“A new morning is here”

Upon logging in after a long time, I found several messages from the system.

Even though I say "long time", it had only been a few days since I last logged in. Due to playing the game every day, even just a few days felt extremely long.

The system messages contained various interesting information. I quickly replied to the message addressed to me and got up from bed.

It might have been the first time I logged out in bed since the closed beta. I thought my wings might be in the way, but once I wound them around and lay down, it wasn't that bothersome.

"Hey, Rare-chan. Long time no see. Well, maybe 'good morning' is more appropriate. I thought you'd be waking up around this time."

"Good morning, Lyra. Knock next time."

This is a guest room in the Aural Kingdom's castle.

Since the surviving royal family and major nobles involved in state affairs are already under Lyra's control, there's no need for Rare to hide anymore. It's widely known within the castle that the current regime is cooperating with the "Seventh Calamity".

However, revealing this information to the outside or players might lead to the perception that the fall of the Hiers Kingdom was orchestrated by the new Aural Queen. Therefore, except for NPCs bound by [Subordinate], they can't show themselves to those who are not aware of their true nature.

"Rare-chan, did you see the system message?"

"I did. I'm not sure which one you're talking about, though."

"Probably about the confirmation of the nation's downfall. If keeping the royal family alive is enough, it means we can do whatever we want with the artifacts, right?"

"Well, that seems to be the case. But then, what defines someone as part of the royal family? Probably the right to succession to the throne."

"…If that's the case, maybe I could gain royal succession rights by convincing the current regime to grant them to me. That way, I could join the royal family."

It would open up possibilities, but it's too risky. To attempt it, Lyra would need to have her royal succession rights recognized, then eliminate the entire current royal family. If it failed, there would be no turning back.

"…It might be possible, but the risk is high. And before that, aren't they already [Subordinated], meaning they won't die?"

"The release of [Subordinate]… I think the [Subordinated] party needs to send a message. So if an NPC is [Subordinated], does that mean it can't be released?"

Confirmation from the game developers is necessary, but since the information is only relevant to players who have acquired [Subordinate], asking might risk leaking the information to others. Even if players without [Subordinate] learn about it, it's unlikely to change the current situation. However, if there are other players who have acquired [Subordinate], revealing their existence might unnecessarily raise suspicion.

"At the moment, if there are other players like us, they're either keeping quiet and thinking the same way or pretending to be NPCs."

There's also the possibility that they're not thinking about anything, like Blanc.

"…I should greet Blanc. Individual system messages probably reached her too."

"Individual messages? Did you get one, Rare-chan?"

"Huh?"

It seems Lyra also received a personal message.

Upon checking, the messages Rare received and the ones Lyra received were different. Rare's message succinctly stated that the developers would support dungeon management, while Lyra's message seemed to be about managing a nation of humanoid races.

"So, does this mean that because we fulfilled specific conditions in the game, I unlocked the nation management simulation mode, and you unlocked the dungeon management simulation mode, Rare-chan?"

In terms of the game, that seems to be the case. For Rare, it likely means that as long as she remains in Liebe, Erfahren, Lourdes, Teur, La Colinne, and the Hiers Capital, the death penalty will change.

"If you want to avoid death, you can just stay in the dungeon and live as a boss."

"Well, I've given my approval for now. It's only beneficial for me. The event is over, so players will probably be more cautious about attacking, but I have experience in adjusting the XP gains around that. Nothing will change if we go out and play… In short, unlike regular players, even if we're attacked at home, there won't be any XP loss."

To add, being attacked at home during that time is likely orchestrated by the developers.

"Oh, right. What should I do? City management is fine, but running a nation is a different story. My city was a commercial one, but Hiers, our main trading partner, is already gone. A policy change is necessary, and there are many things to consider."

"Aren't you trading with other nations?"

"I've done some, but not much. The market is narrow, and the risk is high. Also, the distances are great, and if the races don't share preferences or lifestyles, the popular items change. It's hard to imagine that barley and vegetables, which seemed to be cultivated by the Hugelcup, would be favored by beastmen. It might be biased, though. On the contrary, it might sell well to dwarves. Grains and vegetables rich in carbohydrates, such as barley and corn, can be used as raw materials for alcohol. Should I check the terms later? If it's possible in the game, would you drink, Rare-chan? It's free in the game."

I'm interested, but the image of my furious mother flashes through my mind, and I shake my head. In my imagination, my grandmother is laughing behind my mother.

"So, haven't you exported to Dwarven nations?"

"I haven't. The risk of trade itself is too high, so I don't deal much with daily necessities or food. I do it domestically, though. When it comes to other countries, you have to transport goods across borders, and the cost doesn't justify it. If you can add value by processing it into alcohol or something, it might be different, but…"

There are freshness issues, too, Lyra concludes.

