Chapter 154: Turbulence (3)
“It’s getting cold at night.”
I muttered as I closed the wide-open window.
It was late at night, and the stars were twinkling.
The weather seemed to be getting chilly as winter approached.
It was a good way to catch a cold if I left the window open thinking of autumn.
Creak.
I sat down and picked up my smartphone after closing the window completely.
“Ah, I’m tired.”
My body started to feel sluggish as it got late.
I was so exhausted last night that I felt like passing out, but luckily, I felt less tired today after a night’s sleep.
Maybe the time I spent chatting with Estelle wasn’t meaningless.
I felt like I had a good sleep last night.
“But what’s the point of dreaming?”
After all, it was nothing more than a dream for one night.
Thump.
I stretched briefly and leaned on the mattress, looking at the smartphone screen.
On the smartphone screen, I saw Aicliffe and Eutenia talking in the office.
-“Do you have anyone in mind that you want to recruit?”
-“Hmm… well, about that.”
Eutenia was acting as Aicliffe’s adviser on Roan’s recommendation.
Well, strictly speaking, she was more like a guard and a watcher.
Aicliffe himself didn’t seem to know Eutenia’s abilities yet.
He seemed to understand that Eutenia was watching him.
“It would be nice if Count Felton joined us.”
As I watched the two of them, Aicliffe said to Eutenia with a troubled look.
Count Felton.
I had heard that name before.
I was sure I had seen them meet at a banquet.
They said he was a staunch imperialist.
-“Count Felton? He’s a stubborn man who won’t be swayed by any means.”
-“He’s not a genius, but… he would be a trustworthy ally.”
-“It’s foolish to waste time on impossible things. You should try to recruit someone else.”
Aicliffe seemed to want to bring Count Felton under his command.
Eutenia didn’t think Count Felton would come to our side.
A funny thought came to my mind as I listened to their conversation.
After all, I was the god they believed in and followed.
I thought it wouldn’t hurt to help them out once in a while for their sake.
“Let’s see. You say Count Felton won’t listen to you.”
Count Felton was a character who was clearly an imperialist.
But he didn’t follow the new emperor I chose.
That made him more of a rebel than an imperialist.
Well, whatever.
I had to intervene once and make him see sense.
For the sake of the characters I cared about.
“Don’t worry and wait. I’ll bring you Count Felton in a few days.”
Of course, I didn’t mean to chop him up into days.
That would only cost me one karma.
I needed to show him a proper example.
Besides, if he was an imperialist, he might be interested in the next emperor with a little correction.
Today, I was going to use the <Voice> magic to modify his mind thoroughly.
“Count Felton, Count Felton…”
First, I had to find his house.
I searched the noble district for a place where he might stay.
The hint that helped me find his house was the conversation of the characters.
I inferred the owner of the house from the context of the conversation and entered it.
I widened my eyes and looked for the people who were talking about Count Felton.
After spending about 10 minutes monitoring the conversation, I caught a speech bubble in the surveillance network of the bio big brother.
-“The count is still not coming out of his office today.”
-“He must have a lot of worries.”
In front of a moderately shabby noble mansion.
There, two servants were walking and talking.
The word Felton was not visible, but I was sure that the owner of this mansion was Count Felton.
It was close to the gamer’s intuition that I had played for a long time.
I searched Count Felton’s mansion thoroughly and found a space that looked like an office.
-“…”
An office with a fireplace burning logs.
There, a character with a neatly trimmed mustache was reading a book.
He had a steaming tea in front of him, and he was leisurely stroking his mustache.
He looked proud of his mustache in his own way.
The man who looked like the owner of the office was undoubtedly Count Felton.
At least that’s what I remembered.
“Ahem, ah… Voice test.”
I cleared my throat as I looked at the man who was presumed to be Count Felton.
It was to prevent any mistakes while using <Voice>.
After loosening my throat with a professional announcer-like technique, I moved my finger to the skill icon of <Voice> in the corner.
I had already decided what to say to Count Felton.
Press.
I used the <Voice> skill and recorded what I had thought in advance on my smartphone.
“Follow the second prince.”
-“Follow the second prince.”
Crack. Crack.
After a brief noise mixed in my smartphone, the voice started playing next to Count Felton.
The voice that played was the same as always, a thick male voice TTS.
I was surprised that it conveyed exactly what I had said.
I blew the recorded voice into Count Felton’s ear, and he looked up at the sky for a moment.
-“Hmm.”
Then he went back to the bookshelf.
He kept reading the book as if nothing had happened.
I wondered if he had a problem with his ears.
He was so calm.
I narrowed my eyes and looked at Count Felton, then used the skill again on his ear.
“I am the goddess of order.”
-“I am the goddess of order.”
The TTS was still a male voice.
Maybe it was because he hated the content.
Count Felton threw the book and got up from his seat.
He looked up at the sky and shouted in a large and bold speech bubble.
-“You bastard! Don’t mock me with a man’s voice!”
“What, he can hear.”
I thought he might have a hearing problem, but it seemed like I didn’t have to worry about that.
I thought I could see some effect if I kept using <Voice>.
If not, I could mix in some more aggressive methods.
I decided and used the <Voice> skill on Count Felton right away.
“Follow the second prince.”
-“Shut up, you spawn of evil!”
“Follow the second prince.”
-“You bastard! Shut up…”
“Follow the second prince.”
-“Do you think I’ll listen to you!”
He was a character with a surprisingly strong will.
