Chapter Summaries

Sam’s Anjette bicycle broke during the race, prompting him and other riders to plan a compensation demand over the poor quality. Meanwhile, Heinz rejected Virole Anjette’s demand to share gear-shifter technology and ended the technology-sharing partnership, leaving Anjette stunned.

• Sam’s Anjette bicycle repeatedly malfunctioned during the race, and its rear wheel fell off after he kicked it at the finish line.
• Sam met other riders whose Anjette bicycles had broken and joined their complaints about the guild’s poor quality and plans to seek compensation.
• Virole Anjette demanded that Heinz share the gear-shifter technology under their agreement, but Heinz said it belonged to another guild and was protected by confidentiality and patent law.
• Heinz reminded Virole that the Xinfei Merchant Guild did not need the partnership and agreed to end it when Virole accused him of refusing to cooperate.
• Heinz gave Virole a signed notice terminating their technology-sharing partnership immediately, leaving Virole shocked.

Xu Yi and Servini discussed her plan to establish fruit-growing and processing industries on her fief, then argued over his break with the Magic Industry Administration and her decision to abandon the throne. The conversation ended unresolved as they prepared to attend a joint operation with Servini as its nominal commander.

• Servini asked Xu Yi to help establish an industrial base on her private fief and proposed fruit farms, a canning factory, and a juice factory.
• Xu Yi worried that Servini’s plan would compete with the Xinfei Merchant Guild, but she said her royal privileges would let her sell beyond the Lampari Kingdom.
• Servini warned Xu Yi that ending cooperation with the Magic Industry Administration had angered powerful nobles and could threaten the guild’s operations in the kingdom.
• Xu Yi said he was prepared to give up operating in the Lampari Kingdom, and Servini warned him that abandoning the guild would hurt Bunta City’s residents.
• Xu Yi asked Servini whether she regretted giving up her claim to the throne, and she admitted that she did not know.
• Xu Yi ended their discussion and invited Servini to join the joint operation, where she was its nominal commander.

Xu Yi showed Servini the Xinfei Merchant Guild Guards Corps’ diverse troops and costly magic equipment before they launched an operation against the orcs in the Black Rice Wasteland. The chapter ended as Xu Yi formally announced the start of the Black Rice Wasteland Clearing Operation.

• Xu Yi and Servini inspected the Xinfei Merchant Guild Guards Corps and Servini’s five hundred private guards at the Guards Base.
• Servini learned that a complete set of Individual Military Magic Machinery cost three hundred gold coins and could not afford to equip her five thousand guards with it.
• Servini addressed the assembled guards and introduced the operation against the orcs.
• Fifty armored Mana Armored Transport Vehicles arrived, and Xu Yi explained their reinforced construction and defenses.
• Xu Yi criticized the Lampari Kingdom’s military underfunding and corruption before announcing the start of the Black Rice Wasteland Clearing Operation.

After the Magic Industry Administration barred the Xinfei Merchant Guild from producing magic machinery in the Lampari Kingdom, the guild shut its factories while public anger and political resistance grew. Though its presence faded in Bunta City, the guild continued expanding in the Black Rice Wasteland and Stantin Duchy, shipping its machinery back into the kingdom.

• The Xinfei Merchant Guild accepted the production ban and closed its magic machinery factories across six Lampari Kingdom cities, leaving its service centers and research facilities operating.
• Commoners and newspapers supported the guild, and Baron Haines published a Lampari Weekly article attacking the Magic Industry Administration and the nobles backing its ten designated merchant guilds.
• Count Samo defied the ban, declaring that Sewell City would neither recognize nor enforce it, while the city's Magic Industry Park continued to grow.
• Workers and small component-making merchant guilds suffered as Xinfei stopped production and the ten designated guilds offered lower wages and absorbed manufacturing work.
• The Xinfei Merchant Guild expanded in the Black Rice Wasteland and Stantin Duchy, sending cargo magic locomotives laden with machinery toward destinations in the Lampari Kingdom.

King Eric struggled with the kingdom’s finances and his lack of influence as he considered raising the military budget. Duke Stark proposed reducing the Kingdom Army and having nobles’ private guards take on secondary defensive duties, leaving Eric to weigh the plan.

• Eric reflected on how exhausting kingship was and how little control he had over the kingdom.
• Duke Stark warned Eric that noble loans would come due early next year and that repaying them would strain the treasury.
• Eric explained that he wanted to increase the Military Department’s budget, especially for the Northern Garrison, because of the threat from the Sark Kingdom.
• Duke Stark suggested reducing the number of Kingdom Army troops and relying on noble private guards to defend secondary areas.
• Eric objected that nobles’ guards should protect only their own fiefs, but Duke Stark argued that their service would save the treasury money.
• Eric considered the proposal and admitted it might be a possible solution.

