Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Episode 216
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Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Episode 216
49. The King of the Duchy Is a Problem Solver (5)
[Another intruder, is it.]
At the Black Dragon's words, the black eagle was bathed in light.
And when the light faded.
Deep within the labyrinth, two new figures a man and a woman appeared.
"We greet the great one."
As the silver-haired handsome young man among the newcomers offered his salute, the dragon did not hide its discomfort.
[To appear even after confirming my presence. Are you bold? Or simply unaware of your place.]
The ones who appeared, braving the dragon's displeasure, were none other than Adrian and Arcia.
Izrael was greatly pleased by their arrival, but at the same time, he sensed that the situation had only worsened.
[I truly see no need to spare you after all.]
The Black Dragon raised its head, puffed up its body threateningly, and drew upon a truly spine-chilling amount of mana.
As if it were about to unleash its attack upon them at any moment.
Whatever the process had been, Adrian and Arcia had clearly come here to find him.
Izrael felt both gratitude and guilt toward them.
Because he had dragged his benefactors into danger for no good reason.
"Since you have issued a threat, we will arm ourselves, but please understand that we have no intention of antagonizing the great one."
The dragon snorted as if letting out a hollow laugh.
As if to say that no amount of arming on your part would change anything.
But when Adrian and Arcia transformed their equipment as if shapeshifting, the dragon's reaction changed.
[Impressive. Equipment made of Orichalcum and adamantite. That is not an amount a human should be able to possess.]
"By any chance, do you know a Dark Elf named Blake Russell?"
[Blake? Ah, that swordsman?]
"The woman beside me is that Blake's disciple."
Just as thugs pretending to be tough name-drop acquaintances to ask "do you know who I am?", Adrian too invoked the name of the strongest person he knew.
And it proved somewhat effective the dragon's reaction softened considerably.
[Is that so? Impressive.]
Thanks to that, President Izrael and Field Marshal Ansen's expressions brightened, but for some reason, Adrian and Arcia lowered their stances and assumed combat positions.
[So what do you want? Surely you don't think that dropping that Dark Elf's name will make me forgive you for disturbing my rest?]
-Whoosh!
With that, the dragon swung its tail like a whip.
In game terms, it would be a basic attack, but it was so powerful and its momentum so destructive that Arcia, along with Adrian bracing her from behind, was pushed back a long distance.
Kwaaaaang!
The massive tail filling her vision created a terrifying sound like an explosion.
If the shield had been made of Mithril instead of adamantite, it would have been shattered without a doubt.
Fortunately, Arcia, clutching the adamantite shield, seemed largely unharmed.
By both mass and size, the situation defied all reason.
[Not bad.]
Judging that they would be crushed in no time if the battle continued, Izrael and Field Marshal Ansen hastily retreated backward.
Izrael was publicly a Mage of the same rank as Adrian, but their combat abilities were incomparable.
"Huh?"
Yet just as a full battle seemed about to break out, the atmosphere between the dragon and Adrian shifted.
The two exchanged words in voices too low for the distant Izrael to hear.
[Hahahahaha!]
Suddenly, the dragon burst into laughter.
And that wasn't all.
The dragon's massive frame gradually shrank, transforming into a man with black hair grown down to his waist.
"What is this?"
"What is happening?"
Izrael and Ansen looked at each other and asked, but no answer was forthcoming.
So they carefully crept closer, reading the mood.
And then...
"You're quite an interesting fellow."
The dragon actually draped an arm over Adrian's shoulder.
"Please spare those two."
And when Adrian pointed at Izrael and Ansen, the dragon, now in human form, readily nodded.
"Fine, have it your way."
There was no need for any Oath of Mana or anything of the sort.
President Izrael and Field Marshal Ansen, having thus been spared, felt not merely confused but utterly dazed.
And one more thing occurred to them...
It was that Adrian might be even more remarkable than they had imagined.
* * *
That had been truly dangerous.
Just having a dragon inside the labyrinth was abnormal enough, but of all things, President Izrael had been engaging in a staring contest with that very dragon.
Fortunately, the dragon before them happened to be an eccentric, so they came out unscathed but if it had possessed a violent disposition, they could have all been done for.
Not just Izrael, but me and Arcia as well.
"Well then, see you around."
"Yes, whenever you visit the duchy, you will always be welcome."
"Haha, alright."
The black dragon, who introduced himself as 'Brangish,' patted my shoulders as if treating me like a close friend, then vanished via teleportation.
Brangish had chosen a relationship with me over this labyrinth that could be called his villa.
"Wh-What on earth happened?"
Izrael rushed over and asked.
His confusion was only natural.
A dragon that had been trying to kill them had just smiled and left without a trace of reluctance of course he'd be dumbfounded.
"I happened to hear a story about that dragon."
"Pardon?"
"A certain mermaid told me. She said there's a dragon who grants one request if you give it something special."
"Are you saying that's this dragon?"
"Yes."
I never imagined that the information Ieria Nelson, Third Prince of Coralheim, had blurted out to save his life would prove this helpful.
To think I'd encounter that dragon in a place like this.
"I don't know what you gave it, but for a dragon to grant a request, it must have been a tremendous treasure. I will repay you for it without fail."
Actually, that wasn't quite the case.
It was true that it couldn't be obtained in Rondel, but for me, who could travel to and from Earth, it was something easily acquired.
"No, it's fine. Please don't worry about it."
