I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 224

Thud!

Kureha grabbed Damian’s hand as he reached for [Black Queen].

“Damian.”

“……”

“The evil emanating from this gun is extraordinary. Are you really going to be okay?”

“Let go. Now.”

“Even His Highness tried to stop you. This is…”

“I said let go!”

A rough voice, not usually heard from Damian, burst out.

“I have to go see Ban! Let go!”

“……Damian.”

“With this gun, I can see Ban again… What’s the problem? I get to see Ban, you guys get to defeat that snake, it’s a win-win, right?”

“……”

Kureha slowly released Damian’s hand.

“Just remember this, Damian. There are people here who care about you.”

Ignoring her, Damian reached out and grasped Black Queen.

“…Just remember that.”

Whoosh!

A dark aura, several times more intense and malevolent than before, enveloped Damian’s entire body.

《You’ve come, Damian.》

A voice echoed from within.

《Now, let’s go dream.》

The voice sounded like Oluf’s, and yet… it also sounded like Ban’s.

《This time, I’ll make sure you have a dream so happy that you’ll never wake up.》

Listening to that sweet voice, Damian lost consciousness.

***

When he came to, he was at the top of a mountain.

Damian looked around, bewildered.

It was a small, low mountain at dawn. In the distance, an endless expanse of land stretched out under the vast sky.

Damian realized his current situation.

It was the dawn of the day he had escaped the orphanage and reached the top of the mountain.

‘Something… it feels like I’ve been through a lot…’

Damian rubbed his throbbing forehead.

His mind was foggy. His thoughts were not connecting properly.

But no matter how much he tried to remember, he couldn’t recall anything other than escaping the orphanage and arriving here.

Was there something else?

“Damian, promise me.”

Then, a familiar voice came from beside him.

Surprised, he turned to see Ban.

Her skin was tanned, her hair was short like a boy’s, and her cheeks were scarred.

The face of the girl Damian loved was right in front of him. Damian blinked slowly.

“Huh? A promise? What promise?”

“To explore the entire world outside.”

Ban smiled brightly.

“To see the whole wide world with our own eyes.”

Damian stared blankly at Ban’s dazzling smile, then,

“…No.”

He shook his head.

“Let’s not do that.”

“Huh? What?”

“Let’s not go on adventures.”

“What… Damian? What are you talking about?”

“Let’s not try to get rich quick by becoming mercenaries, and let’s not go south to see the end of the world.”

“Damian? What are you saying?”

Damian himself didn’t know what he was saying. However, he knew clearly that he shouldn’t go on any more adventures.

Damian approached Ban, who was blinking in confusion, and gently cupped her chin with both hands, then,

He kissed her.

“…?!”

Ban’s face flushed red with surprise. Damian, who slowly pulled away, smiled faintly.

“Sorry about that. But you were going to do it anyway if I didn’t, right?”

“Y-y-you, youuu… !”

“If we go north from here, there’s a big city. There, we’ll have plenty to do. Let’s start there.”

Damian reached out and held Ban’s hands tightly.

The girl’s hands were warm.

“Let’s give up on adventures, and let’s give up on dangerous things like swords and healing magic… Let’s live quietly and peacefully, Ban.”

“……”

Ban stared blankly at Damian, then smiled and replied.

“…If that’s what you want, I’ll do it. Damian.”

Ban’s fingers intertwined with Damian’s.

“Anywhere is fine with you.”

“…Yeah!”

The boy and girl held hands and ran down the mountain.

Their faces were full of hope.

***

And so, a new life began.

In a corner of a bustling city, the two began to build their lives.

They lived in a cheap lodging and did odd jobs. They cleaned alleys, washed dishes at restaurants, lit streetlights, and delivered letters.

They shouted to attract customers at stalls and peeled potatoes until their hands were blistered. They endured their hunger and saved every penny they earned.

Because their earnings were meager, the two always had to tighten their belts.

But happiness was everywhere.

Damian used his skills to cook with leftover ingredients from the restaurant. Even hard bread, wilted vegetables, and dry meat could taste so delicious.

They couldn’t afford to go to the theater, so they watched plays from the branches of trees outside the theater, and it was incredibly moving.

When they finished work late at night and walked hand in hand through the city center. Even though their bodies smelled of sweat and their hands smelled of fish.

Every day was beautiful.

The boy and girl were diligent, so they were soon recognized.

Damian was smart and quick with numbers, so he was able to get a job as a clerk at a nearby merchant guild, and Ban, with her cheerful and sociable personality, became a regular salesperson at a shopping district.

They had long forgotten about healing magic and swords.

They were happy without them.

***

Time passed.

The two became adults. Both Damian and Ban became indispensable people in their respective workplaces. Their pockets were still empty, but their youth was vibrant and fresh.

And then, on an autumn festival day.

Bang! Pop! Pop!

On that autumn night, when people poured into the square, holding hands and dancing, when loud songs echoed from all directions, and fireworks exploded in the sky.

“Let’s get married.”

Damian knelt down in front of Ban and proposed.

He held out a cheap silver ring, his face so flushed and tense that it looked like it would burst. Half-crying, Damian proposed.

Ban, who had been laughing at his foolish face, finally,

“…Yes!”

She wiped the tears from her eyes and accepted.

The two exchanged rings and kissed. The citizens who were enjoying the festival around them cheered and whistled in unison, blessing them.

They couldn’t afford a wedding ceremony. They just registered their marriage, and the two began their married life.

They couldn’t afford to buy a house, so they rented a small, shabby room. They cleaned up the cobwebs, scrubbed off the mold, and put up white wallpaper.

