The following days were a blur for Soren, his schedule was packed with strategy meetings and emergency sessions. Soren worked tirelessly to stabilize the county and secure connections and alliances with other nobles.
He had to be careful with the memories of his last life, keeping it a secret lest someone declared that the new count has gone mad.
It was a relief that his personality didn't get mixed up with the memories of his past life, but perhaps it was to be expected as for some reasons all his memories except those which were related to the game were quite blurry, he didn't even remember his name from his past life, though he does remember having a family but nothing more than that, not even their names.
The Starweaver family which had served the county since it's birth had been indispensable in stabilizing the County. Their wisdom and experience provided the support that he desperately needed. Yet, despite their support, the he felt the crushing loneliness of his position.
The memories of his parents and their teachings and their guidance were painfully distant, and the weight of their expectations pressed on him heavily.
One evening, as Soren pored over maps and reports in his study. He gazed at the flickering candlelight and whispered to himself,
"Mom, Dad, I hope I'm making you proud. I promise I won't let our county fall and I won't let a single one of those scum responsible for your deaths escape ."
Whether it's heaven or hell awaiting him on his journey, his path has already been decided.
---
The Stormrider County held significant power and influence within the kingdom of Ardentia due to its status as a bustling center of trade, facilitating both foreign and domestic commerce. Soren's father had always stressed the importance of connections for both a noble and a merchant family like theirs which thrived on trade, and now that Soren had assumed control of the County, he now truly felt the gravity of his father's words.
He was lucky that there were still two years left before the plot of the game started in earnest, he had been running around sending letters to all of his father's past acquaintances and also to various nobles who were either influential or would rise to prominence in a few years, but that was not all he had also been making preparations to recruit talented people that showed up in the game. He had to be careful during this step as he couldn't mess with the flow of the main storyline too much by recruiting someone necessary for the protagonists growth, hindering her growth.
Soren had already resolved to involve himself in the main storyline, but he didn't wish to deviate the storyline of other playable characters as much as possible as it would cause him to lose the main advantage that he had, knowing the future.
The game had multiple playable characters, each with unique abilities and backstories. Currently there was only one that he could bring over to his side and it seemed difficult for the time being as she was likely currently being held captive at a base of Bloodmoon Church and he did not have enough ability to save her currently.
He planned to save her not only because she would become a late-stage boss later in the game, but also because the fate awaiting her was far too painful even for him even when he was watching it whole through a screen, but he had already made plans to recruit all those that would not affect the main storyline too much.