After closing the door, Wendy's gaze swept across everyone, finally landing on Aqima.

"Say what you want directly," the latter said stiffly, "If you're here for today's recruitment order, then there's no need to persuade us, we won't change our minds."

"Aqima..." Doris couldn't help but whisper.

She raised her hand, stopping the other's words, "I remember your care for us these past two weeks, but the two things are not the same—just as I said when I first arrived in Neverwinter, now that the church has been destroyed, I will leave the Western Territory sooner or later."

"Speaking of which, I'd like to share some good news first," Wendy's gentle expression didn't change at all, "The City Hall has received a report that another large group of refugees from the Eastern Territory will arrive in Neverwinter in a week, numbering as many as twelve thousand. And it is very likely that your relatives are among them."

The living room immediately erupted.

"You... are you serious?"

"Of course, the shipping department has been working hard to bring them back," Wendy said with a smile, "The Redwater River is full of cement boats heading to the Eastern Territory, filled not only with dry materials but also with cold-weather supplies, after all, it's already autumn."

"I used to live in Arch Bridge Town, are there any people from the town among the immigrants?"

"What's the situation in Golden Spire City?"

"It must be a mess."

"Uh, I hope my family isn't in there... my father kicked me out in the first place."

"He was also bewitched by the church, maybe he regrets it now."

Everyone chattered.

"Don't worry, there are twelve thousand people," Wendy clapped her hands, "Almost covering most of the towns from Golden Spire City to Sea Breeze County, it's hard not to find a fellow villager. When the rolls are completed, we can immediately screen out those related to your identities. Even if this batch doesn't have them, this migration is just the beginning, and more and more people will come to Neverwinter afterward. As long as you stay here, you will always have a chance to meet."

Then she looked at the witch with a tangled expression, "If you don't want to recognize them, that's fine, but I think having news is better than having no news at all, right, Bieli? At least when they regret it, they can still have a chance to make amends."

"That's... true," the girl called Bieli lowered her head slightly, a little embarrassed.

"Are you really planning to move the entire Eastern Territory to Neverwinter?" Aqima asked in surprise.

"It's not just the Eastern Territory," Wendy smiled, "The Northern Territory, the Southern Territory, and parts of the Kingdom are also in the migration plan. These territories will eventually only retain a few large cities, and the residents of small towns and villages will gather in the cities."

"Why... would His Majesty the King go to such great lengths?"

"This is complicated to explain, it seems to be called... the urbanization process. It is said that in the past, due to the food problem, a large amount of arable land was needed to support a city, so the population was very scattered. But now that food is no longer a problem, and those village and town populations that occupy the vast majority are in an administrative vacuum, unable to be effectively organized and utilized, so letting them lean towards the cities is more conducive to exerting the power of the City Hall." Wendy replied patiently, "Because of this, today's Western Territory is no longer the Western Territory in the past sense. If you leave, what about your partners? Do you want them to abandon their relatives and wander with you to a desolate homeland?"

"..." Aqima frowned, not answering for a moment.

"To put it bluntly, it's just cowardice." At this moment, another cold voice sounded from behind them.

The witches' expressions changed suddenly, and they turned to look, only to see a woman shrouded in a black robe appearing at the square table in the living room at some point. She leaned forward slightly, crossed her legs, propped her chin with one hand, and looked at everyone with interest, seemingly not taking their vigilance seriously at all.

"Who are you?" Aqima shouted in a low voice.

"Nightingale! What are you saying?" Wendy said anxiously, "Don't worry, everyone, she has no malice, she is just a Coalition witch responsible for secretly protecting me."

"Am I wrong?" She took off her hood, revealing a head of beautiful golden curly hair, "What are these people hesitating about? It's just because of the Bloodfang Association, they don't want to work for Princess Tilly anymore. But in fact, they are still living off the Sleeping Spell and have no intention of changing."

"Nonsense!" Aqima couldn't help but clench her fists, "If it weren't for Doris, everyone would have left long ago! Besides, what do you know about the Bloodfang Association and Sleeping Island!"

"Is that so?" Nightingale raised an eyebrow, "Then why don't you work?"

"What—"

"Let's do the math, the travel and food expenses from Neverwinter to the Eastern Territory are about twenty silver wolves per person. After arriving at the destination, you need about ten to twenty copper eagles per day to buy food. But don't forget, due to the war and migration, most of the villages there have become wasteland. Now, if you want to live, the expenses will be dozens of times higher than in the past, which is why refugees will flow to Neverwinter." She said unhurriedly, "In other words, if you don't have a bag of gold dragons in your hand, it's not easy to leave the Sleeping Spell. If it were me, I would seize this opportunity, apply for jobs everywhere, and try to get as much funding as possible, which is the basis for the team to survive independently. But look at you, what have you done in the past half month? Not only are you enjoying the food distributed by the Sleeping Spell, but you also want to wait for Princess Tilly to send the travel expenses to your hands?"

"I..." Aqima was momentarily stunned, she wanted to refute, but she didn't know where to start.

"Let me say, this is cowardice. So under the pressure of the church, you leaned towards the Bloodfang Association; and because of this insignificant relationship, you secretly feel injustice for Hedi Morgan's destruction, but you dare not stand up against the extraordinary witches." Nightingale shrugged, "I really don't know about the Bloodfang Association and Sleeping Island, but the members of the Bloodfang Association do, and they are all in Neverwinter now. Do you think Hedi really treated you as sisters?"

"Nightingale! Enough!" Wendy stopped her.

"If I went to a foreign land, I would also need to win the support of the locals, and your ability would be of great help to them; if you don't eliminate the church's spies, it will inevitably attract more exterminators. In short, you were just grasshoppers on a rope at the time. If Hedi was really that good to you, I just want to ask, when she later planned to overthrow Tilly on Sleeping Island, did she notify you?"

Aqima bit her lip tightly.

"If you really want to prove your determination, start with the basics now—you can still find a bunch of excuses when you're on a deserted island, but here, the Sleeping Spell can no longer restrain you."

Nightingale carelessly pursed her lips at Wendy, and then disappeared in front of everyone.