Lord of The Red Planet

Arthur closed his magic mirror, storing it back in his inventory. He stood up, then walked toward the next room. Epsilon, who was beside him, followed from behind.

Arthur clenched his fists, feeling a wave of excitement. With this, Avanheim's first step to conquering Japan has begun.

I will not let anyone stand in the way of this plan, even if I have to kill a million people to achieve it.

His blue eyes glowed for a moment. I will not let anyone threaten the safety of Avanheim.

Avanheim needs money and resources. And the only way to get all that quickly is by playing outside the law.

Arthur pushed the door and stepped inside. There, Betta, Ayato, and Tanaka were already kneeling respectfully before him. Betta and Tanaka looked at him with admiration, while Ayato looked at him with clear fear.

Arthur glanced at the two bodyguards' corpses shot by Betta. The metallic smell of blood still filled the room, but he ignored it and walked toward a chair.

Just as I thought. I no longer feel fear or any other emotion when looking at these two corpses. Is… my humanity starting to erode?

Arthur was lost in thought for a moment, his hand gripping the Staff of Avanheim tightly.

No, it's not like that. I'm sure I still have human empathy and emotions. The proof is, when I saw the little boy I gave the toy to and saw his happy smile, I felt happy too, right?

So, I guess the problem isn't with my humanity, but…. His eyes moved toward the corpse in front of him.

These people… deserved to die. They must have committed many crimes. So, because of that, I show no emotional turmoil over their deaths.

If Betta were to slaughter innocent civilians, I would probably be angry and ask for her reasons. But, even so… this still doesn't explain why I don't feel fear or nausea. At the very least, even if I don't care, I should still feel something, shouldn't I? But this… I feel nothing. That's right, no satisfaction. Just a feeling that this person deserved to die, and that's that, forget it.

"My Lord?"

Hearing the gentle call, Arthur was snapped out of his reverie. He saw Betta and Epsilon looking at him with expectant eyes, awaiting his orders.

I'll think about that later. For now, focus on the next plan.

"Alright. Good work, Betta," Arthur said with a praising smile.

Hearing the praise, Betta's face immediately lit up. She bowed her head slightly. "It's only what I should do, My Lord."

Arthur nodded, then his gaze shifted for a moment to Tanaka, who was still kneeling like a statue, before returning to Betta and Ayato. "Now, we have successfully established a strong foothold in this world. So, as we've discussed in our plan…."

TAP.

Arthur tapped the floor with the end of his Staff of Avanheim. The sound of the tap echoed in the quiet room. "The next objective is to build a company. For this, Ayato, I'm entrusting it to you." He looked sharply at Ayato, waiting for an answer.

Ayato, who had been tense all this time, immediately answered quickly, "Lord Arthur, just leave this task to me! I will definitely build a company that meets your expectations!"

"In that case, I trust you." Arthur nodded happily. Then, his expression turned serious again. "Ayato… you should know, right? If you betray us, then…."

Before Arthur could finish his sentence, Ayato immediately exclaimed, his tone filled with a mix of fear and sincerity. He clenched his fists in front of his chest, as if swearing an oath.

"Lord Arthur, I swear! I will never betray you! Even if I have to die, I will never do something so foolish!"

"I hope so," Arthur replied in a flat tone. Actually, I was about to use a Curse Spell on Ayato. That spell would make the target die instantly if they were about to reveal marked information. But… seeing the serious and sincere expression on his face, I decided not to use it for now. Also, I want to see if his oath is true or just a bluff. As for killing him… that's easy. Even if he runs away, Avanheim has plenty of magic items in the Treasury to track him.

"Then, Betta, you hand him over to Belial," Arthur said, directing his gaze to Tanaka.

"Understood, My Lord," Betta replied.

"Betta, for the matter of controlling the next Japanese officials and political figures, you can speak with Belial. He is in charge of this matter," Arthur said. "In that case, that's all I wanted to say. My business here is finished."

He rose from the sofa.

"You can count on me, Lord Arthur!" Betta exclaimed.

Arthur smiled faintly at those words.

