[TVM] 29. Your Downfall is Assured

“Seems to be that way indeed.”

“What? It can’t be.”

“It’s quite obvious that it’s over.”

Henry laughed as he lowered his telescope. Observing the entire battle from the eastern wall of Perlenstadt, right as units affiliated with Young Lotharingia arrived, was about as safe as it could get.

Unfortunately, it seemed that he was extremely late. He was planning to take credit for Wilhelm’s hard work and liberate Perlenstadt while using Phoebe…

But it seems a snotty brat managed to do it first.

Crown Princess Alexa Theresa von Wolgast. She was a character meant to be one of the stupidest villains out there. Someone whose fate was to die in the novel. 

Yet somehow, out of nowhere, with perfect timing and planning, she managed to not only befriend Phoebe, but also keep herself out of so much trouble in the Academy, gain the powers of the Head…and…

Henry was getting ahead of himself. Of course, she would be able to do that. He wasn’t someone who could easily be fooled.

It’s either that she’s Alexa Theresa who regressed, or someone else who also found herself reincarnated into this novel.

Henry looked down at his pocket watch.

It was already close to night.

“The princess,” His subordinate spoke again as he looked through his telescope. “How can she do all of this? You’ve heard her voice earlier, right?”

“I did. Everyone did.”

“What will we do now in that case?”

“I’m going to order the men to conduct their normal duties. There’s still some prestige to be gained by mopping up the city.”

He patted the back of his subordinate as he walked past him.

I see how it is. This requires some finer adjustments than.

Regardless, Henry was unfazed. Even if his opponent knew the future like him, he doubted she’d be that good. Remembering how Alexa Theresa acted, it was quite likely after all that she’s still impaired by the tendencies of that character.

Even if she managed to smooth out her edges, it doesn’t change the fundamentals. She’s still Alexa Theresa.

He removed his coat, before placing it over his shoulders, then, he looked down at the soldiers below the city’s eastern wall.

Indeed. Your downfall is assured, princess.

“Alright, men!” He shouted. “We got work to do!”

+++

[STATE OF THE HOLY EMPIRE]

[THE PEOPLE’S APPROVAL RATINGS]

[CIVILIAN SUBJECTS: 10/100 (+20) NOBILITY | 10/100 (+20) CLERGY | -40/100 (+25) COMMONERS | -90/100 (+20) SLAVES]

[MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS: 40/100 (+20) ROYAL GUARD | 10/100 (+20) IMPERIAL ARMY | -50/100 (+25) DEFENSE FORCES]

[ECONOMIC INTEREST GROUPS: 10/100 (+20) LANDLORDS | -20/100 (+20) BURGHERS]

[CULTURAL INTEREST GROUPS: 15/100 (+20) THE FAITHFUL | -30/100 (+20) INTELLIGENTSIA]

[POLITICAL INTEREST GROUPS: -30/100 (+20) REFORMISTS | 5/100 (+20) OLD GUARD]

This is so awful. So you’re saying, only the nobility, clergy, and everyone close to them mildly like me?

[YES. TO FIX THAT, NOW YOU CAN CHOOSE ANOTHER QUESTLINE TO FOCUS ON FOR THE NEXT 6 MONTHS!]

[WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THEM?]

Of course!

[QUESTLINE A1: EXPAND IMPERIAL FOOD SUPPLY]

[QUESTLINE A2: IMPROVE IMPERIAL HEALTHCARE]

[QUESTLINE A3: REPAIR IMPERIAL INFRASTRUCTURE]

[QUESTLINE A4: REVITALIZE MILITARY AND CIVILIAN INDUSTRY]

Alexa squinted to get a better look at those questlines. 

So I can only pick one?

[SINCE YOU HAVEN’T BEEN FULLY CROWNED YET, I MOST CERTAINLY DOUBT YOU’D BE ABLE TO DO MORE THAN ONE AT A TIME. YOU CAN PICK ONE AND FINISH THEM FASTER THOUGH, AND PICK ANOTHER ONE. BESIDES, ONCE YOU FINISH A QUESTLINE, YOU’LL HAVE THE ABILITY TO TACKLE THE NEXT, AND SO ON!]

