Game's Fortune Becomes Reality: Episode 43
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Game's Fortune Becomes Reality: Episode 43
14. Merits and Rewards (1)
But the problem was that Count Elfried's claim was nothing more than a hypothesis it couldn't be confirmed as the truth.
Edward Noah Bringham, the Emperor of the Bringham Empire, rubbed his temple with his thumb.
"A third party with a genuine fortune, you say... That theory can't be dismissed either. But to convince those Prius bastards that they obtained a fortune, at least a nation-level manipulation would be required."
"I think so as well. And if such a nation were possible, we could narrow the candidates down to about four."
"The Elysian Coalition, the Croysen Empire, the Kingdom of... and the Kingdom of Rhinehearts, roughly."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Since they had no way of knowing about Chester, the fortune administrator, their reasoning had veered slightly off course, but the blade of their suspicion hadn't completely left Adrian.
"The most likely candidate is the Elysian Coalition, is it? Those sly elves would pull this kind of trick and then some."
"I share that opinion. And among the remaining three nations, the Kingdom of... and the Kingdom of Rhinehearts are slightly more likely than the Croysen Empire."
"Ah, speaking of which, I hear the Kingdom of Rhinehearts has been quite turbulent lately?"
"Yes. A young man in the Kingdom of Rhinehearts achieved the 7th Circle at the age of 20, and because of that, the country has become quite unsettled. He's even amassed a fortune of 60 trillion through investments."
"How coincidental. A talent so excessive it's suspicious."
Adrian's existence was brought up in the Bringham imperial court.
"However, he has no faction capable of pulling off something like this. Moreover, Duke Riverdale of the Kingdom of... has recognized him as a fellow disciple, and the securities exchanges of each nation have testified that there's nothing irregular about his investments so there's no evidence to suspect him as a fortune-holder."
"Impressive. All of that is talent? Is such a thing possible?"
"There was a monster greater than Adrian Lawrence in our empire."
"That's true as well. Besides, the Kingdom of Rhinehearts can hardly unify its royal opinion due to the succession struggle at its peak. It's hard to see that kind of scheme being possible there."
"For now, it seems we should suspect them in order: the Elysian Coalition, the Kingdom of..., the Kingdom of Rhinehearts, and the Croysen Empire."
The Bringham Emperor swept back his gray hair, which looked silver due to the white strands, and let out a deep sigh.
"But don't you think we're getting a little too absorbed in writing a novel here?"
"Forgive me. With the current situation, all we can do is reason..."
Unlike when he addressed the ministers, the Emperor did not rebuke her separately.
Because it was through her that he had realized what directive he needed to give.
"Then let's raise the surveillance level in order of importance of the nations just mentioned. Including the royal families, as well as the major nobles."
"As you command."
They could suspect, but everything was a judgment built on assumptions.
Therefore, the Emperor didn't place much weight on this matter, and in Adrian's case, the circumstantial evidence was so clear that he only showed passing interest.
If they had been able to deduce that Grand Duke Lucas was helping Adrian through an artificial personality (Chester) created by copying his own memories, they wouldn't have avoided suspicion.
Of course, if one could predict that far, it would no longer be within the realm of speculation.
That would be prophecy.
"And now, we decide on the response to the Prius Republic."
The intelligence chief's hypothesis had briefly diverted the discussion, but the protagonist of this incident was, strictly speaking, the Prius Republic.
While one couldn't ignore the conspiracy lurking beneath, digging into the Prius Republic's background would eventually lead to the truth.
The Emperor spoke forcefully, his gaze almost murderous.
"Send a stern warning to the Republic. Make them realize that Grand Duke Lucas's fortune is clearly the property of our Empire, and their actions are theft."
"As you command."
"And if they still don't come to their senses, the warning will turn into a threat and we will re-engrave the might of the Bringham Empire upon the entire world."
The first step was a warning; the second was war.
The Emperor of the Bringham Empire believed that the ruin of an entire empire was a cheap price to pay if it meant obtaining Grand Duke Lucas's fortune.
Since the Bringham Empire had not undertaken military action against another nation in nearly thirty years, every minister swallowed dryly.
But the Emperor's words did not end there.
"And, Intelligence Chief."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Make contact with that young man from the Kingdom of Rhinehearts."
"By contact, you mean ?"
"Offer him defection. Wouldn't becoming a count of the great empire be better for him than remaining a count of some middling nation?"
"Yes, I shall do so."
And so, the meeting on Grand Duke Lucas's fortune came to an end.
