Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 230
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Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 230
52. Rondel's Change (1)
Mother's eyes went wide as she stared at Arcia.
Father and I tilted our heads wondering what was going on, then realized a beat late what had startled Mother.
"Ah, Arcia. It's not like something's stuck in your throat, is it?"
"What?"
Arcia, who could chew through steel, looked at me as if she had no idea what I meant, and then Mother, forgetting she was in a dress, dashed over and asked.
"Are you pregnant?"
At Mother's appearance as she grabbed Arcia's hand and asked, Arcia wore a surprised expression before closing both eyes to check her own condition.
"The flow of energy isn't exactly smooth..."
As she said that and looked at me, I quickly used magic to check her condition.
And then, besides the aura point located in Arcia's lower abdomen, I discovered a spot a bit further up in her abdomen where energy was gathering.
As much as I had built my circles through unorthodox means, I had been infused with all sorts of magical knowledge, so I knew what that meant.
"Oh, oooooh!"
When I let out a suspicious exclamation, Mother and Father's expressions brightened, while Arcia looked pleased yet somehow complicated and subtle.
As much as they had plenty on their minds, for two transcendent beings to not even detect a pregnancy in advance...
That goes beyond the word "oblivious."
I firmly grasped Arcia's hand, who looked somewhat uneasy, and said this as if to reassure her.
"There's no need to be anxious."
"Adrian-nim."
"If Arcia is truly anxious, there's also the method of creating an incubation facility so you don't have to carry the fetus in your belly, and raising the child there..."
*Smack!*
But for such a mage-like response that missed the point entirely, I got slapped on the back by Mother and had to hear from Arcia, "That's a bit..."
"Hey, I was joking."
"It didn't sound like a joke at all."
"Ahem."
Letting out a pointless cough, I looked back at Arcia.
And pressing my lips to her cheek, I spoke again.
"Let's live happily."
A short line, yet laden with meaning.
At those sincere words, Arcia finally smiled.
She happened to have a rather expressionless face, so whenever she smiled, it felt like the whole area brightened up.
'But still, a child of my own.'
This being my first time having a child in both my previous and current life, the feeling was strange.
But there was one clear fact.
And that was that the child born between me and Arcia would be able to live a life free from anyone's contempt.
After all, Father was a 9th-circle Grand Mage, and Mother was a Grandmaster.
* * *
The news of Arcia's pregnancy was, from the duchy's standpoint, truly a double blessing.
Unlike Grand Duke Lucas, who lived his entire life alone and left his legacy behind in the form of an Opportunity, this meant that the legacy I would leave in the future would be passed down to my children.
Naturally, this could only be welcome news for the duchy, and it meant the ducal authority would become even more firmly established.
And this news from the Duchy of Lawrence was hardly pleasant from the Bringham Empire's standpoint.
It would feel like they cooked the meal only to feed it to a dog.
If they failed to gain anything from the upcoming negotiation, the property of Grand Duke Lucas, which had belonged to their nation, would permanently pass into another country's hands.
This also carried the possibility of weakening the Bringham Empire's unrivaled power, so everyone expected the negotiation to be difficult.
But I wasn't too worried.
Because I had the means to make the Bringham Empire cooperate.
"There's nothing I can say but congratulations."
At Emperor Mikhail's greeting, I scratched my cheek and showed a slightly apologetic reaction.
"I apologize. When I relayed to the outside that I had inherited Grand Duke Lucas's legacy, I had thought I would inform His Majesty the Emperor first, but the circumstances didn't allow it."
Things had moved so urgently that Emperor Mikhail had also learned of the news through a press conference.
But as always, Emperor Mikhail showed a reaction of not being particularly bothered.
"No, it was a perfectly understandable situation. I'd have done the same."
"Thank you for understanding."
"Well, if I couldn't understand, what would I do? Surely I wouldn't cast out the Grand Duke Lucas's disciple? Haha."
He is a very rational and logical person.
Because of that, he understood my judgment.
After the rough greetings came to an end, Mikhail, who now carried the air of an emperor, asked.
"So, what business do you have? Didn't you request this meeting saying you had something important?"
