In the original Honkai: Star Rail, Tribbie's prophecies were more accurately described as divine decrees. She served as a mere conduit for these decrees, not their originator.
The conversation continued. Jay remarked, "Speaking of which, Tribios, you're from three centuries in the future, right? In a way, you're a true 'Prophet'!"
"Those wizards from the Divination School don't actually have any magic to foresee the future. All they do is find objects and gather information. I think the school should just rename itself the 'Find Things School'—that would make more sense! But you, Tribios, can genuinely predict the future!"
"Why don't you give us a prophecy? What does our future look like? Will I become the greatest mage of this century? And what will happen to the Grand Duchy of Augustus?"
"Well..." Tribios hesitated. She knew almost nothing about history; her only knowledge of the Demon Lord and Hero saga came from novels and Feidric's stories.
As for whether a Great Mage named Jay had ever existed or what the Grand Duchy of Augustus's future held, she had no idea whatsoever.
But... let's be honest, predicting the future is just fortune-telling, right? As for whether fortune-telling is real or not, people always say that if the predicted future is good, the fortune-teller is a "powerful master." But if the predicted future is bad, they dismiss it as "superstitious nonsense."
Tribios pinched her fingers, closed her eyes, and deliberately adopted a profound demeanor. After a moment, she declared, "I've foreseen it! Jay, you will indeed become the greatest mage of this century, and the Grand Duchy of Augustus will flourish in prosperity and power!"
Hearing this, Jay raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by 'foreseen'? And how can you claim this is my future? It sounds like you're just making things up."
Crap! I got carried away with the fortune-telling act and let slip!
Tribios cleared her throat, barely suppressing a laugh. "Making things up? This is a prophecy from a true Prophet, you know! You yourself said I'm from three hundred years in the future, so I can truly foresee the future. Now that I've revealed your future, you suddenly doubt me?"
"What about me? What about me?" Olivia leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. "What does my future hold?"
Tide remained silent, but his expression clearly conveyed, I want to know too.
Tribios pondered for a moment, then turned to Tide and said, "In the future, you will successfully keep your promise."
As for Olivia, this was trickier to fabricate. Tribios finally settled on a straightforward declaration: "Olivia, in the future, you will steadfastly pursue your path and never give up."
Since Olivia was a Paladin, "steadfastly pursuing your path" would arguably be the most fitting prophecy for such a holy warrior.
Hearing these four prophecies, Jay scoffed, "So you're really just making this up, huh? How could everyone possibly fulfill their heart's desires so smoothly? That's clearly absurd."
Tribios pouted. "What? You're not happy about fulfilling your desires? Want me to change yours? How about I tell you you'll be some nobody trash Wizard in the future?"
Jay hastily waved his hands, "Never mind, I suddenly feel the original prophecy was perfectly accurate."
And so, the four continued their meal and conversation. By the halfway point, Tribios, Olivia, and Jay were all full, leaving roughly seven-eighths of the roasted lamb untouched—nearly all of it devoured by Tide alone.
Tribios had finally witnessed the true extent of this glutton's capacity.
Time flew by, and another six months passed. As the Grand Duchy of Augustus accumulated more and more wealth, Tribios began to diversify into other industries.
Food: Not basic grains, but processed foods. With everyone now able to eat their fill, the focus shifted to improving food quality and making it more delicious, leading to the establishment of more white bread bakeries.
Clothing: Research into more durable, more beautiful, and more comfortable garments was underway.
Woodworking: More exquisite and ornate furniture, among other items.
Tools: Hammers, nails, scissors, needles, thread—any tools that could aid other industries. Hammers and nails boosted woodworking production, while scissors, needles, and thread facilitated clothing manufacturing. Beyond these, everyday necessities like Chew Grass, soap, combs, and mirrors were also produced.
Weapons: Recently, an exploration team sent by Tribios unexpectedly discovered an open-pit iron mine. Fortuitously, the Grand Duchy already had a substantial Dwarf population, and these skilled miners proved exceptionally adept at excavation.
Thanks to this iron mine, Tribios ordered the construction of numerous blacksmith workshops. Using the forged equipment, she formally established the Grand Duchy of Augustus's first standing army and immediately began training.
As usual, Tribios woke up early that morning. First, she took out a small mirror and skillfully styled her hair into a charming and demure hairstyle that radiated gentle virtue.
While she worked, she murmured softly, "Has it already been over a year since I came to this country?"
To put it in perspective, even three centuries later, Cipher and Aria's adventures together would only last a little over six months.
Throughout this time, Tribios never gave up trying to gather information about the Demon Lord and Hero. She even dispatched agents to every kingdom with a name and history to inquire, but all efforts proved fruitless.
However, due to the era's lack of espionage awareness, her agents inadvertently brought back a wealth of miscellaneous intelligence. For example, the Kingdom of Ukel had deliberately provoked a war just days ago.
Originally sent to gather information about the Demon Lord and Hero, these agents seemed to have inexplicably transformed into spies.
After finishing her hair, Tribios opened the wardrobe beside her and retrieved a light-colored long dress. After all, she couldn't possibly have worn the same outfit for over a year!
After the Grand Duchy of Augustus's clothing factory officially began production, Tribios, leveraging her limited privileges, had two or three beautiful outfits custom-made for herself. Was that really asking too much?
Finally, she habitually slipped into her high heels, fastened the straps, and left her room. Olivia stood at the door, clad in a dashing military uniform, looking as if she had been waiting for quite some time.
Tribios nodded. "Go gather the others," she instructed. "We're about to depart."
The Kingdom of Ukel had provoked the war and captured numerous slaves. Their mission was to carry out their first slave rescue operation.
