Illios POV:
Our stay at the royal castle turned out to be a bland experience, without significant events or meaningful interactions with members of the royal family. Apparently, they did not see us as a threat to their future, which was probably due to the fact that the Phoenix of Fire sect did not support us and, in fact, despised us by denying us access to techniques and knowledge that should have been transmitted to us as children of our mother.
It was our father who decided to involve us in the affairs of the Phoenix sect, as he sympathized with our situation and thought we could find some kind of support or interest from our mother or other members of the sect. Otherwise, we would have no chance in the fight for the throne, especially after we decided to go to the county.
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While Illios waited outside the royal palace for his sister Elena, she was in a dilemma as she did not know how to proceed with regard to the issue of her mission to give birth to Illios' firstborn.
Elena was completely stunned as she sat in the room of the royal castle. She could not believe that the system had chosen her to give birth to Illios' firstborn. It was insane! She did not feel ready to face such a responsibility. She did not want to have children, let alone be a mother.
She had accepted, but now she was hesitant.
"What have I done? How could I accept something like this? I don't want to have a child, I'm not ready to be a mother. I don't know how I'm going to take care of a baby and fight for the sovereignty of the universe at the same time. What am I going to do now? I need a solution. System, is there any way I can cancel this mission to give birth to Illios' firstborn?"
[I'm sorry, the mission cannot be cancelled once accepted. However, there are two artifacts in the store that could help with your concerns. The first is an automated nurturing device that would take care of the baby for you while you're busy, this device is a mother doll. The second is an object that allows you to transfer your pregnancy to that doll so you don't have to suffer through childbirth.]
Elena was surprised to hear the system offer her two options that could help with her situation. The first option sounded interesting, but she couldn't help feeling that she wouldn't be a proper mother if she let a device take care of her child. The second option, on the other hand, left her perplexed. How was it possible to transfer her pregnancy to a doll? The idea seemed strange and a little unsettling to her.
However, Elena knew she had to make a decision quickly. She couldn't afford to delay the mission any further. After thinking for a few minutes, she decided to go to the store to see the artifacts for herself.
Upon arriving at the store, Elena saw the two options on display. The mother doll looked quite realistic and the description of the nurturing device seemed quite promising. But it was the second artifact that caught her attention. It was an object that looked like a crystal egg. According to the description, once activated, the egg would transfer the fetus to the doll, which would then adapt its body for optimal development and could also give birth in less time.
Elena hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to convince Illios to buy the crystal egg and the doll. She knew that the decision to transfer her pregnancy to a doll was not the most conventional option, but she felt it was the best for her and her child.
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Illios thought, "Here she comes," as he watched his calculating sister approach the carriage that would take them to the county.
But for some reason, although she seemed normal, Illios felt that she was quite restless, as if something had affected her usually calm and playful mood. In response, he simply asked to see if it had anything to do with something important.
Illios watched his sister closely as she approached the carriage, trying to decipher what could be bothering her. "Is everything okay, Elena?" he asked curiously, but she quickly replied, "No, nothing's wrong, I'm just a little tired." However, Illios felt a slight tingling inside him, a feeling that told him his sister wasn't being completely honest.
Despite this, he decided not to delve into the matter and simply got into the carriage with her. During the journey, Illios tried to maintain a friendly conversation with his sister, but his mind kept thinking about what he had noticed. Why would Elena be hiding something? Was there something he should know?
However, not wanting to make his sister uncomfortable, he decided not to press her and instead enjoy the scenery unfolding before them. The conversation ended, and both immersed themselves in their own thoughts as the carriage advanced towards its final destination.
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The distance between the empire's capital and the Crystal Moon County was on average, so it took them around 6 days to reach the county's outskirts. Once they arrived, they were met with a rather depressing sight.
As the carriage ventured further into the county, Illios was surprised to see that most of the fields were barren, and the homes looked neglected. Snow covered the ground, and the cold was relentless, even through the closed windows of the carriage.
Suddenly, a large snow-covered mountain appeared on the horizon. Illios remembered that the Ice Phoenix sect was located there, who possessed ice and water techniques that were vital to their future plans.
Upon closer observation, Illios noticed that most of the county's inhabitants seemed to be in a state of extreme poverty, which filled him with sorrow. He wondered how they could survive in these extremely cold conditions without a reliable source of food and resources. At that moment, he felt compassion for the administrator of the place, who was surely doing everything possible to keep his people afloat.
Despite the sad reality before him, Illios was determined to do whatever it takes to help this county thrive.
When they arrived at their place of residence, they saw a small and quite old house. Elena made a disgusted face upon seeing it, clearly unimpressed with their new dwelling.
Illios understood her concern and decided to take action. He approached the system and bought 100 advanced construction droids to remodel and improve the house. The purchase was recorded in the system with the following message:
[Purchase made: 100 advanced construction droids. Price: 10,000,000 universal points.]
Illios sighed before making the purchase. He also realized that he wouldn't want to live in that ugly house and decided to invest in their temporary home to make it more habitable.
The system's super advanced droids did an exceptional job and managed to build a beautiful mansion in just three hours. Elena was amazed by the result and couldn't believe that the house they had seen before could be transformed in that way.
Illios smiled at seeing his sister's shocked face and said, "Don't you like it? We can make some changes if you want." But Elena was so impressed that she didn't know what to say.
"It's incredible," she finally said, "how is it possible that they built all of this in just three hours?"
"These droids are quite efficient," Illios replied with a smile, "and I wanted us to have a comfortable place where we can stay while we complete the mission."
Elena was excited to have a beautiful and comfortable place to stay and felt grateful for her brother's consideration. Now, she just had to worry about their mission and how to solve the dilemma she had been facing since accepting the job.
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After a month of work in the county, Illios felt increasingly frustrated to see the extremely poor living conditions of the inhabitants. He decided he had to do something to improve the situation, so he turned to the resources of the system to revolutionize the local economy.
He invested in the creation of a system of greenhouses and a local market so that farmers could sell their products at fair prices. In addition, he also purchased some expert construction droids to renovate and improve infrastructure, with the excuse that they were relics of the empire.
While he was lost in thought, Elena arrived with two cups of tea. Illios appreciated the gesture but couldn't help worrying about what would happen after the revolution was launched.
Could he really help everyone in the county? Or would he only be creating more problems in the future? Although he had his doubts, Illios knew he had to try.