I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 760

Before knocking on the door, Chain’s mind was filled with all sorts of negative thoughts. Would his wife be angry to see him return? Unlike her letters, would his daughter be cold? Would his new son-in-law be uncomfortable with him? Would he be chased out without even seeing his grandchild? The worst possible scenarios imaginable flooded Chain’s mind one after another. As he had been a father who had not been faithful to his family, his fear took concrete form and tightened around his throat. “…….” But Chain eventually exhaled, then mustered his courage and knocked on the door. He had already seen the end of the world on the front lines. Before it was too late, he wanted to apologize for what he had done, and… he wanted to see the faces of his precious loved ones, even if just once. Knock knock- After knocking, a few seconds that felt like an eternity passed. “Yes! I’m coming!” The door opened with the voice of a young woman. The young woman who opened the door widened her eyes. Chain fumbled, not immediately recognizing her, but the woman recognized Chain right away. “Dad!” “……Kate?” His daughter, whom he hadn’t seen in ten years, was already an adult and had grown beyond recognition. His daughter, with a slightly awkward but bright smile, gestured him inside. “You must be tired from your long journey. Come on, it’s cold outside, hurry inside. Come on!” “Ah, well, I mean…….” His daughter pulled on Chain’s sleeve, who hesitated, unable to take a step, and dragged him into the house. Chain awkwardly stepped inside. Inside, there was a man with a sturdy build moving a pile of firewood. Kate patted the young man’s shoulder and said, “Al! Say hello. This is my dad.” “What? Huh……! Greetings, Father-in-law!” The young man, who had dropped the pile of firewood on the floor with a clatter, bowed stiffly. “I, it’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you from Kate! I’m Al! Ah, please take care of me!” “…….” Chain, who was just as stiff as the young man, said in a trembling voice, “I’m sorry.” “Yes? What, what do you mean?” “For not being there at your wedding…….” “Ah, no! I’m the one who should be sorry to Kate. I’m an orphan with no savings, so we couldn’t even have a proper wedding…….” “No, if I had saved money diligently…….” “Oh, no! We’ll work harder in the future…….” While the son-in-law and father-in-law, who had just met, were bowing to each other, apologizing repeatedly, “Mom, Mom! Dad’s here!” Kate, who had run to the kitchen connected to the living room, shouted. “…….” His wife stood in front of the kitchen stove with her back turned. Even with the news that her husband had arrived, she silently stirred the pot with a ladle. Chain, who had been approaching her while looking at his wife’s back, stopped at a distance, leaning on his crutch. “……Hanna.” When he carefully called his wife’s name, his wife, who had stopped stirring the ladle, opened her mouth in a blunt voice. “I heard. You’ve been fighting in Crossroad all this time?” “Huh? Uh-huh…….” “I wondered which front line you were working as a mercenary, but it was that infamous monster front?” In his wife’s voice, there was a deep-seated resentment, sorrow, and. “Well, still… it’s not like you were trying to fill the bellies of other kings or nobles, but fighting to save the world.” There was a faint hint of pride. The face of his wife, who glanced back and smiled, was wrinkled, but it was the same as he remembered. “You’re cool in that way.” “…….” Only then did Chain realize the nature of the goodwill that his daughter, son-in-law, and wife held. Because everyone knew that the people of the World Protection Front were fighting to save the world. Because the world was maintained by those who had given their lives there… now everyone knew. Chain, who was retiring after fighting a great battle, was also a person worthy of respect. Everyone knew it. Only Chain himself didn’t know. “What, why are you so hesitant? Do you think we can’t treat a hero who saved the world to a meal?” “B, but…….” Chain stammered. “I… I’ve been gone for 10 years…….” “Oh my, I knew from the first time I saw you that a wizard wouldn’t stay in the house.” His wife, holding the pot handles with both hands, turned around with a “heave-ho” sound. “It would be a lie to say I don’t have any hard feelings, but if you were as shameless as before, I would have been angry. But seeing you with that deflated, old dog-like face, I can’t even get angry.” “…….” “Come and sit at the table, you wandering black mage. It’s New Year’s, so you should have a bowl of meatball stew, right? We’ll talk after that.” His wife carried the large pot to the table. The tablecloth and tableware were already set on the table. The son-in-law, who had come from the side, supported Chain, who was still hesitating. Chain sat on the chair, put his crutch aside, and stared blankly at the table where the warm food was being served. His wife quietly ladled a generous portion of stew into a large bowl for Chain. “Oh, right, Dad, before you eat!” His daughter, who had run into the inner room, came out holding something very small wrapped in a blanket. “You have to say hello to your grandchild!” “……!” His daughter carefully showed the small life in her arms. Inside the blanket, the child was fast asleep. The small, faint breathing was barely audible unless you listened closely. In the face of that young and innocent child, Chain saw the faces of his fallen comrades for some reason. For another child, for this world, and for this child……. The eternally sleeping faces of his comrades who had died fighting flashed before his eyes. “…….” Chain, who was choked up and sobbing, eventually smiled slowly and whispered softly. “Happy New Year, little one.” All the fighting he had done. All the struggles to protect the world. Realizing that it had been so meaningful. “Next year, and the year after that, and on and on. Happy New Year, little one…….” *** Crossroad. Junior’s room. Knock knock! Knock knock knock