The Magical Minimum Wage: A Foundational Grind

In a city where magic runs on emotional labor, Leo Finch is done giving more than he gets.
When the burned-out barista inherits his grandfather's failing café, he expects dust, debt, and old regrets-not a sentient magical System built into the walls. The Bootstrap Protocol converts compassion and craft into mana, the city's most precious energy source. Every act of kindness, every well-brewed cup, literally lights up the room.
But the brighter Leo's café burns, the more dangerous it becomes. The Metropolitan Mana Authority-a guild of corporate wizards-won't tolerate a shop that proves empathy is stronger than profit. As inspectors close in and his small miracle threatens to collapse, Leo must decide what he's really building: a business... or a revolution.
With the help of a chaos-witch who refuses to follow recipes, a union rep who speaks in contracts and curses, and a community that refuses to quit, Leo rediscovers what his grandfather always believed-magic isn't meant to be owned. It's meant to be shared.