"You're quite different from what I imagined a second-in-command of one of the human regions to be, well, all of you are, the leaders included." Reign said with a chuckle as Liara stared at him in confusion.
"You're way too easygoing, I had imagined the hierarchy to be much stricter after Laura told me about this planet and the state it is in, I thought the leaders were all like those old military veterans that like to rule with an iron fist and the elites under them to be just as strict and serious as they are."
"But you guys, every single one of you, is just so damn different than I anticipated."
"I see, well, there are such people around for sure, two of the regions are like that, their leaders are good people that try to do the best for those they are supposed to protect, but in order to combat the demons, they believe that ruling in a manner you have just said is the best way."
'Do you disagree?" Reign asked Liara who stopped for a moment to think as she stared at the sky. Even though he knew it was not Lieara who was in front of him, Reign couldn't stop comparing the two, they were nearly identical not only in their physical appearance and voice, but even their mannerism was so similar.
The only difference between them would be that Liara was more carefree compared to Lieara, but on the other hand, he had met Lieara during wartime, and she was serving as one of the higher-ups in the base that was being attacked by enemy forces, it was normal that she wouldn't be that carefree during that time.
After the war was over, she did act a bit differently. Also, Liara's chest was slightly smaller compared to Lieara, but she made up for it from the back.
Even her names were almost the same.
'There's no denying it, she definitely has some sort of connection with her, I just don't know what it is, at least not right now.' Reign thought as he took another sip of his beer as Aethion nodded as well.
"I think I do disagree," Liara said in the end before drinking a bit as well.
"Although such a way of ruling over the region will make the citizens behave more and will allow their army to be more disciplined, without giving people more freedom and allowing them to think for themselves and to not be afraid of speaking up when they believe the higher-ups were making a mistake, I don't think those in the region can truly unleash their full potential."
"But if you give them more freedom, won't the same happen, it will be harder for some to reach their full potential without having someone to guide them forward, to show them what to do, simply giving people the freedom to do whatever they wish to do can end disastrously as well," Reign told Liara who smiled.
"Yes, but not when an outside force threatens to completely destroy us, with the pressure of complete annihilation by the demons looming over us, nobody will think of creating problems, and everybody will do their best to become stronger and fight back against the enemy."
"Now, if we were talking about a world that has no such issue, I would agree with you, so back at your planet, you rule with an iron fist as well?" Liara had already heard about Reign and the others having territories under them from Laura who was chatting with others happily.
"No, quite contrary, I let them do whatever they wish to do, with some limitations of course." Reign said with a smirk on his face as Liara chuckled.
"Although not as bad as the situation here, the situation back on my planet is also not that good, monsters freely roam around the world, demons have also appeared, and god knows just what other kinds of monstrosities." Reign said with a sigh.
"I have no idea how many people are even left, probably only a small percent compared to before the system's arrival, we estimate that around 20 or 30% of humans remain, the others being killed or eaten by monsters and demons." Reign stated before placing the beer on the ground as he had finished it.
"Thanks to that, the people are highly motivated and do what they believe is needed in order to survive, especially the ones in my territory, they had been hiding away from monsters for weeks before I and the others arrived and managed to fight some of them back and create a large safe zone for everybody."
"We had issues in the beginning, we had to expel some out of the safe zone, we had to put down rules and such, but most of the people were satisfied and liked us, they especially did after we managed to take back the entire town, at that point, I even became slightly apprehensive of how much they like us, it was as if some even worshipped us."
"I have full confidence in my strength, as well as the strength of my teammates, but we are not always present, so I just didn't want them to rely on us too much, and luckily, they didn't, more and more started hunting and becoming more powerful so that they could lean on themselves, they even get upset when an issue that only me and my team can solve appears as they didn't want to bother us with it." Reign chuckled as he thought back on the long journey he and the others had been so far.
Starting from a university that had turned into a castle, they had managed to create a safe haven for the people of Doncaster before taking over the entire town. Then they made a base on the mountain range, they forged alliances, they took over another city and more.
Reign smiled as he thought back on everything that happened and took another beer.
"Seems like you have good memories about the entire thing."
"I wouldn't necessarily say they're good, but they definitely make me smile when I look back at them." Reign said as Liara chuckled.
"You're a weird one."
"And so are you, you're the one that came to a guy that was keeping to himself and forced him to talk."
"Oh, so I forced you?"
"In a way, you did wait until I drank a few to approach me." Reign said with a smile as Liara simply stared at him.
"I don't know, something made me come here, when I look at you, even though it's the first time we meet, I have a feeling as if I had already known you for a while," Liara said in a serious voice, prompting Reign to stop drinking his beer for a moment.
"Well, I'm certain we haven't met before so that really is weird." Reign said while having a separate conversation with Aethion.
'So, you think there's any chance that this is just a coincidence?'
"Zero percent, everything is far too much to be one, she really is familiar to Lieara, in multiple ways, and what she just said, that feeling she has when she looks at you, that can't be a coincidence either, it has to be connected to Lieara."
"Liara, do you have siblings, a sister maybe?" Reign suddenly asked her, prompting her to shake her head.
"No, it's just me."
"An orphan?" Reign asked, prompting Liara to chuckle and even spit out some of her drink.
"I didn't mean it in that way, I mean, I'm the only child, my parents are still alive and well thank you."
"I see, that's good." Reign said as he nodded his head, but his sudden question and his mannerism got Liara a bit suspicious.
"Why did you ask, did you think I have a sister?"
"You … you look almost the same as a late friend of mine, you actually look so similar that it's uncanny." Reign confessed, prompting Liara to narrow her eyes.
"You said this is the first time you arrived on the planet, so this 'friend' of yours, is she from your home planet?"
"No, another planet completely."
"I see, but then, even if we do look very similar, shouldn't it be impossible for us to be sisters, I mean, we are from different planets after all."
"Yeah, but you know, weirder things happen, so I thought I would ask."
"So we really look that similar?" Liara asked as she got a bit closer to Reign.
"Yeah, you really do, it's as I am looking at the same person right now."
Liara smirked at him before drawing away and drinking some more of her drink, and Reign did the same, continuing to drink his beer till late in the night.
Even though they would need to wake up early, thanks to the fact that even the weakest people present were Tier III, they actually didn't need that much sleep to be in their peak state, which was why many people had continued being awake for the feast and drank till very late.
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