Even after the full-scale meeting started, I continued to sit in the conference room.
Of course, they talked about things I didn’t know about, but there was no way I would intervene and open my mouth.
After the meeting, we talked about the dinner in the evening and future plans, and then I returned to my room.
“Haa...”
I sat on the bed and stared blankly into space, then let out a blank laugh.
...The Seventh Lord of Calderic.
From now on, I was one of them.
Just a few hours ago, I was living an ordinary life and suddenly I now became a Lord. There’s no story like this one.
The realm of Calderic could be divided into 10 areas, with the center as the Overlord’s main domain and land of the First to Ninth Lords surrounding it.
The Lords were not just called Lords for nothing. Each ruled a land like a kingdom.
Now that I was the Seventh Lord, I could hold all the power over the area called ‘Enrock’.
This was possible because the throne of Calderic had no succession by blood, and was only determined under the appointment of the Overlord.
But that didn’t mean that the nine Lords swore absolute allegiance to the Overlord or anything like that.
Although the Overlord was the head of the Lords, as seen in the meeting, the relationship between them was more like a contractual relationship.
Except for a few set conditions, Lords could act freely without being bound by anything.
I remembered reading the reason this bizarre structure could be achieved and maintained in a setting book related to the origin of Calderic.
I remembered that the explanation was quite detailed, but this was the only key point that came to mind.
Because the ability of the Overlord was that great, and she had naturally solidified the power over a long period under such competence.
Some of the current Lords had already been with the Overlord for over a hundred years, and in particular, the First Lord, the Wiseman, had been a Lord for hundreds of years since the establishment of Calderic.
The system that had been carried on under such a long bond was in some ways more solid than the typical monarchy, like the Santean Empire Federation.
...That’s all fine and good.
But where did things get so twisted?
After a series of regrets, I suddenly felt funny.
Where did it get twisted?
What did I do to enter this game in the first place? Even if something was twisted, did it really have to get this twisted?
I got out of bed and picked up a fruit that looked like an apple from a basket on the table.
I took a big bite and the sweet juice spread in my mouth.
It was subtly different from the apple flavor I was used to, but it tasted good anyway.
I just couldn’t think of anything to eat because of the situation, but I had been hungry since earlier.
I ate a few fruits in an instant because of my sudden hunger, and then I sat down and leaned back in my chair.
There’s really nothing complicated about it.
I had already crossed the river of no return, anyway.
Was there any need to regret every single thing and lament on the situation?
Rather than that, preparing for what lay ahead was much more productive.
As soon as I decided, the sluggish emotion disappeared in an instant.
Thanks to the [Soul of the King], a cold coolness was established at the very core of my heart so that I would not be shaken easily.
This was not Earth.
It wasn’t even a modern world like the 21st century.
Monsters, war, demons... a wild and hideous land full of many dangers and where the value of life was insignificant.
In the end, unless I found a secure way to return to the original reality, this fragile life could be threatened.
I knew very well what kind of dark future awaited this world.
But there was nothing to be disappointed about.
As one of the early players of RaSa, I had a lot of knowledge and information about this world in my head.
It’s also not like I didn’t have any abilities at all.
Didn’t I have an instant kill and the [Soul of a King], a mental sustainer that exerted absolute effects?
Of course, it would have been perfect if they transferred all the abilities of my game character.
Either way, it’s not a bad situation if one looked at it well.
The title of the Seventh Lord of Calderic.
It came with a huge risk, but it could also give me a huge boost.
At least within Calderic’s realm, I could exert absolute power.
It would depend on what I would do in the future, but it will be a great advantage to prepare for the upcoming dangers by using the information I had.
'Anyway, the Overlord is...'
A stream of thoughts led to Overlord Rashtain.
The Overlord was more unpredictable that anyone could have imagined.
I didn’t know what exactly she had in mind for giving me a seat, but it made little sense at all.
'I guess there’s a reason she asked that.'
Why did you come to Calderic?
That was the first question the Overlord asked me.
I was guessing, but maybe that wasn’t just for confirmation.
Because she could distinguish the truth from the lies of the other person’s words.
My answer, that I had no particular purpose, would have turned out to be true, so at least she would have known that I did not have any nefarious purpose.
'Ah, I wonder if she noticed that the name Ron is a pseudonym.'
At first glance, the Overlord seemed to have made a very spontaneous decision, but it wasn’t.
Whatever it was, she was a person with the ability to rule the great power of Calderic for a long time.
Maybe she intended to make me sit on the Lord’s seat and slowly observed the details of my abilities in the future.
Well, anyway.
'For now, let’s just do what we can.'
After sorting out my complicated thoughts, I got up again.
It was clear what I had to do right away.
Organize information in your head and make plans for the future.
***
“As expected, it’s good to not let the seat be empty. Isn’t that right, Dayphon?”
Dayphon did not respond to Rashtain’s words.
It was because he knew she wasn’t looking for an answer.
But he also had the same idea.
Appointing a new Lord was the sole responsibility of the Overlord, but disposing of the Lord once appointed was not something even she could do on her own.
If it had not been for the empty seat, it would not have been appropriate to give any other Lord’s seat to the newly appointed Lord who had only appeared today.
“It was a little surprising, though.”
“Hmm, what? That I gave him the position of the Lord right away?”
“Sir Ron... I guess I should call him Seventh Lord from now on. Anyway, I expected you would offer him that position the moment he’s invited to the meeting.”
Rashtain grinned.
“Seeing him once was enough.”
Ron.
When she thought about it again, he was truly a strange human being.
She was genuinely surprised, especially when he discovered her disguise.
It was a half-joking test, but none of the other Lords previously recognized her identity at once, except for the current Third Lord, the Heavenly Palace.