"Lord Arthur, as for these corpses… would you like to make them into Undead?" Epsilon, who was standing beside him, asked curiously.

Arthur shook his head. "No. You can use them," he said.

Epsilon smiled at that. "Thank you."

"Gate." Arthur immediately opened a Gate Portal, stepped inside, and returned to Avanheim.

…

"Welcome back, Lord Arthur."

Arthur had barely stepped out of the rippling Gate portal, which disappeared behind him, when the soft voice immediately greeted him.

Arthur frowned. Emma? Why is she in my room? I don't remember calling for her. He turned and saw Emma standing in front of him, the soft light from the crystal chandelier in his room's ceiling reflecting off her beautiful white dress.

"Yes, I'm back," he replied, forcing a gentle smile.

Emma stepped closer, her movements graceful and almost silent on the thick carpet. As she got closer, Arthur could smell the faint scent of lilies from her body. She stopped just a few inches in front of him, her gaze intense and full of adoration.

"My Lord," she whispered, her voice husky and seductive. "Would you like dinner? Or… a warm bath? Or… perhaps… me?"

As she spoke the last sentence, Emma leaned forward slightly. A faint blush crept up her cheeks, making her fair skin seem to glow even more. Her hand moved slowly, her fingertips gently touching Arthur's clothes, as if tracing a map she knew by heart. Her reptilian-pupiled eyes now sparkled with an unconcealed desire.

Arthur swallowed. His heart beat a little faster.

Damn it! What the hell kind of three-choice question is that?! And that last choice… what does she mean?!

"I-in that case… I'll just choose dinner," Arthur said with a slightly hesitant tone, avoiding Emma's gaze.

Emma pulled her hand back and took a step away. Her smile didn't fade. "So, what would My Lord like to eat?"

Hearing that, Arthur thought for a moment. What's good to eat? No, all the food in Avanheim is delicious, the best I've ever had. So, choosing anything would still be delicious…. But I kind of miss the food from my hometown.

He looked at Emma. Can the chefs in Avanheim cook recipes from my country? Most of the food here is European and American style, with a little Japanese touch. That's natural, since the game Avalon itself is set in a Western fantasy world. Back then, I wasn't like Kazumi and Joshua, who often added recipes from their countries to Avanheim's menu.

"I'd like… just some ramen," Arthur requested.

"In that case, I will prepare it at once, Lord Arthur. Please wait a moment." Emma smiled enthusiastically, her expression looking very happy.

Arthur felt something was strange. "Wait. You… are you going to make it yourself?"

"Yes." Emma nodded, bowing her head slightly in shyness.

"Not having a chef do it?" Arthur asked again, just to be sure.

"Yes."

"I didn't know you could cook, Emma." Arthur looked at her, surprised. Emma herself was an Ancient Dragon. Her Job was Supreme Imaginary Dragon and her Class was Visionary. Nothing related to cooking at all.

"I learned to cook," Emma replied, her face growing redder. "So that… so that when I become your wife, I can make the food that My Lord likes."

Hearing the unexpected answer, Arthur felt his face heat up. He quickly said, "I-in that case, I'll be waiting for the food, Emma!"

He immediately walked past Emma toward his bedroom, almost as if he were running away. His face was beet red.

Emma looked at her master's back disappearing behind the door, then let out a small laugh.

"So…. Lord Arthur can make that expression too."

Arthur closed his bedroom door, then quickly threw himself onto the soft bed.

After nearly two minutes of not moving, he turned over and looked at the ceiling. His right hand was placed on his forehead, his blue eyes staring blankly upward, his mind racing.

"I don't know… if what Emma said just now was sincere from her own feelings or because of some weird programming Joshua gave her," he said softly. "Actually, I've wanted to ask her this for a long time. Why does she love me so much? What's the reason? Is it really as I suspect… or are these purely her own feelings?"

Arthur closed his eyes. "I really am a loser… Can't even bring myself to ask such a simple question."

He quickly shook his head, then rolled around on the bed before stopping.

"Damn it! What am I thinking?!"

Even if Emma's feelings are real and sincere, I can't possibly accept them, can I?

