Game Opportunities Become Reality Episode 66
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Game Opportunities Become Reality Episode 66
20. Only I Feel Peaceful (1)
-Age of Magic, November 10, 2019.
The Bringham Empire declared war on the Prius Republic.
Tensions had been rising over Grand Duke Lucas's Opportunity, and in the end, the Bringham Empire drew its sword.
Judging by how things were flowing, the Bringham Empire itself didn't seem fully convinced that the Opportunity the Prius Republic had gotten its hands on was real, but either way, they apparently couldn't afford to stay still.
Thanks to that, the Prius Republic, which had been puffing up its chest with pride, flew into a panic like a dog with its tail on fire at the Bringham Empire's declaration of war.
[Using the power of a nation for robbery—has the Emperor of the Bringham Empire finally lost his mind?]
[The Bringham Empire is a nation that has abandoned common sense. They have no right to call themselves an Empire.]
The Bringham Empire's actions were clearly robbery.
Whatever the reason, they were starting a war to take what someone else had obtained.
But ironically, apart from the neighboring nations where the Prius Republic's influence was strong, the majority of nations did not take their side.
In fact, there were even countries cheering on the Bringham Empire for starting a war over such an unjust cause.
This could be called the price of the Prius Republic's government's accumulated conduct.
'But what's interesting is that the Prius Republic government bastards know exactly how they're being perceived.'
Aside from raising a fuss and condemning the Bringham Empire, they were steadily preparing for war—so the Prius Republic must have predicted the conflict as well.
Yet the reason they were so fervently playing the media, voicing their grievances, and proclaiming the legitimacy of their ownership of the Opportunity was purely to stir up the people's emotions.
"Oh ho?"
I clicked my tongue after watching the speech of 'fake Opportunity Seeker Louis Fairmont,' who was leading the charge in inciting the people.
[Please lend your strength for the fatherland. You are the hope and the beacon of this nation.]
And what he said next was a 'request for war fund donations.'
In other words, they were going to squeeze the money needed for the war out of the citizens by dressing it up as patriotism.
Some more open-minded citizens pushed back, asking how they'd managed their budget that they needed to collect money from the people the moment an emergency broke out—but those were only voices of a minority.
The majority of the Republic's citizens, rather than questioning the use of the budget, were burning with animosity toward the Bringham Empire for waging an aggressive war.
They held protests and burned Bringham Empire flags, carried out terror attacks on the Bringham Empire embassy, and smashed products from the Bringham Empire as symbols of its wealth.
And seeing them willingly empty out their meager households to donate to the government, saying they'd defend their country, I couldn't help but shake my head.
'Meanwhile, the rich businessmen and politicians are keeping their mouths shut tight.'
Every time I look at the Prius Republic, I can't help but think of a certain dictatorial nation from my past life.
If only the people united, they could surely overthrow the dictatorship—yet there was a nation that supported its dictator even while living in hardship.
For that country to change, the enlightenment of its people seemed essential.
'This is a golden opportunity for the revolutionary army. No matter how many Aura Masters and Grand Mages they have, going head-on against the government would be hopeless.'
Honestly, maybe because I'm from South Korea, I hope the Prius Republic, which claims to be a democratic society, does well.
A democratic republic mocked by feudal nations—that's something unthinkable for someone from Earth, isn't it?
"Marquis, how do you think the war will play out?"
Having hurriedly scraped together information through online diaries (SNS) after the Bringham Empire's declaration of war, I belatedly remembered that this was the Crown Prince's Palace.
When I took my eyes off the terminal, the Crown Prince, Count Acres, Young Lady Otis, and Arcia were all looking at me.
"Wouldn't the odds be about 6 to 4?"
"I take it the 6 is for the Bringham Empire."
"Yes."
"You didn't seem to like the Prius Republic, but surprisingly, your assessment is rather generous?"
The Bringham Empire, the Elysian Coalition, the Prius Republic, and the Croysen Empire.
These four nations are counted among Rondel's Four Great Empires, and among them, the Bringham Empire is on another level.
After all, it was a nation capable of waging war against the remaining three empires all at once.
Since the military power gap between the Bringham Empire and the Prius Republic was nearly fivefold, my estimate was bound to seem out of the ordinary.
Even so, the reason I made this judgment was simple.
"Because for the Bringham Empire to invade the Prius Republic, it would have to cross the great ocean and ram its head into a closed-off terrain."
"In the end, the defending side is bound to have the advantage?"
"Yes, and as the sole nation on the Tetratron Continent, the Prius Republic can mobilize all its forces for defense, but the Bringham Empire cannot do the same."
The Prius Republic is the only nation on the Tetratron Continent.
Simply put, it's a country like Australia that occupies an entire continent by itself.
Moreover, it had quite good relations with the nations of the Triton Continent adjacent to the island nation of Lycess Island to the south of the republic.
If things went wrong, a war structure of the Bringham Empire VS the Tetratron Continent and the Triton Continent could be created.
"To think it might have to face two continents at once—that's terrifying. But even so, you still think the Bringham Empire has the advantage..."
"Well, because it's the Bringham Empire."
No other reason was needed.
No matter how favorable the terrain was, and no matter how much the Bringham Empire couldn't fully mobilize its forces due to the long-distance expedition, there was no way I'd rate their odds lower than the Prius Republic's.
After all, the opponent was none other than the Bringham Empire.
"And direct military support from the Triton Continent nations is unlikely to materialize."
"Well, because opposing the Bringham Empire is madness by anyone's standards. They'll probably go with a form of supporting from behind the scenes. Of course, that still can't be ignored."
There was nothing the Kingdom of Rhinehearts could do in this war right now.
If anything, I could only hope that the war would proceed without major casualties and end with the Bringham Empire judging the Prius Republic's regime.
