Game Opportunity Becomes Reality Episode 123
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Game Opportunity Becomes Reality Episode 123
31. Reshuffling of Power (3)
Adrian's words about helping her find her country.
Princess Sia Rin's heart raced at the words she had so longed to hear, but she soon calmed herself with a deep breath.
Adrian's offer was deeply grateful, but unfortunately, the place she had intended to ask for help was not the Kingdom of Rhinehearts, but the Prius Republic.
It was true that the Kingdom of Rhinehearts was a far more powerful nation than the Kingdom of Roberto, but it was also a country that lay far too distant, and moreover, he was not the king of that nation.
No matter how outstanding a figure he was, the help a mere noble could offer was bound to be limited.
'He's overextending himself because he feels sorry for me.'
Princess Sia Rin couldn't help but think that.
Though grateful for his words, she could only shake her head.
"I can't impose on you any further. Rhinehearts is too far from our Roberto."
Adrian smiled at her remark.
"You don't trust my abilities?"
Unlike his smile, which was like a picture-perfect portrait, his words struck her exactly where it hurt.
Flustered, Princess Sia Rin fumbled for words.
"Oh, no, of course not. I know very well that you are an extraordinary person, Duke. You became a Grand Mage at just 20 despite unfavorable circumstances, made a fortune through investments, and secured the highest noble Title at a young age with your shrewdness. There is probably no one in this world who can compare to Duke Lawrence. You are truly the world's greatest genius. And, and also the fact that I, who must have suffered severe injuries, woke up safely like this shows how much care you poured into me. You are not only brilliant, but overflowing with consideration."
Adrian was her idol.
He was the very embodiment of a young and capable figure.
With the added element of being her savior on top of that, how could she ever disregard Adrian?
Waving her hands vigorously, Princess Sia Rin heaped lavish praise upon Adrian's face.
At her display, Adrian let out a small chuckle.
Princess Sia Rin's face flushed with embarrassment, and she scratched her cheek before finishing her words.
"That's why I can't take the hand you're offering, Duke. This is a fight that brings you no benefit at all. Please don't waste your time out of mere pity for someone like me."
She had never been one to belittle herself even in unfavorable circumstances.
It was clear that the recent rebellion had taken a heavy toll on her self-esteem.
Adrian nodded.
But the atmosphere did not suggest he was yielding to her words.
Rather, it felt as though he was pleased with her for not trying to play clever tricks.
He pulled a chair from nearby and took a seat beside the bed.
"What if there is something to be gained for me as well a way to quell the rebellion without plunging the Robert Kingdom into a full-scale war?"
At the answer that followed, her eyes flew wide open.
"Pardon?"
"To be honest, I like Princess Rin. But it's not enough to make me willing to risk war."
"...."
"Others call me the most emotion-driven noble in the world. But in truth, I have a disposition for crunching the numbers and weighing the profits. And I value my own well-being above all else."
"What do you mean?"
"It means you can offer me a reward worth bearing all the costs."
Princess Sia Rin tilted her head, unsure what reward the resolute Adrian meant, yet her face grew even redder, as if embarrassed that she had misjudged him.
"And rather than seeking help from the Prius Republic, it would be better to accept help from me alone. Shall we call it cost-effectiveness?"
"May I ask what reward you desire?"
What Adrian wanted was not so great from her perspective.
"Just lease Ophelia Island to me free of charge, with the condition that it be returned after 50 years."
"Ophelia Island?"
"Yes, I would like full use of Ophelia Island as my own territory for 50 years."
A request for territorial lease so utterly unexpected.
Thus, Princess Sia Rin wore a puzzled expression and fell into thought.
Rondel is shaped with four continents surrounding the world's center, the Storm Sea, as if besieging it.
To the left of the Storm Sea lies the massive continent of Defteron, where eleven nations are arrayed, including the Bringham Empire, the Croysen Empire, the Holy Land Everhill, and the Kingdom of Rhinehearts.
To the right of the Storm Sea lie the Prius Republic's Tetarton Continent, the Triton Continent of the six eastern nations including the Robert Kingdom, and the Elisia Union's Prota Continent.
However, in Rondel, the area occupied by the Storm Sea and the four continents is not that large.
If you split the planet in half, one side would hold all four continents and the Storm Sea, while the opposite side would hold a vast sea with not a single continent.
People call that great sea on the empty backside of Rondel the Sea of Silence, and upon it, only about twenty islands float in loneliness.
The Ophelia Island Adrian demanded was one of those remote islands owned by the Robert Kingdom, floating upon that Sea of Silence.
'Its area is about the size of one barony in the Kingdom of Rhinehearts... but aside from the large quantities of tourmaline mined there, it has no notable features.'
No matter how remote an island it is, handing over territory to another nation naturally breeds reluctance.
But if it's a lease, that's a different story.
Especially if it's only 50 years, not 100.
If Adrian took her hand and quelled the kingdom's rebellion, this was a reward almost tantamount to giving it away for nothing.
So she misunderstood again.
She thought he just wanted to help her and was fabricating a justification to do so.
No, it wasn't so much a misunderstanding as a wishful thought.
"Is that really all you want as a reward for quelling our nation's rebellion?"
"Let me say in advance my purpose is the tourmaline embedded there. It boasts the world's largest reserves, doesn't it?"
"That's true, but even now, tourmaline can be obtained at a cheap price. Isn't this too great a loss for you?"
Tourmaline, also called electric stone that mineral is too ambiguous to be called a gem, yet it possesses a fairly pretty color to be called plain rock.
It comes in various colors depending on the source, but the tourmaline excavated from Ophelia Island is a red electric stone with a faint purple tint.
It's one of the more valued types of tourmaline, but even so, it's only worth slightly more than crystal.
