episode_0004

Serafina Rector Infractus was the main character’s biggest helper in Tactical Combat. Because his status and talent were superior to those of any other character in the empire, and because his greed for talent was strong, he was inevitably tied up with the main character that the player dealt with.

In a game, there was no way to fail until the ending, except for the predetermined defeat route. Even though Tactical Combat is a game that offers a high degree of freedom, there is a fixed ending.

In other words, the playable character was an icon of victory that knew no failure and an embodiment of talent that could grow infinitely as long as the player did not give up. It didn’t make sense for Seraphina, who had a strong desire for talent, to leave a protagonist who couldn’t exist like that alone.

Therefore, she takes the position of the main character’s biggest helper by using her background. Perhaps that’s why, in the world where Gilbert lived before being possessed, Seraphina’s popularity was higher than that of any other character, but the interesting thing is that in Tactical Combat, which has romantic elements, she was an impossible target.

The production company also nailed that point, causing a lot of complaints from gamers, but the talented people who actually opened the game said that it was structurally blocked so that it was not a hidden Easter egg, but a real strategy.

Many gamers created derivative works at that point, but that wasn’t important right now.

“Endless glory to the empire. Gilbert Lionheart, the small shield of the Empire, meets His Highness the Princess who will become the sharpest sword of the Empire.”

The moment Gilbert realized that Seraphina had appeared in front of him, he immediately got down on one knee and took the knight’s bow.

The greeting was a salute to the Imperial Army, and the words of honor for Serafina were also honorifics given to nobles with a promising knighthood.

The reason was simple. As the game progressed, there were quite a lot of events that Seraphina experienced, and it reminded me of how powerful nobles coldly scolded her every time they used rhetoric about her being the moon or star of the empire.

Even though her appearance was eye-popping and she was one of the most beautiful women in the empire, her fundamental thought was that she was a knight.

He was already an immediate force capable of taking charge of one of the main pillars of the empire, and was a veteran who received a knighthood at an early age and participated in the war.

At the time of the war, her rank was captain, a title given to a feudal lord.

Although she was a princess, she was also granted the title of duke and could have risen to the rank of general, but this was a given rank considering her limited experience in combat.

A better way to make a good impression was to greet her as an officer of the imperial army or a knight of the imperial army, rather than using rhetoric about her being the moon or sword of the empire.

In fact, Seraphina looked with great satisfaction at Gilbert who got down on one knee and bowed.

“Raise your head.”

“Thank you. Your Majesty.”

As I raised my head slightly, trying not to make eye contact, I saw a satisfied Seraphina. Fortunately, it seemed that this was the correct greeting to Seraphina as he had thought.

“You can wake up.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

I slowly and nonchalantly stood up. Gilbert slightly lowered his head, trying his best not to get caught.

“I know that you have a good body, so why not get some clothes.”

“I committed disrespect.”

I lowered my head and put on my top quickly but not frivolously. It was not easy to put it on because it was soaked with sweat, but not wearing it properly could be considered an insult to the royal family. Gilbert, who hastily adjusted his collar, slightly lowered his head again and waited for her to speak.

“You’re in the fitness room before the academy schedule even starts. Can I ask about the condensed milk?”

“I thought that endless training was necessary to become the shield of the empire.”

“That’s an interesting statement. The shield of the empire…”

Seraphina burst into laughter as she remembered who the man in front of her was.

The only people who could refer to the Imperial Shield were the Margraves who guarded the Empire’s borders, and among them, there was only one nobleman with blond hair. Moreover, he had not forgotten the introduction he had given when he greeted him.

Gilbert the Lionheart.

A heretic who turned the empire’s social world upside down by being the legitimate son of a Lithuanian count and the son of a wealthy man.

The bastard among bastards was none other than Gilbert Lionheart.

Of course, Seraphina, who was greedy for talent, also received reports on all the children of influential nobles, and among them, she went through a selection process to choose the best ones, and the first one to fall out was Gilbert, who was right in front of her.

