I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 169

“Hoo….”

Margherita, looking utterly defeated, held a cigarette butt and squatted in the temple’s backyard.

‘How did it come to this…’

She had only become a priestess because she wanted to heal the sick.

If there was a problem, it was that she was too enthusiastic about it.

As a result of using healing magic in the slums of the Imperial City and helping people, her reputation as a saint rose rapidly, and her position within the clergy was promoted repeatedly.

She became the youngest priestess in the history of the clergy to reach the position of head priest, a position responsible for a temple.

So far, it was fine.

As her position rose, the authority she could use within the clergy also increased, which would help her heal the sick even more.

The problem was the other tasks that had piled up as much as her promoted position, which had nothing to do with a healing priestess.

Administrative tasks that had to be handled as a head priest, as well as personnel management of subordinate priests, operation of temple budgets, and collection of offerings, etc….

Things that she didn’t have to worry about when she was working as a frontline healing priestess followed her like a string of beads when she became a manager.

‘I just want to treat and nurse the sick.’

The biggest problem was the intelligence mission.

It was to scout the situation and atmosphere of the dispatched city and report it to the Imperial City, and from here, she started to get annoyed.

‘No, what does this have to do with a healing priestess, anyway?’

Still, she carried it out silently because she had to do the work she was given anyway.

After working in several provincial cities for several years and receiving high evaluations, the place where she was newly assigned was Crossroads, the monster front.

It was a place where monsters came to kill people.

It was a dangerous city where if the defense line collapsed, the temple and everything else would be destroyed.

Here, Margherita was suddenly scared.

It was true that she had devoted her life to healing the sick, but walking into the fire of the battlefield was another matter.

But what could she do? She had to do what the higher-ups told her to do.

Soldiers with their limbs cut off were carried into the temple screaming every day.

Margherita, who was mainly specialized in using magic to drive away diseases, had to become familiar with bandages, disinfectants, thread and needles, and saws.

Still, it was okay. Every time a battle broke out, the entire corridor of the small temple was covered in blood, but it was bearable.

Rather, every day was fulfilling.

In the recent years she had worked as a manager, she had no time to work as a healing priestess.

But here in Crossroads, there was a chronic shortage of manpower. Margherita, despite holding the title of head priest, jumped into the front lines to heal soldiers.

Administrative work as a head priest, intelligence work that she didn’t even know why she was doing, and healing priestess work on the front lines.

It was incredibly hard, but it wasn’t bad.

It seemed to be going well, but….

The front commander, Prince Ash, suddenly made a request.

– Lend me your strength, Margherita. I need your healing abilities.

He wanted her to go up to the wall and fight monsters with him.

Was he crazy?

She didn’t know how to do anything other than cast recovery magic, so what was she supposed to do when facing monsters?

But, there was nothing she could do. The other party was the front commander and a prince. It was a request in name only, but it was just an order.

If she was told to do it… she had to do it….

So, she went up to the wall.

She felt like she was going to pee her pants as soon as she saw the vampire’s face, but she endured it and fought alongside him. They won. What, it was doable?!

…But now, her intelligence mission was exposed.

She was being grilled by Prince Ash, glared at by other people in the city, and now someone from the central temple would come down to reprimand her.

After being criticized and rolling around from all sides, the stress that had already exceeded the limit exploded.

When she came to her senses, alcohol and cigarettes were in her hands. No, they were in her mouth.

‘I’m just… an ordinary citizen… I just want to cast magic on patients with colds and hear their thanks….’

Margherita was sad.

‘I’m struggling to save soldiers with their limbs torn off and their intestines spilling out, but it hurts every time one or two of them die. I’m sick of bathing in other people’s blood every time a battle breaks out. I’m scared to death of the monsters outside the wall, but now they want me to face them on the wall, which is ridiculous.’

She missed the time when she first started her priestess work.

The slums of the Imperial City were terrible, but it was heaven compared to Crossroads here.

She wanted to go back to that time.

She didn’t care about administration, intelligence, or monsters, and just wanted to do relief work as a pure healing priestess….

“Where is my life going….”

As Margherita lamented,

“Are you having a hard time? Here, have this.”

A kind voice was heard from the side. Along with a neat new cigarette.

“Ah, thank you….”

Margherita took the cigarette without thinking and put it in her mouth. And she turned to the side.

A woman she had never seen before was standing there. She had long black hair tied back, and was wearing a neat Imperial military uniform. A middle-aged female officer.

“But, who are you?”

When Margherita asked hesitantly, the woman who gave her the cigarette – Reina smiled wryly.

“I’m from the ‘Center’. Head Priestess Margherita, in charge of the ‘Southern Front’.”

“……!”

In front of Margherita, whose eyes widened, Reina clicked her tongue.

“You know why I’m here, right?”

Of course, it was because her intelligence mission was exposed and Prince Ash discovered the goddess statue communication device.

“Hoo~”

Next to Margherita, who was stiff, Reina put her cigarette in her mouth and lit it.

“I always knew something like this would happen, so I always told the higher-ups. Using priests as intelligence agents may be convenient, but they are not properly trained, so an accident would happen someday.”

“…….”

“But they ignored it. It’s several times cheaper to use priests in the old way than to train new intelligence agents and deploy them across the country and build a new communication network. But look, an accident happened after all.”

Reina smiled.

“Anyway, you caused an accident, so you have to take responsibility, Head Priestess Margherita?”

“Ah, uh, that’s….”

Margherita, who was trembling, barely asked.

“Wh, what should I do…?”

“Actually, that was a difficult debate even at the top.”

Reina stretched out her gloved hand forward.

“You failed as an intelligence agent, but you were nothing but sincere as a priestess. The Center has decided that it is not right to punish Priestess Margherita for this.”

“Th, then….”

