that Bunta City increase its grain and tax remittances by at least thirty percent or lose its special economic zone status.
• Xu Yi predicted that Bunta City could remit at least five hundred thousand gold coins in taxes, excluding the Xinfei Merchant Guild, and challenged Servini to bet that the Cantona Chamber of Commerce would pay over two hundred thousand.

Xu Yi arranged for Cantona to develop a long-lasting fresh juice business with Miranda so the Cantona Chamber of Commerce could increase its tax payments. He also agreed to help the dwarves establish a brewery while insisting that the Xinfei Merchant Guild stay focused on magic machinery.

• Xu Yi reassured Cantona that he could help the Cantona Chamber of Commerce pay more than two hundred thousand gold coins in taxes and showed him the Mana Juicer.
• Xu Yi introduced Cantona to Miranda, who would work with him on preserving fresh fruit juice, and Cantona eagerly recognized its sales potential.
• Xu Yi told Canby that the Xinfei Merchant Guild should not take over every profitable business and planned to transfer the Fruit Canning Factory to the villagers of Korol Village.
• Canby told Xu Yi that Chief Slubi wanted the dwarves to open a brewery, and Xu Yi agreed to help secure some of Bunta City's surplus wheat.
• Xu Yi said he would only act as an intermediary for the brewery project, then challenged Canby to show the same confidence about developing new Magic Machine Tools.

Xu Yi learned that Sanchelli, Canby, Potteru, and the research teams had developed a crude but precise automatic magic machine tool for the Xinfei Merchant Guild. He left the center pretending to be angry, but was overjoyed at the breakthrough and its potential to increase production.

• Canby told Xu Yi that stronger magic machine tools had cracked after about ten thousand stamping cycles because suitable materials were unavailable.
• Canby showed Xu Yi a new automatic magic machine tool that cut and bent steel plates without human intervention.
• Xu Yi compared several finished plates and found their measurements differed by no more than 0.2 millimeters.
• Canby and Potteru credited Sanchelli with proposing the machine and creating its crucial self-controlled magic arrays.
• Xu Yi ordered that Sanchelli and the others be commended after development was complete, then left the center and laughed with delight.