I Became The Tyrant Of A Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 317

Dungeon base camp. The smithy.

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

Kellybay asked me with a worried look.

Lost in thought, I sighed and tilted my head to the side.

“I don’t understand my subordinates’ feelings…”

“Why, did you fight again?”

“It’s not that we fought…”

I swung the [Bestowed Sword] in my hand from side to side.

“It’s just that, I really don’t understand them, you know?”

Not in any other way, but literally… I don’t understand!

I don’t know what happened between Ash and Lucas in the past, and I don’t know what Lucas wants!

– Even if… I betrayed my lord once before?

After throwing out that kind of bait, Lucas applied for his first leave since coming to this front.

And then he just took off somewhere… without even telling me where he was going!

Hey! You know I don’t know anything about the past! Why are you running away with your mouth shut? Instead of that, why don’t you just spill the beans! Ugh!

“Sigh…”

I tilted my head to the other side and let out a deep sigh.

“I thought that giving them a good salary and getting along well would be enough… but it turns out that even the past that I don’t remember is involved.”

“Hmm.”

“Running a team is more troublesome than I thought. Sigh.”

“Team…? What are you talking about?”

Even while tilting his head at my grumbling joke, Kellybay is diligently preparing for the equipment upgrade.

The awakening pattern of Lucas was already copied onto a scroll beforehand.

The [Bestowed Sword] was also found. All the other materials have been supplied. Now, all that’s left is to finish the upgrade process!

I placed the hilt of the [Bestowed Sword], which I was shaking in my hand, on the table with a thud and gestured with my chin.

“Anyway, whatever. So, how long will it take?”

“It seems like it will take at least a week.”

Kellybay, who received the sword hilt, made a sound that was somewhere between admiration and a groan, “Ummm~.”

“By the way, this sword hilt… it’s amazing. Such a deeply ingrained obsession.”

The exclusive equipment of SSR-grade characters is deeply related to the character’s story.

In many cases, they are excellent equipment from the start, but most of the time, the equipment itself is not that great.

So, even after the upgrade, other people can’t draw out its full performance if they hold it.

However, when the character uses it.

A special interaction occurs, and it performs better than most top-tier equipment. That is the mechanism of exclusive equipment.

“Obsession… can such a thing dwell in a weapon?”

“Yes, especially this sword hilt is overflowing with ‘regret’.”

Can a magical blacksmith even read such things? Amazing.

“At this point, aren’t you more in the realm of a mage than a blacksmith?”

“Hmph, I did have some talent in magic. But instead of ’emitting’ magic, I had a talent for ‘infusing’ it, so I came this way.”

Looking at Kellybay shrugging his shoulders, I briefly imagined a mage version of him.

A bald, bearded dwarf in a robe, solemnly emitting magic…

‘Doesn’t look good.’

Just be a blacksmith. It suits you so well.

I turned my head to the side and asked Hannibal, the smithy assistant who was waiting.

“By the way, are you going to do a spirit enchant this time too?”

I asked, wondering if it would be possible to add another upgrade to make it a spirit weapon, like Evangeline’s exclusive equipment.

Hannibal shook his head.

“No, I don’t think it will be possible with this weapon. The obsession is too strong…”

According to Hannibal’s explanation, the stronger the specific emotion dwelling in the equipment, the harder it is for a spirit to inhabit it.

It seems that the spirit needs the equipment to be free of emotions to reside comfortably.

I don’t know much about it, but are spirits the type that dislike built-in appliances when moving into a house…?

“Come to think of it, shouldn’t you be working as a spiritist instead of a blacksmith?”

“Haha, I can communicate with spirits, but I can’t summon them separately… I was able to learn the knack of ‘infusing’ while helping with the smithy work.”

Hannibal scratched his messy hair, looking embarrassed.

Hmm. Indeed. A spirit blacksmith who is a disciple of a magical blacksmith. Looking at it this way, the two seem to have some things in common.

“Anyway, please take care of it. Please upgrade it into a piece of equipment that will go down in history.”

As a token of my request, I offered them alcohol, snacks, and various metals as gifts.

After shouting “Fighting!” to the two of them, I returned to Crossroads.

Today, I was planning to go around the city and take care of various pending matters.

“Let’s go, junior!”

“Yay~!”

Since Lucas was not there, I had Evangeline as my escort for the day, and I diligently toured Crossroads.

I stopped by the alchemy workshop to request research on the ‘Magic Tower’ summoning scroll I had obtained earlier.

I also visited the hotel construction site. They are currently working on preparing the foundation of the land.

Serenade, the architect, the head of the stonemason’s guild, and the head of the carpenter’s guild were gathered to share the progress and hold a meeting.

After receiving the bird’s-eye view, I nodded in satisfaction.

Winter preparations are also underway. Firewood, coal, and food are being distributed to each household.

I set a relaxed schedule and started early so that everything could be finished before the full onset of winter.

I also placed orders for winter clothes and gloves for the soldiers… Ugh. It seems like everything is just costing money.

I also met with citizens in various parts of the city to ask about the city’s issues.

