New Character Quest.

"Railius Aurellion."

"The moment I met and talked to him, I could sense the raging talent dormant within him."

"A man of insight and intellect that could match my own."

"I will win him over."

"This discarded Chavarian genius."

"To defend Nathia from its many enemies."

Kodjis Kendari, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Nathia.

….

"Oh, it's nothing much, just a little promise to help me with something in the future."

The crown prince said, avoiding the question entirely and immediately making Railius think that this favour would not be as simple as this cunning prince was making it out to be.

"Don't worry, I won't ask you to raise an army or anything like that for me as I already have Ranier and the two grand dukes for that."

The crown prince said, seemingly able to see through Railius' fears, understanding the reluctance within the young man's heart. But what stood out most to Railius was how Kodjis casually called out the greatest general of the kingdom as if they were friends or something, as even Flavius Crestier, when he became heir to the Empire of Chavaria, had to use people's proper titles when referring to them.

The prince's tone spoke of a close relationship between the two, and sensing this, it no longer seemed to be as much of a mystery why Ranier had supported him to be crown prince as Kodjis even seemed to brighten slightly when he spoke of the man who had defended the Nathian border for over 15 years.

"You and Great General Ranier appear to have a close relationship."

Railius noted to the crown prince, who, instead of being surprised, only revealed a scheming smile in response as if Railius had successfully passed one of the Nathian prince's tests.

"You noticed then…. It seems I wasn't wrong about you after all."

"Of course, that is not my only offer. I also invite you to improve this country with me, but I imagine, given your current actions, this is not something you want right now. So all I ask is for you to consider it, ok?"

The crown prince said in an upbeat tone. Despite not speaking too much all this time, Railius' brain was working overtime thinking about everything Kodjis had said as system notifications appeared.

[Your actions during the Dynasty History System have attracted the attention of Kodjis Kendari, the Crown Prince of Nathia. He is interested in you and, after meeting you, has acknowledged your talents.]

[The Crown Prince of Nathia, Kodjis Kendari, is inviting you into The Kingdom of Nathia and his faction within it.]

[Upon accepting, you will work for him and help him in his fight for the throne of Nathia]

[Would you like to accept?]

[Y/N]

Railius did not have to think at this notification, pressing no with his mind without hesitation. This had been a part of the game since its beginning as thanks to the friend system and their brains link with the game, it was easy for it to implement a system like this to make interactions and acceptance of quests more realistic as players could accept or reject them with their mind instead of their finger.

Railius had already decided that he would not join any nation yet, though he accepted that in the future, he would. He just wanted to look at all his options first. Of course, Prince Kodjis would just be disappointed, but he would not hold it against him as he was expecting such an outcome. However, the following system notification was not so simple to deal with.

[Prince Kodjis has offered you a reasonable price for all your goods and to help you register everything under your fake identities name and will personally help verify your identity's signature to ensure that your secret identity's legal ability to control the company will never be in doubt.]

[While only a temporary solution to your problem, it gives you more time to find a more permanent solution and someone who will be the face of the company and who you can control if you wish to keep your dealings and control over them a secret in the long term.]

[In exchange for this, he only asks for a small favour that he can cash in at a later date.]

[If you join him now or in the future, this favour will be void as you will help him in all of his endeavours in the future, so he will not need it.]

[Would you like to accept Prince Kodjis' offer?]

[Y/N]

After thinking about it for a minute, the young player mentally pressed the yes button, leading to him gaining something that he expected but did not want.

For it was just another chain that people could use to control him in the game.

[You have accepted Prince Kodjis' offer.]

[The money will be delivered to you, a bank or a safehouse under you once you have told the prince where you want it.]

[New Character Quest created 'The Crown Prince's Favour.']

After that, a Quest appeared in front of Railius.

.... 

The Crown Prince's Favour (Character Quest) (Dorment):

Description: You owe Kodjis Kendari, the crown prince of Nathia, a small favour and will be expected to pay it back in the future. The favour will be small and not require too much from you, and this quest can be removed if you join his faction or serve him in the future.

Quest Clear Conditions: Complete Kodjis Kendari's request

Quest Clear Rewards: Relationship increase and your debt settled.

