I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 109

After returning to the mansion, I decided to distribute the gold coins and jewels from the Golden Room as bonuses to the party members, excluding the items themselves. It was a well-deserved reward for all their hard work. Everyone had been going through a lot, but especially the main party had been having a really tough time. I placed each person’s share into individual pouches and handed them out.

“Rather than giving it to me, wouldn’t it be better to use it for the lord’s war funds…?”

“Wow, this is heavy. You’re so generous, senior.”

“Your Highness, you didn’t have to give us this much…”

However, when I actually handed them out, all three of them—Lucas, Evangeline, and Damian—seemed burdened. I clicked my tongue and chuckled.

“The reward for loyalty shouldn’t be just money, but a ruler can’t talk about loyalty without properly compensating their people.” I patted each of their shoulders once. “This is a fair reward for the work you’ve done. Take it easy and use it freely.”

In the end, all three of them accepted the pouches. I’ll have to give some to Junior and Jupiter too. And Lily as well. I should also give some to the Shadow Squad and the Dion Mercenary Corps. ‘I should also tell them to give bonuses to the Twilight Legion and the regular soldiers in their next pay.’ Anyway, I dismissed the three who had worked hard. I told them to go buy something delicious with that money today.

***

That evening, I took a carriage out to the city of Crossroads. Since I had given out bonuses, I wanted to give them to all the main party members today. It wouldn’t be fair if some got it and others didn’t. First, I stopped by the alchemist’s workshop and gave it to Lily. Lily received it gratefully but asked me with a worried face.

“But am I still part of the main party…?”

“…You’re a reserve, a reserve.” Don’t make that face like a sergeant who got discharged and then got a notice to reenlist. Even if it sucks, reservists have to show up when the country calls. That’s just how it is in this world. So, I gave it to Lily. Now, all that’s left is Jupiter and Junior. ‘I wonder if Jupiter is at the temple? And Junior is…’ I heard that Junior was staying at the city’s only inn, ‘Etty’s Honeycomb.’ The inn was closer than the alchemist’s workshop. It made sense to go there first. ‘It’s dinner time. Should I ask her to have dinner with me?’ Unlike the other main party members, there was still a bit of awkwardness with Junior. We haven’t spent enough time together to get close. It wouldn’t be bad to build some rapport this time. Even if I don’t need to be close with all the party members, it’s helpful to know each other to some extent. And so, to the inn, ‘Etty’s Honeycomb’.

“Welcome, Your Highness!”

“Welcome!”

“Oh… uh… okay…” I passed the overly welcoming innkeeper and crew and entered the inn. There were still excessive carpets and chandeliers and such. It seems they’ve been keeping it that way since I remodeled it to look like a national hotel. ‘Did I permanently ruin a cozy local inn…?’ I even felt a bit guilty as I stood at the counter. The innkeeper quickly went behind the counter and gave me an awkward smile. Hmm.

“Do you have a guest named Jupiter Junior? She’s a mercenary I hired.”

“Ah, you mean the mage. Let me see… she’s using the innermost room on the third floor.”

“Is she in her room now?”

“Yes. She hasn’t gone out today.” The innkeeper then tilted his head. “Actually… it seems like she’s been holed up in her room for the past few days…”

“……” Suddenly, I remembered Junior’s appearance a few days ago, when she was staggering and bleeding from her nose. Maybe she’s been sick ever since? If she’s sick and trying to hide it, it would be better for me to go alone. I turned to look at Lucas, who had come with me.

“Lucas, wait for me on the first floor.”

“But.”

“It might be related to Junior’s privacy.” Lucas reluctantly nodded. “Understood, my lord. But please call me immediately if anything happens.” What could possibly happen? I went up to the third floor alone. ‘The innermost room, right? Is it here?’ In front of the room at the end of the hallway, I carefully knocked on the door. Knock knock.

“Junior? Are you inside?” But there was no answer. Did she go out? Then, I heard a sound from inside the door. I listened carefully. What was it?

“Cough, cough! Haa, ugh…” It was clearly a sound of someone in pain.

“Junior? Are you okay? Junior?”

“Cough, cough…” I became anxious. It seemed like an emergency.

“Jupiter Junior, answer me! Are you in so much pain that you can’t answer?”

“Haa, ah…? Your Highness?”

“I’m going to open the door and come in! Just stay still!”

“W-wait a minute! You can’t come in-“ I backed away from the door and charged, slamming my shoulder into it. Bang! The flimsy chain lock on the door broke and fell off, and the door swung open. I rushed inside and looked around.

“Junior! What’s wrong! Are you alri…ght…” …She wasn’t alright. Junior was sitting on the floor of the room’s private bathroom, and she looked quite disheveled, unlike her usual self. Her hair, which always covered the left side of her face, was tangled all over the place. And because of that, her left face was completely exposed. A clear burn. From her forehead to her left cheek. There was a burn mark on her face. So that’s why she was covering it with her hair. ‘No, the problem now isn’t the burn!’ Blood, it’s blood! The bathroom sink and floor were covered in blood that she seemed to have vomited. And she was still bleeding from her nose.

