I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 444

“The other kings are the same. I will provide what each of you desires.”

Turning my gaze from the kings of the different races, I looked at the other human kings who had come from various places.

“The details will all be different, but first… I will eliminate the biggest problems that you had to face when you were pushed to the borderlands, and what you had to endure there.”

The reason why they were pushed to the edge of the world, rather than the center of the continent, was usually one thing.

They were disliked by the Empire.

Most of them harbored grudges, big and small, against the Empire.

And the Empire, despite its vast land, had a narrow mind like a gudgeon [a small, bottom-dwelling fish], so it never forgot these things and retaliated against them.

I was planning to resolve this first.

“I will put all the unpleasant incidents that occurred between you and the Empire to rest, and I will forgive and pardon all debts and remaining crimes that the Empire has left you with. I will also withdraw all kinds of economic sanctions.”

The faces of the leaders of the surrounding city-states, the chiefs of small tribes, and several kings showed surprise.

“Of course, this is a matter that will be applied to all of you, and if there is anything else you desire, I will try my best to fulfill it.”

Right after I finished speaking.

“Ha!”

The dwarf king, Kellison, who had been listening quietly, grumbled.

“Your words are flowery and your promises sound sweet, but how can we believe them?”

I looked at him. Kellison stared at me intently.

“There’s no guarantee that you won’t lie and suck us dry like the Empire and the Emperor have done! And above all!”

Kellison pointed his hand to the north.

“Before the monsters in the south, we need to get rid of the Imperial Capital, Fernandez, first. Prince Ash, there’s no guarantee that you can win against Fernandez, is there?”

It was a valid point.

Whether it was abolishing the slave system of the different races, or providing what each of the other kings desired…

These words were ultimately just empty promises. If I couldn’t defeat Fernandez and seize the imperial power, it would all be a pipe dream.

So, I needed to show my hand a little here.

“There is.”

I smiled gently.

“A surefire card.”

“A surefire card?”

“A surefire card that will guarantee victory in the war against Fernandez. I am preparing it in advance.”

The kings’ eyes widened.

Kellison stammered and asked.

“W-What is it?”

“That is…”

I clasped my hands together and rested my chin on them, then whispered subtly.

“…I will tell you when you promise me full cooperation.”

…Even as I said it, I thought.

Why am I talking like a con artist?

***

The banquet was over.

I decided to proceed with one-on-one negotiations with the kings a little more slowly over time. I entered my room in the hotel.

Then, the heroes who had been waiting immediately got up from their seats and greeted me. I nodded.

“Is everyone here?”

What was waiting in my room was… the Gambler Party, Gamble Club.

After confirming that all five members were present, I smiled.

“Good, gamblers… you’ll have to work hard right away.”

The Gamble Club’s composition was as follows.

Illusionist Violet.

Puppeteer Cobalt.

Clairvoyant Lime.

Mind Reader Orange.

And the master gambler, Scarlet.

Just by looking at it, wasn’t it a personnel composition that could be used very effectively in espionage?

“For the next few days, you five must read the minds of all the kings.”

I spoke sternly to them, who were looking at me with tense faces.

“You can roughly skip over the kings who are cooperative in this negotiation. But you have to find out why the uncooperative kings are like that, what the reason is.”

I had no intention of missing a single one of the kings and their forces gathered here.

I intended to make all the kings cooperate with my plan. If necessary, I would find their weaknesses, threaten them, and use any means necessary.

To do that, I needed to figure out what they were thinking in their heads.

Having a different face on the outside and inside is a basic quality of a ruler. I had to carefully examine whether they were really trying to cooperate with me.

“The only entertainment facility in this hotel is the casino. There’s no way that those who have the title of king wouldn’t go there.”

There might be some who don’t, but I could deal with those exceptions separately by directly inviting them or something.

“You will entertain them as casino dealers, and as my eyes and ears, you will collect information about them.”

I urged them.

“And you must investigate the uncooperative kings especially deeply. If necessary, you must approach them by changing your roles, such as hotelier, manager, or concierge.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good, I wish you good luck.”

I clapped my hands and then smiled.

“Operation Casino Royale, begins!”

***

Scarlet was a top-class gambler.

Being top-class didn’t just mean playing with card hands to win.

A true top-class gambler must also be able to play with the opponent’s mind.

As a dealer, Scarlet controlled the entire card table, subtly manipulating her opponents.

The best hand given in a moment of desperate crisis.

All-in, and victory…

Those who sat in front of her without thinking were completely relaxed and cheering just a few tens of minutes later.

‘……What was the gambling hotline number again?’

Puppeteer Cobalt and Illusionist Violet were also capable of playing the entire game by themselves.

They also created thrilling matches for the kings, greatly uplifting their spirits.

Alcohol. And victory.

Just like the banquet that the soldiers were holding outside the hotel, the dissolute kings gathered here were also easily relaxing.

The kings became honest, and they poured out their honest opinions about the current situation.

And the casino dealers collected all that information as my eyes and ears.

A list of uncooperative kings was created.

Clairvoyant Lime peeked at the conversations they were having in their hotel rooms through clairvoyance.

Mind Reader Orange pretended to offer them drinks, and after feeding them her tea, she read their minds.

Cobalt’s puppets hid throughout the hotel and watched them, and Violet also followed behind them, manipulating reality.

And so, after only a day and a half had passed.

