I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 522

The dawn arrived, marking the end of the battle and the subsequent cleanup.

There were practically no casualties, and even the number of injured was minimal. Considering our opponent was a commander of the Nightmare Legion, this was a miraculous victory.

We held a modest after-party.

The heroes, scattered throughout the partially ruined yet still beautifully decorated banquet hall, sat and chatted, sipping drinks.

The party was over, so everyone sat around, calmly talking, drinking, and eating light snacks.

It was a gentle, subdued atmosphere, quite different from our usual victory celebrations.

And at the center of it all was Myeong.

When Myeong first entered the banquet hall, she was met with glares from several kings.

It was understandable. She was the representative of the Lake Kingdom, which had been spewing out monsters.

She couldn’t help but be viewed with suspicion, as if she were the root cause of all this.

But now, the other kings were drawn to Myeong with interest and awe, vying to speak with her.

‘Well, considering she wielded that sword of light. It’s like she was born to defeat monsters.’

A being from another dimension, a god far beyond the understanding of ordinary humans, had tried to descend from the darkness.

Myeong had swung her sword, emitting light, and defeated that god. Everyone present had witnessed it.

The kings here were all warriors who fought with their own swords.

There was no way they could overlook Myeong’s extraordinary abilities.

So, the various kings present were trying their best to talk to Myeong and build a rapport with her.

Myeong was initially bewildered, but now she was handling it with composure and grace.

Even after hundreds of years, it seemed the poise she had as a princess hadn’t completely disappeared.

‘Myeong’s debut in the mortal realm seems to be going pretty well.’

As I watched this from the second-floor terrace, a slightly sulky voice came from behind me.

“To be taking care of an acquaintance’s debutante during a war with monsters… you are truly bold, or perhaps extraordinary.”

I turned to see Serenade.

Her water-blue hair was loosely tied behind her neck, and she wore a simple black dress with a coat draped over her shoulders.

Serenade offered me one of the glasses in her hand, her silver eyes glancing at me.

“I am always in awe of Your Highness.”

“Haha… I thought the battlefield, especially a battle against a difficult enemy, would be the best place to demonstrate Myeong’s current value.”

Once the World Guardian Front is officially launched, many other kings from around the world will gather here at Crossroads with their troops.

I intended to secure allies for Myeong beforehand, and it seems to have worked out well.

“It’s a bit grand to call it a debutante, but well, it went as planned.”

I took the champagne glass Serenade offered and winked.

“You did great today, Serenade. Thanks to your command, the operation was a success.”

“I only did as Your Highness instructed beforehand.”

“If it weren’t for your quick thinking, we wouldn’t have achieved such a perfect result. Just accept my praise.”

We quietly sipped our champagne.

I could see the banquet hall, partially destroyed by the battle. I smacked my lips awkwardly.

“By the way… the hotel is a mess. I’m sorry.”

“Hehe. It’s alright. These facilities can be restored. If it’s to save more important lives, this much is perfectly fine.”

A brief silence fell.

Serenade looked at Myeong for a moment, then blurted out.

“…She is beautiful.”

“Myeong? Right? I was surprised too. In that underground dungeon, she was completely covered in grime, but after cleaning her up…”

“The enemy commander we faced today was also a beauty.”

“Black Night? Her skin was bluish, but yeah, by absolute standards, she might have been quite beautiful.”

“There are always beautiful women around Your Highness…”

Serenade, who had been muttering blankly, suddenly shook her shoulders and waved her hands at me.

“No, no, I’m not jealous! I have no right to be! It’s just….”

“Serenade.”

I chuckled and put down my empty champagne glass.

“You can be jealous.”

“Yes…?”

Serenade blinked her silver eyes blankly.

“Um, what do you mean…?”

“Serenade.”

“Yes, yes?”

“We’re going to be busy. There might not be any time for this kind of gathering for a while. So….”

I gestured towards the first floor.

“Shall we dance?”

Serenade blinked blankly, then nodded her head vigorously, her cheeks flushed.

“…Yes!”

We quietly descended to a small hall next to the main hall, which was already dark and cleaned up, instead of the brightly lit main hall.

The sounds of people laughing and drinking from the next hall echoed instead of music. Faint moonlight streamed through the windows instead of the extinguished lights.

