You introduced Aziz to [xiaochou.name], presenting his slave contract—complete with records of his teeth and body inspections. Back then, he wasn’t the towering brute he is now, just a defiant third-class male youth...

Aziz listened in silence as you spoke, while [xiaochou.name] glimpsed flickers of his past in those dark eyes: the sacred oil dripping from his infant body as he was raised to the sun, the blood smeared on his hands after his first execution as a prince, the ash and filth smeared on his face during his flight, and finally, the merchant’s shipping mark branded on his chest... A conqueror may scribble upon the conquered, sort them, grade them... How fond you humans are of these rules! And why not? Even the Sultan himself revels in such games.

Conditions:

• Slot #2 Has Card = Aziz

Result:

• Adjust Tag (Combat) of Slot #1: Add 1
• Counter (7000707): Add 1

Action:

• Enable Event: The reward for the second question of the small-scale project.

Maggie once said that if Inal had a child, she hoped the child would continue to serve your family—perhaps to serve Maggie, perhaps you, perhaps your own children... Yes, as if all were preordained—slaves beget slaves, masters beget masters. Such is the world of peace and contentment.

You shared this tale with [xiaochou.name], hoping it might offer some insight... So [xiaochou.name] went to see Inal, glimpsing her past in the wine she poured—back, back, to a time before the stars themselves had kindled, until the wine swirled with the hues of chaos.

[xiaochou.name] laughed, long and loud. It declared Inal’s future would not unfold as planned, then drained the cup in one defiant gulp—before demanding she pour another.

Conditions:

• Slot #2 Has Card = Inal

Result:

• Adjust Tag (Magic) of Slot #1: Add 1
• Counter (7000707): Add 1

Action:

• Enable Event: The reward for the second question of the small-scale project.

You introduced Junah to [xiaochou.name], asking her to accompany it for a time. Junah was stunned—after all, she rarely provided such conversational services. That was the domain of the highest-ranking prostitutes.

Like a seasoned patron of pleasure, [xiaochou.name] cupped her face and peered into her uneasy eyes, seeing all she had witnessed before: the men—even girls—seeking her guidance for the first time; the spittle-flecked Buthayna, bidding furiously against another dreadful noble for her; even the moment her ancestors, resisting to the last, were cast down into disgrace... Every soul she met needed this baseness—to feel at ease, to feel secure, while disposing of her, owning her, even embracing her. Such is the necessity forged by conquest, one of this world's cruelest comforts.

Conditions:

• Slot #2 Has Card = Junah

Result:

• Adjust Tag (Combat) of Slot #1: Add 1
• Counter (7000707): Add 1

Action:

• Enable Event: The reward for the second question of the small-scale project.

You brought this slave girl—bound to you, utterly dependent—before [xiaochou.name]. With a single glance, [xiaochou.name] saw the entirety of her wretched life...

Amusing, how you humans liken fate to a scale—yet she was born unbalanced. Look at what her first half held! Now, at last, the scales have righted themselves. And this family’s rise and fall... is that, too, part of your conquest? Is that what you mean to tell me? How curious—you humans carve order with conquest, then shatter it, reshape it, all with the same blade.

Conditions:

• Slot #2 Has Card = Zephyr's Wife

Result:

• Adjust Tag (Combat) of Slot #1: Add 1
• Counter (7000707): Add 1

Action:

• Enable Event: The reward for the second question of the small-scale project.

You presented Gulis to [xiaochou.name], this once-hero of the nomads, now a slave... Yet he wore no shame in this display. Instead, in his eyes, [xiaochou.name] saw only honor—the unbroken creed of a warrior.

"Fascinating. He does not fear conquest, nor defeat. What he fears is a debt left unpaid, or a death without glory. All else? Merely the hammer of fate upon the blade, the whetstone against the arrow... And a true warrior does not flinch from such trials. Would that all human thought this way, no? Then perhaps, in your endless cycle of conquest, you might forge souls of true worth."

Conditions:

• Slot #2 Has Card = Gullis

Result:

• Adjust Tag (Combat) of Slot #1: Add 1
• Counter (7000706): Add 1

Action:

• Enable Event: The reward for the second question of the small-scale project.

Behold me, [xiaochou.name]—the Sultan has conquered this land, and from all who bowed before him, he chose me as the finest to serve him! This game, and my place in it, is the very essence of his conquest! What lesser conqueror could command such devotion, or refine submission into such exquisite sport? Look closely, [xiaochou.name]. Stay until the end, and you will understand—this is the most intoxicating prize conquest can yield.

Conditions:

• Slot #2 Has Tag (Protagonist) = 1

Result:

• Adjust Tag (Sociability) of Slot #1: Add 1
• Counter (7000706): Add 1

Action:

• Enable Event: The reward for the second question of the small-scale project.