Fantasy Family Simulator (FFS)

Within Deep Rock Fortress, the servants quietly carried on with their duties, cleaning and transporting dishes. However, a sudden, agonizing scream brought all movement to a halt. Curiosity mixed with a bit of panic, and they began to cautiously step toward the doors, eager to see what had happened outside.

But Swita, who had been on alert, stood firmly at the entrance, blocking their way. "What do you think you're doing? Listen up, whatever happened outside is none of your concern. Or perhaps you're still half asleep and just had a bad dream?" Swita's voice was calm yet heavy.

"Now, immediately, stop trying to pry into matters that don't concern you. Have you all finished your work already?" Swita pointed toward one of the servants. "Hey, Scarlett, are you planning to serve that tray to your breakfast too? If not, then put it where it belongs, in the kitchen!"

"And you, Sharl, haven't you cleaned that plate properly yet? How many times must I remind you to pay attention to detail?" Swita's voice grew louder.

"And you, watch your step! If you break the lord's crystal glass, ten years of your wages wouldn't cover it." Swita's commanding tone left no room for argument.

The servants stiffened, and the brief disturbance quickly dissipated. The morning at Deep Rock Fortress returned to its usual order. Swita himself, feeling a bit of relief, walked to a window in the hallway.

Through the light morning mist, he could see a figure lying motionless in a pool of blood near the estate's entrance, right in front of the lord. He let out a long sigh of relief.

"No matter what, as long as the lord is unharmed," Swita thought, a smile returning to his face. He pulled out a handkerchief from his waist and wiped his forehead, even though there was no sweat.

Meanwhile, at the outer courtyard—the knight training grounds—the knights had also heard the scream and rushed toward the source. Tuck, who had been training there, feared his father might be in danger and sprinted after them, his face filled with anxiety, only trailing slightly behind Frano and Laureen.

But when they all reached the scene and saw the traveling merchant lying in a pool of blood, the battle seemingly over, they all froze in shock, their mouths slightly agape.

Kurth, who had been the slowest of the group, quickly assessed the situation. Realizing the fight was over and there was no longer any need for reinforcements, he turned around and sternly called out to the apprentice knights still running toward the gate. "Everyone, stop! No one is to leave the training grounds!"

Tadel, catching on, added, "Everyone, back to your training positions. Nothing happened here!"

The dozen or so apprentice knights immediately halted in their tracks. Seeing the expressions of their instructors, they could tell the crisis had passed, and one by one, they returned to their previous positions.

Meanwhile, Reilly hurried down from the third floor of the fortress. When he reached the outside, he encountered no resistance from Swita.

"Father, who is this man?" Reilly asked, standing slightly behind his father, his eyes filled with confusion.

Rhett shook his head, not responding immediately. Instead, he gave instructions. "Take care of this man's body and clean up the area thoroughly. I don't want a trace left behind."

Kurth and Tadel immediately stepped forward and saluted. "Leave it to us, my lord. We're quite skilled at handling bodies."

"Let me do it. I guarantee it will be spotless," Frano offered, stepping forward to volunteer.

A strange look crossed Rhett's face as he glanced at his training instructors. It seemed they had done this sort of thing more than a few times in the past...

Shaking his head, Rhett said, "It doesn't matter who does it, you can all work together if you like. But the outcome must be flawless!"

"Tuck! Reilly!"

"Yes, Father!"

"You two, search this man's body thoroughly. Strip him down and bring all his belongings and anything suspicious to the fifth-floor hall," Rhett continued, methodically issuing orders.

As commands were given, several people quickly gathered around the body, busying themselves with the tasks at hand.

Rhett, meanwhile, stood deep in thought, recalling the events that had just transpired.

When Angni had asked, "Is there really no way to negotiate?" his expression had become calm, but Rhett had already become wary. In his first simulation, this man had shown his true colors by trying to kill him, and Rhett had kept his guard up ever since.

Combined with earlier simulations where Angni had left with a sour face after hearing about Rhett's homeland and his unusually eager interest in the silver plate today, Rhett had sensed something was off. He had initiated a text-based simulation.

In the simulation, it was revealed that the plate contained a hidden piece of mithril, sparking the merchant's greed and leading him to plot against Rhett. The simulation outlined his actions, confirming Rhett's suspicions.

Faced with the undeniable evidence, Rhett abandoned any thoughts of mercy. In such a world, leaving loose ends was a luxury he couldn't afford.

Out of caution, Rhett also ran a realistic simulation. Surprisingly, in the first three attempts, the traveling merchant managed to escape. It wasn't until the final simulation that Rhett succeeded in killing him. That last simulation was what he had just replicated in reality.

"Father, we've gathered everything," Tuck announced. He had fetched a few waterproof leather bags, wrapped the bloodstained burlap sacks from the merchant's belongings, and now carried them all on his shoulders.

"Take them to the fifth-floor hall. I'll join you shortly," Rhett replied, patting Tuck on the shoulder.

By now, the area where Angni had fallen had been thoroughly cleaned, leaving no trace of the violent encounter.

Satisfied, Rhett addressed the group. "If you're curious about this man, I can only say that he harbored ill intentions toward our territory. I had no choice but to kill him."

He then looked at everyone seriously. "Whether you believe me or not, I expect that after today, this event is forgotten."

The area fell silent for a moment before Frano broke into a smile. "Lord Rhett, we are all members of Eagle Town. You've placed your trust in us without reservation. How could we ever doubt you? If you choose not to explain, then we will simply follow your orders."

"Of course, I've never questioned our lord's judgment," Tadel added with a grin. He then clapped his hands together. "By the way, I haven't had breakfast yet. That training really worked up an appetite. I'm off to grab some jerky." He turned and headed toward the auxiliary fortress.

"Hey, grab some for me too. I only had a few slices of bread this morning, and I'm starving!" Kurth called after him.

"Sure, I'll bring you a fresh bucket of cow dung! I guess you didn't hear me the first time. You didn't even bother to grab me a piece of bread, but now you want me to fetch you jerky? If you're hungry, come with me. I won't be your free errand boy..." Tadel was still holding a grudge over losing half a match to Kurth a few days ago.

"Unbelievable, what a stingy guy!" Kurth muttered, but his legs were already following after Tadel.

Rhett watched them with a smile, then slowly made his way back to the manor.

...

Inside the fifth-floor hall of the fortress, Rhett stood alone, gazing out at the white clouds drifting across the sky. His mind, however, was processing the rest of the information from the simulation.

"Another full year simulated, not bad. And there's even a breakthrough—my sons survived without any losses." Rhett nodded in satisfaction.

"However... it seems the timeline of clearing out the bandits was different this time, and the addition of the two rangers caused some minor changes. This time, I wasn't targeted by members of that evil alchemical organization," Rhett mused. This was the pivotal point in the simulation where events diverged drastically from before.

Not only had Maplewood Town and Gold Digger Town been struck, but even Reylis had met her end... in bed?

"Why in bed?!" Rhett thought, feeling a bit speechless. Dying in bed—was she perhaps betrayed by some pretty boy working for the evil organization?

It seemed likely. After all, with Reylis' talent in battle energy, it wouldn't be surprising for her to attract unwanted attention.

But that wasn't the main issue. The key point Rhett was pondering was the final phase of the beast tide counterattack.

In the previous simulation, the beast tide had been successfully quelled. But this time, it seemed that the dark magic user who had killed Rhett in the past simulation had broken through to level four.

Following his intuition and the clues he had gathered, Rhett suspected that this was connected to the evil organization's mastery of dark alchemy. Because of this, when Count Nilo was killed, the beast tide counterattack failed.