Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 285
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Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 285
61. My Goal (1)
After sending the sun god Ra back to Earth, I sat in the ducal palace office for the first time in a while, taking it easy.
Arc Scarlet asked me.
"What are you planning to do from now on?"
A question that seemed out of the blue.
But judging by how serious everyone else's expressions were, it seemed they didn't think so.
So I looked over the faces of the people gathered in the office.
First, Arcia and I, both of the god race, were together as always, a set.
My limbs and the three demon kings and one Heavenly King who had begun to be called the Four Heavenly Kings of the Duchy of Lawrence (Arc Scarlet, Dark Square, Lord Skrim, Igniel), plus the dragon Brangish, Lord Master Blake, and Selin, a Lordmaster-class Dark Sword Mage who had only recently stepped into the public eye...
All of them were figures with abnormally high military strength that could not be seen in any other country.
Honestly, with this roster, we could go for world conquest.
But what I, the one who had gathered them all in one place, was actually doing was keeping the peace.
Perhaps that's why Arc Scarlet asked, as if suspicious that I had something else in mind.
"What do you mean, what am I doing?"
At my retort, she instead made a face as if she couldn't understand.
"People are bound to have goals in life, aren't they? Wanting to make a lot of money, or wanting to rise in status. Before I was caught by you, my goal was conquering Rondel too."
"Hmm...."
Right now, I don't particularly lack anything.
Money, power, military force, influence all had reached completion.
"Your goal isn't just yours anymore. There are no fewer than four demon kings and Heavenly Kings who were caught by you and have to live according to your orders."
Now that I looked, it seemed she was curious not about my goal, but about the role that would be assigned to her because of me.
As Arc Scarlet said, from now on my goal would become her goal.
So I thought seriously for a moment, then soon shared my thoughts.
"My child will be born soon."
My gaze turned to Arcia's belly.
Her belly was already full-term.
The due date wasn't far off.
"For now, let's say my goal is successful child-rearing."
"...."
At my declaration, delivered with a clenched fist, Arc Scarlet's expression turned foolish.
In contrast, Arcia was nodding as if it were the most natural thing.
As if nothing could be more important.
"We don't know how the situation in the two worlds will shift. We don't know what measures the goddess will take going forward either. But there's one fact that won't change. And that is that nothing is more important to me than my family's safety. The top priority I pursue is my family's happiness."
"You have power surpassing that of a demon king, but in the end, your core is human, is that it?"
"What could be more important than this?"
"Then what about us?"
Arc Scarlet shot me a look mixed with protest, as if asking what crime we had committed to be caught by a man with no ambition.
She was once an enemy and got captured, yet she sure has a lot of complaints.
For reference, not many people have opposed me and survived.
Unless they were as useful as a demon king, or as risky an opponent as a Holy Son.
I struck her on the head with the side of my hand and said.
"Then why don't you date someone or something."
"Huh?"
"Well, as long as you don't cause chaos in the world, I won't touch you whether you date or whatever. Do as you please."
"Really? You're okay with that?"
"I said it clearly, though. Do it as long as it doesn't cause chaos in the world."
She had no interest in dating, but at my words granting her freedom of action, Arc Scarlet changed her expression as if she had never looked sour and smiled.
Rather than a master's ambition, this sort of thing would resonate with her more.
I shrugged, and Blake, who had been quietly standing beside me, added a brief remark.
"Letting Arc Scarlet loose if the people of Rondel knew, they'd be horrified."
"Whoa, whoa, don't worry. I'm different from before. I know the feeling of human consideration now."
At that, Arc Scarlet, looking slightly stung, lowered her eyes pretentiously and defended herself.
Still, I wasn't particularly worried.
The reason being.
"Don't worry. If she does something she shouldn't, I'll just punish her."
I was confident I could clean up no matter what she did.
If it were a major incident beyond anyone's ability to handle, what could be done.
I'd just have to die once and be reborn.
"You know what I mean without me needing to spell it out, right?"
"Ha, haha. Then."
Arc Scarlet subtly avoided my gaze.
But then, an unexpected figure spoke up.
"I think happiness is an extremely difficult problem to achieve."
It was Selin who said this when we first met, she'd shown an incredible presence, flinging hundreds of Sword Auras, but afterward, as Arcia and I transcended humanity as we were, her presence had weakened.
Everyone expressed confusion at her sudden philosophical remark, and Selin a classic strong-over-weak type who only behaved herself in front of the members here continued speaking with what seemed like an embarrassed demeanor.
"As you live, you can't help but encounter environments and people who hinder your happiness. Not just Your Highness Grand Duke Lawrence, but your family as well."
"True."
"But considering Your Highness Grand Duke Lawrence's disposition, I believe these elements will surely be eliminated."
