CHAPTER 142: THE PROBLEM AT HAND

Aegis sat cross-legged on her bed, surrounded by notebooks, loose papers, and a half-eaten sandwich she’d forgotten about an hour ago.

Maps of Rosevale covered her sheets. Notes in her cramped handwriting filled every available surface. Her brain felt like it was running at full capacity, processing years of game knowledge and trying to translate it into actionable plans.

[Alright. Let’s break this down like a proper speedrunner.]

She grabbed a fresh sheet of paper and started writing.

GOAL: Marry Talia (requires royal approval)

↓

OBSTACLE: Duchess Evangeline’s opposition

↓

ROOT CAUSE: House Starcaller is "unworthy"

She tapped her pen against her lips, thinking.

[Okay. So what makes a house "worthy" in Duchess Evangeline’s eyes?]

She wrote again.

DEFINITION OF WORTHY:

- Wealth (100K+ gold minimum—gotta have coin)

- Reputation (Great House backing—people gotta respect me)

- Power (military + magical strength—can’t be bullied)

- Legitimacy (established presence—need to be an actual somebody)

Four months to go from "lucky tournament winner" to "legitimate marriage candidate for a princess."

[Yeah. Just gotta become rich, powerful, and respected. Easy.]

She grabbed another sheet and started breaking it down further.

PILLAR ONE: REPUTATION

She needed people to see House Starcaller as legitimate. That meant visibility, influence, and allies.

Current status:

Backed by House Vermillion, known at the academy, but basically nobody outside Rosevale.

Solutions:

Attend high-profile events (the Summer Auction would be perfect—lots of nobles, lots of opportunities to be seen and cause scandals that boost her profile)

Form alliances with other Great Houses (tricky, but doable if she played her cards right)

Public achievements (monster hunts, solving problems nobles cared about, maybe taking on some guild contracts)

[Summer Auction’s in six weeks. Perfect timing. I remember there’s usually some rare artifact up for bidding that causes drama. If I can get involved in that clusterfuck, people will remember my name.]

PILLAR TWO: MILITARY POWER

Aegis couldn’t marry a princess if she couldn’t defend her own house. That meant retainers—people loyal to her who could fight.

Current status: Just her. Maybe a couple of very well-built girls, if she asked nicely.

Solutions:

Recruit combat specialists

Train a small personal guard (expensive, but necessary)

Establish House Starcaller as a force people didn’t want to fuck with

[Can’t build an army alone. Need the best. And I think I know just the right shit brickhouse for the job.]

She grinned, picturing Scarlett’s reaction when she offered her an official position.

PILLAR THREE: POLITICAL INFLUENCE

Being rich and strong meant nothing if she had no political leverage.

Current status:

Minor noble, academy connections, that’s it.

Solutions:

Build relationships with key players (Lady Cassandra was already in her corner, but she needed more)

Secure trade agreements (the manor’s location near the Merchant’s District would be crucial here)

Position herself as indispensable (if people needed her, they couldn’t ignore her)

[The Merchant’s Guild will be essential. Once I unlock those contracts, I’ll have leverage with half the merchants in the city.]

PILLAR FOUR: WEALTH

The foundation of everything. Can’t do shit without money.

Current status:

8,743 gold. Not terrible, but nowhere near enough.

Solutions:

Manor renovation → passive income from merchant contracts (2,000 gold per week once fully operational)

Monster hunting → high-value drops (ancient ruins beneath the manor would spawn Level 15-25 monsters—drops worth 50-200 gold each)

Exploit market inefficiencies (monster parts sold for way more than their difficulty suggested; she knew which ones vendors would overpay for)

She paused, tapping her pen against the paper.

[There’s also... her. She should be setting up shop around now, right? Gotta track her down. Probably near the old marketplace, if memory serves.]

PILLAR FIVE: MAGICAL POWER

Raw magical strength. Duchess Evangeline, and pretty much anyone else for that matter, wouldn’t respect someone weak.

Current status:

Decent. Shadow magic from Nazraya, aether weaving from Rosanna, but nothing that screamed "powerhouse."

Solutions:

Continue training with both Nazraya and Rosanna (daily sessions, no slacking)

Unlock the ancient ruins (Runic Key quest—still priority one)

Acquire rare magical artifacts (Summer Auction again—probably some good shit up for grabs)

[Can’t let anyone know about the shadow magic or Rosanna’s training. But I can make sure my aether abilities are visible enough that people know I’m not someone to underestimate.]

She sat back, reviewing the five pillars.

Reputation.

Military.

Political.

Wealth.

Magical.

