I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 538

Zenith fled with Cloudy.

The body of an Inquisitor, honed to superhuman levels, allowed him to escape the city swiftly, even while carrying a pregnant girl.

Once they were out of the encirclement and resting in an abandoned shack on the outskirts, Cloudy, her tension released, leaned against the wall and fell into a deep sleep. Zenith stood silently, looking down at the reckless girl.

“……”

He knew.

He shouldn’t have saved Princess Cloudy. He should have left her to die there.

If it were discovered that he had helped this foolish princess, the diplomatic relations between the Empire and the Misty Kingdom, which had just begun to improve, could be jeopardized.

Zenith imagined the future of the Misty Kingdom, where temples would be established and proselytization would begin in earnest.

Statues of the Goddess erected throughout the city, with people of all ages seeking her…

If he just let the girl before him die, many more followers of the Goddess would be born into this world.

‘I am an Inquisitor. A Holy Knight. A Combat Priest.’

Proselytizing, healing, and saving were not Zenith’s primary duties.

As a Combat Priest, he should act as a weapon of the Order. That was the right thing to do.

To sacrifice the few for the many. To suppress evil in the shadows for the light of the Goddess.

Wasn’t that the mission of the weapon that he was?

“……Hoo.”

But, still.

Was it right for a priest to abandon this young mother, who was asking for help right in front of him, and the young life about to be born?

Before being an Inquisitor, before being a Holy Knight, before being a Combat Priest, wasn’t he a priest who followed the Goddess?

Was it really the right thing to let the two young lives before him die just because it might lead to more followers in the future?

“Shit… Thinking about this isn’t even my job.”

Zenith reached for a cigarette again, but then realized the girl in front of him was pregnant and put it back in his pocket.

‘This is a real mess….’

Zenith pressed his forehead against the wall of the shack and groaned.

The messed-up night of a messed-up country was passing.

***

“I want to give birth to my child.”

The next morning, as soon as she woke up, Cloudy said this.

“I’m nine months pregnant now, and the baby will be born in a few weeks. My contractions are getting worse, so it could be in a few days.”

“……So?”

“I need your help.”

Zenith closed his eyes tightly and agonized, but then nodded.

“Okay, I’ll go get a midwife from the village…”

“No. You have to help me yourself, priest.”

“Huh?”

“I can’t trust anyone else. Any midwife or anyone could tell my father.”

Zenith stared blankly at the audacious young pregnant woman, then stammered, pointing at himself.

“Are you saying that you want me to… deliver your baby myself?”

“Is there any other way?”

“I’ve never done anything like that in my life.”

“Do I look like I have?”

Cloudy’s face was covered in sweat, as if labor had already begun.

Clutching her belly, Cloudy breathed heavily.

“This is the only way I can give birth without my father finding out. In a place where no one knows, quietly and secretly.”

“……”

“Please help me, priest. Please don’t abandon us.”

Zenith clenched and unclenched his fists a few times, then finally stood up with a long sigh.

“……Let’s move first. This place is still close to the city. The pursuers will be here soon.”

***

The two moved along the mountain range, but they couldn’t go far.

Cloudy was in pain as her labor had begun. Even while groaning, Cloudy diligently shared what she knew.

“Half-blood babies are said to torment their mothers to death… This one has been very quiet until now, but it’s really something else now…”

“You’ve been studying hard, haven’t you?”

“I was just so scared after I suddenly got pregnant. I had to study something.”

“Is there anything else I should know?”

“The baby’s name is Hannibal.”

Cloudy smiled weakly, her face pale.

“My partner and I decided on it beforehand.”

The two spent the night in a crumbling mountain cabin in the corner of the mountain range.

That night, while caring for Cloudy and also contemplating when to abandon her, Zenith fell asleep and had a dream.

It was a dream from his very early childhood.

Zenith, a war refugee, was crying in a burnt-out ruin.

His parents, his relatives, all were long dead. There was no one alive around him. Everywhere he looked, there were fields of corpses with sandstorms blowing.

In front of a collapsed house that didn’t even have pillars left, Zenith was sobbing and wailing.

At that moment, a group of people passed by Zenith.

Priests dressed in black.

And young boys and girls being led by those priests.

They were Holy Knights. They would select young boys and girls from among the war orphans to become their members.

But they didn’t even glance at Zenith.

He was too small and young, and too skinny. It was obvious that he would die soon if they took him.

– …….

However, the young blonde girl who was walking while holding the hand of the priest at the front was different.

The girl glanced at Zenith, then suddenly let go of the priest’s hand and ran to Zenith.

And she hugged the crying Zenith tightly.

– Rosetta, what are you doing, Rosetta!

The old priest at the front shouted irritably.

– I told you we can’t take any more!

– This child is my younger brother. I lost him in the war, but I just found him now.

The girl—Rosetta—glared at the old priest at the front.

– If you don’t take him, I won’t go either.

– …….

The old priest sighed deeply and gestured forward.

– Bring him. But you’re responsible for taking care of him.

Then the surrounding priests protested all at once.

– Captain, we don’t have the resources to take care of children like that!

– We’re running out of food and drinking water!

– Shut up. A child is trying to save another child, how can an adult stop them? Just go already!

As soon as permission was granted, Rosetta clumsily picked up Zenith.

– From now on, you’re my younger brother. Got it?

Zenith, staring blankly at Rosetta, stammered.

– I have nothing to do with you?

