The Game's Fortuitous Encounters Become Reality, Chapter 25
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The Game's Fortuitous Encounters Become Reality, Chapter 25
8. It Begins Now (2)
King's Domain Nichenxi is a small city in the western part of the Reinharts Kingdom, with a resident population of 200,000.
Until recently, the city had been as quiet as if a mouse were dead because of the war with the Kroisen Empire, but as the two nations entered peace negotiations, it regained its former bustle.
"My, why have you gotten so old?"
Pesius, the former deputy commander of the Lawrence Knights, teased the current deputy commander, William, for his dignified appearance.
"You already saw me over video call."
"Seeing you in person feels completely different from a video call."
"Sir Pesius, you don't seem to age at all. You still look like you're in your early thirties."
"I do have a bit of a youthful face."
And the two exchanged greetings and updates, as if pouring out all the conversations they had not been able to have in the meantime.
Asking whether their parents were healthy, how much their children had grown, whether their swordsmanship had improved, and so on.
Sometimes they laughed, sometimes they frowned, and they spent a fairly enjoyable time.
But that was only when they had topics to talk about.
About ten minutes later, when there was no more conversation to be had, the unnecessary smiles disappeared from both of their faces, and soon they stared at each other with chilly, sword-ready eyes.
"So why did you ask to see me?"
The place William chose for their conversation was an inn that ordinary commoners would use.
It was the best room in the inn, but the presence of the heart-shaped bed seemed to prove that it was not a space for two middle-aged knights to face each other in.
William slowly looked around the room and cautiously opened his mouth.
"I have no intention of leaving the future of the estate to Anna and Cedric. That's why I'm gathering comrades who share the same aims."
"For some reason, I did have a feeling that might be the case.... But do you have a plan? Even if Anna and Cedric are overly ambitious for their abilities, Duke Raven is backing them."
"The prestige of Margrave Raven is formidable, but given a margrave's position, he can't move the army carelessly, can he? As long as we first seize control of the Lawrence viscount house, I think we can handle the aftermath however we need to."
"Why?"
"There are many people who do not want the Lawrence viscount house to become Margrave Raven's second territory. Marquis Douglas, the lord of our Lockport region, is a representative example."
Although a border margrave holds the title of count, as a grand lord tasked with defending the border, even his own military power is not inferior to that of the dukes and marquises who can be called the true power holders of the kingdom.
Before that overwhelming military force, a mere viscount house is like a lamp in the wind, but that is only an issue if armed conflict actually occurs.
William was arguing that if they were weaker in force, they could simply target them through politics.
"No matter how much Marquis Douglas dislikes Margrave Raven, he won't move without getting something in return."
"If there's something he wants, then we just give it to him."
Pesius felt something was off at how easily William said that.
"You're not thinking that as long as you can drive out Anna and Cedric, it doesn't matter what happens to anything else, are you?"
It was a worry that he might have lost reason to anger.
But William answered simply.
"For now, losses will arise one way or another, but in the long run I believe we can recover from them in any number of ways."
"An independent territory is better than becoming a satellite territory of the Raven county, that's true. But even if you push Cedric out, if no proper successor takes the seat, your wish will be a half-baked revolution."
At that, William realized that although they were having the same conversation, the two of them were focused on different things.
He waved his hand 크게 and said that was not it.
"It's not simply that an independent territory is better than a satellite territory. I believe that if Young Master Adrian takes hold of the territory, it will develop even more greatly than it does now."
Pesius blinked in bewilderment.
And the feeling of 'What the hell is this nonsense?' appeared on his face.
"Did I hear you wrong?"
The fact that he was picking at his own ear as if he had misheard him showed deep distrust toward Adrian.
"In any case, Sir Pesius, weren't you planning to support Young Master Adrian's branch family?"
"How can you say this is the same thing! I thought you were stepping up for the lord! If you'd asked for a secret meeting just to push some clueless brat forward, I wouldn't have agreed to meet you in the first place!"
William bristled for a moment at his belittling of Adrian, but then remembered that until not long ago he himself had held much the same view, and he let his anger subside.
"Young Master Adrian is a prodigy."
"Well, I've heard he distinguished himself a bit in the war. But don't you think his capacity as someone to be trusted is far too small to act on just that one achievement?"
