Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Episode 125
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Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Episode 125
31. Reshuffling of Power (5)
Was it because of his overwhelmingly striking appearance?
Princess Sia Rin couldn't bring herself to look directly at August.
"Wh-Who is that person?"
People tend to fear what they can't comprehend with common sense, and her reaction right now was exactly that.
"He's my subordinate. A bit of an eccentric, but his abilities are outstanding."
"I never imagined you'd have a subordinate with such a strong personality."
"He may look like that, but his skills are top-notch. If he and Sir Gregory fought in tandem, they could probably take on four Aura Masters at once."
"What?"
She was familiar with Gregory, but since she didn't yet know he was an Aura Master, she tilted her head in puzzlement.
"Well, it means he's just that extraordinary."
"I see."
She nodded along as if she understood, even if she didn't fully grasp it.
I gave August an order.
"You're roughly aware of the situation, right?"
"Yes."
"Good. From now on, Sir August will create a splinter faction within the Kingdom of Roberto's government, centered around the Minister of Military Affairs. If you hold the Minister of Military Affairs in your grasp, traitors will link up one after another like sausages on a string, so it shouldn't be too difficult."
If I had to pick the most fearsome special agent in Blue Moon, I'd say August without a doubt.
Top-tier Spirit Masters are generally regarded as equivalent to 7th Circle Mages or Aura Masters, but frankly, he's far too special to be placed on the same level as them.
The spirits August commands possess only two abilities 'Mind Control' and 'Memory Manipulation' but used well, they could plunge an entire nation into chaos.
Of course, his abilities aren't omnipotent.
There are range restrictions, time limits, and if he keeps using Mental Attacks, the target develops Resistance.
Moreover, his combat power is practically nonexistent; with his Mental-series attacks, he can only halt a 7th Circle Grand Mage or an Aura Master for a brief moment.
'Well, in battles between transcendent beings where lives hang on a 0.1-second difference, that alone is incredibly useful.'
There are many limitations, but his abilities are special and outstanding enough to compensate for all of them.
"Should I infiltrate right away?"
"Yes, please."
"As you command."
August looked utterly out of place with his surroundings.
At his simple order, devoid of any background explanation, he walked without hesitation toward the Minister of Military Affairs' estate, and Princess Sia Rin panicked.
She asked if we were really sending him alone like that.
I snatched a cookie that Arcia was eating with particular relish, shoved it into my mouth, and spoke into the air.
"Sir Gregory, go with him."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Then, as if a shadow rose from nothing, a pitch-black man appeared.
And he naturally fell into step with August.
A red Pierrot and a black shadow.
The two had been partners for a long time, working in perfect sync, but their contrast was striking.
"Ugh..."
Watching the two of them, Princess Sia Rin grunted like a puppy needing to relieve itself.
It seemed she was worried on multiple fronts, not knowing how capable they were.
At that, I checked the time on my bracelet-style terminal and spoke to the princess.
"Ten minutes from now, once we go in, everything will already be settled."
"What?"
'What?', 'Really?', 'Will it be okay?' all kinds of doubts.
That was the reaction she showed most today.
No matter how much the media hyped me up, she'd never worked alongside me directly, so she reacted this way because she didn't know me.
If it were Ibril, she'd have given a thumbs-up without a word.
'So showing goodwill doesn't mean I've earned professional trust.'
But the princess would change soon enough.
Just like Ibril, the next Saintess of the Holy Land, President Izrael of the Prius Republic, and Crown Prince Michael of the Kingdom of Rhinehearts, I intended to add the next Queen of the Kingdom of Roberto to my list of acquaintances as well.
In front of her, at least, I planned to display my extraordinary nature openly.
'Ah, of course, without explicitly revealing that I'm 8th Circle.'
And so time passed, and when ten minutes were up.
Arcia and I stood up almost simultaneously.
Princess Sia Rin followed us with a tense expression, and we made our way to the Minister of Military Affairs' estate.
"You're sneaking in over the wall?"
The Minister of Military Affairs' estate stood apart from the city.
But with the Heaven-Piercing Fortress floating in the sky and many guards along with knights on duty at the front gate, infiltration by ordinary means seemed all but impossible.
