"Eleanor!" said a tall, strong, smug-looking man, tiger tripes covered his back, from his neck to the back of his ankles.

"You must be Mr. vont Ballard, I am Ye Fan Eleanor's fiancé," said Ye Fan smiled proudly.

"Honorable Sir, Ye, welcome to my humble abode," even though the Ye Fan didn't bow to Will, Will bowed to Ye Fan out of respect to Ye Fan nobility. Will also use his diplomatic skill.

"Eleanor, I am surprised to see you, were you shopping for a wedding gown with our mothers?" he asked in shock.

"We finished early, and I thought I enjoy some company with my friends," she smiled as Lawrence and Holo walked into the library.

"Eleanor!" Holo scream in joy as she ran up to hug her. Eleanor and Holo embraced. "I missed you, I tried everything to reach you."

"I was busy planning my wedding," Eleanor said.

"Are you okay to get married, I hear Ye Fan is an ostentatious fellow," said Holo looking to the lavishly dressed man behind her.

"Uh hello, I'm Kraft Lawrence," said Lawrence said stretching out his hand.

"Aren't you too confident in addressing me, the first son of the great Ye Long, I am Ye Fan heir of the Tiger Clan, human" he said to Lawrence.

"How can a man not feel confident in his own house," Lawrence smiled.

"May I ask why you came here?" said Will.

"You owe the Tiger Clan a favor, I am here to call in your debt!"

"My grandfather, Sun Yefang wishes to speak with you about the riots," Ye Fan said.

"It would be an honor to meet your grandfather, but I am busy this week with my businesses," Will retorted.

"I will tell him to expect you for dinner next week," Ye Fan said walking out the library door looking displeased that Eleanor stayed.

"Eleanor tells us where you've been," said Holo.

"Well, I arrived in the Tribal Lands a week before you, while you all remained in Will's barony. I went to my Clan's territory, which is north of Rijilir, Will. My Clan celebrated my arrival, Ye Fan also came to visit. My father and Ye Long spoke about the wedding and asked that we have the ceremony next month.

Will told you the Cat Clan has long been vassals of the Tiger Clan. However, my Clan has grown quite powerful in the last 100 years. With the new power, there has been friction over whether we should revolt against the Tiger Clan, like the Eagle Clan.

However, the clan decided before I was born that it would be best to unite the tribes instead of warring. When I was Ye Fan, and I was born were engaged to each other. My marriage to the Ye Fan brings our two clans together. If I were to refuse his hand in marriage, the war would break out between our two clans. That would fracture the northern territory.

This is why I was able to leverage my agreement with Ye Long. He is growing impatient, and after this victory, he is more emboldened. All the great Clans, since the Great War, have sought to conquer and rule the Tribal Lands for themselves. My marriage to Ye Fan solidifies the Tiger Clans' control of the northern territory.

However, I am fearful that this victory will only spear the Tiger Clan to claim more land in the future and shake an already tentative balance," she looked nervous.

"Yet, if the Tiger Clan attacked the Bear or Wolf Clan they would ally to fight them. Even in the western territory, the Eagle, Snake, and Tiger Clans have created their own balance. I imagine the Snake and Eagles would ally to fight the Tiger Clan. The biggest question is the Orca Clan," Lawrence said pensively.

"If anything the rice riots have shown the Orca Clan is too disorganized with their affairs to prove a confident ally. If it were me, I'd be hesitant to ally with the Orca Clan," said Holo.

By the third week, most of the larger rice riots had died down. However, there were still several smaller protests across the Tribal Lands. For the most part, the Tiger and Wolf Clan's idea of inflating the price of rice to destabilize the more populous and vicious Snake Clan had worked.

"Has the Tribal Council discussed how they plan to resolve the inflation? Do they plan to import rice? Cutting the price of rice in half is not sustainable. The reports say in many rural areas, people are lining up by the hundreds early in the morning to snap up scarce bags of rice. Even the price of illegal "black rice" is increasing. Although, I'm happy things in Rijilir are returning to normal. I'm happy the guards are allowing construction workers back into the inner circle. However, the price of their labor keeping increasing. The economy is on the precipice of a crashing to a depression." Will knew a depression, would cause the rice riots to look like a hiccup, compared to riots a depression would bring.

"Grandfather told me the Tribal Council is debating the best way to solve this problem. For most clans rationing rice, and cost reduction are temporary solutions. Unlike Fermion, the Tribal Lands to do have a strong central economic system, each clan is responsible for their own economy," said Holo.

'I understand economic devolution when it comes to self-governance, usually those regions still share a national, security, and central economy. On Earth, the best example was the United Kingdom.' However, the Tribal Council wasn't responsible for national, security, or a central economy. The Tribal Council served more like a court for resolving inter-tribe disputes. Will knew the best way to dig this country out of inflation was to issue government bonds.

The conversation transitioned from politics to wedding decorations, menus, and customs. This wedding would be the major summer-ending event. This wedding would cement the Tiger Tribe as the predominant power in the Tribal Lands. Eleanor handed the wedding invitations to Will, Lawrence, and Holo before she left. Teacher Li smiled as she left, walking down the street.