"Boss, why did you only get back now? You're several months later than originally planned." One of the backbone members of the Revolutionary Army who came to welcome them at the Marleyan capital's port joked half-seriously.
Serena helplessly spread her hands.
"Can't be helped. The fellow countrymen on Paradis Island were just too enthusiastic. They insisted we stay a few more days. What else could I do?"
"Airi!" A tiny figure cheered as she threw herself into Airi's arms beside Serena. Airi crouched down happily and rubbed Zofia's silver-white hair, which looked remarkably similar to her own.
"Whoa! Zofia, you've gotten taller. Last time we met, you didn't even reach my stomach. Now you're almost up to my chest?" Airi compared their heights in surprise.
Seeing Airi's dazed and adorable expression, Serena couldn't help shaking her head with a smile. But this time, Serena had returned because there were important matters she needed to handle.
"Helen, about what you mentioned in the telegram before—what exactly is going on? Explain everything to me in detail."
After recovering a bit, Serena left the port together with the subordinates who had come to receive her. Along the way, she asked about the intelligence they had received not long ago.
Helen was an outstanding female soldier in the Revolutionary Army. Although she had joined somewhat late, her abilities were exceptional. She was deeply trusted by both Serena and Yago, and her personality was rare in its gentleness and generosity. The reason Serena had felt comfortable following Yago back to Paradis Island before was precisely because the Marleyan capital had the reliable Helen assisting there.
"Boss, the situation is very bad. According to our intelligence, combined with information Hizuru helped us obtain, everything confirms one thing—the Marleyans are gathering forces and planning a counterattack."
Helen seriously explained the important intelligence while casually pushing up the glasses on her nose. Yet that simple motion made Serena feel somewhat guilty.
The old Helen had never worn glasses before. According to the other subordinates, Helen had ruined her eyesight from overwork. To properly handle all the issues in the Marleyan capital, Helen slept less than four hours a day. Her once excellent vision had been destroyed within just a few months.
Meanwhile, Serena and Yago, the two leaders of the Eldian Revolutionary Army, had allowed their subordinate to wear herself out alone like that. It was truly shameful!
Of course, while Serena felt guilty, when she thought about Yago, that guy was even lazier than she was. Besides, Yago was the founder of the Eldian Revolutionary Army. If anyone should feel more ashamed, it should definitely be him!
Serena and the others rode in a brand-new automobile toward headquarters under the protection of a full squad of heavily armed Revolutionary Army soldiers. The former Marleyan Ministry of Defense had naturally become one of the spoils after the Revolutionary Army occupied the Marleyan capital. As a result, it had been transformed into the central headquarters of the Eldian Revolutionary Army.
The automobile drove along the broad streets. Perhaps because the appearance of so many fully armed soldiers was too intimidating, many civilians along the roadside hurried back into their homes in fear. The braver ones secretly peeked through cracks in doors and windows to observe what these Eldian soldiers were doing.
Most of these civilians were originally ordinary Marleyan citizens. Aside from living in the Marleyan capital, they were different from those Marleyan nobles who constantly flaunted their status. They were ordinary people too, worrying about three meals a day for survival. Perhaps many of them hated or resisted Eldians deep down, but for them, filling their families' stomachs was far more important.
Likewise, when Yago led the Revolutionary Army soldiers in launching war within the Marleyan capital, the wealthy Marleyans had already fled with their wives and children. Waterways, roads, automobiles, trains, horse carriages—they used every possible method to escape the capital, fleeing the city those noble Marleyans once proudly praised day after day.
But for the poor and ordinary Marleyan civilians, the most practical thing was to huddle together with their families and pray they would survive the artillery fire safely. They didn't dare imagine what the Eldians would do to them after occupying the capital. All they could do was pray for Marley's victory.
Unfortunately, when the high-flying Marleyan flag atop the Ministry of Defense tower was kicked down by a Revolutionary Army soldier and replaced with a new flag representing Eldia, countless Marleyan civilians felt their hearts turn cold.
However, the catastrophic disaster they had imagined never descended upon these ordinary Marleyan civilians. Compared to before, the biggest differences were merely that the wealthy and powerful Marleyans had fled the city, more young Eldian soldiers carrying rifles stood at intersections, and curious-faced people could often be seen observing their surroundings on the streets. (Eldians who had walked out of the Liberio Internment Zone.)
Sometimes, footsteps could be heard stomping across rooftops. Through windows, people could occasionally spot soldiers wearing strange equipment swinging between tall buildings using two cables that could extend and retract.
Other than that, nothing else seemed to have changed.
Gradually, the Marleyan civilians became accustomed to the presence of the Eldian Revolutionary Army, because life still had to continue. The Marleyan civilians slowly stepped out of their homes again. Driven by necessity, some small markets resumed normal operations, and many Eldians also began coming to buy goods or conduct small businesses.
Some workers who originally relied on factories for a living returned nervously to factories now controlled by the Eldian Revolutionary Army. If they didn't resume work soon, their families might starve. To their surprise, although the factories were controlled by Eldians, the Eldians did not harshly mistreat them. They gladly agreed to the workers' requests to resume operations.
The only difference was that many Eldians had appeared in the factories to study and learn. They followed the Marleyan workers to learn from them. Of course, they weren't learning for free—the Eldian Revolutionary Army paid the Marleyan workers extra wages.
And so, after several months, the Marleyan capital rapidly stabilized from the chaos of war and returned to normal order.
At first, many backbone members of the Revolutionary Army had been extremely worried. The radical members believed the Marleyans would never willingly accept their city being occupied by Eldians. They believed those people would surely destroy the city's peace, so it would be better to simply kill all the Marleyans.
The more moderate members worried that their fellow countrymen, oppressed for far too long, might not be able to restrain their desire for revenge and would violently retaliate against the Marleyans.
Yet reality surprised both sides.
Ordinary Marleyan civilians and Eldians actually coexisted fairly normally. The extreme conflicts everyone had anticipated occurred very rarely, leaving many Revolutionary Army cadres deeply puzzled.
Serena gazed through the car window at the peaceful scenery outside. Occasionally, they passed bustling little markets crowded with people, while thick factory chimneys leisurely emitted white smoke.
Faced with such a stable situation, Serena couldn't help praising,
"Helen, maintaining a situation like this must have been incredibly hard on you all. You've done an excellent job!"
Helen pushed up her glasses and smiled.
"This is what we should be doing. Honestly, we're a bit confused ourselves. Oh, right—we also have to thank our fellow countrymen from Paradis Island. Commander Erwin helped us tremendously as well."