Chapter Summaries

Randolph argued before the church council that Claire had exposed individual priests’ crimes to give the church a chance to make amends. The white-robed bishop assigned Randolph to handle the matter, leaving the church’s response to Claire’s revelations unresolved.

• The white-robed bishop called the council to order and asked Randolph to explain the crisis, while other bishops demanded that Claire be destroyed.
• Randolph and Rechel traded accusations until the white-robed bishop ordered Rechel to sit down and listen.
• Randolph argued that Claire had targeted individual priests and had deliberately left the church room to respond.
• Randolph proposed admitting the church’s mistakes, reforming, and punishing the priests named in the reports; Rechel and other implicated cardinals objected.
• The white-robed bishop considered the arguments and assigned Randolph to handle the matter.

Randolph contained the Church scandal by exposing and punishing corrupt priests, restoring much of the Church’s public standing. Claire stayed out of the response, then used two Trade Points to obtain a pair of synchronized spindles whose usefulness she doubted.

• Randolph arrested implicated priests, investigated further violations, and restricted news of the scandal to cities around Nafu City.
• The Churches published a detailed list of offending priests, reformed their review system, executed the worst offenders, and offered a month of free Holy Light Healing.
• Randolph gradually lifted the news blockade after guiding public opinion, and many residents of Nafu City returned to a neutral view of the Church.
• Claire reviewed reports on the Church’s actions, burned the letters, and started a trade after two Trade Points appeared.
• Claire received two black spindles, tested their synchronized movements and identical markings, and concluded they were of limited use in a world with magical communication.

Claire negotiated with Bishop Randolph to stop Church of Light preaching in Nafu City, using damaging documents to secure his agreement. Before they parted, she advised him on a better way to preach and suggested Oma could return to lead the church in Nafu City.

• Claire showed Randolph documents detailing scandals within the Church of Light and explained that multiple factions had supplied her with evidence.
• Claire refused to let the Church hold preaching activities in Nafu City, and Randolph agreed while retaining the right to keep a church there.
• Randolph told Claire he was leaving to take over Bishop Rechel's position in Rose City, and Claire invited him to eat with her.
• Claire advised Randolph to build public facilities and avoid forcing conversions, and he thanked her for the advice.
• Claire asked whether Oma had been executed and suggested that he return to Nafu City; Randolph said he would consider it.
• Claire left the restaurant and told a server that Randolph would pay the bill.

Claire observed Nafu City's growing bard community and discovered that mermaid sculptures modeled on Wendy's stories were being sold from outside the city. After buying one from Aubrey, he left to investigate its origins, while Aubrey learned he had sold the sculpture to Nafu City's viscount.

• Claire watched a bard perform at Mermaid Plaza and judged the bard community's growth to be going well.
• Aubrey mistook Claire for a visitor and offered to show him Nafu City's specialties, then displayed sculptures based on Wendy's stories.
• Claire noticed the mermaid sculpture was more refined than the ones from Nakin Town and learned Aubrey had bought it in Augon City.
• Claire paid Aubrey seven Silver Coins for the sculpture and left with it.
• Aubrey's relative told him Claire was the viscount, and Aubrey realized whom he had sold the sculpture to.

Claire investigated why mermaid statues from Nakin Town sold poorly in Nafu City and found that imported statues were far more finely crafted. She traveled to Nakin Town and confronted the local blacksmiths, demanding to know who made one of the statues.

• Claire compared the Nakin Town mermaid statue with an imported statue and learned from Regan that most imports came from Ogang, Haiya, and Portland.
• Claire rejected Regan's suggestion to restrict imported statues and decided to visit Nakin Town.
• Claire arrived in Nakin Town, inspected its improved streets and public facilities, and met its steward, Nick.
• Claire went to Blacksmith Street, displayed the mermaid statue to the assembled blacksmiths, and demanded to know who had made it.

Claire discovered that Nakin Town’s blacksmiths had been making crude statues because they sold for the same price as carefully crafted ones. She challenged the blacksmiths to improve their work and offered rewards, leaving them eager to compete.

