"School supplies?" Remian blinked. "You want me to bring books and stationery from the Dragon Empire?"

"Yes, we're almost at the point of scribbling on leaves here." Lisa Vin's voice came back patiently over the communications crystal.

"School, huh." Remian thought for a bit. "Dad, Mom, there's some stuff I'd like everyone to learn. I think we should make some changes to the school and the learning systems."

"Great. Let's have a meeting when you get back." Damien Vin's voice replied. "Just hurry back, all right? I don't think your Mom or Phoebe can stand to wait much longer."

Phoebe, it seems, had become a lot closer to his parents while he was away. With a rueful half-smile, Remian finally ended the call and put down the communications crystal. His hand had been holding it so long, it felt numb.

Then, looking at the crystal, Remian shook his head. "How are we ever going to get along without mana?"

The ambient mana here in the Dragon Empire was extremely thin, thinner even than he remembered. Didn't mana come through the Rift when it was opened? Surely a lot did. But how is it that none of that seemed to have reached these parts? Was it all exhausted before it even got this far?

To be fair, Bee Hoon Town was far from the Wildlands, for mana to travel from there to here, it would have to cross the middle east region (Paleres or Ira or one of their neighbors) and easily half the Dragon Empire which covered over one third of the eastern continent. This town was on the northern side of the Dragon Empire, close to the border with Mendev, the second largest country on the eastern continent, two thirds the size of the Dragon Empire.

But of course, Mendev lacked many things which made the Dragon Empire powerful. For example, they didn't have Zor'khan-dras as an Emperor. Having the Great Dragon of Lightning as Emperor, a member of the Dras Clan that ruled this whole sector, definitely gave his people a great many advantages. That wasn't even mentioning their lands; Mendev was half ice and snow while the Dragon Empire was full of fertile lands, mountains rich in ore, many rivers and farms, thick ancient woods…

In the past, Remian thought that the Dragon Empire dominated the world due to overwhelming military might. Their fleets and armies were flat out unmatched by any single nation in the world. Speculators suggested that it would take all the military might of the midlands and the middle east together to stand any chance of stopping them.

Having come from the Rainforest Commonwealth, va.s.sals of the Dragon Empire, Remian had long ago felt that the Dragon Empire's greatest problem was poverty. The vast majority of the people in the commonwealth and a huge portion of those in the Empire were struggling to make ends meet. Families with both parents working a main job and a side job were common. Young couples starting their own families were unable to afford housing and had to stay with parents, and generally avoided having children if at all possible until they could buy a place of their own. The honored phrase 'three generations under one roof' used to imply a prosperous household, such as a housing estate with many residential wings capable of hosting an entire clan, but when it applied to a cottage, things looked a lot less honorable.

But surely that problem would pa.s.s since the Dragon Empire was becoming wealthier very quickly. They were selling Red Mana Crystals for hundreds of millions every week. Surely, surely, the people would be richer…

Looking around, Remian frowned. Here in Bee Hoon Town, the locals were actually bargaining with the restaurant staff for their meals. Five lir for a meal was average, three lir for the cheapest possible meals, and yet people were asking if they could pay later or some such.

Where did all the money go? Fifty million lir for a red mana crystal, and what happened to all the money?

There were dark rumors floating around the place where Remian grew up. Whispers spoke of how dragons loved to h.o.a.rd wealth, sleeping on piles of gold as it were.

Thinking back now, Remian wondered if it was true, after all. Humans didn't seem all that important to Draconians, and the Dras Clan basically owned this world, which was on the verge of getting eaten by the Mitigok anyway, so in a grim manner, it did sort of make sense to squeeze the planet dry of whatever they could get and leave quickly.

But while two hundred years might be a brief nap for the Great Dragons, for humans it would be entire lifetimes. Millions of people would live their entire lives downtrodden, suffering the exploitation and uncaring demands of their rulers. That was one of the reasons Remian left and sought a better life for his family in the Frontier.

Was it, though? Was it really a better life for his family in the Wildlands? After fighting the Wilds for so long, they finally won peace and greedy people brought on the Spectres. His parents were living in separate airs.h.i.+ps, with the sound of gunfire as their daily background noise. Eriane was flying around with the Eagle Princess and a sniper rifle every day. Sabriane had so many patients needing emergency medical attention and so much work at the hospital, she didn't even have time to say h.e.l.lo when he called home. Darian was at the very forefront of battle, risking life and limb in constant battles toe-to-toe against the very strongest and most powerful foes. In what way were they better off there than here?!

Maybe… maybe Mandy was right. Maybe she had chosen the better path, choosing to live in peace.

At least now that the world war was over, she had that much. Right? Right…?

"I've never seen that look on your face before." Xiao Yan observed suddenly. "What were you thinking about?"

Remian grimaced. "My ex-wife."

"Oh."

***

They boarded an airs.h.i.+p for the trip to the Capital, a city so large, Remian couldn't see the end of it, even from an airs.h.i.+p's decks. It was evening by the time they got off at the airport, so Remian went looking for decent accommodations.

There was no shortage of choices, from the extravagant to the ramshackle, but Remian ended up in a Deutero Travelers Inn an hour from the airport by carriage, in the district neighboring the Song Clan. It was night by the time they arrived, and they opted for a quiet dinner at a restaurant opposite the inn thinking to visit the Song Clan and find Song Han in the morning.

For some reason, both of them felt awfully hungry. Despite the over-salted fried kuey teow (by Remian's estimation, Xiao Yan seemed to find it delicious), they ate a lot of it, and went to sleep with exceedingly full stomachs.

"Let's not rush to wake up tomorrow." Remian suggested as he picked one of the beds in the room. "It's fine to sleep in and rest up."

"Great!" Xiao Yan yawned and all but collapsed on her own bed.

Stretching out, tired and full, Remian went to sleep that night thinking of all the things he would do the next day.

But he would never do those things.

The next day, Remian did not wake up.

***

Actually, it was to be expected. No matter how good the technology of the Quarin Sleep Enhancement was, going through Three Hundred Times Virtual Acceleration was bound to put an incredible strain on even the toughest and most talented Psionics.

Xiao Yan was in better condition but the fact remained; the pair of them slept right through the next day, and the next, and the next…

Five days into their unexpected hibernation, Xiao Yan woke up hungry. Seeing Remian still asleep and remembering that he had wanted to sleep in, she considerately left him alone and thoughtfully took his money to go shopping…

By the time Remian woke up, two days later, Xiao Yan had already spent over two hundred thousand lir.

***

"What's all this?" Remian stared at the piles of stuff in their room in a daze.

"These are school supplies, the ones listed by your parents." Xiao Yan pointed to one stack of packages. "That chest contains a few mana crystals for Phoebe. That's Dragon Empire food, mainly dried noodles of various sorts. Those smaller packages on top are spices, Song Chen especially asked for Southern Imperial brand curry powder. Did you know the Southern Imperials are dark skinned? A lot of them are practically black."

"I remember curry. We used to have that around the Rainforest Commonwealth too. But we could never afford something as pricey as Southern Imperial brand. Our neighbor basically made her own style and traded some with us in return for papaya from our tree."

"What's papaya?"

Remian got up. "It's a fruit. Let's see if the restaurant has some on the menu."

"They don't open for breakfast. But don't worry. This inn provides breakfast for all staying guests at the diner downstairs."

"There's a diner?"

***