Seeing how heavily guarded the estate was, Princess Sia Rin pointed at the wall and asked.
"Entering through the gate would be easier why climb over the wall and risk the Heaven-Piercing Fortress reacting?"
Then Arcia and I simply walked toward the gate, and the soldiers and knights on guard aimed their weapons at us.
"Y-Your Grace the Duke!"
Princess Sia Rin followed behind us, looking thoroughly cowed, as Arcia and I strode forward with confidence.
But what happened next defied the princess's understanding.
"If it isn't His Grace Duke Lawrence, Lord Marquis Klein, and Her Highness Princess Sia?"
"We'll open the gate for you."
They opened the gate with their own hands, as if receiving their liege.
"What the ?"
Princess Sia swallowed air and shot me a look demanding an explanation for what on earth was going on.
It's too early to be surprised.
"You've arrived?"
"Your meal will be ready shortly. Please wait a moment."
"The great bath has been filled. You may bathe at any time."
"At your command! All clear on watch!"
Every maid and soldier we passed on our way acted no differently from the gate guards.
"Where's that pig of a man?"
"You mean Grand Marquis Eun Duin?"
"Yes."
"He's in the bedroom on the fourth floor. Allow me to lead the way."
And so we reached the Minister of Military Affairs without the slightest obstruction.
"You've arrived?"
As the Minister bowed to us as if we were his superiors, Princess Sia wore the expression of someone possessed by a ghost.
I fanned that confusion, taking a seat on the sofa and speaking.
"As of today, this estate is mine."
"Wh-what on earth is this?"
Then August, who had taken the Minister's estate, began his report.
"Five of his close bodyguards were wearing Force equipment, so Gregory cut their heads off."
"That falls within expected parameters."
Vanguard gear had magic defense as a baseline option, so it could withstand mental magic to a degree.
Of course, it would still take time to recover one's mind, so August might have been in danger if he'd gone in alone.
But he had the Aura Master Gregory with him, so it was never a crisis.
"Minister of Military Affairs."
"Yes, Your Highness."
At my call, Eun Duin, the Minister of Military Affairs, lifted his head from his kneeling position and looked up at me.
"How many high-ranking ministers can you rally at the quickest notice? Excluding Aura Masters and Grand Mages."
"About nine."
"If you and they side together, what's the power gap against Grand Marquis Dal?"
"Seven to three in favor of the new King's faction."
Not bad for a hastily assembled force.
I smiled and gave him his orders.
"Good. Bring those nine here immediately, under whatever pretext."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The Minister of Military Affairs obeyed my instructions faithfully.
He then headed to the adjoining office, with August and Gregory following.
Once those two fearsome figures disappeared, Princess Sia leaned in and asked.
"Please, I beg you, explain."
I answered her plainly.
"Lord August is a Mental-series Spirit Master, and Lord Gregory is an Aura Master. A mere estate like this can be breached by those two alone."
"An Aura Master? And a Mental-series spirit surely you don't mean a Geist?"
"You're well informed."
"That's a highest-grade spirit, isn't it?"
"So I'm told."
She finally realized my subordinates' combat power was anything but ordinary, and she swallowed dryly.
"No matter how great a nation Rhinehearts is, can one family really field two Aura Masters, one Grand Mage, and one highest-grade Spirit Master?"
"I was lucky."
Rather than admiration, her reaction to my forces was fear.
After all, the Kingdom of Roberto held only two Aura Masters and one Grand Mage at the national level.
"How in the world is that possible?"
"I struggled to find a way to survive from a young age, and this is where it led."
"..."
If it were merely more Mages stacking up, one might think differently but with Aura Masters and Spirit Masters appearing, linking this to Grand Duke Lucas is hardly easy.
The best one could conjure up would be some shadowy conspiracy straight out of a film.
"Are you not showing me a force that shouldn't be made known to the public?"
"Sir Gregory will soon receive his Title, so he's fine. However, I plan to keep Sir August hidden for a while, so I'd appreciate it if you kept this to yourself."
"O-of course."
She let out a sigh and shook her head.
