Reincarnated as the Baron's son: My Infinite Card Upgrade System-Chapter 108: A shared burden

"Montclair? I know you; you are that baron Neuk wanted gone for the mining ground or something. What could you possibly want with me?"

Dergen uttered with suspicion in his voice, though he needed to be careful what he said since Laura and Aurora were still in the room with him.

The hologram played, Alaric using it as a medium to speak to the Duke.

"You remember me then; that makes it easier. I know about your plan to have a way with the Duchess of Forgeno. Stupid on your part, but I can understand how far greed can take a man," said Alaric nonchalantly.

Dergen was pissed off at the comment but held back, only able to clench his fist.

"But you’re in luck. As it would seem, your war is exactly what I need right now. As such, I am willing to help you turn the tides in your favor."

"What’s in it for you?"

Alaric had a happy, sarcastic look right after Dergen asked that question.

"I didn’t think you’d ask that. Uh, weird." He then sat upright, "What I need from you is simply two things, one of which I’m sure you wouldn’t mind doing."

"I’m listening..."

"One..." Alaric raised a finger, "After completely defeating Meren and her army, I want you to continue the war all the way to the capital."

"What?! Are you insane?! I can’t go up against the king! I don’t have enough power to even—"

"Which is why I am going to give you that power." Alaric sighed, "It’s quite obvious if you had the chance, you’d take the throne for yourself. Now you do; you can take that throne. I am giving you the power to do so."

Of course, the only reason Alaric was able to tell this was due to the profile stat he got from the system about Dergen.

A man who is so in love with power, he killed his own father so he could be the Duke. While he was in power, he made the rest of the dukes fall under him—all but one, of course, Meren Lorik.

Which was why he despised her; she was getting more influence and power than him.

"How do you know this?" Dergen didn’t even try to deny the claim.

"That is not important. The war should be the only thing on your mind, a good time to finally rule over Vergino as you’ve always wanted," Alaric uttered.

"Haha! You almost got me there. Let’s say I do believe you. Just for a second, I want to use this war as a means to take over the entire kingdom. What kind of power could you possibly give me that will make me attain victory?"

To which Alaric replied,

"Magic technology. I shall show you. Laura." He called out to his summon.

Laura then pulled out a black pistol from her pockets. It was long and pulsing with mana.

A special gadget Alaric had made with the knowledge of his life back in his former world. Since he was part of the military, he knew a thing or two about how to build a gun from scratch.

Thus, he knew how to make a gun too.

Laura aimed the gun at the side of the tent.

"This is a pistol. Powerful enough to penetrate anything, including magic barriers," Alaric explained.

Dergen didn’t fully understand what Alaric meant by that. Until Laura pulled the trigger.

The bullet shot out of the pistol, tearing through the camp like a beam and then taking out at least three other tents.

Before Dergen could understand what was happening, there was already a huge hole in the tent, big enough for the other soldiers to see what was happening inside.

"Incredible..." Dergen could barely believe his eyes.

"And that is the smaller size. I have a question: 12,000 weapons waiting to be delivered to your aid if you accept my proposal. Not to mention my army of over 1000 demons."

Dergen took a second to himself, trying to think of the best possible choice he could make.

If Alaric was truly serious about ruling over a thousand demons, then there was no doubt he would be able to take over the kingdom if he wanted to.

A chance like this might never present itself before him again.

Gulp!

"Fine, I accept."

Hearing his response, Alaric replied,

"Very good, you made the right choice. As for my second condition, your men will go nowhere near the Montclair Barony; this is the most important."

"I guess a man has things he must protect. I understand; you have my word," Dergen uttered with honesty.

Not that Alaric expected their meeting to go well, but it did, and that in itself was a good thing.

"I’m glad we could come to an agreement. I’ll have my soldiers deliver the weapons to you, along with my demons."

"Speaking of, 12,000 weapons seems a bit small for my men; can’t you bring a bit m—"

Slam! 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Aurora pressed her hand on the hologram, causing it to turn off.

At the same time, Laura aimed the pistol at the Duke.

Scared, the Duke could only raise both his hands up, showing he didn’t have any plans to fight them.

"W-what could I have done this time?!"

"My master has a lot going for him right now; stop being annoying and take what you are given," Aurora uttered while picking the box from the table.

"Eh?"

"In two days’ time, you will receive your weapons. You have no complaints because you love it and appreciate the help."

"But—"

"You have no complaints because you love it and appreciate the help." Laura made sure to push the mouth of the pistol to the Duke’s forehead.

"R-right! I understand... I understand!" Dergen panicked.

"Very good. See you whenever." Laura walked out.

While Aurora gave a slight bow to the Duke before following Laura.

Meanwhile, back at the hideout, Alaric was confused as to why the communication suddenly stopped.

But it didn’t really bother him since he had already explained everything he wanted to.

All he needed to hear now were the results of the war.

Sigh!

"This is taking longer than I need it to be."

A single candle was lit on the table, where a map was placed with markings and dots on it.

On the bed, Fiona was asleep, hugging the bedsheets.

Looking at her, he winced a bit, almost bleeding as he bit his lower lip.

Then, a voice echoed behind him.

"Still working?"

It was Hina, slightly resting her back on the wall beside him as she tucked her arms together.

"For the most part." Alaric turned his gaze to the map, "Fiona already drew out where the rest of the shards are; all I have to do is go get them, and we’ll be good to go."

"Hmm, you’re working really hard these days; maybe you should take it easy."

Alaric frowned, "Time is running out."

"You say this a lot but never tell us what exactly we are running out of. Sigh! I wish you’d open up to us more," Hina uttered, her eyes closed as she waited for a response.

Waiting, she never got any, so she opened her eyes, and there, she saw Alaric looking up at her.

His eyes sparkling yet filled with sadness, as if he was fighting the urge to cry.

She knew, if he was to say a single word, he would immediately bawl his eyes out.

Immediately, she leaned forward, kissing him on the lips, her hand gently cupping his cheeks.

After a while, he pulled away, allowing her forehead to still rest against his.

"I’m sorry I asked; that was insensitive of me. I’m sorry," she whispered, clearly getting eaten by the regret.

"What did you ask again?"

Rather than giving a reply, she calmly smiled, "It was nothing. I should leave you to work now."

She walked away silently.

Looking back, she could see Alaric actually going back to work, like none of it ever happened.

Getting out of the room, she rested her back on the wall, her palm covering her face.

It’s not like she didn’t know; she actually knew since the first time Alaric walked out of the portal.

She knew he was different, just as she knew about the Devourer God.

The creator god had already shown her what was going to happen in the future. There was no way to stop such a beast.

Which was why she was willing to save Alaric, regardless of how many people died.

But right now, it was different.

Alaric wasn’t locked away in some different dimension.

Every day, she saw him do things he clearly didn’t want to do; every day, she had to see him getting hurt.

All because no one else would understand or have the guts to do what he wants to do. If he told them about it, they would want to fight the god, thinking they could win in some way.

It was simply hopeless trying to convince them to join his cause.

And for Hina, that hurt, more than she expected it to.

And it hurt even more when she realized Alaric probably has a plan that he isn’t telling her about, a plan she could most likely never understand, not until the very last moment.