Each one supported the others. Build wealth to fund military power. Use military power to gain political influence. Leverage political influence to boost reputation. Use reputation to access better magical resources.

It was a feedback loop. Once she got momentum, everything would compound.

[But I need to start somewhere. And that somewhere is money.]

She leaned back against her chair, staring at her calculations.

It was ambitious. Borderline insane. Required everything to go right and nothing to go catastrophically wrong.

[But I’ve speedrun this game high off just about every painkiller the hospital back on Earth could give me. I can do this.]

She’d have to. It wasn’t just her fantasy on the line, after all. Talia was depending on her.

The door opened.

Aegis looked up from her desk, expecting Sophie or maybe Scarlett stopping by.

Instead, Lune walked in, carrying her travel bag and art supplies.

"Oh? Done with your family already?"

Lune nodded, setting her bag down with her usual efficiency.

"It was just a brief visit. My parents wanted to... discuss my progress at the academy. We talked. I left."

[That’s the most Lune explanation I’ve ever heard.]

She glanced at the papers covering Aegis’s bed, her pink eyes scanning the scattered documents.

"What have you been plotting?"

Aegis grinned.

"Oh, you know. Just figuring out how to become rich and powerful enough to marry a princess in four months."

"Ambitious."

"That’s one word for it."

Lune walked over, looking at the diagrams and calculations scattered across the bed. Her fingers traced one of the flow charts Aegis had drawn—the one connecting monster hunting profits to manor renovations to merchant contracts.

"I’m not terribly sure what anything on here means."

[If only you knew. ’Hey Lune, so I’m from another world where your entire reality was a video game and I’m trying to break the plot by speed-running economic domination.’ Yeah, that’d go over well.]

Aegis paused.

[Actually... Come to think of it, if I was to tell literally anyone about that, wouldn’t Lune take the news the best? I can’t imagine her freaking out about it.]

"Just some stuff I scribbled. After, uh, doing some research. Works better than just winging it. I need structure if I’m gonna pull this off."

Lune picked up one of the papers—the income plan—and read it silently. Her expression didn’t change, but Aegis could tell she was actually processing it.

"This assumes everything goes according to plan."

"Yeah, I know. That’s the scary part."

"What happens if something goes wrong?"

Aegis shrugged.

"Adapt. Improvise. Panic internally while maintaining external confidence."

Lune’s lips twitched. Almost a smile.

"Sounds like your usual strategy."

"Hey, it’s worked so far."

Lune set the paper down and sat on her own bed, watching Aegis.

"Do you actually think you can do this?"

Aegis looked at her notes, at the calculations and plans and impossible goals. Monster hunting schedules. Renovation timelines. Merchant contract projections. Items she needed to acquire.

It was a lot. Maybe too much.

But fuck it. She’d done harder things.

Probably.

"Yeah. I do."

She stood, stretching. Her back cracked after sitting hunched over for so long.

"I mean, worst case scenario, I fail spectacularly and Talia has to marry Darius. But that’s not happening. I’ve worked too hard to let some pompous pretty boy win just because he was born rich."

[And because I know this game inside and out. And because I have maxed Charisma. And because I’m too stubborn to quit.]

Lune tilted her head slightly, black hair falling across her shoulder.

Aegis walked over and, on impulse, pulled Lune into a hug.

"Ahhh, damn, I missed these. My cute roommate abandoned me for so long! You know how heartbroken I’ve been?"

Lune stiffened for a moment—her usual reaction to unexpected physical contact.

But then, slowly, her arms came up and she hugged Aegis back. Actually hugged her back, with pressure and everything.

Aegis’s brows shot up.

[... Did she just hug me back? Lune? Lune Solana, who treats physical affection like it’s a foreign language?]

"I need to get back to painting," Lune mumbled as she stepped away, her cheeks slightly pink.

"... Alright," Aegis said. That was all she could think to say.

[Holy shit.]

She turned back to her papers, her mind already moving forward.

[First step: Track down a certain muscular, grey-haired lady who could break me in half with minimal effort but also happens to be one of the best combat partners in the game. Need to see if she’s still at the academy or if she went home for break. If she’s here, perfect. If not, I’ll need to send a letter.]

She nodded.

[Second step: Hit the Merchant’s Guild. Get that Runic Key quest started. The sooner I unlock those ruins, the sooner I can start farming materials.]

She nodded again.

[Third step: Don’t die. Always a solid plan.]

Lune pulled out her sketchbook and started drawing, her presence a comfortable quiet as Aegis continued planning. The scratching of pencil on paper was soothing, familiar.

The summer stretched ahead, full of opportunities and risks.

Four months to build the foundations of an empire.