Chapter 6

As for Arthur, he was more or less content with any misunderstanding Franx Leumiere might have about the situation, as he couldn't explain to anyone about his sudden Master System without greatly risking his new life.

He simply looked Franx in the eyes and began speaking with a smile almost always present on his face, at least as it was at that moment. "Now Franx, calm down a bit, okay? I need to focus so I can experiment with my new Skills and Traits while we travel to the mansion..."

 

—Oh, of course, Arthur-sama. Sorry for interrupting with useless worries...

Franz's anxiety dissipated long ago, as expected, as he apologized with evident regret and emotion in his voice to his master.

 

She only stopped when Arthur suddenly placed his hand on her pink hair and brought her head closer to his chest to reassure her while he internally wondered where his chocolate went to end up.

 

—Don't worry about it, my pretty Rose Maid, just stay like that while I take care of my own business, okay? — Arthur whispered in her ear with an amused expression, making Franx shudder as she closed her eyes, her cheeks flushed at the sight of his warm breath.

 

He remembered that he loved the game.

 

—Y-yes...—That was all the Chimera said in the end with a meek voice and a sweet and loving tone, leaving her lord alone with his matter while she enjoyed the warmth of his arms and the powerful beat of his heart with a sigh of contentment as she rubbed her tender cheek against his strong chest.

 

She started purring again as his hand unconsciously began to stroke her hair. This small, busty maid was so adorable.

 

…Anyone who saw us acting like this right now wouldn’t believe that we weren’t lovers at all, but this seemed to be the kind of interaction Arthur normally had with Franx, Sora thought to himself with a strange expression in his heart.

 

It remained to be seen how things would go with her sisters.

 

Arthur smiled a little at this as he inwardly sighed in relief that the cautionary time was finally over, then he focused and said in his mind, "Status"... as he looked at Franx.

 

Honestly, what I wanted to do was scream "Oh my god, yes! A system, a fucking system, hahaha... Show me my [State], bitch!" and check out its status like any transmigrated protagonist who has a system.

 

But the profound dignity of this body (or perhaps the so-called character traits according to the system) that deeply cared about Franx's presence prevented him from creating a scandal that would tarnish his honor as a nobleman. Furthermore, I consider it more important to verify information about Franx Leumière first than about him, since his exact parameters were unknown.

 

After all, the status of the Sub-Chiefs was not shown at all.

 

Anyway, after giving the order, a gray holographic window appeared in his eyes, as if projected onto his retinas; displaying the following rows of information in a very familiar format, with incredible information...

 

Is.....

 

[Name: Franx Leumiere]

 

[Moral alignment: Chaotic Neutral]

 

[Personal Karma: -100000 (Absurdly evil)]

 

[Species: Human (Royal Species: Supreme Chimera) (Hidden)]

 

[Character Summary: Franx Leumiere is the latest Chimerical creation of the Dead Apostle and Necromancer, Bliansha RedFryd. Crafted with the finest genes of humans and monsters alike and carrying the spiritual essence of the Fae flowing through her veins, she is an unnatural existence that defies the Order of Nature and threatens the divine; a unique existence that can grow to threaten the gods...and also a closet pervert who has wet dreams about her master, Arthur Pendragon von Draco Silva]

 

[Rank: Episcapi, level 42 (Torrius level 69, true rank hidden and level with an artifact)]

 

[MP: 1000/1000]

 

[Growth potential: *******]

 

Traits: Nature's Abomination (Rare, Locked), Pisionica Sea (Rare), Plant Generation (Rare), Internal Body Manipulation (Rare), Mythic False Fairy Eyes (Extremely Rare, Sealed), Domain of Roses (Unique), Succubus Physique (Uncommon), Plant Communication (Uncommon)

 

Active Skills: Psionic Energy Absorption (Rank 12), Inhuman Senses (Rank 8), Body Control (Rank 16), Sorcery (Rank 8), Mana Arts (Rank 2), Maryoku Manipulation (Rank 12), Maryoku Emission (Rank 10), Calculation (Rank 18), Analysis (Rank 10)

 

Passive Skills: Psionic Energy Absorption (Level 16), Inhuman Senses (Level 8), Calculation (Level 18), Etiquette (Level 10), Drafting (Level 21), Charisma (Level 3), Socialization (Level 1)

 

[Stats: Strength 15 | Intelligence 19 | Magic 16 | Vitality 19 | Mysticism 20 | Charm 24 | Senses 16 | Resilience 17 | Spirit 2]

 

This is really... Inwardly, Sora stared in amazement at the incredible information on Franx in his arms. Although he knew Franx was a boss monster from both his senses and what he saw in the game, he hadn't expected it to have this much power. Seeing it quantified to a certain extent, he felt truly different.

