People Do Not Fear Scarcity, but Inequality

"When you came before me, you unhesitatingly told me to draw out a gold bar for you. Yet judging by the prestige Kammel displayed at the time, you shouldn't have had that confidence." Roar immediately clarified his question further.

Surprised that Roar would actually take the initiative to ponder such a complex question, Ian's expression stiffened for a moment before he slowly said, "The reason I was confident I could turn Kammel's guards against him was because..."

Ian thought for quite a while before translating an old saying from his previous life into the Common Tongue of Westeros: "People do not fear scarcity, but inequality."

"People do not fear scarcity, but inequality?" Roar repeated Ian's words, clearly not understanding what they meant.

"Do you know why I had you throw those eighty Gold Dragons over?" Ian immediately asked.

"I couldn't get too close, lest those mercenaries become wary," Roar guessed.

He was half right, but Ian did not say so. "It was because I wanted the mercenaries still at Kammel's side to see their companions dividing the money. Dividing those bright, glittering Gold Dragons scattered across the ground.

"You have to understand, in the eyes of Kammel's trusted men, the mercenaries gathered around me at the time were a bunch of fence-sitters—utter traitors and scum.

"Yet that very bunch of scum, those old comrades who had been no different from them a moment earlier, suddenly divided a massive sum of eighty Gold Dragons.

"How many times had they risked their lives just to earn enough Silver Stags for a few indulgent outings? But those people had done nothing—nothing in the truest sense. They had merely sworn an oath before me. No fighting, no adventure, no injuries.

"Those traitors got more than ten Gold Dragons each for free without doing anything, while they gained nothing for their loyalty and honor.

"And I specifically wanted them to watch the traitors divide the money with their own eyes. I wanted to strike at their hearts!"

Roar said nothing, but the expression on his face betrayed his shock.

"And just as jealousy and regret filled the hearts of Kammel's guards," Ian slowed his tone and continued, "I gave them another chance to take money, and I raised the stakes. I increased the bounty from eighty Gold Dragons to one hundred and fifty, and even offered them the possibility of becoming knights. Then, bang! The defenses in their hearts collapsed."

After hearing Ian out, Roar stood there dumbfounded for a long while before lowering his head respectfully. "Thank you for clearing up my confusion, my lord."

Ian returned his smile. He was very satisfied with the outcome of this conversation.

Though he had delivered a grand, eloquent speech, it could actually be summed up in one sentence—confidence from dubbing after the fact.

Because it had already happened, and because I had succeeded, whatever the hell I said had to be right.

As for confidence in turning Kammel's guards against him?

Please. What confidence could he possibly have had? He had merely given it a try.

If he had any confidence at all, it was confidence that he could run away if the attempt failed.

Just as he had said before, Kammel only had five horses. As long as he turned and ran, Kammel could bring at most four men after him.

With Keith and Roar's strength, taking on fifteen mercenaries might have been difficult, but five would absolutely not be a problem. After all, they were top-tier units on the same level as the Children of the Warrior and the Raven's Teeth Guard!

Later, Roar and Keith had proven this in battle. The two of them had faced four Mercenary Cavalry, Kammel included, and it had been as easy as slaughtering chickens.

Of course, there was no way he would say any of that to Roar.

The reason he had given Roar this explanation was to improve his image in the other man's mind.

After all, Roar did not feel like an NPC with AI at all. He felt more like a normal human with independent thought. With an NPC like that, Ian needed to rely on his own abilities to maintain the other man's loyalty.

"Reward NPCs can be guaranteed absolute loyalty." Annie's voice suddenly sounded in Ian's mind, refuting his speculation.

"Oh? How is that guaranteed?"

"All S-Class NPCs rewarded by the system are Religious Zealots cultivated by the organizers in this world from childhood. Their loyalty even surpasses that of the Unsullied."

"Cultivated by the organizers? No wonder there are professions among them that vanished long ago." Ian nodded thoughtfully.

"In their understanding," Annie continued explaining, ignoring Ian's remark, "the players assigned to them for service are incarnations of the gods they believe in. Therefore, although all reward NPCs are living people with all kinds of different life experiences, they will maintain absolute loyalty to their chosen players and will never question any of their decisions."

"So religious brainwashing is used to explain the competitive behavior between players?" Ian was beginning to understand. "That way, the core NPCs serving as the players' confidants won't become suspicious of the players' strange actions or the knowledge from outside this era that players might reveal at any time?

"But why insist on using natives as NPCs? Wouldn't it be enough to deploy a group of androids like the players, then give them AI?"

"Our laws prohibit putting AI into androids," Annie explained. "In any case, using natives of this world as NPCs helps enhance the players' 'immersive experience.'"

Ian pursed his lips upon hearing that. Only an idiot would believe that explanation.

They had already crossed into a real world, so why would they need to enhance any so-called "immersion"? And if they truly wanted greater immersion, wouldn't simply removing the system be even more perfect?

What Annie had said at the beginning—that their laws prohibited putting AI into androids—explained it much better. After all, Ian had long suspected that the organizers of this game were some advanced civilization.

(This setting does not affect the plot of this book. Readers may understand that this civilization is the world we live in, and that the organizer is a company called "Qidian Reading.")

Forget it. There was no point in thinking about such things. More importantly, now that he had confirmed the "Religious Zealot" nature of the NPCs, Ian no longer needed to hide anything in front of them. Nor did he need to make up stories to cover for changes in his identity or any future plans, and he no longer needed to worry about their loyalty.

Help, how could there be such a perfect reward in this world?

After learning of the "Religious Zealot" setting, Ian was in an excellent mood as he looked once more at his two new subordinates.

"My lord, where are we going now?" Seeing Ian emerge from his daze, Roar finally spoke.

As for why Ian had suddenly drifted off just now, neither Roar nor Keith showed the slightest confusion. Weren't priests all like that?