When Tribios first conceived this plan, she had felt a twinge of guilt. After all, she had been bleeding the Kingdom of Ukel dry repeatedly, truly milking the sheep for all it was worth.
But later, she learned that the Kingdom of Ukel was the very nation that had captured Olivia's grandfather eighty years ago—the same country that had been waging relentless and undefeated wars.
In a sense, the Kingdom of Ukel and the Grand Duchy of Augustus were hereditary enemies. With that in mind, she felt no guilt whatsoever.
The operation involved a small force. Aside from Tribios and Olivia, there were only two hundred soldiers who had undergone basic training. After all, this was a surprise attack, not a frontal assault, so more numbers wouldn't necessarily be an advantage.
Soon, the pair arrived at an open-air plaza, the Grand Duchy of Augustus's barracks. Rows of soldiers stood in neat formation, awaiting orders.
Though their training period had been short, each soldier stood tall, chest puffed out, their gazes unwavering. A faint aura of elite warriors already emanated from their ranks.
However, Tribios didn't know the criteria for classifying someone as a "Warrior Class Holder" and couldn't determine whether these soldiers qualified as such.
Tribios and Olivia took their positions at the front of the formation, silently waiting.
Meanwhile, within the Kingdom of Ukel, a richly dressed merchant wearing a top hat had already contacted a noble of the Kingdom, seeking to purchase a large number of slaves.
When the merchant first approached him, the noble was puzzled. "Why come to me for slaves? Shouldn't you go to a slave trader?"
It turned out the buyer wanted to purchase five hundred slaves in one go—an enormous number. Such quantities were usually only found in prisoner-of-war camps. Coincidentally, this noble was the administrator of such a camp. The Kingdom of Ukel had recently been at war, and many prisoners of war had been sent to his camp.
Selling five hundred slaves discreetly would surely go unnoticed by the Ruler. And even if discovered, what could they do? He could simply claim the slaves had died of illness and were already buried. They were just slaves, after all—who would care?
With such a lucrative opportunity at his fingertips, how could the noble possibly refuse? Still, he asked cautiously, "How did you know I had such a large number of slaves?"
The merchant smiled faintly. "I heard it from a blue-haired slave trader with curls," he replied. "I approached him for supplies, but he couldn't meet the demand, so he recommended you instead."
This was the truth. The slave trader was currently bound to a chair in a secluded shack, surrounded by several burly men. His face contorted in terror as he pleaded, "I've told you everything you wanted to know! Can you let me go now?!"
The perspective shifted back to the Noble, who showed no suspicion upon hearing the Merchant's words. He had been secretly selling prisoners of war to slave traders for profit, and the "Blue Curls" mentioned by the Merchant was indeed one of his regular clients.
The Noble led the Merchant toward the prisoner-of-war camp. It's worth noting that they were currently in a heavily fortified border city of the Kingdom of Ukel, and the camp itself was located in the heart of the city, under extremely tight security.
Yet, under the Noble's guidance, every soldier they encountered turned a blind eye, silently lowering their heads to clear the path. The Noble continued chatting with the Merchant, "Why are you buying so many slaves at once?"
The Merchant, who had already prepared his explanation, replied smoothly, "During a previous transaction, the other party couldn't pay with money, so they gave me a plot of land instead. It's surprisingly fertile, so I can't just leave it idle, can I? I plan to buy some slaves to grow cotton there."
"Ah, I see!" the Noble nodded. "But you're alone. How do you plan to transport five hundred people?"
The Merchant replied, "I certainly can't take them all by myself. My caravan is waiting outside the city. Once I've made my selections, I'll need your assistance to have the slaves I purchase escorted out of the city. My caravan will handle the rest."
Upon hearing this, the Noble wore a troubled expression. "Escorting five hundred slaves out of the city? That's no easy task. If the commoners see them and rumors reach the Ruler's ears, I'll be in serious trouble..."
As he spoke, the Noble kept rubbing his fingers together—his meaning couldn't be clearer: more money.
The Merchant smiled faintly. "Don't worry," he said. "Money is no object."
The Noble chuckled. "Ha ha! I like a straightforward friend like you!"
After a pause, he continued, "By the way, since you're buying slaves to cultivate land, let me share a little inside information. Have you heard that most of the villagers in the Kingdom have vanished due to the Divine Concealment? Just disappeared mysteriously without a trace."
"This has left vast tracts of land abandoned and uncultivated. In fact, this is the main reason His Majesty declared war on our neighboring countries. Just like your goal in buying slaves, His Majesty aims to capture more slaves to work the fields."
"After all, commoners and slaves are pretty much the same thing. In my opinion, it would be a good thing if all the commoners disappeared. Before, when we collected grain each year, we had to leave some for those wretched people. Now, if slaves are doing the farming, we can take it all."
The Merchant was taken aback by this revelation, silently pondering, So, the Kingdom of Ukel launched this war because the Holy Maiden rescued too many commoners?
Indeed, this Merchant was one of Tribios's agents, an "ordinary spy" she had sent. After successfully following the Noble into the prisoner-of-war camp, the Noble exclaimed, "This is the place! Look around and take your pick!"
However, after surveying the surroundings, the Merchant moved to a relatively open area, withdrew a small emblem-like object from his robe, cupped it in his palm, closed his eyes, and began to pray silently, "Holy Maiden, I have arrived at the designated location."
His voice was barely a whisper. The Noble beside him initially thought the Merchant was speaking to him and asked, puzzled, "What was that?"
The next moment, a golden Century Gate slowly opened behind the Merchant.
This badge was imbued with the divine power of Tribios. By praying to her, the Merchant could alert her, and she would then open a Century Gate based on the badge's location.
Then, Olivia, leading the charge, leaped out of the Century Gate!