Emma and the others are the 'children' of my friends. Even though I hate my friends for leaving me alone here, that doesn't mean I'm morally corrupt enough to be romantically interested in their 'children'! Just because I hate them! That's taboo… and disgusting.

"I love them like family, not romantically," Arthur muttered, hugging his white bolster pillow. He was silent for a moment after getting all that off his chest.

"Damn… what am I saying."

Arthur got out of bed. His mind now felt calmer and more relaxed. He extended his hand into the air. A tear in space automatically appeared in front of him. He put his hand in and took a phone from his inventory.

"Damn. No internet." Arthur looked at his phone screen, which read *No Signal.*

"I should have asked Emma to connect Earth's internet to Felius Castle."

He threw his Xiaomi 15 Ultra phone onto the bed. But, if I do that… how would I connect it?

Arthur held his chin and thought.

Even the Message spell can't be used from a distance of 200 million kilometers. Not to mention the distance between Earth and Mars is currently uncertain due to the synodic cycle.

"Do I need to move Avanheim to Earth?" he asked himself doubtfully.

He immediately shook his head. "No, no. That's a bad idea."

He began to weigh the risks. "I don't even know if there are other Avalon players on Earth. If there are, it would be very dangerous for Avanheim's security. And even if there aren't, humans still have nuclear weapons. They could just attack Felius Castle."

"That's still dangerous," he muttered. "Although I'm not sure if a nuclear weapon could penetrate Felius Castle's defenses, I won't let the enemy be able to just attack and then run away. I'd also have to spend extra cost and energy to constantly strengthen the defenses if I move it to Earth. It's not worth the benefits at all."

He sighed. "Besides, Mars is a perfect natural fortress for Avanheim's security. At least here, I can be sure there are no other players, and human technology is currently not capable of fighting in space, especially with the great distance between Earth and Mars."

So, how can I get internet in Avanheim? Don't tell me I have to build my own internet network here. But even so, data transfer from Earth to Avanheim would be very slow due to the vast distance. Not to mention, the data could be corrupted by cosmic radiation.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed through his mind.

"Wait… what if I use the Gate spell?" he murmured. His eyes widened as his brain quickly pieced together the possibility. "I just need to keep the portal active by continuously supplying mana every time the energy in the spell is about to run out, just like Merlin does with the illusion shield that covers Felius Castle."

He paused for a moment. "But… that's still not efficient. So, I need to develop a magic device that can connect a Sealing Crystal to the spell itself, without needing a third person to operate it. The principle is like a generator: if the mana supplied by the user is about to run out, the magic spell will automatically draw energy from the Sealing Crystal. And I just need to recharge the crystal, right?"

Thinking of that, Arthur smiled. "This principle can be applied to other spells. This is great."

"So, if I can do that, I just need to run an internet cable from Earth, through the Gate portal, to reach Avanheim. The basic principle of a Gate portal is basically like a wormhole; the spatial distance between point A and B is cut, so it feels like opening a door from inside a room to the outside. With this… problems like information delay won't happen, right?"

Arthur nodded, then clapped his left palm with his right hand.

"This… is perfect!"

The internet and computers were technologies that Avanheim must have. This technology would make Avanheim's administrative processes much more efficient and easier.

He himself was not the type to reject technology and industrialization like Kazumi Fuchi. In fact, he was very pro-industry and technology.

It seems… I'll have to apologize to you, Kazumi. Because I'm going to take Avanheim down a path you wouldn't like.

But, as a leader, I must choose what is most beneficial for Avanheim and its people. I can't reject something that is clearly useful just because of personal selfishness or idealism.

Reality isn't like that….

Knock… knock… knock…

Hearing the soft knock, he turned toward the door.

"Lord Arthur, your food is ready."

Recognizing the voice, he got up from his bed and walked closer.

"Yes, I'll be right there," he answered.

He pushed the door open. There, he saw Emma pushing a food trolley, a happy smile on her face. Behind her stood four other maids who bowed respectfully.

Maybe… it's not so bad to be transported to another world, he thought. A faint smile formed on his lips.