Ch.2002. Is This That Golden Sun or Whatever?

Count of Lithuania, Viscount Randol, Margrave William Henry Hart of Infráctus.

These were the many titles that described him in the Tactical Combat universe.

Even in the previous world, he was a character who enjoyed considerable popularity, known as the unbroken Iron-Blooded Margrave. Gilbert had been quite fond of this character, William Henry Hart.

But now, that beloved character had become his father, piercing him with cold, calculating eyes.

To be honest, that sharp gaze was so intense that Gilbert couldn’t help but worry things might go wrong.

Nevertheless, he pretended to be unfazed on the outside.

He absolutely did not want to arouse the suspicion of the Iron-Blooded Margrave by appearing suspicious.

“I heard you summoned me.”

One benefit of being in Gilbert’s body was that noble etiquette flowed naturally without conscious effort.

Despite being set up as a scoundrel, Gilbert had not neglected his education as a nobleman.

The Iron-Blooded Margrave would never have tolerated such negligence, and Gilbert’s detailed character profile stated that he had strong pride as a nobleman.

In other words, there was a contradiction—he was a scoundrel who nonetheless maintained his noble dignity.

At the time of creation, Gilbert had thought this was interesting, but…

Thanks to that setting, he wouldn’t have trouble with etiquette.

“You’ve come.”

The voice was emotionless.

Yet Gilbert could detect a hint of displeasure within it.

He could roughly guess the reason.

The two keywords that existed in his character setting—playboy and scoundrel—must have angered the Count before him.

“I believe you know why I’ve summoned you without me having to explain.”

“…”

There were many reasons.

The two keywords mentioned earlier were sufficient grounds for being disowned.

If Gilbert hadn’t been given the title of eldest son who could inherit the family, he might have been disposed of long ago.

After all, the Count of Lithuania was a man who valued the family as much as he valued honor.

“I won’t mention the matters I’ve overlooked until now. But there will be no more leniency. Even for you, who is called the scoundrel of the Count’s family, you should understand what I mean.”

Don’t act rashly.

That’s what the Count was telling Gilbert.

While he might overlook past transgressions, he would no longer tolerate any actions that diminished the family’s prestige—a final warning.

It was the worst situation, but Gilbert felt it was encouraging that he still had one last chance.

“I will keep that in mind.”

“How amusing. You say you’ll keep it in mind?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Anyone can make promises. But you couldn’t even do that much. A nobleman’s word should be worth its weight in gold. Do you realize that your actions thus far have been throwing that value into the gutter?”

Harsh words.

The Count of Lithuania was not speaking as a father now, but as a nobleman, reprimanding Gilbert for tarnishing their honor in the past.

No matter what response Gilbert gave, it wouldn’t satisfy him.

To button things up properly from the start, keeping quiet was the best strategy.

“Perhaps you’ve gained some sense. That’s good. I’ll have to see how far your mindfulness extends. You’ll soon be entering the Academy, and you must show satisfactory results. That will be the last chance I give you.”

“…I understand.”

“No more words are necessary. You may leave.”

The overwhelming pressure that had been bearing down on Gilbert since he entered the room suddenly dissipated.

His efforts to maintain composure while sweating profusely had not been in vain.

The “last chance” the Count of Lithuania spoke of was an unspoken demand to let results speak for themselves, but it also meant that previous matters would be excluded from evaluation.

However, if the results fell below the Count’s expectations, it was a declaration of intent to cut Gilbert off for the sake of the Hart family’s honor.

For now, buying time was important, so Gilbert bowed deeply and left the office.

Cold sweat ran down his spine, but he was too preoccupied to notice.

Once the office door closed, he inwardly sighed with relief.

When he first possessed this custom character, he hadn’t realized how difficult this would be, but facing the Count of Lithuania had made him understand it anew.

He could guess what narrative the characters from the game would follow, but he had no idea about this Gilbert character he had created.

If Gilbert himself had played the game, he could have at least indirectly experienced the events that would unfold, but he had been dragged here before even starting to play, so he had no clue about the situation.

What if he had been disowned because of that one line of character setting he had written so casually?

Just imagining it sent chills down his spine.

With many eyes watching him, Gilbert maintained his composure as he returned to his room.

Only then could he finally heave a deep sigh.

“This is maddening.”

