Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Episode 229
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Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Episode 229
51. Opportunity Seeker (6)
Three people stood beside Adrian as he held the press conference.
One of them was naturally his wife and Grandmaster, Arcia, and the other two matched the descriptions of the kidnappers the Emperor had heard.
A Dark Elf with white hair and silver eyes, and a young man with black hair and red eyes.
They were the world's only Lordmaster, 'Blake Russell,' who had once been introduced as Arcia's master at a party within the Rhinehearts Empire, and 'Brangish,' a dragon who had appeared before human society for the first time in over a thousand years.
If not for those two, the Bringham Empire would have had no reason to be dragged around like this.
They were the ones who had caused the current situation, and the very ones who made it impossible to respond to Adrian with the same hard-line approach used against the Prius Republic.
One might think that mobilizing the military was already a sufficiently hard-line response, but merely issuing threats and actually invading for war were entirely different matters.
Because of that, the Emperor couldn't help but be dissatisfied with the current ambiguous state of affairs.
[As everyone knows, the current Emperor of the Bringham Empire has once again raised his army, claiming he will retrieve the Opportunity by finding Grand Duke Lucas's disciple. So now that I have revealed my identity, I trust you will cease the pressure on unrelated nations.]
"Ha, so he fancies himself a champion of justice?"
The Emperor, who had been planning to withdraw the forces deployed toward the Kingdom of Lucias, was forced to wear a sour expression.
But there was one fact the Emperor had overlooked, and that was Adrian's own ability.
He had believed that what needed to be wary of regarding Adrian was his ability as a strategist, not his ability as a Mage.
'Grand Duke Lucas was a man who amassed tremendous wealth. His financial and material assets must be enormous. But if we consider what holds the greatest value among the Opportunities left by Grand Duke Lucas, it would be his research materials.'
Not just the Emperor, but everyone thought this way about Grand Duke Lucas's Opportunity.
Looking at Adrian, one might assume there were auxiliary means for rapid growth, but no one guessed that his magical circles would be inherited in their entirety.
In other words, most people vaguely thought Grand Duke Lucas's abilities were extraordinary, but they did not precisely understand the level of that power.
And so...
[I am the official heir who has inherited everything of Grand Duke Lucas. His wealth, his knowledge, and even his level of attainment.]
"What?"
[I recently succeeded in achieving the 9th-circle. As a result, I was able to inherit everything Grand Duke Lucas left behind.]
As Adrian announced with his own mouth that he was a 9th-circle Mage, not only the Emperor but everyone watching the broadcast wore stunned expressions.
Not knowing the form of the Opportunity, there was no choice but to doubt whether it was possible at the age of 22.
[I will show you proof.]
To that, Adrian gave a simple answer.
[Go go go go go!]
As he cast his magic, a colossal magic circle slowly began to form in the sky above...
A moment later, a meteor whose size was impossible to gauge pierced through the magic circle as if teleported into existence.
The meteor trailed flames behind it as it passed across the sky of the press conference venue and vanished from sight.
And then.
[BOOOOOM!]
[AAAAAH!]
[Wh-what is that!?]
From afar, smoke erupted with an explosion, and a violent earthquake swept over the press conference venue.
The shockwave was blocked by the magical barrier that had been erected around the venue, but judging by the scale of the mushroom cloud and the intensity of the earthquake from the meteor's impact, one couldn't even begin to guess the force at the center.
[I believe this answers the question regarding my level of attainment.]
[Ah, for your information, the place where the meteor landed is a wasteland 200km from here, a land abandoned by both people and animals. We plan to turn the crater created by the magic into a lake and develop it as a tourist attraction, so please make use of it.]
This was a demonstration by any measure.
A demonstration that the Bringham Empire was not the only one capable of using strategic magic.
It was even expressing that even without the dragon and the Dark Elf Lordmaster stepping forward, he could harass Bringham with his own power alone.
-Grit!
"Shit!"
The Emperor had no choice but to bite his lip.
Then a stream of blood flowed down his beard.
-Bang!
He then struck the armrest of the imperial throne with all his strength, and a powerful impact sound uncharacteristic of his age echoed throughout the Imperial Palace Main Hall.
That was a sign of just how great the Emperor's fury was.
"Marquis Winfred!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Emperor asked nervously of Marquis Winfred, who was temporarily overseeing the mages in place of the abducted Duke Christopher.
