Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Episode 248
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Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Episode 248
55. Expected Scenario (2)
The ducal palace of the Duchy of Lawrence had been reinforced again and again and coated with all sorts of magic, making it a perfect fortress that would never collapse from a mere earthquake.
But the anomalous phenomenon happening now was not something as simple as a natural disaster like an earthquake.
The core of the anomaly was mana raging and swirling as violently as a storm.
As a result, the spells protecting the castle were swaying unsteadily.
As a mage who couldn't help but be sensitive to mana, and Arcia as a Swordsman, both our expressions hardened.
-Rattle-rattle!
Arcia and I hurried our steps.
The place we reached was a nearby balcony.
We stepped outside to see with our own eyes what on earth was happening.
"Huh?"
And then we could see it.
Auroras, which you'd only normally see in the northern and southern glacial zones, were decorating the sky in broad daylight.
No, to be precise, I wasn't sure they could even be called auroras.
Unlike ordinary auroras, their colors kept shifting constantly.
From green to blue, yellow to purple, red to gray.
If that were something commonly seen, I'd have draped my arm over Arcia's shoulder calling it romantic, but this was at the very least a phenomenon I'd never seen within my knowledge.
I immediately used clairvoyance and a wide-area detection spell to check whether this phenomenon was occurring only in the duchy's capital.
As a result, I learned that not only the duchy's capital but also the neighboring nations were in the same situation.
Perhaps the whole world was in this chaos.
"Y-Your Highness the King."
Among the people staring blankly up at the sky watching the aurora, a few subordinates spotted me and hastily bowed their heads.
However, I didn't accept their greetings and first pulled out a Magic Staff from my subspace.
Auroras aside, I judged that I needed to first calm the rampaging mana and the earthquake for the safety of the people.
There was no such thing as a spell to calm rampaging mana, but I judged that if I used a spell to isolate the space, the mana inside, cut off from the outside, would naturally settle down.
So I cast a space isolation spell over a wide area.
-Flash!
The spell, originating from me, spread in all directions like surging blue waves, enveloping the duchy's capital and nearby satellite cities.
And just as I'd guessed, the rampaging mana began to settle.
-Whoosh!
Next, I used a spell to absorb vibrations, and the loudly trembling atmosphere returned to peace, with the earthquake recovering to nearly negligible levels.
Of course, since the outside of the isolated space was in such chaos, a faint tremor was still felt, but it wasn't enough to hinder daily affairs.
Arcia asked me with a serious expression.
"Could this be a sign announcing the merging of the two worlds?"
"If so, we might have less time than we thought."
I immediately contacted Gregory of the Blue Moon and Count Elfried, the head of the Bringham Empire's intelligence department, through my terminal device.
Both of them were assigned to me as advisors at the Rondel Peace Organization.
"Please investigate and report in detail what is currently happening whether any land has suddenly disappeared or newly appeared, or any figures as well."
[Yes, Chairman.]
[Understood, my liege lord.]
Both of them replied with voices calmer than anyone's.
Their mental fortitude, unshaken even by ominous signs, was truly impressive.
"Let's proceed as planned."
"Yes."
And I moved again together with Arcia.
The place was the joint meeting venue where the leaders of the Prius Republic, the Elysian Coalition, and the Kingdom of Lucias had gathered.
Today I intended to negotiate bringing them into the Rondel Peace Organization.
"It looks like today's meeting will end easily."
Thanks to the unsettling anomaly occurring like a sign of a great upheaval, the negotiations seemed like they would be easier than expected.
"K-King of Lawrence! What is this situation?!"
"That large-scale spell just cast was that you, Your Majesty?"
When I arrived at the meeting hall, the leaders of the three nations, looking as if they might flee at any moment, rushed up to me.
I spoke to the flustered figures with a calm face.
"There is much to say. Please, all of you, take your seats."
"This is hardly the time…."
"No, it is precisely because of now that this meeting must be held."
* * *
The Grand Duke Lawrence's ducal palace quickly returned to stability thanks to Adrian's measures.
But those who sensed something behind the current anomaly wore grave expressions.
"Surely not?"
In particular, Lord Exceed, the reincarnation of Grand Duke Lucas who had followed Adrian to Rondel under the pretense of giving him time to think while also keeping an eye on him, took this as a major threat.
"Calm down. Nothing has actually happened yet."
Blake, who was with him, spoke up to settle Lord Exceed down.
To be sure, as he said, one couldn't say anything had actually happened yet.
But would such a massive anomaly occur if nothing were about to happen at all?
Naturally, Lord Exceed's expression was sour.
"Wouldn't it be better for you to step forward and persuade Adrian?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"If we keep stalling like this and he doesn't give us the answer we want, it could easily lead to war. No matter that Adrian has reached the 9th-circle and obtained my Opportunity, and no matter that you and the dragon are by his side if he makes enemies of the Heavenly Tribe and the demon race of Earth, he won't survive."
A warning that was little more than a threat.
But Blake read impatience in his demeanor.
"I find this hard to understand. Are you really the Manuel Lucas I once knew?"
"The environment and the time I've lived through are different from back then. Change is only natural."
"No. I don't think that's all it is."
"You're trying to change the subject with pointless words."
At Blake's sharp probing question, Lord Exceed opened the balcony door and stepped outside.