Old Man Sakeqi and Old Man Bateru drove cargo for the Xinfei Merchant Guild through the Black Rice Wasteland and discussed leaving Bunta City for the Stantin Duchy. After considering the shrinking wages and worsening prospects in Bunta City, Bateru agreed to look into moving as well.

• Old Man Sakeqi drove their Medium Cargo Magic Locomotive through the Black Rice Wasteland while Old Man Bateru woke and offered to take over.
• Sakeqi told Bateru he planned to inspect the Stantin Duchy and likely move there with his family because work in Bunta City had become poorly paid.
• Bateru warned that leaving Bunta City could cost them their resident status and questioned whether they could bear to leave the Lampari Kingdom.
• Sakeqi explained that the ten merchant guilds had driven down wages and freight rates, while the Xinfei Merchant Guild still offered fair work.
• After reflecting on how ordinary people were neglected by the kingdom's leaders, Bateru agreed to look around the Stantin Duchy and consider moving.

Old Sakeqi and Old Bateru saw how much the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s Black Rice Wasteland base had grown before watching Hart return from a sweep against the orcs. Hart revealed that the orcs were now armed with weapons from the Sark Kingdom, and Fario decided to report the discovery to the president.

• Old Sakeqi and Old Bateru delivered nonferrous metal ore to the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s steelworks and accepted a job transporting precision alloy to the Stantin Duchy.
• Old Sakeqi and Old Bateru watched a convoy of the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s Mana Armored Transport Vehicles enter the Guards Corps camp and wondered why nearby orcs welcomed its return.
• Hart told Oma and Fario that his latest sweep had suffered no losses but that every orc he encountered had carried a weapon.
• Hart showed Oma and Fario a longsword whose workmanship and markings identified it as a weapon from the Sark Kingdom.
• Fario agreed with Hart and Oma that the discovery was unusual and said they should report it to the president.

Xu Yi ordered Hart to investigate the orcs allied with the Sark Kingdom while carefully managing the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s ties to Lampari. He attended Yaqi and Leia’s wedding with Stille and Avir, where their striking appearances drew attention, but his discussion with Count Wellen ended on a tense note.

• Xu Yi told Hart to stay alert, push into the Black Rice Wasteland, investigate the orc alliance with the Sark Kingdom, and notify the Lampari Kingdom Western Garrison Legion.
• Xu Yi sent a letter to Princess Royal Servini through her guard captain as a gesture to reduce the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s ties to Lampari’s rulers.
• Xu Yi helped Avir prepare a performance of the Wedding March for Yaqi and Leia’s wedding, and Stille arrived dressed in formal finery.
• Xu Yi, Stille, and Avir attended the wedding, where Count Wellen and Xinfei Merchant Guild staff joined the celebration.
• Xu Yi and Count Wellen held a tense, unpleasant conversation during a break in the wedding.

Xu Yi negotiated with Count Wellen to secure more land for the Xinfei Merchant Guild by trading technology instead of paying an exorbitant rent. After agreeing to exchange technologies for land, Xu Yi refused to transfer military technology, but Count Wellen asked whether he could buy military magic machinery.

• Count Wellen demanded one million gold coins in annual rent for another tract of land, and Xu Yi rejected the price.
• Count Wellen offered to accept technology transfers instead of cash and named fruit canning and household magic machinery as his interests.
• Xu Yi agreed to trade one technology for the rent on ten thousand hectares after pretending to haggle reluctantly.
• Count Wellen asked for the Xinfei Merchant Guild's military magic machinery technology, and Xu Yi refused to transfer it.
• Count Wellen then asked whether he could purchase military magic machinery, leaving Xu Yi wary of the direction their dealings were taking.

The Xinfei Merchant Guild’s profits recovered despite the Magic Industry Administration’s restrictions, but Xu Yi learned that the Lampari Kingdom would soon impose import tariffs on its goods. He refused to raise prices and decided to focus on markets beyond the kingdom.

• Sebas reported that the Xinfei Merchant Guild had earned more than one million gold coins in net profit last month as public support boosted sales.
• Xu Yi observed that protests against the ten favored guilds might be politically manipulated by cities supporting Servini, though he did not mind the guild being used.
• Xu Yi warned the conference that new spending and upcoming regulations would hurt the guild’s finances for several months.
• Xu Yi explained that the Commerce Office planned to classify machinery made outside the Lampari Kingdom as imports subject to tariffs, even when sold by a local guild.
• Xu Yi rejected Ankato’s suggestion to raise prices and said the guild would seek markets in other countries.