Above all, if once reached her level, they could not only see the simple external elements but also the much more essential part within.
A supreme soul reminiscent of a king.
She didn’t know what his true abilities were yet, but at least he was as strong as the other Lords.
“And didn’t you see it? That bored expression on his face?”
“...”
“If I had spent a little more time unnecessarily, he would have definitely walked out, hahaha!”
Dayphon was also paying attention to Ron throughout the meeting.
The other’s expression didn’t change so much that he thought he might refuse the position of the Lord, but fortunately, that didn’t happen.
“The Seventh Lord is going to move right away?”
“Perhaps he will stay in the castle a little longer. I had sent a messenger to Enrock.”
“Yes. Anyway, you’ve worked hard. This outcome was even a much bigger achievement than our original purpose.”
There was also the plan for the chief of staff, Dayphon, to move directly to Santea, but now, Rashtain was only thinking about Ron.
“I heard he was on the Archemon convoy as a prisoner.”
She heard everything before the meeting started about the incident in the convoy and the situation when Dayphon first met Ron.
Even how he killed the Fist Saint, Garten.
“Did you really not feel any special energy when he killed the Fist Saint?”
“Yes none. Maybe I simply didn’t recognize it, but I was at a close distance of less than ten steps...”
“Hmm, then I guess it’s not magic at all.”
From the moment she entered the meeting hall pretending to be a servant, Rashtain had paid close attention to Ron.
However, she obviously did not feel any magic power.
“It’s ridiculous that even my senses were deceived. It’s highly likely that it’s a ‘Mystery’.”
“...”
“Or maybe it’s a racial trait I don’t know about at all. Just because he looks like he might be human doesn’t mean that he really is. I wonder what kind of ability it is.”
Looking at her murmuring with a wide smile of interest on her lips, Dayphon asked insinuatingly;
“Why don’t the Overlord find out more?”
“I told you, I don’t want him to become my enemy. At least, not yet. Besides, Ron wasn’t even his real name.”
“Ah... was that the case?”
“Yeah.”
Rashtain knew Ron hadn’t given his real name.
It was easy for her to distinguish the truth from lies mixed in the other person’s words.
“The rest of what he said was fine. But... I’d like to find out his identity myself. It surely has been a while since something like this happened, right?”
“...You mean you’re going to Santea?”
“Haha, don’t be too surprised. It’s not right now, but maybe later, when I have time. Dayphon, you always worry too much.”
Rashtain waved her hand and grinned.
“Anyway, let’s watch him slowly. I’m looking forward to what our new Seventh Lord will do in the future.”
***
Several days passed.
Life in the Overlord’s castle was extremely comfortable. The meal was great, and the bed was comfortable.
There was nothing inconvenient as the attendants were waiting nearby and I could immediately ordered anything I needed.
“...”
I was standing by the window in a daze, getting some fresh air.
I could see knights gathering and training in a wide space like a plaza on one side of the castle.
The reason I was still staying here instead of moving to the Seventh Lord’s territory was because I had to organize my thoughts.
I had a busy time in my own way, almost confined to my room for a few days.
First, I confirmed that this world had a time difference from the background of RaSa which I played, as expected.
It was the 759th year of the Rachronia continental calendar, exactly five years in the past.
Including what would happen in the future, important or even a little useful information was drawn from my memory and written. Lest I forgot it.
Since there was no way anyone would recognize the handwriting written in Korean, there was nothing to feel burdened by the memo.
And based on the above information, I also made a rough plan for the future.
'What I needed most is power.'
The top priority, of course, was to strengthen my personal specs.
I was to weak.
Including personal safety issues, there were limits to what could be done with only a level 1 force.
Then instant kill skill was a trump card that could kill anyone as long as there’s contact, but that’s all.
If I could level up by killing opponents and gaining experience points, just like when I played the game, then I don’t have to worry about increasing my specs.
But now that the game had become a reality, unfortunately, that seemed impossible.
If the experience point system remained as it was, something should have changed when I killed the warrior.
In addition, there was no other systems such as stats, skill information window, or inventory. I tried to mumble into the air, just in case, but nothing came out.
Except for two skills I had and the level indicator in my field of vision, this was almost a perfect reality.
So, how could I be strong in this ‘reality’?
Of course, you just have to suffer and train yourself. Like those novels you have read.
But I couldn’t afford that.
By the way, nothing had changed that showed me that I had a great talent for things like swordsmanship or magic.
How much time would it take to train and become strong enough? Who would I be learning from?
After a few years, would I be able to barely become strong enough to level 30?
Even the weakest knight in the Overlord’s castle would have a much higher level than that.
Because of this, there was only one way.
I just needed to gain the ability that would allow me to become stronger in an instant with no effort.
Mysteries hidden all over the continent, or hidden pieces such as ruins.
Right now, there was a Mystery that he could get just by travelling from the Overlord’s castle to the Seventh Lord’s territory.
It wouldn’t enhance my intrinsic fighting power, but anyway, it was the only way to instantly amplify my specs in a short period. But...
'It won’t be easy after all'.
As with any fantasy novels, the place where the mystery was hidden was usually in a rough place. It was no different in here.
Whether it be monsters or traps, I could not overcome all dangers that I would face in reaching the destination.
Should I use the Lord’s power to get someone who could do so?
I didn’t know if I should really do that if there’s no other way, but doing so would make me feel uneasy.
Also, there were things that couldn’t be obtained unless I would go there myself.
In the first place, going around the continent to find those mysteries was something I couldn’t do alone.
Because of this, an excellent assistant was needed.
As assistant who could take responsibility for my safety anytime, anywhere... yes, an escort.