Count Felton didn’t give in easily.
But I couldn’t give up like this.
The people of this world showed resistance when they heard the words of evil.
What about the words of a goddess?
I decided to continue with the goddess concept I had before.
“I am the goddess of order.”
-“Don’t lie! The goddess wouldn’t have such a voice!”
“Cough, cough… I actually have a bad cold.”
-“What do you mean the goddess has a cold! Stop talking nonsense!”
Geez. A goddess could have a cold too.
He had no flexibility at all.
Now that it came to this, I had no choice but to use my hidden trump card.
I put down my smartphone on the table and raised my left hand that was holding it.
I put one finger on the icon of the <Voice> skill and the other on Count Felton’s head.
I finished my preparation and started tapping Count Felton’s head with my finger while using the <Voice> skill.
“second prince.”
Thump.
-“Cough!”
“second prince.”
Thump.
-“Ugh… Stop!”
“second prince.”
Thump.
-“Aaargh!”
“You must follow the second prince.”
Thump.
-“The se… Cough! No, no, stop it!”
As I tapped his head while instilling the right ideology, Count Felton screamed and writhed.
Maybe it was thanks to the effect of stimulating his brain.
Count Felton was adapting to the truth faster than before.
But he was not yet at a satisfactory level.
I had to keep awakening him to the truth until he showed a satisfying reaction.
“You must follow the second prince.”
Thump.
-“Aaaaah! Stop…!”
“I am the goddess of order.”
Thump.
-“You are no goddess! Stop! Go away, demon!”
“You must follow the second prince.”
Thump.
-“Follow the second… Ah! Nooo!”
“second prince.”
Thump.
-“Second… No! Go away! Go away, you evil… Aaaah!”
After that, I had a fun time with Count Felton for a while.
Of course, I had to adjust the frequency so that he wouldn’t die.
After some progress, I didn’t even need to stroke him anymore.
We only exchanged the same conversation.
The simple fact that the goddess told me to follow the second prince.
***
How long had it been since I started the injection education that was proven effective worldwide?
It took me quite a long time to face Count Felton with his eyes relaxed.
He had become a great person unlike before I started teaching him.
He was so great that my lips curled up when I watched him.
-“You must follow the second prince.”
-“second prince! Long live! I will follow you!”
-“There is no one but the second prince!”
The truth always wins.
Count Felton completely surrendered to the truth I taught him.
I nodded in satisfaction as I saw Count Felton, who became a fervent follower of Aicliffe.
He looked like he would become Aicliffe’s strong right arm if I taught him a little more.
“Hmm. Good response.”
The <Voice> skill was definitely a terrifying skill.
It turned a character who was going down the wrong path into a fine one.
Count Felton, who was properly educated, repeated the lessons he received from me.
As I felt proud of him, the office door suddenly opened.
Clang.
The one who opened the door and came in was a young man with a noble aura.
He was a character who could be recognized as a noble at a glance.
-“Father. I came to report on what you told me last time.
Thud. Thud.
A young man approached Count Felton, who had his eyes unfocused, and handed him a paper.
Judging by his attitude, he seemed to be Count Felton’s son.
I watched closely how Count Felton interacted with the young man.
Count Felton took the paper from the young man and looked at it as he spoke.
-“The second prince…”
The second prince.
The young man was startled by the words that came out of Count Felton’s mouth.
He was also impressed by the results I had achieved in a short time.
He asked Count Felton about what he had just said, as if he doubted his own ears.
-“What? Father, what did you just say…”
-“You must follow the second prince.”
-“What do you mean? Didn’t our family decide to remain neutral on the succession issue?”
Maybe it was because he knew Count Felton well.
The young man immediately denied Count Felton’s words.
According to Aicliffe, he was a person who was famous for his loyalty to the emperor.
It was hard for him to believe that he would follow the second prince.
But Count Felton’s will was firm after receiving my teachings.
He didn’t care about the young man’s words and kept expressing his opinion.
-“You must follow the second prince.”
-“Father!”
Bang.
The young man slammed the desk and leaned closer to Count Felton.
Count Felton lifted his head and looked at the young man with half-clouded eyes.
He opened his mouth again and said to the young man.
-“I am the goddess of order.”
-“…What?”
10 seconds.
Silence fell on the office for 10 seconds.
Count Felton.
The young man who was looking at him.
And even me, who was watching them both, closed my mouth and remained silent.
My mind stopped for a moment at the words that Count Felton uttered.
The silence that lasted for 10 seconds was broken by Count Felton’s next words.
-“You must follow the second prince.”
-“No, father, if the inquisitors hear what you just said, they will accuse you of blasphemy.”
-“It doesn’t matter. You must follow the second prince.”
-“I, I understand. But please, just stop saying those weird things… Please, just stop…”
The young man’s attitude changed completely from being harsh to Count Felton before.
He lowered his hand and showed a sorry look to Count Felton.
He was willing to accept even the words of following the second prince for now.
As the young man nodded and tried to move on somehow, Count Felton opened his mouth and added one more thing.
-“Is that so. I am the goddess of order…”
-“Father!”
It was a sight that made my head dizzy as I kept watching.
A mad count who claimed to be the goddess of order.
A young man who was flustered in front of him.
And me, the culprit of this situation, who was watching it all.
A word slipped out of my mouth as I leaned on the bed and stared blankly at it.
“The AI must have gone crazy.”
I rubbed my neck as I looked at the weird guy who had become the goddess of order.
It was a strange feeling.