"How big is the difference in power between Gungnir and Meteor?"
"They are evenly matched. However, Meteor holds a special position even among 9th-circle spells, so the number of times it can be used in a single day is quite limited. Gungnir would likely have the advantage in rapid successive firing."
But unlike those who use facilities, the other side's magic is manifested through a single person's casting, so having fewer restrictions on use was a major advantage.
"The moment we use Gungnir, the dragon and the Lordmaster will also step in with all their might, so if a full-scale war breaks out, we can no longer consider ourselves at an advantage."
"Regardless of victory or defeat, both nations would be reduced to ruins."
The Emperor's brow twitched at Marquis Winfred's cold assessment, but he could not disagree with her judgment.
"Is there no possibility that it was a bluff?"
At that moment, the Foreign Minister said that in an attempt to soothe the Emperor's anger, but it only stoked the flames further.
"Why would anyone commit a bluff that would be exposed the moment we investigate?!"
"F-Forgive me."
The Emperor glared with murderous eyes at the Foreign Minister, who had tucked his tail without even recovering his losses, then turned his gaze back to Adrian in the image, who was speaking again.
[I do not wish for war. And this is surely what every nation in the world desires as well. If we and the Bringham Empire go to war over the Opportunity, not only both nations but the entire world will suffer.]
To stage a show of force with Meteor while claiming not to want war that was truly an Adrian-like move.
[If it's all the same, I believe cooperating while pursuing mutual development is more forward-looking than war. Therefore, I propose negotiations to His Majesty Edward Noah Bringham, Emperor of the Bringham Empire.]
It seemed perfectly rational, but from the Empire's perspective, it could only be seen as a unilateral proposal.
However, the problem was that the initiative had already fallen into Adrian's hands.
Unless they intended to fight a mutual-destruction war, they had no choice but to accept the proposal.
"Damn it."
The Emperor let out a sigh.
Having been deceived by a fake Opportunity Seeker and given Adrian time to grow his power was itself the Bringham Empire's fatal blunder.
In the end, it meant they had been thoroughly played.
By a mere 22-year-old young man, at that.
* * *
The Emperor of the Bringham Empire ultimately agreed to my negotiations.
As a result, the Bringham Empire withdrew its forces again, and the nations of Rondel kept a close watch on both me and the Bringham Empire.
The negotiations were to take place three days later.
I asked for a week, saying I needed time to prepare, but whether due to what they had suffered, the Emperor of the Bringham Empire would not grant me any leeway.
At the very least, he pushed the meeting from the very next day to three days later.
[The Rhinehearts Empire is in full festival mode! Emperor Mikhail sincerely congratulates Grand Duke Lawrence on achieving the 9th circle and has announced plans to designate it as a national commemoration day.]
[Lawrence Mage Tower's stock hits limit-up after limit-up! With the Grand Duke Lucas's disciple as Tower Master, the world's number one Mage Tower can only be Lawrence Mage Tower that's the consensus!]
[Not just Lawrence Mage Tower, but the stock indices of the Rhinehearts Empire and both duchies have skyrocketed! The Rhinehearts Empire's golden age following the Bringham Empire is all but certain!]
[It also serves as good news for nations with close ties to Grand Duke Lawrence!]
-Whoa, damn! I thought he was unusual, but he was Grand Duke Lucas's disciple?
-Look at how the Bringham Empire doesn't dare to charge in carelessly. A 9th-circle mage is truly fearsome.
└If it were just one 9th-circle mage, they'd still dare to attack. But they say the Grand Duke Lawrence is friends with a dragon, and his wife, a Grandmaster, has a Lordmaster as her master.
└Come on, that's too much like a novel.
└Novel, my ass everyone in the know already knows this.
└Really?
└Yeah, really.
Naturally, the moment it became known that I was Grand Duke Lucas's disciple, the Rhinehearts Empire...
No, the entire world erupted in chaos.
The people of the Duchy of Lawrence cheered loudly at the bright future ahead, and my subordinates having learned that I had bought time to reach the 9th circle by planting a fake Opportunity Seeker gave me a thumbs up, saying, "Now that's a true lord."
Of course, achieving the 9th circle is a joy in itself, but the greatest joy is that I now have the strength and the power to protect what I possess.
Now that I no longer need to hide myself and worry about threats around me, how could I not be glad?
"..."
But I must not forget.