– Why do you say that? We’re the same, we’re human.

Rosetta narrowed her eyes and whispered.

– So, we have to save each other.

In Zenith’s dazed ears, he heard the old priest at the front shouting.

– Let’s go, you damn brats!

It was a word filled with desperate hope.

– Let’s live together.

The group moved into the wasteland where sandstorms were raging. Rosetta held Zenith’s hand tightly and led him forward.

Clenching his teeth and following behind, Zenith thought.

He would never forget the feeling of this frail hand holding him.

Such a long time ago, that had happened.

“……”

Zenith woke up as the morning dew touched his cheek.

Cloudy was groaning all night, holding her belly. Looking at her pale face, Zenith made up his mind.

Just as he had survived by receiving help from a complete stranger.

He would help Cloudy give birth to her child.

***

The birth of a half-blood was arduous.

The premature labor was accompanied by terrible pain.

Cloudy could no longer move, and Zenith had no choice but to help with the delivery in this half-collapsed mountain cabin.

Zenith was ignorant about childbirth, and Cloudy was experiencing it for the first time as well.

Fortunately, Zenith was a priest who could use healing magic, and Cloudy had studied childbirth beforehand.

The two novices struggled to give birth and assist with it.

After several days and nights, Cloudy, who was on the verge of death, was gradually losing consciousness. Her young and weak body was struggling to endure the difficult labor of a half-blood.

She was dying.

To somehow keep Cloudy conscious, Zenith said anything that came to mind.

“What do you want to do after you give birth?”

“……Huh?”

“You’re still just a foolish child, princess. You have a much longer life ahead of you.”

“The rest of my… life.”

“What kind of life do you want to live after you give birth?”

Cloudy, with a blank expression, then chuckled.

“I probably can’t live as a princess anymore, right?”

“You seem to have done everything His Majesty told you not to do, so it might be difficult.”

“Haa… It was comfortable living as royalty. I wanted to live more comfortably. It’s a shame.”

Cloudy smacked her lips playfully and pondered with an “Um-” sound.

“Well, since I’m free, I want to live a life I’ve never imagined before.”

“Like what?”

“I’m a good singer. I think I’d be very popular if I became a singer who was a former princess, don’t you think?”

“It would certainly be a hot topic.”

“I can read and write, so I could get a job at a solid company.”

“A princess commuting to work… It doesn’t really suit your personality.”

“Wouldn’t a job at a travel agency be good too? I’m good at being friendly. I could talk to customers from all over the world. Wandering around the world.”

“That definitely seems like a good fit. Although I don’t know if a travel agency would work well in these dangerous times.”

“And, also… Could I become a priest?”

Zenith stopped talking. Cloudy smiled awkwardly.

“I owe the Goddess Church so much, but I don’t think I can afford to donate. It would be nice if I could dedicate the rest of my life.”

“Unfortunately, priests need to have an aptitude for healing magic.”

“Hehe, you’re so cold-hearted…”

“So, spend the rest of your life for you and your child. You’re still young.”

Cloudy, with wide eyes, looked at Zenith and chuckled.

“It’s kind of funny to hear that from a young priest like you.”

“I heard somewhere that it’s over when kids start calling you ‘uncle’ instead of ‘brother’ or ‘older brother.’ I hate to admit it, but I’m an uncle now.”

“I heard somewhere that if you think you’re old enough, you’re still young, and if you think you’re still young, you’re old enough.”

“……”

“You’re still young, priest.”

After such a conversation, a day later.

***

Cloudy succeeded in giving birth.

Zenith, who had been up all night with Cloudy for several days, was also exhausted, but when the baby, who had finally seen the light of the world, let out a loud cry, he couldn’t help but smile brightly.

“Princess, look! It’s a healthy boy.”

“……”

“We did it. We really did it.”

Exhausted, Cloudy barely managed to speak, her face pale.

“……I’m sorry, I’m a little tired, so I can’t see.”

“……”

Zenith slowly picked up the baby and placed it in Cloudy’s arms.

Smiling faintly, Cloudy stroked the baby in her arms and asked.

“What color are my baby’s eyes?”

“Clear gold.”

“What about his hair?”

“Light brown.”

“Is he slender like his father, or chubby like me?”

“He’s like you, princess. Very plump and cute.”

Smiling with pale cheeks, Cloudy slowly stroked the baby’s hair.

“Hannibal.”

To the baby, who was also exhausted and had fallen asleep, Cloudy whispered slowly.

“Instead of your mother and father… sing songs, get a job, travel, donate to the temple… live like that.”

“……”

“Thank you, Priest Zenith.”

Cloudy slowly closed her eyes.

“It’s shameless of me to ask this at the very end… but please, take care of this child…”

Thud.

Cloudy’s hand, which had been stroking the baby, fell to the floor.

Not knowing what to do in front of the dead princess’s body, Zenith stood there blankly, then slowly picked up the baby.

“Waaah! Waaaaah!”

As if sensing his mother’s death, the baby—Hannibal—began to cry as if the world was ending.

And,

“Here he is! The priest who ran away with Princess Cloudy!”

Hearing the baby’s cries, the pursuers rushed into the cabin.

“Where is the princess?!”

“She… she’s dead!”

“You bastard, don’t move! You’re under arrest!”

“……”

Hugging the crying baby, unable to even think about running away, Zenith finally came to his senses.

And he repeated to himself.

What am I doing here?