 

He was also a little surprised by Franx's high negative karma. "Absurdly evil" was a classification only given to villains who committed the worst acts against their fellow human beings after… causing them suffering more than a thousand times.

 

Evil beings like demons would be easily attracted to someone with such evil karma, and angels and saints would feel an instinctive repulsion in his presence, from what I understand... Memories came flooding back, that was the reason why Saint Morgana noticed Franx was a dangerous existence when she first encountered him...

 

The Saint of the Church had a clear contempt for evildoers, as was a cliché in fantasy, and whether it was for being a Chimera or for their crimes, the existence of Franx Leumiere and her sisters would not be well received by either her or the church. In fact, they would send their Templars to kill them and Pendragon if they ever discovered their true nature and the latter's involvement in their creation...

 

It's quite strange to see that his Moral Alienation doesn't match that level of karma very well, although I know why...

 

While his evil deeds had little to do with Franx's inner morality, he was apparently an outlier. He killed and tortured his master's enemies without any real emotion in the process, so his negative karma, along with a slightly uneven moral alienation, was to be expected.

 

The only reason her alienation said "Chaotic Neutral" instead of just neutral must be because of those she'd be willing to kill with the clear intention of doing so for reasons she couldn't recall at the time. Anyway, this maid was definitely very dangerous.

 

That was especially true because there were many dangerous and terrifying spells whose power was enhanced by extremely high negative karma like hers… Although Franx Leumiere wasn't a sorceress, she could still use forbidden grimoires, after all.

 

Could this information come from a wiki or something the system compiled for me? It's presented with such confidence. 

 

Unexpectedly, Frax-chan is a pervert who fantasizes about Arthur, no wonder she's so happy to be in these arms… Sora thought to himself, unconsciously stroking Franx's head even now as various interesting thoughts flooded him as he felt her plump breasts against his chest more vividly.

 

They felt very soft and stretchy, which made him think it would be nice to play with them a little... but he quickly pushed those dirty thoughts aside.

 

Not the time, we'll leave it for later for now... Anyway, isn't this too similar to how the status screen looks in Britannia: Lost Order?

 

Recalling that mobile game, where one of the remastered characters from Fate: Grand Order is literally sent to a world other than his own as the protagonist of a story he couldn't understand, Arthur unconsciously looked confused.

 

<As you can see, this format was adapted because the host was very familiar with it and it fits better with this world compared to the original Chronicles of the Saint Grail status screen, also, the status window of the original Britannia Saga is basically useless to your current existence>

 

...That's true; one of the many, albeit rather small, reasons why that VRMMORPG became so unpopular was because its status window was so simple and bland that it wouldn't make any difference even if it didn't exist... He recalled, a strange sense of nostalgia washing over him a little.

 

Well, he wasn't going to say he didn't like the window design, as he didn't actually hate the game; he was simply indifferent. That said, he couldn't help but be reminded of those interesting retrocons added to the world of Britannia with the arrival of New Type Moon, and Sora was quick to question the system.

 

Do the Lost Order retrocons apply to this world, even though they're not canon in the games created by Xianpai?

 

<XianPai never claimed that the Retrocons introduced into the game by Nasu's successor, as otaku call him, weren't canon. After all, it's worth remembering that he also has a fondness for the Nasuverse. And yes, as Master suspects, many of them will apply to this narrative world. It's true that there's a chance that the game's events could take place here, but it's not certain even for the system. After all, inconsistencies were inevitable, especially when narrating events in an alternate timeline.>

 

Of course... That means I might end up meeting Mash, right?

 

<It's not impossible for that to happen. It will depend mainly on the host's actions.>

 

... .Mmm

 

Arthur (Sora) began to recall the image of Mash Kyrielight, the fact that she was a cute girl and that she was wearing a rather particular outfit for her adventure that showed off her excellent physical attributes, and narrowed his eyes.

 

Honestly, Sora was quite interested in interacting with that pink-haired girl wearing such beautiful armor. However, considering the dangerous events that were used as an excuse for her appearance in this universe, perhaps it would be better if it didn't happen after all.

 

Besides, there were more important things to worry about... like his own status, obviously. This time, he focused on himself.