In truth, even that value comes from its use in alchemy.
"Even if the public doesn't know it, if I have a way to use it effectively, it can't be called low in value."
"That's true, but..."
"Moreover, I want a greater quantity than what's circulated on the market."
At this point, there was no way not to realize that tourmaline was his true purpose.
Her expression showed a hint of disappointment.
'Just what does he intend to do with all that tourmaline?'
Princess Sia Rin wanted to ask, but she held back and returned to the original topic.
"Can we truly bring this situation to a close without a great war?"
"Yes, because that would be less burdensome from my standpoint too."
At that, Princess Sia Rin nodded.
"If you truly do that, what's a 50-year lease? I'd lease it to you for 100 years, even 200."
"There's no need for that. The one who will become queen shouldn't have rumors spreading that she sold her nation's territory to another country."
Even at the word "queen," Princess Sia Rin showed no excitement, only a troubled look.
Adrian placed his hand on her shoulder and spoke.
"Dragging things out does no good."
The princess looked at him and sorted her thoughts one final time.
By common sense, she thought requesting help from the Prius Republic was the likelier option, but seeing the confidence in his actions and eyes, she couldn't help but believe him.
It might be that love had blinded her, but in this situation, there was only one answer she could give.
"Please help me."
"Understood. I'll do my best."
Unlike the Sia Dynasty of the Robert Kingdom, which had upheld proper conduct, if greedy ministers seized the throne, it was obvious how the nation would end up.
Her actions were for the royal family, but also for the nation.
"May I ask what your plan is?"
"It's simple. We draw this into a fight of man against man, excluding the Heaven-Piercing Fortress. Sometimes outdated methods can be the most effective."
"Pardon?"
"First, I'll get the Prius Republic to make a move. If I ask, they'll issue a simple warning at no cost."
At the mention of the Prius Republic, an exclamation slipped out of her before she even realized it.
Her mind had been elsewhere, so she had momentarily forgotten but she recalled that Adrian had a hand in the Prius Republic's revolution.
In a way, one could say her current crisis was because he and the revolutionary army had brought down the Fairmont regime, but she couldn't blame him for it.
She knew all too well how rotten President Fairmont had been.
Rather, it should be called a tragedy brought on by the royal family's own indolence for failing to anticipate a revolution that was bound to happen and failing to swiftly rebuild relations with the new government.
"The ringleader of the rebels is the southern Grand Marquis, the 'Dal Family,' was it?"
"Yes, that's right. In Defteron Continent terms, a Grand Marquis would be a Duke. The ringleader's name is Dal Lian, Grand Marquis."
"First, let's put some fear into this guy."
* * *
The Kingdom of Roberto has exactly three ranks of lordship.
Marquis, Grand Marquis, and Grand Marquis-Supreme.
Marquis corresponds to Viscount or Baron, Grand Marquis corresponds to Count or Marquis, and Grand Marquis-Supreme corresponds to Duke.
The Kingdom of Roberto has only one Grand Marquis-Supreme, and that was the man named 'Dal Lian.'"
"As expected, the throne was too much for the Sia family to handle."
"The so-called King was too busy watching the people's reactions. He dragged the authority of the throne down far too low."
"A ruler must know when to be firm. How can you lead a nation by being soft all the time? The Sia family is nothing more or less than a cancer that has lowered the standing of our Kingdom of Roberto, the hegemon of the Triton Continent."
Above the people sits the King, and above the throne sits 'Grand Marquis Dal.'"
This was a saying that floated around the Kingdom of Roberto's political circles often enough.
All three Aura Masters in the kingdom and the one Grand Mage were tied to him by marriage, and under the pretext of protecting the nation, he even committed the atrocity of pulling the Aura Master who should have been captain of the royal guard into the position of Grand General.
Since he had already crippled all their limbs from the start, driving out the 'Sia royal family' when the opportunity came was not all that difficult for him.
Grand Marquis Dal.
No Dal Lian, the new King, stroked the throne of the royal great hall he had seized, a satisfied expression on his face.
Compared to his bulky frame, the throne looked narrow and in need of remodeling, but both his aide and his guard, who were conversing with him, pretended not to notice.
"Your Highness!"
And then, at that moment.
A soldier came rushing frantically into the open royal great hall.
But the new King seemed more irritated by the title than the soldier's reaction, furrowing his brow in displeasure.
"Hey! You don't want to call me His Majesty, is that it!? Do you want to die!?"
"S-Sorry! Your Majesty! I have committed a mortal sin!"
He must have rushed over because of an urgent telegram, but the soldier had to lower his head and apologize first.
At that, the new King clicked his tongue and permitted him to speak.
"So what is it?"
"The Prius Republic is preparing to dispatch troops."
"What? Those codfish? They never paid us any mind before why now, all of a sudden?"
"It may very well be the doing of Princess Sia."
"Hah..."
The new King let out a deep sigh.
Yet despite a war with a major nation being on the table, he looked surprisingly composed.
"No nation would go to war over some princess. There must be something they want."
After thinking for a moment, the new King spoke to the soldier.
"300 trillion no, would 500 trillion do?"
"Pardon?"
"The amount they're after, I mean."
"You mean 500 trillion Lute?"
"Yes, we have to give them at least that much for them to save face."
At the staggering cost, he swallowed dryly.
An expense of that scale was bound to disrupt next year's governance.
"Money aren't piggy banks lying all over the place, just waiting to be shaken out?"
"Piggy banks, you say?"
"The 300 million piggy banks."
"..."
"Go make them the offer of 500 trillion. If they still insist on moving, then grant whatever demands they make."
"A-Understood."
300 million was the population of the Kingdom of Roberto.
The new King regarded his people as nothing more than piggy banks.