The Count of Lithuania, Baron Randol, and the Margrave of Infractus, William Henry Heart.

In the world of Tactical Combat, he was described by countless modifiers.

In the past world, he was called the Iron-Blooded Margrave who never broke, and he was a character who enjoyed considerable popularity. Gilbert also really liked this character, William Henry Heart.

But now, the character he loved had become his father, staring at him with cold, piercing eyes.

Honestly, he felt a bit intimidated by that sharp gaze, but he tried to maintain his composure and act dignified.

He absolutely didn’t want to arouse the suspicion of the Iron-Blooded Margrave by acting suspiciously.

“You called for me, I heard.”

One good thing about Gilbert inhabiting this body was that noble etiquette flowed naturally, even without conscious effort.

Even though Gilbert was set up as a troublemaker, he hadn’t neglected his education as a noble.

The Iron-Blooded Margrave wouldn’t tolerate such behavior, and Gilbert’s detailed settings described him as having strong pride as a noble.

In other words, he was a troublemaker, but he didn’t abandon his noble demeanor. It was a contradiction.

At the time, he thought it was fun…

Thanks to that setting, he wouldn’t face any trouble due to etiquette.

“You’ve come.”

The voice was emotionless.

But he could detect a hint of dissatisfaction in it.

He could roughly guess the reason.

The two keywords that existed in the settings—playboy and troublemaker—must have angered the Count before him.

“I assume you know why I called you without me having to say it.”

“…”

There were many reasons.

Just the two keywords mentioned earlier were enough to warrant being disowned from the family register.

If Gilbert hadn’t been given the title of the eldest son who could inherit the family, he might have been dealt with long ago.

The Count of Lithuania valued honor and was a person who cared deeply about the family.

“I won’t mention the incidents I’ve overlooked until now. But there will be no more leniency. Even if you’re called the troublemaker of the Count family, you should know what I’m talking about.”

Don’t act recklessly.

The Count was warning Gilbert.

It was a declaration that from now on, even if future actions were overlooked, any behavior that tarnished the family’s reputation would not be tolerated.

It was the worst situation, but the fact that there was still a last chance was quite encouraging.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Interesting words. You say you’ll keep it in mind.”

“Yes.”

“Anyone can say words. But you couldn’t even do that. A noble’s words are worth a thousand gold. Do you know that your actions so far have been like throwing that value into the gutter?”

The words were harsh.

The Count of Lithuania wasn’t speaking as a father but as a noble reprimanding him for tarnishing his honor in the past.

No matter what he said here, it wouldn’t be a satisfactory answer for the Count.

For now, the best course of action was to keep quiet and say nothing.

“You’ve gained some sense, it seems. Good. I’ll see how far your resolve goes. You’ll soon be entering the Academy, so you’ll need to show satisfactory results. That will be the last chance I give you.”

“…Understood.”

“No more words are needed. You may leave.”

The oppressive pressure that had been weighing on him since he entered the room vanished in an instant.

Gilbert’s efforts to remain composed, even while sweating profusely, weren’t in vain.

The last chance the Count of Lithuania mentioned was an unspoken pressure to prove himself through results, but it also meant that past incidents would be excluded from the assessment.

However, if the assessment fell short of the Count’s expectations, he would decisively cut Gilbert off for the honor of the Heart family.

For now, buying time was crucial, so Gilbert bowed deeply and left the office.

Cold sweat ran down his back, but he didn’t pay it any mind.

As the office door closed, he let out a sigh of relief.

When he first possessed this custom character, he didn’t realize it, but facing the Count of Lithuania made him realize how difficult this was going to be.

He could guess the narratives of the characters that appeared in the game, but he had no idea about the character he had created, Gilbert.

If Gilbert had played the game, he might have indirectly experienced the events that unfolded, but since he was pulled here before even playing, he was completely in the dark.

What if he had been disowned from the family because of that one line he casually wrote in the settings?

Just imagining it gave him goosebumps.

Gilbert returned to his room, pretending to be calm under the watchful eyes of those around him.

Only then could he finally let out a deep sigh.

“This is driving me crazy.”

Gilbert felt suffocated by the situation where he couldn’t even sigh properly.

But that wasn’t the most important thing right now.

