****
Negotiations must have been going smoothly, because the day after the count brought up the ceasefire, a ceasefire order was issued to the entire army.
The media then officially announced that ceasefire negotiations were underway between the Reinhartz Kingdom and the Croisen Empire.
Both nations had been busy boasting about the war's "achievements" in the press day after day, but in reality, it was a fight where both sides gained nothing and only suffered losses.
Our side had 32,203 casualties, including 8,520 deaths.
However, since most of the casualties were soldiers caught up in the battles at the Vanguard and the Sky Fortresses, the leadership of both countries didn't seem too concerned about the human toll.
After all, commoner soldiers were little more than expendable supplies.
Instead, the kingdom made a big deal out of the Sky Fortress losses from the Croisen Empire's suicide attacks, citing the massive taxes needed for repairs and condemning the empire.
[The Sky Fortresses lost in this war total six! Repair costs alone are estimated to approach 80 trillion!]
[The Croisen Empire sacrificed ten of its Sky Fortresses to sink just six of ours. What on earth were they trying to achieve? That brutish attack only unnecessarily inflated the scale of destruction.]
[A regressive form of attack! Suicide Sky Fortresses are nothing more than massive missiles wrapped in armor. The explosions from the mana fusion reactors used in Sky Fortresses are powerful, but inefficient and only amplify collateral damage—utterly brutish weapons.]
[The missiles ushered in by Grand Duke Lucas and then vanished by him have reemerged in a grotesque, heavily armored form.]
Who would want to fight for their country after seeing this?
The only pitiable ones were the rank-and-file soldiers, mentioned only in passing like extras.
"Still, I think we're fortunate."
After the ceasefire order, Sir Billiam—finally getting some proper rest—approached me as I reviewed the casualty list and spoke up.
"If our kingdom and the Croisen Empire had gone all-out in a full-scale war, what do you think would have happened? A hundred Sky Fortresses and tens of thousands of Vanguards would have obliterated everything. It would have been an unimaginable catastrophe."
He had a point.
If the two superpowers had set their minds to conquest rather than a mere border skirmish, the casualties could have been hundreds or thousands of times worse.
No, if it escalated to total war, allied nations and all countries with stakes would get involved, making it meaningless to even tally deaths alone.
The continent itself could have been destroyed.
"Rest more. Why'd you come out here?"
I dismissed the holographic casualty list and extended my hand to Arcia, who sat beside me like a shadow.
She pulled a chocolate sandwich cookie from the cookie basket and placed it in my palm.
I handed the cookie to Sir Billiam.
"It's a gift from Count Otis, so it's valuable."
Valuable, my foot—she'd been devouring them like crazy.
Amused by the sight, Sir Billiam smiled and popped the whole thing in his mouth.
"It hits me anew, but you're nothing like other nobles, young master. You lament the sacrifices of these commoner soldiers—no matter that they're just troops—and you let your subordinates rest while standing guard at headquarters yourself?"
I had no choice but to be different from typical nobles...
In my previous life, I was just an ordinary everyman.
And he'd misunderstood something: I wasn't out here to let my men rest easy.
The game login time limit had simply expired.
Well, it wasn't a bad misunderstanding, so I didn't bother correcting him.
"But you still carry the leisure and dignity of a noble."
I tilted my head at his follow-up.
Dignity? That was a word I'd never associated with myself.
"You must be seeing that wrong."
"Don't you sip tea even as enemy forces charge in? I think that's only possible with absolute confidence in yourself. Your men could relax and shake off their tension watching your composure. Now, the entire 232nd Independent Brigade trusts you, young master."
Ah, I got the gist.
No wonder he'd been hyping me up out of nowhere—it was a follow-up to that statement from four weeks ago.
The one about pushing me as the territory's heir.
'He's desperate. Cedric absolutely cannot become lord.'
But as before, Sir Billiam seemed to lack caution.
Before he could say something problematic, I quickly scanned headquarters with the All-Seeing Mirror.
-Thud!
"Sir Billiam?"
But rather than words, he showed it through action, dropping to his knees with a thud right in front of me.
"I've posted reliable subordinates to keep anyone from approaching. I've thoroughly checked for surveillance devices too, so no need to worry."
As he said, nothing suspicious stood out.
The "reliable subordinates" piqued my interest, though, so I activated the All-Seeing Mirror's see-through mode to check the guards.
'They're all Father's people.'
Like Sir Billiam, they were Father's loyalists—upright, devoted types with similar temperaments.
Good that he'd learned from his previous careless slip-up, but his impulsive actions still drew a sigh.
"I see you've gotten sharper. But this could draw even more attention."
"That's why I came at this hour when everyone's resting."
In the end, I conceded with a nod of my chin.
Meaning: say what you have to say.
"Your servant 'Gilbert Billiam' hereby swears fealty to Adrian, second son of the Lawrence family, as my liege from this day forward."
Unsure what he was scheming, I watched quietly—only to be caught off guard by the sudden oath of loyalty.
Especially since their lord was Father.
"This is a decision I've made after careful thought, for the good of the lord."
