I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 55

“I didn’t know you had such a refined hobby of reciting poetry.”

I gave a sheepish smile at Evangeline’s words.

“It’s not something that suits me, so I was reciting it secretly. You caught me.”

“Your voice is nice, why don’t you recite it out loud from now on?”

The girl’s face was expressionless, making it impossible to read her thoughts. I cautiously asked,

“Are you okay?”

“Of course? I’m perfectly fine. It was bound to happen someday.”

Evangeline shrugged.

“Anyway, if I were to be appointed as a knight on another front, I wouldn’t be able to return to this city. If my father were to pass away, not being able to be there at his deathbed was also a given.”

“…”

“I’m just glad I could at least attend the funeral.”

Despite being just a sixteen-year-old kid, Evangeline was acting far too mature.

But what could I say? This child really had to grow up now.

“So, you’re planning to leave for another front?”

“Of course. Why would I live in this backwater hick town if there are better places to live?”

Evangeline glanced at Crossroads in the distance.

“I’ll settle the inheritance, sell off the family’s mansion, land, and assets… and then leave.”

Evangeline had made up her mind from the start.

That must be why she buried the family’s heirloom this time.

“I’ll help you. With settling the assets.”

Evangeline’s eyes narrowed sharply at my words. I grinned.

“It’s too much for a young teenager to handle alone. An adult will help you.”

“Even though I look like this, I’ve graduated from the academy… I have basic legal knowledge.”

“Then think of it as a favor from a senior from the same academy, junior! Anyway, wouldn’t it be easier if the current lord helps you?”

Evangeline stared at me for a while, then lowered her gaze.

“You’re not going to criticize me?”

“For what?”

“I’m trying to abandon the Cross family’s legacy and run away. Just for my own comfort, selfishly.”

I chuckled.

“It’s called a legacy, but it’s been forcing unilateral sacrifices on your family members all this time.”

“…”

“The Cross family has done enough. I don’t know if I can do as well as your family, but I will do my best to protect this front from now on.”

I thumped my chest.

“You can leave without worry, junior. I will do my best to ensure that the sacrifices your family has made are not in vain.”

“…”

Evangeline frowned and stared at me for a long time, then tilted her head.

“You’re really different from the rumors, senior.”

“Oh, uh?”

“I thought that if you were demoted to a place like this, you would naturally try to find a way back.”

My heart skipped a beat. Well, that’s what the real Ash would have done.

“I’m surprised that you’re taking your role as the lord here more seriously than I thought.”

“Haha…”

I gave an awkward laugh and told her honestly.

“Someone said they’d grant me a wish if I protect this place well. That’s why I’m working hard.”

The condition presented by the guy who called himself the director of this game.

– If you lead this world to the true ending, I will grant you one wish, you old game enthusiast.

That’s right. It’s not because of some noble cause that I’m going through all this trouble.

I’m pursuing the true ending as a means to fulfill my personal wish.

But somehow, Evangeline seemed to have misunderstood my words, as she rested her chin on her hand and made a hmm sound.

“Did His Majesty the Emperor make such a promise? Even for this remote front in the boonies…”

No, it wasn’t the Emperor who made the promise.

But explaining it further would only make things more complicated, so I decided to let her misunderstand.

That’s when it happened.

Thump!

Suddenly, a thunder-like sound rang out. What was that?! The weather was clear!

“Ah, I’m hungry.”

It turned out the sound came from Evangeline’s stomach.

Isn’t it usually a gurgling sound? What’s with the thump?

Evangeline scratched her stomach under her top, then shoved her hands back into her jacket pockets and said to me bluntly,

“Give me food. That dish you made yesterday was delicious. Make it again.”

I was so dumbfounded that I stared at the kid, and then I couldn’t help but laugh.

Well, the living have to eat to live.

I shouted to everyone who had come to the funeral.

“Let’s go back! Let’s go eat!”

We bury the lost under the ground, and the survivors must move forward.

‘Let’s go do what we have to do.’

The next stage was just around the corner.

***

From that day on, I handled two tasks simultaneously.

One was the same as before. Preparing for the stage.

The walls were being remodeled and repaired in preparation for the golem army’s invasion, and the artifacts were also set up to be suitable for dealing with large monsters.

Above all, the existing kill zone strategy doesn’t work against monsters classified as large.

Large monsters ignore small obstacles and barricades and advance by breaking through them with their bodies.

But since their bodies are large, it’s relatively easy to concentrate firepower from a distance.

‘I need to explain the tactical changes to all the soldiers and teach them how to deal with golems.’

We need to train everyone on where the magic cores are for each type of golem, and how to destroy them efficiently.

That was the first thing, and the second was.

‘To liquidate the legacy left by the Margrave into cash.’

It was the settlement of the Cross family’s assets.

Evangeline had given up the title of Margrave and wanted to leave for another place altogether.

It would be better to liquidate the assets and give them to her so that she wouldn’t have to come back here.

I entrusted this task to Aither. He would be much more knowledgeable than me.

“Is that so? You’ve decided to send Lady Evangeline away.”

Aither muttered as if he was disappointed and nodded.

“Understood. I will liquidate all the assets of the Cross family and give them to Lady Evangeline. I will also take care of all the legal filings and procedures in the inheritance process.”

“I’m counting on you, Aither. Report to me from time to time.”

“Of course. Hmm, but…”

Aither readily took on the task, but he seemed troubled by the condition I had presented.

