I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 153

“Are you… going to kill me?”

At Margherita’s words, I readily nodded.

“I might.”

“……”

“Since all of your priests are probably in cahoots. I could hold you all accountable for disrespecting the Imperial Family and hang you all.”

“……!”

Margherita’s face turned pale. Damian, who was listening from the side, also looked startled.

“But!”

I grinned.

“I won’t.”

“R-really…?”

“Of course! I still want you and your colleagues to continue caring for the wounded here on the front lines. Just like you’ve been doing, with all your heart.”

I tucked the menacingly brandished cane into my arms.

“I just want a little cooperation.”

I met Margherita’s gaze and whispered softly.

“For this city, for your temple, and ultimately for all of humanity. Just cooperate with me a little.”

“……”

“You will, won’t you? Huh?”

A spy is useful.

And a spy who has turned from the enemy’s side to mine is very, very useful.

I had no intention of killing either God Hand or Margherita.

I planned to somehow bring them over to my side, or, as they say in this world, ‘reel them in,’ and use them to my advantage.

“……Your Highness.”

Margherita, who was looking at me with trembling eyes, opened her mouth with difficulty.

“What… what can I do for you…?”

***

The temple.

Lukas, Margherita, and I were walking through the corridors here.

I had ordered Evangeline, Damian, and Junior to monitor the Shadow Unit.

They would be sitting quietly in my mansion’s drawing-room.

Thud. Thud.

As I walked through the temple corridor, I thought about what Margherita had confessed on the way here.

‘Using priests as spies. That’s a really efficient method.’

The Goddess Church is the state religion of the Empire, so a Goddess Church temple is required to be built in every city throughout the Empire.

These temples serve as public medical institutions.

The priests who work there are respected by everyone and walk freely around the city.

Without raising any suspicion.

They see and hear everything in the city.

These priests are the eyes and ears of the Imperial Family.

‘The priests directly appointed by the Grand Temple in the capital are all doing this kind of thing.’

I clicked my tongue inwardly.

‘As it’s the state religion, there must be a close connection between the church leadership and the Imperial Family… I wonder how long they’ve been doing this.’

As I was thinking, I quickly arrived at the central hall.

Margherita stood before the statue of the Goddess, her face pale and looking like she was about to die.

Lukas was watching Margherita like a hawk to make sure she didn’t do anything foolish.

Me? I was humming a tune, feeling excited.

I couldn’t contain my excitement and anticipation for what was about to unfold, and my shoulders were even shaking. Oh, how delightful.

Margherita, kneeling before the Goddess statue, took a breath and spoke in a dry voice.

“……Reporting.”

Then, the faint sound of a magic device activating echoed.

It was a sound so small that you would miss it if you weren’t fully focused.

A moment later, a crackling sound was heard, and a dull voice came from the Goddess statue.

「I’m listening. Report.」

“……”

Margherita, who had been silent, glanced at me. I smiled warmly and nodded.

Do as I told you.

“……The rebellion, it was a lie.”

Margherita continued, her shoulders trembling.

“It was a trap set by His Highness Prince Ash to expose spies like me.”

「What?」

“I repeat, the rebellion was completely false. It was a misreport due to my fatal error. I apologize.”

「What nonsense… no, wait a minute. So, you’re saying Prince Ash found out about your identity?」

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Margherita faithfully said what I had told her to say.

“‘I’ was exposed. I apologize.”

At this point, I stepped forward.

“That’s the story, my friend hiding behind the Goddess statue!”

I pushed Margherita aside and stood in front of the Goddess statue, grinning.

“Wow~ I feel guilty even though I have shallow faith, talking like this in front of the Goddess’s face. But to think you’d make priests do this kind of thing. Your tastes are really twisted.”

「…….」

“Hey, hey. I know you’re listening. You’re not ignoring the Prince, are you? Huh? Don’t be shy, let’s chat a bit~”

The voice, which had been silent, spoke again. It was clearly flustered.

「Your Highness. I apologize, but this communication channel is not authorized for Your Highness to use…」

“Then bring the person in charge who has the authority.”

I growled fiercely.

“Bring them out.”

「…….」

“You can’t bring them out? Then shall I guess who your person in charge is?”

I counted on my fingers as I spoke.

“Someone who has a deep relationship with the Goddess Church to use priests as their pawns, someone who also has connections to the underworld to oversee the Empire’s spies, and someone who can build this kind of communication magic infrastructure and bear the astronomical usage fees.”

「…….」

“Who could it be?”

Someone who works closely with the state religion, the Goddess Church,

The commander-in-chief of the underworld Aegis Special Task Force,

Someone who has spies all over the continent to gather information, and who is willing to pay the costs involved.

I recited the name.

“Our Empire’s Minister of Administration, and my second older brother! Fernandez ‘Emberkeeper’ Everblack! There’s only one person!”

「…….」

“In the name of the Third Prince Ash ‘Bonehater’ Everblack, I command you to bring my brother here immediately.”

Facing the intricately carved face of the Goddess, I issued an ultimatum.

“I won’t wait long.”

***

After waiting for about ten minutes,

The communication was connected with a crackling sound.

「Ah, ah. Can you hear me?」

The voice that came out as if testing the microphone boasted a clear, beautiful tone even through the crackling, low-quality sound.

It was the first time I had heard the voice, but I knew instinctively.

The owner of this voice was none other than the Second Prince, Fernandez.

「‘Central’ to ‘Southern End.’ Communication status is good. Awaiting response.」

Finally—I was going to talk to this bastard directly.

I burst out, smiling brightly.

“Hey~ Bro! Long time no see! It’s me, Ash!”