As a bonus, if the revolutionary army we'd built ties with this time seized their chance and took down the current regime, that would be the best outcome.
"Why? Is there something you'd like to say?"
But there was someone staring intently at me while I was conversing with the Crown Prince—and that was Count Acres.
"Surely Marquis Lawrence knew about this, and that's why he made that choice..."
It seemed this man was misunderstanding something.
He was suspecting that my support for the revolutionary army was because I already knew about this situation.
Naturally, the Crown Prince, unaware of the situation, expressed confusion at what he meant, and I shot a warning glare at Count Acres with a smiling face, telling him not to talk nonsense.
I didn't mind him misunderstanding, but blurting out something involving illegal acts in front of the Crown Prince—I had no idea what he was thinking.
I thought we'd agreed on maintaining secrecy.
"What do you mean by that?"
Only then did Count Acres realize his mistake and shut his mouth.
If one were to compare which secret between mine and theirs would cause the bigger catastrophe, it was obviously Young Lady Otis's, who had acquired part of Grand Duke Lucas's Opportunity.
My actions could be smoothed over somehow, but theirs was something that could invite the Bringham Empire in.
I rubbed my twitching eyes with my hand as I gave an answer to the Crown Prince's question.
"Actually, in the process of rescuing the two of them, I borrowed the strength of the Prius Republic's revolutionary army."
"Oh, such a thing happened?"
"I needed local intelligence networks, after all. And I happened to have ties with them."
"Ties?"
"I follow the revolutionary army's leader, and they follow me back."
"Haha, is that so? How amusing."
"Thanks to that, I had to spend no small amount of money. I was surprised to learn that their scale was larger than I'd thought."
"In a way, this incident could serve as an opportunity for the revolutionary army."
"I think so too."
I didn't believe the Crown Prince, who had a cunning snake hidden inside him, would take my words at face value.
But for now, he was showing a semblance of belief, so it seemed like I could get past this.
I quickly changed the subject.
"For now, it seems best to issue no statement at all regarding this war."
"That's true."
The Crown Prince closed his eyes for a moment, as if in thought.
Meanwhile, Count Acres shrank his shoulders under the glares of me and Young Lady Otis.
He was an Aura Master and a man in his forties, but he was a rather simple-minded fellow in many ways.
That was a bit annoying, but...
"Let's end the meeting here for now. Count Acres and Young Lady Otis, you must absolutely keep your mouths shut about Marquis Lawrence and Count Klein. These two are going to be major weapons in the upcoming struggle for the throne. Understood?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Understood."
"No, Count Acres, you should stay at the royal palace entirely and not meet anyone else. I have a feeling you'll blurt it out by accident."
"Pardon?"
That was a proper response.
In my view as well, it seemed better for Count Acres to be managed directly.
"Ah, understood."
"Then, shall I also remain here just in case?"
"If Young Lady Otis would do that as well, it would certainly be reassuring."
"Yes, I'll do the same. I have a feeling that if I stay here, I'll get to see Marquis Lawrence and Count Klein often."
At Young Lady Count Otis's words, I let out a hollow laugh, and Arcia expressed regret that it had become harder to kill her.
And so, the day's work came to an end—a day filled with events that started with the visit to the Prius Republic, led to an unexpected deal with the revolutionary army, and even included the Bringham Empire's declaration of war.
* * *
The war between the Bringham Empire and the Prius Republic is progressing rapidly.
Simultaneous with the declaration of war, the Bringham Empire's expeditionary force deployed at a terrifying speed, as if surrounding the Prius Republic.
In response, the Prius Republic leveraged its home-field advantage to form a solid defensive line.
A direct clash hasn't happened yet, but it could break out at any moment now.
Experts predicted it wouldn't go past three days at the latest.
The Prius Republic's reaction to the war has been uniform.
[We will fight back. We will surely judge the Empire in the name of justice.]
Something like that.
Many people mocked the Republic's reaction, saying they were overconfident.
Though it's impossible to know what unexpected developments a war might bring, even accounting for all those variables, a Bringham Empire defeat was unthinkable.
It feels trite to say, but I'm glad I hid my possession of the Opportunity and redirected attention elsewhere.
If the Bringham Empire's suspicion had been focused on me, our Kingdom of Rhinehearts would have become the battlefield.
If even the Prius Republic—one of the great nations representing Rondel—was in such a mess, the Kingdom of Rhinehearts would have been far worse.
"Marquis Lawrence, are you ready?"
"Yes!"
So, while the war between the Bringham Empire and the Prius Republic was setting the world ablaze—
I found myself in an unexpected situation.
"Alright, we're rolling now!"
Namely, a broadcast appearance—a most embarrassing situation.
-The young hero of the Kingdom of Rhinehearts, Adrian Lawrence!
-Welcome to Marquis Lawrence's visit to the Jordy Kingdom!
"Eeeeeek!"
"Oppa!"
"Wait! Wait! You fans over there! We're about to start filming! Please keep it down!"
And it wasn't even a broadcast from our country—it was a broadcast appearance in a foreign nation.
A maelstrom of chaos; my schedule was going absolutely insane.
"Our dear Marquis, you're so popular and so handsome. How about a drink sometime?"
Letting out a deep sigh, I shoved aside the female celebrity who kept clinging to me and looked at the dozens of cameras and the nearly hundred-member filming crew.
How did things end up like this?
'In this Saintess contest, what Young Lady Ibril lacks compared to the other candidates is recognition. To resolve that, the two of you must put in the effort."
That was a plan proposed a few days ago by Eric Jones, the chief aide of the Ibril Saintess Making Camp and the holder of political talent from the Gifted Institute.
In other words, the reason I showed up for filming wasn't to play celebrity—it was part of an operation to make Ibril the Saintess.