 

"State"

 

[Name: Shigaraki Sora (Original), Arthur Pendragon von Draco Silva (Current)]

 

[Moral alignment: Neutral]

 

[Personal Karma: +10000 (Extremely good)]

 

[Species: Human (True Species: Demi-Dragon) (Hidden)]

 

[Character traits: Honest, Arrogant, Pragmatic, Realistic, Responsible, Cruel, Cynical, Kind, Joking, Flirty...]

 

[Rank: Episcapi, Level 45 (Torrius, Level 72, Rank, Race and Level Hidden Realm with an artifact)]

 

[MP: 123,050/154,000]

 

[Growth potential: **************]

 

[Traits: Hero's Bloodline (Unique, Pendragon), Noble's Dignity (Uncommon), Superior Understanding (Rare), Magical Eyes of the Demiurge (Sealed, Unique), Dragon's Heart (Sealed, Unique), Dragon Monarch's Mastery (Newly Mutated, Unique), Fatal Charm (Acquired, Unique)]

 

[Active Skills: Aura Manifestation (Level 15), Mythic Senses (Level 4), Maryoku Control (Level 16), Sorcery (Level 10), Mana Arts (Level 10), Maryoku Emission (Level 10)]

 

Passive Skills: Aura Manipulation (Level 6), Mythic Senses (Level 4), Sword and Lance Fencing (Level 10), Administration and Management (Level 20), Etiquette (Level 19), Horsemanship (Level 20), Charisma (Level 12), Socialization (Level 5), Aesthetic Appreciation (Level 7)

 

[Stats: Strength 17 | Intelligence 18 | Magic 21 | Vitality 17 | Mysticism 17 | Charm 25 | Senses 18 | Resilience 19 | Spirit 18]

 

Putting aside the good karma highlight, which we'll get to later, this is truly a final boss status window worthy of the first game; you'd never see so many unique traits in any other. Sora stared blankly at the status window while nodding in admiration. Well... one he acquired as a gift from the Master System, and the other mutated due to its influence, but that doesn't matter; unique is unique, and Arthur is, after all, monstrously strong.

 

While Sora knew beforehand that Arthur Pendragon von Draco Silva was at the height of power in Britannia thanks to his bloodline and secret training in his Draco Silva Territory, it was still terrifying that such a young individual could wield so much hidden power. After all, in Britannia: The Academy Fool and other games, not many NPCs had traits considered unique, even among the heroines and other major characters. Even Franx, a fairly strong sub-boss, only had a single unique trait.

 

More than that, weren't Torrius like Arthur and Franx the most powerful Aspirants/Awakeners in existence for most decent human countries, except for the Loveritia Empire and nations of similar power?

 

When Sora thought about it, he realized that Arthur's strength was simply terrifying; although Arthur had a clear unfair advantage over the others in the form of bloodline, wealth, and powerful subordinates willing to help him become as strong as possible, and knowing the powers of a certain lover of his, his strength was well explained….

 

The scariest thing?

 

That was its growth potential, which was measured at 14 stars in total.

 

Growth Potential affected how quickly a non-player character, or even bosses in Britannia games, improved their stats and skills as the game progressed. For a normal person, having a Growth Potential of 7 would already be enough to reach a high rank like Episcapi at a relatively low level... Meaning Arthur had the potential to reach Lorius rank in the future if left alone!

 

That would be almost on the same level of power as Bomenslik Academy's Headmaster, Amelia Dumbardonnia, a Level 84 12-Circle Archmage!

 

So players had to guide Lars to take the necessary actions to grow if they wanted to defeat Arthur at his weakest point and avoid a bad ending... Britannia was an interesting game where NPCs could grow on their own thanks to 22nd century AI, after all.

 

The problem was that you had to upgrade a stupid redhead's strength by completing quests and finding pretty girls to help him win at... pretty much everything in the early and mid-game. It was really absurd.

 

Sora shook his head inwardly. This isn't the time to think about that!

 

Now he realized the cause of his strange lack of control in his actions and decided to focus on that.

 

In conclusion, these "character traits" act as a filter that prevents me from doing anything out of the ordinary, like Arthur Pendragon von Draco Silva. Fortunately, it seems that inducing changes at the turning points of the story, or whatever that means, lessens the influence of these "character traits."

 

Perhaps it's a method to not make him seem strange in the future if his personality is very different from the original Arthur, since everyone has naturally grown accustomed to his gradual changes.

 

However... there are many contradictions in the character's personality... How can one be cynical and kind at the same time? Does that make sense? Wait, now that I think about it...