I see…

Alexa went into one of the deserted corners of the street to think for herself. Looking up at the night sky, she mulled over her options.

First of all, should a pressing event happen where I need to defend my country from demons again, I’ll need the last one.

She frowned.

But, I think, logically, these four have to be finished from top to bottom so they’ll fuel the next one. To revitalize industry, I need good infrastructure. To repair infrastructure, I need healthy and well-fed workers, so I have to finish the first two quests as a prerequisite.

She therefore concluded that based on this, including the fact that she had to start somewhere easier, she should pick the first option. 

[QUESTLINE PICKED! EXPAND THE IMPERIAL FOOD SUPPLY!]

Alright, let me see that—

[IN ADDITION TO THAT, HOWEVER, YOU’VE ALSO UNLOCKED THE NEW ‘CRISIS’ MECHANIC! THE FOLLOWING PRESSING ISSUES ARE NOW IN EFFECT!]

What?

Before Alexa could react, two screens that depicted refugees on one side and the Imperial capital’s destroyed landscape on the other side appeared in front of her.

Naturally, her heart was first taken by the one that depicted a poor mother and her daughter walking on the road with ragged clothes.

[SCHENGEN REGION’S REFUGEE CRISIS]

[Goals: Relocate, house, and feed 300,000 people from the Schengen Region.]

[Progress: 0/300,000 saved from acute starvation | 0/100,000 safely relocated to stable regions | 0/100,000 saved from acute homelessness]

[Failure Timer: Four months from the start of the crisis.]

[Failure Penalties: -10 opinion of the commoner strata.]

[Success Rewards: +5 opinion of the commoner strata.]

So I have to save the poors to make them like me? But the numbers are too big! How will I even do this?

She looked at the next one, which depicted the burning ruins of Perlenstadt.

[THE QUESTION OF THE SCHENGEN REGION’S STATUS]

[Goals: Settle a brewing dispute about whether the Schengen Region belongs to the Imperial Government or the Ministry of Defense in the wake of the Battle of Perlenstadt.]

[Status: The Schengen Region has been formally designated as the Schengen Defense District.]

[Projected Effects: +5 opinion of the Defense Forces, -10 opinion of the Nobility, -10 opinion of the Clergy, -10 opinion of the Landlords, -5 opinion of the Burghers, -5 opinion of the Old Guard.]

[Effects Activation Deadline: Three months after the start of the crisis.]

Her head spun. She’d been talking big earlier about being a leader who could do anything, but now, she was at a loss. Not only was she supposed to manage a massive refugee crisis, she’d also have to take sides in an issue she didn’t fully understand yet.

Most of all, what should she even pick?! The Imperial Government, or the Defense Forces. By the look of things, she should absolutely lean on giving the Schengen Region back to the Imperial Government, but then, that +5 opinion for the Defense Forces felt all the more worth it when they already hate her guts and the people losing opinion points already somewhat like her anyway.

“Whatever I’m even thinking about…I feel like I’m totally clueless,” Alexa said, her head a doozy. “No…it’s projected effects anyway. Maybe I can just do something else…?”

[YOU ARE FREE TO DO WHATEVER TO DEAL WITH THESE CRISES. YOU CAN EVEN CHOOSE TO IGNORE IT ENTIRELY. ULTIMATELY, IT IS ALL UP TO YOUR JUDGMENT.]

“No way, I have to take action,” Alexa said. “If I don’t, I’ll be like those unpopular fat old presidents. I can’t have that!”

Alexa finally checked the actual questline, hoping for something better over there.

[EXPAND THE IMPERIAL FOOD SUPPLY]

[Sub-Quest #1: Employ an additional 40,000 contract farmers in the Lotharingian West Coast (x)]

[Sub-Quest #2: Cultivate an additional 200,000 acres of farmland in the Lotharingian West Coast (x)]

[Completion Rewards: Civila Mandato Skill Improvements (+5 modified opinion of the commoner strata, +5 modified opinion of Landlords, +5 modified opinion of Burghers)]

Now this sounded slightly more straightforward than the previous crisis thing. All that was here was a mission to be achieved, and the corresponding rewards. No penalties.

