Unexpected Conflict

The sun shines as the new day comes. After making breakfast, Jason wakes up Selena. They both have peaceful morning before their day got busy once more.

"There is a place I want to take you to", He says as they depart to an unknown location. Selena wanted to question him some more but after getting used to Jason's tendencies, she knew he wouldn't say anything until they arrive.

"Alright, I can't wait," She says instead as she enjoys the peaceful ride. They arrive and meet a figure who was surveying the land.

"Your Highness, welcome," the man said.

Jason indicated that he could continue saying what he wanted to say and the man responded.

"Your highness, this land seems to far gone, I can't see any way of recovering it without taking many years for it to naturally become fertile once more" The man explains.

"The price we have to pay for 'peace' is quite heavy huh?" Jason says rhetorically as he looks around the land. He leads Selena to the middle of the land and keeps inspecting.

"Yeah, the man was not wrong, there is not much we can do with this land in terms of farming or raising animals, but that's what also makes it a perfect place", Jason says.

Selena looks at him with a bit of confusion, "What do you mean?", she asks.

"I plan on building something very important here. Something so important it can protect us for the rest of our lives as well as lead a magic revolution in our empire" Jason explains.

"It sounds amazing. So what do you plan to build here?" Selena asks.

"A magic tower," Jason says.

Selena pauses at his answer and starts to ponder on how a magic tower would do all the things Jason said. 

"It sounds simple but with a bit of help from my mother, this will become the perfect way for us to earn our independence while also serving the empire. I can't go into too many details right now but this will be my greatest creation" Jason says with a look of pride on his face.

Selena smiles, she is happy Jason is able to do things he feels proud of. She still isn't sure what exactly the magic tower will do or protect them from but Jason is the last person she considers a liar so she believes him wholeheartedly.

The two continue to talk about the plans they'll make after the magic tower is built until they see some smoke in the distance.

Jason's face instantly turns cold as he quickly sends one of his illusory birds to investigate. 

He sees a small militia of southern tribesmen mounting some sort of desperate rebellion. 

"Selena, quickly tell the man from earlier to get the army ready, I will go ahead to meet them first," Jason says as he dashes away towards the smoke.

Selena wanted to say something but she realized this could end up a very big deal so she turned around and headed in the direction of the man from earlier. After she tells him the story, they gather their forces and head back to where Jason is.

Jason is eyeing the southern tribesmen with a cold glint on his eye. Their numbers are almost in the thousands but they don't seem to be warriors, just families. 

Jason takes some powder from his pocket and uses his magic to blow it in the direction of the army. As the powder got closer, he dispersed it and it quickly infected most of the people. 

Some of the southern tribesmen quickly had fevers while others collapsed due to sickness. There was panic in the faces of everyone still standing and then Jason slowly made his appearance.

The remaining warriors were very diligent but their bodies were getting weak. Jason then creates a huge fire spear with his hand and then throws it sharply at the crowd. The spear barely misses and the explosion it made after it landed was enough to take out dozens of them at once.

The warriors all looked at him with fear but the coughs of those next to them awoke them from their emotions.

"Does anyone here speak our language?" Jason says calmly.

The southern tribe warriors had some confused faces until a young woman approached and said 

"I speak Language".

Jason smiled, "Good, that makes things easier. Those people are all sick and will die within a month if it is not treated well"

The young woman had a look of shock and fear, "You did that?", she said as anger boils on her face.

"Weren't you trying to threaten my citizens with your numbers? Don't act innocent. If I really wanted to kill you all, you will all be dead. I'm sure you had a goal when you came with this huge group right? What is it that you wanted?" Jason asked calmly.

The young woman had a look of guilt on her face and then she whispered, "Food, Shelter, Water" 

"If that's it then I can help," Jason said.

"What?" The young woman replied in shock

"I can not only cure everyone from your group but I can also give everything you just mentioned. You just have to follow my rules and we can avoid war. Now tell that to those warrior chiefs of yours", Jason said.

The young woman started talking to the warrior chiefs and they had many different emotions on their face. "Suspicion, doubt, anger, fear".

Right when they were still discussing, a militia pulled up with hundreds of people.

They were all armed and looked menacing.