Something important.
That was precisely to ask for Emperor Mikhail's help.
Of course, that help meant consultation with the Emperor of the Bringham Empire, and his assistance was essential to carry it out as I intended.
"I would like His Majesty the Emperor to attend the consultation with the Bringham Empire as well."
"It would save face for me to do so, but are you sure? This is a consultation over Grand Duke Lucas's Opportunity."
Naturally, as the sovereign state of the Duchy of Lawrence and the Emperor of the Rhinehearts Empire, he was a party to this situation.
But he had no authority to dictate how the Opportunity should be handled.
The Opportunity was, after all, my personal property.
"This consultation isn't simply about deciding whether to give the Bringham Empire a portion of the Opportunity."
"What else is there?"
At Emperor Mikhail's questioning look, I nodded seriously.
And then I brought out the core of the matter.
"In the near future, a great upheaval will occur in Rondel."
"What do you mean?"
"To respond to it effectively, I wish to establish an international organization centered on the Rhinehearts Empire and the Bringham Empire."
Emperor Mikhail narrowed his brow.
As if he had no idea what I was talking about.
And that was to be expected.
After all, only a handful of people truly understood the anomalies currently occurring in Rondel.
"Please elaborate."
At Emperor Mikhail's request, I nodded and replied.
"This will be a long story."
Then I began the story of Earth and the goddess.
However, in the process, I did not reveal that I and Grand Duke Lucas were both originally from Earth.
I believed there was no need to disclose that part, and I judged that the severity of the situation would be conveyed sufficiently even without including that information.
'Rondel has a sister world called Earth, and that world was created by a god named Cayus, who is the avatar and son of the goddess Sepia.'
'Cayus, who created Earth, has already expired and vanished after reaching the end of his lifespan.'
'The goddess Sepia intends to take over the world her avatar created and manage it in unification with Rondel.'
'The goddess is conducting various experiments to unify the two worlds, and as a result, Earth's environment has changed and numerous calamities have occurred.'
'If the two worlds are unified, Rondel will also suffer massive casualties and property damage. A continent-wide response is necessary for this.'
Of course, Emperor Mikhail could not readily accept this.
Whether he trusted me or not was another matter.
"...."
Still, since I wasn't the kind of person to spout nonsense, his reason and logic ended up clashing with each other.
It couldn't be helped.
Even so, the fact that it was me saying this made it somewhat plausible if anyone else had said it, it would have been dismissed as nonsense.
"You intend to tell this story to the Emperor of the Bringham Empire as well?"
"Yes. To prevent this situation with minimal damage, the Bringham Empire's cooperation is essential."
"Then you know what I will ask for."
"You'll need evidence to lend credibility to the story."
"Correct. Without solid evidence, it's highly likely to be dismissed as nonsense."
To Emperor Mikhail's cold assessment, I answered with a smile.
"Then first, Your Majesty Emperor Mikhail can experience it firsthand and judge for yourself."
"Pardon?"
I know full well that this story can only sound absurd.
To convince someone of it, one direct experience is better than a hundred words.
"I will escort you to Earth."
And so, I showed Emperor Mikhail a new world.
* * *
The day of the consultation, set to meet the Emperor of the Bringham Empire.
"Th-This can't be?"
The Emperor of the Bringham Empire was shocked at the sight of Earthlings with an entirely different civilization and entirely different way of life.
And the same was true for the key figures of the Bringham Empire standing by the Emperor's side.
Emperor Mikhail, who had toured Earth a few days earlier, showed a reaction of complete understanding.
"Duke Christopher, Count Elfried, am I seeing illusions right now?"
"No, Your Majesty. Everything appears real."
"Didn't Grand Duke Lawrence already swear the Oath of Mana? So we have no choice but to believe it."
The two who had been kidnapped by Blake and Brangish and only now released answered in turn, and Duke Francis and Duke Raphael, seated alongside them, also swallowed dryly, saying the scene before their eyes didn't seem like an illusion.
"Your Majesty, do you remember Reiers County, the island that suddenly vanished from the Walter Kingdom?"
"Yes, there was such an incident… Wait. Don't tell me?"
