Game Opportunity Becomes Reality Chapter 83
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Game Opportunity Becomes Reality Chapter 83
23. Why Are You Here, Brother (4)
"Utterly foolish."
Duke Francis also looked at the candidate faction still trembling in the corner and muttered one word.AA
Contrary to his understanding expression, his tone was full of mockery.
He too had once tried to harm Ibril, but back then it was before the contest began and she hadn't even been formally appointed as a candidate.
Once someone is decided as a Saintess candidate and the contest proceeds, the church has no choice but to step in actively.
If so, shouldn't they have kept in mind that the Mirror of Truth might appear?
As a duke, he couldn't understand how such a person could be called a man of power and stand in this place.
"Prime Minister Trino Aust of the Prius Republic and Saintess candidate Miss Miel Aust, please step forward now."
That candidate belonged to the Prius Republic, whose national affairs had recently been in poor shape due to the war with the Bringham Empire.
"Not coming out? Then we may consider the two of you the culprits, yes?"
Miel Aust had ranked 6th among the Saintess candidates, closely chasing the leading group.
Even though such a person was named as the culprit, no one stepped forward to sympathize.
And rightly so without the support of a powerful nation like the Prius Republic and its population of 800 million, she wouldn't have been worthy of a seat here.
Was she dignified? No. Was she benevolent? Also no.
Nor did she possess outstanding divine power like Ibril or Esther rather, her father was the epitome of a corrupt politician, so most people thought they couldn't understand Miel Aust's ranking.
"No, it wasn't us. We're innocent."
But as it turned out, they were also foolish, weren't they?
So despite their claims of innocence, everyone merely shook their heads sympathy was out of the question.
"This is the final warning. Step before the Mirror of Truth now."
"I, I..."
"You refuse? Then there's no helping it."
At that, the Holy Son, Holy Knights, and Adrian who had been tense let out sighs and each removed their hands from their weapons.
Unlike Duke Francis, Prime Minister Aust was a man who had nothing left once you stripped away politics.
"From this moment, I arrest the two of you on suspicion of kidnapping and attempted murder of Saintess candidate Miss Ibril Barnet!"
And so, with the Saintess's declaration, the two were bound by the Holy Knights.
It was a finish hardly distinguishable from a farce enough to baffle the church leadership including Adrian and the Saintess, and people all over the world watching the contest.
* * *
"An unexpected gain."
Duke Francis approached me, wearing a less-than-satisfied expression, and spoke.
"Indeed. Congratulations. The government of the Prius Republic will be shaken greatly by this."
Attempting murder at the Saintess contest was, without a doubt, an act of apostasy.
Since Prime Minister Aust and his daughter had participated in the Saintess contest on behalf of the republic, they could hardly avoid public condemnation.
Even if the Prius Republic's political system differed from other nations, their faith in the Sepia church was no different.
"Surprising. I thought you'd dislike this."
"What I dislike is you, Duke, not the Bringham Empire. Few mages hold any resentment toward the Bringham Empire."
"Is that so?"
There's no need to explain at length why I dislike him.
The clear cause lay with him, after all.
He gave a smile that seemed inexplicably pleased and said,
"We think alike I don't dislike the Kingdom of Rhinehearts either. It's just that you, personally, are extremely grating."
As a duke of the Bringham Empire, he'd likely never seen someone charge in so fearlessly like me.
It was only natural for him to be displeased.
But I don't care.
After all, the gap between us can never be bridged.
With those final words, he turned and left the great hall where the holy throne stood.
But then.
"See you again."
Lady Evelyn, the duke's daughter of Francis, inexplicably blew me a finger kiss.
What?
Why is she doing that?
I looked at Arcia beside me, and she spoke with the utmost seriousness.
"Isn't that a declaration of war?"
"Why?"
"It can only be seen as picking a fight."
Arcia sometimes says strange things.
Perhaps because she's a homunculus and only one year old, her thinking has a childlike side.
"Can Lady Ibril participate in the contest right away?"
At that moment, the Saintess, who had approached without my noticing, asked from behind my back.
Fortunately, Ibril had been drugged, so she couldn't remember the kidnapping process accurately.
Not even the fact that they had tried to kill her.
Thanks to that, Ibril's psychological damage was relatively minor.
'The Lord saved me, didn't he? That's all that matters.'
And because of the kidnapping incident, her trust in me had only grown stronger now, if I gave an order, she'd charge into a blazing fire thinking, 'There must be a reason.'
