Regarding the restless movements from the southern aristocracy and church, Gawain felt no surprise at all—in fact, in a way, it was the very actions he had strategically incited step by step.
The alchemical potions business, which nearly shattered the original market, the revolutionary Magic Web technology, the mining machinery—these brought unprecedented wealth to the southern aristocracy, but at the same time, even the dimmest of these aristocrats realized that they were gradually being economically influenced and controlled by the Cecil Clan. On the other hand, through Viscount Andrew of Tanzan Town acting as an "agent," nearly half of the current ore business in the south had fallen into the hands of the Cecil-Leslie alliance, suppressing those aristocratic leaders who happened to command the greatest military forces in the south—after all, controlling ore meant controlling resources for forging weapons, which meant the ability to build and maintain a powerful army.