All while foreshadowing that a great calamity would soon occur.
* * *
While the Crown Prince's and the Second Prince's factions were fervently trying to recruit Adrian and Arcia, in an unexpected corner of the Kingdom of Rhinehearts, a few individuals whose consciences pricked them gathered in one place to fret over their own fates.
"I hear Adrian locked up his half-brother, who used to bully him, and that brother's mother inside the Sky Fortress and blew them up."
"So that damn rumor was true?"
"So that crazy bastard Adrian posted a photo online of himself sipping wine while watching his own family get blown to bits like fireworks?"
"Th-That's how it is."
There were six people gathered together now.
Three men and three women they were core members running a social club for young nobles, and they had been classmates with Adrian during their academy days.
However, since their relationship with Adrian had not been a pleasant one, they had gathered out of worry that he might come after them.
"He was annoyingly arrogant for someone with nothing to back it up but who would've guessed he was Duke Riverdale's disciple?"
"Will we be okay? Adrian himself is a great mage, and he also has a lover who's an Aura Master by his side."
"Both of them are getting count titles this time, right?"
"Probably."
"Then that means two count houses and one viscount house are all uniting into a single faction around him."
"That's practically on the level of a marquis or margrave house. Isn't that too much for newly minted nobles?"
Wherever people gather, there are always those who love to flaunt their power and form cliques.
These people were exactly that sort, and in their eyes, Adrian a son from a viscount house had been perfect prey to pick on.
On top of that, his needlessly handsome looks drawing the attention of so many young ladies had also grated on them.
But now the one they had bullied had risen high and gained power, and they feared the consequences.
"I don't know what you're all so worried about."
But there was one exception.
A woman sat calmly sipping her tea with a look that said she had no worries at all.
"Isabella?"
Her name was Isabella Caskbell.
The eldest daughter of the Caskbell family one of the great lords of the southeast and one of Rhinehearts' six marquises she was the operator of a tea party renowned among noble ladies.
Even if Adrian were to actually receive a count title, she had the background to not fear any retaliation from him, and since her father, Marquis Caskbell, was a key figure in the Second Prince's faction, she could not empathize with her friends' reactions.
"Marquis of Ereiven only got taken down because he was stupid with his troop deployment. Do you really think Adrian could match him in a fair fight?"
"That's true. But the result already came out that way."
"Tsk, you're all just cowards."
"Ugh!"
"Then let's think rationally. What exactly can he do to us just because he suddenly got a count title?"
"Huh? Well..."
"Times have changed. We no longer live in an era where we have to tremble before a single great mage or a single Aura Master. On the battlefield, the Sky Fortress with its superior defense draws more attention than a great mage, and even an Aura Master can be taken down easily enough if you push them with numbers of Vanguards."
It was only because the epithets of the great mage Adrian and the Aura Master Arcia loomed so large that it seemed otherwise, but thinking coldly, her words didn't seem wrong.
"Look at us right now it's no different from one marquis house, one count house, and four viscount houses forming an alliance. Don't you think you're all underestimating our own strength?"
"True, even if he gets a count title now, it'd be hard for him to actually harm us directly."
"R-Right. Even with a count title, he'd just be a great noble in name only for a while. Whew, we got scared over nothing."
"Out of all the high-ranking nobles out there, why on earth are you afraid of Adrian? Idiots."
"That's because we don't have as big a backing as you do. Haha."
Just moments ago, everyone except Isabella had been worrying about the future, but now they were teasing each other over who was more scared, who wasn't.
"By the way, they say that Arcia is quite pretty for a commoner, right?"
"Why, thinking of making a move?"
"Can't I? At least when it comes to consideration for the opposite sex, I'd say I'm top-notch."
"Don't bother. If you hand her an excuse and end up getting challenged to a duel, it'll be hard to protect you."
"Ah, that's true."
To them, Adrian was now defined as someone who couldn't be ignored, but also didn't need to be feared.
Isabella's arrogance in particular pierced the heavens being counted among the leading flowers of high society, she paid little attention to Adrian, who had no political foundation.
"I should be going now."
"Already? We were just about to get things going. Lotus went to the Elysian Coalition and brought back some rare medicine."
"Forget it, you beasts."
"Prince Corant is supposed to come by soon too, you know? You said you like him, didn't you?"
"My father called for me. This time, I have no choice."
"Then we'll enjoy ourselves without you. If you finish early, feel free to drop by."
"We'll see."
But it didn't take long for Isabella to realize her judgment had been wrong.
