03. Struggling to Prevent the Worst (2)
03. Struggling to Prevent the Worst (2)
[Sili Province] [Luoyang]
[Wang Household]
Minister of Education Wang Yun, true to his status as a prestigious family of the Three Excellencies, kept numerous guests in his household.
Was he trying to show off the family's prestige?
It was said that many descendants of the Pure Stream faction who had come up to Luoyang, including brilliant scholars and skilled martial artists, were staying there.
I, too, was staying at Wang Yun's household.
Living in the villa he had specially prepared for me, I returned after leaving the office and organized my future plans.
"Emperor Ling dies this year. Empress He, who uses General-in-Chief He Jin as her backing, will likely enthrone her son, Liu Bian. Once her nephew ascends to the throne, He Jin will gain supreme power and declare all-out war on the Ten Eunuchs."
Emperor Ling Liu Hong
Empress Ling Si He
General-in-Chief He Jin
And the Ten Eunuchs
These are the fools who will open the era of warlords.
Do these stupid bastards even know that their lust for power will become the root cause that turns the Han Dynasty into ashes?
No, there's no way they would.
They must already be blinded and deafened by wealth and power.
"The problem is General of the Guard Lu Zhi... wasn't this guy originally in General-in-Chief He Jin's faction? What a fickle person. You can never pin him down. Anyway, that two-faced personality is just like his disciple."
Is it fortunate that I made Lu Zhi the General of the Guard?
I still haven't concluded whether that will act as a good asset or a bad one.
It's not like I have the talent to peer into people's hearts. Even though I possessed numerous cheat-level skills, it was impossible to force Lu Zhi to follow me.
"Minggong, may I come in?"
A thin voice came from beyond the door.
At that voice, I closed the papers I had been staring at intently. After covering the nameplates inscribed with the Emperor, the Empress, the General-in-Chief's faction, and the Ten Eunuchs' faction with a blanket, I called out to them.
"Come in."
"Yes."
The sliding door opened halfway.
A boy with a petite physique entered from beyond the open door.
Along with a washbasin filled with water,
There was a towel soaked in cold water inside. Thinking I hadn't even been able to wash my body yet, they had brought it all the way here.
"I assume you haven't eaten yet. I shall bring it to you."
It was Diaochan.
Worried that I was holed up in my room without even eating, they had come all the way to my room to check on me.
"What do you think will happen to the world?"
I asked Diaochan.
It might be an abrupt question.
But thinking of their fate—no, her fate—of being sacrificed in a beauty trap by her foster father Wang Yun to drive a wedge between Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu, it was heartbreaking.
I know Dong Zhuo is a male character.
Ugh, damn it. Just thinking about it makes my internal organs twist with disgust.
"I am merely repaying the grace of my father who accepted me. I have lived for that. Someday, won't Father use this useless self for the sake of the Han Dynasty?"
"You have such a frustrating personality."
If it's for their father Wang Yun,
They don't care what happens to their own fate.
They are greedless to a terrifying degree.
At this point, it's close to a mental illness. Diaochan lacked even the minimal desire to look after their own well-being.
'Has it been over a year since I started living with this kid...? Since that's about how long I've been a guest at this Wang Household. Wang Yun, having heard of my reputation, personally selected me as a guest, and since coming to the Wang Household, I've been seeing this kid.'
We built up quite a bond.
If you could call it that, it's that kind of relationship. I've become so accustomed to this Wang Household that I even feel a sense of familiarity.
This is why affection between people is scary.
When I first came, I thought I would never get close to such a magnificent mansion, but now I know the structure of the mansion so well that I'm completely familiar with it.
"A bloodbath will strike Luoyang someday. And a very vicious one at that. Thousands will die, and tens of thousands will be injured. It's a terrible thing. A catastrophe comes that is hard to believe is happening in Luoyang, the capital of the Han Dynasty. I am trying to prepare for that."
At my words, Diaochan nodded.
They had an expression that suggested they didn't understand the details, but they nodded and agreed as if they thought whatever I said was absolutely right.
Wang Yun trusts me completely.
And his adopted child, Diaochan, also trusted me greatly.
Thanks to them, I was able to establish a foothold in Luoyang. To repay the grace I received from them, I had to prepare for the catastrophe that would soon unfold in Luoyang.
'Preventing the chaotic times. Preventing the catastrophe where countless people die. That is the work I must do. Being the Gate Guard Colonel of Luoyang, I've had to endure plenty of snide remarks. I can see clearly how the power dynamics are turning.'
The person currently leading the schemes is Yuan Shao.
While being under General-in-Chief He Jin, she also serves as his brain, acting as his advisor. She, who is actively plotting all the plans, was the imaginary enemy I had to be most wary of.
Therefore, I,
Designated Yuan Shao as the greatest danger.
Life is no exaggeration to say that success or failure is determined by which side you stand on.
Choice determines everything.
As someone who prides themselves on being at a pro-gamer level when it comes to dating sim (dating simulation) skills, I knew that better than anyone.
'Happy endings or bad endings are determined by the choice branches. Not only is the favorability of the target heroine swayed by trivial choices, but the ending route is determined in the long term.'
I am in a very unique situation.
If reality is 80%, the game-like nature is close to 20%.