The inner thoughts of most of the kings gathered here had been revealed.

“Anyway, most of the kings are dissolute… they relax right away when they’re treated a little well.”

I muttered, tapping the documents where the information was compiled with my fingertips, then suddenly became startled and muttered.

“…Wait, then am I too?”

I’m still a commoner, right?

Ah, or am I not? When I think about it, I’m building these hotels and spending the budget like water…?

Anyway, the organization of what most of the kings were thinking was roughly finished. I was lost in thought as I read through the documents.

I was confident that I could bring all the kings gathered this time to my side, under the monster front. That’s because.

‘They can’t choose Fernandez.’

The things that Fernandez was plotting in the Imperial Capital.

Its true nature was gradually being revealed. If my guess was correct, that bastard was truly insane.

‘……It’s not just a problem limited to the fallen kings.’

The things that Fernandez was plotting were something that would be condemned by everyone in the world.

But Fernandez had chosen his path and was pushing forward without hesitation.

He was walking without hesitation on a path that would be condemned by everyone in the world except himself.

‘Why is he going so far?’

There were too many things about Fernandez’s actions that didn’t make sense.

I wanted to have a frank conversation with him by calling a [Commander’s Meeting], but oh well.

As I was thinking, I returned to the lord’s mansion, opened the door, and entered…

“Your Highness!”

Aider, who had been waiting at the entrance, rushed towards me urgently.

“Someone from the Imperial Capital has come!”

“Someone? From the Imperial Capital?”

I heard that the gate in that neighborhood was tightly closed, and even if you tried to use a back road, you had to spend a lot of money.

I blinked my eyes quietly. Who had come all the way from the Imperial Capital to meet me?

The person was sitting in the reception room, drinking tea with a tired look. I was shocked when I recognized him at a glance.

“…Alberto!”

It was the strict old butler, Alberto, who was the chief of the imperial palace and had been a consultant for the Winter Silver Merchant Guild.

I rushed to him, and Alberto hurriedly got up and paid his respects to me.

“Your Highness. It’s been a while.”

“It’s good to see you alive! You’ve had a long journey.”

I patted Alberto’s shoulder and made him sit down again.

Alberto briefly told me about his situation.

He had been guarding the Winter Silver Merchant Guild headquarters alone, but the situation inside the Imperial Capital had started to turn ominous, and when the delivery of the messenger pigeons was blocked, he had escaped to inform me directly.

And he had come south to me.

“I heard that the gates of the Imperial Capital are tightly closed and it’s not easy to enter and exit… you managed to do it.”

“Haha. That’s… actually, I didn’t come out by my own power.”

Alberto scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“A secret organization in the Imperial Capital supported me, and thanks to that, I was able to get out of the Imperial Capital.”

“A secret organization?”

“Yes. It’s an organization called ‘The Jilted Women’…”.

I frowned without realizing it.

“The Jilted Women? What is that trashy organization name?”

“…”

“Who did they get jilted by to come up with such a name?”

Then Alberto looked at me with a troubled expression.

…No, what? Why are you looking at me like that?

***

Well done, Kim Ash! You are such a consistently trashy bastard!

‘But I can’t hate him… even while being trashy, he still prepared for the future…’

I listened to Alberto’s story about the secret organization that Kim Ash… no, my past self had prepared, and my mouth dropped open.

In the past, I was a playboy who had messed around with all sorts of noble young ladies.

But this wasn’t just a simple seduction, it was to build a secret organization that would move for me.

“He approached the noble young ladies, solved their individual problems, made them feel indebted to him, and then left… he repeated that process. Naturally, the young ladies came to admire Your Highness…”

“…”

When I thought about it, Kim Ash was a regressor.

He would have been well-versed in the necessary personal information and family problems of his targets. He quickly approached them, solved their individual problems, gained their favor, and then left, repeating the process.

Instead, he asked them to join a secret organization that would move for him later…

“No, I naturally thought that my past self… had seduced them physically.”

Since I was called a playboy and a Casanova, I naturally thought it was that way…!

“To be honest, I thought so too. But I never thought you would have been doing this behind the scenes…”

Alberto sighed in relief.

“It’s a relief. Somehow, even though you were so promiscuous, everyone was wondering why you didn’t have a single illegitimate child.”

“…You were a very disciplined piece of trash, me.”

I let out a sigh.

I didn’t know whether to call this a legacy of the past or a debt of the past, my feelings were complicated.

“And the leader of that organization entrusted this to me.”

Alberto handed me something.

It was a small box. I received it with a puzzled look.

“What is this?”

“I don’t know. It’s just called ‘a gift from the past’…”.

“…”

A gift from my past.

In other words, something that past Ash was sending to me…

I looked at it with a sullen expression, and then Alberto opened his mouth with a serious face.

“The current situation in the Imperial Capital is ominous, Your Highness.”

“Yes. It’s good timing. I needed accurate information anyway.”

I also made a serious expression and stared at Alberto.

“What the hell is going on in the Imperial Capital?”

Alberto took a breath and said.

“His Highness Fernandez is about to complete the ‘Shutdown Protocol’ that he is installing in the basement of the Imperial Capital. It has been delayed several times due to sabotage, but it is getting closer to completion.”

“…!”

“And if this is completed and activated…”

The content was,

“All the citizens of New Terra in the Imperial Capital will melt and die.”

It was as I had guessed, but it was still insane.