The morning was cold. The sky still seemed to be asleep. Leon remained on guard near the tent, occasionally yawning before jogging in place to keep his drowsiness at bay.
Looking up, Leon saw countless stars still moving and twinkling in the heavens. He smiled, drew a long breath, and exhaled with relief.
"Arthur, do you see it?" he asked softly.
"Yes, Captain. We can see the stars clearly," Arthur replied.
Dewdrops began to form, followed by the rising of the sun on the eastern horizon. Leon watched as the king of the day rose from his slumber. It was strange, but—
"Stop."
A man dressed in lavish clothing with an eccentric hairstyle raised his left hand to shoulder height. "Your story just now was disgusting." A crooked smile formed on his lips and his eyes narrowed in mockery.
"But, sir, my story hasn't reached the end. You didn't even read the manuscript properly," Zhang Xuan replied. Sweat began to bead on his forehead, and his body trembled.
"Old man, you are shaking with fear!" Baron Philip burst into loud laughter until his stomach ached.
"And look, from the very beginning you dared to include both Princess Lyria and Eris in your story." His gaze was condescending, piercing Zhang Xuan who now stood frozen.
"In your story, you even inserted the name of your coffee shop?" The baron drew a long breath before continuing, "Is this an attempt at writing or just advertising your café?"
"Do you wish for your youth to return? To become a handsome Zhang Xuan again?" Baron Philip sneered as he rose from his seat and stepped forward slowly. "How old are you?"
"Fifty-nine, sir."
Laughter erupted in the room. Several contestants and supporting judges behind Baron Philip could not stop themselves from laughing.
"You are disqualified," Philip declared firmly. The supporting judges nodded, while those who had passed the qualification round exchanged mocking remarks.
Zhang Xuan stepped out of the contestant hall with heavy footsteps. Disappointment weighed in his heart; he had thought writing could at least help ease his financial troubles.
Coincidentally, a librarian from the Eastern Continent was seeking a disciple skilled in storytelling. Zhang Xuan believed that if he could become this librarian's pupil, he would no longer have to worry about his industrial magic stone bills.
His coffee shop still relied on a cheap iron machine commissioned from one of the finest dwarven blacksmiths. The machine required a large amount of electricity to run, and the subsidized magic stones from the Kingdom of Ledoira were not enough to maintain its durability.
For that reason, the Rose Merchant Guild had entered a partnership with the royal government to share profits from the sale of industrial magic stones, which could only be obtained from certain dungeons.
The kingdom required all business owners to register their trade with an official business license. This license had to be renewed every two years. With it, entrepreneurs in the Kingdom of Ledoira could gain access to industrial magic stones.
This was stated in the Trade Law passed two decades ago. Industrial magic stones had to be paid for every three months. Even if a business owner used only one stone, they were still required to pay for three.
The regulation sparked massive protests. A proposal to remove Victor, the Merchant Guild's chairman, spread across the capital and even reached neighboring kingdoms. In the end, the King of Ledoira reluctantly abolished part of the requirements listed in the law.
From then on, business owners were only required to pay for the number of industrial magic stones they actually used. If they used one, they paid for one.