The evil he committed against Yeongjimin was enough to make me shake my head. If you think about the harassment that was done to lower-ranking nobles, it was obvious what it would be like to commoners. The story that he might have been greatly offended if his father had not been a Count of Lithuania was spreading widely in social circles.

Serifina also received such a report and thought that Gilbert was a rotten part of the empire that needed to be cut out, but when she met him in person, he was a different person than she thought. He knew that he was entering the academy this year, but he was recognized and treated with noble etiquette, and he was locked in the weight room before the regular schedule even started.

And it was difficult to judge that the near-perfect muscles seen when he was taking off his top were just the worst trash.

“Gilbert Lion Heart.”

“Please state. I will perform without any deviation whatsoever.”

It was unusual to see him holding his posture with such restrained movements. The evaluation items for Gilbert were being revised in real time as he seemed to be a faithful knight.

From a rotten bud that needs to be nipped out, to a person of interest who still needs to be watched.

” was done. I don’t have a mandate for you. I just hope that your loyalty will never change.”

“God’s loyalty is directed only to the empire, so he will just fulfill his given duties.”

“Hehe. As expected, you are fun. Please look forward to it.”

Seraphina left the weight training room with the character of Gilbert the Lionheart engraved in her eyes. The guards who followed him looked puzzled at how different he was from the Gilbert they knew, but the guards didn’t need to think much.

Gilbert, who was finally left alone in the weight room, let out a long sigh of relief.

‘Should I say we have passed a critical juncture?’

It’s not that I haven’t thought about meeting Serafina. If she were to become an ally now that his reputation was on the rocks, he would definitely get her attention as he would never be kicked out of the count’s family.

I was just pushing that period to a later date, but I unintentionally left a strong impression on her. Everything was improvised, but judging from the atmosphere of our brief meeting and what she said before leaving, it didn’t seem like a very bad outcome.

But I soon shook my head and gave up my optimistic thoughts. There was no need to despair, but because he was optimistic, the nickname he had for being a fool was not going anywhere. Rumors and public opinion cannot be easily separated. All it does is cover up by adding something that was better than that.

Gilbert took off the top he was wearing and resumed his extreme physical training. As long as you are aware of the events taking place in the game, you will be given a chance one way or another. Gilbert just needed the foundation to seize that opportunity.

Once again, the weight room was heated by the heat radiating from Gilbert’s body.

***

The entrance ceremony of Demeia Academy was very different from that of other academies. Unlike the academy’s principal who simply came out and gave a congratulatory speech and held an entrance ceremony, Demiia Academy’s entrance ceremony was held in a strange form that was a mixture of a war departure ceremony and a mock battle. Although it was prepared as a tutorial in the game, it was set up with the slogan that there was no need for pretense at Demeia Academy, whose purpose was to prepare manpower for war.

At the same time, points were assigned based on performance in the mock battle and class assignments were made, and the main character’s abilities were determined at random depending on how active he or she was in the mock battle. In short, it was a character making tutorial where you decided what type of character you would develop based on your actions and dialogue choices.

Although Gilbert did not become a playable character, since he was creating a custom character, this character creation was applied in the same way. The first thing I checked after being possessed was whether I could use the game system, and the result was that I couldn’t use it yet.

When I tried to load the character stat window and saw that I couldn’t access the system because I hadn’t started the tutorial yet, I screamed without realizing it. No matter how much the game became a reality, I needed at least one thing to rely on in this dreamless worldview, and fortunately, being able to use the game system was very encouraging.

Before going to the entrance ceremony, Gilbert once again checked the route of the character making tutorial that he had always done. I wasn’t optimistic that everything would work out like a game, but it seemed like it would be difficult to respond proactively if I didn’t go into it with at least a minimum plan.

He woke up early in the morning, ran the simulation several times, got excited, and left the dormitory to participate in the entrance ceremony.