Although I am someone for whom the game world has become a reality, I know that this world is a space that originated from a game.
In other words,
If I use my skills as a player character, it means I might be able to overcome the difficulties of reality by utilizing that 20% game-like nature.
"General-in-Chief He Jin also belongs to the ruler-type character. If I capture the hairy old man, I might be able to manipulate him as I please... Ah, that's really impossible."
Just thinking about it makes me want to vomit.
A face full of yellow teeth and pockmarks. On top of that, hair covering his entire body.
Is it because he's from a butcher background?
His younger sister, Empress He, is a beauty with a voluptuous body and a villainess attribute, so why is it that only her older brother has an appearance that emphasizes realism like this?
Capture that guy?
It seems better to bear the disadvantage and turn to a secondary plan.
"I am Gate Guard Colonel Lee Seong-hwi."
I arrived at the [General-in-Chief's Office].
Being a Gate Guard Colonel is by no means a low official rank.
However, the military officers gathered at the General-in-Chief's Office are all general-grade. For me, who at best only reaches the level of a Major to Lieutenant Colonel, it was like a forbidden space where I had no choice but to keep my head down.
Is it like a Capital Defense Command?
It's a field of constellations where you can see stars that are hard to see like that all at once. Even just the spiritual pressure of the generals makes my shoulders feel heavy.
"You are that..."
A platinum-blonde woman scanned me up and down.
I knew very well who she was.
Because she is a famous named ruler who always appears in the titles of the dating sim Three Kingdoms and never fails to be included.
Yuan Shao, courtesy name Benchu.
The illegitimate child of the Four Generations and Three Excellencies family, and a rival who will one day fight Cao Cao of Henan at Guandu. Moreover, she is also a married woman with three daughters.
"Ah, the introduction is late. Such rudeness. I am Colonel of the Central Army Yuan Shao; though I am unworthy, I am in charge of one axis of the Eight Colonels of the Western Garden."
Yuan Shao greeted me with a bright smile.
It was perfect etiquette with no rudeness to be found. As expected of the filial daughter of the famous Yuan clan of Runan, her greeting was very perfect.
Should I call her the most popular star in Luoyang?
If you were to pick the person with the highest reputation among the warriors under He Jin, you would naturally mention Yuan Shao.
Looks, looks; ability, ability.
Even the title of the Han Dynasty's number one filial daughter.
She grabbed all those things through 'painstaking effort' and reached her current position.
Perhaps because of those popular elements,
She enjoyed the honor of being firmly ranked in the top 3 that Three Kingdoms players want to serve as their ruler.
The others were taken by Cao Cao and Liu Bei.
Well, Sun Quan? Was there a guy like that?
"But Gate Guard Colonel. For what reason have you come to the General-in-Chief's Office?"
"I came to see Yuan Shao-nim."
"Me?"
Yuan Shao made a feigned surprised expression.
But soon, the expression faded.
I expect Yuan Shao knows why I appeared at the General-in-Chief's Office. Not only that, but just by seeing me, she must have already guessed that I came to see her.
The cunning fox of Hebei.
That's what the die-hard Wei fans who follow Cao Cao as the supreme dignity and top heroine call her. Because they have been game-overed time and again by her schemes.
"Oh my, although I am a widow who lost her husband early, isn't this too sudden in broad daylight?"
Oh boy.
Is she trying to probe my intentions in advance like this?
They really made the game well.
An AI that can use her beautiful appearance as a weapon of political strategy.
Of course, this is another reality, not a game world.
Perhaps that's why. I swallowed dryly at the soft pressure possessed by the woman named Yuan Shao.
"I want to tell you one thing."
"First, let's go inside. It would be a disgrace to the Yuan clan of Runan to leave a precious guest as they are."
Yuan Shao kindly guided me to her space.
As I entered the [General-in-Chief's Office], the gazes of numerous military officers focused on me. Most of them were burly giants, but looking closely, there were also a few heroines who could be captured.
Are they people like Chunyu Qiong or something?
Passing by their gazes, I followed Yuan Shao into the office.
"So what do you have to say to me?"
Yuan Shao asked while serving tea.
She brewed the tea with skillful handiwork, perhaps because she also had excellent talent in the tea ceremony.
Leaving the steaming tea behind,
I informed Yuan Shao of the danger that would strike the General-in-Chief's Office while holding my head high.
"The Ten Eunuchs are plotting to assassinate the General-in-Chief."
"...That is not a statement that can be easily brushed off. And it is also not a statement that can be easily accepted."
Yuan Shao's eyes, who was sipping tea, shone sharply.
Yes, this is the look.
The true appearance hidden within a benevolent and gentle smile. It is the sharpness of a strategist, of a hegemon who will one day rule Hebei.
"I will tell you everything I know."
"Yes, that would be good. Because I am curious as to what wind blew you, who have been working for imperial officials until now, to come to the General-in-Chief's Office and tell me such secrets."
I bit my lower lip.
It was my old habit, a preliminary preparation shown before I started spilling the beans in earnest.
For my goal, I need Yuan Shao.
If it's Yuan Shao, who acts as an advisor to General-in-Chief He Jin, He Jin would follow her words without complaint. To prevent the appearance of Dong Zhuo, I had to prioritize blocking He Jin's assassination first.