Chapter 69 : Chapter 69
Chapter 69
Ethan Taton's mood was going up and down.
It felt like being in a carriage racing down a mountainside.
Sometimes it went up, and sometimes it plummeted as if falling, repeating over and over.
“You executed the m-mayor of Romain, you say? On your own sole judgment.”
When he asked this, it felt like he was being plunged into the ground.
It was as if the chilly air unique to a dungeon was entering his nose, but.
“Yes, and Count Alstian has appointed a new mayor.”
When he heard this answer, it felt like he had barely escaped the dungeon.
He thought he was going to die, but it was a feeling as if a way to survive was visible before his eyes.
And.
“Furthermore, the new mayor of Romain is a person I recommended. She was of great help in resolving this incident, and she is also a mage.”
When he confirmed the final conclusion.
Ethan Taton felt as if he was facing an ascending angel.
The illusion of the dungeon that had been shimmering before his eyes was completely erased.
This was, rather, a good thing.
Knight Reinhardt had established a connection with the mayor of Romain.
And that too, in a state where she owed him a great debt of gratitude.
Moreover, Count Alstian had readily accepted Reinhardt's proposal.
Considering that fact, it meant that the name Reinhardt itself might have reached the Count's ears.
Reinhardt, the knight of the far east.
And the Taton Knights, which embraced such a Reinhardt, began to sound like they were preparing to soar together.
“Hee, hehehe. Hehe.”
Ethan laughed sinisterly without realizing it.
If someone saw him, it wouldn't be strange to think he was a madman.
But fortunately, the righteous and steadfast knight Reinhardt wore an expression of indifference to the commander's sudden outburst.
“Sir Reinhardt.”
“Yes.”
“I believed in you, Sir.”
“I thought you would believe in me.”
“There was not a single moment I doubted you, Sir. Not just me, but all the residents of the gateway city will feel the same. Sir Reinhardt's judgment has never been wrong.”
“Looking at the results so far, that is true. But please do not believe blindly.”
“If you say so, Sir, then I must. I will not believe blindly. But hehe, phahaha.”
Ethan just couldn't contain his joy.
His decision to embrace Reinhardt was not wrong.
It wasn't just not wrong; he was confident that there was no wiser decision than this.
But it was true that he had been nervous today, thinking that things had gone really wrong.
What if Reinhardt had made the wrong judgment?
What if Count Alstian had been angry about losing the mayor?
“But Sir Reinhardt.”
“Yes, Sir Commander.”
About to say something, Ethan closed his mouth again.
The abacus in his head moved noisily.
‘A merchant must know how to take risks.’
It was as if he could hear the voice of his grandfather, who had run the Taton Caravan in the distant past, in his ear.
“No. Please continue to make wise judgments as you have been. That is all I ask of you, Sir.”
“I will do my best.”
“If you need any help, tell me anytime. And rest well, yes. Anyway, if you have anything to say, it's fine even if it's dawn, so feel free to come and say it. Though it's unlikely Sir Reinhardt would do so.”
“Yes. I have finished my report, so I will return to my quarters.”
Ethan Taton nodded with a wide smile on his face.
But the type of smile was subtly different from before.
If until recently it was the expression of looking at a child who had grown up splendidly, now he had the face of a gambler sitting at a gambling table.
It was to the point where he looked like someone who had bet his entire fortune.
‘Not bad. That’s right for a merchant. Ethan isn’t just any common knight commander.’
Reinhardt also liked Ethan's reaction.
A merchant skilled in calculating gains and losses like Ethan was much easier to deal with than a knight who was unconditionally righteous.
Reinhardt was a goose that continuously laid golden eggs.
Ethan Taton, at least, would not try to cut open its belly.
Then he paused.
Reinhardt was about to leave the commander's office but turned back and asked.
“Sir Commander. Is Dirk here?”
“Ah, right. I should have told you, but I forgot. Dirk is undergoing basic training. The training ground is outside Serigel, and he'll probably have a hard time for about three months.”
“Thank you.”
“No, I should be thanking you for introducing Dirk. He certainly has talent. It's natural, but your eye was accurate, Sir.”
It was as expected.
As long as Ethan Taton guaranteed his ‘product value’, Dirk must have been born with considerable talent.
Reinhardt wrapped things up and returned to his quarters.
“Peeep…”
Bitdori, who had been sleeping on his shoulder, somehow knew and flew to its nest.
It seemed not fully awake, as its gaze was quite dazed.
It looked at Reinhardt with half-closed eyes, and then Bitdori closed its eyes completely and fell asleep.
‘It’s finally over.’
He was back.
Sitting quietly in his quarters, it felt like it was just yesterday that he had fallen into the game.
Reinhardt chuckled and took a shower first.
With his refreshed body, he lay down on the bed again and opened the [Community].
“Let’s see…”
In modern society, there is nothing as important as information.
This world was not modern, but information was important here too.
“Should I look at Truma first? No. I should check the spirit master side first… Wait a minute. What is this?”
The community had changed somehow.
The board manager had posted an announcement about it, and the change was something that applied directly to Reinhardt as well.
[Board Announcement]
[Fixed nicknames will be temporarily granted to some users.]
[Please refer to this for your use, and the application period is 90 days.]