They picked up discarded furniture from the neighborhood, repaired it, and painted it. It became a pretty decent honeymoon home.

Every night, they fell asleep holding hands on a moth-eaten bed, and they were simply happy.

On weekends, they dressed up in their few clean outfits and went to a small theater in the back alleys to watch short plays. On the way back, they ate out.

They always had to go to cheap and large-portion restaurants to save money. But they were grateful to be able to live this life.

And then, a few months later.

“I’m pregnant,” Ban said, crying, to Damian, who had returned home from work.

“I’m pregnant, Damian!”

“… !”

Damian, who had been stunned, rushed over and hugged Ban tightly. Ban clung to Damian’s body and screamed with joy.

“It’s our baby, our baby! I’m going to be a mom!”

Time flew by.

Ten months later, a midwife came to their house, and Damian bit his teeth in front of the door, listening to Ban’s painful screams.

Wah… Wah…!

The baby was born safely.

“It’s our son…” Ban, with a pale face, smiled and asked as she stroked the tiny bundle in her arms.

“What should we name him?”

“Ugh, I haven’t thought of anything…”

“You never do…”

Ban grumbled and winked at Damian.

“Then, how about we name him after the person you respect the most?”

Damian blinked blankly. The person he respected the most?

‘The person I respect the most is…’

The name of a man flashed through his mind. Damian blurted out without realizing it.

“Then, the child’s name will be…”

***

Time passed.

The child grew like a tree.

The two were overwhelmed with parenting and work.

But because they both needed their income, they didn’t give up on either parenting or work.

The child, who cried half the day, was now crawling, standing on his own, and starting to walk.

The day the child first walked on two feet, Damian held his son in his arms and ran around the city, boasting to the whole neighborhood.

Ban was embarrassed and covered her face with one hand while hitting Damian’s back with the other, but she ran after him.

“Aba! Ama!”

The child started to talk.

The child was weaned and started on solid food. Teeth sprouted between the child’s red gums. His hair grew thick and needed to be cut.

Time passed.

The child was now seven years old.

Damian and Ban had always regretted not receiving a proper education in their childhood, so they promised to make sure their child was properly educated.

The child, who had loved books since he was young, excelled even after entering school.

Every time the child brought home awards, Damian and Ban would boast to the whole neighborhood that their son was a genius.

The family of three would go on picnics on weekends. They would pack lunch boxes, bring mats, and go on outings to parks and rivers.

Time passed.

The thirteen-year-old child entered boarding school. The mature son told them not to worry about him and entered the dormitory, and Ban and Damian quietly reddened their eyes.

Time passed.

Damian was promoted repeatedly within the merchant guild. He had been working there for almost 20 years, so his position within the guild was high.

Ban took over a commercial building and opened her own store. She had taken out a loan, but the store was doing well, so she was able to pay it off quickly.

It was also around this time that they moved from their beloved basement apartment to a nice mansion on the outskirts of the city.

Time passed.

The son, who had graduated from school, was hired as an administrator at the city hall.

The day his acceptance was announced, Damian and Ban hugged their son as they had when he was a child and boasted about him as they walked around the neighborhood.

The son was embarrassed and covered his face in shame.

Time passed.

The son was promoted. He got a house near the city hall and started his own life.

By now, Damian and Ban had quite a few wrinkles on their faces.

The two still went on dates hand in hand on weekends. They went to the central city theater and had meals at fancy restaurants.

Time passed.

The son brought a beautiful young lady to introduce her. He said they were already engaged.

Damian and Ban had not had a proper wedding ceremony, so they decided to hold a grand wedding for their son.

Many people came to their son’s wedding. Everyone applauded and showered flowers, blessing the new union of the young couple.

Watching this, Damian and Ban held each other’s hands tightly.

“Should we have a wedding ceremony again?”

“What are you saying, you old fool?” Ban scolded Damian’s suggestion, but the two actually had a twilight wedding ceremony a little while later.

Secretly, just the two of them, without telling their son and new daughter-in-law.

“A wedding ceremony at this age, really…”

In a quiet temple where dusty sunlight fell.

Even with her wrinkled face, Ban was beautiful in her wedding dress. Smiling brightly, Ban said,

“You must really like me, you old fool!”

Damian silently hugged Ban and kissed her on the lips.

Time passed.

Time passed.

…Time, passed.

***

Lying in bed, Damian was waiting for death.

Ban, sitting in a chair next to him, held Damian’s hand tightly.

“Were you happy, dear?”

“Of course. I was happy,” Damian muttered, looking at the ceiling with his failing eyesight.

“What more happiness could I have asked for…”

“……”

“Were you happy, dear?” Damian asked, and Ban smiled faintly and replied.

“Of course, I couldn’t have been happier.”

The two held hands for a while without saying anything.

A peaceful silence filled the cozy bedroom.

Then, the outside of the bedroom door became noisy. The sound of children laughing could be heard.

“Ah, it seems our son has arrived,” Ban quickly ran out and opened the door.

“Father!” Their proud son, who had risen from a commoner to become the mayor of the city, entered the bedroom with his grandchildren. Damian opened his arms to greet his son.

“Welcome, my proud son.”

And, Damian said his son’s name.

“…Ash…”

The moment he uttered that name.

“Huh?”

A faint groan escaped from old Damian’s lips.

It was as if a clear ripple was spreading through his hazy mind.

Step. Step.

The son who had come to stand in front of the bed smiled gently.

A young and handsome man with jet-black hair and piercing black eyes.

Ash- said.

– Damian.

– Are you just going to sit here and wait to die?