Episode 144: Dream in the game becomes reality

35. Story of hometown (2)

Benjamin, who was scared and only observing my gaze, eventually couldn't hold back when words such as Earth and English came out of my mouth one after another and asked.

"Da, who are you? "How do you know about Earth?"

I understand his feeling of wanting to grab something, but I didn't feel the need to tell him.

When Gregory took another step forward, he closed his mouth, but still looked at me with earnest eyes.

"Come with me."

"yes?"

Benjamin flinches at my request.

I gave him some hope.

"No one, at least in this world, understands your situation better than me. And I'm the only one who knows the hint for you to return to your original world."

"Well, is that really true?"

"Of course, I'm not sure. But if you ever return to Earth, it will probably be through me."

Contrary to the hopeful content, the tone is extremely oppressive.

In the first place, he had no right to veto.

"Of course you will follow, right?"

"All right. "I will follow you."

If you have a sense of humor, this is a natural reaction.

I immediately lifted the spell.

Then the maid and Lady Otis, whose movements had stopped, returned to normal.

"Lady Otis, I will take him with him."

She reacted strangely to my question, but nodded obediently, telling me to do as I wanted.

"If His Majesty the Duke wishes it, what wouldn't be possible?"

In response to her polite tone, Benjamin responded with regret, saying he had already decided to follow me.

Well, I think he can have special feelings for her because she gave him a hand when he was in trouble, but to him whose identity was unclear, the Lady of the Marquis of Otis was a being above the clouds.

When I looked at Benjamin, he lowered his head.

"Now, please take care of me."

In this way, Benjamin's future has been decided, and now all that remains is Lady Otis.

Honestly, it's extremely unlikely that she's a threat to me.

From the beginning, wasn't Chester, the manager of the Korea Foundation, saying that there was no possibility for her to approach the actual government?

It is impossible for outsiders to invade a place where the owner has already been determined.

This means that the fake talent she approached and the real talent are of a different level.

But this time, I realized something new about Benjamin's situation.

She is an annoying person in many ways, so it is difficult to ignore her because she is not a threat.

'If Blue Moon had found Benjamin a little later, if I had moved a little later, she would have learned how to use the alphabet.'

Should we just dismiss this as a coincidence?

No, when coincidence coincides with coincidence, isn't it called inevitability?

There is such a thing as fate in the world, and if the goddess who controls that fate is a goddess, it was clear that she was assigned a certain role.

Of course, even if she learns how to use the alphabet, it only increases her understanding of Archduke Lucas, and there doesn't seem to be anything she can do about it.

However, since I don't know what kind of chain reaction will occur due to Lady Otis, I felt like I needed to pay a little more attention.

'Like soft tofu, it is so fragile that you can crush it at any time as long as you apply strength in your hand.'

Killing her is easy.

However, the person who showed favor to me when I was nothing was her father, and I didn't think I was inadequate enough to kill a girl who was just doing what she liked.

'They say that those who can make a profit even in times of crisis and risk are top-notch.'

So I came up with a way to save her but manage her more efficiently.

A way to not only block the dangers caused by Lady Otis, but also to obtain various causes and benefits came to mind.

"Lady Otis, please come with me to my castle."

"yes?"

Lady Otis reacted more dramatically to my suggestion than Benjamin did.

-Changerang.

He dropped the teacup he was holding in his hand.

"Oh, look at the main book. "You invited me to a tea party, but I misunderstood."

She quickly took a towel from the maid who came over to her, wiped the tea splattered on her dress with her own hands, and let out an awkward laugh.

I explained in detail that it was not like that.

"No, I would like Lady Otis to stay at the Duchy of Lawrence."

"yes?"

There must be a clear justification for dragging a spirited young lady to my territory.

But I had a cause.

"I-I'm in the Duke's castle?"

"yes."

"First, let's bite the maid."

At my request, she winked at the maid.

Then, as the maid left the parlor, I used a noise blocking spell as a show.

As if he was going to say something very important from now on.

"I would like you to hand over the reproduction materials that you obtained from the Republic of Prius."

"yes?"

When it comes to the materials she obtained from the Republic, she meant fake, duplicated materials.

It was labeled as a fake story, but to avoid suspicion, information from the real Archduke Lucas was included.

Of course, with less important ones.

"B, but I think it would be better not to disclose that information for the rest of my life… … ."

"The situation with the Croesian Empire is the situation, isn't it? If there is anything that will help the country develop even a little, we should use it. "With a little twist, even the Brigham Empire would be hard to recognize."

My words left her speechless.

But I know that I will never be able to refuse it.

"All right. If His Highness wants it, I must give it to him. Instead, no matter how much of the material I own, I think it is necessary to report it since His Majesty King Michael knows about it."

"Please leave that to me. "His Majesty King Michael would also approve."

Lady Otis nods her head with a solemn look.

If I take advantage of the fake talent she obtained, I will obtain three things.

First, for the purpose of maintaining confidentiality, it was about the personal affairs of Lady Otis, who did not know where she would end up.

