Chapter 10: I Decide My 3-Star (5)
Chapter 10: I Decide My 3-Star (5)
"I'm going to form a Bunny Girl Knight Order."
I said it out loud, but in truth, that was just my personal preference.
My actual goal was...
There are so many other options besides bunny girls; I can't just limit myself to those.
This was a medieval fantasy world.
Therefore, there should be maid outfits, slightly suggestive knight uniforms, pirate costumes, clothes with an academy uniform feel, swimsuits, private casual wear, succubus outfits, and so on...
This wasn't just a delusion.
I was simply reciting the types of 3-star limited characters.
[Maid], [Knight Order], [Marine], [Academy], [Swimsuit], [Succubus], [Teacher], [Little Girl], [Beastkin], [Night Festival], and more...
These were all characters that had been released under the guise of "Limited Pickups" or "Skins."
I was merely listing them one by one—characters that kept the same face as the originals but were presented in completely different forms.
It wasn't because I desperately wanted to see them in maid outfits.
Or because I wanted to put them in swimsuits.
Or because I wanted to flip up their skirts while they were wearing uniforms.
I wasn't saying these things out of some dark, base delusion.
I just wanted to live.
I simply wanted to survive in this demon-infested land called Fermaton.
The "Bunny Girl Knight Order" was merely a smokescreen to make the public think, That Ruji is acting like a scoundrel again.
Therefore, bunny girls weren't an absolute requirement.
For now, at least.
"In that sense, I'm going to need your cooperation, Guild Leader Bernhard."
I had arranged a private meeting with the Guild Leader.
No matter how much I joked about forming a Bunny Girl Knight Order, the fact that Fermaton was establishing a knight order was bound to draw the attention of various factions.
"Are you truly serious about the bunny girls?"
"Half-serious."
"Half?"
"I've considered swimsuits, maid outfits, or even a succubus-themed concept besides bunny girls. But in the end, I thought bunny girls would be best."
"...Are you saying they're good for eye candy, or that they're good for deceiving others?"
As expected of the Guild Leader.
True to his position as the head of the Adventurer's Guild, he had accurately grasped my intention behind forming the knight order.
"Creating a knight order by tarnishing your own image... If you, Lord Ruji, are willing to utilize even your own infamy, it is certainly possible."
"How did you know?"
"I can tell by your eyes. I can see that you are not the same Ruji as before."
No way.
Did he notice the possession...?
"Haha, every man has a day when he finds the resolve to become a new version of himself. It's not just the hair; you must have made up your mind before you shaved your head so boldly. I sincerely congratulate you on your new beginning, Lord Ruji."
"Thank you, Bernhard."
I guess it was just a veteran's intuition.
"However, forming a knight order is a different story. If Fermaton gains power, the Kingdom and the Empire will move simultaneously. If that happens..."
"The Adventurer's Guild's position might become precarious. The Kingdom, the Empire, and Fermaton might try to monopolize the interests of the Infinite Labyrinth."
Monopoly.
Though the labyrinth existed because of Fermaton, the resources of the Infinite Labyrinth poured out endlessly—enough that everyone had to keep each other in check.
"I understand your concerns as the Guild Leader. However, while I actively desire the help of adventurers, I have no intention of making enemies of them. Even if Fermaton completely dominates this city, I will maintain a relationship of symbiosis with the adventurers."
"With the adventurers, I see."
"Yes."
One can talk to adventurers through contracts bound by gold.
But the Kingdom and the Empire were different.
"Greed is a truly terrifying thing. If it were a gold mine, we could just say we'll dig until the gold runs out, but the Infinite Labyrinth is bottomless."
"If there were a gold mine that produced infinitely, it would have ended up just like this place."
"True enough."
A place where resources never run dry.
Even if it didn't produce as much as this place, if such a location existed, the owner of that land would undoubtedly step in to manage it.
Who would refuse money that generated itself just by breathing?
The only worry was that others might find out and try to steal it. In fact, Fermaton's Infinite Labyrinth had nearly been seized by others several times over the past few generations.
And yet, the reason the Fermaton Count family hadn't been able to properly secure its power was...
"Sir Bernhard. I won't ask you to return to the Count's house. I only ask that you help the family gain the strength to protect itself."
"......."
"You did work hard for our family once, didn't you?"
It was because people left.
Bernhard was also a knight who had received his first knighthood here in the Barony of Fermaton.
He had simply stepped down from his knighthood for various reasons and turned to adventuring.
"The reason you returned here as the Adventurer's Guild Leader was to protect Fermaton, even if only from an adventurer's perspective. Isn't that right?"
