Hah~ Why am I acting surprised? This was expected. This is Agamemnon we're talking about. Still, it makes sense, while subduing a few monsters is too small a feat, eliminating demon lords is sure to bear a warning signal against the other nations, as well as a cause of interest. At that point, all preparations would be complete. My influence would rise significantly, our financial problems would cease, and I would prove to be the one and only true demon lord, in which the hero's wrath against me would be justified, as I would have dealt a significant amount of damage to the nations of Elrev by then as well.
"But with this plan, even though the main reason for the war would be eliminated, as it was just an excuse in the first place, the war itself won't be sto-" I start to voice my thoughts aloud, but one look at the smirk on Agamemnon's face answers my questions for me.
"Well, is there a reason we should care about stopping the war?" Agamemnon asks with a pondering expression.
As he said, there's no reason we should care about the state of the war. Rather, we would gain more from fanning the flames of war. By simply taking a side in the war, my quest for world domination would be more than 40% complete.
I can't help myself from allowing a small grin to spread itself across my lips.
"I see," I whisper. "Interesting. I understand what it is you're planning. For now, we'll work towards that. As the head of the generals, I'll leave you to take care of these matters. Tell Brontes to handle the operation on the monster settlements around, and continue getting intel from the nations surrounding Halrio. I'm not convinced only Rasmirez has found Halrio to be sitting bounty."
"Yes, my lord," Agamemnon answers, bowing with a smirk. "I will see all your desires to completion."
Now that that's out of the way, I have two more items on my agenda that need my attention. One, finding the whereabouts of the Seven Kings. Beowulf most especially. Since I've unwittingly created a link between the two of us, I'll have to make sure it doesn't come back to bite me. The second thing is the Averos competition.
The success of my plan half depends on how well I can use my reputation as Alice to my advantage. Alice and Aeolus are one and the same, therefore I assume the influence I exude as either one counts towards my goal, but it goes beyond that. There are certain things Alice can do that Aeolus can not. For one, as I've chosen Halrio to be my starting point, if I want to take over this country discreetly without alerting any of the other countries sharing the Dremid continent with Halrio, I'll have to use my identity as Alice for that.
As Alice, I have to get myself as deep into this country's politics as I can, and luckily enough for me, a prince dropped right onto my lap just like that, and even requested to be on my team. Now just to make sure that my team stands out in this competition that will be spectated by not only the Royal family of Halrio, but nobles and diplomats from other countries as well. I've basically been handed a stage, and actors. Now to just set up the play.
I can basically handle the entire competition by myself from what I've seen so far, but doing that would garner more attention than is necessary right now. It has to be a joint effort from everyone on the team. What would be the best way to fully test and gauge their complete potential? I have a vague idea of their skills, but I need to know their full abilities if I'm going to nurture them in the way I want.
Let's see, back when I was a noob, what did I do to get better? Just the basic stuff I guess. Quests, dungeons, PVPs, items, boss monsters... of course these were always about twenty levels higher than I was, but I don't think I did anything especially radical. Is that really the only way then? Though I'm worried about taking them into a higher level dungeon than the one I've already chosen. I mean, bronze adventurers still get killed in a Level 1 Kobold dungeon here. Should I just throw them into Cerberus's cave for a day like I thought?
"Father!"
Just as he crossed my mind, Cerberus appears with Damocles in tow.
"Master, preparations to raid the dungeon are done." Damocles says, standing at the ready.
Hmm... I think I have an idea.
"Cerberus, you've always wanted a bigger cave haven't you?"
"Huh? Yeah I have! But you told me not to crumble anymore mountains here," Cerberus responds, pouting as he crosses his arms. "My scales always get caught on the roof of the small cave I'm stuck with, and Sir Agamemnon won't let me increase the size!"
I've decided...
"Very well, how about we just get you a bigger sized cave then?" I start, looking over the Kobold dungeon map Lucien gave me. "I think I've found the perfect one for you."
"Really? You have? But isn't that the dungeon we're about to visit?" Cerberus asks with a confused expression as he glances at the map in my hands.
"Not anymore," I state. "It's your new cave, we're just going to clear out some pests that are currently occupying it without permission."
"..." Cerberus stares at the map, and then me before speaking. "Do you really mean it, master?"
"Mn." I hum with a nod.
"Yay! If you really give it to me, I'll take good care of it!" Cerberus exclaims with excitement. "I won't destroy it like the last one! I'll keep this one! I promise!"
Oh yeah, I almost forgot all the other dungeons Cerberus decimated during his tantrums. Whether he means it or not, I only need him to be satisfied with it for a while, because...
I'll be tossing them in Cerberus's cave for a day.