Chapter 17

It had been ten or fifteen minutes.

Helian, still burying his face in the pillow, thought, "It hasn't been thirty minutes yet, right?"

He turned over, his right hand on the wrinkle-free sheets.

Fortunately, the pillow wasn't wet.

If it had been, it would have been a disaster for his male pride.

Being involved in an unreasonable situation and just crying and lamenting, that was the role of a tragic heroine, not his style.

However, he covered his face, remembering that he had been carried back to the castle in a princess carry by Reeve. He had already been treated like a heroine, and at that point, his male pride might have been shattered to pieces.

...Well, what can you do.

The fact that such trivial thoughts were starting to float in his mind meant that it was about time to change his mindset.

"Alright, then."

With a shout, he sat up, using the momentum of swinging his arms down.

His mind was strangely calm.

He had thought it would take a bit more time to change his mindset, but he felt surprisingly at ease.

Why, he wondered, tilting his head, and then quickly found the answer.

"Ah..."

He had probably been subconsciously aware of this reality. After spending a whole day witnessing impossible events, some part of his heart must have started preparing to accept this impossible world. Or perhaps, to protect his self, his instincts had forced him to change his mindset.

In any case, the human heart seemed to be quite conveniently made. The self-preservation ability inherent in the core of living beings was truly great. He had learned in a university lecture that, among living beings, the human version was particularly excellent, even though it was outside his major. He had taken the clinical psychology course out of mere interest, thinking it might come in handy someday...

"Who would have thought I'd be thinking about it in another world..."

With a wry smile, Helian raised his hands in front of his eyes and then, moving them slightly away from his face, slapped his cheeks hard.

A dry sound echoed in the room.

...Maybe he had been a bit too forceful.

But thanks to that, he was awake.

"Then, think."

He had already indulged in escapism.

Now was the time to face reality.

It was time to correctly recognize this impossible situation.

Look up.

Face forward.

Start with what you can do and connect it to concrete actions.

Wallowing in self-pity here wouldn't solve anything.

"Then, what should I think about first?"

The goal.

Deciding on a policy for the actions to come.

"Finding the cause of why this happened... No."

That wasn't it.

It was part of the process of achieving the goal, but his goal itself was—

"Returning to the real world."

That's right.

He wanted to go back.

He wanted to return to reality.

Certainly, he had devoted most of his youth to the game [Tactics Chronicle]. He had even been listed as a potential otaku on some bulletin board. As a ruler of various worlds, he and others like him were all the same to some extent.

But, at least in Helian's self-awareness, he wasn't an otaku.

He wasn't prepared to dedicate his life to a virtual world.

He had loved [Tactics Chronicle] as a form of entertainment, as a game, as a sandbox.

So he wanted to return to the real world.

For that, he needed to—

"Find a way to return."

But how?

There were no clues for investigation yet.

That led him back to the initial question of "Why did I transfer?" The most obvious guess, which anyone could come up with, was that something in the Abyss Forest, where Alchemira appeared, was the cause.

"...If only I had read more of those books."

Thanks to the recent resurgence of popularity, he had seen many advertisements for isekai stories in online ads and bookstores, but he had spent his time playing games instead. He had only read a few such books on a whim.

And Helian, who had never been particularly interested, had only skimmed the books he borrowed from friends, so his knowledge in that area was fragmentary.

If he had read more of those isekai transfer stories, he might have found some clues—was this what they called "gamer brain" or "manga brain"?

It was a term that had long since become obsolete, almost a fossil, but since things that only happened in games and manga were actually happening to him, the idea of using games and manga as a guide had some merit.

Still, there was no point in regretting it.

Since he only had superficial knowledge, he couldn't come up with good ideas... No, wait.

"...That's right. I don't have to know it myself. If I don't know, I can ask someone who does."

He realized.

He wasn't the only one, right?

There might be other people who had been transferred to this world.

In the isekai stories that had been popular in bookstores a while back, there were indeed stories about people being dragged into the transfer along with the main character. Some of these had been re-released with the recent boom, and he remembered seeing them heavily advertised. He might be in a similar position, dragged along with the main character.

"It seems possible, doesn't it...?"

Helian didn't think of himself as a special person.

In middle school and high school, he had never been a class leader or a committee chair. If he had, it was only as a deputy, a supporting role. He wasn't part of any club, and he certainly didn't have any memories of receiving awards.

In short, he wasn't the kind of person who could stand in the spotlight and bask in the bright spotlight. His life of over eighteen years had proven that.

So he didn't think, or rather, he couldn't think, that he was the only one who had been transferred. If he had been transferred, it was entirely possible that other players had been transferred as well.

If so, one of his short-term goals should be—

"Contacting collaborators... No, people in similar circumstances. Yes, searching for people who have been transferred to this world."