 

Arthur suddenly remembered that the original had been described as a man who did not trust others easily, but was unusually kind to those who gained his trust.

 

He acted cynical and arrogant towards strangers, sarcastically telling any noble with his trademark phrase "I politely ask you to get lost...", but with his trusted companions he tended to be more sociable and even joked around with them without the hypocrisy typical of nobles.

 

Also, as mentioned before, he could easily speak his mind without caring about the other party's feelings, whether it was because he sincerely wanted them to stop doing stupid things, read their reactions, or because, well, he wanted to scare them.

 

The original Arthur was quite a complex character, now that you think about it.

 

But... I don't understand what's up with this {Charisma} that Arthur and Frax-chan have?

 

Arthur (Sora) frowned and, afraid of attracting Franx's attention, sent a mental command to the system to try and gain more information about this skill. Upon doing so, a change occurred... but instead of a screen with written data, he heard a monotonous but pleasant voice briefly explaining the information of that skill.

 

<Charisma: When active, the skill increases the user's popularity rating, raises charm by one rank, and encourages the user's eloquence to grow by 5% per rank for one hour. When passive, the user simply increases their overall charisma as a result of their existence. It has a great influence on spirits.>

 

<A rare power, with "blessings" inherent to true nobility that, upon reaching a certain rank, becomes powerful enough to affect the entire world on a conceptual level, boosted by the Spirit stat and the Mysticism level.>

 

<This ability is developed by interacting with people, attracting or fascinating them with your charm and natural talent. Mastering it involves combining the power of charm and charisma to the fullest, bending all your opponents to your will as if it were a divine curse, terrifying and inevitable for all mortals.>

 

<Active use recovery time: 6 minutes>

 

"...." Arthur's mouth dropped open upon hearing all this.

 

Is there anything so absurd? Is there anyone with 30-degree charisma?

 

The thought shuddered, for something like this would allow even a king to bow down to you. No, judging by that last message, it was even more terrifying...

 

Naturally, Sora was very familiar with skill levels and game parameters, as they were how the strength of playable characters was described in all games in the Britannia franchise, such as <Britannia: Lost Order>.

 

Furthermore, there were advanced technologies—products of highly developed magical engineering—that were capable of analyzing the strength of NPCs with supernatural abilities through Grades to gain an accurate idea of ​​their potential and growth. 

It was completely different from what was observed on Earth, as even the most common student was stronger than the most powerful anomalous or martial artist, at least as far as he knew.

 

The lowest parameter or skill rating of a person in this world is 0 and the highest is 30.

 

A grade 0 Active Skill was no better than trash thrown into oblivion, while an Active Skill that reached grade 15 had transcended human limits and displayed signs of supernatural strength in the form of "blessings," even if it originally had nothing to do with magical powers. 

Passive skills used to have a built-in magical component or something that made them work even at low Tiers, but for things like {Swordsmanship}, they also became more apparent at Tier 15. It's not for nothing that those who reach that Tier are called Transcendents regardless of their levels and ranks.

 

Incidentally, the concept of "Blessings" didn't exist in COB, as it had been introduced earlier in the Xianpai games, and Arthur knew of various powerful blessings that came with achieving a high level of skill or trait mastery. Of course, the best "Blessings" come from original supernatural abilities, like Traits. 

 

The same goes for parameters: a Grade 0 parameter was equivalent to having the strength of a newborn, while a Grade 25 parameter allowed one to fight a slightly stronger version of Captain America. That's only for the lowest Aspirant/Awakened Rank, and beyond that, the parameters far exceed human standards, reaching the standards of dragons and other truly Transcendent beings.

 

...But that wasn't the problem here.

 

There was nothing special about Arthur having a skill like Charisma in Grade 12... the problem was that in none of the Britannia games did he see this skill appear, so common in many other games on the market (Except for its absurd effects, of course!).

 

What does this mean? According to the system, Charisma is the skill of "true nobility," meaning all nobles possess it... So why was this skill never recorded in the Imperial Skills Database? Why did Franx, a chimera and a mere subordinate of Arthur, also possess it?

Refraining from looking at the perceptive Chimera who continued to enjoy his automatic caresses while frowning, Sora pondered further on this sudden mystery.

 

...Perhaps it's not a common skill among so-called aristocrats? Is that why you specifically use the term "true nobles"?

 

If that were the case, it would make sense, but...

 

Sora wondered... What are the criteria for being considered a true noble? Is it simply a social status boasted by a long history and power accumulated over generations? Or a special talent capable of changing the course of history?

