Episode 36: Dream in the game becomes reality

12. Avoid doubt (1)

[Suicide attack on the sky fortress!? A shocking briefing held in the Viscounty of Lawrence!] [The force that Margrave Raven dispatched in a surprise attack included one Sky Fortress and 200 Vanguards! This turns into ashes in an instant!] [The number of Vanguards lost in the war with the Croisen Empire is 162! However, the number of Vanguards lost due to disputes between the kingdom's nobles is as many as 200!?] [The damage to the Margrave means a weakening of national power. This incident should not be viewed solely as a fight between two fiefdoms.] [Some people criticize it for imitating the unethical attack that caused great damage to our troops during the war with the Croesian Empire.] [The Line of Adrian Lawrence. A response that goes beyond. The majority opinion is that punishment should be discussed at the Noble Assembly or the Noble Audit Office.]The case of Raven Margrave caused a lot of controversy both domestically and internationally.

However, perhaps because the Raven family was so powerful, there were a lot of media outlets publishing critical articles about me, which bothered me.

However, this was not the case for everyone, because regardless of the amount of articles, the public opinion supporting me was overwhelming.

This public opinion became a trend and caused neutral media to react.

[This is the result of excellent prediction ability and victory in information warfare! We must not forget that the surprise attack was carried out by the Raven Margrave!] [This would not have happened if the Raven Margrave had not cowardly carried out the surprise operation. Prince Adrian simply made a bold choice to protect his territory.] [The Raven Margrave's pride, the collapse of the castle! The Margrave survived, but an unexpected counterattack caused great damage!] [A truly humiliating defeat! Adrian Lawrence, the rising young sun who turned the mighty Raven Margrave into the setting sun.]The public's reaction to this incident can be briefly summarized as follows.

-You made a cowardly surprise attack, but you predicted everything, right?

-I enjoyed watching this unexpected attack. Margrave.

-nice! Dog cider!

-It's really amazing. You made the choice to abandon the sky fortress.

-One sky fortress eats up the power of five sky fortresses haha.

-After all, I didn't become an archmage at the age of 20 for nothing. Look at your crazy head.

-Will a new wind blow in the Kingdom of Reinharts?

-Well, it's a fight between nobles.

At this level, I feel like everyone in the country is on my side.

Commoners may be like semi-slaves to nobles, but I believe that the support of the people will always be of great help.

So, from now on, I plan to continue communicating with commoners to prove that I am different from other nobles.

[Thank you for your support. We will not forget your support.]The easiest way to communicate is to use an online diary similar to SNS.

It would be good to consistently appeal to friendliness by consistently replying to comments from ordinary people and uploading photos and videos of everyday life.

[As a gift from Raven Margrave, we set off fireworks and had a glass of wine.]#Fireworks worth 30 trillion won #Recommended cost-effective wine

[Fire 10 rounds of 7th circle magic at the Raven Margrave's lord's castle.]#Anti-magic rampage #Poor construction?

[Selling the destroyed Raven Margrave's Celestial Fortress as scrap.]#This is the creative economy #Fortresses in the sky are expensive even for junk

[Raven Margrave playing with the press, shaking.]#fuck #ugly

Wouldn't it be roughly like this if Koreans, a people of online combat, actively utilize the SNS characteristics?

-Look at the bone hitting. It doesn't feel like a hit haha

-Prince Adrian, stop harassing the Margrave Raven haha.

-Different from ordinary nobles. He's an archmage, but he's kind of friendly.

The response to the powerful writing came immediately.

And in the direction I wanted.

"The number of followers exceeded 1 million in one day. "I'm also an influencer."

The nobles probably won't understand my actions like this.

The nobles of this world are a terrible hybrid that looks like a combination of the conglomerates of the Republic of Korea on Earth, and they are also military commanders who have a monopoly on sky fortresses, vanguards, knights, and wizards.

Because of this, commoners can never challenge the authority of nobles.

So what is the perception of nobles towards commoners?

They are slaves who are easy to work with, or human resources that only need to be understood in quantity.

Therefore, my actions had no choice but to be seen as eccentricity by the nobles.

"I am afraid that I will be heard saying that I am lowering the prestige of nobility."

"Sir William. What do you do by looking at other people's reactions? "I will live without worrying about others anymore."

