6. Next Plan

**A Few Days After The Failed Presian Invasion Attempt - Somewhere Unknown**

A man was tied to a chair, sitting in the middle of a dimly lit room. He had dark-red hair and a pair of deep-blue eyes. This man was none other than Paldi, the captured Presian wyvern rider from the battle in Himmelshafen. On the other side of the table was a middle-aged man with black hair and a short beard. His crimson eyes locked onto Paldi's, and Paldi could have sworn they glowed for a moment.

"Well, I think I don't need to waste time explaining the situation. You're down, our soldiers caught you, and now you're here," the man said.

"For an interrogation," Paldi replied.

"DING DING! One billion points for you," the man mocked.

"....."

"Hey, no need to be so tense. I'm not asking for vital information like 'Who is your King?', 'What's the total number of your army?', or 'Where is your capital?'. I'm only here to ask a simple question. Why did you attack us?"

Paldi looked around the room. There was a large mirror on the wall to his left. There was nobody else in the room, but he felt like he was being watched by many eyes. He tried to cast a magic spell to free himself, but he felt his mana being restrained.

'This rope must have been enchanted with a mana restraint spell,' he thought.

"Are you worried about being tortured? Don't worry, we treat our prisoners well. If they comply, of course."

Paldi sensed a threat in the last sentence. He knew it was impossible to escape without his magic, and he had to endure the embarrassment of his capture. Whether he would walk out of this room alive or dead depended on this interrogation.

"We came here by the order of the Emperor to conquer this land," he finally spoke.

"And... why is that?"

"... There was a prophecy: when the Great Storm ceased, a rich land would appear, and whoever controlled the land would flourish for a thousand years and change the world forever."

"And by that, your Emperor sent an army to conquer this land."

"...Yes. We were unaware that someone was ahead of us."

"Interesting... does that mean more will come to this land?"

"Unlikely. Presia is the only one to believe in the prophecy as far as I know."

"Well, it's not much of a conversation. That's all I wanted to know. My men will guide you to your cell where you will spend the day until further notice."

Two men entered the room and grabbed Paldi, bringing him back to his cell.

"Oh, and welcome to Eisenland," the interrogator said as Paldi was led away.

That was the last thing Paldi heard before the door shut. Then the door opened again, revealing a black-haired man wearing early 20th-century-style clothing.

"Sir, are you sure that's all you wanted to know? We can squeeze a bit more information out of him," the man said.

"No need. Their troops have already given us so much," the interrogator replied.

**Glanzberg, Capital City of Eisenland**

"Nggh, I could never get used to this atmosphere," Celica grumbled.

"Well, I think this is pretty nice. Tokyo is full of tall buildings and so crowded. This feels more like a farm than a city with all the people squeezed into one place. Besides, the people here are chill and nice; they are easy to chat with. Maybe this is how the world was before the internet and smartphones?" Katou mused.

"You sound like an old guy."

"Well, I'm definitely not young anymore in real life. It's nice to have this body, you know? I'm glad I made my avatar this way!"

A drop of sweat could be seen falling from Celica's head.

"Whatever. At least you aren't playing as a girl. That would be disgusting."

"That's right. Think about it. Some players here might be playing as the opposite gender. You should be careful. The possibility of encountering a male player using a female avatar is high."

"AaaaGHH, stop that! I don't want to imagine it!"

"Hey, tune it down! Can't you see I'm reading here!" a nearby passenger scolded.

"A-ah, sorry!"

"Hahaha, that's what you get for screaming inside public transportation," Katou teased.

"Unnghh, why do we need to take trams anyway? Why not just stop a taxi?"

"Oh come on, it's not that bad. It's still better than the metro back home."

"Where are we goin—"

"Alright, this is our stop. Come on!"

"W-wait for me!"

Celica hopped off the tram after Katou. She watched as the tram pulled away. It was her first time inside a tram, and she kind of wanted to stay longer.

"It's truly vintage," she remarked.

"Hey, you're coming or not?!" Katou called out.

"I'm coming!"

She quickened her pace to keep up with him. Even though she had been here for a long time, she couldn't help but look around in every direction. Old cars passed by, fancy-looking men read newspapers, and even horses trotted along the streets.

'Katou is right, the atmosphere feels different,' she thought.