***
The Soul Calibur community is basically anonymous.
Users cannot know each other's names.
Naturally, there was no way to see a specific user's activity history, and it was a structure where you didn't know who had just left a comment on your post.
So people used workarounds.
Like Reinhardt, they would attach a specific prefix to their post, or leave a specific word after a comment to let people know who they were.
That phenomenon was a kind of culture.
It had been operated that way for the past few years, and the users had no complaints about it.
But for the first time.
Years after opening the community, the management broke their own principles and made an exception.
[Those who have been possessed by the game will use the name of the character they have been possessed by.]
[If the characters are duplicated, a number will be attached after the name.]
[ex) Marcus1, Marcus2]
Now Reinhardt no longer needed to attach a prefix.
Because the nickname [Reinhardt] was clearly attached to Reinhardt's posts and comments.
And as the explanation stated, this change was being applied to everyone else without exception.
‘They’re openly fanning the flames. Did the developer request this directly? Or maybe the community side thought it was a good opportunity.’
There must have been a reason why the community had been operated anonymously until now.
To prevent attention from being focused on a specific person, and to make 'game-related' stories the main topic of conversation.
‘It was to block cliques at the source.’
In the end, you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.
When talking to a close person, you're bound to show a little more reaction.
From the community's management perspective, it wasn't a very good picture.
If that happened, users who came in to enjoy the game would feel alienated and would likely leave for another place.
Approaching it from that context.
The current community was clearly encouraging clique formation.
By giving names to characters like [Reinhardt], they were setting the stage for people to chew them up, spit them out, and gossip about them.
‘But… it’s not bad.’
It was a good thing for Reinhardt.
It wasn't just because he didn't have to use a prefix.
He just liked the fact that since the accessibility had been increased, even people who were not interested in this topic could become interested relatively easily.
And also.
‘This makes it much easier to talk to them.’
In the community.
Until now, Reinhardt was ‘that bastard who claims to be possessed by the game’.
But now?
He was now called ‘Reinhardt’ without the need for any modifiers.
It was the same for other people.
But what if, here, [Reinhardt] left a comment for [Evangeline]?
What if they asked and answered each other and exchanged conversations?
Even if just a conversation between the two was established, it was obvious that it would be more than enough to become a hot topic that would set the community on fire.
The expansion pack launch was just around the corner, and the biggest interest in the community right now was the content of that expansion pack.
[Is Reinhardt writing posts lately?]
[Nah, it’s been a while since he wrote one]
[Man, why doesn't he write? Other people post one every two or three days]
[Reinhardt is the real deal lol]
[fr lol he’s not a concept lol]
[If he’s not a concept, he’s mentally ill, right?]
The effects of the change appeared quickly.
Community users were openly mentioning the names of specific characters and having conversations.
Also, the overall interest in the possessed individuals had risen.
Reinhardt carefully scanned the atmosphere of the board.
[But can they meet inside according to the lore?]
[They can't lol]
[No, if they're possessed, shouldn't they be able to meet inside too….]
[fr isn't that a plot hole?]
[Is this expansion only single-player mode too?]
[This is it lol they didn't let them meet because they were afraid people would make a fuss about multiplayer coming out lol]
“I really don't know what the hell is going on.”
Reinhardt chuckled and muttered.
The tide of 'possessed' individuals had come in, and the community gladly rowed its boat.
As if this was their chance, numerous 'possessed' individuals began to upload their own serialized posts.
Then he paused.
Reinhardt was able to find the person he was looking for.
<Aslan, the Priest of Truma>
[Serial) No matter how much I purify, it never ends]
[It's so hard…]
[I've already purified several contaminated areas as the archbishop ordered, but I still have a lot more to do…]
[I'm working so hard, why don't you give me any divine power? If you just give me one oracle, I'd really grit my teeth and do it lol]
[This is too much! Too much, Truma!!]
The person who wrote the post was a priest of Truma.
His name was Aslan.
‘A name I don’t know.’
He must have been an extra in the original work.
Or a new character added in the expansion pack.
‘I’ll find out if I look. If I ask Dalton for help, he'll step up and find him himself.’
Just the name alone was very helpful information for Reinhardt.
It was like evidence that a priest named Aslan within the Truma Order had the potential of a protagonist.
Reinhardt checked all of [Aslan]'s serialized posts.
His level was not high.
His rank was an ordinary priest.
It hadn't been long since he joined the order, and the point at which he was 'possessed by the game' was only a week ago.
But he seemed to have a plan of his own.
He also clearly had a considerable amount of knowledge related to the Truma Order.
ㄴReinhardt: Sir
Reinhardt left a comment on [Aslan]'s post.
The response did not come back immediately.
Unlike how he had replied to other users' comments in a flash, he was not answering only Reinhardt's comment.
ㄴAnonymous7: lol it's Reinhardt
ㄴAnonymous8: is this for real? lolololol
ㄴAnonymous9: no, is it really Reinhardt? lol
ㄴAnonymous8: why isn't Aslan answering lol
Instead, other users started to comment with more excitement.
Reinhardt grinned and waited.
With the thought of going to talk to someone else if [Aslan] didn't answer.
But after a while.
ㄴAslan: Yes
The answer came back.
It was exactly 15 minutes after Reinhardt had left the comment.