A Game's Opportunity Becomes Reality Episode 183
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A Game's Opportunity Becomes Reality Episode 183
43. Development of the Duchy of Lawrence (4)
"I feel power surging through my entire body."
"I feel the same way."
At Father's impression after taking the elixir, Mother nodded along in agreement with a big nod.
With this, I don't think I need to worry about Mother's health due to childbirth anymore.
Not only has her body been rejuvenated, but her stamina has been strengthened beyond her prime.
Father let out a hearty laugh and placed his hand on my shoulder.
"Thanks to my capable son, I'm even getting rejuvenated. I'm really experiencing all sorts of things."
If Mother looks like she's around my age now that she's younger, Father looks like he could pass for an uncle.
His face was never really the baby-faced type to begin with, and Mother always looked exceptionally young compared to her peers.
They're 42 and 47, only 5 years apart, but the gap in apparent age was so extreme that back in Korea, people would have called him a cradle robber.
I pointed at Mother and spoke to Father, who was laughing cheerfully.
"Be careful that no shady types try to cling to her."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'm worried there will be people who get the wrong idea. The effect is so good it's almost embarrassing."
Father flinched at my words.
Mother, who kept smiling while looking into her hand mirror, actually looks even more beautiful than she did in her youth.
On top of that, she carries a strangely pure and fresh aura, which seems more than enough to set many men's hearts on fire.
Usually, when someone is as beautiful as Arcia, people say they possess 'beauty that rivals even elves.'
But Mother right now looks like the expression 'even an elf would concede a point' comes to mind naturally.
Even knowing her real age, knowing she's married, and knowing I'm behind her, she possesses a beauty that makes people approach her without thinking.
Only then did Father, realizing the gravity of the situation, have worry settle across his face.
Father had gained youth too, but it wasn't to the level of a spry twenty-something.
Father looked so serious that I let out a chuckle.
"I was joking, so don't take it too seriously."
"What?"
"Mother isn't the kind of person to fall for other people's temptations."
"That's true."
She's the mother who steadfastly held her ground even against the harassments of government official Anna during the difficult times.
If she had just run away to save herself, she could have easily claimed the position of lady of any family household.
That mother, swayed by a new encounter?
Impossible.
"Still, just in case, I should stick close to her so no shady bastards can approach."
But one thing is certain...
Father is now glued to Mother's side.
He always did show signs of being a henpecked husband, but from now on, it will only get worse.
I then handed additional gifts to Father and Mother.
They were a couple ring and couple bracelet.
"Oh my, how pretty."
"I'm glad you like them."
Mother was interested in the design of the two accessories, but Father, knowing I wouldn't give accessories without a reason, asked about their purpose.
"They're artifacts."
"Yes. The ring has an 8th Circle Revive spell embedded in it, and the bracelet has an 8th Circle Grand Shield embedded in it. Please think of them as gifts for emergencies."
"After your younger sibling is born, you'll be able to use Revive on Sylvia."
"Since Mother and Father each have one, it'd be good to use one on the younger sibling too."
"Right, that'll work."
Magic really is wonderful.
It even eliminates the postpartum recovery process after childbirth.
Thanks to that, there's no risk of the body deteriorating from childbirth and no aftereffects either.
Isn't that the true role of magic?
"When is the due date?"
"Ten days from now."
That means from now on, it wouldn't be strange for the baby to be born at any time.
"You two don't have any news yet, right?"
At Mother's question, I smiled awkwardly and nodded.
"No, not yet."
"I hope I get to see a grandchild soon."
I can't possibly put in more effort than this.
It's just that Arcia isn't an ordinary person, so it's not easy.
They say the probability of a half-elf being born between a human and an elf is one-tenth of the probability of birth between the same race.
Arcia and I are a similar case.
Even if Arcia looks human, it means we're not truly of the same kind.
But I'm not too worried.
Because I'm putting in more than ten times the effort of others.
"Then take good care of yourself. Let me know as soon as labor pains start. I'll be guarding outside the delivery room along with the Archbishop, just in case."
