A Fortuitous Encounter from a Game Becomes Reality Episode 26
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A Fortuitous Encounter from a Game Becomes Reality Episode 26
8. Now It Truly Begins (3)
Arsia and Blackie, who directly support me, are precious, of course, but among the legacy left behind by Grand Duke Lucas, I think the one that shines in the most fields is undoubtedly the All-Seeing Mirror.
[Peshius Nocturn / Aura Expert]
Age: 43
Affiliation: Free Knight of the Kingdom of Reinharts
Talents: Aura (Top), Physical Ability (High), Learning Ability (Medium), Intellectual Ability (Medium)
Traits: Stronghold Defense, Command
Relationship: Favorable / Ally
Status: Shocked, Afraid, Expectant
Thanks to the existence of this All-Seeing Mirror, I was able to discover talent, and above all, I could grasp others' emotions and true thoughts so I wouldn't be betrayed.
Being able to see one move ahead when dealing with people is practically the same as having obtained the ability of foresight.
No matter what tricks Anna and Cedric pull from now on, I won't suffer without knowing the reason.
"Did the great madam's side send someone?"
"It's obvious."
I shrugged my shoulders at Billyam, who was trying to read the situation.
From my attitude, Billyam and Peshius looked like they had a lot they wanted to say, but I snapped my fingers and postponed my answer for a moment.
-Sssssss.
Mana spread out from me as the center.
It soon turned into light that enveloped the surroundings, and the ruined buildings began to restore themselves as if time were rewinding.
And the blood and corpses soaked into every corner of the buildings evaporated and disappeared.
Seeing this, the two of them clutched their heads in confusion.
I've been thoroughly hiding myself all this time, so it's been a very long while since I've openly flaunted my own abilities.
Is this what you'd call a sense of superiority?
Watching people's astonished reactions wasn't all that bad.
"You must have a lot of questions."
"That is correct."
I told them there was no need to overthink things and placed my hands on their shoulders.
"Then let's change locations."
And I used the Teleport (7th Circle) spell I had memorized in advance.
"Y-young master? Don't tell me this is...."
"My goodness."
The two, who had been struck speechless by the Repair (5th Circle) spell, went beyond surprise into sheer shock.
Pure white light wrapped around the four of us, and with the characteristic queasiness of spatial movement, the scenery around us changed.
* * *
Among the countries that share a border with the Croysen Empire, there is a nation called the Kingdom of Lucias.
Lucias, our Kingdom of Reinharts' ally and a rival nation of similar national strength, is famous for having the largest number of Archmages after the four great empires.
However, if you had to pick the most widely recognized mage among them, ten out of ten people would shout this name.
"Duke Cain Riverdale."
The reason he is so famous is not only because he himself is an Archmage, but because of one particularly unusual career record.
Namely, among the seven Archmages of the Kingdom of Lucias, an astounding four of them are his disciples.
If you include himself, that means a total of five Archmages in a single country are linked together in a master disciple relationship.
Yet surprisingly, it doesn't end there.
In countries other than the Kingdom of Lucias, there are two more Archmages who made their name as disciples of Duke Riverdale.
The 7th Circle realm, worthy of being called Archmage, is something you attain only if both talent and heavenly fortune are on your side, to the point people say it is designated by the heavens themselves.
Yet because he raised no fewer than six disciples to the rank of Archmage, Duke Riverdale earned the evaluation and fame that, at least in the field of education, he surpasses even Grand Duke Lucas.
"The greatest mage in the world is Grand Duke Lucas, but the greatest magic teacher in the world is Duke Cain Riverdale."
In truth, Grand Duke Lucas has never properly trained a disciple, so he shouldn't really be part of such a comparison, but even so, no one objected to Duke Riverdale receiving the title of a great teacher.
Thanks to this, Duke Riverdale was able to possess a name value in the world of magic that followed after Grand Duke Lucas, and within the Kingdom of Lucias, he enjoyed prestige rivaling that of the king himself.
Though this great figure passed away last year.
"Is that really true?"
Why did I suddenly start talking about Duke Cain Riverdale?
The reason is simple.
