Herness Serban, who emerged from the Edward Consortium, rode in a carriage with his subordinates towards the Minister’s Office.
Inside the carriage, he noticed Minerva, a subordinate and knight sitting opposite him.
With her short pink hair and immaculate uniform, she wore a polite expression, but her frowning face suggested something was amiss.
“It seems something is bothering you, Minerva.”
“Yes, I do not understand why Minister Herness is using such a troublesome method.”
Having accompanied Herness, Minerva couldn’t wrap her head around the need for such a complicated endeavor. She believed that the Empire’s strong image could easily be restored through other means.
Like reverting to military drills or simply smashing those toys to control public opinion about the Empire.
But Herness chose not to.
Instead, he opted for a method that could potentially complicate matters further.
Minerva felt frustrated that someone with enough strength and justification was choosing this path.
Herness, who had been reviewing documents with the Crystal Ball, turned off the device and spoke in response to her comments.
“Using force would be the easiest solution, but have you considered the aftermath?”
“No, I have not thought about it.”
Her straightforward response left Herness at a loss for words.
No matter how capable she was, he started reconsidering having her as a knight while simultaneously debating how to respond.
“If we start solving even these trivial matters with force, they will flex their muscles too. Once both sides begin using force, in the end, it leads to the most foolish decisions. I don’t need to tell you what that is.”
“You mean war.”
There is a proverb in the Empire:
“In the battlefield, there are demons that forever hold the souls of those who have experienced war.”
No words suited Herness better than this.
He had experienced war and was still trapped in that realm.
It has been 30 years now.
“Yes, it’s the most foolish and ridiculous thing we could do.”
Heness wore a genuinely disgusted expression.
Knowing how much he despised war, Minerva kept her tail down and spoke cautiously.
“However, that makes me more worried. Can the entertainment they create really yield the results Minister Herness desires in restoring the Empire’s image?”
“I don’t know, I am not a god.”
Heness gazed at the setting sun over Zephia.
He could see the peaceful bakery, laborers heading home, and children gathering to play games.
A new sight, yet a familiar one from Zephia.
“But Minerva, that game he created changed the image of our Empire, which we built for 30 years, in just three months. Isn’t that amazing?”
He reminisced about the National Founding Festival when people enthusiastically embraced games.
What had seemed like merely a new form of entertainment had changed so much.
“I want to check whether this is a coincidence or truly his capability.”
“But for that, it seems Minister Herness is struggling too much.”
Minerva found it increasingly frustrating.
While he might be taking a difficult path in hopes that people would like him, Herness himself was not enjoying it.
There was a risk that instead, it could further tarnish the Empire’s image, leaving him to bear the blame.
But…
“For the Empire, this is nothing major, or do you mean to say you don’t want me to be a minister while struggling, Minerva?”
For the nation to thrive, its leaders must suffer.
That was Herness’s mantra.
It was for this reason that Minerva admired him and applied as his knight.
To protect the person she respected.
Minerva vowed again to follow him to the end.
“I will follow you anywhere, Minister Herness.”
To her words, he responded nonchalantly, turning on the Crystal Ball as if squinting at the bright light.
“First, let’s close the window.”
Grumbling, she shut the carriage window, and the modest carriage, despite being the minister’s, proceeded to the Palace.
*
Upon returning to the Irene School, I informed everyone of our situation.
The most esteemed person in the Empire after the Queen has given us this mission.
So we must create a “Match Fighting Game,” and I tried to skip over the harder parts of the story.
As I finished explaining, Jiren’s expression grew increasingly grim.
Perhaps he was automatically translating what I hadn’t said into the difficulties through his long experience.
Once I concluded my explanation, Jiren asked with a serious tone.
“So, we have to make that game?”
“Yes, and we have to do it in two months.”
As soon as I said that, Jiren dashed to the window without looking back.
“I’ll be retiring now since I have plenty of money! I won’t forget this kindness!”
Jiren started his escape with an unusually restrained demeanor.
When did that guy improve his running skills so much?
I couldn’t just watch my valuable subordinate, no, my cleric escape, so I used magic.
“Where do you think you’re going! 『Slowcini (Paralysis Magic)』!”
My 『Slowcini (Paralysis Magic)』 flew swiftly towards Jiren’s behind and was about to hit.
But then…
“Wachaa!!”
Just before my spell hit his backside, he spun around in place to evade!
When did he learn that kind of technique?
“This guy! You dodged it!?”
“Hahaha! I prepared myself for this! Old man!”
What! He’s learned martial arts? How this guy!
I was touched that he was prepping for me, a true ‘old man’!
I almost teared up thinking about Jiren’s dedication to preparing for our fighting game.
“So now…”
But seeing Jiren gather magic in his legs as he genuinely prepared to escape, I decided to get serious myself.
I couldn’t let a valuable worker escape.
“『Grania (Gravity Magic)』”
Boom!
As I cast gravity magic near Jiren, he fell to the ground, unable to execute his escape.
He couldn’t get up, and I leisurely approached him with a rope in hand.
“Aaaah!! Old man!!! Gravity magic is cheating!!!”
“Does that mean you’re okay with your martial arts?”
Yuren began tying up Jiren’s hands and feet, who couldn’t get up due to gravity.
Noirin, who found the scene amusing, turned to Karen and asked.
“Karen, is that what a fighting game is like?”
“Maybe…?”
As Karen prepared coffee for Yuren and Jiren, she replied.
Watching the chase, Irene and the other disciples found it amusing for reasons unknown and decided to cheer for them.
“Hahaha! Go, Jiren!”
“Go get ‘em, Jiren!”
Thus, Jiren found himself bound and dragged in after his 67th escape attempt failed.
*
“So what exactly do we need to do?”
Having tied up Jiren so he couldn’t escape, I continued with the meeting.
Karen hit me with the core question, and I voiced my biggest concern.
“We need to learn about martial arts.”
“Martial arts?”
Martial arts existed in this Other World, but the concept was quite different from my past life.
If martial arts in my previous life were self-defense techniques using physical training and bare hands, martial arts in this world were combat techniques created to counteract wizards.
In this realm, wizards were like bombers or tanks in my past life.
Wielding various spells, these wizards unleashed countless deadly magic, instilling fear among enemies.
To counter such wizards, each race conducted research in their unique ways.
Thus, the minimal combination of magic and body techniques formed combat techniques designed to oppose wizards.
I understood these concepts about martial arts, but I didn’t know much else.
I had been too busy learning magic and had no reason to learn martial arts since we weren’t at war.
But now that we were creating a fighting game like “Street Fighter 2”, I really needed to grasp martial arts.
Wait! Speaking of which…
“By the way, Jiren, who did you learn martial arts from?”
Hanging from the ceiling wrapped in bindings, Jiren pulled at the rope while answering.
“I learned from the muscle-bound brothers in Zephia.”
“The muscle-bound brothers?”
“The guys from the Zeus Mercenary Guild who you brought along.”
Ah!? Ohhh!!!
That person was there!
Receiving this hint from Jiren, I contacted him directly.
Running out of time, I gulped down an expensive recovery potion while using 『Worna (Teleportation Magic)』 to summon him.
“Ahhhaaaaa!!! You summoned me to learn martial arts!? Finally, Yuren, it seems you’ve decided to become a warrior! Ahahahaha!!!”
With short brown hair and a scar crossing his cheek, he had bulging muscles that defied his mid-40s.
This was the master of the [Zeus Mercenary Guild] and a martial arts expert I knew, ‘Apollon Diavel’!