"Isabella. You were classmates with Master Lawrence, weren't you?"
The question Marquis Caskbell posed the moment she returned to the lord's castle in haste after receiving her father's summons mid-gathering was unexpected.
A name that came up often from those around her today, of all days.
But when that name flowed from her father's lips, she had to subtly narrow her brow and nod.
"Good. Then I want you to use your position in high society to build a close friendship with him."
At the unexpected order, Isabella's eyes widened.
Naturally, she asked why.
"He will become a core figure of power in this kingdom in the future. His Highness Prince Luke has promised him a marquis title to bring him into the fold."
"What!?"
A count and a marquis.
Though it's a difference of just one rank, no one knows better than her, devoted as she is to social circles, just how vast that gap is.
She herself belongs to a marquis family that doesn't lag far behind even marquis houses in military strength, but a marquis is merely a special rank that lifts the military cap to marquis level in exchange for shouldering the duty of border defense.
It couldn't compare to the name value and political weight of the kingdom's only seven ducal and marquis houses.
And Adrian is to become the 6th marquis of the Kingdom of Rhinehearts?
An alarm blared through her previously carefree mind.
"A bastard child of a viscount's concubine suddenly becoming a marquis? Is that even possible?"
"His Highness Prince Luke believes Master Lawrence is well worth it."
"..."
"Having become a 7th Circle wizard at the age of 20, who's to say he can't become a Grand Wizard of the 8th Circle later? Moreover, by Master Lawrence's side is also a prodigy of Grand Master rank, equivalent to the 8th Circle."
Only then did Isabella realize that Adrian's greatest value lay not in the present, but in the future.
"Besides, he earned an enormous sum through investments entirely on his own, and he also distinguished himself in war, didn't he? I think it's not a bad deal to bring such a figure into our camp for the price of a single marquis title."
"But the Crown Prince's faction won't just sit still, will they?"
"We'll try our best, but if it doesn't work, a little concession will be necessary."
This was also an expression of the Second Prince's will the very backing of the Caskbell family to bring Adrian into their fold no matter what.
"He is a precious weight that can tip the balanced scales to one side, isn't he? Befriending such a figure will further solidify our family's foundation. Of course, the best outcome would be for you to put in the effort and marry him."
Adrian already has an Aura Master destined to become a count attached to him as his lover.
The Marquis's assertion meant that if she could at least become Adrian's second wife, she should do so and elevate the family's standing.
Political marriages were common for children of noble houses, but for Isabella, this was unacceptable.
"I can guarantee he will keep climbing higher. I believe it's entirely possible for him to become the 3rd duke of the Kingdom of Rhinehearts."
"Father, um, that is..."
"I trust you'll do well. You've never once disappointed me."
Marquis Caskbell held Adrian in very high regard.
Faced with her father's fervent speech, she couldn't bring herself to reveal that she had bullied Adrian during their academy days.
In the end, she had no choice but to nod to the Marquis's one-sided demands and assertions.
With the conversation with the Marquis concluded, Isabella, with a fire under her feet, hurried to her friends.
"Oh, you're here?"
"Wow, it's Isabella!"
"Come here! The drug is amazing."
But her close-knit friends, high on drugs, were too busy savoring the lips of senseless partners to be in any state for a consultation.
For the first time, Isabella considered her friends' existence worthless.
She had to bite her nails and rack her brain.
Her usual confident demeanor was nowhere to be found.
* * *
The first thing I did after returning home from visiting the royal palace to offer my thanks was, of course, logging into Chronicle Online.
I should explain to my parents what happened at the palace, but something urgent had come to mind.
"Will this do?"
"Good, it suits you well."
The urgent matter was changing the appearance of Arcia's character in the game.
Her face had become far too famous now.
If it became known that a character identical to Arcia existed in the game, I would likely get dragged into troublesome affairs.
So I gave Arcia an appearance similar to the Triton Continent natives of Rondel.
The appearance of the Triton Continent natives brings me nostalgia.
The reason is that they have black hair and deep brown eyes features resembling Asians.
Thanks to that, even though only her skin tone and hair color changed, she looked strangely elegant.
'It's just a simple disguise, but this isn't bad either way.'
How much time did we spend on changing appearances?
It didn't seem like even an hour had passed since logging in, but I had no choice but to log out due to Arcia's report.
"Lord Adrian. Sir Fessius Nocturne requests an audience with you."
Fessius Nocturne was a knight of my former household whom I had entrusted with a large sum of money and ordered to establish an independent information organization.