CH 34

Inside the reception room where Shuron exited after the conversation.

Euthenia, who had been watching Roan’s behavior there, asked him.

“Were you acquainted with the Count?”

He was cleaning up the mess that had been left behind after Shuron’s departure.

The faithful believers standing by to pressure Shuron had also left, leaving only the archbishop and the apostles inside.

It was the conversation Roan had just now.

Euthenia asked Roan if it was true that he knew the Count.

Roan smiled wryly at her and replied.

“Of course not.”

“Then you’re lying.”

“It’s not a lie at all, because it’s selling the future. Eventually, the Count will fall under the influence of Our church.”

What Roan had told Shuron was a lie.

Nevertheless, Roan boldly declared Euthenia.

The whole of the Counts who control the city will eventually fall under the influence of their own Church.

That was the objective of Roan’s plan.

Evan, who had been listening in silence, had also been curious about Roan’s plans and had asked him a question.

“What are you thinking, Archbishop?” he asked.

“I have an interesting plan, and if you know the current state of the city, you’ll understand.”

“The state of the city?”

“Count Meyer, who rules the city, has two sons.”

“Two sons…”

Roan had been researching information on the power relations of the Centurions to expand his forces.

This was no different for his next city.

The trading city of Lithua-Centirius was one of the lands controlled by the House of Meyer.

It was also the most important estate belonging to the House of Meyer.

The House of Meyer, which ruled over this great city, was plagued by a long-standing succession problem.

Count Meyer had two sons.

“The first, Rex Meyer, is the son of a former countess, now widowed.”

“And the other…”

“The other is Max Meyer, son of the current countess, and the countess and her relatives want to make him the next count.”

“The first is the weaker of the two?”

“Yes, and at the rate things are going, Max Meyer will most likely be the next Count Meyer.”

The first son in a power struggle with his half-brother.

On top of that, there are very strong forces from the outside world backing his brother.

In a situation like this, it wasn’t hard for Roan and the rest of them to get involved.

At least, that’s what Roan thought.

He wondered how much he understood Roan’s thoughts.

Evan nodded, agreeing with his plan.

“You’re planning to join the first son.”

“Of course. It would be easier to gain an advantage by going after the weaker first than the second.”

“You seem confident of gaining an advantage.”

“What do we have to fear, with the Great One watching over us?”

Roan had never planned to try this alone.

But now he had two apostles backing him up, along with a small group of members of the Church.

With this much power, it wasn’t a stretch to try something risky.

Best of all, if something went wrong, it wouldn’t be hard to get out of it.

It was a conclusion Roan had come to based on what he had seen of their strength.

“That’s a great mindset. So what can I do to help?”

“I think you can stay with the eldest, Rex Meyer, for the time being.”

“You mean, stay with the Count?”

Evan looked back at Roan with a puzzled look on his face at the mention of staying with the Count.

If you didn’t know the intermediate steps, it would be embarrassing.

But right now, Roan was strangely confident.

It was something he’d done countless times in his life as a warlock: manipulate people.

If he had the right stage, he thought, he could easily convince even the most ignorant nobleman.

It wasn’t hard to do, especially if you could find convincing actors for Roan’s plays.

“The most chivalrous man in our church is the Apostle, isn’t that right? If not the Apostle, there’s no one else we can plant as a Watcher.”

” ……I see, then It can’t be helped.”

“Do I have a part too?”

This time it was Euthenia’s turn.

Of course, Euthenia had duties of her own.

She was a great wizard who could use a wide variety of magic, including barrier magic.

This time, she was testing against Shuron, for the greater good that would eventually follow.

“There is something else I need you to do for the First Apostle.”

“What is it?”

“Do you happen to be good at playing nobility?”

“……?”

Euthenia shook her head at Roan’s story.

She didn’t understand.

It was a reaction that even Roan could have guessed.

That’s because what he was about to propose was just as unconventional.

Roan turned to Euthenia with a kinder expression on his face.

“You will become a young noble lady.”

* * * *

Another day passed, and the weekend arrived.

I was drinking beer alone the night before, and now I’m eating ramen for breakfast and watching TV.

The TV was switched on and the news was playing.

It was a news segment reporting overseas news.

– There are currently large-scale riots in Africa and elsewhere…

Africa. Canada. The United States. France.

