Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 252
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Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 252
55. Expected Scenario (6)
The plan of the Earth sphere's Heavenly Tribe and demon race to oppose the goddess is simple.
To establish a new creator of Earth, so that the goddess cannot pull any tricks at all.
However, the goal is not to put forward a specific individual, but for the Heavenly Tribe and demon race belonging to the underworld to share the authority of the creator.
In that process, the underworld's demon race and Heavenly Tribe are reborn as self-proclaimed god race.
In addition, their plan extends to granting a portion of authority to Arc Scarlet, the demon king of another world, elevating him to god race, and then having him keep Sepia in check in Rondel.
By common sense, even if he were reborn as god race, Arc Scarlet alone doesn't seem like he could keep the goddess in check.
'But it's not an impossible method either.'
The reason is that the goddess Sepia has a rule that she does not directly kill her creations.
If the goddess wants to deal with something she doesn't like, she entrusts the work to proxies including the Heavenly Tribe or the church.
However, the problem is that Arc Scarlet, reborn as god race, comes to possess power that yields to no one except the goddess herself.
Arc Scarlet, who breaks Rondel's power balance, becomes a headache of an existence that the goddess can neither touch nor leave alone.
It means it is possible to bind the goddess's attention to Rondel until Earth regains stability.
'In other words, my demand is to give me the power that would be directed at Arc Scarlet.'
If that happens, I gain two things.
The first is that I no longer have to worry about the rampage of Arc Scarlet, who is of the demon race.
The second is that I myself come to possess power comparable to god race, gaining the ability to flexibly respond to unexpected situations.
Isn't that a gain in many ways?
But the reason I still ask for time to think is because of the following.
'Surely the goddess, who must know all situations, won't just sit back and watch this unfold?'
'In the first place, would it even be possible to stop the goddess Sepia's plan just because the Earth sphere's Heavenly Tribe and demon race are reborn as god race?'
'If she is the goddess, couldn't she break the rule of not directly executed (killed on the spot) her creations as the creator?'
And so on.
I thought that hoping to win safely while making an enemy of a being called the creator might be too optimistic a way of thinking.
And rightly so, the opponent is the creator.
The very being who made this world.
That is why I do not pounce on the opportunity to strengthen my power even though I can obtain it.
'Surely Lord Exceed must also know of my concerns like this.'
For their plan to succeed, the goddess's tacit approval is needed.
She must not break the rules she set until the end and must make no response at all, so if that is not tacit approval, what is?
Nevertheless, the reason Lord Exceed urges a choice is because there is no other method besides that.
"You seem to have many thoughts."
At Lord Exceed's question, I shrugged, saying it couldn't be helped.
Asking while clearly knowing why I am like this makes him seem ill-natured.
Since he is my benefactor, I intend to be as considerate of him as possible, but I did not want myself and those around me to be endangered because of my benefactor.
"Kyaa! This is killer!"
Was it to lighten the heavy atmosphere?
At the sight of Arc Scarlet, drinking the red beverage in her wine glass and letting out an ahjussi roar, everyone's gazes focused on her.
"Ooh, my power is returning!"
Whether or not she knew of the surrounding gazes, Arc Scarlet made a fuss all by herself.
And with her at the center, I could feel black mana rising sharply.
But its limit was at the 9th-circle level, slightly short of mine, and it did not amplify beyond that.
The reason Arc Scarlet's power had suddenly returned, even if only partially, was the influence of the red beverage she drank.
The identity of that red beverage was blood drawn from the heart of Heavenly King Heriel.
As befits the queen of vampires, recovering power by drinking the blood of a being of equal rank, a Heavenly King is that not a truly grotesque ability?
Thanks to that, her stats, which had been below those of Selin the demon worshiper, rose to slightly above them.
"Now my world..."
-Smack!
And the wretch, pulling up black mana to the fullest, attempted to sever the master-servant contract forcibly tied with me.
Naturally, it was a futile attempt.
As a result, she got hit on the back of the head by me and kissed the floor.
"Shit."
Arc Scarlet, seemingly having already forgotten her own actions just now, shot me a look mixed with protest, asking what I thought I was doing.
But when I made a gesture of slowly drawing my thumb across my neck, she fell silent.
Incidentally, in the corner of the office, there was a beauty of neutral appearance impossible to tell whether male or female watching that Arc Scarlet slumped in a corner.
He was none other than Dark Square, the second demon king who had been Bound/Captured by Brangish and dragged here.