Because I lied to Billyam and Peshius that Duke Riverdale is my magic teacher.
"I only managed to learn magic safely even under surveillance because someone of his caliber helped me, don't you think?"
"But, young master, you spent most of your time on games… Hah, don't tell me?"
"That's right. The place where I could act with the least restrictions was the virtual world. He mentored me while alternating between reality and the virtual."
"A-as expected, we should indeed call him Duke Riverdale. To think he would train a disciple with such an ingenious method."
Of course, I'm not fooling them with just words.
In my hand was a platinum badge proving I am a direct disciple of Duke Riverdale, along with a hologram photo of us together.
All of this is fake, but it's part of an alibi I had the fortuitous encounter manager Chester create for me, made from items that are practically indistinguishable from the real thing.
Just like the item I'm holding now, traces of Duke Riverdale are imbued all around me, and even in his records from when he was alive, the existence of a hidden disciple is quietly written here and there.
To the point that if people from Duke Riverdale's household or his disciples were to see me, they would have no choice but to acknowledge it.
"No, in this case we should say that you, young master, are more amazing than Duke Riverdale. To reach this level under such terrible conditions… So this is what heaven-sent talent looks like."
"Wow, isn't the simultaneous existence of a 7th Circle Archmage and an Aura Master in a single household like something out of a dream!? At this rate, the Viscount Lawrence family becoming a ducal house is possible!"
Why do you think I went so far as to create this kind of alibi?
It is precisely to avoid any restrictions being placed on my activities.
An Archmage who appeared out of nowhere.
Moreover, once people learn that I'm only twenty years old, anyone would find it suspicious and can't help but harbor doubts.
But there was a countermeasure in place to prevent that in advance, and that was the title of being Duke Riverdale's disciple.
*If I had my way, I'd shout to the world that I'm Grand Duke Lucas's successor…*
If I went around blabbing right now that I am Grand Duke Lucas's successor, the entire world would swarm me like a school of piranhas and tear my body to shreds.
That's why not only laundering the funds but laundering myself was absolutely necessary.
In fact, among Duke Riverdale's disciples, there are those who attained the 7th Circle at twenty-two and twenty-six years of age, so the existence of someone like me doesn't cause any issues.
"But anyway, 7th Circle at twenty years old doesn't that make it a domestic record?"
With a flushed expression, Billyam started fussing over records for no real reason, but I paid it no mind and turned my gaze to Peshius.
"Dealing with Anna and Cedric is well within the abilities of just the two of us. So there's no need to overexert ourselves on expanding our power base."
At my laid-back words, Peshius reacted as if wondering why I had called him here at all.
He had just steeled himself to start building a faction to oppose Anna, so it was only natural that the strength left his shoulders.
"I never planned on sending you back to the territory in the first place, Sir Peshius."
"Pardon?"
"There is something I need you to do separately."
As I said that, I had him hold out his left hand.
On his left wrist hung a black metal bracelet, and when it lightly touched my silver bracelet, a hologram message window popped up before our eyes.
[Please select a shared account.]
"Account 2, online currency account."
[The balance of online currency account 2 is 20 billion Rut. Would you like to share this?]
"Yes."
After a simple security procedure, a portion of the funds I possessed was linked and shared with the account connected to Peshius's terminal.
"Gasp! Young master!?"
Naturally, when he saw that a massive sum of money was now available for use on his terminal, his eyes widened.
"What I want to entrust to you, Sir Peshius, is the creation of an errand-running organization slash information organization that will faithfully carry out my orders."
Even if you call it an errand-running and information organization, it's obvious that it will also handle no small number of things that would normally only be done in the underworld.
High-ranking great nobles each have at least one such cleanup organization.
For a middling house like a viscount family, such a group might be unnecessary, but if you aim higher, it's a department that will inevitably be needed in the future.
*Entrusting this to a knight might be a harsh thing to do.*
But no matter how much I have the All-Seeing Mirror, it's not as if I can monitor everyone all the time, so I judged it better to entrust such a position to a straightforward and loyal person than to keep a sly snake who could betray me at any moment under me.