Quest Failure Penalties: Relationship decrease with Kodjis Kendari and the loss of trust and your perceived competency to the crown prince.

....

"I would love to accept your offer for my wine but would like to see the world first before deciding where to make House Aurellion's new home. I will consider your offer first, though."

Railius said diplomatically even if the system notifications had come through, he still needed to do this kind of interaction as NPCs were not the usual blocks of code but instead more sentient, becoming increasingly humanlike to the point that Railius was starting to struggle to see the differences between them as player and NPC.

Railius was used to the faceless soldiers he sent into battle against an AI opponent, and even if he gained some attachment to their leader or even certain elite troops, it was far different than interacting and sacrificing humans in a war.

However, all the NPCs in DO have their own emotions that you can feel just like you can humans. Some of them he could even consider his friends and would be sad when they eventually died. Sending blocks of code to fight against each other on a battlefield was completely different than sending people who each have their own expressions, desires and will, which make them almost identical to humans, and the burden on the mind for murdering and being responsible for the death of a human would have a much more significant psychological impact on you than killing a nameless NPC in a game.

"Good, I'll have someone deliver the gold. Do you have somewhere in mind for it to be delivered to?"

The crown prince asked, his eyes flashing with intelligence. This seemingly innocent question was, in fact, a trap, yet another test for the young, inexperienced player.

'Cunning bastard!'

Railius thought and paused just before he gave the location of their tavern and intelligence base in the royal capital, as it would be obvious that a place that Railius trusts to hold thousands of his gold would be under his complete control in one way or another. Sighing, he replied to the crown prince with a smile of his own.

"I haven't yet got a bank account for my company. Once I have made one, I'll send you its details, and you can deliver it there."

"Would that be okay with you your royal highness?"

Railius asked, bowing his head and showing a bit of deference to the crown prince due to his position, as it would not do for him to completely ignore his status. It is okay in private settings like this, but in public, he would need to get used to showing the same respect everyone else in Nathia does.

This is similar to how, in private, the minister of war in Chavaria can be as rude and unbridled as he likes, but in court, he shows the same respect as everyone else. It helped to keep the reputation of their ruler intact and shows you accept their authority over the realm and its affairs; otherwise, people will think that you are more powerful than the ruler and induce suspicion between ruler and subject and open the doors up for people to exploit this to cause chaos in the nation.

Kings are very sensitive to their authority, and when it is being challenged, even the most benevolent rules will get suspicious, leading to conflict, not to mention the opinions of the rest of his court would hold of the man who has no respect for the king and his position. This includes foreign dignitaries, as once a king loses his authority and people get used to another family making decisions, it is only a matter of time until that powerless king is usurped.

The time they spend making these critical decisions slowly builds up the potential usurpers' legitimacy until they can force a king to abdicate, so the most important thing between a powerful vassal and his king is the respect they have for each other, but more importantly, the open submission to the ruler's authority that a vassal shows indicting their loyalty the crown.

"Of course, Flintorus!"

Prince Kodjis said in a commanding tone, only for the snoring to continue. The prince's friend and confidence seemed to have ignored him.

"Flintorus, you lazy bastard, get up!"

The prince shouted, whacking Flintorus playfully over the head with his hand. No one would think this was one of the prince's feared political strategists as he currently looked nothing more than a common drunkard.

"Uuuggghhh"

Flintorus groaned, raising to slouch in his chair and slightly opening one eye, looking like death warmed over and letting out a yawn that revealed his white, well-kept teeth.

"Yes, what is it, your royal highness? Have you finished your conversation yet?"

Flintorus asked as he massaged his forehead. At least he was no longer sleeping on his arm and seemed lucid. He was still recovering from his last very enjoyable night, but even in this state, the intelligence in his eyes could not be hidden, and his gaze was sharp, almost swordlike.

"Yes, we have! Now get your lazy ass up! I have a job for you!"

The prince shouted, berating his hungover subordinate while sighing. This was not the look he wanted to show off to a potential recruit, but Railius' arrival happened the night after he went out drinking with some nobles to help sway them to the prince's side.