Blake wasn't staying by his side simply because he was a close friend.
He was a watcher in case of emergencies.
That was why he pressed close behind Lord Exceed.
"I must have misjudged you. I thought you were the type who could never form a lasting bond with anyone, but now look you've become Adrian's loyal subordinate through and through."
"Not a subordinate a friend."
"Like me?"
"Yes."
There was a hint of hollow emptiness in Lord Exceed's demeanor.
At the same time, a sharp killing intent radiated from him, and Blake instinctively placed his hand on the sword at his waist.
He issued a warning in return to Lord Exceed.
"You'd best avoid any rash actions. If word gets out that Adrian has brought in the Demon King, Rondel, which is uniting around him, will fall into chaos. When that happens, cooperation and all the rest will go out the window."
At that, Lord Exceed stared at Blake for a long moment, then let out a faint chuckle.
"Very well. I'll try to understand."
And with that, he stepped back, gazing at the aurora.
Surprised by the unexpected response, Blake let out a quiet sigh of relief inwardly.
But the next words from Lord Exceed narrowed his brow once more.
"I'll factor everything into my calculations. If I fail to obtain the answer I seek, the price will be very steep indeed."
How had the two of them come to watch each other like this and trade threatening remarks?
Blake recalled memories of the past and wore a bitter expression.
And at the same time...
'I feel like there's something more he's hiding. I need to have a talk with Adrian.'
Such was the thought he held.
* * *
"Fortunately, the anomaly disappeared without lasting more than an hour."
"And there's been no change to Rondel's terrain either."
I felt relief at the reports from Gregory and Count Elfried.
At least the two worlds hadn't merged right away.
Of course, that didn't mean I could simply let my guard down.
"However, there are quite a number of missing persons."
"It looks like the count could easily reach one million."
"I see."
From the two explanations delivered as if competing with each other, I could also sense that the time was drawing near.
'Is this some kind of countdown signal?'
But I shook off the unnecessary worry.
After all, the outcome of the two worlds merging wouldn't change, and even if the schedule had to be moved up a bit, what I needed to do remained the same.
If anything, this incident had secured the participation of today's negotiating nations in the Peace Organization, so our work would pick up speed.
"The remaining nations joining is only a matter of time. I think we can now begin moving forward with phase two."
At my words, the two nodded seriously.
A plan shared among us.
Among its parts, phase two was something that could prove somewhat controversial.
Namely, the handling of those who might become obstacles.
The phase two plan included purging agitators, politicians, and nobles with differing political beliefs, as well as cleansing nations with a high likelihood of becoming hostile.
* * *
Holy Land Everhill.
Ever since being beaten by Adrian and forcibly rehabilitated, the Holy Son found each passing day a living hell.
From now on, he had to seek the Saintess's counsel for everything he did, and he absolutely could not lay a hand on anything that would harm Adrian.
As a result, his stress had reached its peak lately, and whether out of defiance or instinct to relieve the pressure, he had begun clinging to a peculiar hobby he wouldn't have touched under normal circumstances.
-Ting-ting-ting!
The hobby he'd recently been obsessing over was...
"Our Asuka is so cute. A true angel."
It was idol fan culture.
The subject was a three-member girl group called Agnyang that had been gaining popularity lately.
Among them, a girl named Asuka, with fiery red hair and ruby-like sparkling eyes, was the target of his devotion.
If it were up to him, he'd use his authority as Holy Son to arrange a meeting, but her agency happened to be Adrian's Lawrence Mage Tower, so he couldn't easily get close.
Perhaps that very frustration only deepened his longing.
"I want to marry her."
The problem was that his favorite, Asuka, was actually the Demon King, Arc Scarlet.
Unaware that his beloved was the Demon King, the Holy Son spent yet another day watching Arc Scarlet's videos.
"H-Holy Son! Outside right now!"
"Shut up and get out for a bit!"
But so absorbed was he in the video that even the Holy Knight Captain, the Holy Son's closest confidant in the Holy See, was shouted down and driven out rather than having the video paused.
He was truly beyond saving.
Thanks to that, the Holy Knight Captain, who had come on urgent business, was left pacing helplessly, unable to defy the Holy Son's orders, and only managed to face him after five minutes had passed.
"What is it?"
"The sanctuary right now..."
"The sanctuary?"
But the Holy Knight Captain's words were cut off once again.
The reason was that someone approaching from behind roughly shoved him.
As a result, the Holy Knight Captain landed hard on the floor.
Apart from the Holy Son, Saintess, and Holy King, no one could treat the Holy Knight Captain so insolently.
Yet even in that humiliating situation, the Holy Knight Captain hurriedly got up and merely stepped back.
Then, a stranger's figure came into the Holy Son's view.
"That dim-witted looking fool is the Holy Son?"
"How dare you! To speak such insults to me..."
The Holy Son raised his voice in his usual temper, but upon getting a closer look at the deep-voiced man, his words trailed off.
"Ha! Chosen by Lady Sepia, but a mere human talking like that."
The reason was the golden crown floating above the stranger's head and the four pairs of wings spread behind his back.
"My name is Heriel. One of the Seven Heavenly Kings of the Heavenly Tribe."
And at his follow-up declaration, the Holy Son gasped.
"I have descended to slay the Demon King hiding in Rondel."
At this unimaginable news, his eyes flew wide open.