Facing BS Smoke Tune, the first thing Rita asked was, How many of your kin are willing to follow you to BS?

This would determine how she dealt with BS Smoke Tune and what limits she needed to set.

BS Smoke Tune crossed her arms with easy confidence. At Rita's question, she tapped her left arm lightly with the finger of her right hand. Instead of looking uneasy, she answered happily, None.

Rita's attention was drawn to that pale, slender hand. She finally noticed lines of red text on Smoke Tune's right hand, beginning at the second knuckle of her ring finger and spreading all the way to her wrist.

It was probably written in Vineborne script. Rita did not know the language yet. It resembled a long line of ancient Greek to her eyes.

Her gaze passed over it as if she did not care, but inwardly she nudged B8017913 to take a look later, not now.

But halfway through her thought, the little machine already snapped its head upward and stared at Smoke Tune's hand.

Rita: ......…

BS Smoke Tune followed the robot's gaze to her hand and let out a soft laugh. She lifted it, turning the text toward Rita. Want to know what it means?

Rita felt miserable. Ignoring the mocking looks Mistblade and Pine Bloom shot her, she answered with a very serious expression, Yes… if that's alright.

Smoke Tune's smile brightened as if she had thought of something amusing. Before I tell you, you need to know what showing someone your ring finger means in Vineborne culture. She lifted her hand to her lips to hide her grin.

Rita scratched her chin awkwardly. Haha… what does it mean?

Mistblade shouted, Why are you suddenly blushing?!

Rita glared back. I'm not, knock it off!

Pine Bloom kept her eyes fixed on the air as if watching something, unwilling to blink. I suggest you check the world battlefield chat before deciding whether to be embarrassed. It's full of Dawn Cicada's flaming posts.

Crab was also watching with great interest, nodding while furiously typing, so absorbed it could not even be bothered to speak.

Rita snapped at Pine Bloom, I said I'm not embarrassed!

Sea Pony threw its tiny arms toward the sky in a dramatic pose and yelled, Bless you, my beloved BS Adjudicator, you just touched Dawn Cicada's second reverse scale!

Nivalis said calmly, Dragons only have one.

Sea Pony replied, Whatever, Dawn Cicada has two.

Nivalis added, Nice job, Rita. I give this move an 8.6.

Sea Pony asked, Why 8.6?

Nivalis answered, Because I feel like she already had 1.4.

This decades old BS joke made newcomer Sea Pony howl with laughter.

Rita: ......

Her headache intensified. She should have added clauses banning Sea Pony from visiting Nivalis and banning it from going online.

BS Smoke Tune laughed for a while before holding up her tattooed hand again. In a gentle voice she said to Rita, The Vineborne text means, War and wailing keep me from blooming.

You don't need to give me anything, because what I desire is something you cannot give. I can sign a pact not to harm your people, but beyond that, I can offer nothing. I am Vineborne.

No matter how much she hated war, she was Vineborne.

No matter how much her own kin rejected her, she was Vineborne.

She could not and would not aid the future enemies of Vineborne.

Rita stayed silent awhile. The anxious tightness in her eyes faded. In a lighter tone she asked, Can you make BS more beautiful?

BS Smoke Tune blinked. What?

Rita repeated patiently, Make BS prettier. Make its land, its towns, its mountains and rivers… more beautiful.

The more she said it, the happier her tone grew. She thought, This is good too, isn't it?

Rita continued, I don't need any buffs or special effects. I don't know where BS is headed, but if it truly must break, then let it at least become more beautiful before that happens.

What I can give you is this. Every weekend I'll take you to another world to wander around. Sightseeing, clearing your mind, taking a flight, visiting worlds that haven't shattered yet.

Mistblade said with admiration, That sounds so romantic. Pine Bloom, did you sync this conversation to battlefield chat?

Pine Bloom replied, Crab already did. It's way beyond simple flaming now. Looks like the battlefield is at the final descent stage.

Crab answered while still typing at high speed, Not calm at all.

Nivalis added, Lots of blood on the battlefield channel already.

Rita: ...... Enough, all of you.

Not needing to help BS fight Dawn and being able to visit other worlds freely made the proposal very appealing. BS Smoke Tune agreed.

But on one condition. She had to accept an official BS position. Only then could BS monitor her.

This also protected her. If threatened, she could strike back within the rules.

BS Announcement: Welcome Vineborne player BS SmokeTune to BS. BS SmokeTune is appointed City Lord of Meow Tavern.

It was a position Rita struggled to invent. One without real authority, but enough for BS to detect whenever Smoke Tune used any skill on players.

Finally, it was over.

Rita still refused to open battlefield chat, even as Sea Pony and Nivalis clung to each other alternating between cursing and laughing, and even B80 put down its console.

She waved at the new leaders. Come on. I'll take you to BS. You can decide where to expand your territories.

The newcomers followed her downward. With negotiations done, Rita felt much more at ease.

Even if they hadn't negotiated, they could still descend, but that would have meant constant risk of internal war.

Rita had already updated Shadow.Q, who would notify the legion commanders so players would not panic.

The first to settle was Crab. She only needed to bring them to the ocean.

Next was Pine Bloom. Four Seasons City could float, so she chose the skies above the sea.

As the city's phantom solidified, as if walking out of another timeline, various crabs began dropping from about ten meters above the surface.

Rita suddenly remembered she had forgotten something. She knew how many Skycrabs there were because BS had told her. About one billion. But she didn't know how many Owls had chosen to follow Pine Bloom.

So she asked, How many Owls are coming with you?

Pine Bloom, eyes still on Four Seasons City, replied, At least half.

Rita froze. Half?

Four Seasons City won't hold them all. You'll need to give me another territory. Pine Bloom frowned at this, then added, Yes. Maple Syrup has immense charisma. Many Owls adore her, but they also fear her, and the closer war gets, the more they fear her.

Peach Crown is proper, strict, and boring. So the Owls who favor me make up at least half. And due to certain reasons you probably already know, they chose to follow me to a new world.

Rita recalled what Lidian had once said about the skill Dead Loyal. With a skill like that, countless casual followers… no, countless ordinary Owls would naturally prefer Pine Bloom.

She also remembered what Nivalis once said about Mistblade. She is the Moon Sovereign with the most followers among the nine.

Rita turned her head slowly toward Mistblade. And the Moonhares…

Mistblade cast her a calm glance, lifted her chin slightly, and said casually, About seventy percent.

Rita: ...

Had she just brought over the two most beloved idols of the Moonhares and Owls?

Then… the ones flaming her in battlefield chat earlier probably weren't just Dawn Cicada…

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