It wasn't even a week later when Ash finally returned from Red Wood City. With him, he brought fifty males, all above five stars in strength. This was far less than he had been hoping, which had made him feel rather pathetic. However, he did still have some hope that more people would join them after the next rainy season.
Many of the males wanted to take their chances earning the favor of the females in the city they were accustomed to or to have the chance to try and convince their families to join them in Blue Springs City. Meanwhile, others wanted to bunk down and prepare for the cold season rather than having to rush to prepare after making the trek back to Blue Springs City. Ash had accepted all of their excuses with grace, promising that they could always change their mind and join them later, but reminding them that they would have to be willing to swear an oath to follow Iris and the laws of their city.
Ash knew some of the males were a bit uncomfortable with the idea of being led by a female. Their loyalty lay with him, not his mate, and they were too accustomed to the usual traditions of the beastworld that they had grown up with. Still, there were others who were more than a little eager to embrace a new way of life for the promise of a brighter future that Blue Springs City offered.
Iris was a bit frustrated that she had to hold off on a proper homecoming for her mate in order to deal with the matters related to the new citizens they had to welcome to their city. Most of the work was going to be handled by Caspian and Ash, but that still meant that she would have to wait. She stood proudly before the strong males who were ready to swear their loyalty to her and addressed them with all the confidence and grace of an experienced leader. She had done this several times before this, after all.
"Greetings and welcome to Blue Springs City! I am grateful that you all have been inspired by our way of life and have even deemed us worthy of your loyalty and strength. However, I have to warn you, much as I have the others who have come before you, that life won't be easy. Every one of our citizens has had to earn their place here and no one is guaranteed an easy life.
Your strength is invaluable as it means that you will be able to protect your new friends and family. However, far more valuable in your day-to-day lives will be the skills you have to offer the community. There are many job opportunities you can apply for, most of which you all should be more than accustomed to thanks to your previous stay with us. However, that is just the beginning!
As our other citizens have done over the last few years, you too can carve your own path. Hone your skills and figure out what you can offer that no one else can. Create your own businesses and opportunities so that you too can shine as one of the treasures of our city. Take your time finding love and ensure that you don't rush into a relationship that you'll regret. Your futures all depend on what you make of it!"
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With that rather lofty introduction, they commenced the usual portion of the ceremony. Each male swore their loyalty wholeheartedly, more than eager to enjoy the opportunities that they would be afforded as official citizens of the city. No longer would they be forced to live in the outer city and have their job opportunities limited due to a lack of trust. Instead, they would be treated the same as everyone else.
Of course, Ash had also considered the problems that would be created by inviting more males to their city before Iris's quest was completed. So, as part of their transition process, he had agreed to personally teach each and every single one of them how to read. There was no way that he wanted to be the one who caused Iris to fail a quest from the Beast Deity, especially when everyone had worked hard to get as far as they had before he came along.
It was a bit of a complicated case for him to be the one to teach others, though. He had never actually been to Golden Plains City, so he had never sworn an oath to not teach others the knowledge he had. However, it was common knowledge among the royals that the knowledge was not something to be given away to others. It was one of the things that set his family apart from the others in Red Wood City.
The thing was, though, that Ash no longer held any loyalty towards such customs. The only thing he cared about was ensuring that his mate was happy. Since she and her other mates wanted to teach the others in their city how to read, write, and do basic math, then he would do his part as well. He had refrained up until now because it wasn't necessary to step in, but now it was different. Now he was responsible for ensuring the males he had brought to their city could transition successfully and that no problems would arise due to his actions.
Iris was significantly surprised when she found out about his plans to teach the others. Ash wasn't even going to charge the males anything for their education. Something that Iris was a bit concerned would cause some animosity between the newcomers and their other citizens. However, it was far more surprising to see Ash giving the knowledge away when even her own mates were insistent that such a thing had to be earned. Basil even refused to take female students to ensure his efforts were paid for while Fern would only teach females for free.
Still, it wasn't like she could complain about her mates' preferences. Where Iris felt like it was her own responsibility to complete the quest since only she would suffer if she failed to complete the quest, she was basically getting a free ride. Her mates were doing all of the work to complete the quest and ensure she wouldn't have to lose what knowledge she had. How could she possibly say anything when that was true?