"That makes sense. So there are probably players acting as inter-country merchants. It's safe as long as it's in their inventory."

"The circulation between nations is too thin, and there's no concept of tariffs. If you play it right, you could make a fortune."

There were many players mentioned on social media who had done something similar using teleportation during events.

Due to that, Remy's potion sales didn't increase as expected, but she's accustomed to gauging the market. Financially, she's doing reasonably well.

"Since wars have occurred, there are probably players trying to profit from them, both in terms of money and experience points."

"…Hey, Lyra, did you have anything to do with that?"

"I didn't. Well, it does seem unnatural or like there might be some kind of manipulation, but it wasn't me. I haven't traded with Shape either. Besides, during that time, weren't we scheming together in Hugelcup?"

Lyra's subordinates were mostly preparing in that city or had been sent ahead to the Aural Capital, so there was no time for any unnecessary actions. Also, it's unlikely for Lyra to secretly engage in such interesting activities now that she's with Rare.

"…If that something was a player, it could be troublesome."

"It would be troublesome even if it were an NPC. As I mentioned before, NPCs with unusual ideas are extremely dangerous."

Certainly. However, even thinking about it now, it's unclear.

If someone induced the war, what could be the purpose?

"Whatever it is, for now, what I understand is that it doesn't seem to be a position with influence at the core of the nation like mine. Suspicious events are all happening on a city scale. If you want to manipulate the contents of the messenger pigeons in a city like Neuschloss, you just need to be somewhat close to the lord of that city. It's chaotic, so perhaps just killing and replacing the person responsible for sending the pigeons would work. You need knowledge of sending pigeons, though. And then, Lycia, right? If the lord of that city escaped, just subtly induce it on the lord or a close aide. Like what I did in Hiers. Perhaps you can manipulate city rumors without directly contacting the area around the lord. I can't say for sure since I don't know the personality of that lord. Also, it might be easiest with the young, hot-blooded beastmen who rose in revolt. If they already have that kind of temperament, just go to a bar or something and feed them information."

"You can't do all of that at the same time. Besides, the direct cause of Noishuros falling was the attack by monsters, so unless you know that…"

"Then, assume that the monsters that attacked and the person near the pigeons in Neuschloss, the person who let the lord escape in Lycia, and the person who incited the beastmen are all players. It would be the easiest if they communicated through chat or something."

If it was prearranged from the beginning, that would indeed be the case. Moreover, the sisters who obtained Hiers and Aural in such a coordinated manner are here. Although they didn't coordinate from the beginning.

"Well, some things may have had some plans behind them, but mostly it's probably just coincidences. Even if there were intentions, they were likely minor, like thinking they could make money if a war broke out. Especially if they are players."

"…Yeah, that might be true."

However, about the goblin that caused the fall of Neuschloss. If the monster controlling it was a player, it should have reincarnated into a higher-ranking species that could acquire [Subordinate]. If there were announcements or something similar, Lyra should be aware of it through the princess. Even if not to that extent, causing the fall of a whole city is sufficient to be considered a disaster.

"Oh, by the way, Lyra."

"What is it?"

"Is there something like a church in this city? Like a religious facility or organization?

In Hiers, we crushed it without a second thought, but the existence of a mysterious skill called 'Divine Oracle' can't be ignored. If I can manipulate the contents of that, there's a possibility that Rare's presence is known throughout the continent, or even the world. Conversely, when a significant entity related to the Elemental King appears, it could be used as an alert."

"There is a religious organization or church. In my… Hugelcup, there's a church too, called the Aural Holy Church.

I've been invited to a few banquets there. It seemed relatively modest or rather favored simplicity, so I didn't do anything in particular.

Are you planning to seek revenge because you were exposed?"

"I wouldn't do something like that for such a reason.

I just want to know how I, or rather, how they found out about the birth of the Demon Lord. If it's a skill that can be normally acquired, I'd like to consider acquiring it, and there are many things I want to verify, such as the definition of disaster creatures, the difference between those associated and not associated with specific entities, and more."

Lyra chuckled and answered mischievously, "Oh, I forgot. Many unfamiliar words popped up. Rare, are you the Demon Lord?"

Rare looked surprised. Come to think of it, she didn't remember saying that.

"Did I not say it? I thought I did."

"I asked Rare-chan to write a bit in her play diary. Big sister is interested."

"I won't do it. But it's true that some information needs to be aligned… Except for the issue of aligning information about [Subordinate] with NPCs, which, if leaked to Lyra, could lead to unforeseen consequences, there shouldn't be any more confidential topics. The Philosopher's Stone-related concerns remain, but if I'm going to explain about the Demon Lord, I can't avoid it anyway."

"Hey, Lyra."

"What is it?"

"I explained to you the forces that I can summon to this city, didn't I? In addition, among the forces in my possession, there is someone called the World Tree──"