Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Episode 217
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Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Episode 217
49. The King of the Duchy Is a Problem Solver (6)
When Rondel's planet is split in half, the front side holds the four great continents where most of civilization resides, along with the Storm Sea, which is called the center of the world.
Meanwhile, on the back side, the Sea of Silence stretches out, where only a few islands drift lonelily atop the vast ocean surface.
Since civilization is concentrated on the front side of the planet, not even ships or airships traversed the Sea of Silence, but recently a change has come to this empty sea.
And it was all because of an island named Ophelia.
This Ophelia Island is a place the Duchy of Lawrence is developing with a hefty investment.
Of course, it can't compare to the front side of the planet where Rondel's four great continents are clustered, but still, a large number of merchant ships now cross the sea, and the population has been steadily growing.
Thanks to that, despite being located on the Sea of Silence, Ophelia Island was always bustling, which could be considered a change in itself.
"It feels like more and more flying ships are coming and going from this island these days."
"Can we even call those flying ships? I think calling them airships would be more accurate."
The 500 Americans who had barely survived day to day aboard a shipwreck at the bottom of the sea were able to settle on Ophelia Island thanks to Adrian's rescue, but the vastly different environment and civilization made it hard for them to adapt.
Rondel is a fantasy world.
What's more, it's a class-based society where the feudal system is the norm.
However, its civilization was more advanced than Earth's, making it a peculiar place that achieved a high level of civilization under an outdated political system.
"How do the people of this world live with a class system so well? I couldn't do it if I were them."
Americans love freedom dearly.
Sometimes to the point where you wonder if that's a bit strange.
They're the kind of people who, even when asked to wear just a mask to prevent an epidemic, spread the disease saying it's their freedom to wear it or not.
From their perspective, Rondel's system was bound to be incomprehensible.
"They just adapted. Honestly, Earth's Jung-dong had plenty of countries ruled by kings, like Saudi Arabia or Qatar. Brunei in Asia too, and Monaco in Europe has a grand duke who directly appoints the Prime Minister, so you could say it's similar."
"Oh, really? I didn't know that."
"If Earth has countries like that, then imagine how much worse it is here, where there are plenty of means like magic or Aura to oppress the commoners."
"But surely there are commoners among those who use magic or Aura too."
"So what if there are? The moment they get their hands on that power, they become the establishment. How many people who hold power and authority would actually fight for the people? Even if there are some, they'd struggle to get a majority, and with nobles watching them, a revolution would be nothing but a dream."
"What an unfair world."
"Honestly, is America fair either? In a society where money is status, if your parents are rich, your kids are rich too if that's not nobility, what is?"
"Hmm, true... When you put it that way, it does make sense."
"We shouldn't judge this world by our way of thinking. That's how trouble starts."
Of course, not all Americans are the same.
Among them, there were people with open minds like this who helped manage the mental state of their friends and family, but...
"Hey, mister officer, how long do we have to live like this?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm frustrated living in this confined space under surveillance. That so-called King of the Duchy hasn't even shown his face since the first day."
"Your Highness the King is the leader of a nation. He is not someone with enough free time to show his face here frequently."
"Even so, he's the one responsible for bringing us here and controlling our lives like this. Isn't this going too far?"
As if proving that the law of preservation of idiocy truly exists, there were people who forgot their difficult past at the bottom of the sea and only vented their own feelings.
With as many as 500 Americans from Earth, it was only natural that such people would appear.
That's why Adrian's very first action when settling them on Ophelia Island was to scare them into not acting rashly.
But these people showed him just how convenient the human mindset can be.
It was because within just a week, they had grown accustomed to what they were given and their demands kept increasing.
"Your existence could bring chaos to this world. Your Highness the King does not wish for that. It may feel stifling to be confined to one place, but the translation artifact given to each of you and the private rooms filled with the latest facilities are things the people of this world couldn't obtain even if they threw their annual salaries at it. Your Highness the King is providing you with the utmost convenience, so please understand. Surely, he will gradually lift the restrictions on your activities as well."
"Still, you can't violate individual freedom like this!"
Benjamin, a Singaporean who had been put in charge of managing the Americans, was having an absolutely miserable time.
Thanks to Adrian, he had met his younger sister and returned, and he held the conviction that he would one day return to Earth but these people did not.
So he could fully understand their frustration, but throwing tantrums like this when they weren't children was not something adults should do, he thought.
"Then why not use this opportunity to find something that could be of help to this world? If you do, you'll be provided with a better environment."
"Like you, the officer in charge, you mean?"
"Yes."
Among the Americans who had settled on Ophelia Island, there were those who openly showed their dislike toward Benjamin.
Saying he was a lackey of the Rondel people.
Because of that, Benjamin had to file reports to Adrian.
Saying that at any moment, these people might pull off a major incident.
"Officer Benjamin!"
"What is it?"
"Twelve residents, including Michael Moore, have left the activity zone!"
"Haa..."
And that prediction soon became reality.
Benjamin, whose main job was counseling the Americans, had just finished his day's work and was trying to get some sleep in the staff quarters when a soldier barged in with the report, and he let out a deep sigh.
Michael Moore was a man who found fault with everything Benjamin did.
He was quite desperate for the opposite sex, and perhaps because he couldn't find a desired partner among the other Americans, he would constantly ask the soldiers vulgar questions about whether there were any brothels or such places here.
If Michael ever committed a crime related to women, Adrian would be furious, and if that happened, the Americans' living conditions could get worse.
That's why Benjamin had to quickly throw on his coat.