These simple country folks didn’t have any major requests. They just gave me a lot of support, asking me to continue to protect and govern the city in good health.

After touring the city all day, it was evening.

The days were short, as it was winter, and it was already dusk. I entered the city’s central prison.

I was planning to take care of the last item on today’s schedule.

“Hey, spy.”

I tapped the bars with my fingertips and spoke to the fresh new prisoner in the cell.

“Is the prison livable?”

“There’s a misunderstanding, Your Highness…”

Mason, the spy I had captured earlier today, looked at me with a face full of injustice.

“I am just a poor refugee wandering without a home. I am definitely not a spy. Please believe me.”

“Bullshit. If you’re going to lie, at least make it believable. Look in the mirror, you big guy.”

Mason is more imposing than any of my heroes.

He is shorter than Kuilan, but his width is wider, making him look bigger. Even now, the one-person cell looks cramped.

Ugh, look at those veins popping out on his arms. His strength stat must be several times higher than mine.

There’s no way such a sturdy man is a refugee. If he had infiltrated as a mercenary, I might have been fooled.

“Let’s not play games, player. Since the game is already over, just spill the beans.”

I pulled a chair and placed it outside the cell, sat on it, and flicked my fingers.

“Aegis Special Forces, right? Which team are you from?”

“Heh heh…”

Mason, stroking his beard, shrugged his shoulders with a hollow laugh.

“I am the team leader of Team 1, undeservedly, Your Highness.”

“It’s good to see you admit it so readily. By the way, Team 1. It sounds like you’re something special. What’s your main job?”

“Our special forces do similar things, you know. Spying.”

“But each team must have its own specialization.”

What kind of spying can you do with such a noticeable physique? Even a fool would know that you’re not just a simple spy.

As if giving up, Mason raised both arms and readily confessed.

“Rear infiltration and disruption of enemy lines, and… armed suppression.”

I glanced at Mason’s greatsword, which was stored in the prison’s storage room. It was as big as my body.

Aegis Special Forces Team 1, in short… seems to be a unit that symbolizes ‘power’ even within the special forces.

“So, what did you come to my city for, Team 1 leader? Are you going to try some armed suppression?”

“How could a mere special forces member do anything about the monster front that is responsible for the southern border of the empire? I certainly did not come for that purpose.”

Mason shook his head and bowed deeply.

“I will tell you the truth. After the intelligence network of the temple in Crossroads was destroyed, it became too difficult to gather information. Our special forces judged that it was necessary to reinforce the intelligence line, so we sent additional personnel this time.”

“But why did you come? Do you have to use a butcher’s knife to kill a chicken?”

“I heard that Master Lucas was here, so I forced my superiors to let me come down because I really wanted to see him.”

Mason’s huge hand came up to his chest.

“I am a retainer who belonged to Master Lucas’s family, the McGregor family, and I have dedicated my life to the McGregor family. I had a chance to see Master Lucas after a long time, so how could I not come?”

“Hmm.”

Lucas’s last name was McGregor. I had heard it a few times, but I didn’t remember it.

I realized anew while resting my chin on my hand. I really don’t know anything about Lucas.

I only know that he has been escorting Ash for a long time, but I don’t know where his family is from, how many family members he has, or whether he had a good or bad relationship with Ash in the past… I don’t know anything properly.

Since there is an acquaintance of Lucas in front of me, should I get some information this time?

“Judging by your words, you seem to have been quite close to Lucas, Mason?”

“Close? I was the one who taught Master Lucas how to use a sword for the first time. I have watched him since he was born. If I said he was like a son… it would be disrespectful to Master Lucas, so I think of him as a nephew.”

“That’s good.”

I leaned close to the bars and asked.

“Can you tell me about Lucas’s childhood? I’m curious about this and that.”

“Well? What benefits can I get if I tell you that?”

“Hmm? That depends on how interesting your story is. Who knows? You might get moved to a very spacious and comfortable cell.”

Mason, with his thick eyebrows furrowed like caterpillars, burst into a hearty laugh.

“This is strange, Your Highness Ash.”

“Huh? What is?”

“You, Your Highness, are the one who has grown up with Master Lucas since childhood.”

Mason grinned, revealing his teeth.

“…Why are you acting like you’ve forgotten everything?”

***

Whoosh-

Lucas stood alone on the southern city wall.

The cold wind between late autumn and early winter lashed at his cheeks. Lucas silently endured the wind with his body and looked down at the city wall.

He had applied for leave for the first time, but there was nothing he particularly wanted to do or any place he wanted to go.

He just wanted to escape from the past that was grabbing at the back of his neck.

‘McGregor, McGregor…’

Lucas repeated his last name, which was engraved like a scarlet letter and would not disappear, and tightly closed his mouth.

‘It would have been nice if I could have forgotten it.’

His last name, his memories, his past…

It would have been nice if they had disappeared with the passage of time.

It would be enough if he could just live as the ‘current’ Lucas, protecting his lord here.

Reality was not so warm.

Just as the seasons change and General Winter visits every year, the past was relentlessly breathing cold air on Lucas’s neck.

“Haa…”

Lucas let out a long sigh.