Game Opportunity Becomes Reality - Episode 72
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Game Opportunity Becomes Reality - Episode 72
21. Saintess Contest (3)
A face so handsome that anyone, man or woman, would admire it at a glance.
Watching Adrian's youthful, boyish appearance made it hard to believe he was a high-ranking noble holding the title of Marquis.
But there was no doubting his status.
After all, there wasn't a single citizen of the Kingdom of Rhinehearts who didn't know Marquis Adrian Lawrence.
And rightly so wasn't he the most famous and talked-about figure in the world right now?
He killed his half-brother and his mother, who were his sworn enemies, blew up the main force of a margrave's army, wiped out four lordly families, and on top of that, he's a Grand Mage who took down an Aura Master-level Vanguard.
All of that happened in just over two months, so his youth could never be used to underestimate him.
No rather, he was the most terrifying noble one could never afford to offend.
"L-Lord?"
Ibril, her parents, and her relatives stood dumbfounded, never imagining such a figure would personally visit such a humble place.
"W-We greet the Lord."
Starting with Ibril, who came to her senses late, the entire family bowed their heads.
"That's enough."
But when Adrian flicked his hand as if annoyed, everyone was forcibly yanked upright as if pulled by an unseen force.
None of the relatives who had been acting so proud moments before could look Adrian straight in the eye.
The person before them held a status so high one dared not even gaze upon him, and with a single word, he could kill a commoner without a second thought.
Moreover, the words he'd spoken upon his arrival carried a reproach aimed at them, so they had no choice but to keep their mouths shut.
And yet, Adrian seemed highly interested in Ibril's relatives.
"Do you know what's good about becoming a great noble?"
Adrian approached Ibril's uncle and asked an out-of-the-blue question.
Ibril's uncle frantically rolled his eyes before quickly dropping to his knees.
"M-My apologies. How could a worthless being like me fathom the will of one so exalted?"
It was a stark contrast to the stiff-necked pride he'd been showing just moments ago a servile display.
But sadly for him, such flattery didn't work on Adrian.
"It means I can dispose of trash like you however I please."
"Gah!"
And Adrian grabbed the uncle by the collar.
A strength that seemed unfitting for a Mage emanated from Adrian's grip as the uncle was lifted helplessly into the air.
For the first time, Ibril's uncle could look Adrian in the face and a terrifying gaze tinged with madness seemed to pierce through his entire body.
It was the stare of a predator he had never encountered before.
Terrified, the uncle trembled like an aspen leaf.
Adrian tossed him aside like garbage, and the uncle was flung across the room, slamming into a wall.
"You there. Come here."
"Y-Yes, me?"
"Yeah."
Next to be called after the uncle was Ibril's other uncle.
He crept toward Adrian in fear.
-CRASH!
"Gah!"
He was thrown right next to the first uncle.
He was thrown so hard that a crack split the old wall, leaving an ugly gash.
As the two men pressure-crushed on the floor groaning, the rest of the relatives all dropped to their knees and begged for forgiveness.
"Do you even know what you did wrong before begging for forgiveness?"
"W-We were blinded by greed... we made their lives difficult..."
But their answers didn't satisfy him.
"No. That's not what you did wrong."
"Huh?"
"You dared to harm my people. Isn't that a declaration of war against me?"
A declaration of war against Marquis Adrian Lawrence?
Never imagining their actions would be interpreted this way, Ibril's relatives turned pale.
"W-We are but lowly beings how could we ever "
But Adrian, unwilling to hear another word, ordered Ibril's guards.
"Bind and capture them all."
"Yes! My Lord!"
Then, as if he couldn't bear to listen any longer, he sealed the relatives' mouths with Silence magic and had them expelled from Ibril's home.
"I happened to hear everything. The debt they've placed on Lady Ibril's family will be repaid through forced labor, including compensation for emotional distress and interest."
"T-Thank you."
At the appearance of a great noble they had only ever seen on broadcasts, Ibril's parents froze stiff and wore expressions of deep apology.
Adrian responded with a warm smile and personally helped both of them to their feet.
"Please, come into the Lord's estate. Since you have such a fine daughter, you might as well enjoy the luxury."
"Huh? But..."
"That is what is best for Lady Ibril."
"If you say so, My Lord."
As Ibril's relatives were bound up like sausages and dragged away, no trace of unpleasantness remained in the space.
Adrian flashed a grin at Ibril and gave a thumbs-up, and she, who had been staring at him blankly, turned bright red and bowed her head deeply.
"I never imagined the Lord would deign to visit such a humble place..."
"Ah, I had some business nearby."
As he said this, Adrian's demeanor as he glanced around somehow seemed tense.
But to a teenage girl, that serious look only made him seem more impressive.
He had not only changed her life but had also cleanly resolved the troubles that had long plagued her household.
Adrian was her benefactor and her guide in life, so it was only natural she would develop feelings for him.
And those feelings stirred a small change within Ibril's heart.
She wanted to become someone who could be of more help to Adrian.
With his upright character, even if she, a minor, expressed her affection, he would surely reject it, saying that wouldn't do.
But helping him as an ally was entirely possible.
And if they exchanged help like that for five years, ten years?
'Good.'
It was the moment Ibril, who had only ever followed the flow, found her motivation.
* * *
[Be careful. The Francis Ducal House is making suspicious moves.]