• Claire rewarded the first blacksmith to admit making statues, then confronted the blacksmiths with a crude mermaid statue and asked them to compare it with a better one.
• The blacksmiths admitted they could make higher-quality statues but had chosen to work quickly because both kinds sold for the same price.
• Claire learned that merchants had stopped buying the blacksmiths’ statues, leaving unsold stock piled up as better-made products from elsewhere took over the market.
• Claire challenged a burly, bearded blacksmith to improve a crude statue, and he forged a much more exquisite version in about half an hour.
• Claire gave the blacksmith ten Gold Coins and offered one hundred Gold Coins to anyone who could make a statue even better, prompting the blacksmiths to shout and compete for the reward.

Claire discovered that Nakin Town’s blacksmiths could craft high-quality statues and offered them rewards for their work. She planned to create a statue industry through profit sharing and began writing out an explanation for the blacksmiths.

• The blacksmiths presented their statues to Claire, who rewarded several of them with Gold Coins for their craftsmanship and innovations.
• After distributing nearly two thousand Gold Coins, Claire concluded that the blacksmiths’ skills could support a new statue industry in Nakin Town.
• Claire told the blacksmiths that merchants in Nafu City sold their statues for ten times the price the smiths received.
• Claire offered to buy all statues meeting a minimum quality standard and said the blacksmiths would be paid through profit sharing, which they did not understand.
• Claire asked Nick for paper and a pen, then began writing an explanation of the arrangement.

Claire arranged for Nakin Town’s blacksmiths to sell statues through revenue sharing and explained to Nick how trademarks and shared incentives could build a successful statue industry. Nick left understanding why Claire prioritized consistent quality and tied the blacksmiths’ income to sales.

• Claire left Nick to explain revenue sharing and statue sales to the blacksmiths.
• Nick brought Claire the finished statues, which had been divided into grades and marked with a Nakin seal.
• Claire explained that the trademark would connect Nakin Town’s products and build a reputation for quality.
• Nick asked why the blacksmiths were paid through revenue sharing, and Claire explained how it would motivate them to improve their products and support sales.

Claire helped Nakin Town build its statue industry and promoted its products in Nafu City, allowing Nakin-made statues to gain market share over competitors. She later encountered Aubrey selling the town’s statues and bought one from him.

• Claire established a profit-sharing system that rewarded Nakin Town’s blacksmiths according to their work and innovations.
• Nick opened the Nakin Statue Shop in Nafu City to promote the town’s statues and make them easier for customers to find.
• Nakin Town’s statues pressured imported products, and the other cities adjusted their quality and pricing strategies.
• Claire promoted the slogan “Nakin’s products, always premium!” and helped make Nakin Town’s statues famous in Nafu City.
• Aubrey recognized Claire while selling Nakin Town statues, praised their quality, and Claire bought a mermaid statue from his cart.

Claire focused on strategic affairs as Nafu City expanded, while Regan met Frey and his adventuring party after they brought a slain Wyvern to the city gate. Claire sent them expert-grade Healing Potions as a gift, hoping to befriend the powerful adventurers.

• Claire oversaw Nafu City's development and expected the new agricultural town to take shape in about a month.
• Regan dispersed a crowd at the city gate and discovered Frey and his companions beside a slain Wyvern.
• Frey explained that his party had hunted the Wyvern and asked for treatment for their injured companions.
• Regan told Frey that Nafu City had no magic shop or church, then arranged for the party to visit Rona's hospital and had the Wyvern guarded.
• Regan reported the encounter to Claire, who gave him expert-grade Healing Potions to deliver to Frey's party as a gift.

Claire inspected the Wyvern, learned that Regan had taken the adventurers to Blacksmith Street, and went there when the city’s blacksmiths could not repair their master-grade weapons. She met Frey and his companions, while Regan explained that Master Teklin was unavailable and Claire worried about Isaac’s research spending.