knock! Junior, who was trying to calm her troubled mind and reading a book that wasn’t catching her eye, was startled by the sudden, rough knocking and turned to the door. “What is it?” Knock knock knock! Knock knock knock! With the rough knocking continuing, Junior hurriedly approached the door and carefully opened it. And the person standing outside the door was……. “Haa, haa, haa……!” “Lady Hecate?” It was Hecate. She was still dressed in the outfit she had worn for her date with Lukas. Junior blinked. “Weren’t you on a date with Sir Lukas? Why are you already…….” “I, I, I…….” Hecate, who was stammering, shouted with a flushed face. “I dumped Lukas……!” Junior, not understanding the context, blinked. “Y, yes?” “I’m saying that I, on my end, kicked that arrogant jerk to the curb. Can you believe it? Well, strictly speaking, he let me dump him, but…….” Hecate, who was rambling, suddenly staggered as if she had lost strength in her legs. Junior quickly supported Hecate and sat her on a chair next to the table. Hecate briefly explained what had happened on her date today. That she had lost everything, so she had decided to be reborn. That, for that purpose, she had decided to completely let go of Lukas, who was her first love and her shackle. “So, my heart feels refreshed, so refreshed… but it feels like a hole has been punched through me. A hole bigger than my body…….” Hecate covered her face with both hands and took a breath. Junior poured warm honey tea into a mug and placed it in front of her. For a while, nothing moved in the room except for the sound of the fireplace crackling and burning firewood, and the faint, peaceful scent rising from the honey tea. After a long silence. “……Still, I don’t know where I should go now, what I can become.” Hecate, who slowly took her hands off her face, said in a tearful voice. “But… I’ll go anywhere and become anything. I won’t be afraid of any new ‘where’ or ‘what’ anymore.” “…….” “If I keep trying, I’ll find it someday. What I really want to do in this world.” Junior nodded at Hecate, who was speaking incoherently. “You’ll find it. Definitely.” “…….” Hecate, looking at Junior with reddened eyes, lowered her gaze. “But what you said back then, was it real, Junior?” “Huh? What did I say?” “When you said that when you build a resort with a swimming pool and retire later, you’d let me come visit…….” Hecate’s voice trembled. “That you allowed me to visit your dream as a guest. Is that real?” “Of course. If Lady Hecate comes, I’ll open the door anytime.” Junior shrugged playfully. “But, Lady Hecate, when you find your dream, you have to let me know. I want to visit Lady Hecate’s dream too.” “Okay. Then we’ve made a promise?” “We’ve made a promise.” The conversation stopped. In the ensuing peaceful silence, the two women quietly looked at each other. The valley of history carved between them was still too deep to fill, but for the first time, Hecate… without caring about such a valley of resentment, gazed steadily into Junior’s eyes. There, she saw a person who, like herself, was wounded and bleeding, yet still trying to walk towards her dream. Also, at the same time. There was an ordinary young person who wanted to become friends with the person in front of her. Hecate smiled without realizing it. “Hey. Junior.” “Yes?” “Do you remember when you reached out your hand to me a few days ago, like you were asking for a handshake?” “Uh… did I do that?” “You did. You said that you’d be with me through any ridiculous and absurd thing. So let’s live together. That you wanted to be friends with me. You said that.” Junior’s cheeks flushed. “Ah, right. I remember. I did… oh, I’m sorry. What kind of nonsense was that…….” “But back then, a monster appeared, and we ended up running away into the air, so we couldn’t hold hands.” This time, Hecate stammered, as if she was embarrassed. But now she didn’t hesitate. “Maybe, one more time… could you ask me for that handshake again?” “…….” Junior, who had a surprised expression for a moment, eventually smiled brightly. “Of course. Anytime.” While the firewood in the fireplace was turning red and the honey scent that had evaporated from the teacup was warming the air, white snow was silently falling outside the window. The two of them, without either of them saying it first, slowly reached out their hands towards each other, as if asking for a handshake. Eventually, their fingers carefully grasped each other. As if laying a bridge for the first time, a bridge that they could cross over a bottomless cliff……. Very slowly. Very gently. *** Crossroad. Central Square. Here, where citizens and soldiers were pouring out to enjoy the peaceful afternoon air on the first day of the New Year. “…….” Evangeline was sitting on a bench in the corner of the square, with her chin propped up, her lips pouting with a very disgruntled expression. “It’s unfair… it’s so unfair…….” Evangeline was constantly muttering in a voice filled with resentment and bitterness. “I can’t live like this, it’s so unfair and frustrating… how am I supposed to resolve this grudge…….” The citizens, horrified by the negative aura emanating from Evangeline, moved away with cold sweats. Regardless, Evangeline continued to spread a dark, murky air. It was then. “What are you doing?” “……?” When Evangeline turned around at the familiar voice, a familiar knight with blonde hair and blue eyes was standing there. The Emperor’s escort knight in neat casual clothes. It was Lukas. Evangeline snorted with a “hmph” sound, then looked forward again and grumbled. “Please, mind your own business, you who had a date with a handsome man or beautiful woman today~ I’m going to be growling all day because I set a world-class record of 0 confessions and 1 rejection.” “Haha, that’s a funny story.” Lukas laughed out loud. Evangeline glared at him with sharp eyes. “Is this funny, mister?” “I’m not making fun of you, I’m just amazed.” Lukas, who had strode over, sat down next to Evangeline with a thud. “I’m also in a state of 0 confessions and 1 rejection.”