“Y-Your Highness? How did you get here? Ah, no, that’s not it.” She flailed, trying to quickly raise her hand to cover her left face, but then,

“Cough?!” She coughed up blood. The already blood-soaked surroundings turned even more crimson. I was horrified and jumped back.

“Uwaaah! Are you okay?!”

“Uh, um…” After hesitating for a moment, Junior gave a faint smile.

“No.” Thud! Immediately after, Junior collapsed onto the bathroom floor. She face-planted on the floor. And then she didn’t move.

“Uwaaaaaaaah!” I screamed without realizing it. “Someone died here, someone! Uwaaaah! Someone come quickly!”

***

Thank goodness. Junior wasn’t dead. She just face-planted on the floor because she didn’t want me to see her burned face. She said, ‘Please give me time to fix my face,’ so I waited outside the door, trembling. I waited for about 20 minutes? All sorts of ominous thoughts were bubbling up in my head. The door creaked open. And my eyes met Junior’s as she cautiously peeked out and looked around.

“……”

“……” Junior was completely back to her usual self. Her spiky, bright yellow hair covered the left side of her face, and her complexion looked calm. Although, she did look a bit pale.

“……”

“……” After an awkward silence, Junior, looking at my expression, opened her mouth. “…Um, it’s dinner time… have you eaten, Your Highness?” And so, currently, in the inn’s first-floor dining room, I wasn’t in the mood to eat, so we sat facing each other with only water glasses in front of us. Lucas was watching from a distance. Junior, hesitating, carefully opened her mouth.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

“Uh, huh? What for?”

“I showed you an unsightly sight. I’m a little sick.”

“No, it’s not just a little sick? It looked like you had a terminal illness? Are you okay?” She was covered in so much blood. I thought she had been bitten by a ghoul and turned into some kind of zombie. ‘I thought it was a zombie apocalypse in a fantasy world or something.’ All sorts of thoughts went through my head during the 20 minutes I was waiting. Your Highness was really scared.

“A terminal illness…” Junior gave a bitter smile and slowly nodded. “I thought I was hiding it well… Yes. You’re right.”

“What?”

“I’m terminally ill. I have about three years left at most.” A clanging sound seemed to ring in my ears. I didn’t know how to react, so I hesitated. Junior quietly picked up her water glass and took a sip, then,

“Cough!” She spat it out loudly. What the heck?! Wiping the water off her chin, Junior chuckled. “That was a joke. I thought the atmosphere was getting too heavy.”

“No, don’t use coughing up blood as a joke!” It’s not funny! It’s just scary!

“Sigh…” I shook my head and asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“About what?”

“That you were sick.”

“If I had told you, would you have hired me?” I closed my mouth. Junior lowered her eyes. “A weak mage who could die at any moment?”

“……” I couldn’t answer easily. I would have hired her… I guess. Mages are valuable assets. But I wouldn’t have put her in the main party. The main party needs to be filled with people who can carry this game in the long term. I wouldn’t have put a mage who could die at any moment, to be honest. At most, I would have put her in a sub-party and used her.

“I need money, Your Highness. I have a lot of family to feed.” Junior said honestly. “My grandmother, who has been the breadwinner for our family for a long time, is sick, so I have to earn money.”

“……”

“In this situation, I couldn’t reveal that I was sick.” I asked carefully, “You don’t have to work so hard if you’re not feeling well? Even if your family’s livelihood depends on it…”

“I’m not going to live long anyway.” The answer was indifferent. “It’s better to die being helpful to someone.”

“……”

“Don’t worry. Even if my body is in this state, it won’t affect my combat abilities. I’m confident in my talent and skills.” I was about to say that wasn’t what I was worried about, but I stopped. Because it was true. Unconsciously, the biggest thing I was worried about was Junior collapsing during battle… disrupting the tactics and collapsing the front line. I was inevitably more worried about the safety of the front line, which would be caused by the absence of a wide-area attacker, rather than Junior’s personal safety. I’m a commander, after all. That was the reality.

“This defense battle is my probationary period.” Junior raised her drooping eyes and looked at me. “See if my health affects the battle, and if I’m not good enough, you can fire me then.”

“……”

“And I’m confident that won’t happen.” I was silent. Junior smiled at me. “Thank you for the bonus, Your Highness. Thank you for coming and worrying about me. And…” Junior lowered her gaze and asked in a small voice, “Please keep it a secret from my grandmother that I coughed up blood.”

***

It was dusk when I left the inn. I stopped by to give Jupiter her bonus last, but Jupiter wasn’t at the temple. When I asked the priests where she had gone,

“She leaves the sickroom every night and disappears, then comes back in the morning.” That was the answer I got. That unruly old woman! She should just rest quietly! ‘Well, I have a guess where she might be.’ So, the Mercenary Guild. Squeak- As I opened the door and entered, sure enough, Jupiter was sitting at the bar inside the guild, sipping whiskey alone.