Only then did Peshius understand why I had sought him out, and he briefly furrowed his brow as he looked at Billyam.
However, after整理ing his thoughts, he seemed to have grasped my intentions and accepted it surprisingly easily.
"Since there is a high chance we'll become enemies with Border Marquis Raven, we certainly will need such an organization. But are you sure about this? It couldn't have been easy to gather this much capital. Even so, you're entrusting such a large sum to me just like that?"
Normally, even for a noble's child, unless they are the lord himself, 20 billion is not an amount they can mobilize easily.
It seemed that the reason Peshius did not refuse my orders was because he believed I trusted him enough to hand over such a fortune without hesitation.
"I happen to have a knack for making money through investments. 20 billion is a large sum, but not enough to make me cling to it for dear life."
"You truly are remarkable."
Peshius shook his head as if he no longer had the energy left to be surprised.
If he knew there was an amount three thousand times greater than 20 billion asleep in my account, would he still end it with just a single word remarkable?
I let out a faint chuckle and reached my hand out to him.
"I'm going to push Cedric out and seize the family. And then I'll have a power that no one in this country will be able to ignore."
A goal I had only ever held in my thoughts, never spoken aloud.
"You'll come with me, won't you?"
In response, Peshius went down on one knee, took my hand, and bowed his head respectfully.
"I will offer you my utmost loyalty."
Watching this from the side, Billyam repeated, "How admirable," over and over with a deeply moved expression.
* * *
"Five high-ranking assassins disappeared without leaving a trace?"
Anna blinked in disbelief at the report from the butler who had been with her since the days of the Raven County.
"Y-yes, that's correct."
"Didn't they boast that they could kill anyone as long as the opponent wasn't an Aura Master or an Archmage?"
"Yes, they are a group with more than enough ability and achievements to back that up…"
"Then! Why!"
Crack!
Anna cut off the butler's words and hurled the wine glass she had been holding.
The thin crystal glass struck the butler's forehead and shattered, leaving wounds all over his face.
Blood streamed down the butler's face, but he only bowed his head without taking any action.
"What about Peshius and Billyam?"
"Sir Billyam has returned to his unit, and Sir Peshius's whereabouts have not been confirmed."
"Tsk. He's probably alive. If Peshius had died, Billyam would definitely have reported it to him."
Any report that goes to the lord ends up reaching her ears one way or another.
After all, the one who controlled the lord's castle of the Viscount Lawrence estate was not her husband, the lord, but Anna.
"Damn it. If those two bastards team up and start scheming, it's obvious they'll end up pointing their blades at us. I should have assessed the situation a bit more before striking, huh?"
Anna recalled the promise she had exchanged with her husband.
'I want you to cease all acts of threat and surveillance toward Adrian and Sylvia.'
Though she hated it, she had no choice but to accept her husband's demand.
A cornered rat will bite the cat.
Even if he was a lord in name only, if she pushed Viscount Lawrence further than necessary, it could cause a troublesome situation.
So she swallowed her dissatisfaction and forcibly cut off her interest in Adrian and his mother Sylvia.
[Young master Adrian's exploits are astounding. Though he shares the credit with his superior and comrades, it's certain that he'll be granted a title once the war ends.]
However, Adrian was performing so outstandingly on the battlefield that he was being featured on broadcasts as one of the young war heroes.
[It is said that Sir Billyam wants to support the little young master. Though the little young master refused, the number of knights quietly supporting him is increasing.]
Once Billyam's remark about wanting to back Adrian somehow leaked out and reached Anna's ears, she could no longer afford to just sit back and watch the situation.
'If Billyam joins forces with Peshius, they'll form a force too significant to ignore. I can't leave this as it is.'
She decided it was no longer the time to keep the promise she had made with her husband.
"What shall we do about the Assassins' Guild? This time, they say they'll dispatch an overkill-level force to ensure the mission is accomplished no matter what."
The emergence of a rival to Cedric was something she could never tolerate.
Thus, Anna intended to eliminate anyone who could become a threat.
"No, maybe I should just kill Adrian outright?"
"Pardon?"
"Why complicate matters by tiptoeing around? That's the simplest method, isn't it?"