"No problem."
"Good to hear."
She let out a sigh of relief and asked for my understanding.
"We have no choice but to handle the culprit on our side. Please understand."
"The Prime Minister of the Republic is too big a figure for me to do anything about anyway. Instead, please punish him thoroughly."
"Of course."
This incident is an unexpected gain for the Bringham Empire, which is at war with the Prius Republic, but it will also serve as an opportunity for people I know.
Namely, the Republican Revolutionary Army.
Amplifying public distrust of the corrupt government should be their immediate task.
* * *
[Chancellor Aust's act of apostasy, setting fire to a public already unsettled by war.]
[The government tried to block the information through media control, but it began spreading rapidly through online diaries (SNS).]
[Tired of media spin that treats people like fools? Small media outlets using online diaries have surged across the Prius Republic, and independent media user counts have exploded.]
[While the public is forced to donate for the war, wealthy corporations and politicians have shut their mouths clean.]
[Grand Duke Lucas's Opportunity Seeker, Lewis Fairmont, is rumored to have burned through hundreds of millions in a single day at a bar in the capital on ladies. Isn't this very act by the mastermind who forced donations on the people an act of apostasy?]
[The rise of activists against corruption.]
I felt the immense power of the Sepia Church anew.
Even when politicians committed all sorts of corruption, the public had reacted as if their brains had melted from media spin but to what happened at the Saintess contest, they reacted fiercely.
It seems the saying that religious conviction is more frightening than political conviction wasn't said for nothing.
"Looks like the revolutionaries are doing well."
They're skillfully weaving this incident together with the corruption of the government, politicians, and corporations to escalate things.
It was highly organized and meticulous.
The activists began awakening a public numbed to corruption, and their efforts led to the spread of protest movements.
Of course, it was still hard to say they were the majority across the entire nation.
But a crack had appeared where there had been no gap before, so if they wanted to change the country, the revolutionaries had to ride this momentum.
A democratic nation looked down upon by feudal states isn't that just terrible?
I was a fervent supporter of the Prius Republic's Revolutionary Army.
"What are you looking at with such delight?"
"Your Majesty."
I had been sitting in the reception room reading the news on my terminal when that heavy voice made me rise quickly and bow my head.
"It's been a while, Marquis Lawrence."
"I committed rudeness the other day."
"Enough. It's in the past."
When I raised my head, what met my eyes was none other than the King of the Kingdom of Rhinehearts, 'Kalitz van Rhinehearts.'
Flanking him were Crown Prince Michael and Second Prince Luke, who together divided the kingdom's power between them.
After greeting the King, I also greeted the two princes, then sat down facing the three of them.
Beside me sat the Vice Tower Master of Lawrence Mage Tower formed by merging the five enterprises I had acquired when I became Lord, including the Mage Tower, artifact workshop, steel company, and arms manufacturer with a tense expression.
When the five companies had simply been combined, their total market cap was barely 5 trillion, but now that I had transformed it into a military-oriented Mage Tower under my command as Tower Master, the market cap had nearly doubled.
The market called it a bubble, but that would soon be a thing of the past.
"So, what's this about?"
"I requested this audience with Your Majesty to obtain permission for this matter."
I handed him a holographic document.
Then, a neatly organized proposal floated up before everyone's eyes.
[Lawrence Mage Tower Vanguard Force Equipment Production and Distribution Plan]
"What?"
And upon seeing it, the King and the two princes wore stunned expressions.
The Second Prince was especially shocked, his expression asking why I hadn't discussed this with him beforehand.
But I gave him an apologetic look, tilting my head slightly as if asking for his understanding.
Honestly, if I'd submitted this proposal to someone who makes no secret of disliking me even though we're on the same side, there's no way he would have approved it.
For reference, I had given the Crown Prince a slight hint.
Though it seems he hadn't predicted that things would move this quickly.
"Judging by how you're just tossing a proposal at me like this, I take it the product is already finished?"
As expected, one can't underestimate political experience the King of Rhinehearts quickly composed himself and asked while examining the proposal I'd handed him.
I immediately retrieved the Vanguard equipment from my subspace.
It was a prototype Force Equipment unit built by the Project Team according to my designs.
"Looks fairly comfortable. Impressive."
In Vanguard Force Equipment, the Force Sword is no different from an ordinary sword, but the Force Armor takes the form of a chest plate in standby mode.
