A stable capital
"Big Sister, why are you only just getting back? You're several months later than we agreed," a key member of the Restoration Army said half-jokingly as they came to greet them at the port of Marley Capital.
Selina shrugged helplessly. "There's nothing I can do. The people on Paradis Island are so hospitable; they insist we stay a few more days. What can I do?"
"Sister Aili!" A small figure cheered and rushed to Selina's side into Aili's arms. Aili also squatted down and happily ruffled Zofia's silver-white hair, which was so similar to her own.
"Wow! Zofia, you've grown taller! Last time we met you weren't even up to my belly, but now you're almost up to my chest!" Aili exclaimed in surprise, comparing Zofia's height to hers.
Selina couldn't help but laugh and shake her head at Aili's adorable expression, but Selina had also returned with very important matters to attend to.
"Helen, what exactly did you say in the Telegram? Tell me in detail." Having recovered, Selina left the port with her welcoming subordinates. On the way, Selina inquired about the intelligence that had recently arrived.
Helen is an excellent female warrior of the Restoration Army. Although she joined a bit late, she is very capable and has earned the trust of Selina and Yago. She is also a rare kind and gentle person. The reason why Selina felt at ease going back to Paradis Island with Yago was because she had a trustworthy assistant like Helen in the Marley Capital.
"Boss, the situation is very bad. According to our intelligence combined with the intelligence obtained with the help of the Hizuru, it all confirms one thing: the Marleyan are gathering their forces, intending to launch a counterattack." Helen explained the important intelligence earnestly, and she also pushed up her glasses on her nose, a gesture that made Selina feel a little guilty.
Helen had never worn glasses before. According to her subordinates, Helen had ruined her eyesight in the past few months because she was overworked and Helen been sleeping less than four hours a day in order to handle various problems in the Marley Capital.
On the other hand Selina and Yago, as the two leaders of the Eldia Revival Army, let their subordinates get so exhausted on their own. It's really shameful!
Of course, Selina felt guilty, but when she thought of Yago, that guy was even lazier than her, and besides, Yago was the founder of the Eldia Revival Army. If anyone should be embarrassed, it was Yago!
Selina and her companions rode in a brand-new car, escorted by a squad of fully armed Restoration Army Soldiers, towards the Command Headquarters. The former Marley Ministry of Defense, after the Restoration Army occupied the Marley Capital, naturally became their spoils of the Restoration Army, and was thus transformed into the Eldia Revival Army's Command Headquarters.
As the car drove along the wide street, perhaps because the large number of Soldiers, fully armed, looked too ferocious, many citizens along the street were frightened and went back into their houses. The bolder ones secretly opened the cracks in their doors or windows to observe what these Eldia Soldiers were doing.
Most of these citizens were originally ordinary Marley. Apart from living in the Marley Capital, they were different from the self-important Marley Nobility. They were also ordinary people who worried about their daily meals. Perhaps many of them disliked or even resisted the Eldians, but for them, feeding their families was the most important thing.
Similarly, while Yago led the Restoration Army fighters to wage war in the Marley Capital, the wealthy Marleyan had already fled with their wives and children by water, land, car, Train and carriage, trying every possible means to escape the Marley Capital, the very capital that many Nobility Marleyan were so proud of.
However, for most of the poor and ordinary citizens of Marley, the most practical thing to do was to hug each other and pray for their safety amidst the gunfire. They dared not think about what the Eldians occupied the Marley Capital; they could only pray that the Marleyan would win.
Unfortunately, when the Marley flag flying high atop the Marley Ministry of Defense tower was kicked down by the Eldia Revival Army soldiers and replaced with a new flag representing Eldia, the hearts of many Marley citizens were broken.
However, the imagined catastrophe did not befall these ordinary Marley citizens. The only difference from their previous lives was that the wealthy and powerful Marleyan had fled the city, and young Eldia Soldiers carrying guns were seen at various intersections. On the streets, one could always see people with curious expressions observing their surroundings (Eldians had left the Liberio Internment Zone).
Sometimes, the sound of footsteps could be heard from the rooftops, and occasionally, through the windows, one could see Soldiers wearing strange devices swinging between tall buildings on two ropes that could be of varying lengths.
Apart from these, nothing else seemed to have changed. Gradually, the citizens of Marley got used to the presence of the Eldia Revival Army. As life had to go on, the citizens of Marley gradually came out of their homes. Due to necessity, some small Market returned to normal, and many more Eldians came to buy or do small business.
Some workers who relied on factory work returned with trepidation to the factories controlled by the Eldia Revival Army. If they didn't work, their families might go hungry. To their surprise, the workers found that although the factories were under Eldians control, the Eldians didn't mistreat them and readily agreed to their request to return to work. However, many more Eldians were now in the factory learning from the Marley workers. Of course, this learning wasn't for nothing; the Eldia Revival Army would pay the Marley workers extra wages.
In this way, within a few months, the Marley Capital quickly stabilized from the war and got back on track. At first, many of the core members of the Restoration Army were very worried. The radical core members believed that the Marleyan would definitely not be willing to be occupied by the Eldians in their city, and that those guys would definitely destroy the peace of the city. They thought they might as well kill Marleyan.
The more moderate core members worried that their compatriots, who had been oppressed for too long, might not be able to suppress their anger for revenge and might retaliate against the Marleyan. However, reality surprised both sides. In fact, ordinary Marley citizens and Eldians lived together quite normally, and the extreme conflicts that had been expected rarely occurred. This puzzled many of the Restoration Army's core members.
Selina looked out the car window at the peaceful scene outside. Every now and then, they would pass by a bustling little Market, and many factory chimneys would leisurely belch white smoke.
This stable situation prompted Selina to exclaim in admiration, "Helen, you've worked so hard to achieve this! You've done an excellent job!"
Helen pushed up her glasses and said with a smile, "Big Sister, this is what we should do. Actually, we were a little confused ourselves. Oh, and we should also thank our compatriots on Paradis Island. Commander Erwin also helped us a lot."