If there were other isekai people, there should be some traces of them. There was nothing obvious in the immediate vicinity, but they could have been sent to a completely different place. If such a person, or person, existed, they could cooperate.

However, if there were no others in the same situation—though he didn't want to think about being the only one in this world—he would have to find a way to return on his own.

In that case, he would have to investigate the Abyss Forest and the transfer phenomenon in this world and search for a way to return. But in any case, he first needed to learn about this world.

...Alright.

He would solidify his strategy, leaving the details for later.

First, the ultimate goal was "returning to the real world."

One of the short-term goals to achieve this was "searching for isekai transfer people."

If no other transfer people were found, "self-reliant search for a return method."

As a stepping stone to achieve these, "gathering information about this world."

That's about it.

"...No, one more thing."

Ah, right.

There was one more thing.

Something important that he must never forget.

A fundamental principle that he must always be aware of.

It was "surviving."

He didn't want to die.

He didn't want to die in this world.

If he was going to die, he wanted to die in the real world.

He couldn't bear to die alone in a world without family or friends.

"..."

He hugged himself with both arms, trying to suppress his body, which was trembling involuntarily.

What came to mind was the "death" he had just experienced.

It was terrifying.

Terrifying to the core.

No one could be unafraid.

Even though he had been revived, it was a genuine feeling of death.

The murderous intent of "I'll take you down with me."

The terror of actually being attacked.

The hopelessness of being a mere human, unable to resist.

The weapon approaching his face.

The smell of death in his nostrils.

His head exploding like tofu, his brain splattered carelessly.

And above all, the feeling of his life, "Helian," being devoured by death.

It was a terrible sensation.

It couldn't be expressed in words.

The "death" he had experienced in slow motion had transcended the realm of human language.

He didn't want to go through that again.

Even though he had died instantly and felt no pain, it was like torture.

Even if he could be revived, he never wanted to die again.

He didn't think his mind could withstand that multiple times.

And—

"The number of revivals is limited... After five more deaths, it's over..."

In the game [Tactics Chronicle], the king's death did not mean an immediate game over. There were penalties, but the king could be revived.

That was true.

But the penalties were the problem. When the king died, all the monsters in the army lost two ranks in all their stats and were affected by a status condition that almost halved their strength. It took 24 hours for the stats to return to normal.

Since S was the highest rank in stats, even the strongest monsters would drop to D rank or lower after the king died twice. At that point, they were almost useless as a fighting force.

Furthermore, the "life storage" was limited to a maximum of six.

Since he had died once, he had five left.

If he died five more times, it would be a game over.

In the game, he could replenish "lives" with a high payment, but now that the system site was no longer accessible, that was impossible.

—And in [Tactics Chronicle], a game over meant the deletion of save data.

There was no mercy or leniency there, and there were no items to revive the data.

The company that ran the game stubbornly adhered to the belief that "game over means the end," no matter how many complaints they received. There were several measures to prevent a game over, but once it happened, there was no going back.

No matter how much you cried or screamed, the deleted data could not be revived.

"So, what happens if I get a game over in this world?"

He didn't want to think about it.

What awaited him there was probably Helian's true "death."

"...There are other game over conditions, too."

Broadly speaking, there were three conditions.

1. If the capital is seized by rebels, it is a revolution success and game over.

2. If all cities are lost, it is a destruction judgment and game over.

3. If the "life storage" is used up, revival is impossible, and it is a complete death judgment and game over.

These three.

In short, if the "king's country" is destroyed, it's a game over.

Among these, the most dangerous was condition 1, the revolution by rebels.

Once the rebels gained control, it was unlikely that other game over conditions would occur, but no matter how prosperous the kingdom was, if the rebels seized the capital, it would be destroyed in an instant.

"The ogre faction aside... I shouldn't be betrayed so easily."

Helian had been conscious of good governance, even if it was less efficient.

Thanks to that, the citizens' [Loyalty] and [Happiness] were quite high.

He had paid particular attention to the [Loyalty] of the army leaders.

The castle's defenses were also solid, and it was unlikely that a regular monster rebellion would result in the complete seizure of the capital.

But at the same time, he was also worried that if he was seen as a failure as "king" in this world, he might be easily deposed from the throne.

Helian was the king of Alchemira.

The king of the monsters who lived by the law of the jungle.

The king who led the army of all monsters as the ruler of the world.

But on the other hand, "Helian who is not king" was just an ordinary person.

If he lost the mask of the king, all that would remain was the weakest man, who could be easily killed even by a goblin, let alone an army leader.

That's why Helian had to be the king. He had to keep wearing the mask of the king in front of the notable monsters. He had to continue to be a presence worthy of being the king of the land of all monsters, or he wouldn't be able to live in peace anymore—

"——”

—No.

He couldn't think about this problem any further right now.

If he kept thinking about it, he wouldn't be able to move.

He would be paralyzed by fear.

He wouldn't be able to talk to the army leaders or the monsters.

