The Price of Calculation
I hadn't known.
"Oh. Leng. You made it back alive."
"Honestly... I thought I was going to die."
Three days later. Leng and his party, whom I had sent to the Marquis's eastern territory, had returned.
"But you survived, didn't you?"
"...Sir Leng. Come join the Royal Knights. I’ll make sure you get a truly excellent position. If you keep working under this insane young duke, you’ll never die a peaceful death."
"Now, now. Lady Jena. I didn't think you were that kind of person, stealing my knight right in front of me?"
"Jena. Seriously, can't we just have a proper fight with Young Duke Carix? Call all the Royal Knights. No matter how strong this bastard is, he can't possibly beat the entire Royal Knight Order. You say he might not lose? So what? Tell him to kill this bastard and die trying."
It was hard to call it a triumphant return—the three of them were absolutely filthy—but I prepared a feast and welcomed them properly. However, they seemed deeply displeased that I was the only one who hadn't gone to the front lines, and all three of them glared at me as if they wanted to kill me. But I told them, I couldn't go because my arm was broken!
Leng, who told you to glare at me like that?
"Thanks to Her Highness the Princess, the Marquis was thoroughly crushed. He admitted full responsibility for this incident and has been relegated to a minor post. The young lady who lobbied for the field trip was sentenced to imprisonment. Not to mention the professors and board members who accepted the bribes."
"Are you not concerned that my head was almost thoroughly crushed because of you?"
"Haha. I didn't think Lady Jena's escort would be breached by mere Horned Wolves and Rock Urchins (monsters that look like hedgehogs made of stone)."
"..."
"Uh... by any chance, was it breached?"
"I went and met my dear departed mother three times."
That was unexpected.
"My condolences."
"My mother kept sending me back, saying it wasn't my time yet, so I barely made it back."
"As expected of the Queen. A truly wonderful mother."
"Hey, you son of a bitch."
In the end, the Princess's rage exploded, and she unleashed a torrent of profanity. This... well. It couldn't be helped. She wasn't hitting me, so I could at least listen to her swearing. It seemed they had truly suffered enough to die. Eventually, the Princess repeated the worst curse word she knew for nearly ten minutes before stopping, out of breath.
"W, what!? Are we really going to fight!?"
"I apologize."
"...What?"
"I didn't expect it to become that dangerous. It was a failure of my judgment."
I finally bowed my head.
"Your Highness's anger is justified. Therefore, I will listen for another hour if you wish to continue cursing."
"...Ha! I'm truly, absolutely speechless. Since when were you the type of person to bow your head to anyone?"
"I am the type to admit my mistakes quickly. I just don't think it's wrong to commit sins against those who have wronged me."
The Princess, rendered speechless by my words, spoke again after a moment.
"You don't really feel sorry right now, do you?"
Wow. She hit the nail on the head. What is this? Did the Princess reach the realm of reading the opponent's thoughts while observing me, just like I do?
"It's my first time seeing the Young Master flustered."
"Leng. Quiet."
"Aack!! This won't do! Jena! Let's really beat him up just once!"
"Me?"
"If I get hit by Sir Jena, I'll die."
"Yes?"
Jena widened her eyes as if she were experiencing cognitive dissonance. Hmm. Did she really not know? My body is merely optimized for movement through brain activity; it isn't as sturdy as rock or steel. In other words, my durability is such that if I were to jump from the third floor at full speed while carrying someone and perform a tumble, I would be shattered.
"Your Highness."
"Yes?"
"The Young Duke would likely die if I hit him with full force, even without using mana."
"...Huh?"
"Young Duke. By any chance... are you just an ordinary human being?"
"That is correct. Even a fork or a table knife would cause a fatal wound."
"Your Highness. I can shatter rocks with full force without using mana. If I were to swing at the Young Duke with full force... I would likely die."
"What are you talking about? Wasn't the point that the Young Duke would die?"
"A counterattack would fly back at me. Then I would be the one to die first."
It seems Jena has started to understand me better than the Princess. Of course, I wouldn't kill her, but I would at least counterattack to survive. In that process, a 'mistake' where her arm might break would inevitably occur.
"I'll just... hit him myself."
"Please do."
"That seems appropriate."
In the end, I was hit by the Princess. It was the first time in this life that I had been hit by someone.
"200 Horned Wolves. 130 Rock Urchins (hedgehogs with rock spines). Honestly, that wasn't dangerous. The academy students, professors, and guards were enough to hold them off."
