"Nice to meet y-you, miss Victoria. I am the leader of the raid party." Clint introduced himself while stuttering.
Just like everyone else, he was stunned by Victoria's beauty.
Was there anyone else they had ever seen who possessed such beauty? Her motherly aura made Clint lick his lips continually.
Even Arnold was dazedly looking at Victoria as she exchanged greetings with everyone. He was all the way in the back so he couldn't see her completely.
"Wow…She's so gorgeous. Is she the lord's wife? I'm so jealous…" Lucri also admired Victoria.
'Hahahaha! Not yet!'
Arnold couldn't stop himself from grinning and puffing out his chest. If he won Victoria's heart then he'll be able to brag about his beautiful wife.
It was a petty thing to do but for someone who had never had a girlfriend before in his life, he felt that it was alright to brag a little.
Clint waved at Arnold to follow him. Victoria returned to the mansion—Clint's party members followed behind her.
After squeezing through the adventurers, Arnold and Lucri approached Clint.
"What is it?"
"I'm going to have a strategy meeting. I would appreciate it if you joined. You are second in command after all."
Clint responded to Arnold's question.
"Ah, right."
"Now come. Miss Victoria has invited us to go inside. She said that the noble who issued the request should come in the next hour or so."
After saying so, he beckoned for Arnold to follow after him.
"Sorry about this. Can you take my bag?" Arnold handed his magic storage bag to Lucri.
"Ah, of course. I'll be setting up our tent near that fountain over there."
"Got it."
**
The mansion seemed to be on the verge of falling apart. Everywhere he looked he saw cracks. On the walls, the floor and the roof. It was like the mansion was on its last legs. Save for the crumbling floor, the pillars were still intact.
'This place is really a dump.'
There were a few servants scrubbing the floor in the hallway.
'It seems that Victoria really is struggling. Finishing with cleaning this entire mansion in one week was too much to ask of her. Ugh. Does this mean I have to stay at the castle and meet Olivia?'
He was too scared of meeting her.
What the hell will he say?
How will he act?
And most importantly, how were their relationship towards one another?
If he had to take an educated guess…Not good.
Olivia wasn't a threat because she possessed some unfathomable power or a blessing from an unknown god or something. But she was still dangerous.
If one as clever as her were to have an enemy she thinks would interfere with her future, wouldn't the correct course of action be to kill them?
'I can't stay away either. My mother will assume I'm causing trouble for people again.'
'In the end, it's inutile trying to avoid her.'
The castle was big so maybe he could come up with some way to keep himself busy so much so that no one would seek him out.
'I want to look at some history books anyway. That will be the perfect time to see what changed from the lore of Star Fantasy.'
Some famous fantasy writer wrote the lore for the game's plot and its history. He was part of the reason why the game became a huge success.
Modern people sought ways to escape from reality. Nothing does it better than immersing oneself in a fantasy game. Of course, he gave backstories to all the characters as well. That included the bosses.
The ones who received critical acclaim and praise was none other than Arnold himself and Luke. Even though Arnold was a tyrant who killed innocent people later in his life, people grew to love the absolute evil that he portrayed.
Perhaps those people were sadists who loved to see an evil character slaughter people. That was the conclusion Liam came to.
Said person was not a fan of Arnold at all.
'The mansion is a bit small compared to what Arnold would be used to. I bet he would be screaming for them to demolish it and build a bigger one.'
Liam shrugged. He was more than happy with having his own place on top of earning money. He was unemployed most of his early thirties after losing his job so he was happy with just that.
The day of the incident, Liam had gone to the convenience store to check on the ATM if he had any money left. There was an event ongoing in the game so he wanted to buy the special outfits and skins for his character. Since some unknown anomaly was happening in the game at the time which prevented him and others from logging in, he decided it was the perfect time to check on his finances.
Since Liam was on the social media of the developer, he was able to see the new event.
After seeing that there was barely enough for the event, he went into the store to buy a cheap chicken sandwich.
After that it all faded to black and the rest is history.
'I might never find out so it's best that I forget about searching for the answer as to why I was born here.'
Of course, he wouldn't give up on finding other players. Perhaps they might know something. Plus, he could negotiate with them even if they aren't friendly.
The only thing he had going for him was the fact that he was an experienced DOP. On another note ,if he met another DOP then he'll lose the only card he could use for negotiations. Experience really did matter this time.
"Please sit."
While Arnold was thinking to himself, Victoria brought them to the living room. There was only one couch though.
Victoria turned around to address the five people who followed her. Since they could be said to be the highest rankers among the others, Clint's party was invited inside as well.
"Now then, again, welcome to the mansion of the city lord, Arnold von Berkley. I am his personal maid and the acting owner of the mansion for now. Take into account that whatever damage you do to this mansion will affect the funds gained from this raid. To avoid thieves and murderers from entering this mansion, I hope all of you will act as extra guards for a while."
She looked at everyone's faces as she spoke gently. Her warm smile and tender gaze swept over all of them.
"…!"
Suddenly, her expression froze when she looked at Nova, no, Arnold.
"Is something the matter?" Clint asked as he alternated his gaze between the frozen Victoria and Nova.
"…No, it is nothing." Victoria turned around and avoided looking at Arnold any further. "May I ask you to please wait for a bit for the noble to bring the supplies needed for the raid?"
"Yes. That is fine." Clint answered so.
'Huh? Huh? What was that just now? Did Victoria just see that it was me? No way, right?'
