Opportunity in Game, Reality Episode 84
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Opportunity in Game, Reality Episode 84
23. Why Is My Brother Here(5)
[Marquis Adrian Lawrence receives royal permission to produce and distribute Vanguard Force equipment!]
[This makes Rhinehearts Kingdom home to its fourth Vanguard maker!]
[Currently, only three places produce Vanguard Force equipment: the Royal Magic Tower, House Aenerheim Ducal, and House Heins Ducal.]
[A new marquis who has barged into the Force equipment production market, once the exclusive domain of the royal family and the two ducal houses.]
[Marquis Lawrence's territory, once dismissed as lacking foundation, is rapidly transforming into a military production base.]
[Lawrence Mage Tower, launched by merging five companies Kalt Steelworks, Luella Ironworks, Zenith Artifacts, Conia Magic Tower, and Patnik Mana sees its stock soar with news of Vanguard equipment production. Consecutive limit-up records.]
[Lawrence Mage Tower, once valued at 10 trillion and criticized as overvalued, has doubled its market capitalization in a week. Given that domestic mage towers producing Force equipment have a minimum market cap of 50 trillion, there is still plenty of room for growth.]
As expected, after the meeting with the King ended, I got scolded by the Second Prince.
He demanded to know why I hadn't reported such an important matter to him, saying he had no idea what I was thinking.
Still, perhaps thanks to the bribe I'd slipped him, he wasn't overly aggressive.
To his protesting remarks, I explained that I'd had no choice but to keep it secret for security until completion, and that once it was done, my eagerness had driven me straight to the King.
And when I apologized for my lack of consideration, the Second Prince stopped pressing me.
With me producing Vanguard equipment in-house, my importance within his faction was bound to rise even further.
He must have figured there was no point in making an enemy of me.
In the end, he backed off with a final warning to mind my conduct going forward, and after that, everything proceeded smoothly without any obstacles.
'At this point, he's become too big to keep dismissing as just some new marquis.'
Among marquises, I'm the only one producing Vanguard equipment.
In political circles, voices warning of a new power's rise are growing louder.
Though the kingdom's politics are split into the Crown Prince's faction and the Second Prince's faction, digging deeper reveals smaller factions within each camp.
They'd want to check my sudden rise, but I'd grown too big too fast to rein in, and with a reputation as a mad dog that would tear out your throat if you grabbed it wrong, no one dared make a move.
Currently, the top figure among the Second Prince's faction nobles is House Aenerheim Ducal, the maternal family of Prince Luke.
And for second place, Marquis Vincent, the kingdom's greatest swordsman, and Marquis Hamington, Head of the Noble Auditor's Office, are mentioned in similar breath but with this Vanguard equipment production permit, my name is coming up quite a bit too.
In fact, among the Second Prince's faction nobles, not a few are buttering me up, saying I'm a superior version of those two.
That lukewarm title of "new marquis" no longer suits me.
I am a bona fide marquis of the Rhinehearts Kingdom, counted among those who may one day become the kingdom's third duke.
"Public attention has been fixed on Marquis Lawrence and Lawrence Mage Tower day after day. How do you feel about that, Marquis?"
"I'm simply grateful. I will produce products worthy of all this attention and live up to expectations."
"Your confidence is refreshing to see. Could you introduce us to Lawrence Mage Tower's Vanguard-exclusive equipment, 'Panther 1.0'?"
I'm currently being interviewed by 'Daily Rhinehearts,' the kingdom's largest news channel, to promote Lawrence Mage Tower's Vanguard equipment.
Right now, I'm showing my face to the public on live broadcast whether it's my natural stage presence or years of familiarity with the camera, I'm continuing the conversation with ease, hardly nervous at all.
At the host's request, I clapped my hands twice like calling a waiter to introduce the Vanguard equipment 'Panther 1.0' produced by Lawrence Mage Tower.
And stepping out from backstage was my soulmate, Arcia.
Given how important this issue was, I'd chosen her a knight of national renown and a beauty as the model.
"Oh... Haha, what a surprise appearance by Count Klein!"
With Arcia's entrance, the atmosphere of the broadcast brightened.
