I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 106

After finishing my conversation with the blacksmith Kellybay and completing the cleanup around the base camp,

“Let’s go back!”

My three parties and I returned through the teleport gate.

Kellybay waved his hand enthusiastically towards us from beside his smithy.

“Come visit often, you guys! I’m so lonely! And bring something tasty! Got it?!”

Seriously, he sounds like a lonely old man living in the countryside.

Anyway, I do plan to visit him often.

I bowed politely and stepped into the gate.

“You have to come often, you hear?!”

Seriously, why is he so desperate! Like a grandpa waiting for his grandkids during the holidays! I’ll be back, so just go inside!

Whoosh-!

***

As soon as we returned to the mansion, I called all the members of the three parties back to the drawing room.

Everyone was tired from the fierce battle, but we needed to sort out this situation before moving on.

“First of all, everyone did a great job. Thanks to all of your hard work, we were able to succeed in this recapture operation.”

After passing around some simple drinks and snacks, I took a sip of my drink and began to speak.

But everyone was just staring at me. I let out a shout.

“Hey, relax and eat and drink! We won, so why are you all so stiff?”

“Ah, yes!”

“Thank you for the food!”

“Thank you~!”

Lukas and Evangeline were the first to pop the fruit pies in their mouths, and the other party members cautiously began to take a bite as well.

The Shadow Squad’s kids were stuffing their faces with snacks, and the newbies from the Dion Mercenary Group, who had been watching cautiously until the end, also started munching away. How cute.

“First, I need to explain to you all. About why those guys didn’t die and disappeared.”

Once everyone seemed to have had their fill of drinks and snacks, I resumed the conversation.

“According to the old blacksmith we met at the camp, Kellybay… the people of the Lake Kingdom are under a curse of eternal life.”

Lukas frowned.

“Eternal… curse? So, you mean they can’t die?”

“Yes.”

According to Kellybay’s explanation, the people of the Lake Kingdom seem to revive in a specific location after they die.

It takes some time for them to be able to move again, but still. It seems like they just keep respawning no matter how many times you kill them.

“They don’t age, and they don’t die. It’s like they’re fixed on one axis of time.”

“Are you saying that all the people of the Lake Kingdom are under that curse? How could that….”

“Well, even if you call them people, there are only a few who move around down there.”

Just by the size, it looks like a city-state with a population of at least hundreds of thousands.

But in the actual game, there are only a few dozen NPCs [Non-Player Characters] from the Lake Kingdom that you encounter.

‘There are about a hundred NPCs that can be encountered in the dungeon. Half of them are adventurers, and only about half of the rest are people from the Lake Kingdom… so, at most, there are about fifty.’

I stopped thinking. Wait a minute.

‘…Then where are the rest of the people?’

The rest of the hundreds of thousands of people.

If they are all under the curse of eternal life and are immortal… where are they all?

“It’s hard to believe. It sounds like something out of a fairy tale.”

Evangeline, who was munching on a pie, tilted her head.

“But usually, when you say eternal life, isn’t it a blessing rather than a curse?”

Lukas agreed.

“That’s right. Everyone is desperate to live even one more day, so if you could live forever… shouldn’t it be called a blessing?”

Damian was disgusted.

“I don’t like it.”

“Why? Do you want to die soon?”

“I don’t want to die, but living forever… it seems too hard.”

Everyone has slightly different views on life and death.

I wondered what the last main party member, Junior, was thinking, so I looked at her.

“…Eternal life….”

She was staring blankly into the air and muttering to herself.

It was a dreamy expression that this young mage had never shown before. I was a little surprised.

The Shadow Squad and the Dion Mercenary Group also began to express their opinions on whether to live forever or to live out their natural lifespan.

The drawing room soon became noisy.

‘Hey, who said they’d let you live forever? Everyone’s getting ahead of themselves.’

I chuckled and swallowed my drink.

‘Anyway, from now on, I can’t kill the hostile NPCs of the Lake Kingdom, I can only chase them back to their respawn points…?’

It’s a relief that I can at least subdue them and chase them away. But the fact that I can’t fundamentally end them is a headache.

It means that I have to fight like this every time the Nightcrawlers appear.

“Anyway, for now, we’ve chased them out of the base camp.

They won’t bother us for a while. Now, we need to accelerate our preparations for the next defense.”

I said, bringing the chaotic atmosphere to order.

“The enemy in the next defense is the Blood Clan. It’s highly likely to be a high-ranking noble vampire.”

Everyone focused their attention on me. I nodded.

“I will make and distribute new weapons effective against the Blood Clan to all of you, and we need to train to use them.”

I had commissioned three weapons made of holy silver from Kellybay.

But separately from that, I was planning to make and distribute silver weapons to everyone.

“We have three weeks left until they attack. During that time, we must devote ourselves to defense without a moment’s rest.”

After speaking sternly, I smiled.

“But today, let’s all rest well. You did a great job preparing and executing the operation, and you all worked hard.”

Everyone gave a faint smile. I waved my hand.

“Okay, we’ve been up all night, so let’s go to sleep. Dismissed!”

***

The Shadow Squad and the Dion Mercenary Group left the drawing room first, and the main party was the last to remain.

“Haaah….”

I yawned widely. I’m so tired.

It was already dawn. Cool sunlight was seeping in through the window.

Lukas, Evangeline, and Damian were chatting with each other and preparing to leave.

‘Huh?’

Then, I noticed Junior sitting by the window.

Junior was holding her forehead with a pale face. What’s wrong with her?

“Junior, are you okay? You don’t look well.”

“Hic?!”

Junior’s shoulders trembled as she was startled by my approach.

Junior smiled awkwardly and looked up at me.

“Hehe. I guess I’m just tired from staying up all night. My condition is a little….”

Sway.

