Entering the city, Yin got bored of exploring rather quickly as Asharia had everything and more. Most of the things here were lacklustre. The quality of items being sold were also rather poor as most of the experienced crafters are either dead or elsewhere.
Considering how the Queen had spared the civilians from the Vatican initially, Yin could guess that she wasn't a tyrant so getting manpower would be rather difficult. It was a surprise that a Queen like this even survived for this long.
Scanning the city with her senses, Yin had an map of the city in her mind. Compared to trying to remember everything in Asharia, this was easy.
Sitting down on the balcony in one of the restaurants, Yin glanced at the city while Lisandra was next to her.
"Say sis, I have a weird thought bugging my mind for a while and I want your input." Yin said as Lisandra glanced up.
"Hm?"
"Once everything is over, what would mum do? What would her purpose be. I've been with her the longest aside from Lyrica. Her goal has always been revenge. The thought of protecting everything came later. But what do you think she'll do once everything is over? Once she got revenge and once she protected everyone. What would become of Asharia, the world, the people from Asharia." Yin asked as Lisandra thought about it for a moment.
"I can't help but think mum would be lost. She tries to get a hobby but she always gives up on it for fighting. You can't really call experimenting her hobby since she's using it to help her fight better. I think mum might 'snap' once everything is over. Nothing to fight, no need to act as a protector. She'll be bored out her mind and snap. And here's where my weird thought comes in." Yin glanced at Lisandra with seriousness.
"Do you think mum would be happier dying once everything is over? Not that I want her to die of course but I can't help but worry about her mental state."
"Hmm… I don't know. I agree with you on that mum would be lost. Though I think it shouldn't go as extreme as thinking would she be happier with dying. Rather it would be better to help her find more things worth going for. Let's say if Helion and Madison were to have children and their children have grand children, I'm pretty sure mum would want to watch over them and keep them safe with Madison. Same goes for anyone she cares about. That's just how she is. If anything, she places the burden on herself but at the same time, she enjoys that. She gets joy from seeing the people she care about being happy. But most importantly, I think it should be something we think about once the time comes rather than now." Lisandra shrugged as Yin nodded with a grin.
"Ahhh so good to have you around. Without you big sis might keep thinking of depressing topics." Yin laughed as she leaned back on her chair.
Hugging Lisandra and making sure she didn't hurt her, Yin flicked her finger and swung wide the door with her mana before the subordinate could even knock.
"Lead us to her. It took you long enough." Yin said as the subordinate nodded his head and bowed. Gesturing for them to follow him out, they made their way to the main castle in the heart of the city.
To be honest, Yin didn't even need them to show her the way since she could sense where most of their man power was being gathered. While her senses may not be as outrageous as Shiro's, she could still easily sense everything going on in a tiny city like this one.
Arriving at the castle, they were led to a giant room with a large table in the centre. Standing by the table was Morin who was nervous inside as she wasn't too keen on dealing with Yin and Lisandra.
If things don't go well, she hopes that most of them would be spared.
Seeing how nervous Morin was, Yin decided to not bully the Queen or else Lisandra would be unhappy.
Waving her hand, a cage appeared with the supposed culprits.
"Can I assume that these were the ones who killed your men?" Yin asked as Morin glanced at the group locked up, unable to do anything.
Glancing back at her subordinates, they nodded their heads with hatred in their eyes.
"Yes they are. May I ask what you plan to do with them?" Morin asked as she gestured for Yin to sit down.
Only when Yin sit down did Morin follow as Yin was the dominant party in this discussion.
"Well I wanted us to discuss what we could do for you to pardon these guys. Of course, I'm not trying to bully you here but we do need the people of the Vatican to be alive. These bad apples however, can be punished depending on the severity of their crimes." Yin said as she crossed legs and narrowed her eyes.
"So far, they have broken into the city, killed 5 guards and raided one of our supply warehouses. While they didn't burn things down, most of the food was destroyed with them taking what they needed. It's already hard enough to feed everyone in the city considering what's going on outside of the city and now these people have broke into one of the larger food warehouses. If we want to keep emergency supplies we'll need to start rationing our food more than we have before." Morin said as Yin thought about it before glancing at the group.
"Is that so. It is of my personal belief that bad apples like this should be disposed of quickly before more harm is done. However, my mother does like to give second chances so I have a suggestion that may be beneficial for both parties. Of course, I'm not pressuring you here. Because between you and me, I don't really care about the lives of these people. The other citizens are a different question but for these criminals, no mercy. However, before my sister lectures me, I do want to avoid some blood shed so let's discuss a way to please both you and the Vatican Refugees." Yin clapped her hand with a smile.
"I assume that you'll let bygones be bygones should they die right?"
Nodding her head, Morin wondered where Yin was taking this.
"So what if let's say they were to become your slaves for a time. You can send them on missions to procure twice the amount of food they have stolen and damaged and once they do, they're free. Of course, sending them on obviously suicidal missions is a no but should they die of accidental deaths then it's on them rather than you. They get to live and be free if they do their job, you get the food the stole and the Vatican's are happy. What do you think?" Yin offered as Morin thought for a moment and glanced at her subordinates. While they were unhappy that their killers were allowed to live, they knew that killing them wouldn't change anything.
Leaning over, one of the subordinates whispered into her ear as Morin nodded her head.
"That is acceptable. We'll take these people as temporary slaves until they finish gathering twice the amount of food they have taken and damaged. Once this is done, we'll free them. I am willing to activate a contract to ensure that both parties hold their word." Morin said as Yin smiled.
"Perfect. Nice and simple." Yin grinned. Before she could write up a contract, Lisandra nudged Yin.
"Hm?"
Raising her eyebrow, Yin received a text from Lisandra. Reading the text, Yin thought about it for a moment before nodding her head.
"Alright. By the suggestion of my sister and on my authority as the leader of the Food Hall in Asharia, we'll compensate you for the food they have taken and more so that your city does not need to ration due to their damages. Naturally, this is free of charge. We'll even enlist some of our adventurers in the city to collect food for your city, provided that there is payment for their jobs. We'll cover a portion of the cost using Asharia Adventurer laws but you still need to pay 70%. That way, food shortages should no longer be a problem for you while it also gives our adventurers more work. What do you think about this? Should you agree, we'll build a branch of the Asharia Adventurer's Guild within this city and open a teleport hall to allow our Adventurers free travel between cities. Should your citizens apply for a permit they are allowed to enter Asharia through the teleport hall and explore the city. Since my mother does not want to kill Queens if possible, opening a partnership between our two cities should be beneficial for you as a Queen with a personality like yours is a rarity in this age." Yin offered with a smile.
While Yin was saying this, Lisandra had sent Nan Tian the info and he quickly drafted up a contract for them.
As for the alliance part of the contract, that could be done once Shiro was back.
Reading through everything, Morin was a little hesitant.
"Can you give me two days to think about this?" She asked as it was a little too good to be true.
"Of course, take your time. My main priority has been dealt with anyways." Yin smiled, gesturing to the 'slaves'.
Fulfilling the first agreement for Morin to forgive the Vatican people, Yin and Lisandra left the building so that they could consider the offer from Asharia.
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