News from various countries around the world are told through the anchor’s mouth.

There were many things that made me think about overseas news.

When I think about the fact that I’m on the other side of the world, it seems like a completely different world.

As I ate my ramen while watching the news, there were no noodles left to hold my chopsticks.

“I’m almost full… let’s play a game.”

After I finish my ramen, I’m not really interested in the news.

I thought about going out for the weekend, but the scorching heat quickly put an end to my desire to go out.

In this kind of weather, it’s best to stay home and play games in the air conditioning.

I put down my chopsticks, picked up my smartphone, and loaded the game.

“I wonder what I got in my bank account.”

I don’t remember exactly what it was, as I have so many subscriptions, but I do remember something coming into my bank account.

Most likely, it was a tax refund that I had applied for a few months earlier.

I remember the expected amount being similar to the amount in my bank account.

Since there was no way I was going to pay for it right away, I wondered if I should save it for when I could afford it.

While I was thinking about unifying the outfits of the believers by spinning the lottery, the game finished loading and the game screen was displayed.

The graphics were sharper than they were yesterday.

I immediately scrolled down to see the new message.

– Your Church’s numbers have increased significantly.

– Some of your followers have gained the ‘Cultist’ trait.

– Your Karma has increased by 11.

The first message I saw was that my Karma had increased due to the increase in the number of members of the Church.

Apparently, Roan had been busy.

He is more capable than I imagined.

– I reached level 7.

– <Eye of the Observer (Lv.6)> grows.

– You have become an <Eye of the Observer (Lv.7)>. You can now observe the continent more clearly than before.

In addition to this and other minor offerings, it seems that my level has increased by one level.

It was a bonus that the total amount of magic and the level of the <Eye of the Observer> skill increased as I leveled up.

I noticed that the graphics had somehow sharpened up, but I had actually increased my level by one.

The characters on the screen now look properly sketched out.

Although there’s still a bit of a casual vibe to it.

“Another warning.”

Of course, it’s not all positive changes as you level up.

Just like the last time I leveled up, <Karma Balance> displayed a new message.

The message informed me of a difficulty adjustment due to the <Causality Correction>.

It’s natural for the game to get harder as you level up.

However, whereas the previous message warned of the arrival of a hero, this time the message said something different.

– Warning: Karma that is too biased in one direction is likely to cause a <Causality Correction>.

– The <Karma Balance> is tilted.

– A low level of <causal correction> has occurred.

– The <Causality Correction> caused the [Ascalon] to be liberated.

– Causality Correction Progress: 3

As progress has already reached 3%, the difficulty has been adjusted in a new way.

[Liberation of Ascalon].

Considering that none of the miracles I’ve crafted have the same name, the [Ascalon] must have belonged to a hero who had previously announced its appearance.

Like the apostles, the heroes seemed to use them.

Given the name, I wondered if there were other gods.

“Well, it can’t be that hard.”

Whether it’s another god or a hero with a jinx, the strategy in these games is mostly simple.

Pay to Win.

What you pay for makes you stronger.

There’s no enemy you can’t beat if you’re willing to throw cash at it.

Considering that you don’t get any karma for picking, it’s clear that the developers had this in mind.

Of course, the question of how much you need to pay to face the final boss is something that needs to be considered.

“In that sense, let’s do some billing today.”

I had money coming in that I could use outside of my salary.

I had already set aside money for this month’s rent and living expenses.

Therefore, this money is like pocket money that I can spend completely at will.

It was money that I could spend on anything, even chicken and beer.

Imagining a golden and fun day in my head, I happily snapped my fingers and opened the store.

– Welcome to the <Paid Goods Store>.

– The <Paid Goods Shop> sells a variety of items for smooth play.

The first thing I checked after entering the store was the price of the draw.

In a decent game, I wouldn’t have to think about this, but in this vicious game, the premise is meaningless.

80,000 won for 10 draws.

The price was still the same as before.

If the price is the same, there’s no need to hesitate.

I moved my finger and touched the draw button.

– We run out of items and are preparing. Please use it next time.

Then I looked at the message on the screen, puzzled.

‘We run out of items and are preparing.’

With that message, the pull button was deactivated.

My gaze flickered across the screen, dumbfounded by what had just happened.

The words spontaneously came out of my panicked mouth.

“Do I need to prepare for another raise……?”