“So, what is your father going to do about it?” I asked.
Otto made a bitter face. “The Ost Republic must have known our relationship. He’s currently two weeks north and his forces are being held up by a sudden incursion. They’re trying to buy time to finish the interrogation.”
“So, they’re sending another high-ranked official?”
“I’m the highest-ranked official in the area…”
“You’re kidding me…”
“Dad officially runs the army on the border. His official orders are for me to mount a rescue. He says that since I had already failed so many times, he’s giving me one last chance.”
“You’d think, given the importance, he’d pick someone competent…”
“That’s what I said!” Otto slammed his fist.
“You actually admitted it…”
“I wrote the Prince implicitly, and he responded that he trusts father’s decisions and won’t undo them. However, he did send me fifty of his best recruits currently in the Capital for additional support. Those were the men you traveled with. But, they’re new soldiers unprepared for war. Other than the two Knights, they might as well just be fodder.”
“That damn prince… he didn’t even send me a single soldier.”
“What? Why does the Wilderness need soldiers?”
“Ah… nevermind.”
In truth, this was probably another reason why he didn’t send me any help. Even though he didn’t want to be implicated, he could have given me a few troops. It wouldn’t be weird for a kingdom to send troops to a border city. He had already promised help to be sent to Ost Republic to prevent the skirmishes from becoming an outright war. Comparatively, a war between two lords internally was unimportant.
This led to another thought. If I did choose to help Otto, then perhaps I could get some support for when I dealt with Lord Reign. Even if Otto was useless, he was the son of a high lord. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to get on their good side. I could save his heir, and then they’d owe me one.
“There is one more thing…” Otto looked like he was about to cry. “Father said if I don’t succeed in this mission and die, he won’t bother to resurrect me! In fact, he explicitly ordered I’m not to be resurrected!”
“…” That explained why Otto was so desperate as to come begging to me.
“So, will you help me?” He asked pleadingly.
I scratched my chin as I considered my options. On the one hand, I had a boat to acquire and a king to save. If I were to help him now, that would definitely be another delay. My Dungeon Life was feeling more and more like a video game. Well, technically it was a video game, wasn’t it? I had always treated this as another world, but I had only ever managed to get here through a video game, right? Side quests led to more side quests, and suddenly I’m so far removed from the main objective that I have to keep reminding myself what was important. I decided to stop thinking about such things. If I kept treating this as a game, then I’d at one point have to decide whether the people in it are real or NPCs. I refused to believe the women I loved weren’t as real as I was, so that ended that debate.
Otto still waited for a response, a permanent crease on his forehead.
“Very well…” I responded. “But we’re doing it tonight.”
“So, what is your father going to do about it?” I asked.
Otto made a bitter face. “The Ost Republic must have known our relationship. He’s currently two weeks north and his forces are being held up by a sudden incursion. They’re trying to buy time to finish the interrogation.”
“So, they’re sending another high-ranked official?”
“I’m the highest-ranked official in the area…”
“You’re kidding me…”
“Dad officially runs the army on the border. His official orders are for me to mount a rescue. He says that since I had already failed so many times, he’s giving me one last chance.”
“You’d think, given the importance, he’d pick someone competent…”
“That’s what I said!” Otto slammed his fist.
“You actually admitted it…”
“I wrote the Prince implicitly, and he responded that he trusts father’s decisions and won’t undo them. However, he did send me fifty of his best recruits currently in the Capital for additional support. Those were the men you traveled with. But, they’re new soldiers unprepared for war. Other than the two Knights, they might as well just be fodder.”
“That damn prince… he didn’t even send me a single soldier.”
“What? Why does the Wilderness need soldiers?”
“Ah… nevermind.”
In truth, this was probably another reason why he didn’t send me any help. Even though he didn’t want to be implicated, he could have given me a few troops. It wouldn’t be weird for a kingdom to send troops to a border city. He had already promised help to be sent to Ost Republic to prevent the skirmishes from becoming an outright war. Comparatively, a war between two lords internally was unimportant.
This led to another thought. If I did choose to help Otto, then perhaps I could get some support for when I dealt with Lord Reign. Even if Otto was useless, he was the son of a high lord. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to get on their good side. I could save his heir, and then they’d owe me one.
“There is one more thing…” Otto looked like he was about to cry. “Father said if I don’t succeed in this mission and die, he won’t bother to resurrect me! In fact, he explicitly ordered I’m not to be resurrected!”
“…” That explained why Otto was so desperate as to come begging to me.
“So, will you help me?” He asked pleadingly.
I scratched my chin as I considered my options. On the one hand, I had a boat to acquire and a king to save. If I were to help him now, that would definitely be another delay. My Dungeon Life was feeling more and more like a video game. Well, technically it was a video game, wasn’t it? I had always treated this as another world, but I had only ever managed to get here through a video game, right? Side quests led to more side quests, and suddenly I’m so far removed from the main objective that I have to keep reminding myself what was important. I decided to stop thinking about such things. If I kept treating this as a game, then I’d at one point have to decide whether the people in it are real or NPCs. I refused to believe the women I loved weren’t as real as I was, so that ended that debate.
Otto still waited for a response, a permanent crease on his forehead.
“Very well…” I responded. “But we’re doing it tonight.”