Second, even if we create new weapons or items, the King will understand that this is thanks to the Lady's materials and will make efforts to protect us at the kingdom level.

This also meant that Lawrence Magic Tower could quickly commercialize the Sky Fortress.

The third and final thing is that even if a situation were to arise where the Brigham Empire branded Louise Fairmont as a fake actor and went out to find the real actor, their suspicions about me could be diluted with her data.

Even though Louis Fairmont's history was fake in the first place, the data was real.

'This means that my scope of action becomes wider.'

I calmly offered her hand.

I meant to shake hands.

"We are now a public law."

"I am satisfied if it helps the Duke."

So I washed away my worries and even came up with a reason just in case.

* * *

It wasn't that difficult to get permission from King Michael to use Lady Otis' materials.

'I was already thinking about using that material. If Duke Lawrence is so confident, I'll leave it to you.'

'Instead, there is a condition. I plan to create a joint research group for technology exchange between domestic magic towers, and I hope Lawrence Magic Tower will also actively participate.'

In this way, permission was obtained by giving what was to be given in moderation, and with this, Lady Otis's future was decided.

Of course, in the process, the Marquis Otis sighed and said that the arranged marriage was over, but since Michel Otis was an outcast in the family anyway, he let her go.

Lady Otis, who did not know the inside story of why she had been brought to my castle, seemed to be in a good mood all day.

"Young lady, please use this room. "This is the room that Saint Ivril the Blessed Virgin used to use."

"oh! What a glorious room! thank you!"

Lady Otis, with a cheerful expression, led her luggage and her personal maid and disappeared to clean up her room.

When she left, I was finally able to talk quietly with Benjamin.

"Please follow me."

"Yes, Your Highness."

And we headed to my office.

I sent everyone out except Arsia.

"Well, has the Count gone?"

Benjamin asked with an awkward expression whether fear had been imprinted in his mind due to Gregory's action of pulling out his sword.

"I have some business to attend to."

Benjamin looks happy.

It looks like he was quite scared.

Actually, we are the ones who are stronger, but unlike Arcia, who looks harmless to anyone and me, who looks like a gisaeng brother, Gregory has the Force.

"I'd like to hear information about Earth."

This is the purpose of bringing him into the office.

The story of the next Earth where I was reincarnated.

"I will tell you everything I know. "But if you don't mind, could you tell me how I can return to my hometown?"

"All right. "I'll tell you that."

"thank you! "Where should I start?"

"Please tell us the story after 2020."

The year was 2020 on Earth before I was reincarnated, so I was curious about the story after that.

Benjamin expressed doubts about me picking out the earth, English, and even the year.

"Just answer whatever I ask."

"Excuse me, sir."

But I blocked his curiosity.

I was in a position where I didn't need to understand everything from him.

"If it's a story after 2020, it's not that long, but it's important."

"It's not long?"

A tone of voice that somehow seems meaningful.

And I opened my eyes wide as I heard Benjamin's story that followed.

"It's only about two years."

"Does that mean the year was 2022 on Earth before Mr. Benjamin came over here?"

"Yes, it was the end of 2022."

My age is now 21.

However, it is said that while I was 21 years old in Rondel, only two years had passed on the Earth.

'Come to think of it, it was like that during Archduke Lucas.'

But this wasn't the first time I heard this.

It was 2012 on Earth before Archduke Lucas, who lived in Rondel for 80 years, moved here.

This can be interpreted to mean that the time difference between the two worlds is consistently about 10:1.

This means that while I have lived in this world for 21 years, the memories of the family I left behind on Earth have become a lot blurry, but the same is not true for the family members who remain on Earth.

Thanks to this, I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in a corner of my heart.

Then Benjamin started talking, and shocking information flowed out as if time ratios were nothing.

"2020 was a special year on Earth."

"Is it special?"

"Yes, all kinds of natural disasters that can only be described as catastrophes have swept the world."

Natural disaster sweeping the world?

I frowned.

"Earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, etc., a series of major disasters that would occupy the top news spots around the world once they occurred. As a result, the international community was paralyzed and countless people lost their lives."

"If you're Rondel, how could something like that happen on Earth?" … ."

"Thanks to that, there was a lot of talk at the time about it being God's judgment and the coming of destruction. The good news is that the disaster that devastated the world gradually subsided after about 10 days."

Will my family on Earth be safe?

I was overcome with worry, but I held back and waited for Benjamin to continue.

"The whole world was paralyzed at once, and the loss of life was so great that the restoration of social networks was delayed. As a result, looting, violence, and murder continued everywhere."

"Even if we work together, it won't be enough."

"It was a really difficult time. Still, quite a few people gave their support to the government, and as time went by, society began to recover little by little. As a result, violent crimes gradually calmed down. but… … ."

I could sense that another incident was about to occur when I saw him stop talking at 'but' and cover his forehead with his palm.

"Could it have been the aftermath of a huge natural disaster? "An abnormal phenomenon occurred one after another that threw the world into chaos."