 

Would they be individuals who, instead of influencing the world using only the glory of the past, would influence the world by changing its estimated flow...?

 

People who could bring about many changes, positive or negative, with their talents... who would be truly remembered with admiration and awe by future generations... similar to scientists like Stephen Hawking, who left an indelible mark on the more recent history of science, or singers like Michael Jackson, who will always be remembered as the "King of Pop."

 

Something like... The main characters of this world!

 

Now I understand.

 

It's quite possible that only the main characters of this world, such as myself, the sub-bosses, Lars, and the heroines, possess this ability, so the fact that the Empire didn't know about this ability was natural.

 

<System Notification: Congratulations to the host for successfully deducing the reason why the Charisma skill is unknown in the world of Britannia. You will receive 100 HP for your intellectual achievement.

 

"..."

 

Sora was surprised to find that the system literally confirmed his assumptions by rewarding him with points. The disturbing thing was that it was clearly reading his mind, which scared him a little.

 

....Not that I can do anything about it... let's just be content with the SP... Although I still have to figure out how much I could do with that in the shop.

 

<System Alert: A slight increase in the Master's reputation has been detected among a large group of people. The reputation system has been activated>

 

What the hell? Has Arthur's reputation suddenly increased?

 

Although Arthur would become the object of admiration of almost all of Bomenslik's students, this naturally surprised him because it was sudden.

 

And why is something like this appearing now? Shouldn't it have appeared before? Is the system malfunctioning?

 

A little worried by this, Sora ordered: Show me my reputation...

 

A holographic window appeared in his eyes.

 

[Overall reputation according to most hosts nationwide: Admired]

 

[General reputation by the majority of the host at the social class level: Aristocracy (Appreciated), Bourgeoisie (Respected), Commoners (Admired)]

 

So that's our reputation system, huh? Given the status of the original Arthur, it's only natural that the nobles held him in high esteem and the bourgeoisie generally respected him. But what the hell did Arthur do to be admired by the commoners?

 

In the game, it was mentioned that Arthur did a good job as acting lord of the Archduchy even while commuting to and from the Academy from his beautiful mansion in the Imperial Capital.

 

But beyond that... I only knew a little about their progress in growing their secret organization and the advancement of their plans to kill the emperor...

 

I never expected this guy to be revered by the common people. It seemed the author hadn't given enough details... Or maybe it was something unique in this world? No, it's probably because...

 

<System Alert: Increased affection has been detected for the heroines [Laura Ivrin Lainervorial] [93/100 (10 points +)] and [Jheane Lorens] [62/100] (25 points +). The [Character List] has been activated.>

 

<System Notice: The system apologizes to the Master for the delay in data acquisition and analysis. Several errors caused by the connection failure with the Ethernus Interdimensional Network have been corrected. The connection has been reestablished, so the host no longer has to worry about problems when using the system outside of Episodes. So don't worry, the system will take care of helping you survive beyond the Final Episode by distorting narrative causality and thus achieving the conception of a new world for humanity at the end of the Final Episode.>

 

What? Creating a new world for humanity? What's this all about?

 

In her surprise, her body unconsciously stretched forward, causing Franx to open her eyes again and look at him, slightly confused.

 

—Is everything alright, Arthur-sama?

 

"It's nothing, I just realized something interesting..." Arthur smiled coldly as he answered the curious Chimera, lying back in silence. Franx stared at him for a while as he tilted his head, finally saying "I understand" before lying back down on him happily. He seemed to like that position quite a lot.

 

After thinking about it for a moment and letting out a self-conscious chuckle, Sora reflected on the recent system message. His gaze grew serious as he thought.

 

Not that I'm complaining or anything... It's just that, why would Laura's affection for Arthur grow instead of diminishing? What's wrong? Hadn't Arthur scolded her recently?

 

I know she sometimes puts a positive spin on almost all of Arthur's actions in their relationship before she knew he was trying to destroy Raymundo, her father... but isn't that a little weird?! Just how obsessed is she with her fiancé?!

 

And what about Jheane too? Maybe it was because of me that Arthur didn't beat Lars up like in the story, but I treated him like an idiot, didn't I? Because his affection for me would grow? Or rather, he already had feelings for Arthur before the duel...?

 

I really don't understand women's minds!

 

Shiragaki Sora, who was wondering what was going through the minds of the Third Imperial Princess and the Genius Alchemist, was truly the odd one out here for wasting time with the wrong questions.