• Claire examined the slain Wyvern and visited Rona’s clinic, where she learned that Regan had taken the adventurers to Blacksmith Street to repair their weapons.
• Claire encouraged Rona to train toward becoming a High Mage, offered her a rare fruit when it ripened, and petted Eve before leaving.
• On Blacksmith Street, the local blacksmiths failed to repair Frey’s master-grade weapons, and Regan learned that Master Teklin could not leave Isaac’s research project.
• Claire arrived, and Frey introduced himself and his companions after a mage in the group warned them that he was no match for Claire.
• Regan explained the problem to Claire, who worried about Isaac’s costly research before he reminded her that the adventurers’ weapons still needed attention.

Claire and Frey’s party rushed into the Academy of Sciences after an explosion, where they found Isaac unharmed and eager to show off his new weapon. Isaac revealed a magic cannon powerful enough to kill an Archmage, though Claire pointed out that its size made aiming at one difficult.

• Claire invited Frey and his companions to visit Master Teklin while he worked on their weapons, and they agreed to go with her.
• An explosion shook the Academy of Sciences, so Claire and Frey’s party hurried inside to check on Isaac.
• Claire found Isaac unharmed, and he explained that the explosion came from a new weapon he had built.
• Isaac showed Claire and the adventurers a magic cannon inspired by her Magic Handgun and claimed it could kill an Archmage.
• Claire questioned how the bulky cannon could hit an Archmage, and Isaac admitted he had not considered that problem.

Isaac demonstrated a powerful cannon shell that shattered an Archmage-level defense, and Claire decided to test whether she could stop it herself. She caught the shell after slowing it with several spells and breaking its momentum with the Hand of the Mage.

• Isaac explained that his modified shells could spread inextinguishable flames and pierce most Magic Shields, and Claire judged them useful for large-scale battles.
• Isaac tested a shell against a dummy protected by costly Magic Scrolls, destroying the shields and dummy and knocking down much of a wall.
• Claire asked Isaac to fire another shell at her, and Frey and the others watched anxiously as Isaac prepared the cannon.
• Claire slowed the shell with Light Body Technique and Haste Delay, then used the Hand of the Mage to drain most of its force.
• Claire caught the remaining shell in her outstretched hand.

Claire demonstrated how she could stop a cannonball with three first-circle spells, impressing Isaac and Frey’s party. While waiting for Teklin to repair their weapons, Claire learned how the Adventurer’s Guild helped adventurers sell their spoils and handle commissions, and Frey remarked that Nafu City would benefit from having one.

• Claire used Light Body Technique, Haste Delay, and Mage Hand to catch Isaac’s cannonball, then hid her numb, trembling hand.
• Isaac praised Claire’s technique, discussed how anti-magic coatings could counter it, and hurried off to redesign the cannon.
• Frey’s party left their broken weapons with Teklin for repairs and waited outside his smithy with Claire.
• Claire listened as Frey’s party recounted their adventures and explained their plan to sell the Wyvern in Augon City through its Adventurer’s Guild.
• Frey said it would be convenient if Nafu City had an Adventurer’s Guild of its own.

Claire realized that an Adventurer's Guild in Nafu City could bring adventurers, trade, and new business to the city, so she traveled to the royal capital to arrange its establishment. There, she reunited with Shane, learned that Cupid's Gift had earned over 5.4 million, and asked which great noble backed the guild.

• Frey's comment about an Adventurer's Guild inspired Claire to plan one for Nafu City, connecting its blacksmiths and other businesses to adventurers and their trade.
• Claire sent Frey and his companions off, instructed Regan before leaving, and decided that Sophia's and Shane's families might help establish a magic shop.
• Regan mistook Claire's visits to the royal capital as visits to Sophia and compared her tastes to her father's, prompting Claire to wonder whether her father had been a Ruthless Hero.
• Claire arrived in the royal capital and met Shane at the Tulip Shop, where he told her last month's income exceeded 5.4 million, largely from Cupid's Gift.
• Claire told Shane that her conflict with the Church was resolved and asked which great noble stood behind the Adventurer's Guild.

