Isekai Online Game Developer

‘I, I absolutely have to buy this…!’

Leo was pacing the room, biting his nails.

He looked surprisingly anxious for someone of his status.

The reason Leo was acting this way was none other than ‘Thumping Academy!’.

That game, released in a limited edition of 500 copies, featured Zebit as a heroine.

The price was exorbitantly high, but as Crown Prince, Grah could afford it.

However, he had the money but no time to purchase it.

“Your Highness. You really need to handle these documents quickly.”

“Your Highness, there are supply issues at the Northern border…”

“This budget proposal…”

Endless work piled up, leaving no room for rest.

Just a few hours away from the palace and the workload would multiply in an instant.

The waiting line would surely be as long as that of ‘Maple Leaf Story,’ and if he was late, he wouldn’t be able to buy it.

“…Brother. May I handle that matter a bit?”

“…Rikal?”

As he was buried in work, Rikal approached Leo with a blank expression one day.

It was the first time Rikal had offered to handle state affairs.

“Ha… Stop joking around. I’m busy.”

“It’s not a joke. Considering the situation at the Northern border, routing the supply lines through Count Hikten’s territory would solve the issue.”

“…!”

Rikal proposed a sharp solution.

It was a method even Leo hadn’t thought of.

“How…?”

Leo dropped the pen he was holding, his mouth agape.

Rikal averted his gaze and continued speaking.

“Lately, the Emperor has been getting more into games, so… I might, you know, help a little.”

What on earth had caused this change?

And how had the seemingly incompetent Rikal come up with such a plan?

If he weren’t interested in state affairs, he wouldn’t even have thought of it.

“…Then give it a try.”

Leo cautiously decided to assign him one task.

Rikal completed it with confidence and gradually took on more work.

At first, the royal family’s gaze wasn’t kind.

They were restless, worried about when he’d cause trouble again.

But as the days passed, the whispers subsided.

Rikal wasn’t causing problems anymore and was impressively getting things done.

No one questioned how this change had come about.

It was certain that he was gaining recognition in the royal court.

As time passed, one week before the release of ‘Thumping Academy!’

“Cough, cough… I owe you one, Rikal… Elia.”

Leo fell ill and had to lie down.

“It’s okay, Brother. It’s fine if you rest.”

Elia said worriedly.

Meanwhile, Rikal watched Leo lying down with a peculiar gaze.

“Rikal will take good care of things. I’ll do my best too.”

“Thank you, all of you…”

Rikal had taken on a lot of work during this time.

There might be some issues, but for a week, he and Elia could handle state affairs to some extent.

“Then, just rest well.”

People left Leo, who was lying in bed.

A short while later, a stand-in Leo had arranged in advance entered the room.

Leo switched places with the stand-in and secretly sneaked out of the palace.

In fact, he wasn’t really sick; he just wanted to wait for ‘Thumping Academy!’

It was a crazy thing to do, but he simply wanted to buy ‘Thumping Academy!’

Fortunately, Rikal was managing things well, so his worries about state affairs lessened.

When he arrived at Trinity, there were already countless people in line.

When one person started, others rushed in as well.

Leo was no exception.

‘…Still, I think I can get it.’

He roughly estimated that there were fewer than 500 people.

Leo set up a tent and prepared to wait for a week.

After a week of sleeping outside, Leo finally bought ‘Thumping Academy!’

When he returned to the palace, Rikal’s position had risen even higher.

However, Leo didn’t mind.

He was just happy that he could play ‘Thumping Academy!’

*

Rikal gradually increased his standing in the palace.

He accomplished many tasks while Leo was absent due to illness.

Of course, Rikal knew that Leo’s illness was just an excuse to buy ‘Thumping Academy!’

He still felt a bit bitter but decided to stop worrying about it.

As Rai had said, he was learning how to be acknowledged as Rikal.

“Yo. Count Pofos, you back?”

One day, Count Pofos returned from vacation.

He looked surprisingly thin and pale, as if he was about to drop dead.

Rikal wanted to kill him right then and there, but he held back.

He had decided not to do such things anymore.

Of course, he wouldn’t let Count Pofos off easily either.

“Y-Your Highness…! What’s going on here?!”

He approached Rikal, appearing very agitated.

If it were the old days, the other palace members wouldn’t have cared.

But now, being in front of a Crown Prince rather than a reckless noble, Count Pofos faced cold glares.

Realizing that the situation had changed, Count Pofos was momentarily taken aback.

But the pain he had endured was greater, and he ultimately couldn’t hold back.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. The one who made the game was Riot. Didn’t you write the scenario, Count?”

“I never wrote such a scenario! I’ll reveal Your Highness’s identity!”

“You little… no, Count.”

As Count Pofos began to get agitated, people started gathering around.

“Count Pofos has finally returned.”

“What on earth has he been doing all this time?”

“By the way, how did the Count have ‘Thumping Academy!’?”

“They didn’t mention that part even at the Illusion Tower, right?”

People whispered about Count Pofos.

His face reddened in anger, and he couldn’t hold back.

“Listen up, everyone! Here, the Third Prince is Zebit! He’s deceived everyone with the Illusion Artifact!!!”

The people in the palace buzzed with excitement.

Rikal’s expression momentarily showed surprise but quickly regained composure.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Count. After all, I’ve spoken with Lady Zebit through the Illusion Tower. Are you insulting me? Do you want to die?”