Before she could finish her sentence, Junior swayed and lost her balance, and then….

Thud.

She fell into my arms.

‘What?!’

I was horrified and my whole body stiffened. What? What what what what? What’s going on?

‘Is this mage trying to seduce me right now?!’

All sorts of thoughts flashed through my mind in a short moment.

What is she aiming for? Is it because she’s a gold digger? Is she trying to seduce me, a prince? Because Ash is known for being promiscuous? Well, Ash might be like that, but I’m not. By the way, if we get married, how many kids should we have-?!

“Are you two alright?”

“What’s going on?”

Then, Lukas and Evangeline rushed over.

Evangeline carefully supported Junior, and Lukas stood between me and Junior, taking a stance to protect me.

There was a faint light of vigilance in Lukas and Evangeline’s eyes.

Hey, why are you guys being so wary?

Junior, supported by Evangeline, covered her face with her hand. She still couldn’t keep her balance.

“I-I’m sorry, Your Highness. I was just a little dizzy….”

“Why did you dive into the senior’s arms when you were dizzy?”

“Even if you are a precious mage, you shouldn’t approach the lord’s body so easily.”

The two knights were still on guard.

“Junior, are you in a lot of pain? Should I cast a healing spell for you?”

Only Damian, who arrived a beat late, had a pure face and healing magic floating in both hands.

“Haha. No, it’s really nothing….”

Trickle.

Before she could finish her sentence, a nosebleed flowed from Junior’s nose and down her chin.

“Huh?”

She seemed surprised herself. Junior was momentarily dumbfounded as she looked at the blood staining her hand.

“Oh, are you okay? Here, a handkerchief-”

I quickly tried to take a handkerchief out of my pocket.

“…Ugh.”

But Junior was faster, and she bolted out of the drawing room.

“I-I’ll go now! Well then, everyone, rest well!”

“Hey, wait, Junior! Just a moment!”

Before I could grab her, Junior was already far down the mansion hallway.

“…She should have gotten emergency treatment from Damian.”

I muttered in a daze and glanced at the two knights.

“By the way, why are you guys overreacting like that? To a sick person.”

“It’s because you are being insensitive, my lord….”

Evangeline nodded at Lukas’s words.

“Junior’s magic was boiling inside her. Like it was about to burst out somewhere.”

“Huh? Really?”

I had no idea. The two SSRs [Super Super Rare] might be able to sense it, but I don’t have that kind of sensing ability!

“It seems like Junior has been hiding something since the first time we met. Her magic often fluctuates uneasily.”

I thought my intelligence and magic stats were increasing well, but why couldn’t I sense it? Is reading these signs a different ability?

“But Junior’s skills are so clean that we didn’t say anything.”

Lukas looked at the hallway where Junior had gone with a wary gaze.

“If she becomes a threat to the lord, we will have no choice but to stop her.”

“Hmm….”

Damian, who was watching us, carefully opened his mouth.

“But, Junior… she really looked like she was in pain.”

“You can sense that?”

As expected of a healer. It seems like he can sense illnesses rather than magic.

“Junior always puts a pipe in her mouth when she uses magic.”

“Well… isn’t that because she’s a smoker?”

“No. What’s in that pipe isn’t tobacco, but an herb with pain-relieving effects.”

“Huh?”

“The smell is different. I also saw her filling it with herbs….”

“……”

An herb with pain-relieving effects?

Every time she uses magic? Why?

I was so frustrated that I slapped my own forehead.

‘Why are all the mages so sick?’

One has a leg problem, one has a magic outburst, and one is sickly!

This is a problem! If you’re so valuable, please be healthy and live long!

“Instead of just crouching in the corner of your desk doing magic research, do some stretching! Straighten your back! Get some sun! Got it?!”

I shouted to myself, and Lukas interrupted.

“That seems to apply to you as well, my lord….”

“Huh?”

“That’s right, senior! Your face is so pale, it’s because you’re always cooped up in your office!”

“Well, I do go out to the dungeon….”

“Is that enough? From now on, you’re going to train with us.”

“I will take responsibility for your health, my lord!”

The two front-line knights flexed their biceps (Evangeline’s weren’t even visible) and pressured me.

I screamed and shook my head.

No! The prince is an indoor person! I’m busy with all sorts of things! Get away from me, you muscle-obsessed freaks!

***

The next day. Around noon. The office.

“Ugh….”

I was slumped in my chair.

I had been caught by the knight duo all morning, and I had just finished a light jog and training session.

I’m so tired from suddenly doing exercise that I’m not used to….

‘…Should I ask Junior to exercise with me?’

I thought about the health problems of the new mage.

The nosebleed she had yesterday. The staggering.

The fact that she was smoking an herb with pain-relieving effects like it was tobacco.

There’s definitely something wrong.

The problem is that she doesn’t seem to have any intention of opening her mouth.

‘She’s hiding her stats, and she’s hiding her health problems….’

She even had a magic battle with her grandmother, Jupiter, so there must be some kind of trouble.

It would be nice if she could just tell me what happened, what the situation is, but she doesn’t seem to have any intention of doing so.

Bang!

That’s when it happened. Aider came into the office with a piece of paper in his arms.

“The messenger we sent to the capital has returned!”

“Oh.”

I straightened up from my slumped position in the chair.

It was always a request for reinforcements, but as soon as Stage 5 was confirmed to be against the Blood Clan, I sent another one right away.

I wrote a heartfelt message saying that we would really be screwed if they didn’t help this time.

It was a long request for reinforcements that I wrote myself, almost like a memorial. They should listen to me by now!

“So, the reinforcements?”

“Hehe, well….”

Aider scratched the back of his head awkwardly and smiled sheepishly.

“There aren’t any!”

Of course, there wouldn’t be, you damn capital bastards!