"You're truly impressive. Incomparable to someone like me."
"I was just lucky. Comparing yourself to me will only do you a disservice."
I gestured for her to take a seat like a host to the woman standing there blankly.
"Now, as the ministers come to this castle one by one, they'll all be subjected to Mind Control attempts. And those who are immune to Mind Control will be killed on the spot to maintain secrecy."
"So you plan to use the people you gather that way to rise up against Grand Marquis Dal."
"Correct. I'd love for these two factions to keep tearing each other apart for a long time, but unfortunately, Resistance to Mind Control builds over time, so at most it'll wear off within two days."
Two days a rather ambiguous amount of time, hardly long.
But for me right now, that was more than enough.
"Given Grand Marquis Dal's disposition, once someone betrays him, he will never trust them again no matter what they say."
"People like that are all the same. But there's no need to worry about what happens after the Mind Control wears off."
"What do you mean?"
"Because by then, everything will already be over. I intend to finish this as quickly as possible."
At my bold claim, she merely swallowed dryly, as if she had decided not to doubt my abilities any longer.
"It's frightening how it seems things will truly go as you say."
At her words, I let out a low chuckle.
I didn't look in a mirror, but I was certain I was wearing a villainous smile.
* * *
The royal family's great hall within the Kingdom of Roberto's Royal Palace.
"What!?"
Grand Marquis Dal Rian was drenched in cold sweat, his clenched fists trembling violently as he stared at his subordinate delivering the report.
"The nine noble families, led by Minister of Military Affairs Grand Marquis Eun, are claiming this rebellion is an act of treason and are calling for Princess Sia Rin to be installed."
"Have these bastards gone mad?"
And as if pouring oil on his already inflamed mood, one staff officer, with a grim expression, brought up a hologram and scraped together several articles.
"What is this now?"
"The traitors are using the media to incite the public."
"No, we've been controlling the press all along why all of a sudden?"
"It must be Grand Marquis Eun's doing. Perhaps what they truly want is independence."
Though various suspicious circumstances had spread through SNS, the major broadcasters had stayed silent, so it was treated as nothing more than idle rumor.
But now, as if mocking their past control, the news of rebellion suddenly began spreading, forcing Grand Marquis Dal to furrow his brow.
"Independence? Isn't that going too far?"
"Think about it. Where exactly did the vast sum we used to appease the Prius Republic ultimately end up, and who was the one who negotiated with that money?"
It was a leap in logic, but the staff officer's story seemed all too plausible.
They had paid a bribe amounting to nearly the annual budget, but didn't it ultimately end up in Princess Sia Rin's possession?
Moreover, since it was the traitor Grand Marquis Eun who had led that negotiation, one couldn't help but feel like every piece of the puzzle had clicked into place.
"Are you saying that bastard Eun Duin has been hiding his blade all this time?"
"The circumstances suggest so. The first betrayal is hard, but isn't the second easy? It's hard to believe he's truly loyal to the royal family, so we must assume he's after a gain worth risking everything for."
"I see. In the current state of national affairs, he's at best the fourth or fifth most powerful figure."
"After independence, if he disposes of Princess Sia Rin once the situation allows, he can become the top figure."
"Or, he could keep Princess Sia Rin as a symbolic figure and have her bear his child that's also an option."
Birds of a feather flock together.
It was a truly fitting way for them to think.
"Let's keep it simple. Traitors just need to be eliminated. The commoners will follow whoever holds power anyway."
Just then.
A figure who had been quietly watching them interjected.
"Sir Michael?"
"I happened to have a technique I wanted to test, so this is perfect timing. I'll lend my strength."
"Oh, now that's welcome news."
Michael Gale.
His country of origin was unknown, but with features closer to a Westerner than an Easterner, he was a Mage of the Grand Marquis Dal family who quietly provided great assistance to the rebellion.
However, seeing him in a white robe and round-rimmed glasses, he looked more like a doctor than a Mage.
At his words, Grand Marquis Dal nodded with a reassured expression.
"Sir Michael is right. This is a problem we need not overthink."
Grand Marquis Dal commanded his ministers.
"Summon the army."