I Became The Tyrant Of A Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 708

A little while ago.

A cafeteria in downtown Crossroads.

At this place, a favorite of Evangeline’s, which serves New Terra cuisine with a Southern twist.

“The Crossroads Female Heroes and Mercenaries Rights Committee, or ‘CrossFemHeroMercs’ for short! It’s an irregular meeting that we’ve long since given up counting!”

The heroes of the front lines were huddled together.

Evangeline, shouting loudly, spread her hand to the side.

“And to our female heroes who have graced us with their presence today!”

Whoaaaaa…

The female heroes sitting around the table gave a half-hearted cheer.

“And in addition, we have special guests! Mr. Kuilan, Mr. Chain, and Mr. Hannibal and Ms. Janice! Applause!”

Clap clap clap clap!

The atmosphere among the women brightened rapidly, and everyone applauded with bright faces.

Kuilan, Chain, and Janice didn’t look too happy, but Hannibal, sitting between them, just grinned and smiled innocently.

“Aww~ So cute~”

The female heroes trembled at Hannibal’s pure smile. Their faces melted and drooped like ice cream on a summer day.

Janice narrowed her eyes, observing these external threats.

“I brought Hannibal because he wanted to come, but he’s still a minor! No alcohol! No scary stories! No dirty jokes! And nothing too sweet!”

“Why are there so many restrictions!”

“When are you going to stop coddling him like that! Our Hannibal is almost an adult now!”

“Who said ‘our’ Hannibal! Keep your eyes off my son! Get lost!”

As if no longer paying attention to her overprotective father’s fuss, Hannibal happily ate the snacks on the table. The female heroes kept repeating, ‘Aww~ So cute~’.

“More than that, recently we’ve been having more joint meetings with the men…”

Elise, quietly sipping her drink in the corner, asked cautiously.

“Shouldn’t we remove the ‘Female’ from the meeting name now?”

“That’s right. I think it would be okay to just call it ‘CrossHeroMercs’ and make it a gender-neutral meeting…”

The female members, secretly hoping to expand the male ranks, were watching carefully, but Evangeline was firm.

“No, CrossFemHeroMercs must remain CrossFemHeroMercs!”

“Why? Is it because it makes the name sound more like it’s screaming…?”

“No! It has to remain a female meeting so that when we try to arrange meetings with other male groups later, everyone can actively participate!”

“… !”

The women, belatedly realizing the president’s deep intentions, were moved.

“As expected of Miss Evangeline! The eternal president of CrossFemHeroMercs!”

“Let’s stick together!”

“Aja aja, group blind date fighting!” [Aja aja is a Korean phrase used to cheer someone on, similar to ‘fighting’ or ‘go for it’.]

While the women were cheering each other on,

“…Hey, the male guests can hear you, you know.”

“This is so uncomfortable…”

Kuilan and Chain each threw out a comment. Of course, the women didn’t pay much attention.

“Men with partners, go away!”

“Kuilan, go to Yoon, and Mr. Chain, go home with a gift! Your wife must be waiting!”

Kuilan was even more surprised by this.

“Huh? Mr. Chain, you’re married?”

“…Didn’t I mention it? I even have a grandchild recently.”

Chain said casually, reaching out to grab a snack. His movements, no longer bound by chains, were still awkward.

“No, you have a wife, children, and even a grandchild? I really had no idea… Wait a minute. But why haven’t you gone home all this time?”

“Well, I was kicked out of the house… A black mage who doesn’t take care of his home and only gambles and fights, neither his wife nor his children would look kindly on him.”

Chain confessed his pitiful reality calmly, then sighed and rested his chin on his hand.

“Well, I’ve been exchanging letters occasionally since I started working here. They say it’s a relief that I’ve finally got a decent job.”

“Huh…”

“Though I’m about to retire from that job too. Heh heh.”

“The Lord will take good care of you, so you can go back with a generous severance package.”

“I don’t know if they’ll be happy to see me back… I might just give them the money and go wandering again…”

Chain smiled bitterly.

“Well, it’s a luxury problem. Now that even Nobody is in the grave. I’m alive here…”

The atmosphere rapidly sank.

The funeral was held earlier today, and this gathering was an extension of that memorial.

Evangeline silently placed an empty glass in the center of the table and poured a drink. It was a drink for the comrades who could no longer be with them.

“Okay, let’s stop being sad now.”

Evangeline changed the mood.

“We didn’t gather here to be gloomy. Those who went ahead wouldn’t want us to be like that either.”

Evangeline then raised her glass forcefully.

“We still have a long road ahead! Let’s eat, drink, and cheer up!”

“Ooooooh!”

As the president said, people started eating and drinking.

As is usual with drinking parties, the topics of conversation were divided by table, and laughter echoed along with trivial and mundane chatter.

After a few toasts and rounds of drinks, those who were weak to alcohol began to sway, already flushed with drink.

“Yooooooooon.”

Kuilan, completely drunk, sniffled.

“It’s morning, wake up…”

“No, it’s evening now.”

“I steamed potatoes, but why can’t you eat them? I thought my luck was good today…”

Kuilan sobbed as he ate the potato gnocchi that was served as a snack. Chain, sitting next to him, was annoyed.

“Who made this guy drink so much?”

“He drank it all himself. The president said she’d pay for the drinks, so he just kept going…”

“Ughuhuhuh. Yooooooooon.”

“He looks like a mountain bandit leader, but his alcohol tolerance is so low. Hey, don’t stick to me, get away!”

