During Rei and Orchid's journey to Amalthea Island, Djeeta and the others were not just staying on Ravi Island.
The first thing they did was kill the monsters that had been attacking the town for years and destroy the monster nests near the town.
With so many people working together to kill the monsters, it didn't take long to finish the task.
Meanwhile, Apollonia stayed with Orchis, watching over her as she remained unconscious after her soul returned to her own body.
After that, they gave the people food and daily necessities since they had been running out after ten years of being abandoned alone on the island.
Without any assistance from the Empire, the people had been forced to survive by eating monster meat or struggling to find water in the surrounding desert.
However, the Grandcypher only have a limited amount of supplies, meaning they would eventually run out sooner or later.
Three days later, Orchis finally woke up. At first, she seemed confused about what had happened, but memories from her body began rushing back into her head.
She immediately saw everything Orchid had experienced while using her body—from the day she was created and began using her body to the moment she returned it.
Apollo and Eugen, who were on shift taking care of her, panicked and began checking her body and asking if she was okay.
Thanks to this, Orchis quickly understood everything—how Freesia had tricked her and that her parents were gone.
The first thing she decided to do was fixing her home and take her position as Queen, succeeding her father and mother.
"Apollo... Eugen...?" Orchis muttered while clutching her head.
"Yes, it's me, Orchis. Are you okay? Is your head hurting?" Apollonia asked in a deeply concerned voice.
"Talk to us. Just tell me what you need," Eugen added, his worry matching hers.
As the throbbing in her head started to subside, Orchis finally opened her eyes and looked at both of them.
"I need to find the others. There's something I want to talk to them about."
"Whoa, whoa, stay still! Don't try to stand up like that," Eugen said, rushing to hold Orchis as she attempted to rise from her bed.
"What for? You should rest for now, Orchis," Apollonia added, also trying to stop her from standing.
"No, there's something I need to ask everyone. Please, let me meet with them," she said with a serious expression that left Eugen and Apollonia speechless.
The two exchanged looks, silently questioning what to do, before Eugen sighed. "Alright, I'll go call the others. You just stay here and rest."
"Thank you..." Orchis nodded as Eugen left the room, leaving her alone with Apollonia.
Even though they had been separated for ten years and this should have been a heartfelt reunion, the atmosphere between them was awkward.
Apollonia fidgeted restlessly, rubbing her palms together. She didn't know what to say.
Guilt weighed heavily on her—she felt responsible for Orchis being tricked by Freesia, for failing to protect her and her parents, even though they had cared for her throughout her childhood.
"Apollo." In the end, it was Orchis who broke the silence.
Apollonia jolted in surprise at the sound of her name but remained quiet, her gaze fixed downward.
"You know... The moment I woke up, I was immediately attacked by the memories of my own body."
Apollonia trembled even more, knowing exactly what Orchis meant.
"And I saw everything Orchid saw and felt while she was using my body... and the time I was trapped inside the Deus Ex Machina primal beast."
Orchis turned her gaze to the window, looking at the mesmerizing blue sky.
"I understand why you keep blaming yourself for what my parents and I went through..." Then she turned to look at Apollonia.
"But why did you treat Orchid like that? Even though it clearly wasn't her fault that she used my body."
Tears welled up in Apollonia's eyes as she heard Orchis's words, memories of her last conversation with Orchid in the Enforcer's jail rushing back.
'Thank you for taking care of me during our time together. Goodbye, Black Knight.' Orchid's final words echoed in her mind.
She remembered Orchid's smile whenever they crossed paths. Orchid always smiled, even when she's only walking alongside Rei.
Apollonia had planned to repair her relationship with Orchid before Freesia ruined everything and separated them.
After being imprisoned by the Enforcers, she had repeatedly tried to escape to find and rescue Orchid. But by the time they met again, it was too late.
The Orchid she knew was gone. The new Orchid was confident, wielding her power to protect herself and someone close to her and refusing to be treated as a tool or doll anymore.
Apollonia was happy to see her like that, but the regret lingered—all of that wasn't because of her.
And she had a name now, given to her by someone else: Orchid.
"I'm... sorry," Apollonia finally said, tears streaming down her face as she tried to wipe them away.
She didn't make excuses because she knew everything was her fault, and it was too late to change anything.
"I know... Orchid doesn't blame you at all. I can feel it. She's already forgiven you, but she won't try to get closer to you. She has her own future and friends now," Orchis said softly.
"Hick... hick..." The sound of Apollonia's quiet sobs filled the entire room.
As Apollonia continued crying, Orchis slowly moved closer to her, sitting at the edge of the bed.
Once she was close enough, Orchis gently embraced her, offering comfort despite the anger she still felt. Regardless of everything, Apollonia was her childhood friend.