Amplistown prospered after the Xinfei Merchant Guild built a dock, roads, and a Rare Earth Smelting Factory, while the town awaited further factories and jobs. Mage Bukales confronted Baron Lofik over alleged bribes from the guild, but Xu Yi arrived and publicly denied that the baron had mistreated them.

• Lampari workers and orcs arrived in Amplistown, built a dock and a factory, and brought new spending to the town.
• More workers came by magic locomotives and built roads linking Amplistown to the Lampari Kingdom, Milando City, and the Rulson Kingdom.
• The Xinfei Merchant Guild hired one hundred townspeople for its Rare Earth Smelting Factory and promised more jobs as new factories opened.
• Mage Bukales arrived and praised Amplistown’s prosperity before accusing Baron Lofik of making unreasonable demands and taking bribes from the guild’s representative.
• Baron Lofik denied the accusation, and Xu Yi arrived, saying the guild and the baron had enjoyed a pleasant partnership.

Xu Yi discussed Amplistown’s development and a proposed technology partnership with Mage Cables, while evaluating the duchy’s cautious approach to cooperation. Mage Cables handed him the Grand Duke’s signed transfer agreement for the rare earth and Magic Crystal mines.

• Xu Yi praised Baron Lofeller’s support, and Mage Cables and the baron commended the changes the Xinfei Merchant Guild had brought to Amplistown.
• Mage Cables criticized the Lampari Kingdom for forcing the Xinfei Merchant Guild out of Bunta City, and Xu Yi ended the discussion to turn to business.
• Mage Cables showed Xu Yi a wind-element array intended to accelerate a Mana Airship during takeoff, and Xu Yi warned that its mechanical stresses would shorten the airship’s service life.
• Xu Yi proposed a joint venture in which the Xinfei Merchant Guild would contribute technology while the Milando Duchy supplied facilities and workers, with technology transfer completed after about a year.
• Mage Cables gave Xu Yi the Grand Duke’s signed transfer agreement for the rare earth mine and the Magic Crystal Mine.

Xu Yi reviewed and signed an agreement giving the Xinfei Merchant Guild mining rights in exchange for production technology and joint factories in the Milando Duchy. He stayed in Milando to await Newman, whose arrival was needed for the important three-party matter.

• Mage Bukales reflected on how Xu Yi’s investments and promises had brought jobs and prosperity to Amplistown.
• Bukales asked about Xu Yi’s magical strength, and Xu Yi said he was a Level Nine Mage but still far from becoming a Great Mage.
• Bukales urged Xu Yi to prioritize magic, arguing that becoming a Great Mage could protect the guild from political pressure, but Xu Yi said the guild’s development mattered more to him.
• Xu Yi approved, signed, and sealed the agreement with the Milando Duchy for mining rights, technology, and joint factories.
• Bukales told Xu Yi that Newman was expected to arrive within two days, and Xu Yi agreed to wait for him.

President Pombelli withdrew the Feilson Carriage Company from Bunta City's urban public transit system after unreliable Lafali locomotives and the City Lord's Manor's subsidy cut made it unprofitable. The announcement angered residents and deepened resentment toward the City Lord's Manor as the new year began.

• The Bunta Daily reported that the Xinfei Merchant Guild had agreed to establish joint-venture factories in the Milando and Rulson duchies in exchange for access to their mineral resources.
• President Pombelli found that frequent breakdowns and accidents involving Lafali locomotives had caused the Feilson Carriage Company heavy losses.
• The City Lord's Manor abolished the special financial subsidy for Bunta City's urban public transit system, and President Pombelli concluded that the company could no longer afford to operate it.
• The Feilson Carriage Company announced that it would withdraw completely from the urban public transit system beginning the next year.
• Bunta City residents were shocked and angry, and many blamed the City Lord's Manor for favoring the ten designated merchant guilds while squeezing the Feilson Carriage Company.

Princess Royal Servini learned that refugees entering her fief had fled forced, unpaid factory labor in other nobles’ territories, where people were worked to exhaustion making magic machinery. Unable to defy the nobles’ rules and keep them permanently, she sheltered them for now and wondered what Xu Yi knew about the kingdom’s suffering.

• Servini questioned refugees who had arrived in her fief and learned they had fled compulsory factory labor ordered by local lords and City Lord’s Manors.
• The refugees described exhausting shifts, deaths from overwork, and little or no pay for producing magic machinery.
• A young refugee pleaded with Servini not to return him to his lord, saying the lord had beaten his parents to death and that Bunta City was no longer safe for runaways.
• Servini ordered her stewards to care for the refugees but recognized that the Nobles’ Council’s rules gave her no right to interfere in another noble’s fief.
• Servini recalled Xu Yi’s worker protections and realized his warnings about nobles exploiting commoners had been right, then wondered what he was doing and how much he knew about the kingdom.

