A strangled sob rang out above me. I cracked an eyelid. Harlan’s face was screwed up, his eyes filling with tears.
“Why?” he muttered, his knees quaking. “Why aren’t you like them? You shouldn’t care… You shouldn’t be like this…”
He joined me in kneeling, his shoulders slack.
“You never wanted to hurt anyone, did you?”
He shook his head.
My gaze softened as I looked upon him. Like this, he seemed a lot smaller, and more fragile.
“Just how bad did Aleister ruin you?”
“He made me kill. Always, kill. Never mercy, never care. I can’t look at my hands without seeing red.”
"Aleister's finished.” I gave what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “Even if your hands are dyed so dark you feel like it’ll never come off, it wasn’t you that painted them. It was him, pointing them at whatever he pleased.” A cough wracked my torso, flashes of pain shooting from my back and ribs. “You don’t have to dirty them anymore.
“They’re yours to use now. Question is, what do you want to do with them?”
Whining, he peeked through his hair at me, his expression relaxing. “I want… to create something.”
“Then do that,” I said. “It’s never too late to change.”
His shaking eased, and he clambered up, rolling his shoulders and straightening his back. “My mas—Aleister was always saying what a foolish idealist you are.” He started walking. “Maybe… that’s what this kingdom needs right now.”
The weight shrouding me melted away, and I sagged. Was it over? After all that, had I really managed to save them?
Had I saved him? I knew he could get better, but still… Even if Roxina had pushed them to the limit first, he’d still taken out all my combat Specialists.
I’d have to keep an eye on him.
“Where… will you go?”
He paused. “Somewhere I can go to sleep knowing I added to the world, rather than taking away.”
“Then… Good luck.”
His retreating figure blurred in my vision. I pitched forward, my face pressing into the snug carpet. But I couldn’t rest yet.
“Everyone all right?” I yelled, my chest hating me for it.
The correct number of pained noises came in reply, as well as a “yes, sire,” from Hana.
“Quite all right.” Scarlet’s tone was low and empty. “Thank you for asking. My husband is still alive, though.”
Oh, well. That could be dealt with later. I was already slipping, the static overtaking my consciousness.
Ding!
Quest Completed! Defeat Ribera!
+100 XP
+30 SP
Congratulations! You have reached Level 7!
+25 SP
New Skill Unlocked!
Updating Quest Progress: Unite the 4 Duchies! (2/4)
***
After waking in the care of Mages, I requisitioned a separate manor, where we spent the night before returning using Shia’s [Warp Gate]. Aleister went straight to the deepest dungeon, which I hoped was damp and dark, while I gave Roxina a less suicide-inducing cell.
Maybe she could be useful, or maybe she’d never switch sides, but either way, she was still a human being.
Harlan was under the close watch of some of Cannara’s people. In the end, I didn’t think it would be necessary, but I had to be safe. Enough mistakes had bitten me already.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
I’d brought Scarlet, too, since as far as I was concerned, she was on probation. She’d delivered her side of the deal, and barely curled her lip at all the treasure I seized, so I was willing to cut her a little slack.
At least until she slipped up. She’d been like a parasite, sinking her teeth into Aleister and sucking all the wealth and power away she could, and now she was eyeing me. The best thing for me to do was get rid of her, but how to do that without raising suspicion? I couldn’t kill her, and her sons could pose a threat no matter what I did.
I’d keep it in my mind, let the ideas slow-cook until they turned into an actionable solution.
I sat on my throne, reflecting. Everyone was resting, except Hana, who stood like a statue beside me.
“Oi,” I said, waving at the chairs in front. “Why don’t you sit down?”
“There is no need,” she said, then stared into the middle distance.
I sighed. Finally, I was in private—almost—and I could check my stats, as well as the new Skill I’d unlocked.
But first, I had to view the cost of my actions.
War
Territories (-100–100): 100
Losses: 2079
Enemies Wounded: 1419
Enemies Captured: 2
Enemies Killed: 532
We’d won. I’d stayed true to my values. But still, I felt like, if my summoning had been a strike to leave me punch drunk, this completely sobered me.
What could I do better?
Larheim/Oliver Marsden (Lv. 7)
Experience Points (XP): 210/220
Approval Points (AP): 54/100
Sovereign Points (SP): 75
Yields
Economy (ECN): -66
Resources (RSC): 16
Military Strength (MST): 24
Crime (CRM): 49
Education (EDU): 2
Culture (CLT): 5
Religion (RGN): 48
Morale (MRL): 24
Skills (4)
Specialists (8)
Quests (1)
Diplomacy
Ruler View
Yeah, mines and farms are really good for Resources, apparently. Who would have guessed? When I accessed Ruler View, Ribera was finally fully coloured and visible, all its wonderful Yields available in its info menus.
Another number caught my attention. Was I really only 10 XP from my next level-up? I could get there with one Specialist, meaning more SP, and hopefully more Skills.
Then again, Scarlet Ribera was now one, apparently—her class was Propagandist, which didn’t bode well for the future—but I hadn't gotten anything for her. Did it only work when I found them with [Locate Specialist]?
I didn’t dare ask the System, knowing what kind of answer that jackwad would give me.
[Information: the System thinks User is a ‘jackwad’ too.]
And there we had it, right on cue. Isn’t it nice to know the maybe-divine being that governs your life has a personality?
Whatever. At the very least, I’d earned myself a gift. I focused on the Skills menu, skipping over the ones I held, and looked at what I had available for purchase.
As well as my previous options, [Force of Will] and the still-locked [Plan Project], I had something new:
[Find Deposit] - A suitable resource deposit in your territory will be highlighted in Ruler View. 100 SP
I blinked. 100 SP?! My rewards increased with each level-up, so I could stand the prices getting higher, but that was double the cost of [Force of Will]!
Then again, it did seem a hell of a lot more overpowered. This could potentially create a different kind of revolution, in industry or manufacturing or even fuel. It was unerringly attractive.
What a shame I couldn’t afford it.
I sighed again. Just my luck, right? Two impossibly awesome Skills ready to be bought, and I couldn’t access either of them. Should I wait?
Only 10 XP from levelling, I wondered if it would be worth it. Tracking back the maths, I figured I’d be getting 30 SP from my next increase, which would put me up to 105. It would also give me more time to find the Achievement I needed for [Plan Project]. We’d be expanding the highways pretty quickly, and all help was welcome.
Even so, how long would it take me to find that 10 XP? I could locate another Specialist, but I was happy with the team I had now, and there was still a lot of work to be done fixing our Yields.
The best way to do that was to bring the duchies’ monopolies into one nation.
As I levelled, I could level the country too, and most importantly, its inhabitants. Not something I could do dead, was it? Memories flooded my mind: the assassin in my bedroom. The awe of the battlefield.
My terror as Roxina advanced on me, and the heart-shattering dread of Harlan approaching Hana.
There was no point hoarding those points. My unification quest gave 300 XP, which would probably level me twice over, and 100 SP, which could buy me a Skill by itself.
I selected [Force of Will].
Ding!
Skill Purchased: [Force of Will]!
With that done, I cast away my stats, leaning back and relaxing. It had been a long day, and rest was in order.
But tomorrow, the real work would begin.