There, we slowly held hands, drew close, and took slow steps.

I whispered to Serenade, who was carefully moving her feet with a flushed face.

“Are you disappointed?”

“Yes? About what?”

“Not dancing under the bright lights, being the center of attention… but dancing quietly in the shadows like this.”

I didn’t wait for Serenade’s answer and continued.

“I’m sorry. I’m the type who doesn’t show off what’s truly precious to others, but keeps it close and cherishes it alone.”

“……”

Whether she was amazed or purely admiring, I couldn’t tell.

Serenade, who had been looking at me with an unreadable expression, narrowed her eyes and smiled.

“You really… if only you couldn’t talk.”

In the corner of the dark, small hall, without an orchestra or music, we danced in circles under the moonlight.

***

“Okay~ so!”

In a corner of the banquet hall.

Evangeline, who had changed out of her armor and dress into comfortable casual clothes, placed a bottle of drink on the floor and declared.

“It’s the long-awaited C.L.H.A.W.! And today, we’re also celebrating a new member! Let’s drink until sunrise!”

Gathered there were… Evangeline, Junior, Yoon.

And finally, the new member, Myeong.

Myeong, who had been dragged into this gathering, tilted her head.

“…C.L.H.A.W.?”

“Ah, you think the name is weird, right? Myeong, listen. This name has a very deep meaning…”

Evangeline began to explain something grandiloquently.

Junior, pouring drinks into the glasses in front of them, thought. It’s just the acronym for ‘Crossroads Ladies’ Hero and Mercenary Rights Committee’…

After finishing her explanation, Evangeline looked around, puzzled.

“But where is our senior mage… Lily?”

“She went straight home to see Seed, remember?”

Lily, the vice-president of C.L.H.A.W., had been absent for several months before her delivery. Today, as soon as the operation was over, she went straight home to see Seed, whom she had left with a nanny.

Evangeline wiped her mouth, feeling regretful.

“Wow~ just thinking about Seed makes my mouth water. Are babies always that cute?”

“Well, they are cute, but why is your mouth watering….”

“I’d have no regrets if I could just kiss those soft cheeks once. Ah, is this why everyone becomes a nephew/niece fool?”

Seed was indeed very cute.

‘Will she really let me kiss him later…?’

Junior thought, wondering if Lily would allow it if she appealed to their C.L.H.A.W. loyalty, and poured all the drinks into the glasses.

Including Evangeline’s glass of juice, there were five glasses in total.

The glasses were passed around. All four people sitting there received a glass, and one glass remained.

Thud.

Evangeline placed the glass on the empty floor. Myeong tilted her head and asked.

“What is this empty glass for?”

“Um, well.”

Evangeline smiled bitterly and scratched the back of her head.

“It’s for those who were members of our C.L.H.A.W. but have left us.”

“Ah….”

“I thought about pouring as many glasses as there were people, but then I thought it would just make me sad thinking about them one by one….”

Evangeline added coolly.

“I figured it would be too much to handle if it kept increasing, so I decided to just pour one glass.”

“……”

This was a gathering at the front lines.

Myeong stared blankly at the glass for those who had left and those who would leave. The drink, poured to the brim, was shimmering red.

“Okay, let’s stop with the heavy talk! Let’s celebrate Myeong’s new membership! Cheers!”

The four clinked their glasses together.

“Originally, Dusk Bringer, Verdandi, and Elise are all members, but they didn’t come today because they have their own after-parties. But let’s all get together for a drink at the next meeting!”

Soon, the members began to chat about various topics.

Starting with stories about Lily raising Seed, then moving on to their departed comrades—especially Margherita, who was a member here, Reina, who had suddenly appeared and caused chaos, and Jupiter, who had a connection with Reina….

Over the past two years, many memories had been made, and many partings had occurred.

Drinks were passed around repeatedly, and as is typical of young people’s drinking parties, the conversation shifted to romance.

“…So, I went like this, and I grabbed that Kuilan guy’s lips, like, smack!”

“Oh my, oh my, oh my! Oh my god! You’re amazing!”

“And right after that, I followed up with this, bam! bam!”

“Kyaaaa, crazy, crazy! I’m definitely going to learn that and use it!”

As Yoon recounted her heroic deed(?), Evangeline, who had been covering her mouth in admiration, suddenly turned to Myeong.