“So, we decided to punish only the intelligence agent Margherita.”

Reina’s outstretched hand was clenched into the shape of a pistol.

“It’s too big of a mistake for you to just get away with it, Margherita. Let’s die cleanly here.”

“……!”

“Instead, you will be treated as a martyr, and the clergy will promote you. You will be able to go to the goddess’s side with honor.”

Reina smiled.

“It’s a conclusion that satisfies both the clergy and the dark side. It’s a win-win, right?”

“Hiiiik?!”

Margherita, terrified, jumped up and started running away. Reina aimed the tip of her finger at Margherita’s back.

“I don’t really want to do this either. I always end up playing this role, really.”

Tu-hak-!

A bullet of wind was fired from Reina’s fingertip.

It was a wind magic for killing people that she had fired countless times throughout her life.

Reina was sure that Margherita’s back would be pierced in the next moment.

But,

Tang-!

That didn’t happen.

Almost at the same time as Reina fired the wind bullet, a gunshot rang out, and a magic bullet flew like a ray of light.

The flying magic bullet collided directly with the wind bullet and shattered in mid-air.

“Hooh?”

Reina looked in the direction the magic bullet had flown from.

There stood a brown-haired, curly-haired boy in priest’s robes – Damian.

With the pistol-shaped magic gun [Cerberus] aimed forward, Damian shouted.

“Head Priestess! This way!”

“Uwaaaaa!”

Margherita screamed and ran towards Damian, and Reina didn’t just watch.

“Where do you think you’re going.”

Tu-hak-!

Reina lightly fired a wind bullet. Damian’s brown eyes flashed as he pulled the trigger of his gun. Tang!

Puh-buh-bung-!

The magic and magic bullet, whose paths overlapped exactly, shattered in mid-air. Reina trembled and muttered.

“What kind of sniping skill is that, kid?”

“…….”

“I’ve rolled around on the battlefield my whole life, but I’ve never seen anything like this…!”

Tu-hak! Tu-hak! Tu-hak-!

Reina continued to fire wind magic bullets, and Damian counter-sniped them all, causing them to explode in mid-air.

When the number of cancellations exceeded ten, Reina laughed in disbelief.

“You’re piercing the center of the magic with a magic bullet and forcibly dispelling it? This is already beyond the realm of humans. What are you looking at with those eyes?”

“…….”

“Okay, then let’s see if you can break this magic with that gun-!”

Kwaaaa-!

A tornado began to form behind Reina. Damian gritted his teeth and grabbed the handle of the long gun on his back.

It was then.

“That’s enough!”

Lucas and Evangeline rushed into the temple urgently.

Almost at the same time, Junior, who had sensed the magical energy, also rushed in.

Lucas yelled at Reina.

“Reina, what are you doing!”

“Ah, this is bad. I’ve used too much time.”

Reina grumbled, canceled the tornado magic, and held out both hands.

“It’s nothing, Acting Commander. It was just a little quarrel.”

Lucas’s blue eyes flashed with cold killing intent.

“Reina, you are just the commander of the support troops for the defense battle that will be held here. Do not do anything that exceeds the authority granted to you.”

“I understand. I’ll try to be more quiet from now on.”

Reina, who smiled leisurely, raised both hands and left the temple.

“Then, see you next time, sniper kid. And… Head Priestess Margherita. It would be best to hide well and not be seen.”

“Hiiiik.”

Margherita trembled, hiding behind Damian.

Reina, who snorted, suddenly met Junior’s eyes.

“…….”

“…….”

The two mages exchanged a silent stare. Then, Reina completely left the temple and disappeared.

“Uwaaa, that was hard….”

Only after Reina disappeared did Damian slide down to the floor. Evangeline quickly ran to support Damian.

“…This is a headache.”

Lucas sighed, rubbing his forehead.

He had guessed that Reina had other intentions, but he didn’t expect her to move so openly.

To try to kill Margherita so blatantly.

Besides, was that all?

If she had other intentions….

“Uwaaaaaang! I don’t want to dieeeeee!”

Looking at Margherita, who was crying with tears and snot, and Damian and Evangeline, who were sweating to comfort her.

Lucas turned his head to the side. Junior was staring at the direction Reina had left with a frighteningly hardened face.

‘Hoo….’

He desperately missed Ash, who could sort out all these situations and organize them. Lucas prayed sincerely in his heart.

‘Please come back soon, my lord….’

***

Imperial City. New Terra.

5th floor of the Winter Silver Merchant Guild building. Auditorium.

“Huh?”

I, who was sitting on a chair waiting for Serenade, suddenly raised my head. It felt like someone was calling me.

‘Am I mistaken?’

As I was thinking, the auditorium door opened with a creak- and someone came in. I looked that way.

Serenade awkwardly came inside, and when she made eye contact with me, she looked surprised.

She had taken off the suit she was wearing for work and changed into a comfortable-looking two-piece dress that was easy to dance in.

The suit was also cool, but this one suited her well too.

Serenade was flustered and floundering, then closed her eyes tightly and ran to me in an instant.

“Oh, did you wait long, my lord!”

“No, not at all.”

I smiled and got up from the chair.

“Okay, shall we start right away?”

“Ah, yes, yep!”

And silence.

I stood there blankly, and Serenade also just looked up at me with her silver eyes sparkling.

No, um, well, that is.

“…I really don’t know how to dance at all.”

“Ah…?”

Serenade frowned slightly.

“…Really?”

“So, I should say I’ve forgotten everything. Since I have to dance at an official event, I’d like to learn properly from the beginning.”

“I understand, then… would you please extend your left hand first?”

I extended my left hand forward. Then, Serenade reached out her right hand and gently grasped my left hand.

Her long, slender fingers were cool.

It was like a snowflake that fell in summer.