“The Third Prince is Lady Zebit? What nonsense…”

“Exactly. I’m feeling more annoyed today, Count…”

Count Pofos’s cheeks quivered, sweat streaming down his face.

Rikal was no longer an untrustworthy noble.

“By the way, I heard that Count Pofos stole the one and only ‘Thumping Academy!’?”

“What??? What are you talking about!”

“Hm. Wasn’t the Illusion Artifact made for Lady Zebit? If it disappeared, surely someone must have stolen it. Rumors say Count Pofos already had it.”

“N-n-n-no, what…!”

Voices filled with disdain for Count Pofos grew louder.

Cold sweat poured down, soaking Count Pofos’s clothes.

Rikal casually hooked an arm over his shoulder and spoke softly.

“Count… if you want to live, you’d better listen to me. Back then, you threatened me, saying it was good.”

“W-hat?!”

Afterward, Count Pofos found himself facing terrible situations because of Rikal.

“Well, things turned out well. Count Pofos’s issues. As well as Your Highness’s.”

“Count Pofos is a natural fool. He has no reputation. But what exactly did he do with the game?”

“There are these things. But it seems you didn’t kill him after all.”

“Of course, he’s a pig, but he has his use. He’s still a royal noble for a reason.”

In this changed life, Rikal visited the Illusion Tower after a long time.

Rai was hard at work on the next game.

“By the way, what’s this game?”

“Oh, this? This is… a game where you can create a world. It has a bit of adventure, and various elements… starting from chopping wood and gradually advancing life, that sort of thing.”

“Isn’t that just primitive?”

“It’s a game that starts from something primitive. But it should definitely be fun. It might even be more fun here.”

“Hmm…?”

Rai was speaking in obscure terms while making the game.

As always, he spouted nonsense, so Rikal just went along with it.

More importantly, Rikal had one task in mind to give Rai today.

Thud—

“…What’s this for?”

Rikal placed the Zebit Transformation Artifact brooch on the table.

“…I probably won’t need it anymore. Do whatever you want with it. Throw it away or recycle it.”

“Huh? Are you throwing away the Zebit just because you’ve gained some standing in the palace?”

“It’s a shame, but, well. I have too many things to do. I can’t keep relying on it forever.”

“Hmm… understood. But I’ll keep it for now. There might be a time I need it again.”

“…I’m saying there won’t be any.”

Rikal vowed not to hide his true identity anymore.

Of course, no one knew how things would unfold in the future.

And the second task.

“It’s about time to head back. I’m busy too.”

“Uh, I’ll go. But….”

Rikal had prepared his mind, but the words wouldn’t come out easily.

His cheeks flushed red.

“Is there something you want to say?”

Rikal took a deep breath.

He steeled himself and slowly opened his mouth.

“Um… thank you.”

“Eh?!”

“Thank you for helping me.”

“Ehh…!”

Rai made a face as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.

Not even looking at Rai’s expression, Rikal hurriedly stood up.

“Th-then, I’m off.”

Rai, who heard ‘thank you’ for the first time, was scared more than puzzled.

Rikal, blushing with embarrassment from saying thanks for the first time, ran away.

For some reason, his heart was racing erratically on the way back to the palace.

*

Kilia slipped on a thick hood and left Diehelium.

Diehelium referred to the forest contaminated by magic during the war with the Demon King’s army.

There, Dark Elves had settled down.

They were not influenced much by magic due to their innate characteristics.

But that didn’t mean the birth of Dark Elves was related to demons.

They were born beneath the same World Tree as Elves.

The difference was that Dark Elves struggled to use mana.

They had a naturally limited amount of mana they could emit.

Instead, they were masters of skills like architecture and blacksmithing in the past.

They forged weapons for many heroes, and many historical relics were made by them.

However, as Trinity was established, magic rapidly advanced.

Many things were replaced by magical engineering techniques, and gradually, the skills of Dark Elves became outdated.

Of course, the value of craftsmen remained unchanged.

But an incident decisively caused Dark Elves to disappear into the background of history.

“…It’s hot.”

Kilia muttered while wearing a hood on a sunny day.

In the distance, the massive World Tree stood tall in the middle of the forest.

“…Hmph.”

The war that started from a small quarrel between Elves and Dark Elves.

The Dark Elves, defeated by the Elves, were driven out from the forest where the World Tree stood, Elyum.

As Dark Elves migrated to Diehelium, people began to ignore them.

They were forgotten as the world’s skills were mostly replaced by magic.

Kilia headed toward Trinity.

It was quite a distance, but it was the nearest city.

Unlike Elves, who could obtain everything needed under the World Tree’s grace,

Dark Elves had to hunt or go to the city to buy things.

“Have you heard? They say the Illusion Tower is releasing another new game.”

“I’ve heard, but it didn’t seem that interesting. Just being thrown into a wild with nothing.”

The games from the Illusion Tower were still the talk of the humans.

Kilia also enjoyed COL quite a bit.

More than anything, he loved his nickname.

But his skills weren’t that great.

‘…A new game. Should I buy it?’

On his way back to Diehelium, Kilia thought about whether he should buy a new game the next time he came to Trinity.

A while later, the newly released game’s name was ‘Minecraft’.