Olivia explained that her country was located nearby and, due to its growing population, was currently undertaking a pioneering expansion—expanding outward to seek other habitable lands.
Moreover, since Olivia's country had no neighboring nations—only unclaimed wilderness—the principle of "first come, first served" naturally applied.
However, the absence of other nations was also due to the region's inhospitable terrain. To the north lay the Northern Territory, where extreme cold made survival impossible for ordinary people. The area where they currently stood was mostly covered by forests and mountains.
In ancient times, when productivity was low, a nation's strength was directly proportional to its population. A larger population required more food, which in turn necessitated vast stretches of fertile plains for agriculture. Therefore, a nation situated amidst forests and mountains faced significant obstacles to achieving true power.
Olivia's country had developed for three generations before embarking on its first major pioneering expansion.
When the topic of land reclamation came up, Olivia clicked her tongue and said, "If you ask me, since there are no plains here, just endless forests, I'd just set the whole place on fire and burn all the trees down. Then it would be a plain, right?"
Jay immediately exclaimed in shock, "Absolutely not!"
Tribios added, "Trees are precious natural resources. Burning them is far worse than cutting them down."
Olivia looked genuinely puzzled. "Wood is precious? It's everywhere! And aside from burning it for warmth in winter, what else is it good for?"
Her question hung in the air: What else can wood be used for? Because its uses were so vast—the sheer number of things that could be made from it—Tribios found herself momentarily at a loss for words.
After a moment's thought, Tribios suggested, "Building houses, of course! Don't you use wood to build houses?"
Olivia replied, "Yes, but we don't need that much. Our country only has so many people; building more houses wouldn't help."
Tribios countered, "What about wooden furniture? Musical instruments? Shipbuilding? Or even paper and pencils?"
Olivia said, "For furniture, all you need is a bed to sleep on, right? As for musical instruments, can wood even make instruments? And what's the point of them anyway? You'd be better off plowing another field instead of wasting time playing the lyre and singing love songs."
"And shipbuilding? There aren't any rivers around here. Also, what are paper and pencils?"
After hearing Olivia's words, Tribios fell silent for a moment. She realized Olivia's country's productivity was so low that even if given unlimited raw materials, they couldn't process them all—they simply had no use for them.
Seeing Tribios' silence, Olivia blinked and continued, "I don't really understand what you're saying, Little Trib, but it sounds amazing! Are you a noble from somewhere? After all, you're so beautiful and wearing so many gorgeous accessories."
Tribios' hair was adorned with golden hairpins and white flower-shaped hair ornaments. Her wrists and ankles were circled with bracelets and anklets, and rings adorned her toes—every inch was adorned with ornate jewelry. The extravagant display only accentuated Tribios' already striking beauty, elevating her appearance to new heights of elegance.
In stark contrast, Olivia wore a simple, coarse linen dress, her hair tied back with a strand of straw.
Looking at them side by side, Tribios seemed more like a royal princess, while Olivia appeared to be her attendant—a guard or follower.
Jay remarked, "Still, a half-elf noble? That's incredibly rare."
In this era, humans, elves, dwarves, and other races didn't coexist peacefully as they would in the future. Instead, they were locked in a state of mutual animosity and constant warfare.
Half-elves of this era were typically born from elves captured as slaves by humans after military defeats, often the result of forced unions during brutal treatment.
Because they were born of slaves, human fathers rarely acknowledged half-elf children as their own, while elf mothers considered them a disgrace. Consequently, half-elves were despised by both humans and elves, occupying the lowest rung of society.
Therefore, a half-elf like Tribios, whose noble origins were evident at first glance, could no longer be described as "rare"; she was practically "impossible." Jay couldn't imagine what kind of family would raise a half-elf with such extravagant care.
However, Tribios shook her head. "I'm not a noble. Actually, I'm..."
Just as she was contemplating whether to reveal her demigod status, Olivia suddenly interjected, "Forget about all that! What matters is how much you know, Little Trib! So, how about helping me govern the kingdom?"
Jay was stunned. "Wait, you're going to involve someone you just met in state affairs? Are you serious?"
Olivia pouted. "Why not? What could anyone possibly want from this poor, remote place, the Augustus Grand Duchy?"
"Besides, meeting is fate! Little Trib doesn't know how she ended up here, and we don't know how we got here either. Such a coincidence can't possibly be a conspiracy! I trust her implicitly!"
Tribios suddenly realized something. "Wait, are you saying you don't even know how you got here?"
"Exactly!" Olivia replied without hesitation. "We're lost! Right now, our top priority is finding a way back!"
Tribios was speechless.
After a moment of silence, she thought it over and finally agreed. After all, they hadn't made any progress in finding the Seven Heroes, so going to a human settlement couldn't hurt.
Moreover, both the current situation and the people before her gave her an inexplicably strong sense of déjà vu—a feeling of being "picked up" immediately after transmigrating.
The only difference was that before it was "transmigrating between worlds," while this time it was "transmigrating through time."
Tribios shook her head. "I can go back with you, but governing a country... I really don't know how to do that. It'd be better if I didn't cause you any trouble, right?"
Olivia laughed. "No worries! I don't know how to govern a country either! We'll just wing it! Even if you mess up, no one will blame you!"
Upon hearing these words, Tribios was momentarily stunned. She gazed at the Princess, the nation's future ruler, and felt a sudden wave of despair for the country's future.