"How reassuring."
And so, after gifting my parents rejuvenation and gifting my soon-to-be-born younger sibling the best possible foundation, I returned to the duchy.
* * *
The Lute Cherries I obtained from the Dragonlands ruin numbered seven.
I gave two of them to Mother and Father, leaving one first-grade and four second-grade.
Of those, the first-grade one is reserved for Arcia and the baby to be conceived later.
That leaves four Lute Cherries, and I scattered them without sparing any.
I gifted two to Emperor Mikhail and the Empress, and one to Marquis Walker (Prime Minister/Chancellor), with the wish that he would stay healthy by my side for a long time and lead the duchy well.
I kept one for emergencies, but the reason I don't hesitate to hand out such elixirs is that aside from Lute Cherries, I possess 17 other kinds of elixirs, totaling over 200.
Among them are elixirs with effects similar to Lute Cherry, and some that help with breakthroughs in cultivation.
Arcia and I have already been gradually consuming the finest among the collected elixirs.
[Wordseller]
-Increases mana capacity and reinforces the mana circuits, improving efficiency when casting magic.
[Lumentra]
-Increases aura capacity and reinforces the aura circuits, enhancing deployment speed and power when using Aura Blade.
For the first round, I consumed Wordseller and Arcia consumed an elixir called Lumentra.
These were elixirs on the safer side with no major side effects, and after absorbing their energy, we...
[Cure Epsilon]
-Expels all toxins from the body.
-Grants Full Immunity to poison.
-Requires a large amount of mana, aura, or Spirit Power to form antibodies.
-Recommended for consumption by Grand Mages, Aura Masters, and top-tier Spirit Masters or above.
For the second round, we consumed Cure Epsilon.
And today, having fully absorbed even the energy of Cure Epsilon, we decided to consume the third elixir.
What Arcia and I held in our hands was the Golden Plum.
Our eyes gleamed as we looked at it.
[Taegwa]
-Greatly enhances the brain's cognitive activity.
-Significantly increases physical ability.
-Prevents aging and extends lifespan.
-The toxicity and side effects are extremely severe, so preparations for neutralization must be in place.
Taegwa.
An elixir that appears several times in legends, and among the 17 kinds of elixirs, only three had ever bloomed.
Myriad Mirror's explanation is vague, but the effect is absolute.
If you're below the Aura Master stage, it instantly elevates your realm, and even afterward, it continuously aids in enlightenment.
The earlier elixirs could be seen as preparatory steps to make this one safe.
"Let's eat."
"Yes."
We swallowed the rather large Taegwa in one bite.
Like the other elixirs, Taegwa melted the moment it entered our mouths and flowed down through our throats straight into our stomachs.
'This is no joke.'
This must be what drinking liquor over 70 proof feels like.
It felt like the elixir was burning its way down my esophagus.
We didn't panic and steadily suppressed Taegwa's energy.
"Hmm..."
About an hour had passed.
With our bodies already reinforced, our realms high, and thorough preparations, the absorption of Taegwa was completed without any trouble.
"Oh?"
And when I opened my eyes, which had been shut, the world felt wider.
Like taking off a pair of sunglasses that had been limiting my vision.
Of course, since we are 8th Circle and Grandmasters, eating a few elixirs wouldn't push us to the next stage.
But thanks to Taegwa and the elixirs consumed beforehand, the foundation had been laid.
It would be especially helpful for Arcia.
I'm guaranteed to reach 9th Circle, but she has to break through the wall through her own enlightenment.
"Oh? Your face looks even younger, dear."
"So does yours, dear."
We were already young, so there was no dramatic change, but if forced to compare, it's like our appearance went from fresh 20-year-old college students to about first or second year of high school.
Our height is unchanged and our figures improved, but it's the face that's like that.
"There's no need to consume any more elixirs from now on."
We've already only consumed elixirs ranked S-grade or higher.
Blake said so.
It was said that after consuming higher-grade elixirs, consuming lower-grade ones would have little effect.