Eisenland was one of the best player-built countries in Civilizica. While others focused on what the game was all about—'magic and fiction'—Amalia was more interested in pursuing modernism by combining the existence of magic with science. Although compared to fully magic-based player-built countries, Eisenland was unique. They didn't have flying chariots or flying fortresses, and they didn't have powerful magicians. But guess what? They didn't need flying chariots; they could make thousands of cars in a week. They didn't need flying fortresses; they had thousands of warplanes ready to face any threat. They didn't need powerful magicians; they had thousands of artillery pieces ready to bombard their enemies.

While some other magic-science hybrid countries still focused more on magic than on science, Amalia was the only one serious about creating a modern nation in the land of magic. While she pursued the way of science, she couldn't deny how useful magic could be when used properly. Thus, Eisenland was born.

"Where are we going anyway?" Celica asked.

"The Royal Palace," Katou replied.

".....WHAT?!"

"I have to meet Amalia, you know."

"O-oh right, she is the Empress after all. But, is it really okay for commoners like us to enter the Royal Palace? Do we need to wear fancy clothes?! I don't have any!"

"Calm down! I have a pass, they will let us in. You're reacting as if we are going to meet an Emperor."

"Because she is at the same level!"

"There's no need to worry about that! We are friends with her. All you need to be wary of are the soldiers. Unless you act suspicious, you will be fine, trust me."

"But—"

"No buts! Let's go!"

"W-wait!"

**~^~^~^~^~^~**

"So..... where did you find her?" Amalia asked.

"Oh, around Himmelshafen. She was being surrounded by some weird-dressed men, so I came down to help," Katou replied.

"I see."

Celica just sat quietly, listening to their conversation. She doubted she had any useful information to contribute.

'She is very different than the last time I met her,' Celica thought.

Celica had known Amalia since Eisenland was a big town. It was Katou who introduced her to Amalia, and they became friends even though they barely spent much time together. Celica always talked about her experiences exploring the vast Civilizica world in the chat, which unintentionally made her a good spy since Amalia couldn't go out of the town very often or very far, all thanks to the ultra-realistic game mechanism.

"So, Celica," Amalia addressed her.

"H-huh, yes!"

"Do you want to be part of the expedition?"

"What expedition are we talking about exactly?"

"What else? The New World expedition, of course. You spent most of your time exploring and visiting low-leveled countries back in Civilizica. We might need someone like you who is familiar with such environments in the expedition. I'm not forcing you to join; it's up to you if you want to or not."

"What about the strange people who attacked us a few days ago?" Celica asked.

Amalia took a sip of her tea before responding.

"We are going to send an expedition fleet to their land to make official contact. I'm not going to include you in this one since it's dangerous. Since they attacked us and we killed a lot of their men, hostility is expected."

"And war becomes inevitable," Katou added.

"Correct."

"W-wait a minute! You are waging war?!" Celica exclaimed.

"I don't really want a war. War is expensive. It's a waste of resources and lives. We won't gain much from a war, but I doubt I can defend against angry citizens."

"Is there no other way to solve this?" Celica asked.

"If they are smart enough, we can demand compensation, but that wouldn't be a great topic to form a relationship. That's why I'm sending warships as a deterrent."

"Isn't that also not a great way to form a relationship?"

"No, not really. I think it's normal for countries in the past to carry out gunboat diplomacy. Like a wise man once said, 'Speak softly and carry a big log.'

"Ummm, I'm sure he said 'stick', not 'log'. " Said Katou.

"Anyway, how much players has you found, Katou?"

"I already contacted 287 players. Thank God, most of them were in the big cities near the capital"

"Well, that's good. We need that number..."

"...Enjoy your time in the Palace, every facilities is accessable for the two of you. Consider it your reward. Also, I'm going to need you in the future so always be prepared"

'But I'm not doing anything' Thought Celica.

"Sheeesh, I'm not your servant you know. Besides, I'm older than you"

"Hmm... I don't know, you look like a high school boy"

"It's just my avatar!"

"What are you gonna do with the trapped players?" Asked Celica.

"They can cause chaos all over the Empire if they are not supervised. They are modern people, this vintage country is not their home, and good people isn't the only one playing this game. I'm planning to get them under control somehow"

"I see..."

"Now now, there's no need to worry about them. If they do start creating chaos, we just need to give them a lesson~~"