Stroking my chin at his explanation, I asked,
"All the knights outside feel the same?"
"Yes."
I could tell Sir Billiam had come prepared.
Shocked by the oath but quickly regaining composure, I feigned deliberation.
-Crunch. Crunch.
Arcia's cookie-munching was the only sound echoing through the silent headquarters.
How many minutes did I leave him kneeling?
Finally, I let out a chuckle and nodded.
"Very well."
"Ooh!"
My answer meant I'd accept their wishes.
But my next move would differ greatly from what they expected.
"Just one condition."
"What is it?"
"Act as before until I instruct otherwise."
"Pardon? Wouldn't it be better to gather forces quickly? Even if we build from here, the scale would be impossible to ignore."
"Impossible to ignore, sure—but not enough to win. I have plans, so follow my lead."
Pressing him with an air of command already, he swallowed hard.
But he soon nodded with resolute expression.
"Understood. I trust my liege."
"How many knights will side with me like you, Sir Billiam?"
"For now, five Vanguards here for sure, and about thirty others. Of course, rallying those in the territory would more than double that."
Not bad.
More people under my command, after all.
"Good."
-Swish!
I stood.
His gaze followed me up, questioning if we were done.
I answered his expectant look.
"Heading back to rest."
"Ah, then. One more thing to pass along."
As I moved to leave headquarters, Billiam grabbed me urgently.
"I heard that when you return to the territory, the lord will support your independence."
"He did say that. Why?"
"The lord plans to assign Sir Pesius to your side. It might be good to win him over in advance."
The familiar name startled me into a surprised expression.
"Sir Pesius? Didn't he retire?"
"Yes, he left the knightly order in disgust with the political infighting. But contact was made recently. The lord intends to bring him back as captain of the knightly order for the house you'll establish."
Sir Pesius had originally been vice-captain of the Lawrence knightly order.
An upper-tier Aura Expert, virtually unmatched except by the captain.
But he'd gotten entangled in the family politics centered on Anna and left.
And now Sir Pesius was returning?
Anna would throw a fit...
Father must be going out of his way out of guilt toward me.
"His return will likely sway many of the neutral knights to switch sides."
Sir Pesius was the quintessential warrior-knight, hugely popular.
Meaning ample room to expand my influence through him.
Perhaps enough to rival Anna and Cedric's faction.
'Sir Pesius... Not bad at all?'
But I didn't see his value in bolstering the family.
It was in having a useful external piece.
"I should meet him soon. Can you arrange it? Discreetly, of course."
Billiam beamed and nodded vigorously at my proactive interest.
"I'll look into it."
"Anything else? I'm tired."
"No. Rest well. Sorry for taking your valuable time."
"It was time well spent."
I patted his shoulder like an elder with a smile.
As I left the command room, Billiam's close aides on guard saluted crisply.
"Good work."
"Yes, sir."
Truth be told, I wasn't heading to my room out of fatigue.
-Ding! Ding!
The game login restriction I'd been waiting for had lifted.
I silenced the alarm from my bracelet terminal.
'Almost time.'
Factions?
Of course they're good.
But my priority wasn't building one just yet.
It was clearing the next-stage fortuitous encounter quest.
'I'll reach 7th Circle by tonight.'
***
"Urk! This, this is insane! Arcia!"
"Yes!"
In Chronicle Online, I'd claimed a hidden fortuitous encounter and hit level 200 without dying once.
Normal games involve crises and deaths on the path to growth, but here—with senses shared with reality—death would bring unimaginable agony.
So I'd fought conservatively, prioritizing safety.
Sure, the named monster at the end of the fortuitous encounter quest had wounded me badly, but nothing life-threatening.
But...
The level 200 fortuitous encounter quest's stage 7 named monster was on another level entirely.
Death Knight Pascal.
An Aura Master-grade monster, a Death Knight no less.
-Kaboom! Crash! Crunch!
Even Arcia, who'd held firm against any foe so far, had no answer for sword auras—she was sent flying or shoved back without fail.
Unavoidable.
Aura Masters were leagues beyond Aura Experts.
Just one rank apart on paper, but the power leap was astronomical.
If one in ten Aura Users became Aura Experts, only one in a thousand Experts reached Master.
Aura Mastery was pure talent territory.
Hence the honor of "one-man army" and the lavish titles from kings.
And this one wasn't just an Aura Master—it had the named monster buff for the quest, plus a lion's body.
What could anyone do?
"Cough!"
"Kieek!"
"Agh! Damn it!"
Our party—me, Arcia, and Black Eagle—was dying helplessly.
[You have died. Please recover EXP and try again.]
Revived in the nearest village, I felt the full agony of death course through my body.
"Ghk!"
Worse, I couldn't groan or writhe lest someone see.
Muster every ounce of patience and willpower, stagger to a chair, collapse—and only then scream internally.
Ten minutes later, composure regained, I wiped drool from my robe sleeve and gritted my teeth.
"Yeah, too easy up till now."
This quest was one Grand Duke Lucas had clearly put serious effort into designing.