What I gave the dragon was a watch.
A Swiss-made automatic watch.
It was one of the items I had prepared in advance, just in case I encountered the request-granting dragon Ieria had mentioned.
In other words, the prepared item had found its owner.
"Still..."
"It is enough that President Izrael continues to lead the Republic well and maintain a friendly relationship with us."
Izrael seemed to think I had handed over a precious item to the dragon and asked it to spare their lives.
But that wasn't the reality.
'I ask that you become my friend.'
'What?'
'Then I shall take you, Brangish, to the place where you obtained that item.'
Brangish is an eccentric dragon.
I had no intention of uttering a single wish and bidding farewell to perhaps the strongest being on the surface one with whom I might, like Blake, maintain an ongoing relationship.
Dragons are exceedingly dangerous beings, but if Blake, Selin, Arcia, and I formed a party, we could hunt a dragon well enough.
I judged that even if an unexpected situation arose, I could control it.
"Thank you so much. I've once again incurred a debt to Your Highness the King of Grand Duke Lawrence."
"Not at all. This much is only natural. You are one of the few people I can call a close friend, Mr. President."
"Haha, I'm delighted. That you would consider me a close friend."
I didn't bother correcting the misunderstanding by revealing the detailed truth to Izrael.
As long as he owed me a debt of gratitude, he would be of use whenever needed.
Both the dragon and the president had become somewhat calculating friendships.
But what could I do? That's just how I am.
"I went and gave Ricardo Ordein a hard time."
"Is that so?"
At the mention of Ricardo's name, Izrael's brow narrowed with anger.
If he hadn't kidnapped Izrael like this, they would never have faced the dragon's threat in the first place.
"Ricardo is probably mobilizing the military. The situation has gotten tangled because the President was rescued sooner than expected."
"That's fine. I've been preparing thoroughly as well. Once I return to my position with Field Marshal Ansen, this will be resolved."
Though he had been treated like air by the dragon, Field Marshal Ansen was something like the spiritual pillar of the Republic's military.
"If needed, I can lend my strength."
"No. I've already received more than enough help. Leave the rest to me. If I can't handle even this, how could I call myself a leader?"
His dignity as a leader had already been shattered the moment he was kidnapped, but in order to make up for that mistake, Izrael wanted to resolve the aftermath with his own power.
I nodded out of respect for him, but didn't forget to propose a contingency plan.
"Still, if you ever need my help, don't hesitate to call."
"Understood. If things really get difficult, I'll swallow my pride and borrow a friend's strength."
I clasped Izrael's hand as he offered a handshake.
* * *
[Prius Republic on the Brink of Another Civil War?]
[President Izrael: With the help of my friend, Grand Duke Adrian Lawrence, I was able to escape the labyrinth safely alongside Field Marshal Ansen. The one who kidnapped me and Field Marshal Ansen was Supreme Assemblyman Ricardo, and he was aided by radical Aura Masters such as General Raminus and General Aitrinn.]
[Supreme Assemblyman Ricardo: It seems the President enjoys conspiracy theories. We've been running ourselves ragged on the ground for the Republic we're not as idle as the President.]
[President Izrael: The mere fact that they prepared for war while I was kidnapped makes their intentions obvious. I believe anyone with a clear mind can easily judge right from wrong.]
-What the hell, what's going on here?
└What else? It's the posture befitting Fairmont's successor, who bled the people dry.
└Don't make me laugh this is clearly President Izrael's scheme to drag the Republic back into a feudal system.
-Use your brain if you have one. What exactly did President Izrael do wrong? Is there something wrong with his policies? Did he commit corruption? You're just brainwashed and want to believe that.
-You lackeys of the old era, you have no place in the new age.
└You're the ones who are lackeys of the old era. Life was so miserable because of President Fairmont, and now you want to go back to the Fairmont era? Are you insane?
I suppose it's inevitable that public opinion splits in a democracy, but no matter how much agitation there's been, it's absurd that there are so many Ricardo supporters who champion Fairmont.
Even if Izrael is of royal descent, it was because of that royal house that the Prius Republic became one of the world's four great powers and adopted a democratic republic system.
The era worth living in was when the royal house held firm, and Izrael is a descendant of that house supporting Fairmont, who gnawed the nation apart with dictatorship, is simply incomprehensible through normal reasoning.
"Perhaps they know they're wrong too. They just don't want to admit that their choice was a mistake, don't you think?"
As I clicked my tongue reading the online articles in the ducal palace office, Prime Minister Walker, who read my mind like a ghost, shared his thoughts.
"In the end, is this a fight between the rational faction and the emotional faction?"
"You could put it that way."
Prime Minister Walker let out a chuckle, but I could only sigh.
In times like this, there's nothing quite like manipulating public opinion, but since President Izrael said he'd handle it himself, I had no choice but to stand by and watch the situation unfold.
"Don't frown at those complicated articles read some good ones instead. Like this, for example."
With that, Prime Minister Walker shared an article with me.
[Grand Duke Lawrence, who cherishes his people dearly. This time too, he rescues President Izrael.]
-Grand Duke Lawrence is damn cool. A rescue specialist.
-After the Saintess, now the Republic's President too lol
-If it involves someone he knows, he really doesn't care about any stigma and steps in.
└That Coralheim royal family kidnapping case last time was hilarious lol
I let out a snicker as I read the article and its comments.
And of course, I didn't forget to hit the like button.