"Do you know which direction they escaped?"
"Yes, they were confirmed to be heading toward Aliha Village."
The place where the Americans were currently staying was a resort Adrian had developed for use as a vacation spot.
Two villages were situated around the resort, and Aliha Village was an Eastern-style village made up of people from the Kingdom of Roberto who had lived on Ophelia Island for a long time.
Since Americans tended to look down on Easterners, they were the perfect targets for criminal acts.
"If they're hard to subdue, you may kill them."
"Yes."
As an Earthling, it wasn't easy to speak of killing others, but this was both the authority Adrian had granted him and an unavoidable choice made to protect the other Americans.
And a moment later.
Benjamin could see the runaway Americans, including Michael.
Soldiers had surrounded a pub, and the runaway Americans were inside holding residents hostage.
"I simply cannot understand. How stupid can they possibly be."
Benjamin let out a deep sigh at the hostage situation that followed the escape.
Naturally, Michael and the other Americans were quickly subdued.
They were unfamiliar with the magic of this world, and the situation was resolved simply by using Stonecurses (action-restriction magic).
Afterward, back at the resort, looking at the restrained Americans, Benjamin asked with a genuinely puzzled expression.
"Why did you do it?"
"Because you people restrain freedom."
"Is that freedom just swinging your emotions around however you please?"
"That can also be called freedom."
Benjamin's Singapore was also a country where English was the mainstream language, like America.
But his way of thinking was inevitably closer to an Easterner's than a Westerner's, and perhaps because of the difference in race, he simply couldn't understand them easily.
"They say, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.' For those who threatened residents by taking hostages, I will impose flogging according to the laws of the Duchy of Lawrence."
So Benjamin sentenced the Americans who caused the riot to flogging, confiscated their translation artifacts, and created a separate isolation building where he locked them in so they couldn't step a single foot outside their rooms.
"This is not America. Nor is it a democratic country. Judge the situation wisely."
Afterward, with Benjamin's attitude turning cold, no American dared pick a fight with him anymore.
And so the Americans, if only to avoid being locked up, showed that they would follow Benjamin's orders albeit with scowls on their faces.
* * *
"Oh, it's Benjamin."
I received real-time reports of the incident on Ophelia Island through Blue Moon.
If I had gotten Blue Moon involved, I could have prevented the Americans' escape or hostage-taking in advance, but I deliberately didn't.
It was to see how Benjamin, who had been given extensive authority as the on-site commander, would respond.
And he handled things more cleanly than I expected, and his approach matched my style.
It felt like I'd discovered a good card I hadn't known I had.
He seemed quite useful.
"Tell Sir Benjamin to select about twenty Americans who are obedient and smart."
Gregory, who was reporting on Benjamin, looked puzzled at first, then his expression turned startled.
"Surely you don't intend to bring them to Earth?"
"Yes."
I regularly visit Earth using the ruins in the Dragonlands.
The visiting party is usually similar each time, and on my last trip to Earth, while handling various tasks, I felt a lot.
That is the time I can stay on Earth is short, so rather than scurrying around alone, wouldn't I be able to accomplish more if I used multiple people?
If I alone stay on Earth for ten minutes, I can only get ten minutes' worth of work done, but if I distribute tasks to fifty people and go to Earth with them, then in just ten minutes, I could get five hundred minutes' worth of work done that's what I started thinking.
'If I think about efficiency, there's no need to hesitate.'
The ruin's activation time doesn't differ based on the number of people.
We started with three people and gradually increased the visiting party, but whether it was three or six, the time we could stay on Earth was the same.
I haven't confirmed how many people can use the ruin at once, but I'll find out gradually as we increase the number of explorers.
That's why I had Benjamin select useful Americans.
Since they know Earth well, they'd be easy to make use of.
So, with me, my colleagues, Blue Moon members, and twenty Americans added, next time fifty people will visit Earth.
"What will you do if they try anything funny?"
"I'll place a suggestion on them using August. I'm not too worried about that."
"I see. Understood. I'll relay that to Sir Benjamin."
As Gregory vanished, I looked over Blue Moon's report containing detailed information on the Prius Republic with a satisfied expression.
[Aura Master General Aitrinn, known as a radical, has been won over by the President of Izrael.]
[General Marigold, First Commander of the Ricardo Ordein faction's Heaven-Piercing Fortress unit, has been won over by Field Marshal Ansen.]
Seeing that content, a hollow laugh escaped me.
The report detailed the process by which Izrael was deliberately preparing to bury Ricardo Ordein.
'Right, that clever man wouldn't just sit there and take it.'
However, there is one thing to be careful about: even within the Izrael President's faction, there are spies Ricardo planted.
If I just subtly hint at that to Izrael, the war would probably end surprisingly anticlimactically.
Meaning the case that had been weighing on my mind quite a bit would be wrapped up.
* * *
The war between South Korea and the North.
In the end, the North, being driven back with unstoppable momentum, resorted to using its nuclear weapons, its last bastion.
The plan was to launch ICBMs at a high angle from a long distance and strike Seoul.
In order to end the war in one blow, they intended to strike the enemy's heart without regard for casualties, but... .
"W-We've been intercepted."
"What?"
"It seems the outlander's weapon, the Heaven-Piercing Fortress, was waiting outside the atmosphere."
The plan ended in futile failure.
The nuclear missiles were intercepted outside the atmosphere, and enraged by the North's attempt at a nuclear attack, South Korea accelerated even further and, together with Count Reiers' army, annihilated the North.
Just three days.
That was the time it took for South Korea to occupy the North.