First, he revisited the conversation with the Count.

His mind, which had been too tense to function properly, finally started working again now that he was alone in his room.

The Count had given him a last chance, telling him to achieve satisfactory results at the Academy.

Here, satisfactory results clearly meant academic performance.

Even if he didn’t dream of advancing to the center, if the Margrave’s heir brought back terrible grades, it would be a problem.

First, his reputation as a noble would hit rock bottom, and if rumors spread to foreign countries…

If he later succeeded as the next Margrave, the commander guarding this place would naturally be Gilbert Lion Heart.

If the Margrave guarding the empire’s borders was incompetent, what would happen?

He would naturally become easy prey for other nations.

In this world, if your national defense was weak, you’d be devoured.

Of course, this was an extreme scenario, but the Iron-Blooded Margrave was surely considering even the worst-case situations.

So, he was telling Gilbert to bring tangible results to cover all past mistakes.

Evidence that he could sufficiently protect the borders of the Infractus Empire.

After organizing his thoughts, he felt relieved that he wouldn’t be kicked out.

If he had been told to go into indefinite seclusion for tarnishing the family’s honor, he might have ended up dead as the story progressed.

The worst situation had been avoided, but achieving good grades at the Academy wasn’t going to be easy.

Each person’s skills varied greatly depending on their characteristic skills.

Moreover, characteristic skills couldn’t be used until they were unlocked, and many people died without ever unlocking theirs.

The triggers for awakening them were also diverse, and there was even a field of study dedicated to researching them.

According to the memories that had seeped into Gilbert, he hadn’t yet acquired his characteristic skill. This was because, when he created the skill, he had set it to first manifest when he plundered someone else’s mech.

The wealthy heir of the Count family only ever plundered when seducing someone else’s woman, so he never had the opportunity to activate his characteristic skill.

Of course, even if Gilbert’s personality hadn’t been set that way, piloting someone else’s mech was almost taboo, so it was a skill that only he could activate.

But even if it did activate, how was he supposed to use a skill that only worked when stealing someone else’s mech? Just thinking about it gave him a headache.

Gilbert decided to set aside the issue of his characteristic skill for later.

The immediate concern was the narrative that would unfold.

Judging by the timeline, it seemed to be around the prologue when the protagonist would enter the Academy.

Checking the continental calendar confirmed that it was around that time, so there was no margin for error.

Therefore, he needed to set a course of action before entering the Academy.

The top priority was finding a way to escape this damned game world.

Gilbert first thought about how to escape the game.

He came up with several hypotheses, but ultimately, he decided to aim for clearing the game’s scenario.

Since he had experienced the common trope of being transported into a game world, he thought escaping might follow a similar pattern.

In most possession stories, whether in novels or games, returning to the original world usually happened after reaching the ending.

Considering this common outcome, Gilbert concluded that aiming for the ending was the right course of action.

That said, it wasn’t going to be easy.

First, reaching the ending itself was difficult, and among the numerous endings, figuring out which one held the key to returning home was another problem.

Moreover, in a game, events would trigger at precise moments, but here, this was reality. Assuming that the countless variables embedded in it would align perfectly to meet the ending conditions and achieve the desired result was too optimistic.

But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try.

Gilbert scratched his head vigorously and continued his thoughts.

He decided to adjust his plans based on how things unfolded and set short-term goals first.

The immediate task was to safely get through the Academy episode, which was the introduction of Tactical Combat. There was the Count’s warning, and he needed to grow as quickly as possible here to gain at least some strength to handle any emergencies.

Gilbert’s thoughts spiraled until they finally reached the protagonist character.

What would the protagonist character be like in this world that had become reality?

As someone who had played the character, Gilbert knew the protagonist’s potential better than anyone. However, depending on the player’s choices, the protagonist’s growth direction and character arc could change, making it hard to pin down.

That said, ignoring the protagonist’s potential was too much of a waste.

Gilbert stroked his chin.

It seemed better to postpone thinking about the protagonist for later. Making hasty judgments before meeting them in person was risky.

Gilbert spent his time organizing the direction of the pre-Academy episodes and key branching events, holed up like a dead mouse.

He resolved not to cause any trouble until then.

A week passed like this.

Finally, the day to enter the Academy was just around the corner.