Overcome with confusion, Arnold sharpened his gaze at the departing Victoria's back. She was quickening her pace to get out of the room.
In that brief moment of contact, she had seen it was him.
As mentioned before, only elite magic casters and those higher levelled than the user could see through the deception of a low grade artifact. The fact that Victoria could recognise him meant that she fell into one of the two categories.
She wasn't a magic caster by any means. All the servants who could cast magic are given extra lessons from Adrianna in her spare time. Of course, she had a purpose for doing so.
In the likelihood that the residence is attacked, the servants can act as the last line of defence if the knights fall.
If Victoria wasn't chosen by Adrianna to be part of her program then that meant she didn't have a speck of mana.
That would leave…
A chill ran down Arnold's back.
'Don't tell me…Victoria is far stronger than me?'
No matter how long he thought about it, Arnold couldn't accept something like that.
'They don't seem to see anything strange and are acting as normal.'
Arnold looked at Clint's party members. Not one of them surpassed him in strength. Plus, Lucia wasn't skilled enough a mage to see through his disguise. From an outside perspective, the earring on his right ear was like a decoration to make his appearance unique.
Flord could see through the magic item's powers just fine since he was far more powerful than Arnold.
'It's true…'
Arnold accepted that Victoria was indeed stronger than him. That may be so but the question was: how strong was she exactly and how did she manage to hide it this long?
The game had never described Victoria as a person who ever fought in her life. She was a kind older sister-type who was the definition of what a mother should be.
She had no haters at all, only admirers.
Something flashed in Arnold's mind.
It was a memory from the original Arnold.
He was nine years old. He came back from a trip to the Empire. Only two knights were there to protect him and Victoria.
The ride was safe for the most part. That was half way before they reached the duchy, at least.
A group of assailants attacked the coach and killed the two knights.
One of the assailants ran for Arnold, knocking him to a near unconscious state. Before his eyes closed, he saw them surround Victoria as well.
The original Arnold wanted to save her but he was far too weak. That was what drove Arnold to become strong. To protect the people that he loved.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw Victoria's gentle smile.
That incident was never discussed ever again. He never knew who saved them. At least, he never thought about it as a child.
"…."
The voices of the others gradually grew louder as his mind snapped back to reality.
"—Nova."
"Hm?"
Sylphy's face was right in front of Arnold. She was bending down and glancing upwards at his face.
'Too close!'
Despite the fact that she was probably two times older than he was, he couldn't imagine her being anything other than a high school student's age. She looked even younger than Arnold who was 17 years old.
"We asked what you thought. How should we commence the attack on the dragon; I think we should catch it by surprise." Sylphy took out a map of the forest and spread it on the ground.
There was an 'X' located on a certain part of that map. It is most likely where the dragon should be.
"We should send people ahead of time to monitor the dragon's movements so we can learn its patterns. I will use my [Flame-Burst Arrowhead] to begin the attack once I get into position."
"That, huh? Is it wise to use your most powerful move first?"
"Yes. We must send the dragon into a state of confusion. That might cause it to lower its defences due to the sudden attacks. It will concentrate more on attacking wildly than protecting its own hide."
Sylphy answered Lucia's question.
"I see. The plan seems simple enough. Then we just attack all at once?"
To Clint's question, Sylphy nodded.
"Even if it's stronger than us, with our numbers, we ought to stand a chance."
"Sounds good."
"Let's go with that then."
"I don't care either way."
Everyone gave their agreement by raising a hand. Well, except for…
"…."
"Why are you not agreeing with the plan, Nova?"
Confused, Clint inquired Arnold.
"If I may speak, leader; attacking without a kind of formation or tactics is utter foolish. Just staying in wait and firing an arrow isn't a plan."
Sylphy's face hardened at Arnold's words.
To not show he was scared of her murderous look, Arnold avoided looking at her.
"What do you propose then?"
"I think the first half of the plan, which is staying in wait to see the dragon's routines is a good plan on its own. The second part, however, shouldn't be considered as it can lead to many deaths."
"..."
Taking their silence as affirmation of his words, Arnold continued speaking.
"—I think all martial artists and those capable of martial skills should be the vanguards that keeps the dragon busy while the magic casters and the archers ready their attacks. The two of you should know how [Reinforce Body] works right?"
Arnold looked at Crull and Clint. Both nodded.
[Reinforce Body] was a martial skill that could increase the overall defensive power of a person's body. The amount of defence depends on the person's own body's limits.
There were various other advanced forms of the same martial skill. [Reinforce Body] was probably all an average adventurer was capable of.
"I want everyone capable of the martial skill to be the main tankers. The warriors will attack from behind them. The magic casters and archers will follow them after that. We should be able to succeed in winning against the dragon. But, I would like to know; should we kill it or only chase it away?"
"If those who participated were asked the same question then it's obvious which one it is." The leader said with a wry smile.
"The outcome that brings the most money."
Clint nodded at Arnold's words.
"They'll really take the most dangerous route just for money, huh? Well, it can't be helped then. This will be a battle of attrition. Does everyone agree with my plan?"
Arnold asked to confirm. He looked at all of them.
Crull, Lucia and Clint nodded in confirmation
"….If we fail then the responsibility falls on you." Sylphiala said coldly but raised her hand.
"Then it's settled. We will commence with Nova's plan. When night-time arrives and everyone is well rested, then I will explain everything. Everyone in agreement?"
"""Yes."""