"Young Lord. I..."
"I understand. The pressure from the Empire must have been difficult. Those bastards don't just go after the person involved; they target everyone around them. Especially family. Your hardships must have been immense."
The moment Fermaton tried to gain power, the Kingdom and the Empire would begin their pressure in earnest.
They would bribe family members.
They would recruit people with better offers.
They would plant spies within Fermaton's retainers.
In reality, there was almost no one within the Fermaton family who worked purely for Fermaton's sake.
In fact, those who joined solely for the wages were the most "pure" of the lot. As for the other retainers within the Fermaton household...
Information brokers, murderers, assassins, succubi, angelic kin, and all sorts of other races are hiding there.
I knew exactly who they were.
Even Zenith, the current Countess of Fermaton, was someone on the Kingdom's side.
That was why there was no one who moved purely for Fermaton, for me, within the household.
So, I would make them my own.
Retainers who moved only for me.
A loyal knight order that would sacrifice everything at my command.
People who, at my command... would even go on a raid in the Infinite Labyrinth wearing lewd bunny girl outfits!
"I know the Guild Leader will face many difficulties. There will surely be adventurers who are unhappy if Fermaton forms a knight order. The Kingdom and the Empire will pressure you from behind the scenes as well. Half a year... Can you watch over us for just that long?"
Half a year.
The period it took for a free-to-play player to raise a 1-star character to a 5-star, max-level, fully enhanced state.
Usually, in games, you could do it in a month if you poured resources into it, but in this trash game, growth was far too restricted without spending money.
Even if Fermaton's wealth was similar to a "pay-to-win" element, this was reality.
Half a year was a significant compromise on my part.
"During that time, I will gather a small elite group of knights and grow them. And if, in your eyes, Fermaton's strength grows enough to stand firm against the pressure of others, then you can continue to live comfortably while cooperating with Fermaton as the Guild Leader."
"......It won't be easy."
"If I wanted an easy path, I would have joined the Kingdom or the Empire long ago."
I walk my own path.
"Fermaton will walk the path of Fermaton. And that path is not something forced or suggested by someone else. The path I walk is the road itself."
It wasn't my own "Duel," but my own "Character Growth."
And at the end of it, I would obtain power equal to a "Fermaton Kingdom."
"The knight order will see the end of the Infinite Labyrinth. But I mean we will 'confirm' the end, not that we will finish the labyrinth."
"Then...?"
"It means we will hollow out the Infinite Labyrinth to its very core. Assuming the 100th floor is the last, we will accumulate wealth and power while stripping the resources all the way down to that 100th floor."
Farming must be efficient.
And the commissions gained from the magic stone farming that took place up to the 100th floor would become Fermaton's strength.
"I want to maintain a good relationship with the Adventurer's Guild. I might even recruit other adventurers besides Miss Laura into the knight order."
"...The Guild will not take anyone's side."
"It is precisely that neutrality I hope you maintain."
Unlike the Kingdom and the Empire, who would constantly look for a chance to eliminate me, the Adventurer's Guild only needed the Infinite Labyrinth to be maintained.
As long as I didn't oppress the Guild or commit acts of tyranny against them, they would at least not become my enemy.
And.
Bernhard.
I didn't necessarily need to recruit this man into my knight order, but...
It wouldn't be bad to have a cool old man character on my side.
Not being an enemy was enough.
"Fermaton will walk its own path. If you believe Fermaton can navigate this treacherous road alone, I hope that one day you can walk alongside us."
I spoke in vague terms, but the meaning would surely get across.
"What do you say?"
"...I am one who left Fermaton of my own accord. I am someone who cannot even call himself a knight. I even left Fermaton before you were born, Young Lord. However, if I can help Fermaton from the shadows, I will do my best within my capabilities. But."
Bernhard furrowed his brows, his expression hardening.
"The Bunny Girl Knight Order is a no-go."
"......No bunny girls?"
"No, it's not that bunny girls are forbidden."
The corners of his mouth twisted into a smirk as he continued.
"...If you're going to deceive them anyway, it would be better to mix in several other things besides bunny girls. For instance..."
"For instance?"
"...The clothes one wears when entering a hot spring?"
"......That's just a towel, isn't it?"
"Is that not also 'clothing'?"
"......."
"The Bunny Girl Knight Order is disbanded as of today."
Goodbye, my Bunny Girl Knight Order.
And so.
I decided to simply call it the "Cosplay Knight Order."
...No, the Fermaton Knight Order.