Reincarnated Maid is About To Be Captured by All Players

The butler left unsaid that among the remaining forty percent of adventurers, not all were firmly on the side of hunting Amalilis. Some adventurers chose to wait and see.

In just one day, the attitude of the adventurers underwent a complete reversal.

“…I don’t understand. Did Amalilis say something?”

“I’m not aware of any statements by Amalilis… But I have some idea of the cause.”

“Why?”

“Anastasia… The reason for the adventurers’ defection is a woman who is protecting Amalilis.”

“…A name both unfamiliar and familiar, but I can’t recall clearly due to my age.”

“Do you remember the [Golden Dawn], sir?”

“Oh… now that you mention it, I remember. The [Golden Dawn]… one of the leading adventurer mercenary groups in the Kingdom of Mikael, corrupted into a cult because of a woman, that woman is Anastasia, right?”

“Exactly.”

“It’s strange, what kind of influence does she have? She’s just a maid.”

“This…”

The butler found it hard to say.

The subordinates awkwardly mentioned that the adventurers’ opinions were bizarre.

Some questioned, “Are you really swayed by a big-breasted maid?”, and the adventurers actually responded, “Yeah, what’s wrong with that?” Facing such shameless replies, any questioning seemed weak.

The rest were odd reasons like “Nobles are the most fun in the guild, aren’t you tempted?” — “Anastasia is more fun”. The only certain thing was their firm decision to side with Anastasia, it was as if they were under some spell.

The butler hesitated on how to present these absurd facts to the Duke, but the Duke made a decision first.

“—It doesn’t matter.”

“Sir?”

“The defectors are independent adventurers. It’s unlikely for organized adventurer groups to rashly defect. Of course, [Golden Dawn] is an exception.”

Years of experience enabled the Duke to accurately judge the situation without leaving his castle.

Independent adventurers can easily switch sides, but if they’re part of a guild, it’s a collective. Unable to weigh which side is more advantageous, they would act cautiously instead of recklessly betting on one side.

In fact, the Duke’s judgment was not wrong. The adventurers from guild organizations mostly restrained themselves, not openly declaring their stance. After all, guild adventurers have to consider not just their own interests but also the guild’s, and can’t just impulsively switch sides.

Of course, [Golden Dawn], now Anastasia’s support group, was an exception as the only large guild organization firmly on Anastasia’s side.

There’s still room for recovery.

Guilds are collective organizations, often playing a pivotal role in game upheavals, such as world bosses. For instance, the strongest mercenary group in the Kingdom of Mikael, the Rod Mercenary Group, has claimed the heads of several world bosses.

In terms of combat capability, they might be outnumbered, but their overall fighting power is not inferior to a large number of individual adventurers, who lack coordination.

The game lacks a built-in group chat feature, placing high demands on the command abilities of guilds and group combat. Uncoordinated adventurers are just a disorganized mess.

“Pass my order, increase rewards for nobles and mercenary groups among adventurers, get them on our side. Then, offer trade conveniences and other privileges to the adventurers’ merchant guilds, to get their information network running. Organizations that join us will be added to a whitelist, notify the troops guarding the entrances immediately, open special access rights, allowing guild members to enter the Duke’s domain without inspection.”

“As you command.”

The Duke had ways to compensate for the numbers.

After all, he controlled the [Barrier], and letting in some guild members was easy.

This way, the numerical disadvantage would gradually diminish, turning the situation from a significant advantage to a balanced state.

“Sir, the Rod Mercenary Group is preoccupied with important matters and may not be able to fully commit to your mission.”

“That’s unfortunate. If the Rod Mercenary Group had assisted, we might have had good news yesterday.”

“The reason for that…”

“Is it the Third Princess?”

“You are very perceptive, sir.”

“My reward isn’t attractive enough to pull the Rod Mercenary Group away from the King’s task. Accepting a mission from the King himself would mean abandoning one side. The Duke of Carolin personally escorting the Third Princess with the Rod Mercenary Group ensures her safety. Well, the Rod Mercenary Group is employed by the King, so we can’t insist.”

The largest mercenary group in the Kingdom of Mikael not participating was a significant loss, but the King’s promised reward was undoubtedly much more than the Duke’s, so the Rod Mercenary Group’s decision was understandable.

Speaking of the King, the butler had another matter to report.

“Sir, there’s one last thing.”

“Go ahead.”

“The King’s envoy… Duke Merovingian requests an audience.”

Regardless, the King couldn’t ignore the unauthorized use of the [Barrier]. The envoy turned out to be one of the seven Dukes, Duke Merovingian, likely at his own request. He and the Duke of Carolin were of the younger generation among the Dukes, should have been contemporaries with the three deceased sons of Duke Borgia, but Duke Merovingian was a close friend of Duke Borgia, both colleagues and friends.

“It’s him who’s come as the envoy… Well, let him in…”