William let out an involuntary snort at the mention of 'capacity'.
"Ah, my apologies. I wasn't mocking you. I just remembered that until recently my stance wasn't much different from yours, Sir Pesius."
"What?"
"It seems Sir Pesius thinks Young Master Adrian just happened to get lucky and earn a single merit."
Seeing Pesius nod without denying it, William smoothed his expression from his face and spoke.
"That is absolutely not the case. In fact, what's known publicly is no more than the tip of the iceberg."
"...."
"Unlike Sir Pesius, who only heard of Young Master Adrian's achievements through others, I'm someone who has directly heard his orders and carried them out. As such, I dare to assert this: the young master is one of the few true geniuses in this country."
"Heh..."
And then William poured out every story he had experienced on the battlefield.
"Foresight that grasps the enemy's movements faster than any reconnaissance equipment."
"Insight that finds the enemy's weak point and strikes it precisely."
"Calculative ability that does not permit even a momentary opening, like an iron wall."
"Courage that calmly absorbs and overcomes every unexpected situation."
"Breadth of heart that knows how to care for commoner soldiers."
"And even the capacity to share his merits with comrades and subordinates instead of hanging on to petty personal gain."
Incredible stories flowed from William's mouth.
But as he added vivid, on-the-spot descriptions that proved it was no lie, even Pesius, who had been reacting as if uninterested, couldn't help but show curiosity.
And by the time William's tale was nearing its end, Pesius could only wear a weary expression.
"You're not exaggerating, are you?"
"You can't know unless you experience it yourself. Even the knights who tried to cozy up to Cedric followed and trusted Sir Adrian during the war."
"Hmm..."
"Do you know why I said Sir Adrian's achievements are just the tip of the iceberg?"
"If he hadn't shared all those merits and instead kept them for himself, becoming a lord wouldn't have been a dream... So why go out of his way to do that?"
"I think he believed that if you bite off more than you can chew, you'll choke. Thanks to that, the young master was able to build a wide network of connections."
When he realized that all of Adrian's previously lacking behavior had been an act, Pesius felt a sharp twinge at the back of his head.
The story of Adrian, the child prodigy, taking poison and becoming mediocre dates back to when he was seven.
In other words, it means that at that young age he decided on a way to survive and has been putting it into practice up until recently.
Even leaving aside the intelligence William boasted of, his patience and perseverance were something that simply could not be denied.
"You've become a complete devotee of the second young master."
"I can't help it. You just can't understand unless you meet him in person."
"How frivolous... So why is the little young master only now revealing his true self?"
"It seems he's made some sort of preparations in his own way."
"Preparations?"
"Even when I swore my loyalty, he didn't look particularly delighted. It felt more like, 'It's not a bad offer, so I'll accept it for now.' This is just my conjecture, but I believe that even without my support, he would have bared his blade for revenge."
"Heh..."
Pesius spent quite some time sorting out his thoughts as if lost in contemplation, then clicked his tongue and continued.
"Of course I don't intend to take every word at face value. But one thing is certain: Young Master Adrian is definitely not someone who should be left buried and ignored."
Even if you lie, the truth will be exposed soon enough.
For that reason, Pesius thought that while William's story might contain some exaggeration, it surely wasn't nonsense.
Pesius let out a small sigh and asked.
"So what is it you want from me?"
"To persuade the vassals who are keeping to neutrality and have them lend their strength to Young Master Adrian."
"That's quite a heavy task..."
But contrary to the ambiguous answer, his face looked rather cheerful.
"This is interesting."
"I'm glad you think so."
"What are you talking about? I haven't decided yet."
"Sir?"
"Before making a decision, shouldn't I meet Young Master Adrian at least once."
Though he had already organized his thoughts in his heart, Pesius still wanted to meet Adrian in person.
William, finding his request only natural, checked the time on the personal terminal hanging from his wrist with a smile on his face.
"As it happens, Young Master said he would be visiting soon."
"Really? So it turns out I've been moving according to Young Master Adrian's intentions, not yours."
Pesius reacted as if dumbfounded, but he didn't seem particularly displeased.
"So when is he coming?"
"I heard he'd be here shortly... I'll give him a call."
"All right."