Xu Yi discussed Bunta City’s worsening treatment of independent merchant guilds with President Cruz, who was considering moving the Amli Merchant Guild to the Stantin Duchy. Xu Yi agreed to help arrange the move as he suspected a broader political campaign against rival factions, leaving Bunta City’s future uncertain.

• Xu Yi made New Year courtesy visits to Lord Kamadu and representatives of the ten merchant guilds, prompting President Cruz to criticize his politeness.
• President Cruz told Xu Yi that the City Lord’s Manor had put the Amli Merchant Guild under the Meiya Merchant Guild’s supervision and that Meiya demanded a thirty-percent stake in projects and access to its engineering techniques.
• President Cruz said other guilds, including the Armani, Salank, and Falkor Merchant Guilds, were also being targeted and asked whether the Amli Merchant Guild could move to the Stantin Duchy.
• Xu Yi said he could help arrange the move but warned that the Amli Merchant Guild would have to change its registration and might become a foreign guild.
• Xu Yi suspected the Kingdom’s conservative nobles were driving rival guilds from Bunta City to put it under the control of the ten merchant guilds.

After the Xinfei Merchant Guild left Bunta City, the ten designated guilds’ low wages and closures drove residents to seek work in neighboring lands, leaving the city nearly deserted. Servini arrived in the quiet streets and resolved to begin addressing the crises facing Bunta City and the Lampari Kingdom.

• After New Year, fewer outsiders came to Bunta City, and merchant guilds began closing shops as the city’s economy declined.
• Bunta City residents resented the ten designated merchant guilds and chose to leave rather than accept their low wages and heavy workloads.
• Workers traveled to Amplistown, the Rulson Kingdom, the Black Rice Wasteland, and the Stantin Duchy to find factory and construction jobs.
• As residents and even new arrivals departed, Bunta City became nearly deserted before the second month of the year was half over.
• Servini picked up an Armani Merchant Guild flyer and reflected on how the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s departure had transformed Bunta City.
• Servini decided to begin addressing the crises in Bunta City and the Lampari Kingdom during her visit.

Lord Kamadu reviewed Princess Royal Servini’s application to establish a magic-machinery guild in Bunta City, and the Servini Merchant Guild quickly reopened factories and hired skilled workers with Xu Yi’s support. Xu Yi doubted the guild could withstand the opposition ahead and knowingly left Servini unaware of a method that could ruin it.

• Lord Kamadu realized that Princess Royal Servini’s application for the Servini Merchant Guild threatened the control he and ten merchant guilds had established over Bunta City.
• The Servini Merchant Guild opened amid widespread publicity and, within weeks, installed magic machine tools in former Xinfei Merchant Guild factories in Falling Rain Valley.
• The Servini Merchant Guild opened more than ten household-magic-machinery factories and recruited experienced workers by offering at least ten gold coins a month.
• Xu Yi reflected that his support had helped the guild begin production, but he expected its opponents to find a way to destroy it.
• Xu Yi chose not to warn Servini about the method he foresaw, hoping the setback would make her abandon her hopes or pursue deeper change in the kingdom.

Xu Yi helped Avita complete and test a variable-speed magic array for mana airships, then explained why he wanted the Institute’s researchers to solve more problems without him. The chapter ended with Xu Yi at Xinfei Farm, watching a convoy of Mana Armored Transport Vehicles approach.

• Avita watched Xu Yi draw the complex Stagewise Variable-Guide Hurricane Array she had developed for mana airships.
• Xu Yi finished the array, and Avita tested it by adjusting its settings to produce increasingly strong wind.
• Xu Yi told Avita to integrate the successful array with the mana airship and explained that he wanted researchers to develop products independently.
• Avita asked whether Xu Yi’s withdrawal from research also explained his distance from the Lampari Kingdom’s affairs, and Xu Yi said those matters were complicated.
• Xu Yi left Avita’s laboratory for Xinfei Farm and saw a convoy of Mana Armored Transport Vehicles approaching along the road.

Xu Yi met Lord Wellen at the Guards Corps base, where Wellen asked to buy Mana Armored Transport Vehicles for his war against Count Fran. When Xu Yi raised their cost, Wellen offered him a fief instead, leaving Xu to consider the proposal.

• Xu Yi watched returning guards enter the base and stopped Lord Wellen’s car from driving into the restricted area.
• Lord Wellen explained that he wanted Mana Armored Transport Vehicles to strengthen his forces against Count Fran.
• Xu Yi reflected on Wellen’s rapid conquest of Count Fran’s territory and Angklu’s ambitions in the Stantin Duchy.
• Xu Yi said the vehicles could be discussed but warned that they were expensive.
• Lord Wellen said he lacked enough gold coins and offered Xu Yi a fief in exchange.