Of course, it was the first time we had ever met. But let’s try to get close.

“How long has it been since I heard your voice? I’m so glad! You’re happy to hear my voice too, right?”

「…….」

After a brief silence.

Fernandez spoke softly.

「Communication magic is vulnerable to eavesdropping. Replace personal names with regional code names.」

“Eavesdropping, my ass. Who the hell is going to eavesdrop on the Goddess statue’s communication, bro?”

I sneered.

“If there’s a real threat of eavesdropping, you should assign code names that have nothing to do with the region. You just put them on arbitrarily to rank the regions.”

「…….」

“Ah, whatever, let’s just talk comfortably, Mr. Central!”

A long sigh was heard.

「It’s been a while, Ash.」

“It’s been a while, bro. Just hearing your voice makes our brotherly love blossom.”

「You managed to track down this line. It’s the first time we’ve been caught so clearly. As the head of the underworld, it’s quite… embarrassing.」

It wasn’t a voice that sounded embarrassed at all, but I guess it meant something like ‘I’m going to tear my subordinates a new one.’

“Haha, but I’m so happy that I can talk to you like this, bro? Let’s communicate often in the future! Are you eating well? Is that annoying face of yours still as shiny as ever?”

Of course, I’ve never seen his face.

Fernandez is a character whose settings are only mentioned in the game. I’m just saying whatever comes to mind, ‘like Ash would.’

Fernandez sighed again.

「Do you know how much communication magic costs per second, Ash? It’s not meant to be used for idle chatter.」

“Cost? Hmm, I don’t know? What’s certain is that I’m not paying for it. That’s why collect calls are great, right?”

「What? Collect… call? What is that?」

There is such a thing. It’s a call where the receiver pays the charges. It’s something that’s hardly used on Earth these days.

「Enough, just get to the point, little brother. I’m busy.」

“Oh, really? You planted a spy and got caught, but you’re not even sorry?”

「Why should I be sorry?」

Fernandez was brazen.

「It was done for the peace of the Imperial Family and the Empire. There’s no reason for me to be sorry to you, is there?」

“You’re shameless, my dear brother.”

「It’s only natural to have a thick skin when you’re in this position. Isn’t it the same for you, little brother?」

I crossed my arms. It seemed like the war of words was getting us nowhere.

“Okay, fine. Let’s cut to the chase.”

Straight to the point.

“Send reinforcements. Within a week. Otherwise, the Southern Front will be destroyed, and the monsters will start invading the Empire’s mainland.”

「You even mentioned rebellion to get those reinforcements? Our little brother, you’re really a terrible commander.」

“I feel like shit when you say that, considering you’re the one who refused to send reinforcements until I became this terrible.”

I said fiercely, grinding my teeth.

“You’ve been receiving reports about the situation here through this Goddess statue communication, right? It’s really, really, completely difficult here. If you just send a little bit of troops, we’d all be happy. Am I asking for too much?”

「…….」

Fernandez spoke in a seemingly regretful tone.

「It’s difficult to send reinforcements. The war with the Bringer Principality is not over yet.」

“You burned down the entire Principality and even captured the capital, didn’t you? Isn’t it all over?”

I don’t have many ways to get news from the outside, but the fall of the Bringer Principality is a big event in the game.

I have a rough idea of the timeline. By now, they should have captured the capital.

「How nice would it be if the war ended just by capturing the capital. Sporadic resistance is continuing in various parts of the Principality. Our Imperial Army is also fighting with all its might.」

Fernandez’s voice became stern.

「The peace of the Empire is only guaranteed when the dragon’s blood that has taken root in the Bringer Principality is completely eradicated. His Majesty has decided so.」

“……”

「It’s difficult to send reinforcements right now, Ash. Can you hold on a little longer?」

“If you keep saying ‘a little longer,’ the entire front line is going to collapse!”

「Even if the Southern Front collapses, there will be a chance to rebuild the front line, but the Western Front… the Bringer Principality annihilation operation can only be done now.」

As if he had never even considered sending reinforcements, Fernandez stated firmly.

「The bigger crisis facing the Empire is in the west. I hope you understand.」

“Oh, is that so?”

I snorted. So that’s how it’s going to be?

“Then there’s no choice. I’ll have to resort to other means.”

「……Surely, you’re not really going to declare a rebellion?」

“Oh, come on~ Don’t be like that. Who am I? I’m Ash! The most filial son! Would I really do something like a rebellion that would break my father’s heart?”

A smirk formed on my lips.

“I’m just going to get troops from somewhere other than the great ‘Central.’”

「Somewhere else?」

As if sensing something ominous, Fernandez’s voice paused.

「Somewhere else, where.」

“The Everblack Empire has conquered half the world. But they won’t lend me troops from that Empire?”

I shrugged.

“Then I’ll have to borrow them from the other half. What else can I do?”

「……No way.」

“That’s right. I’m going to gather all the remnants of the defeated nations that our Empire has destroyed to this Southern Front.”

Fernandez tried to say something, but I didn’t give him a chance and continued.

“And! Oh my goodness, surprisingly! The Bringer Principality is only a three-day ride away by messenger from this Southern Front, isn’t it?”

「……!」

“To those who have lost their capital and are continuing a difficult fight, some unknown person might just happen to provide them with money, military supplies, and a comfortable place to rest, wouldn’t they~?”

I won’t start a rebellion. The risk is too great.

Instead, I’ll destroy the tower that the Imperial Family has been carefully building for the past few years—the Bringer Principality annihilation operation.

This was the disruption I had prepared.

「Ash, you…!」

“I’m going to die anyway.”

That was my honest feeling.

“What can’t I do?”