Claire sought a way to establish an Adventurer's Guild branch in Nafu City and learned the Grand Judge would likely block the application because of his ties to the Church of Light. Shane explained that the Guen Family could help, but with its patriarch away at war, Claire planned to meet Yana at a noble gathering.

• Shane told Claire that the Grand Judge had final approval over Adventurer's Guild branches and would likely oppose one in Nafu City because of his Church of Light ties.
• Shane said the Guen Family's support, alongside his father and Sophia, could help Claire establish the branch without using her leverage against the Church.
• Claire learned that Patriarch Guen had gone to the Blazing Flame Plane as war resumed and that he would be difficult to meet.
• Shane told Claire that Yana and the Guen Family's Eldest Young Master could make decisions in the patriarch's absence.
• Claire asked Shane to arrange a meeting with Yana, and he said she would likely attend a gathering of young nobles the next night.

Beck challenged Claire to a duel to avenge the Red Scale Dragon Horse she had killed, but Claire tried to postpone it after Shane revealed Beck was the grandson of one of the Kingdom’s Six Archmages. As Beck prepared to force the fight, Claire asked whether his grandfather was protective of him.

• Beck recognized Claire at the gathering and challenged her to a one-on-one duel, demanding that she not use her strange Magic Weapon.
• Claire barely remembered Beck and asked what he wanted, infuriating him as he recalled her killing his Red Scale Dragon Horse.
• Shane told Claire that Beck’s grandfather was one of the Kingdom’s Six Archmages and the founder of Beck’s family.
• Claire questioned whether Beck could match her, then suggested they duel another day because she had something to do.
• Beck raised his staff and released his aura to force the battle, while Claire retreated with Shane and asked if Beck’s Archmage grandfather was protective.

Claire and Beck’s confrontation was interrupted when Edith tried to stop Beck, but an Arnold Family young master goaded him into continuing the duel. Claire agreed to fight Beck using only first-level spells, with Beck’s future pestering on the line.

• Claire used a first-level Levitation Spell to fling Shane away, and Shane landed safely after a midair flip.
• Claire confronted Beck and pointed out that his Grandmaster Hurricane Staff let him instant-cast second-level wind spells.
• Edith stepped between Claire and Beck and scolded Beck for provoking a fight, while Yana also told Beck to stop pestering Edith.
• The young master of the Arnold Family taunted Beck into continuing, and Beck admitted his grandfather had told him to duel Claire after advancing.
• Beck resumed the duel, and Claire offered to use only first-level spells if Beck agreed not to bother him again after losing.

Claire fought Beck, countering his wind spells with enhancement magic, a hardened hand, and her greatsword. After shattering Beck’s Wind Shield, she swung the wind-coated other side of her blade at him.

• Beck attacked Claire with a Cracking Wind Blade, but she caught it with Hand of Magic, endured its impact with Hardening Technique, and crushed it in her hand.
• Beck cast Consecutive Wind Arrows, but Claire used Swiftness Technique to dodge the volley.
• Claire rushed behind Beck and struck his Wind Shield with her greatsword, then fended off his wind blades.
• Claire coated her greatsword with wind blades and charged at Beck, who retreated until he was cornered and attacked her shield-first.
• Claire shattered Beck’s Wind Shield, then swung the blade’s still-coated opposite side toward him.

Claire and Shane asked Yana to help establish an Adventurer's Guild branch in Nafu City, but she demanded benefits for her family. Claire offered money to the Guen Family and a secret personal payment to Yana, leaving her to consider his proposed bribe.

• Claire defeated Beck in a duel, and Beck left without admitting defeat.
• Claire reunited with Yana and Edith, recognized Edith's necromancer aura, and learned she had advanced to High Mage.
• Claire and Shane took Yana and Edith to a private room and proposed establishing an Adventurer's Guild in Nafu City with the Guen Family's support.
• Yana asked what benefits the Guen Family would receive, and Claire offered three million Gold Coins before revising the offer to one and a half million for the family and five hundred thousand for Yana personally.
• Claire told Yana that secretly taking the personal payment could benefit her own future, and Yana asked whether he was trying to bribe her.