Perhaps already foreseeing his own future, he wore an expression of resignation, and judging by that, it seemed there would be no major issue in forming a master-servant contract with him.
Having thus turned my gaze away from him, I looked at Blake, Brangish, and Lord Exceed.
"How shall we divide Heriel's corpse?"
It might seem horrific to discuss the division of a corpse, but this is Rondel, a fantasy world.
In a place where not a single bone or hide of a monster is carelessly discarded, the corpses of the Heavenly Tribe or the demon race were materials for equipment no less valuable than a dragon's corpse.
Moreover, what we obtained this time was not merely the corpse of an ordinary Heavenly Tribe member, but none other than the corpse of a Heavenly King.
Its value cannot be priced.
In particular, the core of the Heavenly Tribe equivalent to a dragonheart and the four pairs of wings were items that absolutely anyone in this room could not help but covet.
That is why I sought the opinions of those who had distinguished themselves in the subjugation of Heriel.
At this, Blake spoke up.
"You, Arcia, Brangish, and Lord Exceed each take one pair of wings, and you take the Heavenly Tribe's core that should be right."
Blake's proposal was an extremely favorable condition for me.
When I asked in return whether that would really be acceptable, Brangish said there was no objection and continued.
"You're the one who set the board for the Heavenly King's subjugation, so of course. To begin with, this group would never have gathered in one place if not for you."
Finally, I looked at Lord Exceed.
He too seemed to have no major complaints.
Unlike Rondel, the Heavenly Tribe and demon race of Earth live together in the same underworld and are on good terms, so he may possess related materials.
Just as in Rondel, those who possess the most dragon-related materials are the dragons, who are of the same race.
Perhaps because of that, he seemed to show little interest.
"Understood. Let's do it that way."
And so, with the Heavenly King's appearance, subjugation, and subsequent distribution of spoils concluded, the great incident came to an end.
What remains now would be deciding whether to take Lord Exceed's hand, the reorganization and expansion of the Rondel Peace Organization, and the strengthening of forces within Earth.
'Somehow, everything ended up being about responding to the goddess's plan.'
And on that day.
With Brangish's help, I came to have even a demon king Dark Square under my command.
* * *
Rondel does not have as many islands as one might think.
Of course, they easily exceed the thousands, but considering that Korea alone has over three thousand islands, it can be seen as almost nothing compared to Earth.
Thanks to that, among the 21 nations that exist in Rondel, only two are island nations, and the remaining 19 all belong to the four great continents.
However, one of the two island nations, Holy Land Everhill, is different from ordinary islands.
It was an island situated in the inland sea of Defteron, the largest continent in Rondel.
So if one were to name the representative island nation of Rondel, one would pick this country rather than Holy Land Everhill.
The class-based nation without a king, 'Lyseth Island.'
"What do you mean by that!?"
Lyseth Island is a nation where four families each divide and rule their respective regions.
Its main industries are trade and the production and sale of high-priced luxury goods related to fashion.
It can be seen as a place that is half Italy and half Panama of Earth mixed together.
In Lyseth Island, the council where the heads of the four families gather to exchange opinions is the highest authority, and it is a nation that has endured for a full 1,000 years through this city-state alliance system.
To put it positively, it is stable.
To put it negatively, it has a stagnant system with no change.
Perhaps because of that?
This nation had a strong tendency to extremely dislike and reject external interference, and it strictly prohibited its citizens from coming into contact with the outside.
"They're making an issue of the fact that Grand Duke Lawrence, the chairman of the Rondel Peace Organization, did not attend today's meeting."
"No, whether he attends or not is our freedom, isn't it!?"
Thanks to that, Lyseth Island was currently regarded as something of a white elephant by the international organization that Adrian was running.
The national council hall of Lyseth Island.
The heads of the four families who rule each region gathered in one place and conversed with very serious expressions.
"The problem is that they're not just criticizing they're coming out saying they'll replace the nation's leadership."
"Ha, so the bastard's finally lost his mind? Seems like once he grabbed power, he can't tell front from back. Who does he think he is, saying he'll replace our nation's leadership?"
The point of the conversation was to find a way to deal with Adrian, who was forcibly pressuring them to join the international organization.
But the problem was that no sharp countermeasure was in sight.
That was only natural, given who the opponent was.
Grand Duke Lucas's disciple, a 9th-circle Mage, a friend of dragons, a man of power with the full support of the Bringham Empire and the Rainhatz Empire.
Not a single one of those titles could be ignored.
"For now, how about attending the meeting, humoring him, and stalling for time?"