So there seemed no need to be greedy about the remaining ones.
"There's still a lot left, what will you do with the rest?"
"Use them to further solidify connections..."
Elixirs had already been sent to King James, who became a grand duke alongside me, Queen Sia Rin of the Kingdom of Roberto, President Izrael of the Prius Republic, and Duke Olivia Riverdale of the Kingdom of Lucias.
Naturally, they were overjoyed and expressed their gratitude.
That was only natural, since even though we possessed a large quantity of elixirs, each one was something that couldn't be bought with money even if one tried.
And these elixirs had designated uses beyond managing connections.
"We should also use them to nurture talent."
In my duchy, there were sprouts that would grow rapidly if only given a little foundation.
Those were the people belonging to Genius Hall.
Currently, Genius Hall had been steadily increasing its numbers and now stood at nearly 200 members.
If we selected particularly outstanding individuals among them and had them consume elixirs, it would be like attaching jet engines to talented people who already had wings.
Aren't you already looking forward to it?
Time will flow and flow how much more will this Duchy of Lawrence and the Rhinehearts Empire grow?
* * *
Three days after rejuvenating my parents.
-Waaah! Waaah!
Finally, my younger sibling was born.
She was a girl with silver hair and blue eyes, just like my mother.
Whether my father's genes were diluted or not, both I and my newborn sibling took completely after our mother.
"Honestly, I think it's a relief."
"What is?"
"If a girl took after Father, that would be a disaster."
"...."
At my words, my father himself couldn't deny it and scratched his cheek.
Father wasn't ugly.
Rather, in his youth, he was handsome enough to be called a good-looking man.
But compared to my mother's genes, which belonged to the Heaven Realm, my father's genes were extremely ordinary.
Appearance isn't everything, but it certainly helps in life, so sorry to Father, but I was relieved my little sister took after Mother.
Thanks to the 8th Circle Revive spell, my mother, who had immediately recovered her pre-pregnancy state, smiled while looking at the baby.
"Be happy, Emilia."
Emilia Lawrence.
That was my younger sister's name.
Unlike me, she was a child born with a golden spoon no, an Orichalcum spoon in her mouth.
It felt pretty good.
I have a little sister.
I hope she grows up with a personality as lovely as her looks.
* * *
The Duchy of Lawrence was quickly normalized.
Since it was a nation created by absorbing enemy territory and enemy citizens, I wondered if it would run properly, but surprisingly, the country operated without much discord.
It seemed the fact that all the hardline nationalists had been sent to the borders of the Dragonlands played a big role.
'A man who does what he says. Generous to those who follow his will, but a merciless cold-blooded man to those who don't.'
That was my reputation among the citizens of the duchy.
Naturally, the migrants from the former Kingdom of Rhinehearts and those who had been slaves of the Croysen Empire followed me with utmost sincerity, but the rest of the citizens were merely scared and keeping their mouths shut.
Of course, even among the Croysen people, more were coming to view me favorably due to my pro-commoner policies, but it seemed they would need much more time to become the mainstream.
No matter what thoughts and feelings the citizens held, the country was running well, so all was well.
Accordingly, the lords of the Rhinehearts Empire who governed the former territories of the Croysen Empire operated their domains by referencing me.
"A riot?"
One day, while peace continued.
An incident broke out.
The Croysen people, who had been quiet all this time, suddenly rose up in riot.
"Y-Yes."
Marquis Walker, who had become younger thanks to my elixirs, broke out in a cold sweat and watched my reaction.
But I wasn't the type to nitpick every right and wrong.
So I tried to identify the cause first.
"What's the reason they started a riot?"
"It's a conflict with the Rhinehearts people. The Rhinehearts people are treating the Croysen people as second-class citizens, and they're voicing strong complaints. The incident began when five Rhinehearts men collectively beat up two Croysen men."
I clicked my tongue at Marquis Walker's ensuing report.
Honestly, it would be a lie to say I hadn't expected it.
It's just bitter that the situation unfolded exactly as I had in mind, without a single discrepancy.