I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 112

“So, she wasn’t your biological granddaughter.”

I murmured softly, listening to Jupiter’s story. Jupiter nodded.

“Yes. We’re not related by blood at all.”

“There were so many similarities… I was sure you were blood-related.”

“Hahaha. I’m glad you think we look alike, but…”

Jupiter shook her head slightly.

“Not only is she not my biological granddaughter… I’m not even sure if I was a real grandmother to her.”

“…”

“I raised those children out of guilt and responsibility, but strictly speaking, I am their mortal enemy.”

Jupiter’s voice, as she spoke calmly, seemed to carry the scent of blood.

“I burned down their hometown and massacred their families and relatives.”

“…”

“Even if they don’t say it… they must hate me.”

Jupiter smiled bitterly and took a sip of her drink.

“It doesn’t matter if I’m not forgiven. The sins I committed cannot be forgiven in the first place. However…”

“However?”

“I wanted to properly apologize to those children, but… I don’t think I did it right. That bothers me.”

A flicker of regret crossed Jupiter’s one good eye.

“Junior is an incredibly talented child. In terms of talent alone, she far surpasses me.”

That was certainly true. The SSR rank [Super Special Rare, a term used to denote exceptional talent] was given to geniuses who transcended ordinary talent.

“But when she was young, she was caught in my lightning… and her body became very weak. The core of her magic, her heart, is weak, so every time she uses magic, it eats away at her lifespan.”

I remembered Junior burning herbs for pain relief, having nosebleeds, and coughing up blood whenever she used magic.

To think that it was because of an injury she sustained when she was young.

“That’s why I forbade her from using magic. Not only that, I even prevented her from learning it.”

“But how is she so good at it?”

“Could I have stopped her just by forbidding it?”

Jupiter chuckled.

“Against a child’s talent and passion, the opposition of adults is just a minor obstacle.”

“…”

“She started figuring it out on her own, and before I knew it, she surpassed her peers, and now she’s stronger than me.”

In a sparring match a few days ago, Jupiter had lost to Junior.

Although Jupiter wasn’t in good condition, she must have felt it herself. If both sides were at full strength, she would lose.

“If it weren’t for what I did, Junior could have become a great mage who would have gone down in world history.”

Jupiter refilled her glass and murmured.

“Or she could have lived an ordinary and happy life in that small village.”

“…”

“Fifteen years ago, I burned down both of those possibilities.”

Jupiter was staring intently at her reflection in the glass.

Was she looking at the left eye she had lost 15 years ago?

Or was she looking at everything else she had caused to be lost 15 years ago?

I couldn’t tell. I was just listening to her story.

“But… how should I apologize?”

Jupiter let out a soft sigh.

“If kneeling and begging could restore the life I ruined, I would have done it a hundred or a thousand times. But… there’s no way to undo it.”

“…”

“I didn’t help her with her dream of becoming a mage; I blocked it. I didn’t want her to burn through her short life with magic. But it was no different from hindering her dream.”

Jupiter gulped down the refilled glass again.

“And I couldn’t give her ordinary happiness either. I burned away her parents and her hometown.”

“…”

“I couldn’t compensate for anything I took away.”

*Thud!*

Jupiter put down her glass and chuckled.

“I don’t know what to do. Now… honestly, I’m scared of her.”

“Scared?”

“All I have left to offer is this old life. I don’t even have any more capital to put on the table. What if one day she suddenly asks me to ‘return what you took’? What could I possibly do to repay her?”

Jupiter covered her lost left eye with her hand, and simply closed her good right eye.

“Every time I meet her eyes, I’m so scared… I want to hide in a mouse hole.”

“…”

“I want to apologize, but I don’t know how.”

I couldn’t say a word.

It was too difficult an issue for a third party like me to intervene. I couldn’t even begin to guess at a solution.

For a while, Jupiter and I just drank in silence.

The full bottle was empty before we knew it.

Jupiter poured the last of the alcohol into my glass and said,

“Your Highness. I am proud of my service as a soldier of the Empire. The years I was able to contribute to His Majesty the Emperor and the Imperial Family were the most glorious of my life.”

“Then that’s a relief.”

“At the same time, I despise the things I’ve done.”

Jupiter’s uniform was still adorned with medals.

Jupiter looked down at the medals with a bitter gaze.

“And above all, I hate my foolish self who just followed orders from above, mindlessly continuing the slaughter and destruction.”

“…”

“I hate the foolish self who was intoxicated by the role of a soldier, intoxicated by the role of the 2nd Division Commander of the Magic Corps, abandoning myself and living as a cog in the military machine.”

*Gulp!*

Jupiter emptied the last of her drink and bowed her head to me.

“Your Highness. Please, do not be swallowed by your role.”

“Swallowed by… my role?”

“Do not be swallowed by the role of the Third Prince. The role of a commander. The role of a lord. It is not your true essence.”

Listening to Jupiter’s words, I also finished the last of my drink.

“Live only as yourself. As Ash ‘Bonehater’ Everblack.”

“…”

“This is all the nagging advice this old fool can give to you, who are still young.”

Like the strong liquor burning down my throat, Jupiter’s advice hit me hard.

What am I, after all?

The Third Prince. A commander. A lord. Ash?

Or a player. A classic game enthusiast?

