I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 31

That day, late afternoon.

I headed back to the Cross Margrave’s mansion.

“Margrave! Are you in there?”

I banged loudly on the outer gate and entered the mansion’s garden. Immediately, the Cross Margrave stormed out of the mansion.

“You have no regard for your life! I clearly told you! Don’t ever show your face to me again…”

The Margrave was about to point the spear in his hand at me, but then he dropped it.

It was because he noticed the small cart I was dragging behind me.

“Wh-what is that?”

“What do you think it is?”

I grinned and lifted the cloth covering the cart.

“It’s that thing you’re crazy about.”

The cart was filled with liquor.

The bottles, bathed in the late afternoon sun, sparkled like sand on a white beach.

“…”

The Cross Margrave looked back and forth between me and the bottles, at a loss for words.

***

The Ash I possessed is a good-for-nothing bastard.

He’s a hedonistic prince who indulged in literal pools of liquor and forests of meat, a disgrace no matter where you put him.

There’s no way such a guy would come to the countryside empty-handed. Of course, he brought a ton of high-quality liquor.

But I don’t enjoy drinking. So, there’s no need to save it.

I scraped together all the expensive liquor that Ash had cherished since he was in the capital.

“Let’s have a drink together, Margrave.”

I picked up a bottle from the cart and shook it.

Inside the bottle, wrapped in luxurious packaging, a beautiful golden liquid shimmered.

Clink, clink.

The sweet sound of the liquid sloshing echoed.

For a drunkard like the Cross Margrave, it would be an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Gulp.

The Cross Margrave’s gaunt throat gulped. I shrugged and put the bottle I was holding back into the cart.

“Or not, if you don’t want to?”

“No, no! Who said I didn’t want to?”

The Cross Margrave flung open the mansion’s door.

“Come in, Your Highness. And bring all of that with you!”

Easy to understand, which is good.

I pulled the cart full of liquor and entered the mansion.

“Oh, shit.”

As soon as I took my first step inside, I couldn’t help but exclaim.

From the entrance to the back of the mansion, empty bottles were scattered all over the floor.

“Holy… moly…”

I covered my nose with my hand.

I could feel the evaporated alcohol mixed in the air; that’s how many bottles were piled up without being cleaned. Ugh.

‘He’s not just a heavy drinker, he’s an alcoholic…’

I avoided the bottles that were spread like a carpet on the floor and entered the mansion’s kitchen.

The Cross Margrave took out two glasses from the cupboard.

“It’s been a while since I’ve drunk with someone else.”

I took the glass the Margrave offered and suspiciously examined the bottom.

“Is this glass clean?”

“Even if the house is a mess, the glass must be clean. Isn’t that the etiquette of drinking?”

The Cross Margrave, who recited a bizarre drinking philosophy, snatched the bottle from my hand.

“Let’s see, what kind of liquor did you bring…”

Soon, the Margrave’s eyes widened as he checked the letters on the label.

“‘Peacemaker’ Year One Imperial Whiskey! My god, this is incredibly rare!”

‘Peacemaker’ is the middle name of the current Emperor.

That means it’s a commemorative liquor made in the year the Emperor ascended to the throne. Moreover, it’s a special product made directly by the Imperial Brewery.

It’s not just about the taste, but also the deep symbolic meaning.

In other words, it’s incredibly expensive.

‘I brought you such expensive liquor, so please treat me with respect now.’

I didn’t need to say it out loud for this intention to be conveyed.

The Cross Margrave stared at me with a complex expression, then boldly opened the whiskey bottle and poured it.

The golden liquid filled both of our glasses.

“Then, let’s…”

I was about to raise my glass for a toast, but the Cross Margrave had already brought his glass to his mouth.

“…”

I awkwardly lowered my glass.

The Cross Margrave downed his glass in one shot. This is strong, are you okay?

“Phew!”

The Cross Margrave looked down at his empty glass with an admiring face.

“Indeed, it’s a masterpiece! Even the way it goes down is different.”

“How can you feel the proper taste when you drink it like that?”

“To make an accurate comparison with the cheap stuff I usually drink, shouldn’t I drink this the same way? That’s the only way to evaluate it fairly.”

Damn it, I don’t know much about liquor, so I don’t know if that makes sense or not.

Anyway, I didn’t come here to talk about liquor today. I quietly put down the glass I hadn’t even touched.

“Anyway, Margrave. Today, I have something to talk about…”

“Don’t bring up any other topics!”

The Cross Margrave interrupted me and refilled his glass.

“Just drink and go back. If you’re going to talk about other things, get out.”

“Well, at least give me some snacks…”

He’s just pouring liquor into his stomach, this old drunkard.

At my grumbling, the Cross Margrave reluctantly opened the cupboard again and took out a small pouch.

“Here, take this.”

“What is this?”

“Dried fruit. Made from the fruit harvested from my orchard over there.”

Inside the pouch, there were dried fruit pieces, finely sliced.

I picked up a piece and looked at it closely. Is it like mango? No, is it grape?

“You have an orchard too?”

“Over there, can you see it outside the window? It’s right behind this mansion. It’s a very small place. I manage it as a pastime.”

“Oh, well, I’ll enjoy it… Ptooey?!”

I spat it out as soon as I put it in my mouth.

“Wh-what is this, it’s so bitter and fishy! How can you eat this!”

“No. To spit out the fruit that I carefully grew and harvested… how rude.”

With a displeased face, the Cross Margrave also took a bite of the fruit.

“Ptooey!”

And immediately spat it out.

“No, you can’t eat it either!”

“It tastes awful. It’s my own fruit, but this is trash.”