The southern tribesmen looked at the group and their faces turned solemn. They usually would not be afraid but due to the mysterious poison that caught them by surprise, they didn't have the energy or manpower to fight back. The chiefs said something to the young woman and then she turned to Jason.

"They agree to your conditions as long as you heal everyone and offer them food, shelter and water".

"Good," Jason said, "now follow me".

"Did we come too late?" Selena asked in confusion.

"No, you came just in time, if they brought tens of thousands of people, we would have no choice to fight but luckily it was under a thousand, the group you brought was enough to scare them after my encounter"

"These people will be joining us soon, rent out a few inns for them to stay at and pay some teachers to teach them the language of our empire. Within a year, I want them to not only be able to understand our language but also become skilled workers who can contribute to our society" Jaosn explains.

The militia looked shocked, "Were they not our enemies?"

"The war is over, we beat them now, and a new group of rebels will appear later. it's impossible to kill them all so we might as well take them in and let them contribute to our city. When the next group of rebels comes, they can be the ones to negotiate with them and keep our city peaceful from random scuffles" Jaosn explains.

Everyone was baffled but the more they thought about it, the more it made sense. As long as we invest a little into this group, they can repay the city back in the future as farmers, laborers, or skilled workers. And then if more rebels appear in the future, when they see their own people being treated as normal citizens, what would be the point of rebelling? If anything, we could use these people to control the others!" many of the people were thinking the same train of thought.

"Hurry up, the group is poisoned. Get the medics to those inns so they can be treated, we don't have any time to waste".

The day went fast like a blur. The southern tribesmen were all relocated to inns close together. They were kept isolated so it wouldn't spark any unnecessary conflict with the citizens. Doctors were paid to come by and treat the poison and the teachers were teaching the language and educating them on potential jobs in the future.

Food, shelter, and water were provided as needed and they will have to pay everything back when they start working.

The young southern tribeswoman came up to Jason and said, "We, thank you, We want a simple life, no fighting" She says.

Jason smiles, "I want the same thing".

The days in the new southern city seemed to fly by quickly. Jason and Selena were going around the territory, making sure all the water and food sources were clean and useable. They also helped deal with many conflicts and solved numerous amount of problems. Every day was busy and fulfilling, almost all these problems needed to be solved by magic that only existed in Selena's mother's research.

This means that the citizens of the new southern city were enjoying a lifestyle that no one else in the empire was enjoying. The word spread naturally and many people came flocking to the new southern city. The city was getting even busier and work was getting harder. 

The southern tribesmen slowly learned the basic language and due to the attitude of Jason, many citizens did not give them any trouble. Slowly but surely, through working the same jobs, people adapted to working with the southern tribesmen and the barrier between them slowly disappeared. 

The southern tribesmen shared knowledge of many herbs and techniques unique to their culture as a way to repay the city for taking them in. 

As expected, some more remnants of the southern tribesmen came to cause trouble but were easily subdued by the earlier group. Seeing that coexistence was possible as well as the overwhelming difference of military power with Jason and themselves, they all chose peace.

Weeks and weeks became months and months. After stabilizing the southern territory, Jason looked out his mansion with a pleased smile on his face.

"Things are only getting better and better", he says to himself.

"And it's all thanks to you", Selena says as she approaches him from behind.

"Selena!" Jason says with a pleased smile. "How are things going?"

"Everything is stable and the materials for the magic tower are all ready. They can start construction as soon as you give the word" Selena said.

During this time with Jason, not only did their relationship deepen but she has developed many administrative and management skills. 

Jason comes behind her and gives her a warm hug, "You've been working quite hard my dear princess" he says while giving a soft peck on her cheek.

"It's all for our future, how can I slack off?" She says shyly in response. 

"It's great timing because the magic tournament is coming up soon, I will have to be away for some time. I'm glad things are stable so I don't have to worry", Jason replies.

Selena remembers then magic tournament and also remembered that Fiona wanted to go defeat Jason in it. She's actually quite interested in this tournament herself, she knows she won't win but as long as she doesn't fight Fiona in the first round, she should at least make some decent progress, right?

"I'm coming with you," Selena says after going over her thoughts.

"Oh? I didn't think you'll compete" Jason says.