However, when fully armed, it becomes a full-body design like the Iron Suits from Earth's superhero movies.
This is where each Mage Tower's technical prowess shows.
Nearly all Mage Towers produce similar full-armament forms, but the smaller the standby-mode chest plate, the easier it is for knights to infiltrate enemy lines or carry out covert operations.
In that regard, the equipment I brought out was extremely compact.
Only the chest and back were covered in metal the sides and shoulders were bare.
That was why the King had reacted so positively, calling it impressive.
"The question is performance."
"Would Your Majesty lend me one of your knights for a moment?"
In response to my request, the King gestured and summoned one of his royal guards.
He had been listening to our entire conversation, so he immediately donned the Force Armor I handed him.
The process was quite simple, showing that a lot of thought had gone into knight convenience.
"Then I shall arm myself."
At the royal guard's words, the King nodded, and soon, with the signature glow of Force Armor, metal spread from the chest and covered his entire body.
"Oh ho."
It functioned without issue.
Not only that, the design after donning it was quite stylish as well.
"It's modeled after a black panther."
"Correct."
The design, modeled after the Black Panther from superhero media, had a Force converter emitting a blue glow mounted on the chest, so if Earthlings saw it, they'd think it was some hybrid of Black X and Iron X.
But so what if it's a hybrid? What matters is that it looks cool.
The Second Prince and the King seemed to like the sleek curved design, showing great interest in the Force Armor.
"How does it feel to move in?"
[Quite comfortable. The internal UI for communication, detection, and clairvoyance functions is also simple.]
"What about output?"
[It feels nearly identical to the 2nd-generation model issued by the royal Mage Tower. I can't feel much of a difference. The Force converter's output also feels stable.]
"That's enough. You may deactivate it."
[Yes.]
As the royal guard deactivated the equipment, the King honestly asked for his impressions.
"I'm surprised. If I were purchasing Force Equipment myself, I'd prefer this model at the same price. It's more flexible and easier to move in even in standby mode."
As always, the assessment of someone with firsthand experience is the most accurate.
I nodded in satisfaction, and the King openly expressed his amazement, asking if it was really that good.
"For a first prototype to perform this well how is that even possible?"
In response to the King's question, I used my all-purpose cheat card.
"Because my master is Duke Riverdale."
"So you possess some of Riverdale Mage Tower's knowledge?"
"Yes. Though Duke Olivia Riverdale wouldn't be pleased to hear it."
Riverdale Mage Tower is one of the top three greatest Mage Towers in the world.
From civilian flying cars to military-grade Force Equipment and sky fortresses.
There is nothing they cannot build.
The King nodded in understanding and then fell into thought.
I noticed the Second Prince eyeing the prototype covetously, examining it from all angles, and said:
"Once mass production begins, performance will likely drop slightly compared to this prototype. So you could say this is a very special product."
"Is that so?"
"I'd like to present this product as a gift to the kingdom's treasure and Aura Master, Prince Luke. Would you accept it?"
He might throw a tantrum like a child otherwise.
I hurriedly oiled him up and handed him the Force Equipment to appease the anger that might come back to me later.
"Haha! I won't refuse! I quite like the wild design!"
At my words, the Second Prince laughed heartily as if he had never shown any displeasure, and quickly took the Force Equipment.
Then the King asked me.
"You said the mass-produced units will have lower performance?"
"Yes, I believe they will show about 5% lower performance compared to the products currently being produced at the Royal Magic Tower."
I knew what he was worried about.
He was concerned that if I suddenly sold high-performance Force Equipment, the Royal Magic Tower's dominant position in the market would be shaken.
In that regard, a 5% performance difference would be a decent compromise.
"And the price?"
"Since the performance is lower, it should naturally be a bit cheaper. I plan to sell it cheaper by exactly the amount the performance drops."
Selling it 5% cheaper than the market price of regular Force Equipment just because performance drops by 5%?
That wouldn't fly at all.
In the defense weapons market, people pour in fortunes for even a 1-2% performance boost or a slight convenience improvement.
The King judged that if performance dropped by 5%, it would need to be 10% cheaper to appeal to customers.
"Then if you promise to keep the price within 5% of the Royal Magic Tower's Force Equipment, I will accept your request and permit the sale of the Force Equipment."
I laughed inwardly, but outwardly I bowed my head with a look of profound gratitude.
With this, the Marquis Lawrence family gained a source of income.