Jena spoke of that day's events while eating the meal I had prepared.
"A giant mutated monster... an individual named Night Wolf. Because of that thing, the Marquis's knights were nearly annihilated. If it weren't for Sir Daltian, a 3rd-grade knight, and their knight commander, the other half would have certainly died without even being able to evacuate."
Hmm. A raid boss. Was it really that strong? But my memories from my previous life say otherwise. That thing is only level 30. The level cap in this game is 70, and for 3rd-grade knights to be unable to handle something less than half that level... I wonder if this isn't a bit dangerous.
"It's not that they couldn't handle it... They were standing there without a single injury until the very end of the subjugation. Rather, the problem was that they were trying to protect the academy students nearby, which caused the other knights to be swept away as well."
"After catching the regular monsters in the vicinity, we were able to defeat it with the support of myself, Sir Jena, Sir Daltian, the knight commander, and Lady Beatrix the mage."
"That's right. It was huge, but it wasn't that dangerous of an opponent. The problem was that there were too many people to protect."
"In other words, a small elite group would have been better?"
"Yes. That often happens on the monster front lines. Instead of 100 knights or mages of mediocre skill, it's often easier to fight by forming small elite teams, such as three knights of certain skill and two mages."
That's completely a raid party. *Silver Moon Night* was an MMORPG, and raids were games played with 5-person parties.
"Still, the fortunate thing was that most of the private soldiers hired by Valentia only had minor injuries. Even if the family's knights had some seriously injured, there were no fatalities."
"And even the seriously injured didn't suffer any disabilities."
"But the Marquis's knights... well, it's at a level where you wonder if those who survived are even normal."
It meant they prioritized the lives of the academy students above all else. Well. If there had been student fatalities there, the Marquis family would have had to pay a much higher price than they are now.
"It's truly absurd. Don't you feel even a little bit sorry?"
"Me? Why?"
"Your Highness. You shouldn't demand common sense guilt from the Young Duke. This person is insane."
"Yes. The Young Master is truly not in his right mind."
No. You people are strange. I gave the Marquis's daughter enough opportunities. If she had admitted her guilt at the initial proposal, bowed her head, and suppressed the idiotic factional fighting, I wouldn't have interfered with their actions or responses. But she said she didn't want to? She said she would continue the factional fighting? Then shouldn't she have been prepared for the factional fighting to end in the worst possible state? Anyone would think the Marquis's daughter is the victim.
"No, that... victim... what, sigh..."
"Haa."
"Young Master. What did the academy students do wrong?"
"What are you talking about? Did I push them to go on an external field trip to the academy? Even the lobbying was accepted by the academy."
The three of them seem to think the students are innocent, but the factional fighting wasn't started by their ancestors—it was started by them. This incident was ultimately an extension of that factional fighting, so I don't know why they talk as if those people have no responsibility.
"In the first place, the fact that I predicted the dungeon would appear and the fact that they accepted bribes and went on an external field trip to the Marquis's territory are completely different issues. What if I had been wrong with a 0.03 percent probability? Who would have taken responsibility then? At the very least, I don't want to be the one to take it."
"...Are you saying there was a 0.03 percent probability that the dungeon might not have been created?"
"Yes. It was certain that it would be created someday, but there was a possibility it wouldn't have been that day. I'm not an idiot, so I don't rely solely on memory."
"?"
Memories of a past life are just memories. I, Duke Carix, the villain, am already acting outside of that role; there is no reason for everything in reality to move exactly like the game from my past life. I properly checked the information on the Marquis's territory and calculated and predicted that the dungeon was in a state to be formed. It was not a choice or plan based solely on memories of a past life.
"Stop acting so smart. If you knew so well, you should have saved your brother first."
"""......"""
The spoons and forks of the three people enjoying the meal I prepared stopped, and silence fell in an instant. Huh... did I just say that out loud? This is why I hate memories of a past life. Whenever I recall them, only emotional words and actions outside of my control pop out.
"I was talking to myself. Forget it."
"O, okay."
"...Yes. I didn't hear anything."
"......"
Having seen the fragments of self-loathing and responsibility Carix felt for not being able to protect his brother, the three of them silently continued their meal.
After putting the Princess on the throne of the academy, a few days later.
"Young Duke. Hello."
"Hmm?"
The Marquis's daughter, who had been pushed off the throne of the academy, had come to find me.