After flying in the air for less than a day, Elashia arrived at the gates of Yage City.
Under the cover of her [Stealth] skill, Elashia easily slipped into Yage City.
But Yage City, which should have been very lively, seemed unusually quiet today for some reason, as if all the citizens had vanished in an instant.
Looking at the empty streets, Elashia immediately understood—the great trial of Chris was currently taking place.
Recalling that in the game, Chris's first reaction upon learning her situation was dire was to rush to her house to prepare for the handover of city-state affairs she was handling, Elashia knew where she should go.
Remembering the scenes from the game, Elashia walked to a deserted alley.
In her memory, this should be the path Chris would take running home from the citizen assembly.
"Tap tap tap, tap tap tap..."
Hearing the tapping sounds of heels hitting the ground, Elashia immediately confirmed that the person about to appear before her was the consul lady she was looking for.
So she released the effect of [Stealth] and walked openly toward the direction from which the sound came.
Sensing an unfamiliar presence, Chris immediately stopped her running.
In front of citizens, a consul must behave properly.
She might not recognize all citizens, but every citizen could recognize her.
The footsteps grew closer, and both their hearts felt somewhat tense.
Chris thought to herself—no matter who she encountered next, as long as she bowed and pretended to walk by normally, it would be fine.
As a consul, she needed to be elegant and polite when facing citizens—this was also one of Chris's principles.
And Elashia's mind contained the speech she had already prepared.
The moment they met at the corner, Chris bowed slightly to Elashia and planned to leave.
But Elashia spoke up and stopped her steps.
"Dear Miss Consul, it seems you've encountered some trouble."
Chris's steps paused. She didn't turn around, just stood there.
"Respected citizen, if you have nothing else, please excuse me as I go complete my official duties first."
Just as Elashia was about to speak, the system's notification sounded.
[System Task Issued]
[Task One: Immediately reveal your identity and invite Chris to take a position in the Elasia Empire—"Your current situation probably doesn't look good. Now there's a bigger stage waiting for you. Will you come to Elasia?" Task Reward: Sublight Speed Draw Slash (Combat Technique)]
[Task Two: Don't reveal your identity first, persuade Chris to escape—"If you want to flee, who can stop you?" Task Reward: Hellfire (Spell)]
[Task Three: Persuade Chris to simply learn from yourself and stage a coup—"With your prestige in the city-state guard, who would dare not listen to you? Those troublemakers don't have weapons anyway, just kill them all directly?" Task Reward: Mage level increases by three]
[Task Four: Don't say so much to her, just ask one question—"Even at a time like this, you're still thinking about your city-state affairs. Is it really worth it?" Task Reward: Warrior level increases by one]
Looking at task one, Elashia thought about it. Although the reward was indeed tempting, she decided to give up for now.
The current Chris had encountered such things without any warning and was full of vigilance and unease about everything around her.
Suddenly revealing her identity and purpose might very well lead to unnecessary misunderstandings, and might even make her think she was the mastermind behind it all.
Looking at task two again.
Elashia immediately gave up after one look.
For the current Chris, Yage City was everything to her. Persuading her to abandon Yage City and flee for her life was absolutely impossible to succeed.
Moreover, you had to know that Yage City was a city surrounded by desert. Leaving Yage City was easy, but surviving the desert was not.
So here, exile was infinitely equivalent to the death penalty.
Task three... every task had those few heaven-defying but seemingly reasonable options...
Actually, if Chris really did this, she would probably succeed with high probability.
The troublemakers without weapons wouldn't take long to worship her as a deity.
But Elashia absolutely couldn't say this.
Not only because Chris wouldn't listen to her, but also—she had just been slandered by Stephen as a military dictator, and hearing this suggestion might make her very angry with herself.
Looking at task four, Elashia decided to play it safe, after all, this was her first meeting with this white-haired big sister.
"Miss Consul, even at a time like this, you're still thinking about your city-state. Is it really worth it?"
Chris's body trembled.
"As long as I'm still the consul of Yage City, completing the city-state's affairs is my duty."
Chris stepped forward and walked steadily toward her home.
Watching her from behind, Elashia smiled.
Chris's answer was indeed as she expected.
In the game, if Elashia didn't intervene, Chris would die like this in the "general will" of the people she protected with her life.
In the end, Yage City would also be destroyed in the magical beast tide half a year later.
Somewhat curious about Chris's combat power, Elashia used [Appraisal] on Chris from behind.
[Character: Chris]
[Occupation: Warrior]
[Occupation Branch: Inquisitor]
[Warrior Level: 10]
[Strength: 50]
[Agility: 100]
[Position: Yage City Consul]
[Faction: Yage City-State]
[Skills:]
[Embodiment of Justice]: Threat level against criminals greatly increased; just one look can make criminals feel chilled.
[Guardian of the City-State]: Command ability and combat power in small-scale battles greatly increased.
Looking at Chris's status panel, Elashia became even more determined to poach her.
This was simply the most suitable security chief for the Elasia Empire!
Although her warrior level was far inferior to military personnel like Cecilia, dealing with internal security issues in Elasia was more than sufficient.
Plus with her two passive skills, as long as she could be poached, Elashia and Candice wouldn't need to worry about the Elasia Empire's security anymore!
Moreover, as a consul, she could also help Candice share some governmental affairs.
This person—Elashia was determined to poach her.
But Elashia knew—she couldn't be hasty yet.
In the game, the fastest way for "Elashia" to poach Chris was—to send a military force to directly station outside Yage City, then threaten Chris.
This way Chris would compromise for the sake of preserving the city-state.
But this would cause her skills to be unable to function.
Her security-related passive skills could only activate in places she recognized as her "home."
That is to say, if she came to Elasia unwillingly, the role she could play would be greatly reduced.
However, Elashia had already prepared to make her "willingly" come to her "new home."