It was as if the ritual using the sacred artifact of the Arian Kingdom had been a lie; Yoon was still in a coma. Kuilan visited the Arian Kingdom military camp every day, but there was no improvement in Yoon’s condition.

The female heroes clicked their tongues as they watched Kuilan sniffling.

“That’s why you should have accepted her when she liked you.”

“You kept rejecting Yoon when she kept pursuing you, but now that Yoon is unconscious, you regret it, right?”

“That’s why relationships between people are so difficult… The timing has to be right…”

“But I like this kind of one-sided devotion, nursing her after realizing his feelings late. This kind of pairing is delicious.”

“Nurse her for just as long as Princess Yoon pursued you! Then the princess will be moved by your sincerity and wake up with a sparkle!”

Everyone laughed, blamed, or teased, and cheered on Kuilan’s love.

“…”

Junior, who had been watching them, slowly swallowed her wine.

Evangeline, noticing Junior’s dark complexion, asked cautiously.

“Are you okay, Junior unnie?” [Unnie is a Korean term used by a female to address an older sister or a close older female friend.]

“Huh? Ah, yes.”

Junior smiled bitterly.

“It’s just… not easy.”

Junior sighed deeply and swirled the wine glass in her hand.

“Relationships between people, and just the world itself, it’s not easy.”

“Really. Why is it so difficult?”

Evangeline and Junior looked at each other and chuckled.

At that moment, noticing that the snacks on the table were running out, Evangeline picked up the menu and raised her hand.

“Should we order some more? Excuse me!”

Then, a young waiter who had been watching Evangeline quickly approached. Evangeline looked at the menu, pondering.

“What would be good… What haven’t I tried today? Hmm…”

It was then.

The young waiter, watching Evangeline, swallowed hard and spoke cautiously.

“Um, excuse me, Miss Evangeline,”

“Yes?”

Evangeline, puzzled, looked up at the waiter.

“What is it? Is there something not available today?”

“Well, that is, actually, I…”

The waiter stammered, then closed his eyes tightly.

“I, I, I…”

“I?”

“I like you!”

Without any warning, he made a sudden confession.

“…?”

For a moment, the cafeteria was enveloped in silence.

Evangeline, who was stiff with embarrassment, stammered.

“You like me? What? Oh, the menu here? I like it too, it’s delicious-”

“N-no, not that, Miss Evangeline!”

The waiter’s face was flushed red, but he realized that he was already in a situation of no return, so he just blurted it out.

“D-during the last battle, I almost died staying in this city…”

“…?”

“At that time, I decided that if I survived, I would tell you how I felt. S-so, I’m just telling you my feelings honestly.”

“Huh? So you’re saying…”

“Yes. I, really… I like you!”

The waiter shouted once more, his eyes tightly closed.

Evangeline was frozen in shock, while the female heroes around her screamed in excitement.

“Kyaaaaaaaa!”

“It’s a confession, a confession!”

“Oh my god, this is the first time I’ve witnessed this live! To see such a scene in this desolate fortress city!”

“Get the popcorn, quick! Quick!”

“No, it’s on the table in front… Just grab it…”

While the CrossFemHeroMercs members went wild, scattering popcorn everywhere and surrounding the two, Evangeline calmly maintained her composure.

“Um, excuse me, but have we met before?”

“No. But…”

The waiter hesitated.

“You come to this restaurant often…”

Evangeline sighed softly. Well, it was her favorite restaurant in Crossroads, so she did come often.

‘Come to think of it, I think I remember… I had a meal here recently too. When Hecate came with her hair cut short, and when that idiot Lucas reacted so cluelessly, it was here too.’

She then remembered the waiter’s face, who had been actively serving her every time she visited this restaurant.

Immediately after, Evangeline clapped her hands with an ‘Ah!’

“Ah, wait a minute. So, the five servings of service you gave me every time, was that perhaps?”

“Yes… I wanted to impress you, Miss…”

The rest of the CrossFemHeroMercs members broke out in a cold sweat.

“No, if you received five servings of service, you should have noticed something was wrong, President.”

“I thought they were just giving away leftovers…”

Evangeline smiled awkwardly.

Thanks to that, the atmosphere of the drinking party had become heated, and although the waiter who was fidgeting in front of her wasn’t particularly unlikable, there was no reason to accept a confession from someone she barely knew.

How should she turn him down nicely?

‘Ah.’

At that moment, Evangeline realized.

At this restaurant, back when Lucas had made a clueless comment about Hecate’s new hairstyle.

– A knight’s hairstyle should be functional. It looks great now, but how about cutting it even shorter next time? If you want, I can shave it for you myself.

At the time, she thought Lucas was incredibly clueless.

But now, faced with a situation where she had to reject someone’s feelings, she understood.

‘That… was a roundabout way of rejecting her.’

To not come any closer.

That she wanted to remain friends.

Lucas had drawn a line with Hecate. In his own way, as gently as possible, while pretending to be clueless…

“…”

While Evangeline was lost in thought, the heroes of CrossFemHeroMercs were now targeting the waiter and shaking him wildly.

“Hey, young man! You have a lot of courage! To confess to the president of our CrossFemHeroMercs, the real power behind this city!”

“That’s right, you have to have that kind of guts when you’re young! But you can’t approach the president until you defeat us all!”

“What do you like about our president?! Tell us quickly! Then we might open a path for you!”

The waiter, flustered by the urging, answered cautiously.