She's right.
I have the mindset that there's no need to show mercy to enemies.
"I think large and small incidents will continue without end, and armed conflicts will break out frequently. There's even a possibility of friction on a national or worldwide scale."
At Selin's words, the three Demon Kings all nodded in unison.
And yet they call me the kind of human who'd do exactly that.
Their reaction was unpleasant, but I can't argue against it.
Honestly, because I think the same way myself.
'When a problem arises, you must eliminate the cause so the same problem doesn't recur.'
That is my way of thinking.
"So it means while you preach peace to others, telling them not to fight, the most dangerous person is you yourself."
"R-right."
When I asked with a smiling face as if to say she understood well, Selin stammered in reply.
The conclusion is that for anyone else it might be different, but for me, it seems I'll have a hard time living as peaceful a life as I desire.
It was a thoroughly reasonable point.
"I'll need to keep a tight leash on my family. After all, I'm the one who forced a binding agreement between the two worlds a situation where I'm the one smashing that agreement head-on must not happen."
Perhaps there's already a group attempting something.
Unlike me, my family would seem much easier to approach and far more manageable.
Even on Earth, there are mythological beings friendly to humans, and individuals capable of mental attacks.
In an instant, a catastrophe could unfold.
"Smart, aren't you?"
I praised her, saying I'd misjudged her.
Then Selin muttered quietly to herself.
"This is my original self, though...."
Dragons, Demon Kings, Heavenly Kings, and even the god race.
It's only because the lineup is so terrifying that she keeps her mouth shut, but she was never someone who'd be ignored anywhere.
I extended a thumbs-up to Selin as a gesture of praise.
"When Arcia and I leave the castle, let's make sure one of the Four Heavenly Kings is always guarding the ducal palace."
"Huh?"
At my decision, the Four Heavenly Kings glared at Selin.
With expressions that said, why are you creating guard duty out of that nonsense?
Thanks to that, Selin shrank her neck and subtly hid behind me.
"No blaming Selin! In exchange, I'll guarantee you plenty of free time. It's not like guard duty means standing watch all day anyway."
The Four Heavenly Kings decided to follow my orders, as if there was no helping it.
"Thanks to your will, the dragons are now stepping to the forefront. What do you intend to assign to our Dragonia?"
The topic shifted.
This time, the one who stepped forward was Brangish.
Just like the conspiracy theories circulating online right now, I was behind Dragonia's founding.
I answered his question lightly.
"Dragons will become the plenipotentiary ambassadors of the World Peace Organization, wielding power on my behalf."
"What does that mean?"
What do you think the reason I dragged the dragons in was?
Of course, the biggest reason about ninety percent was that I couldn't stand seeing those guys lapping up honey while I was running myself ragged, but the remaining ten percent is to entrust them with things impossible unless you're at the level of a dragon.
"I plan to assign a certain number of dragons to the Audit Office."
"The Audit Office?"
"For auditing ordinary humans and nations, I plan to leave that to three people: my subordinate Count Gregory, Duke Riverdale of the Kingdom of Lucias, and Count Elfried of the Bringham Empire. But the greatest threat right now isn't humans it's the mythological beings that have appeared on Earth."
"In other words, you've dragged our clan in to monitor those transcendents from mythology?"
"We should all help each other and live together."
My words are not a recommendation they're an order.
Brangish, realizing this, smiled bitterly.
"And if the dragons conduct large-scale audit activities, the likelihood of us being subjected to the nonsense Selin mentioned will drop considerably. It's killing two birds with one stone."
Naturally, both birds gained from killing one stone are all mine.
Thanks to that, Brangish also subtly glared at Selin.
No matter which country she went to, Selin would be someone capable of threatening royal authority with the title of Duke, but in this place alone, she was the weakest.
"Hold on."
At that moment, Blake, who had been silent until now, cut in with a startled expression.
"If you and Arcia leave the castle, the family will be protected by them, the Audit Office for maintaining the power of the World Peace Organization will be entrusted to dragons and other power holders, and you're even massively expanding the number of administrators who will work at the ducal palace and the Peace Organization...."
An exceedingly serious demeanor.
But what followed was sharp insight that struck at the heart of the matter.
"I should have noticed the moment you made childcare your top priority you have no intention of working, do you?"
"...."
"That's true?"
"Now that I hear it, that does feel right?"
My colleagues' gazes all focused on me at once.
I answered them as they narrowed their eyes.
In a what-are-you-going-to-do-about-it manner.
"Yes, I don't want to work."
If you don't like it, take me down and play captain.
* * *
Rondel and Earth, the two worlds, are now nothing short of a community of shared destiny, but to ordinary people, the neighboring world is still an unknown land full of mystery.