By the time he returned from his essential carousing with the nobility, he was in a drunken stupor and flopped onto his bed, falling asleep instantly. He had to be dragged out of bed by Kodjis in the morning, who had to throw a bucket of water over him to finally wake him up so that he could accompany the prince here to this meeting, and even then, he still walked like a zombie swaying this way and that.

"Another one? Isn't me carousing with nobles and getting drunk in your stead not enough?"

Flintorus complained as if he didn't enjoy such pastimes and was doing the crown prince an immense favour just out of his loyalty to the crown prince.

At 25 years of age, the heir to the County of Finorian was married to the 20-year-old eldest daughter of one of the grand dukes, and while he enjoyed partying, he never, in his drunkenness, cheated on his wife, or he would have the Grand Duke of Grucia battering down his down something that would terrify anyone.

The Grand Duke of Grucia was a veteran of many wars, leading the nobles in the south in conflict with the countries surrounding Nathia south when they invaded and while Ranier Lantier was known as 'Crestiers Bane' and 'The Kings Sword' due to his ability to hold back the Chavarian empire then the Grand Duke of Grucia Grentarion was known as the 'The Souths Stalwart Sheild' due his pivotal role in defending the kingdom's tumultuous southern border.

The Kingdom of Nathia and the Kingdom of Rinada are ancient enemies, and many wars have been fought between the two for the last 600 years. They have fought on and off, with the Grand Duke of Grucia managing to take some land from Rinada 5 years ago after winning a decisive victory.

Thanks to his influence, the crown prince had a large amount of influence in the south as each of the Grand Duke's vassals followed their liege loyally and would side with whatever side Grentarion chose, forcing all the nobles surrounding him to stay neutral even if they wanted to side with one person or another.

Either way, there was no way he would cheat on his wife even if Flintorus liked to drink, or he would have his hide taken by the martially minded grand duke known for being fiercely protective of his family.

"Who was it that begged me to let him go out and have a good time?"

The crown prince asked back sternly to his friend as Flintorus had a habit of somehow making everything he did, even those things that were blatantly for his own pleasure, appear righteous in one way or another.

"Your highness, it was to bring people over to our side. We need all the help we can get, or do you want your brother to get more followers?"

Flintorus said shamelessly, showing that even in such a poor state, he could still hold his own in an argument.

"We both know that's not true! Now that you're obviously feeling much more awake, you can accompany Lord Aurellion to the bank, and once he registers with them, bring 2250 gold to put into the account!"

Prince Kodjis said, rolling his eyes in annoyance. After years of working together, he was used to his retainer's antics, but it never stopped him from complaining about them.

"Does your royal highness have a recommendation for the trustworthy bank?"

Railius asked, interpreting the argument between the two. If he was going to get help from the crown prince, then Railius might as well get recommendations for a bank for his business, too.

"Yes, I do. Dominion Holdings is a trusted bank of the nobility. Though many prefer to keep their money in their castle vaults, many open accounts so they can trade money with each other easily, as this bank has a branch in every major city in the kingdom, and no one dares to take any money out of it or ambush any gold trains owned by them."

Prince Kodjis said, pointing Railius in the right direction. It was the least he could do, and he wanted to win over the young player anyway, so doing a small, harmless favour like this would only help improve his standing with the young lord of Aurellion.

"Well, let's be off then, Lord Aurellion. The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can go back to bed."

Flintorus said lazily, the blazing fire of passion seemingly non-existent within his body, and just for a moment, Railius felt that he had found a kindred spirit in the young noblemen, not knowing that he was only like this when hungover and is otherwise a very conscientious person.

"Oh right, you may need this."

Flintorus said, throwing a brown cloak that he got from a nearby retainer over to Railius. He then took one for himself and put on the course garment.

"You don't want to be recognised by people, right? Don't worry; the spies of others have been cleared from here already."

Flintorus said as if it was the most natural thing in the world, ignoring the blood that is always spilt within the nobilities hidden battles in the dark.

'This is not a guy to underestimate!'

Railius thought as he followed Flintorus, a man he would become great friends with in the future who, even when he appeared to be in a drunken stupor, still managed to process and pick up on all of the crucial details of a conversation.