"Do you think that's the kind of opponent that'll work on? Every national leader who attended the meeting has been declaring their intent to join the organization as of that very day."
"Right, I heard that once you join the organization, in an emergency, if Grand Duke Lawrence issues a national mobilization order, each nation's leaders must obey unconditionally. On top of that, several branches of the Rondel Peace Organization will be established within our borders. This is a condition we can never accept."
No matter how much it was for the safety of the nation and its people, to them it could only be seen as a serious infringement of national sovereignty.
They were people who couldn't understand how the great powers were participating without a single word of complaint.
In the end, the heads of the four families who attended the national council of Lyseth Island made this decision.
"Let's just keep maintaining our silence."
"Right, surely he won't actually attack us."
"No matter how powerful the organization's authority is, they can't attack a nation that has committed no sin."
"That's true."
They decided to push forward with their own rules without yielding to pressure, just as they had until now.
They regarded Adrian's warning as a mere bluff.
And rightly so common sense said it was hard to believe that a group bearing the name of a peace organization would attack an innocent nation.
But...
"A large-scale Heaven-Piercing Fortress legion has been dispatched from the Duchy of Lawrence! Its heading is toward Lyseth Island, and Grand Duke Lawrence is personally commanding the troops!"
They didn't know Adrian no, they knew him far too little.
The fact that he was a man who followed through once he said he would, and someone who should never be approached with ordinary common sense.
"Th-That's impossible."
By chance, they had become the ones to taste the first war in which a 9th-circle Mage had ever participated.
* * *
"Impressive. Ignoring me to the very end."
Inside the Heaven-Piercing Fortress heading for Lyseth Island, I looked at the enemy leadership who had not answered our calls to the very end, and shook my head with a sigh.
As always, Arcia approached me at this and handed me a sweet snack, and I shoved it into my mouth.
"It's time to give them an answer now."
As I was having a leisurely tea time so out of place with the situation, Lord Exceed, veins bulging on his forehead, thrust his face in and asked.
It seemed he thought I was trying to stall for time again without giving an answer to his proposal.
But he didn't need to rush me I had already decided on my answer.
"I was actually planning to talk to you before the day is out."
"Is that so?"
At last his expression relaxed.
And I gave him the answer he wanted.
"Let's accept the alliance proposal."
"Ooh!"
Though he had made the proposal, it seemed he hadn't expected much that I would accept.
At my answer, Lord Exceed let out an exclamation and wore a smile of delight.
"In exchange, there's a condition."
Naturally, I wasn't about to thoughtlessly accept a high-risk proposal.
So I laid out my condition, and he said he would hear it once and listened.
"You give me the power you were going to give to Arc Scarlet."
"Mm, that proposal after all, is it?"
It seemed he had anticipated this condition.
From my standpoint, unleashing a strengthened Arc Scarlet on Rondel was far too dangerous, so I had no choice.
"Good, that should be entirely possible."
But that wasn't the only condition I would demand.
"And please give Arcia the same level of power."
"What?"
Perhaps he hadn't expected this, as he furrowed his brow.
But my response was resolute.
"You're going to share power with many Heavenly Tribe and demon race members on Earth anyway, aren't you? Would it be a problem if one more person were added to that?"
"Sharing the Creator's authority and being reborn as a godly race is not as simple a matter as sharing out snacks."
"I don't think 'not easy' means 'impossible.'"
Since I kept nitpicking and pressing him, he had no choice but to agonize over it.
"This isn't something I can decide on my own."
"Then discuss it with your comrades and let me know. You can return to Earth whenever you want."
The positions of superior and subordinate had reversed.
From being the one who had pressured me with a proposal, he was now in the position of having to throw me scraps to keep from losing me.
"No, no. Fine, I'll accept that condition. I'll do whatever it takes to meet your demands."
In the end, he decided to accept my demands, even if it meant overextending himself somewhat.
It meant the negotiation had been concluded.
"Understood. Then I look forward to working with you going forward."
"I'm glad we didn't end up at each other's throats."
We exchanged a handshake with smiling faces.
The coldness in Lord Exceed's gaze toward me disappeared, replaced by a warm heat.
But I could guarantee it.
'That warmth would soon turn back to coldness.'
The plan I had in mind.
It was not to form an alliance with them and hinder the goddess.
Take as much as I could get, then stall for time...
A so-called dine-and-dash.
I did not think they could win against the goddess Sepia.
'I'm sorry for being such an ungrateful wretch, Grand Duke Lucas.'