I’m also noticing another pattern here. The questlines themselves seem to be improving my ‘Civila Mandato’ skill. Most likely, the more I improve it, the more progress I’ll make in getting into the Holy Mandate.

On the other hand, crises seem to change the base opinion of my people, whether that be negative or positive. In the end, though, the goal should be to keep the base opinion high and the modified opinion from my passive skill high too.

Considering the destruction of the Grand Academy, most likely, it’d take a while before schooling would resume for her and her classmates. While the rest of the city might take a while to be rebuilt, the amount of money and resources, alongside the mages in the picture, would mean the Grand Academy would take perhaps half a year or so to rebuild. 

“Therefore,” Alexa curled her fist. “I have the perfect opportunity to finish all three of these nicely. I, Alexa Theresa von Wolgast will definitely—”

“Um, Lady Alexa, why did you disappear to this corner to talk to yourself?”

“W-wait you’re eavesdropping! No, I can’t let that stand! I command you Phoebe to wipe out your memory of everything I said in the last five minutes!”

“S-sorry, Lady Alexa! I’m deleting it all! Please forgive me!”

+++

Soon, with the arrival of more reinforcements, the Defense Forces and the Imperial Army made great progress to push further west of the city. Then, they began the gritty work of mopping up the remnants of demonic infestation in the Great Dungeon.

It took nearly five days, but Alexa, Phoebe, Adele, Alfred, and Wilhelm all stayed in Perlenstadt to oversee such a task. By the end of it all, the military handed Alexa the initial tally of casualties.

Nearly four thousand soldiers, alongside five thousand civilians, died according to the initial tally. She compared it briefly with what was said in the original novel, where the battle didn’t just stop at Perlenstadt but spread beyond it.

There, casualties reached nearly eighty thousand, mostly civilians. The early arrival of the 101st Rapid Reaction Brigade ‘Fuchs’, specifically their forward-deployed battalion that was close by under the guise of ‘training recruits’, managed to hold off the demon horde long enough for most people to escape.

They also greatly aided in preventing most of the Perlenstadt Garrison from breaking into a rout, allowing defense lines to be established much, much earlier. All in all, Alexa’s actions saved so many lives.

But…I can’t rest yet.

She walked toward the center of the ruined assembly hall of the Imperial Diet, where nobles, clergymen, and burghers were represented by appointed members. The Imperial Diet was the legislature of the Imperium, though its role had always been largely advisory. 

Now that the demon horde was forced back, Alexa made a grand move quickly. Knowing that these fools fled at short notice, she decided to shout to the entire Empire calling on its officials to ‘return at once’ to Perlenstadt using her Rose Eyes ability.

Those desperate to regain their prestige, naturally, scurried back in the hopes of meeting her—the next Empress.

Nearly half of them were here, mostly confused old men, filing into their seats, some of which were damaged. Even though the dome above was still not in good shape, the glass shattered, thus exposing everyone below to the mild rain pouring down today.

“Lady Alexa,” Phoebe called out from below as Alexa climbed into the raised area where the speaker of the Imperial Diet sat. “Are you really sure about this?”

Alexa nodded with a smile, then she walked straight into the podium once occupied by the Imperial Diet’s speaker. 

To complete my quests, and make sure that I regain my Holy Mandate, I have to start now.

Even if she changed things so that so many people didn’t die, people still died. She remembered Sloth’s words. Yes, she denied all of it and deflected, but it stung.

She was slothful. She hadn’t done enough yet. Weak or not, student or not, as Crown Princess, it was unacceptable. No, she wouldn’t rely on a regency council that fled at a moment’s notice.

No, she’d rely on herself, and her newfound allies.

Her pink eyes glowed, and the Imperial Diet’s members all had their jaws agape as they finally saw the source of the voice that called on them earlier.

[ROSE EYES Ω SKILL ACTIVATED!]

“Members of the Imperial Diet, I presume you already know why I called all of you here, no?” Alexa asked, as the slightly nervous old men stared at her, their eyes still wide. She placed her hand on her chest, confident. “Well, it’s simple. I shall now lay down my goals for this Empire, because I, Alexa Theresa von Wolgast, wish to finally take control of the throne I rightfully inherited!”