That would be bad.

So he had to think constructively.

He had to ask himself what he should do next.

He had to use his thoughts to move forward.

He didn't have time to break down here.

"...What else should I think about?"

He needed to think about something else.

Something constructive, not escapist.

For example, something that was part of the strategy he had just solidified, like "verifying Helian's abilities in this world."

"...I was able to revive. [Helian] was resurrected just like in the game."

Then, how about the other abilities he had in the game?

"What are the differences between [Tactics Chronicle] and this world? Can I use all the king's abilities that I could use in the game?"

First, the various virtual windows were usable.

The <Tactics> window for combat support and information reference.

The <Authority> window for information sharing and other functions.

The <Communication> window for communication over long distances.

The <Basic> window for log reference and camera use.

At least these were usable.

Like in [Tactics Chronicle], the virtual windows were invisible to others.

There were also other virtual windows for fine adjustments like brightness and sound, and for logging out or calling the GM, but these were mostly meaningless now.

"Virtual window: Unlock"

A virtual window called up by voice command was projected in the air.

He could call up base information by manipulating the semi-transparent screen with his fingers.

Direct manipulation, mental manipulation, and voice command.

The three types of virtual window calling methods worked as they did in the game.

When he tried to view the capital's <Base Information> using mental manipulation, he noticed that the happiness level had worsened compared to before he went on the exploration. This was probably due to the rebellion, but—

"In reality, it had probably already worsened to some extent before I went on the exploration..."

Indeed, the happiness level he had checked before the exploration had hardly changed before and after the transfer.

But that wasn't because it hadn't decreased; it was because Helian hadn't been aware of the decrease, so it hadn't been reflected in the status screen.

However, now, thanks to the latest information gathered by the Sixth Army's domestic intelligence activities, the results were finally reflected in the <Base Information>.

In [Tactics Chronicle], only "known information" could be visualized.

Just like in the real world, where politicians might make disastrous decisions based on outdated or false information, players had to actively gather information.

In modern Japan, politicians sometimes make terrible mistakes based on old or false information, leading to scandals on TV news. The same could be said for the king in [Tactics Chronicle].

Also, happiness was composed of multiple elements—various non-public numerical values in the game—that had to be inferred by the player.

In this case, the decrease was probably due to the citizens' anxiety from the transfer and the series of rebellions.

He could investigate the cause by conducting a survey of the citizens or ordering the Sixth Army to gather more detailed information, but that wasn't necessary right now.

"Even if I knew the cause, I can't do anything about it immediately..."

He would put it off.

Now, the priority was to understand the current situation.

Next,

"Regarding <Information Sharing>"

This was the same as in [Tactics Chronicle].

Information was automatically shared with subordinates within close range—within fifty meters.

Also, information could be manually shared with subordinates within a certain range—within one kilometer—by Helian initiating the connection. This was proven when he connected to a vampire of the Sixth Army during the rebellion.

Normally, only the information at the time of connection was reflected, but if the connection was maintained, it would be updated in real time like in close range.

Up to eight units could be connected simultaneously, but this needed to be verified.

The combat-limited information sharing ability also needed to be tested.

Up to eight subordinates participating in the same combat as the player could be connected, regardless of distance, and the information would be updated in real time like in close range.

During the exploration, all subordinates, including the stealth units, were close by, so it was unclear whether this ability was usable and needed to be tested separately.

There was also an information sharing ability between bases, but with no other bases besides the capital, it was meaningless.

"Regarding <Communication> and <Orders>... They worked to some extent."

He was able to communicate with Balan using text chat.

Orders to subordinates also worked without problems immediately after the transfer.

Incidentally, just because he gave orders to subordinates didn't mean he always got the results he wanted. The performance, personality, and situation of the NPCs affected how they carried out the orders and what results they produced.

This was the same in the real world, but he needed to be more careful in giving orders.

Once, he had ordered a subordinate with a somewhat disappointing [Intelligence] stat to scout an enemy base, and it ended in disaster. Making the same mistake in this world would be no laughing matter.

"...What about <Subordinate Revival>?"

In [Tactics Chronicle], not only the player but also monsters could be revived.

However, the nature of the revival was quite different from the player's, and there were many restrictions.

First, the revival was limited to citizens of the player's country or allied countries.

For example, if a rare monster was found in the wild and accidentally killed during capture, it couldn't be revived because it wasn't a citizen.

Also, only monsters whose full names the player knew could be revived.

This was because the revival target was specified by inputting the name, not by selecting from a list. If even one letter was wrong, the revival wouldn't work.

It was impossible for a human to remember the full names of tens of thousands of subordinates, so in practice, only major subordinates could be revived.

Furthermore, monsters that had been dead for more than 24 hours could not be revived.

Even if one remembered the full names of a million subordinates, it would take more than 24 hours just to input the names.

Finally,