"What do you want to do, Apollo?" Orchis asked softly.
Apollonia didn't answer immediately, taking a moment to calm her sobbing before finally speaking.
"I want to... reconcile with Orchid. I want to fix my mistake. I don't mind if we don't get close again, but I want to be her friend."
"I see. Then you'll need to work really hard for that."
The room fell into silence as Apollonia slowly calmed down, both of them waiting for Eugen to gather the others.
---
A few minutes later, the crew began to arrive. However, because the room couldn't fit everyone, some stayed outside.
"What's up? You're Orchis, right? Is your body feeling okay?" Vyrn asked as soon as he saw Orchis sitting on the bed.
"I'm fine. I don't feel uncomfortable at all," Orchis replied, her gaze scanning the group.
Djeeta, Lyria, Katalina, Rackam, Eugen, Io, and Rosetta were all present, while the others waited outside.
But Orchis quickly noticed that someone was missing. "Where's Rei?" she asked without thinking.
"Rei? He's on Amalthea Island with Orchid," Djeeta explained. "Something happened there, so the two of them left three days ago to help."
For some reason, Orchis felt a pang of disappointment—and sadness? She shook her head, confused about why she was feeling that way.
"By the way, do you know us? Or what happened after you got trapped inside Deus Ex Machina?" Katalina asked.
"Yes, I know all of you and what happened. I have Orchid's memories from when she was using my body."
"And that's exactly why I asked Eugen to bring everyone here," Orchis continued.
Suddenly, Orchis stood up from the bed, her expression serious as she faced everyone.
"Skyfarer Djeeta Crew, I want to hire you to help me rebuild our empire and support our people. I know this is a massive request, and from Orchid's memories, I understand that your crew has your own destinations and goals...
"But please, I beg you to help us recover the Former Capital Mephorash." She bowed deeply to them.
"I have nothing to offer you as payment, but once our empire is restored, I'll do anything within my power as its queen to repay all of you."
Her earnest plea echoed through the room, creating an awkward silence as the crew processed her words.
This was their first time receiving task as a Skyfarer but the first task they got is a request to restoring an entire empire.
"Me too!" Apollonia suddenly joined in, bowing alongside Orchis. "Please, everyone, help us. I know I've been awful since the day we met, but just this once... help us, please."
Seeing someone like Apollonia bowing sincerely left the crew even more surprised.
The group exchanged glances, silently communicating before nodding to one another.
"Orchis, Apollonia, you don't have to do that," Djeeta finally said with a reassuring smile.
"Of course, we'll help you. As Skyfarers, it's our duty to fulfill our clients' requests."
"And since you two are our first clients, we'll give you a discount!" Lyria added cheerfully.
"We'll help you without any payment—as a celebration for being our first clients!"
"So come on, tell us what you need us to do," Vyrn said proudly, puffing out his chest, though his small dragon form made it a bit comical.
"Yeah," the others chimed in, agreeing wholeheartedly.
Hearing their response, Orchis's eyes began to well up with tears. She knew from Orchid's memories just how kind these people were and how they always helped others.
But she also knew how unreasonable her request was—asking them to help rebuild an entire empire, especially when this was their first official request as Skyfarers.
She hadn't expected them to accept without hesitation, let alone offer to help without demanding any payment.
"Thank... you, everyone," Orchis muttered, trying her best to hold back her tears.
"Of course! So stop bowing like that and just tell us what we should do," Lyria said warmly, helping Orchis stand upright so she wouldn't bow again.
Eugen followed suit, helping Apollonia back to her feet.
"Then the first thing we need to do is build a wall to keep monsters out, and secure food and supplies for the townspeople," Orchis said, touching her chin in thought.
"For the wall and monsters, we already handled that about three days ago," Rackam said. "But the supplies we brought on the Grandcypher are running low."
"And we can't do much about the ruined buildings since Rei's carrying the primal beast with him," Lyria added, explaining that Rei and Orchid had taken the primal beast with them to Amalthea Island to handle a situation there.
"So, until Rei and Orchid return, we'll have to hold off on doing anything with the town structures," Djeeta concluded.
"In that case, we should focus on gathering money first to buy more supplies. Does your empire still have a treasure vault, Orchis?"
"Yes, we did... but I don't know if it's still intact," Orchis replied with a sigh. "Freesia probably stole everything after tricking me and killing my parents."
"So money's the issue now..." Katalina murmured thoughtfully.
"For now, everyone should focus on securing the area around the town and dealing with monsters," Orchis said decisively. "Leave the money problem to me—I'll figure something out."
"Alright then, Queen Orchis, leave the rest to us!" Djeeta said playfully, giving a playful salute.
"Fufu, very well. Djeeta and her crew, you're dismissed. I'll be waiting for good news," Orchis said, playing along with a small smile.