As for information about the two worlds, there was nothing but articles from internet news outlets or special documentaries covered by major broadcasting stations, so it was bound to be that way.
However, with the launch of the World Peace Organization, online exchange and cooperation took place, and an amount of information on a different dimension from before was released.
Arcane engineering based on Rondel's magic, and Earth's mechanical and electronic engineering.
The culture, art, and characteristics of class society created by Rondel's various races.
Earth's seemingly free democratic society and the light and shadow of capitalism, etc.
Sometimes admiring the exotic backgrounds, sometimes arguing over who was better, the two worlds entered a new era.
[Anstagram has made account linking possible through a partnership with Online Diary, Rondel's representative SNS.]
[The SNS accounts of Adrian El Lawrence and Arcia El Lawrence appear on Ansta. Countless Earthlings flock in, and in a short period, they set a record of gaining 100 million followers....]
[Nutube signs an integration contract with Rondel's online video platform. Now Rondel's videos can be conveniently watched on Nutube from home.]
[Rondel's Virtual Reality games will soon be playable on Earth as well. The Mage Tower owned by Adrian El Lawrence is in the process of building the environment to provide services on Earth.]
The fact that such online exchanges became possible was greatly due to the Hollywood System of Rondel, which Adrian controls, and the role of the artificial intelligence that Bug had previously established on Earth.
Adrian not only advanced the Mage Tower into Earth first, but also volunteered as a stepping stone to connect the online worlds of the two worlds and is jumping into various businesses.
Thanks to this, the Lawrence Mage Tower became a mediator solving hardware and software issues as well as language problems between the two worlds, seizing new industries, and making the pockets of Adrian who already had wealth that never dried up even fuller.
[The winner of the new world is Grand Duke Lawrence?]
[Adrian El Lawrence, the young leader who runs two worlds.]
[Power, intellect, military force, financial power. We dig into Grand Duke Lawrence, who lacks nothing.]
As a result, Adrian could not help but receive a great deal of attention on Earth as well.
Politics if it's politics, business if it's business, and even military force that makes even the powerful nations of Rondel unable to move he lacked nothing, and on top of that, he was even handsome.
The photos taken with his wife Arcia were themselves like a pictorial, and when it became known that he had a large fandom in Rondel as well due to his commoner-friendly attitude, it was only natural that interest turned into fan devotion.
To women, he appeared as a prince on a white horse, and to men, he was the very image of a protagonist from a fantasy that stimulated the imagination.
Because of that, wherever Adrian went, countless people flocked.
In Rondel, a status-based society, fans restrained themselves on their own since Adrian was the king of a nation, but for Earthlings, status was a story from a distant land.
"D-damn it. At this rate, security will be difficult. If even one person causes trouble, it'll be a disaster."
Jakarta, Indonesia, where the ASEAN conference that Adrian was announced to visit is being held.
Since he was scheduled to visit the conference hall directly by flying car, the area in front of the conference hall was packed with people gathered from all over Southeast Asia.
Thanks to that, the local guards and soldiers who had to protect Adrian were dying inside.
It was certain that even when top-tier K-pop stars visited, it wasn't to this degree.
"Enough, just block the fans from approaching. Once Grand Duke Lawrence arrives, the Vanguards human tanks will handle close protection on their own."
At the head of security's words, his subordinates furrowed their brows.
The guards' worry wasn't about failing to stop fans from doing something unexpected.
It was that if someone with different intentions was mixed in among them, there was no way to tell them apart.
Although snipers and soldiers with rifles were stationed throughout, with a crowd this large, there was no choice but for the response to be difficult if an incident broke out.
"Rather, it might be better to disperse them...."
"Enough. We've already done all the body checks. Who's going to listen if we disperse them now? Just think of it as a Hollywood star visiting."
Despite the concerns around him, the head of security was firm.
Having no other choice, his subordinates could only pray.
That hopefully nothing would happen.
"He's here!"
Just then, someone's shout was heard.
"Waaaaaaah!"
"Adrian-nim!"
Looking up into the sky, several black objects that looked like airplanes came into view, and soon tremendous cheers rang out.
-Ziiing.
The flying vehicles slowly descended, emitting a blue light that looked like something out of a science fiction movie.
At that, the guards grew even more tense, and the fans' movements became more agitated.
Then the vehicle doors opened....
-Kwaaaang!
-Kwaaaaang!
In the end, the situation the guards had feared finally occurred.
"W-what?!"
"Aaaagh!"
Along with powerful explosions, before anyone could even attempt a response, flames of extreme heat swallowed the security personnel, the fandom, and Adrian and his wife, who were just then getting out of the vehicle.