"I'll mostly be there to spectate you but I also want to test out my skills," Selena said with a fist pump full of energy.

Jason smiles, "That's great, we'll depart tomorrow".

"So soon?" Selena asked

"Yes, I delayed a bit because of things here but this tournament is the last thing I need to win in order for everything to fall into place. I can't afford to lose" he said with a cold glint in his eyes.

Selena almost got goosebumps, she knows that Jason is capable of winning almost anything. Just like he could've won the hunting competition if he wanted but chose to let Lance win. His reasons made sense too but if he beats Lance this time, wouldn't that ruin his previous-"

She then stops herself and realizes that Lance doesn't have magic. I forgot his mother was just a palace maid, he's really been hiding deeply. Hardly anyone notices that he doesn't use or have magic since his military strength is so dazzling. 

Winning this won't conflict with Lance and it will also show off his brilliance. it's a great plan, as expected of my man!

"I know you'll do well, honey," Selena said sweetly as she snuggled in Jason's embrace.

The sweet atmosphere continued as the couple were preparing to depart the next day and head to the capital.

As morning came, Selena and Jason departed towards the capital after saying their goodbyes to the crowd. The citizens were reluctant to let him leave but there was nothing they could do about it. 

The couple made their way to the capital and after a couple of hours, they finally arrived. 

They headed to the Colosseum where the magic tournament was about to be held and met two familiar figures.

"Cousin! Selena! Are you also here for the tournament?" Ivory said as she ran towards them.

"Yes, Ivory, Are you participating?" Selena asked.

"I have to, I got a little better during this period and if I can beat you-know-who, imagine what her face will look like," Ivory said with a bit of a snicker.

"I wonder who you're referring to, Ms. Ivory" A cold voice interrupted the two friends chatting.

Fiona looks over to Jason and slightly bows, "Greetings, Your highness"

"Be at ease" Jason responds lightly.

Selena smirks, "There's finally someone you can't openly bully now, huh Fiona?" She thinks to herself quietly.

"Hey Fiona, Do you think you can beat my dear Jason?" Selena said while hugging Jason's arm and giving a little smirk.

Fiona and Ivory were a little stunned, is this the same quiet Selena they knew from the academy?

Fiona then turned to Jason and said, "Your Highness, may I speak freely?"

"You may," Jason said calmly.

"Well then Selena, I've already beaten a Mandeline so I naturally have confidence when it comes to his highness, I've also improved myself too. Just watch and see what real magic looks like" Fiona said with a voice full of confidence and gave a teasing look to Ivory.

Selena's face twitched when she heard Fiona's response. She was left speechless once more.

Ivory put her head down in shame and gritted her teeth, "Don't say all this and lose when we enter that colosseum Fiona, You won't be all high and mighty for long"

Jason smiles, these three women really are a different type of genius from each other, our empire will be in good hands in the future.

As for her comment, Jason knows he can't take Fiona lightly but luckily, he mastered non-offensive magic and was blessed with a superior bloodline. He has a decent shot at winning.

"Confidence is a great thing to have Ms. Flamor, I'll see you in the finals then," Jason said respectfully.

Fiona smirked a little at the comment and gave a polite bow.

Jason saw the guard at the front and remembered he didn't register yet so he quickly dismissed himself.

"Why are you still smirking, the battles haven't even started yet," Ivory said while rolling her eyes.

"Didn't his highness say he'll see me in the finals? That means he has no faith in the two of you" Fiona said while chuckling and walking over to get registered as well.

Ivory and Selena were left dumbfounded.

After a while, they just sighed, "I hope he can at least beat her for us" they both muttered as they followed to get registered.

After the official proceedings went on, the bracket was released and it will be a lot of 1 vs 1 matches until the finals. Everyone got their first matches.

Jason and Ivory smiled in contentment while looking at their first matches. They feel very confident about performing well.

They hear a small thud and look over.

Selena fell to her knees and hit the floor lightly in frustration. She looked again at her opponent in her first match with a face of complete disbelief.

She reads it over and over again just to make sure she isn't imagining things but after confirming, she knew it was the truth.

Jason walked over and saw the name of her opponent, which was written on her first match.

"Fiona".