Just wing it? Is that really something a ruler should say? How utterly unreliable!
And what's this about everyone forgiving you if you mess up? The tolerance of this nation's people was absurdly high!
But these thoughts remained unspoken. Tribios silently followed the trio. Jay spoke up, "Though I already introduced myself earlier, it's best to formally repeat it now. Just call me Jay. As you can see, I'm a Wizard."
Then, Jay pointed to Olivia and the silent 'Giant' beside her, saying, "This unreliable white-haired girl is the future ruler. As you've seen, she has no regal bearing whatsoever. Just treat her like any ordinary person—she'll actually be more uncomfortable if you're too deferential."
"Oh, by the way, she's also a warlock."
"A... a warlock?!" Tribios exclaimed in shock, recalling Olivia's earlier use of Divine Smite. Could that be right?
Jay wasn't surprised by Tribios' reaction. He called out into the air beside Olivia, "Hey! Brat! Where are you? Come out for a sec!"
As Jay spoke, a creature materialized beside Olivia—a small, black-and-white puppy with blue eyes. Or, more accurately, a Husky puppy!
The Husky puppy crossed its paws over its chest, wearing an unmistakably annoyed expression as it snapped at Jay, "What 'brat'? My name's Half! Show some respect!"
Jay sneered. "Respect? For you? Beat me first, then we'll talk!"
The little Husky named Half immediately bared his teeth. "You little punk! You're done for! I'll tear you to shreds!"
Then, Tribios watched as the small Husky leaped onto Jay's face, clawing wildly at him.
Caught completely off guard, Jay didn't react in time and was instantly knocked to the ground by the Husky. Soon, man and dog were locked in a chaotic scuffle.
"Damn it! Get your claws off my face, you mutt!"
"Serves you right for insulting me, you brat!"
Tribios stared in stunned silence for several seconds before whispering to Olivia, "Who exactly is this Half?"
Olivia explained, "He's my Lord. Well, it's a bit complicated. A few years ago, when I was trading supplies with the Barbarians in the Northern Territory, I stumbled upon Half, who was on the verge of death. He claimed that signing a Contract with me was the only way for him to survive, so I did, and became a Warlock."
"However, I'm also a Paladin. Jay only mentioned Warlock, probably trying to scare you. But Half is different from the other Lords; he's never asked me to do anything."
Olivia's words carried a great deal of weight. While it's true that 99% of Warlocks are evil, the rare exceptions within their ranks aren't entirely unheard of.
Consider the Patrons of other Warlocks—they're typically demons dwelling in the Nine Hells, obscure Evil Gods, or other monstrous entities. Yet Olivia's Patron... well, he's truly something else.
By now, the battle between Half and Jay was nearing its end. Jay had Half in a chokehold, grinning triumphantly. "Heh heh, little runt! Who's the one about to kick the bucket now?!"
Half flailed wildly, his tongue lolling out, "Damn you, human! Your arms are too long! You're such a cheat!"
It's worth noting that humans can easily defeat most animals of similar size using their bare hands through a simple chokehold.
Even a strong adult Husky, if successfully choked, is doomed by its anatomy. As long as the human maintains the grip, the dog cannot escape and will slowly be strangled to death.
Of course, attempting a chokehold on a lion or tiger would merely serve as an appetizer for the predator.
Watching the scene unfold, Tribios couldn't help but inwardly sigh, Are these two really so weak?
One was a Wizard who needed a chokehold to defeat a puppy, while the other was a Warlock "Lord" defeated in hand-to-hand combat by the same Wizard.
In truth, the relationship between Warlocks and their Lords isn't always one of complete subservience. For example, Olivia possessed the power to instantly kill Half, and even if Half gave her an order, she could simply ignore it.
After a moment, Half was choking, his eyes rolling back in his head. He frantically clawed at Jay's arm, yelling, "I surrender! I surrender! I was wrong! I'm dying!"
"Heh, good that you admit your mistake!" Jay finally released the little creature, but the victory in this 'battle' came at a steep price. Four or five angry red scratches marred his face. Jay touched his cheek and immediately wailed, "Damn it! How am I supposed to charm the girls tonight with this?!"
Just as he finished speaking, he caught Tribios's disdainful expression. Jay coughed awkwardly. "Ahem! Let's get back to the topic at hand!"
He gestured toward the silent giant. "This fellow's name is Tide. He's a Barbarian and doesn't talk much, so don't mind him."
Hearing his name, Tide finally glanced at Tribios and rumbled, "Hello."
-
Note:
In this world's setting, national ranks are divided into Grand Duchies, Kingdoms, and Empires, with Grand Duchies being the smallest. Theoretically, anyone could gather a few hundred or a thousand people, build a city, and declare themselves a Grand Duchy. In this timeline, due to the lack of any real cost, Grand Duchies are countless. The "All Nations Alliance" alone boasts over a thousand of them, large and small.
Next comes the Kingdom. These nations have risen above the Grand Duchies through overwhelming military might. For a Kingdom to attack a Grand Duchy is no different than crushing an ant.
Finally, there's the Empire. Only the most powerful nations would even consider claiming the title of "Emperor." However, no Empires exist in this timeline. In fact, throughout history—even three hundred years into the future in the standard timeline—only one Empire has ever been established: the Dragon Ember Empire.