It feels a bit conceited to say this myself, but neither Arcia nor I would lose to any celebrity in looks, so we make a pretty good picture on screen.
"The Panther 1.0 guarantees excellent portability. So it's great for infiltrating enemy lines discreetly, and even if you stand guard while wearing it, knights won't tire easily."
As I said that, I took out the Force Armor from the Force Equipment displayed on one side and put it on her.
"The form is a breastplate that only protects the chest and back, but the sides are wide open, making it very easy to wear. And the breastplate itself is also small and thin."
"Oh, that's certainly true."
"And if you go into full armament from this state, it takes this form."
At my instruction, Arcia infused the equipment with Aura, and soon the breastplate became a full-body armored suit.
As the King was astonished and even the Second Prince showed desire for the sleekly designed armament, exclamations of admiration flowed from all around.
"The armor is coated with a matte finish that doesn't reflect light by default, and colors can be customized in various ways upon request. You can also add designs in certain parts."
"Ooh, it's stylish in a way that doesn't seem like a weapon at all."
"Everything before was just too dull for a weapon. I think adding designs and colors that represent each family would look quite impressive."
At my words, the host nodded.
But what matters isn't the design.
On the battlefield, design doesn't add anything to combat power.
"Since this is our first time making Force Equipment, the output is somewhat lower at 95.5% compared to the Royal Magic Tower's latest Force Equipment."
"From Lawrence Mage Tower's perspective, this is a first-generation product isn't that already more than enough?"
"But on the battlefield, a 1-2% difference in output can determine whether you survive or not, so it can't be ignored."
"You're quite honest."
"So I focused on combat convenience to make up for the lacking output."
When I looked at Arcia, she suddenly did some stretching.
Then, following the stretches, she bent her body like a gymnast and did a backflip.
The power armor responded directly to the woman's characteristic flexibility.
"Huh, isn't it made of metal? How is it so flexible?"
"This is the core technology that makes up for the lacking output. If a knight wears this 'Panther 1.0,' they can reproduce over 90% of their swordsmanship. Any Vanguard who has experienced combat will know this Force Armor is still armor at the end of the day, and it greatly reduces mobility. When mobility drops, attack patterns become monotonous."
It doesn't matter if the output is lower.
The Panther 1.0 will still have plenty of demand.
All because of this one feature flexibility.
When demonstrating before the King, the knight had said the fit was extremely comfortable.
At that time, the King should have listened to his words.
In actual combat, the output of Vanguard Force Equipment is very important, but mobility is just as important.
Mobility doesn't just mean charging forward quickly on a Hoverboard it also includes the ability to dodge in an instant.
"For ranged combat capability, higher output wins outright. I admit that. But in close combat, output isn't everything."
With that, I revealed a piece of data.
Since this was something already agreed upon with the production team beforehand, a video was played on one side of the news desk.
The video showed a battle between Vanguards one side wearing the latest Force Equipment purchased from the Royal Magic Tower, and the other side wearing the Panther 1.0.
To get straight to the results, in ranged combat, they fought three times, and all three times the Vanguard wearing the Mage Tower's equipment won.
But in close combat, the Panther 1.0, with its flashy movements based on superior mobility, won all three out of three fights.
What I wanted to advertise was clear.
"So, you're saying the Panther 1.0 is equipment designed for close combat?"
"The output is just slightly lower there's no problem with ranged attacks. But the key point is that it shows overwhelming performance in close range compared to other equipment."
Force Equipment specialized for close combat.
For units that mainly conduct ambushes and charges, this was something they couldn't help but choose.
I wondered if there would be demand since wars these days involve a lot of ranged combat, but I wasn't too worried.
After all, in our Kingdom, there are already four Vanguard equipment manufacturers, including my Mage Tower.
What was needed to break into the existing market was a distinctive edge.
"Perhaps because you're a young researcher, Marquis, the equipment you've created has its own distinct character."
"Right? And on top of that, the price is quite reasonable."
"With that signature flashiness and this level of performance, I'd expect it to be very expensive."