The Cross Margrave quickly poured liquor into his mouth to rinse it out, then threw the pouch of dried fruit at me.

“Here, it’s a gift. Take it.”

“Why are you giving me something as a gift that you can’t even eat!”

“If I could eat it, I would eat it myself, why would I give it to you? It’s obvious.”

I guess? It’s definitely nonsense, but it’s strangely persuasive.

I gritted my teeth and took the pouch of fruit.

Anyway, it’s a gift from the former lord. I can’t just throw it on the floor.

The Cross Margrave looked down at the remaining fruit and sighed.

“Crossroad is located at the southernmost part of the continent. The sunlight is strong and the land is fertile. There’s no land as good for fruit farming as this place.”

“Then why does it taste like this!”

“Not only fruit, but all kinds of crops bear fruit abundantly as long as you cultivate the fields.”

I paused at his next words.

“If only monsters didn’t invade every single day.”

“Ah…”

“It’s a problem that monsters destroy the fields and kill the farmers, but when they die, they also spread murky magic on this land. Do you know what happens then?”

A bitter smile appeared on the Cross Margrave’s wrinkled lips.

“The entire area becomes contaminated. Even if you grow crops, they wither and die, becoming cursed land.”

The Cross Margrave looked down at his glass with a complex expression.

The golden liquor made by the Imperial family with grains and fruits that cannot be harvested in this area…

“That’s why there are no fields around Crossroad. What’s the point of having good sunlight and fertile land? You can’t grow anything. No matter how hard you work, one invasion will turn it into ruins.”

“…”

“This is cursed land. It was like this before, and it will be like this in the future.”

I gestured towards the window.

“Then why do you take care of the orchard?”

“Everyone has at least one regret in their life, don’t they?”

The old man looked at the orchard with a wistful gaze for a moment, then closed his eyes and drank his liquor.

“That orchard is my regret.”

After that, we didn’t have any conversation until we finished a bottle.

“I can’t even get drunk as I please anymore…”

The Cross Margrave muttered, swirling the empty bottle.

I took out the next bottle from the cart, opened it myself, and poured it into the Cross Margrave’s glass.

“Margrave. Do you have any idea why I came here today?”

The Cross Margrave’s hollow gaze glared at me.

“Didn’t I tell you to leave if you’re going to talk about other things?”

“If you want to kick me out, then kick me out. But I have to say everything I need to say before I leave.”

Thud.

After filling the Margrave’s glass, I put the bottle on the table and opened my mouth.

“The monsters have started to stir again. And the scale is unusual.”

“…”

“The last invasion was 1,000 Living Armors. We managed to stop them somehow, but the walls were severely damaged, and we are desperately short of soldiers.”

“…”

“We urgently need reinforcements.”

The Cross Margrave was listening silently. I raised my voice.

“Margrave. I’m saying that I need the soldiers under your command.”

“I don’t have any soldiers under my command.”

“I know that your family has private soldiers.”

“I have friends that I picked, taught, and fought alongside on the battlefield my whole life.”

The Cross Margrave let out a long sigh.

“But when I gave up my position as lord, when I put down that spear and shield… those friends also laid down their weapons. They’re all retired now.”

“Please call them back.”

“It’s no use.”

Gulp, gulp.

The Cross Margrave, who downed a glass in one go, muttered vaguely.

“This land is not worth protecting.”

“What do you mean…”

“Don’t waste your lives protecting this worthless front line, tell them all to run away.”

From his distant ancestors until now.

The man who had made it his family’s duty to protect this land was saying that.

It was so unexpected that I was momentarily stunned.

“Hey, Your Highness. Why did you come to this land?”

The Cross Margrave stared at me and said calmly.

“Everything just dies in this land. Without hope or future.”

“…”

“This is the advice of someone who has spent his whole life protecting this place. Leave. As soon as possible. Before you are consumed by the curse of this land.”

What on earth happened to this old man?

Why did he come to deny his entire life?

I wanted to ask and hear the answer, but the Cross Margrave turned his head and waved his hand.

“Leave now. I’m too tired to talk anymore.”

I had a feeling that today was the end. I slowly got up from my seat.

“I’ll come again, Margrave.”

“…”

“Next time, I’ll bring some decent snacks with me.”

The Margrave didn’t answer or turn his gaze towards me.

He was just staring blankly at his orchard outside the window.

After taking one last look at the old man’s profile, I left the mansion.

***

When I came outside, Lucas was waiting with the horses.

“Your Highness, were you successful in persuading him?”

“No. Failure. But I did get a gift.”

It’s inedible dried fruit, but a gift is a gift. Isn’t this a huge step forward?

I shrugged and climbed onto the saddle.

“Well, how could everything go well in just one day?”

“You plan to keep coming back.”

“If I succeed, I can recruit a veteran unit that has been fighting monsters their whole lives. It’s worth the effort.”

As I started to return to the city with Lucas, I tilted my head.

“By the way, what happened to the Cross Margrave? It seems like he went through something big… Lucas, do you know anything?”

“No, I don’t know anything either…”

Lucas and I had lived in the Imperial capital our whole lives before being demoted to the south together.

There’s no way he would know the details of this place.

“Aider told me to ask the Margrave himself… Ugh.”

It seemed like Aider had no intention of spoiling anything. That damn director.

“Anyway, persuasion is persuasion. Until then, I have to do what I can.”

What I can do.

Repair the walls and prepare for war.

Whatever cards I hold in my hand, the monsters will come. I will just kill the monsters as efficiently and thoroughly as possible.

I looked at the city in the distance and spoke as if making a vow to myself.

“Let’s go back to Crossroad. There’s a lot to do.”