Either way, am I… living my life properly?

“Thank you for listening to my ramblings, Your Highness. I feel a little better after letting it out.”

Jupiter chuckled and cleared away the empty bottles.

I don’t know how many bottles we finished between the two of us. Ugh. The alcohol is hitting me late.

“I’ll… try to talk to Junior.”

Jupiter murmured quietly as she saw me off as I left the guild.

“After all, she’s my granddaughter. My granddaughter who inherited my name. If we talk openly… we’ll find a clue.”

Lukas, who had been waiting outside, opened the carriage door.

As I settled into the carriage seat, Jupiter shrugged and smiled.

“I want to believe that.”

I hope so too. Sincerely.

As the carriage returned to the mansion, I thought, watching Jupiter standing alone in the distance.

I hope that whatever ending the two of them reach… they won’t regret it.

***

A few days later.

The silver weapons arrived from the blacksmith. Not the entire order, but some samples.

[Silver Longsword (R) Lv.30]

– Category: Longsword

– Attack Power: 20-40

– Durability: 3/3

– Deals 100% additional damage against all unholy enemies.

Look at that pathetic durability.

But the option is really good.

‘This 100% additional damage isn’t just for the weapon’s normal attack power, but also applies as a bonus to skills.’

It’s equipment for dealing with a small number of enemies, but in return, it’s a definite counter against those few.

*Whoosh!*

I gave the longsword to Lukas. He drew it, swung it lightly, and nodded.

“How is it?”

“The balance is well-maintained. It seems good.”

“Good, good. I’ll tell them to make them just like this.”

This time, we received two silver longswords, two daggers, two spears, and three bundles of arrows.

I gave both longswords to Lukas and both spears to Evangeline.

“Think of them as consumables and use them freely.”

“They look expensive, are you sure…?”

Evangeline carefully took the silver spear and then skillfully swung it around.

*Whoosh!*

*Swish!*

Evangeline had mainly used cavalry spears, lances, but she handled the regular spears well too.

She spun it around and then thrust it forward with a *yap!* sound. She’s good?

When Lukas and I clapped and said, “Ooh!”, Evangeline blushed.

“Aish, don’t react to everything I do! It’s embarrassing.”

No, your reaction to our reaction is fun. You’re a reaction goldmine! This is good!

“You’re really good at handling it even though it’s not a cavalry spear?”

“Of course. The basic principles are the same.”

True, the spear category shares the proficiency category. Understanding it that way makes sense.

‘…Wait a minute, am I thinking too much like a gamer?’

I was briefly contemplating the absurdity of converting everything in my world into a game when Evangeline puffed out her chest proudly.

“Well, there’s that, and I got an A+ on the aptitude test for all weapon types at the academy. If you give me a longsword, I’m confident I can handle it as well as that old man.”

“Oh ho. As well as me?”

Lukas’s eyes turned fierce. Evangeline tilted her head with a *heh?* and opened her sharp eyes impudently. These two are at it again.

“You guys can spar later, for now, get your equipment. Armor and shields too.”

At my words, both knights looked at me with surprised eyes.

“Does that mean?”

“Yes.”

I took a silver dagger and stuck it in my belt, smiling.

“It’s time to leave for the next area of the dungeon.”

I’ve been waiting a long time.

Now that the silver equipment I’ve been waiting for has arrived, it’s finally time to make progress in the free exploration of the dungeon.

***

This free exploration was decided to be done only with the main party.

First of all, the area we’re going to this time is too dangerous to bring the Dion Mercenary Group.

Even the main party will have dangerous moments, and it’s too much to take care of the newbies.

The Shadow Unit’s combat power is decent, but this time, the formation was a problem.

‘It’s too aggressive of a combination.’

Two mages, three archers.

It’s okay when exploring other areas, but the place we’re going today is a narrow dungeon.

The Shadow Unit, which is biased towards ranged attacks, is dangerous. So, they’re excluded.

We decided to operate slowly and stably with a small party of one.

‘Well, actually, it’s all an excuse.’

The bigger reason was to give all the experience to the main party to accelerate their leveling.

During the Selendion raid, the main party is the one who will have to face Selendion.

‘It would be really great if I could level them up quickly and they could learn their ultimate skills.’

The final skills that complete each character. Ultimate skills.

The performance of a character who has learned their ultimate skill and one who hasn’t is, to exaggerate, twice as different.

If there were characters who had learned their ultimate skills during the Selendion raid, it would be much easier.

But ultimate skills are unlocked at level 50 with the 3rd job advancement.

Lukas and Evangeline, who are among the highest level of my hero characters, are currently in their late 30s. Still a long way to go.

‘At a normal leveling speed, I’d have to go to stage 10 for the ultimate skills to be unlocked.’

The only ones who might be able to aim for the next skill unlock are me and Damian.

I’m currently level 24, and Damian is level 33.

Since we get the 2nd job advancement and learn the 2nd skill at level 35, it’s worth aiming for.

‘…No, is it a bit shameless to say that leveling up 11 levels is something I can do?’

But if I twist it well, it might be possible?

I licked my lower lip with my tongue and rolled a plan for rapid leveling in my head.

‘Give me experience, you damn game!’

Give me the next skill! And make it overpowered! Something that can just blow up the game!

Give it to me!