William operated the bracelet-type terminal, similar to a smartphone from Earth, and soon a call tone trying to connect to Adrian rang out.
And a moment later, as the sound indicating the call had connected was heard, William immediately brought up his business.
"Yes, this is William. We've just finished talking here, so you can come now...."
-Click.
However, the call did not end properly.
It was suddenly cut off along with the call end tone.
"H-ha."
Thanks to that, William could only let out a hollow, embarrassed laugh.
He cautiously gauged Pesius's reaction, and seeing that he didn't seem to mind much, William quickly tried calling Adrian again.
-Doo. Doo.
But the call just wouldn't go through.
William voiced his confusion, and Pesius, likewise unable to grasp what was going on, tilted his head.
And then.
-Crackle.
All of a sudden, a massive surge of mana began to whirl at the center of the lodging they had rented.
At that unexpected development, the two men's expressions hardened; in movements like lightning, they drew their swords and sprang to their feet.
The phenomenon unfolding before their eyes was a sign of spatial leap.
Moreover, with this amount of mana, it was clearly a 7th-circle Teleport, so they couldn't help but be flustered.
-Fwoosh!
In less than a second, the mana reached its peak, and soon, accompanied by pure white light, the forms of two people took shape.
"Young Master!"
The ones who thus revealed themselves were Adrian and Arcia, who was practically his shadow.
Pesius, ready to swing his sword at any moment, let out a breath of relief at Adrian's flashy entrance, though he still had to knit his brows.
No matter how important first impressions might be, he thought using a 7th-circle scroll just to look good in front of him was far too wasteful.
But what followed was Adrian's scolding.
"Judging by your expressions, you two don't realize you're currently surrounded."
"What?"
"Well, I can understand that. They're sneaky bastards who've plastered themselves head to toe in artifacts."
Seeing William and Pesius looking puzzled, Adrian shook his head and gave an order to Arcia at his side.
"Take care of it."
At that, Arcia's figure blurred, and parts of the room began to burst apart.
-Papapapak!
No strictly speaking, describing it as bursting apart would be inaccurate.
"Guh!"
"Aaargh!"
The ceiling, walls, and door were sliced into tiny pieces, scattering fragments everywhere, making it look as though an explosion had occurred, but aside from the screams of unfamiliar men, not even a loud boom was heard.
And a moment later.
"Five assassins have been dealt with."
Arcia, who had reappeared like a mirage, flicked the blood from her sword onto the floor and then sheathed it.
Nodding at Arcia's report, Adrian turned to the two middle-aged men, Pesius and William, who still wore shocked expressions with their mouths agape.
"Were my expectations too high? I heard you two were among the top powerhouses in our territory, yet you didn't even notice assassins approaching."
His demeanor and tone were relaxed, but his criticism was extremely blunt.
Normally, they would be flushing red and bowing their heads, but unable to make sense of the current situation, the two men only opened and closed their mouths like fish.
Perhaps it bothered Adrian that they were letting his words go in one ear and out the other.
Arcia snapped her fingers toward the two men.
Their heads snapped to the side with a sound like being hit by an air rifle.
"Urgh!"
Since Pesius and William were beings who had reached the higher ranks even among Aura Experts, they only felt an impact like being flicked on the forehead; Arcia's attack did not result in any injury.
Seeing Arcia's actions, Adrian smirked and said.
"Arcia, you should know to respect your elders. Not assault them."
"My apologies. You weren't moving at all, so I thought you'd fainted while standing."
Strictly speaking, "middle-aged" would be a more fitting description than "old men," but Pesius and William were in such a dazed state that they didn't notice.
"Y-young master?"
William had decided to serve Adrian as his lord, yet in truth knew nothing about him, so he asked for an explanation with trembling eyes.
Just what kind of situation was this, and what was that monster (Arcia) wearing such a carefree expression beside their lord…?
Adrian furrowed his brow and spoke.
"Ever since the day I was poisoned, I've lived for thirteen years dreaming of revenge, so how could I afford to be unprepared? At the very least, I should have an Aura Master as my bodyguard."
It sounded like a joke, but it was anything but.
However, Pesius, who had intended to meet Adrian in person to gauge his level, now realized painfully that he had been overstepping his place.