Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 280
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Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 280
60. Age of Adventure (3)
'Management of the world.'
The reason this possibility suddenly came to mind was because of what Lord Exceed had said.
That his crossing over to Rondel, his becoming the great Mage revered in Rondel, and his leaving behind an Opportunity before dying were all the goddess's plan, and the reason this plan was made was because of me.
That is why Lord Exceed judged me this way.
'Perhaps you may be a descendant or reincarnation of Kaeos (the creator of Earth).'
Just what is the identity of this Earthling, whom the goddess who annihilated even Earth's Heavenly King and Demon King is raising with such effort?
That is why Lord Exceed came to think I must be connected to Kaeos.
If his guess is correct, it could be a grand picture connected all the way from the Opportunity to the current situation.
'The goddess's plan to make me, one of her own bloodline, into an even more special being.'
But this is merely speculation.
It is a story of possibility, meaning it is not certain.
However, the current state of affairs was such that power was concentrating on me to the point where I had no choice but to think this way.
To the extent that it felt as if the goddess was driving power toward me.
There was now no power wielder comparable to me, to the point that even the Emperor of the mighty Bringham Empire had to watch my mood.
"As expected, is my speculation excessive?"
"Only the goddess herself would know the answer. Honestly, it is a situation where one cannot help but be suspicious. Would it not be better to go to the Holy See at some point and request an audience with the goddess?"
It was as Arcia said.
No matter how much I complained here, nothing was certain, so it would be better to take this chance and seek the answer directly from the goddess.
However, I had to make a reluctant expression.
"Hmm…. I am reluctant to meet the goddess."
"Why?"
"I have a feeling I will run into some unwanted situation."
You know how it is.
The feeling that she plans to make me a god, or will push some even more troublesome task onto me.
At my reaction, Arcia made an expression of understanding.
"That is true."
Enjoy maximum power with minimum effort.
That is the life I desire.
But if greater strength and more power than this were given to me, that would become impossible.
That is why I was reluctant.
"But still, I should go see her."
"Will you be all right?"
"If the goddess decides to do something, I will not be able to avoid it anyway."
Since it is not something I can avoid by avoiding it, I judged that taking this opportunity to clearly address it would put my mind at ease and help me prepare for the future.
"Once this meeting is over, I should head straight to the Holy See."
"I will accompany you."
"Thank you."
While we were having this and that conversation.
Before we knew it, the vehicle had arrived at the 'Lawrence Magic Academy,' where the second day of the summit meeting would take place.
If one were to name the most splendid building in the Duchy of Lawrence, it would of course be the ducal palace, but if one were to name the building with the deepest history, it would be the Lawrence Magic Academy.
The reason is that when the duchy's capital was the Crimson duchy of the Croysen Empire, the building used as the Lord's estate was the current Magic Academy.
Though a new ducal palace was built on the site of the Lord's estate and the old Lord's estate had to move to the city outskirts, because I moved it directly with magic, it retained its old appearance exactly.
"Your Highness the King!"
"Long live His Highness the King of Lawrence!"
Just as the first day of the summit meeting was held not at the Blue House but at COEX, I also chose a general area easily accessible to citizens as the meeting place instead of the ducal palace.
Perhaps because of that, a huge crowd gathered, and even though the vehicle door had not opened, loud cheers could be heard.
At the academy entrance, countless citizens and reporters had gathered.
The only difference from Earth, perhaps, is that most of the citizens welcome me?
Thinking back to how all sorts of boos and curses had poured out on Earth, this place really felt like a home field.
"Let's go."
"Yes."
We rose from our seats.
Then the ladies-in-waiting sitting across from us stood and tidied up my and Arcia's attire.
The interior of the vehicle we were riding in was spacious enough to jump rope inside, so standing up was not uncomfortable.
The ladies-in-waiting finished tidying us up, and Arcia and I checked each other's attire and nodded.
It was a matching set: splendid outfits with the royal emblem of the Duchy of Lawrence embroidered in gold thread on a white background.
The only difference was that I wore a robe-style coat, while Arcia wore an outfit in the form of a Knight order dress uniform with knee-high boots.
For reference, Arcia's belly was concealed with magic.
That was why even a form-fitting dress uniform did not look awkward on her and suited her very well.
I held out my hand to Arcia.
-Rustle.
She placed her hand over my palm, and then the vehicle door opened smoothly without a single mechanical noise as we walked along the red-carpet-lined path.
-Waaaah!
As soon as Arcia and I stepped out of the vehicle, fervent cheers from the citizens of the duchy rang out.
In the duchy, clashes between people of Croysen Empire origin and Rainhatz Empire origin are now hard to see.
After all, now everyone could live with prosperity and pride from the single fact of being a citizen of the duchy.
Thanks to that, the media people who had crossed over from Earth were greatly startled and covered their ears.
The length of the path leading to the inside of the meeting hall was about 50 meters.
The reason such a long entrance ceremony exists is to provide a photo time out of consideration for the press.
But thanks to the fervent citizens of the duchy, it was difficult to even take pictures.
"Adrian-nim! Arcia-nim!"
"Milk-white Adrian!"
"Arcia noona!"
In addition, the heated shouts of people volunteering as fan clubs were enough to overturn Earthlings' prejudices about the feudal system.
To begin with, one should not view a place where powered suits that protect the whole body, giant rideable robots, and UFOs float around as an ordinary medieval fantasy world, but when people hear "feudal state," they tend to think of exploitation and oppression of the people, so the bright appearance of the citizens would likely feel strange to them.