However, the nobles' disdain for the commoners is a structural problem in the world of Rondel, and is by no means a result of the commoners being inferior.

In fact, aren't most of the people I'm scouting for talent, recruiting, and training through Mangyeong to be commoners?

Examining the talents of common people and providing them with appropriate education.

This is something that only I with Mangyeong can do, and I think it is a very important element that will greatly expand my future.

Therefore, I could not look down on commoners.

"Adrian."

How long have you been addicted to online communication?

My father, who was occupying a seat in the office of the minor lord of the castle that was now my own, called me.

In the office were not only his father and Sir William, but also his mother and other important figures of the family.

"Do you have any plans for the future?"

"sure."

After reading the worry on everyone's faces, I handed over the document in my father's hand without changing my expression.

[Order to appear]Prince Adrian Lawrence, Viscountess Sir Arcia Klein.

The two are ordered to appear before the Noble Audit Office.

-Sender: Lord Comptroller of the Nobles, Marquis Douglas Hammington

Although the document was short, it was an appearance order containing coercive content.

There are three possibilities that come to mind when looking at this order.

1. Raven Margrave's prank.

2. A plot by high-ranking nobles to tame Arsia and me.

3. It is a royal scheme to tame me and Arsia.

Why are there only negative comments like a ploy or prank? If they had intended to invite us with good intentions in the first place, they would not have sent out an appearance order like this.

Therefore, I had no choice but to think of the negative elements first.

"Father, what do nobles like best?"

My father tilted his head and expressed his thoughts when he saw me remaining calm even after reading the order.

"It must be money."

"you're right. I think so."

Not to mention his family, the retainers in his office were looking at him demanding an answer, asking what he was talking about.

However, Arcia, who was sitting next to me and sipping iced tea, touched me without notice, and I took out a high-quality cookie from subspace and handed it to her, answering people's questions.

"I plan to change the topic to money. Perhaps many nobles will show interest in me. Even the royal family."

"I wish you could explain it in a little more detail."

My next answer was simple.

"I have some money saved as an investment. "If you pay taxes on that amount all at once, the atmosphere will change."

"So you're trying to cover up the topic with a topic."

"That's right."

It's the same way that whenever something happens politically on Earth, celebrity scandals are plastered all over the world.

But the problem is that no one agrees with my plan.

"hmm… … ."

"It looks like you made quite a lot of money through investment."

I thought it would be faster to see it in person than to explain it in words, so I displayed the account where the money was laundered as a hologram in the air.

[Deposit balance: KRW 60,000,000,000,000]"uh?"

Everyone who saw it had their eyes widened.

It seems he was surprised by the unexpectedly large amount of money.

But I had to burst into laughter at Sir William's next words.

"Oh, that's amazing! After all, not just anyone can become an archmage, right? "You've collected a whopping 60 billion roots!"

"Sir William, look closely. "There are 4 commas under the number instead of 3."

"yes?"

"If there are 4 commas... … ."

I corrected his thoughts, and only then did they start counting with their fingers again to get the exact amount.

"Yu, sixty?"

"60 trillion won."

An amount that makes no sense to anyone.

The expressions on people's faces went beyond surprise to shock and disbelief.

Well, I think it's a natural reaction.

"Here is the transaction details. Rather than explaining at length, it would have been better to see for yourself what investments were made."

So, I grabbed people's attention by unfolding the transaction details created by Chester, the fund manager.

"What is this God's investment?"

There were cases in the list where tens of billions of dollars were lost due to investment failure.

However, as a result, annual profits increased from 3 times when it was low to over 20 times when it was high.

Looking at the list made me think that I should be an investor, not a wizard.

In response to the surprised expressions on people's faces, I summarized the situation simply without adding any additional explanations.

"I was lucky."

"Boss, can you see the future? Or a regressor."

"That's a funny joke."

People shook their heads, saying they had no power to be surprised anymore.

And everyone expected the impact this list would have.

"It's going to be a mess."

"I think the nobles' offensive towards you will decrease. No, there will be a lot of people who fart in an attempt to somehow look good. "At this level, there is nothing lacking even for a world-class investor."

I asked my father about one thing he was worried about.

"How much will the taxes be?"

"No matter how much you save on taxes, 20% will be lost."

"If it's 20%, that means you have to pay almost 12 trillion won."