The fact that I deceived and tricked many people in order to reach my current level.
"I apologize."
I bowed my head and offered my apology.
Before me now sits President Izrael of the Prius Republic.
In response to my apology, he asked with a largely unreadable expression.
"What exactly are you apologizing for?"
"For making Lewis Fairmont into a fake Opportunity Seeker in order to divert the Bringham Empire's attention outward."
Because of that, the Prius Republic was invaded by the Bringham Empire and fought a war.
The casualties were severe enough that at one point they nearly faced defeat.
No matter how much I helped end the war and aided in stabilizing the people's lives by bringing down the Republic's dictator, it is clearly an act that cannot be easily forgiven.
Of course, the Republic's sharp-eyed politicians and citizens had caught on and were condemning me, and President Izrael, who had inadvertently become known as my close friend, was taking flak along with me.
"So that's why you were providing financial support to the war victims?"
To at least ease my guilt, I have been funneling funds to those victimized by the war, providing enough support that they lack nothing in their daily lives.
Many people had not understood this behavior of mine before, but now the puzzle has finally been solved.
But why?
Even with my apology, President Izrael did not seem particularly displeased.
"Well, it's thanks to that that we succeeded in the revolution. If our Republic hadn't been used by Grand Duke Lawrence, we'd probably still be a dictatorship."
If we look only at the results, that's true, but...
Don't people consider the process as much as the result?
"If you truly feel sorry, wouldn't it be enough to maintain a close national relationship from now on and offer your help as Grand Duke Lucas's disciple?"
A judgment that looked toward the future rather than the past.
I let out a sigh of relief at President Izrael's words and nodded.
"Of course. I'll formally offer an apology to the Republic's citizens later and provide compensation for the damages."
"Yes, understood."
President Izrael was greatly surprised by this matter, but he showed that he would solidify our relationship, saying our friendship would not waver.
I wonder what calculations might lie beneath that but...
[Relationship: Close Friend / Ally]
[Status: Favor / Interest]
At the very least, the emotions the Myriad Mirror displayed for him were not much different from before.
* * *
After my meeting with President Izrael, I came face to face with the three Grand Mages of the Riverdale Mage Tower in the Kingdom of Lucias.
Including Olivia, the current Head of the Riverdale Ducal House they too are people I deceived, but it didn't seem necessary to offer them an apology.
"You already knew?"
"Yes, so I made all that fuss just to secure a connection."
Olivia has now reached the 8th Circle.
This was a secret not known to the public.
I had heard that this time she sided with Ibril to pressure the Bringham Empire and buy time, so I owed her my gratitude.
Thanks to Olivia, I was able to reach the 9th circle without major interference from the Bringham Empire.
Although her efforts were somewhat undermined by Blake and Brangish's blundering, because she had stepped forward to draw attention at the start, less scrutiny had fallen on me than on Olivia.
"Should I take it that our relationship remains as it was before?"
By "relationship," she meant the sense of belonging she felt during the days when we were in the same school.
Though it's not the Riverdale School, it's a sign that we should continue a firm alliance.
I nodded without much hesitation.
"Of course."
If I could bring Riverdale into the fold, it was naturally to my advantage to do so.
"Good."
* * *
Having thus solidified my surrounding relationships, I had to go see the two people who must have been the most shocked.
"Oh, my little sibling has grown so much."
"Mm."
"Hello, Emilia."
Namely, my parents of the Marquis Lawrence family, my paternal household.
With everything so busy lately, it's been nearly half a year since I last visited.
Ironically, these are the two people who gave birth to me the current me, Adrian Lawrence and yet I've seen them even less often than my parents from my previous life in Korea.
I think this is something I need to reflect on.
So, out of embarrassment, I acted overly familiar with my baby younger sibling.
"I'm sorry. I had to keep it hidden in case it leaked out somehow."
Of my parents, seeing my mother especially wearing a sulky expression, I ultimately had to ask for forgiveness.
In response, Father showed that he understood well enough, but Mother pouted like a young girl and wouldn't easily let her anger go.
Since we had suffered together under persecution for so long, it seemed the fact that her son had harbored such a big secret was quite a shock to her.
Thanks to that, I had to sweat cold all day long to soothe Mother's anger.
But Mother's anger dissipated in an instant.
"Urp!"
Because during the meal, Arcia suddenly retched out of nowhere.
"Oh my!"