Gilbert felt frustrated by the situation where he couldn’t even sigh properly.

But that wasn’t the most important thing right now.

First, he reviewed his conversation with the Count.

His mind hadn’t been working well due to tension, but now that he was alone in his room, it started functioning again.

The Count had given him a last chance, telling him to bring satisfactory results from his Academy enrollment.

The “satisfactory results” clearly referred to academic performance.

Even if one didn’t aspire to advance to the central government, a Margrave’s son with terrible grades would cause problems.

First, his reputation as a nobleman would hit rock bottom, and imagine if that rumor spread to foreign countries.

Then, assuming Gilbert still inherited the position of Margrave, he would naturally become the commander-in-chief protecting this region.

What would happen if the Margrave defending the Empire’s border was incompetent?

He would obviously become good prey for other countries.

In this world, weak defenses meant being devoured.

Of course, this was an extreme scenario, but the Iron-Blooded Margrave was surely considering such worst-case possibilities.

So his message was clear: he would overlook all past transgressions if Gilbert brought tangible results.

Results proving he could adequately protect the border of the Empire of Infráctus.

Having sorted this out, Gilbert felt relieved that he wouldn’t be expelled.

If he had been ordered to indefinite house arrest for tarnishing the family honor, he might have died before the story even progressed.

Though he had avoided the worst-case scenario, achieving good grades at the Academy wouldn’t be easy.

Skills varied tremendously depending on each person’s characteristic skills.

Moreover, characteristic skills could not be used until unlocked, and many people died without ever acquiring them.

The triggers for awakening these skills varied widely, and there was even a field of study dedicated to researching this phenomenon.

According to Gilbert’s absorbed memories, he hadn’t yet mastered his characteristic skill. This was because when creating this skill, Gilbert had set it to first manifest only when stealing someone else’s mech.

This wealthy Count’s son only “stole” when seducing other men’s women, so he never had the opportunity to manifest his characteristic.

Of course, even if Gilbert hadn’t set his personality that way, piloting someone else’s mech was almost taboo, making it a useless characteristic that no one but him could manifest.

Even if it did manifest, he was already getting a headache thinking about how to use a characteristic that only activated when stealing someone else’s mech.

Gilbert decided to put the characteristic issue aside for later.

What mattered now was the narrative that would unfold.

Judging by the approximate timing, it seemed to be the prologue point where the protagonist enters the Academy.

After checking the continental calendar, he was certain there would be no error.

So he needed to establish a plan before enrollment.

Finding a way out of this cursed game world was the top priority.

Gilbert first considered methods to escape the game.

He formulated various hypotheses but ultimately stuck with his initial goal of clearing the game’s scenario.

Having experienced the common trope of being transported into a game world, he concluded that the escape method would likely be similar.

Usually in such possession stories, one returns to their original world upon seeing the ending of the novel or game.

Considering this common outcome, the right approach for Gilbert was indeed to see the ending.

Not that it would be easy.

Not only was seeing the ending itself difficult, but finding which of the many endings was the key to returning home was also problematic.

Moreover, while a game would trigger events at precise moments, this was reality. Accounting for countless variables to meet ending conditions and achieve the desired result seemed overly optimistic.

That didn’t mean he wouldn’t try, though.

Gilbert scratched his head vigorously as he continued thinking.

Deciding to adjust details based on how situations unfolded, he set short-term goals first.

Successfully completing the Academy episode, which was the introduction to Tactical Combat, was the primary task. With the Count of Lithuania’s warning in mind, he needed to grow as quickly as possible here to acquire minimum fighting power for handling emergencies.

As Gilbert’s thoughts continued to chain together, he finally reached the protagonist character.

What would the protagonist be like in this world that had become reality?

As someone who had played the character directly, Gilbert knew the protagonist’s potential better than anyone. However, since the protagonist’s growth direction and character arc changed depending on the gamer’s choices, it was difficult to specify exactly what to expect.

Yet the protagonist’s potential was too valuable to ignore.

Gilbert stroked his chin.

It seemed best to postpone judgment about the protagonist as well. Making hasty judgments before meeting them directly seemed dangerous.

And so, Gilbert spent his time before departing for the Academy organizing episode progression directions and important branching event points, keeping to himself like a mouse.

Until then, he was determined not to cause any trouble.

After a week of this, the day of Academy enrollment finally approached.