“Even so, it seems difficult to liquidate everything in just one week…”

The time limit I set was one week.

Until the day before the next stage begins.

“Most of the Cross family’s assets are in kind. Land and buildings. I don’t know if a buyer will appear within a week…”

“Then buy them in my name for now. Set an appropriate price.”

I nodded heavily.

“I want to finish the liquidation within a week and send Evangeline away.”

I wanted to finish this before the next stage started, and get Evangeline away from this front.

‘I can’t let Evangeline get caught up in the next battle.’

If Evangeline couldn’t leave this place before the next stage started.

Monsters would swarm in and the battle would begin, and depending on the situation, Evangeline could also get caught up in the battle.

Then no one knows what would happen.

The image of the Margrave dying in my arms kept flashing in my mind. I bit my lip.

‘Every member of the Cross family died on this front.’

Evangeline is the last heir of that family.

In other words, the only survivor.

‘At least Evangeline must be sent away safely without getting caught up in the flames of war here.’

That was the Margrave’s wish and last words.

I was determined to fulfill it faithfully.

Aither, who had seen my face, seemed to have guessed my intentions, and soon gave a chuckle.

“Understood! Just trust me and leave it to me, my lord!”

As the director of this game, there were a few suspicious things about him, but as the lord’s aide, Aither was quite useful. He would handle it well.

I opened the stage information window.

[STAGE 3]

– Until start: 8 days

Time flowed mercilessly, and the next defense battle would come without fail.

I clenched my fist tightly.

I will do it.

I will prove that it is possible to clear this game without losing my humanity, without using human lives as bullets.

I will prove it. Definitely.

***

Time passed like an arrow.

And a week later.

The smithy.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. It’s our first time making magic guns, so we had many difficulties…”

The head of the blacksmith’s guild and the head of the alchemist’s guild kept bowing.

“It was not enough time to make all five. Please forgive us.”

I waved my hand.

“No, it’s okay. It’s enough that we’ve secured magic guns that can be used in actual combat right away.”

From the start, I didn’t expect that all five of the ordered guns could be used in this stage. It would be too much for Damian too.

“So, how many did you succeed in making?”

“That is… two, sir.”

The two guild heads nervously glanced at me. I chuckled. Did they think I was going to eat them?

“I won’t scold you, just show them to me. Bring them here.”

“Yes!”

The two guild heads brought two magic guns wrapped in cloth from the table behind them.

“We used a standard low-grade magic core and a black spider queen magic core. We used these two as the cores for each piece of equipment!”

“Let’s look at this one first.”

The cloth covering the first magic gun was removed.

What was revealed was a simple gray magic gun. The barrel was somewhat shorter than the one I had seen before.

“This magic gun was made with a standard low-grade magic core. Since it’s a low-grade magic core, we thought it would be less risky even if it failed, so we made it first.”

“Did it succeed?”

“Of course! It works very well.”

The head of the alchemist’s guild answered immediately, but avoided my gaze while sweating.

“…The performance is a bit low, and there is one flaw.”

“Flaw?”

I picked up the gray magic gun and checked its stats. Let’s see.

[Woodpecker(N) Lv.20]

– Classification: Magic Gun

– Attack Power: 25-26

– Durability: 4/4

– Magazine Capacity: 20/20

It’s definitely bad. The damage is low for a magic gun.

The magazine capacity is high for a magic gun, so it seems that the damage was reduced while increasing the number of bullets.

“What’s the flaw?”

I asked, placing the magic gun on the table next to me, and the head of the blacksmith’s guild answered.

“Due to a small design error, if you don’t release the trigger, it will fire all the remaining bullets.”

“Huh? You mean it will fire in a continuous burst?”

“Yes. That’s why we named it Woodpecker.”

“If you accidentally fire in a burst, the aim will not be maintained, and it will easily overheat.”

The two guild heads began to bow again.

“We made some mistakes because it was our first time making a magic gun. We are sorry…”

“We are sorry, Your Highness!”

“No, you did well. It’s good that you finished it.”

If it can fire in bursts, then this option will be useful in its own way.

The aiming problem won’t be a problem for Damian.

And the second magic gun. This time, the faces of the two guild heads were filled with triumphant light.

“Next is this! This is the magic gun made with the special magic core that Your Highness gave us!”

“We are confident in this one! No, it’s not just confidence! How should I put it, it’s like we made it as if we were possessed by a god…!”

How well did it turn out that their attitude changed 180 degrees and they were so confident?

In front of me, who was expecting it, the two guild heads quickly removed the cloth covering the magic gun.

“…”

A deep black barrel that seemed to absorb all the surrounding light.

Ornate gold patterns embroidered on it.

A long, thin magic gun that was elegant yet majestic, and yet exuded an ominous aura… was there.

I swallowed hard and picked up the magic gun to check its stats. It’s not just for show, right?

[Black Queen(SSR) Lv.55]

– Classification: Magic Gun

– Attack Power: 225-250

– Durability: 7/7

– Magazine Capacity: 7/7

– Fires cursed bullets that have a certain chance to instantly kill the enemy. The probability increases in proportion to weapon proficiency.

– ??? (Unlocked based on the number of enemies killed with this weapon)

– ??? (Unlocked based on the number of enemies killed with this weapon)

“…”

What is this monster?

A ridiculous thing had popped out. I was so dumbfounded that I opened my mouth slightly.

What the heck is this?