Arcia and I waved our hands and acted at ease, and shortly afterward a new vehicle entered as we stepped inside the building.
"What is the matter?"
But I soon had to furrow my brow.
Because Gregory was waiting for me inside the building.
Since he is my close aide, there was nothing strange about him waiting in advance, but since I was wearing the Myriad Mirror, I could immediately tell his emotional changes, which was why I asked sharply.
His current emotional state was tinged with bewilderment and absurdity.
"Bug-nim and Maryang-nim have disappeared."
"Huh?"
I had wondered what kind of incident had blown up this time, but I had never expected the two of them to run away, so I showed my absurdity.
Those two are my close aides.
Bug, in particular, is among the closest of my close aides.
People like that had disappeared?
I could not help but feel bewildered and baffled.
"It is not a kidnapping, correct?"
"Yes, we confirmed that they left the castle of their own will. We even found out they mixed in with Chase Kingdom's Earth expedition team, but after that they are completely unaccounted for. I suspect they may be heading to Earth."
Unlike Rondel, on Earth Blue Moon's intelligence network cannot exert much power.
I massaged my temples.
But soon I thought there was no need to worry too much.
Even if the two looked ridiculous on the outside, they possessed power that could not simply be ignored.
Once they got hungry, would they not come back on their own?
"However, there is one peculiar thing."
"What is it?"
"Was there not a woman who was investigated under suspicion of being of the Heavenly Tribe?"
There was.
Since her work and ability stats were not threatening at all, I had just attached surveillance to her and left her alone.
"The last scene of her conversing with the two was captured."
If it were anyone else, this might be a situation in which they would suspect Bug and Maryang of betrayal.
But I am not like that.
Those two were not such cunning figures.
They must have simply found something interesting and approached it.
After all, those two had very young mental ages.
Still, since the person suspected of being of the Heavenly Tribe might do something foolish, it seemed necessary to be careful.
"For now, let us form a search team. And if they are found, please let me know."
"Understood."
Soon Gregory withdrew, and Arcia and I looked at each other and shrugged.
I was worried about Maryang and Bug, but I believed nothing serious would happen.
Now is the time to focus on the summit meeting.
* * *
Currently, many dangers exist on Earth.
The poisoned lands that threaten people's right to survive, and the poison insects within the poisoned lands.
Hunting grounds and dungeons that arose as people's activity zones were forcibly taken away, and so on.
If used well, one can gain benefits, but those who calculate profit amid such dangers are the kind of people with leisure.
Most are people enjoying peace under a proper government.
The problem is that more people live in a situation like a battlefield every day than in peace.
For these people, the changed Earth was like a catastrophe.
"Ooh, so this is where Earth's famous ancient civilization was located?"
The number of countries whose governments collapsed due to the two Great Disasters reaches as many as 100.
In particular, South America can be counted as the place that suffered the most damage during the first Great Disaster; from Brazil, called South America's great power, to Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and many others, numerous governments collapsed and turned into lawless zones.
South America, where the mafia's power had been strong from the beginning, transformed into a crucible of chaos and became completely a land of hell.
"I heard there's a famous ancient ruin called Machu Picchu."
"Then we have to go!"
Bug, Maryang, and Miel of the Heavenly Tribe, who ended up forming a party by chance, visited Peru, one of those collapsed countries in South America.
The reason they visited this place was simple: it was somewhere beyond the reach of Adrian and Rondel's eyes.
When Rondel's nations took land on Earth, they avoided the surroundings of America, which was considered the strongest nation, and used Asia, Europe, and Africa as their bases.
Because of that, they judged South America to be a suitable place to enjoy adventures without easily being caught by Adrian.
Thus, the three-woman party from Rondel set foot on a land swarming with mafia.
"What kind of lucky windfall is this?"
"No kidding, they're like angels."
"Let's drag them to the boss."
Their beauty caused no small amount of trouble.
Wherever they went, they stood out and had to face kidnapping attempts again and again.
However, unlike their appearance, they were a party with overwhelming power, so they knocked down everyone who rushed at them, and this back-and-forth only barely stopped after they hid in a dense forest.
"Wow, this is a crazy land."
"Earthlings are seriously aggressive."
Even though unpleasant things happened, their adventure did not stop.
Saying that since they had already drawn their swords, they might as well cut down even Mu, they headed to a place called Machu Picchu of the Inca civilization, which somehow gave off an air of mystery just from its name.
"Is that Machu Picchu?"
"Wow, it's a truly mysterious light. It's like the sky and earth are connected."
"A city floating in the sky."
Thus, flying through the sky and using teleportation, the three reached Machu Picchu.
Even Miel of the Heavenly Tribe, who had ended up joining them by chance, let out exclamations at the mysterious sight they were seeing for the first time.
But would they know?
The fact that the real Machu Picchu neither emits a mysterious light as they described nor has a city floating in the air.
"Shall we go closer?"
"Sure."
If another Earthling had been there, it would have been a sight that forced screams, but for the people of Rondel who did not know the real Machu Picchu, they simply enjoyed it, saying, 'I guess that's what Machu Picchu looks like.'
This anomaly, which would have quickly become known if the country had been functioning properly, was not made known to the outside as it became a lawless zone along with the collapse of the government.
What they faced was by no means a normal sight.