"That's right. That Reiers County has been transported to this Earth."
And I led the VIPs to Reiers County.
As always, the retainers of Reiers County welcomed us, and the lord who came running over without a thought and then saw the Emperor of the Bringham Empire was startled and bowed his head.
"Hohoho."
A laugh from the Emperor of the Bringham Empire, mingling bewilderment and embarrassment.
Having been suddenly dragged into another world, he seemed utterly dazed.
Thinking this ought to be explanation enough, I returned to Rondel with the VIPs and asked for their impressions.
"What do you think?"
"Good heavens."
Having returned to the meeting room prepared in the neutral Holy See for the consultation, the Emperor was lost for words for a moment.
I spoke to the Emperor.
"A great crisis is about to befall Rondel. Now is not the time for us to check each other it is time to unite our strength."
Create a common goal.
That is my strategy in dealing with the Bringham Empire.
Well, it was a necessary matter anyway, but why would I bring this up precisely when we were about to discuss whether to split Grand Duke Lucas's Opportunity?
Just looking away, right?
"Hmm..."
Naturally, the Emperor of Bringham and his retainers, having faced such a shocking reality, wore grave expressions.
"Does the Saintess know anything about this situation?"
Since I was close with Ibril, the Emperor asked not about the church but about the Saintess's condition.
"No, it seems she doesn't know anything about this matter either."
"So this is not something that needs permission from mortals?"
Clearly frustrated at being forced to be swayed by vague talk of possible great damage from the merging of two worlds, the Emperor of Bringham tapped his pen against the desk irritably.
At that, Duke Francis, who had been silent until now, asked me.
"Then how did Your Highness the King come to judge that a Great Catastrophe would strike Rondel as well?"
"I learned of it while interrogating demon worshipers."
Everyone wore shocked expressions at my answer.
But given the gravity of the situation, they set aside their prejudice against demon worshipers and stared at me, hoping for a detailed explanation.
"As you all know, there was the recent campaign to subjugate demon worshipers in cooperation with the Holy See. These demon worshipers were powerful enough to give even the Saintess and Holy Son a hard time, and their influence was immense. I felt the need to investigate their purpose, so I secretly smuggled one out and interrogated him."
"Indeed, the Holy See only ever kills demon worshipers on sight."
"Behind those demon worshipers were two Demon Kings. One was the Crimson Demon King Arc Scarlet, known to all."
Arc Scarlet, who remains in Rondel as a terror.
Naturally everyone swallowed air, but the Emperor of the Bringham Empire, uninterested, urged me with his gaze to continue the explanation.
"The other was the Demon King of Earth, bearing the name Lord Exceed."
"The Demon King of Earth?"
"Yes. Arc Scarlet cooperated with an unheard-of Demon King of Earth to expand his influence in Rondel."
The rest didn't need lengthy explanation everyone could infer it.
The Demon King of Earth caught wind of Goddess Sepia's actions and tried to stop them.
A very simple story.
After hearing the full tale, they all fell into deep thought.
Because it was hard to decide how to handle this.
"We'll need something more definitive."
Then the Emperor made a proposal.
"Let us ask the Goddess directly."
As everyone questioned what he meant, the Emperor spoke.
"The Holy Son and Saintess can speak to the Goddess, can they not?"
"Ah, you mean the Path of the Goddess."
The Path of the Goddess is a kind of sanctuary that only the Saintess and Holy Son may enter.
It is the very altar Ibril ascended when she was chosen by the Goddess during the Saintess contest.
It is a famous anecdote that Grand Duke Lucas was exceptionally permitted to ascend the Path of the Goddess and converse with Sepia.
Is this what it means to be the Emperor of the Bringham Empire, after all?
Asking Sepia herself for her intentions was a line of thinking that would normally be impossible.
"If the Emperor of the Bringham Empire, the Emperor of the Rhinehearts Empire, and Grand Duke Lawrence, who is close to the church, go together, even the Holy See won't be able to refuse. Let's head there now."
The Emperor of the Bringham Empire, speaking as if suggesting a second round, didn't even utter the first syllable of "Opportunity" due to the gravity of the situation.