As the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky with hues e and pink, Sarah left the Lord’s Castle. The meeting had ended, but her thoughts were still spinning as she made her way through the dusty streets of Jo City. Her steps were steady but absent-minded, her mind preoccupied with the weight of the discussion and the orders handed down by Her Highness, Ravenna.

  Her home came into view—a modest structure of mud and sandstone, weathered but sturdy, a testament to the craftsmanship of a bygone era. The house had stood lohan Sarah had been alive, its walls bearing silent wito the struggles and joys of tless days.

  As she ehe door creaked slightly, and a cheerful voice immediately greeted her. “Mother! You’re back!”

  A small boy, no older than six, ran toward her with outstretched arms. His smile was as bright as the st rays of sunlight outside. Sarah crouched down, scooping him up into a warm embrace. She kissed his forehead, her worries momentarily melting away.

  “Yes, I’m back,” she said softly, her voice filled with affe. “So, how was css today?”

  The boy’s face lit up with excitement. “I wrote all the letters without a single mistake today! Holiness Ken even gave me an A+ on my ste!”

  “That’s wonderful news!” Sarah beamed, her pride evident.

  As she set her son down, the door opened again, and a man stepped inside. He was in his early thirties, wearing a fisherman’s garb stained with the marks of a long day’s work. His broad shoulders ahered hands spoke of a life spent battling the sea’s whims.

  “Honey, you’re back,” he said, a mix of relief and curiosity in his voice. “How did the meeting with Her Highness go? Did she say anything about the isnd’s situation? Are we getting traders back?”

  This was Angelo, Sarah’s husband and a fisherman w under Richard. His eagerness was evident—like many others in Jo City, he was anxious about the future.

  Sarah offered him a reassuring smile, though her eyes held a trace of exhaustion. “Her Highness didn’t mention much about reeg with mainnd merts,” she admitted. “But she has a pn—a way to make the food situation more manageable.”

  Angelo’s brow furrowed as he leaned closer, his voice filled with hope and uainty. “A pn? How?”

  Sarah gently pced her hand on his arm, her voice tinged with cautious optimism. “Using ice,” she said simply.

  Angelo blinked, stunned. “Ice?”

  Meanwhile, ba the grand halls of the Lord’s Castle, Ravenna sat in her chamber, the air still buzzing with the weight of the earlier meeting. Across from her sat Alice, her trusted atant maid, who had stayed behind for a more private discussion.

  The meeting had been a whirlwind. Ravenna had issued her orders, expined her innovative pn to transport the magical beast fish, and even delved into the meics of creati to Priest James, detailing how it could aid in strug ste facilities easier and how to adapt the designs she gave him. Now, the room was quiet, save for the faint crackle of a ntern.

  “I uand that you’re trying to fix the city’s situation and stabilize the ey,” Alice began, her words measured but firm. “But you’re being reckless! We don’t have a budget to support these grandiose pns of yours. How do you io pay for everything you’ve just ordered?”

  She leaned forward, her voice rising as she tinued, “You want a proper deck built to support trade and fishing operations—that requires manpower. How will you pay the workers? You’ve tasked Sarah with anizing civilians into a militia—where’s the moo pehem? And those people you’ve sent to the northern coastlio set traps fical beasts? We ’t afford any of it!”

  Her frustration boiled over as she smmed her hand oable, the sound eg in the quiet room. “We’re already struggling to pay the volunteers helping with food distribution. Poverty is rampant, and inftion is spiraling out of trol. How are you going to pay anyone? How are you going to make this work?”

  Alice’s words were sharp, but they were genuine. Few dared to speak to Ravenna so bluntly, and fewer still could challenge her so directly. But Alice was different as her childhood friend and Elder Sister Figure. She pressed ooh accusatory and pleading.

  “And then there’s your new administrative and eic policy!” she excimed. “You’ve tralized poroposed paying wages to every citizen since private businesses no longer exist. This means the state is responsible for every single person’s ine. Our treasury ’t hahat! We’re already running on fumes. Maybe we could try reeg with the mainnd Anerts tomorrow to secure funding, but even that—”

  Ravenna raised her hand, sileng Alice mid-sentence. Calmly, she slid a set of dots across the table toward her. “Didn’t you read the policy details carefully?” she asked, her voice steady.

  Alice frowned but nodded. “I did, as soon as you annou. It outlihe specifics of the policy, ahe state must now pay every w citizen a wage since private businesses are abolished. But that only increases our expenses. How are we going to afford it?”

  Ravenna leaned back, her expression unreadable. “I think you’re mistaken,” she said, her voice tinged with quiet fidence. “Look closely.”

  She opened a file, revealiailed dots of budgets, wages, and projes for every individual and business in Jo. Ravenna had meticulously piled the data herself using her reputation system to access the i and spreadsheets streamlining the calcutions.

  “Because we now trol all businesses and produ,” she began, “we also trol the market and wages. Inftion rise as much as it wants, but we adjust prices to ba out. For example…”

  She poio an example in the dotation. “A barber in mainnd Ana typically earns about one copper per er, which averages out to ten silver s a month. That’s because the barber sets their own prices for services. But here, under our system, we dictate the price. A haircut will cost only half a copper , and the barber will earn a fixed wage of five copper s a month.”

  Alice raised an eyebrow. “But won’t the barbers protest if their earnings are cut like that?”

  Ravenna nodded. “They might, if the cost of living weren’t also being adjusted proportionally. Since we trol everything—from food prices to stru costs—we subsidize essentials and lower living expenses across the board. This stabilizes inftion and quells u. It’s not just a policy; it’s a solution to systemistability.”

  She picked up a cookie from the table, taking a small bite before tinuing. “As for reeg with mainnd merts, it’s not a viable option. No one wants to trade with Jo for two reasons. First, because I am the princess who killed her own mother and was exiled. Sed, because Jo is impoverished and holds no market value for them. We must build our strength indepely.”

  Alice stared at Ravenna, her frustration giving way to a mix of awe and disbelief. “So… this wasn’t just a whim?” she asked hesitantly. “You actually thought this through?”

  Ravenna smirked, her fidenwavering. “Every detail,” she said.

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