As I said earlier, the Panther 1.0's raw output is only slightly lower than existing products.
Even so, the host reacted as if the performance was exceptional.
That was the general public's overall assessment of the Panther 1.0.
"We plan to sell it at a price roughly 4 5% discounted compared to the Force Equipment currently on the market."
"Oh! Well now, that's welcome news for consumers."
If the King happened to be watching this broadcast, he'd probably press his hand to his forehead and mutter that he'd made a mistake.
The news segment ended successfully, closing with the host's enthusiastic responses, exclamations bursting out from all directions, and Arcia's demonstration of swordsmanship while clad in the Force Equipment.
"Y-Your Excellency!"
And the response came faster and more immediately than I'd expected.
"Inquiries about purchasing the Panther 1.0 won't stop coming in! In just one day, we've received pre-orders amounting to no fewer than 300 units!"
Does 300 units seem too few to warrant the word "no fewer"?
No, absolutely not.
And that's because Vanguard Force Equipment, which has become the basic unit of warfare, costs a whopping 50 billion per set.
As the Panther 1.0's success was highlighted in the media, Lawrence Mage Tower's stock price exploded once again, and the equipment became so sought-after that purchases required a waiting period of several months.
Despite that popularity, I never raised the price, and the Panther 1.0 became a complete ecosystem disruptor.
* * *
The first round of the Saintess selection competition, lasting one month, is underway.
One candidate was eliminated after being branded an apostate, and two were caught doing sloppy media plays, leaving 12 proper Saintess candidates but the top 5 are so outstanding that it's an open secret one of them will become the Saintess.
Currently holding the best record in the first round is Grace, a High Elf.
The competition's theme is mercenary work, and she threw herself into mercenary duties with complete seriousness in just one week, she and her party members all rose from B-rank to A-rank mercenaries.
Right behind her is Ibril, who's been showing remarkable performance through the backing of Magic Swordsmen and her exceptional Divine power, followed closely by Esther, sponsored by Duke Riverdale, and Evelyn, daughter of Duke Francis, who've achieved similar results.
As I mentioned, the current top 5 are receiving the public's full attention.
The last one is a figure who wasn't getting much attention until recently, when she started surging up namely, Princess 'Sia Rin' of the Leberto Kingdom, a strong nation in the East (Triton Continent).
Though calling it a strong Eastern nation, it's still far below our Kingdom of Rhinehearts, but since the Leberto Kingdom proclaims itself the hegemon of the Triton Continent, where small nations gather, it enjoys continental support and couldn't simply be dismissed.
So we'd been keeping a close eye on her, but never imagined she'd surge up like this.
It's all because of the Prius Republic.
If a candidate had been eliminated in humiliation, they should have just stayed quiet and shriveled away but instead, the Republic openly pushed Princess 'Sia Rin' forward, claiming they'd support their good friend the Triton Continent, and what was expected to be a four-way race turned into an unexpected five-way one.
Well, I suppose the Republic government had no choice either.
The Republic is in complete turmoil both internally and externally right now, so they needed something to divert attention.
But I think it's all pointless in the end.
Whether it's because of the revolutionaries or the Bringham Empire, the Republic is bound to sink and when that happens, Princess 'Sia Rin' will fall just like a kite with its string cut.
'Actually, setting results aside, Ibril is overwhelmingly popular anyway.'
Ever since the kidnapping incident, sympathy from public opinion has piled onto Ibril, who was already very popular, and when it comes to public favor, she has practically no rivals.
Her viewer ratings are double those of Grace the High Elf, who's in second place.
The Saintess isn't chosen based on popularity from the first round, but Ibril is doing so well that there's nothing to worry about.
Thanks to that, I've been able to relax mentally these days and pay attention to all sorts of things.
The territory was fine, the Mage Tower was thriving, and I had nothing to worry about with Ibril, so I could gradually increase my playtime.
I'm still around level 220, but I'm steadily moving forward.
And so, finally relaxing my tension, I was spending each day productively... but then.
"Please wait here for a moment."
Today, a meeting with a special figure was decided, and I had to raise my tension once again.
Namely, the head of the secret organization Blue Moon.