That was a message sent by Olivia Riverdale, the Duke of the Kingdom of Lucias and its foremost noble.
Unlike us, whose intelligence division had yet to take proper root domestically, she possessed extraordinarily powerful intelligence networks as the master of a world-renowned Mage Tower.
The reason she had passed on information about the Francis Ducal House was that we were currently in a temporary alliance for the Saintess contest.
In other words, the Francis Ducal House's movements were connected to the Saintess contest.
One could assume that Duke Francis had begun his scheme to make his third daughter, Evelyn Francis, the Saintess.
The problem was that we could not know what sort of countermeasures those with such immense power would take.
'What effective blow could they land on us in the current situation?'
Looking at the big picture, there were three possibilities to consider.
1. Severing the connection between me and Duke Riverdale.
2. Attacking me.
3. Attacking Ibril.
Among these, the simplest yet most effective means would, of course, be attacking Ibril.
They could spread rumors to tarnish her reputation, threaten her family, or launch a direct attack against her.
All of these were possibilities that could not be ignored, but among them, the most damaging by far was this one.
'A direct attack on Ibril.'
To be precise, it would amount to her assassination.
And so I moved thoroughly to block any variables.
I doubled the security personnel within the estate, changed the work system for employees to two-person teams, and had the sentries strictly monitor that no one left their designated posts.
Furthermore, I placed transformation-magic-detecting artifacts throughout the Lord's estate, and to effectively repel intruders, I deployed six Sky Fortresses around the estate grounds.
Above all, I had a trump card that no one else possessed...
[Titos Barnett]
Affiliation: Commoner of the Rocktail Barony, Kingdom of Rhinehearts / Agent of Francis Intelligence
[Roca Atman]
Affiliation: Commoner of the Lawrence Marquisate, Kingdom of Rhinehearts / Agent of Francis Intelligence
That was the existence of the Myriad Mirror.
While secretly guarding Ibril, I discovered that her uncle and her second uncle were agents of Francis Intelligence, and I kept a careful watch on my surroundings.
But was mere surveillance the goal?
I found no one else connected to the Francis Ducal House nearby.
I would have to haul them in and interrogate them for details, but there was one gain.
That was the certainty that the target of Duke Francis was Ibril.
'I don't know what kind of attack they'll come with, but they picked the wrong opponent.'
I am probably the one opponent in the entire world upon whom trickery simply does not work.
That made me all the more curious.
Just what level of scheming would a grand duke of a great empire resort to?
* * *
[The war between the Bringham Empire and the Prius Republic appears to have entered full swing.]
[At 1 PM today, the first clash between the two forces occurred on the seas of the Frozen Sea. The Prius Republic, which had shown confidence against the Bringham Empire, was pushed back one-sidedly once the war actually began, ultimately allowing the Bringham Empire to land its forces.]
[In this war, the Bringham Empire deployed a new weapon called the Trident for the first time. The Trident connects three Sky Fortresses and...]
There are typically three types of duty rotations for Knights guarding a noble's Lord's estate.
One is Guard duty, where Knights follow nobles around and provide close protection.
Another is sentry duty, where they stand at designated posts and perform watch.
The last is standby squad duty, which ensures Knights can be dispatched at any time.
Standby squads usually consist of 20 men working 12-hour shifts. They must remain fully armed and ready, but since they only need to sortie in time when trouble arises, it is considerably more relaxed compared to the other two forms of duty.
Some watched broadcasts, and others played games on their terminals.
There were even those napping while fully armed. Though it seemed lacking in tension, as long as no major mistake was made, this level of slack was generally tolerated.
- Emergency dispatch waiting room of the Lawrence Marquisate's Lord's estate
"Wow, I heard the standby squad duty at the Lawrence Marquisate is easy."
"Indeed, when the liege is strong, guard duty tends to be more lenient."
"You said it. Even if an assassin breaks in, they'd need to be at least an Aura Master to land a hit so who would dare come in?"
The Lawrence Marquisate had recently been strengthening its security, but Adrian did this not by squeezing the existing personnel but by adding more manpower, so the Knights' burden was not heavy at all.
"The Lord of the barony where I used to serve was a loan shark, and he had so many enemies that even standby duty was brutal. Compared to that, this place is heaven. Everything is modern, and the Lord is young, so he actually listens."
"He really does think differently from other nobles. Other nobles, when they set out to strengthen security, would just extend work hours and run the Knights ragged, but our Lord just adds more deployed manpower while strictly upholding the hours written in the contract."
"Right, right. It's no wonder he made it on his own."
Even though Adrian was a man of strong principles, his reputation among his subordinates was extremely high.
The reason was that in every small detail, you could feel his consideration for his men.
Compared to serving under those who thought, 'I pay them, so of course they obey,' the satisfaction here was bound to be far higher.
"Last time, Sir Damian actually cried from emotion while eating."
"Right. The food here is incredible too."
"Hey, Sir Damian. Still crying over your meals these days?"
"Hahaha! Sir Damian, you've got yourself a lifelong nickname."
Just as everyone was having an impromptu session of singing Adrian's praises.
Despite his comrades calling out to him repeatedly, the Knight 'Damian' remained motionless, his head bowed low.
His comrades assumed he was just shy about it.
"Was the joke too much? Sir Damian? Did you take offense?"
As one Knight approached and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Ah, sorry. Were you talking to me, Sir Damian?"
Knight Damian raised his head and said something incomprehensible.