Thank You, My Lord!

Artoria had given serious thought to how to test Guiliniweier to determine whether he truly possessed the simulator. Previously, she could have simply asked him directly, and her Fairy Eye would have revealed the truth from his heart, regardless of whether he pretended ignorance or told the truth. But ever since their visit to Edinburgh in the fourth simulation, Artoria's Fairy Eye no longer worked on him—even in reality.

Discovering why, she checked Guiliniweier's status panel and found a new buff:

Mind Veil: A blessing secretly bestowed upon you by an unknown entity. While under this blessing, no one can perceive fluctuations in your mind or read your thoughts.

Obviously, Guiliniweier himself was unaware of this protection. Given the different timing of its application in simulation versus reality, Artoria deduced that whoever had stealthily granted him this buff must also be a simulator-holder. Suddenly the matter became far more intriguing.

Even if someone tried to frame Nocnare for tampering in Edinburgh, Artoria had full confidence in her bond with her close friend. If Nocnare truly discovered Guiliniweier in reality, would she leave matters be? No—she would immediately bind him and drag him to Edinburgh as a slave. Thus only one suspect remained: Lancelot! In the human-history world, he had seemed to harbor ill intent toward Guiliniweier; after defeat at Gloucester, he might try to undermine Artoria by shielding Guiliniweier from her Fairy Eye, sabotaging their mutual trust. Fortunately, Artoria saw through this plot at once.

Even without Fairy Eye, Artoria had many other ways to test him: any talk about the simulator would be auto-blocked for non-holders; she could look for small habits formed in simulation and see how he responded in reality, revealing whether he carried over simulated memories—and thus whether he truly held a simulator. She resolved to implement these tests as soon as he returned. Although Guiliniweier had not come to see her even three days after his victory, she remained confident: surely Bavanshi was giving him a hard time, but with his character, once he resolved his troubles he would quickly return to her and resume their journey together. Artoria would wait with hope.

A sudden chill ran down Guiliniweier's spine, and he sneezed. What was that ominous feeling from behind? Perhaps someone was gossiping? It didn't matter—he had no time for idle chatter, anyway. Indeed, as Lord of New Darrlington, he was nearly at his limit: his blood pressure soared under the city's entrenched burdens.

Tristán's rule had left New Darrlington beset by crippling buffs: "Fiscal Deficit: All revenues reduced by 50%," "Anarchy: Government control at minimal levels," "Popular Disaffection: Citizen loyalty to the lord down by 80%." In a strategy game, he would have reloaded long ago. Guiliniweier felt like a firefighter running to every blaze, a cog in a machine frantically patched together. After three sleepless days, dark circles bloomed beneath his eyes; even distant Britain now doubled as his panda sanctuary.

Yet despite the chaos, he drew upon his "Fourth Calamity" experience and the new "Governance Talent" trait to begin turning things around. By gleaning resources from the wider human world—small inventions, leveraging Tristán's status as heir to Queen Morgan to petition other realms for aid, issuing bonds to the populace—he scraped together some 50 million Morg pounds. He was exhausted, but that sum was enough to lay the groundwork for a marketplace in New Darrlington, easing economic pressure and enabling further reforms… until, that is, he finally collapsed at his desk, succumbing to sleep.

When he roused in a daze, a system message floated before his eyes. At first his mind swam, but then he realized with a shock what it said:

Ding: Player Bavanshi has used simulated currency in this simulation to enhance your attributes.

All your attributes except Luck have risen from E to D.

"Ah?" Guiliniweier stared. "E to D? How much did that cost…? E to D is five million, right? So Bavanshi must have spent ten million? But that was my market fund… Wait—no… Ah!" His head felt like it would explode. He pulled up the city's treasury balance:

City Remaining Funds: 200,000 Morg pounds.

Meanwhile, Bavanshi sat before her screen, marveling at the newly brightened "Bonded Strength" stat for Guiliniweier. No wonder the once-formidable warrior seemed so weak under her hands: by default, no one would form a "bond" with a random human, so his power had remained low. But "Bonded Strength" was essentially a one-way cash-for-power skill. Within half a second of considering it, she decided:

"Charge!"

Without even reading the full description or checking the price in 'Bond Diamonds', she snapped up the most expensive package and triggered the upgrade. "I've given him every advantage—when he hears this, he'll be overjoyed, and I'll finally see that proud head bow. A subordinate should know their place. And since I've raised his strength, he can teach me how to fight—he seemed so good at rulership, he must also be skilled in battle. With his help, maybe I too can become a more capable heir!"

She swept into the chief administrator's office without knocking. There was Guiliniweier, dazed at his desk. "Hey, you dozy oaf!" she called.

"Huh?" Guiliniweier turned slowly, bloodshot eyes from sleepless nights and burning anger. His expression turned fierce at her imperious tone: "Big sister, could you stop meddling? Didn't you hand over all city management rights to me? What is this now?!"

"Eh?" Bavanshi froze, bewildered. "What… you dare speak to me like that? Shout at me? Do you want to seek your own doom?"