"okay."

I have to give my money to the country.

That's what taxes are, but I can't help but feel like it's a waste.

Fortunately, in our country, in order to prevent tax evasion, nobles are given some benefits when they pay a large amount of taxes.

I plan to actively utilize it, so I can say that the loss is not significant.

"I heard that if an aristocrat pays a large amount of taxes, they can enjoy tax exemption benefits from the royal family."

"Yes, that's right. "If you use a merchant operated by the royal family, you will receive a tax exemption equal to half of the tax paid."

Tax exemption on purchases equal to half of the tax paid.

Although it is a great benefit, my father pointed out that there is a hidden pitfall in this.

"Actually, horses are tax-free. Profit is already included in the production price, and profit is also included in the distribution price. "The intention is to make a double profit by causing consumption by nobles who are obsessed with tax exemption."

It is a system that the royal family created with great care.

In some ways, it seems petty, but I don't think it really matters.

Since we were planning to spend a large amount of money anyway, the actual tax could be considered to be about 10% of the 60 trillion won in assets.

"Is there anything else you want to buy?"

"yes."

In response to my father's question, I smiled meaningfully.

"We need to increase the number of sky fortresses and vanguards."

* * *

Craft, a large city belonging to the County of Otis.

"haha! This guy is hitting the mark! "You have a knack for surprising people!"

Count Otis, who was mindlessly watching the news in the castle, let out a hearty laugh and continued to express exclamations.

Countess Otis and her daughter Michelle Otis expressed doubts about his appearance.

Count Otis shared the news video with these two people.

[This is economic news. It is said that Viscount Adrian Lawrence has completed tax returns on income earned from investments. However, the amount reaches a whopping 60 trillion, shocking the aristocratic society.] [As a result of verification by the National Tax Service and the Financial Supervisory Service, it was concluded that all the investment transaction details submitted by Viscount Lawrence were confirmed to be true, and that there was no evidence of any wrongdoing. .] [Viscount Adrian Lawrence, who has been called a prodigy since childhood and has shown unusual abilities.] [Currently, he is known as a genius who achieved the level of the 7th circle at the age of 20, but his talent seems to be focused on the field of magic. I don't think that's the case.]And after seeing the video, his wife and daughter opened their eyes and expressed admiration.

"Oh my god. "This guy is the capable subordinate you mentioned, right?"

"okay. He who becomes an archmage will also be given the title of earl, so he can no longer be called a subordinate. He wanted to personally connect him with Michelle. "It has become so big in just a few days."

"But how could it not? "There is no other son-in-law like this."

In response to her parents' conversation, their daughter, Michelle Otis, clicked her tongue and protested.

"The face is to my taste, but I don't want to be a woman who benefits from my spouse. "She intends to become powerful herself."

"how?"

"If we get hold of Archduke Manuel Lucas's talent, that will be a problem that will be solved neatly."

"He still says things like that. When will you grow up? "This."

"Oh, it's possible!?"

Countess Otis responded that she was upset, but for some reason, Count Otis looked lost in thought.

"Why are you doing this?"

Count Otis, freed from his distracting thoughts by the gaze of the Countess and her daughter, shrugged his shoulders and let out a laugh.

"No, I think that if Prince Adrian has acquired the skills of Archduke Lucas, then the extraordinary behavior he shows now will be understandable."

Michelle, unable to accept her father's reasoning, frowned.

"The Duke of Riverdale recognized him as a recluse."

"Considering his unstable position, being the Riverdale recluse is the most suitable shade. Even Prince Adrian was a thorough person who completely hid himself until he became the Grand Wizard."

"But the royal institution officially recognized that his wealth was built transparently through investments?"

"Could it be that there was some sort of deal between the Riverdale family and the Reinharts royal family?"

"Father, do you like conspiracy theory novels?"

Michelle snorted at her father's words, saying that the leap was too extreme.

"Are you making fun of Abby?"

"I'm not laughing at it, I'm just laughing because it's funny."

While the father and daughter were continuing their awkward war of words.

The hologram that was continuously transmitting news announced new news.

[This is urgent breaking news. It was just announced that Manuel Lucas had won a gig at the Presidential Palace of the Republic of Prius... … .]"Eh?"

"What!?"

And the content of the news changed the expressions of the father and daughter 180 degrees.