“Oh, right, Myeong! Who was that person you danced with earlier?”

“Huh?”

“I saw you dancing with someone from afar! Who was it? Did you find a good man on the surface?”

Junior chimed in.

“That… the lord’s aide! Yeah, you were dancing with him, right?”

“Ah, you danced with him! He’s a nice person who always gives us food and drinks.”

Evangeline seemed to think of the lord’s aide as a vending machine that provided food and lodging whenever she went to the lord’s mansion.

Evangeline rested her chin on her hand and made an ‘hmm’ sound.

“But, what was his name… He was appointed here after I entered the academy, so I don’t know him well.”

Junior also tilted her head.

“That’s right. His presence is strangely faint, so I can’t remember him well. His name is… um….”

“……”

Myeong blinked blankly.

Why was it? Even though she had danced with him earlier, his face was already blurry.

His name.

His name….

Myeong, who had gotten up from her seat in a hurry, nodded to the other members.

“I’ll be back in a moment.”

And Myeong rushed out of the banquet hall.

“Wow, Myeong. I didn’t think she was like that…”

Evangeline, who had been watching her back blankly, lifted her drink in admiration.

“She’s young!”

No, you’re the youngest….

Evangeline raised her glass again to Junior and Yoon, who were thinking that.

“Okay, let’s leave the princess who went to find her own destiny! Let’s drink among ourselves! Who knows when we’ll have another chance like this?”

***

In the distance, the dawn was breaking in the east, and the moon was about to disappear in the west.

“……”

Aider stood blankly at the hotel entrance, watching the moon as it disappeared in the west.

Tap-tap-

Then, the sound of shoes echoed.

Aider, startled, slowly turned around to see Myeong, who was breathing heavily.

Aider smiled faintly.

“…Do you have business with me, Princess?”

“Haa, haa, haa….”

Myeong, who had finally caught her breath, mustered her courage and… asked.

“May I ask your name, aide?”

“……”

“Although I have no name to give you… I still want to know your name.”

Aider hesitated for a moment, but then,

“…Aider.”

He slowly spoke his name.

“My name is Aider, Princess.”

“Aider….”

Myeong, rolling the name in her mouth, closed her eyes and savored the sound, then smiled shyly.

“It’s a good name.”

“…Indeed.”

Aider smiled back shyly.

“It’s a really… good name.”

“I will remember your name, Aider. And the time I spent with you today.”

Myeong smiled brightly, her face wet with sweat.

“Let’s meet again next time.”

Myeong bowed lightly and disappeared back into the banquet hall.

“……”

Watching Myeong’s disappearing figure, Aider looked as if he was about to collapse.

Then, someone casually approached Aider and put an arm around his shoulder.

“Why do you look like you’ve lost the whole world?”

Turning around, it was Ash.

Aider, who couldn’t answer for a while, smiled weakly.

“I don’t want today to end. This miraculous day, when I could dance with her… I don’t want it to end.”

“Tomorrow, the sun of tomorrow will rise.”

Ash grinned and patted Aider’s shoulder.

“Another good day will come, Aider.”

“…That’s right. Again, tomorrow, a new sun will rise.”

Aider looked up at the sky again.

The east, which was brightly dawning, had already finished preparing for sunrise, and the moon, hanging at the western edge, had almost completely disappeared.

“But I will never forget the moonlight of today.”

Aider slowly closed his eyes.

As if trying to remember the dance he had with Myeong deep in his soul….

“I will never… forget it.”

***

[STAGE 25 – CLEAR!]

[STAGE MVP – Ash(EX), Scarlet(N)]

[Leveled Up Characters]

– Ash(EX) and 30 others

[Deceased Characters]

– None

[Injured Characters]

– None

[Acquired Items]

– Magic Emperor’s Magic Core (SSR): 2

– Elite Lich Magic Core (SR): 10

– Lich Legion Magic Core (R): 30

– Attack Magic Amulet: 10

– Defense Magic Amulet: 10

– Support Magic Amulet: 10

[Stage clear rewards have been distributed. Please check your inventory.]

– SSR Grade Reward Box: 2

– SR Grade Reward Box: 5

>> Get Ready For The Next STAGE

>> [Next STAGE : Happy Together]