Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

"What happened next?" Tilan was no longer angry; rather, there was a hint of amusement.

"After that, hahaha, of course, we had so much fun that I forgot to explain when Tilan came back and immediately agreed. Ahem."

"If you had told me this earlier, I might have been even more grateful to you and Audrey." Tilan shook her head.

"Alas, you guys too." She stood up, dragging along her slightly ornate Eastern long dress, and went to the window sill to overlook the bustling cityscape below.

"I don't know why you and Audrey trust me so much; in fact, I have never been very confident in the past." Although she was determined now, she had previously been in a state of hesitation and doubt.

"Tilan is quite remarkable, or should we say, you like to reflect deeply on yourself." Feng Jianxue walked over slowly, leaning by another window sill not far from Tilan.

"I have visited many Star Domains and met many children of wealthy families. Let's say, 80% of them are useless, spoiled by their parents into good-for-nothing trash."

"Of the remaining 20%, more than half are trying hard to take over the industries left by their parents and elders, but the process is cautious and very challenging. It's generally not until middle age that they can gradually establish themselves."

"From this group, pick less than one in a thousand who have good family backgrounds, decent intelligence and Talent, and excellent character. Only such people can truly become the backbone of their family or business."

"Interests are inherently competitive; it's impossible for supreme power to be held by a fool. If it is, then he is likely a puppet of someone else."

"The Federation is not peaceful now. The Central Council is arguing daily, just covered by the controlled news, unseen by outsiders."

"Audrey and I both have a premonition that even if there's no civil war like 400 years ago, there will be intense political turmoil. So we're preparing ahead, trying to make more friends, so we can band together when the time comes."

"Has it become that serious?" Tilan was surprised.

"Yes, in places unseen by the outside world, the forces of Central Gate Valve, local forces, Giant Business alliances, military organizations, and religious Conservative Faction all have their conflicts."

"More importantly, the Federation's finances are gradually unsustainable." Feng Jianxue told Tilan.

"In the past, the Center could ease conflicts by disbursing money, but as the debt of the Central Bank keeps expanding, this method has become precarious."

"It's not that the Federation lacks talented or smart people; in fact, many have seen this chaos. But as many say, the Federation is vast, a nation with a population scale of trillions, facing problems more terrifying than anyone imagines."

"When the financial crisis reaches a critical point, the problems will become increasingly acute."

"Take the Four-leaf Crystal Star Domain as an example. Perhaps for the people there, it's normal for the Central Council to allocate funds to aid and restore their environment; it's expected, given the sacrifices and contributions made by the Four-leaf Crystal Star Domain."

"But for the Central Council, it receives thousands of aid proposals each year, all well-reasoned, citing issues like local poverty, natural disasters, historical problems, improving women's and children's living conditions, etc."

"The aid proposals are endless, but the Council's finances are limited, and these finances must support the national civil system, military maintenance, basic security, education funding, national projects, etc."

"If you allocate 1% more to one project, you have to cut it from other projects, which inevitably leads to dissatisfaction from those affected."

"To put it bluntly, imagine you are a Captain of a cruiser fleet in a remote Star Domain, commanding a third-line Starship. The government allocates 100 million annually for maintenance, personnel salaries, etc., and your task is to combat interstellar pirates, ensure navigational routes are smooth, and patrol remote Star Domains to ensure there are no major pirate lairs."

"But one day, you suddenly receive notice that the original 100 million allocation is reduced to 50 million, possibly not enough to maintain your Starship, even after paying wages to soldiers and officers."

"Then a notorious pirate leader calls you, having somehow learned of your plight, and proposes a deal: if you avoid a certain route during patrol, he would privately send you 100 million to your account, not needing to share with others. What would you choose?"

"During the Federation's peak, a disciplined military, solid finances, such a situation would not happen. The opposition wouldn't dare gamble, fearing your reverse setup to catch them. And the Court of Judgment's presence loomed like a sword, deterring corrupt personnel."

"But this is not that time; you know the overall situation is bad, even complaining to superiors wouldn't result in extra funding because everyone faces the same situation; the superior can't provide money."

"Despite insufficient funding, the duties still continue. Either you risk a lot by maintaining ships neglecting repairs at sea, or forcibly cut all subordinates' salaries to ensure the ship's functioning. But I dare say most Captains wouldn't do this, fearing they'd be shot while asleep."

"You see, cutting the original fixed funding brings immense troubles, but not cutting it, the finances can't hold, forcing one to look for easy targets."

"Tilan, who do you think are the easiest forces to deal with?"

"The Gate Valve families in the Central Star Domain hold many parliamentary seats, Giant Business has a vast commercial empire, religious forces are conservative and fanatical, local powerful Star Domains might rebel when anxious, the military groups are the Federation's ultimate ballast, unlikely to act chaotic, so cutting financial expenditure is best directed at backward, remote, impoverished Star Domains, because even if cut, they have little ability to resist and don't control mainstream media agencies."

"For nearly a century, it has been this way; that's why when Blanchi was assassinated previously, the fury in the Northwest Star Domain was understandable, the conflict didn't happen at that moment but had been accumulating."

"So, where did the money go?" Tilan was curious, with current Interstellar Era productivity, it shouldn't fall into such a state.

"Well..." Feng Jianxue shook her head, glancing out at the sky.

"Perhaps like a cloud, it just flew away."

"Look at past documents from the Four-leaf Crystal Star Domain. The Central Star Domain originally allocated 10 trillion to improve 'Jade Skirt's' ecology and resettle disaster-affected families, but most of the funds were legally given to business companies affiliated with the Central Star Domain's Gate Valve families."

"Each layer loses 0.1, but if there are enough layers, by the time the money reaches the bottom, not much is left."

"How can such matters be resolved?"

"There are many ways, like strengthening regulations, establishing transparent financial routes for scrutiny, dealing with and deterring the personnel and organizations conducting such affairs."

"But most methods we can think of can't be implemented at present; all forces are intertwined, no one dares casually lift this lid."

"It indeed is disappointing." Although the girl answered this way, her heart was calm, having realized these things long ago.

The conversation between the two fell into a brief silence, Tilan continued gazing out at the ever-moving world outside, countless images flashed through her mind.

Are you going to do this, just because of words spoken in childhood.

Do you understand the significant resistance and risk involved, will anyone comprehend, stand with you?

The doubts lingering around her were still swirling and entangling.

It seemed she had little reason to proceed; after all, the world is so large, filled with many clever and capable people, why should she take this responsibility on herself without cause, as no one was forcibly demanding her to do so.

Yes, why indeed.

Her fingers brushed the soft dust accumulating on the windowsill, she glanced at it, then slowly brushed again, cleaning the small patch of the windowsill.

There's no reason, but she indeed wants to do this, just like wiping clean this section of the windowsill, only looking at it clean, makes her feel better.

Humans truly are remarkable creatures; if choosing via machine AI, wouldn't opt for this high-risk, no-profit option.

Life is as free as the wind; belief is as steadfast as solid rock.

Go and do what you want to do, Hexia Tilan.