I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 815

652nd year of the Imperial Calendar. Early March.

A few days after the final battle.

West of Crossroads.

“Haa…”

I took a deep breath and cleared my throat.

I have a lot of speeches to give today, so I’ve been taking care of my throat since yesterday. Serenade made me honey tea and other things from the morning.

After taking off the necklace I had been wearing for three years, my neck still feels empty. I ran my hand over my neck, where a faint burn mark was visible, and looked around.

Here, at the graveyard with two tall memorial stones, a funeral and a memorial service were being prepared simultaneously.

A funeral for those who fell in this battle.

And a memorial service for those who fell over the past three years.

The kings who had been with the World Protection Front wore their respective ceremonial robes and attended. Wreaths of artificial flowers, made in their own styles from their respective countries, were also brought together.

The graveyard west of Crossroads was covered with various forms of white flowers. At first glance, it looked as if spring snow had fallen.

It was a beautiful but sad sight.

“Ash!”

Ariel also visited directly from the Lake Kingdom.

The chaos in her country was so extreme that she must have been busy just trying to manage it, but she said she couldn’t miss this event and visited Crossroads again.

This time, as the acting monarch, as the first princess and heir to the throne.

Holding flowers instead of a sword, she came here.

“Ariel.”

“Have you been well?”

Ariel’s complexion was bright as she greeted me.

When I asked her how she was doing, Ariel laughed heartily and replied like this.

“The national system is on the verge of collapse, the people are mentally broken wrecks, and my father has abdicated, taking responsibility for the incident five hundred years ago. Public sentiment towards the royal family is also deteriorating. It’s really not easy!”

“…Your words and expression don’t match?”

It’s not a situation to laugh. Why are you laughing?

But even at my remark, Ariel smiled faintly.

“But, it’s the most hopeful situation in the past five hundred years.”

“……”

“My country is still at the bottom of the lake, but it has regained consciousness. Although they have become wrecks, my people are alive. There has never been a more hopeful moment in the past five hundred years.”

Looking at Ariel’s strong attitude and firm smile… I couldn’t help but smile back.

“We’re just at the starting line now. No matter what happens in the future, things can only get better from now on. How can I not be happy?”

“You’re right, you know.”

In the meantime, the Lake Kingdom also brought a wreath of artificial flowers. Even though the country is under the lake, they managed to find flowers.

“Then, I will.”

Ariel bowed to me and then turned her body towards the graveyard, holding a handful of white flowers.

“I will go and pay my respects.”

Ariel’s expression as she headed towards the rows of graves was resolute.

I could understand her feelings.

The Lake Kingdom was both a victim and a perpetrator.

Five hundred years ago, manipulated by the Demon King and the Outer Gods, the country sank, and it was reduced to a nightmare colony that spewed out monsters. And those monsters invaded the human world.

Princess Ariel also tried to protect the human world by fighting against the monsters for five hundred years, but in the final battle, she was consumed by the nightmare and became a puppet of the Outer Gods.

It was something they were forced to do, and even if it was unfair and unfortunate, it was also true that it was difficult for the human world to treat them as mere victims.

Above all, this battle right now.

As it was the final battle, and as countless monsters attacked, the human world also suffered considerable damage.

I looked at the newly created graves.

Many soldiers and many heroes were injured and killed in battle. And King Poseidon, who had faithfully helped me for a long time, also died in this battle.

Ariel, as the master of the nightmare. And as the representative of the Lake Kingdom.

In this situation, she chose not to avoid or turn away, but to face it head-on.

She came here to pay her respects and to apologize.

“……”

Ariel stepped into the graveyard with a very tense face.

Many of those who recognized her sent hostile glances. Especially the merfolk were glaring at her as if she were their enemy.

And, at the same time.

“Nameless Hero.”

“No, should we call her Princess Ariel now…”

“Have you come to pay your respects?”

“Let’s go together.”

There were also people who warmly welcomed her.

Ariel had contributed to the World Protection Front for a long time as the Nameless Hero. People remember the sword of light she wielded, the nightmare forces she crushed.

There were definitely more people who looked at Ariel with unkind eyes. But….

There were also people who understood her situation and were willing to accept the Lake Kingdom.

Ariel silently bowed her head and went around each of the newly created graves, placing flowers in front of them.

“……”

The road ahead for the Lake Kingdom is long and arduous. Perhaps for a long time, they will have to be hated as the source of the monsters.

But if they acknowledge their mistakes and at the same time are willing to be with the world.

The resentment will eventually subside, and people will stand shoulder to shoulder.

Just like here at the World Protection Front, all the countries that had been fighting each other ended up looking in one direction.

I believe that.

***

The choir sang, the procession of coffins was placed in their respective places, and the priests sprinkled holy water on the coffins, blessing the afterlife of the deceased….

Before I knew it, the ceremony had passed, and it was my turn to give a speech.

I slowly stepped onto the platform. Looking around, I saw countless people gathered like clouds.

“Today…”

I opened my mouth, making eye contact with each of them.

“This is the last funeral event that I will be presiding over here at Crossroads.”

I extended my hand to the side.

“From now on, the eldest daughter of the Cross family and the next lord of Crossroads, Marchioness Evangeline Cross, will be in charge of the funeral.”

Evangeline, who had been in charge of most of today’s event, gave a stylish bow.

I smiled slightly at her and continued.

“And perhaps, such a large-scale funeral may never be held again. I sincerely hope so.”

Haa….

I took a breath and looked up at the sky.

“Many people have died.”

I silently looked at the clear, cold spring sky for a moment.

Then, I slowly lowered my gaze and looked around at the people.

“And… more than that, many people have lived.”

The sense of fear that had always been faintly present in people’s eyes was no longer visible.

Instead, what filled that space was relief and peace.

“The age of war is over. The nightmare is over, and the monsters will no longer invade.”

I said once more with emphasis.

“From now on, we who have survived must open a new era of harmony.”

An era of harmony….

A bitter smile formed on my lips as I said it.

“In fact, many of you gathered here know better. Perhaps the era of harmony is more difficult to maintain than the era of war.”

The kings exchanged awkward glances.

It is easy to fight and kill. Because it is difficult to talk and understand.

This world had to spend a long time hating and hurting each other.

“But if we do not forget the past three years we spent together on this front.”

I repeatedly made eye contact with the people.

“If we do not forget the time we fought shoulder to shoulder, together to protect the world.”

I smiled gently.

“Working together to build this era of harmony will also be a worthwhile challenge.”

Many emotions crossed the faces of the people as they recalled the past three years.

Three years ago, countless countries and countless races that had never imagined being together are now standing side by side as if it were natural, listening to my story.

Looking at this scene, I nodded.

“And this is also what the deceased buried here would wish for.”

I turned my head and looked at the graveyard.

“Not for any other ideology, or for a specific country, but for all the people who fought and fell purely to protect the world… this is what they would truly wish for.”

The countless graves buried in the white flowers. And the two memorial stones.

Those buried there, the people who died under my banner.

I stared at them for a long time.

“…When I first came to this city, when I first presided over a funeral, there was something I said. Do you remember?”

When I asked, smiles crossed the faces of the citizens and soldiers who remembered that day.

I also smiled back and repeated what I had said then.

“You will continue to die here in the future. I clearly said that.”

And.

“Three years later, I will say this.”

Finally, I changed my words.

“You will not die here anymore. Now, you will live here.”

The lips of the people who had been with me for the past three years were tightly closed, filled with their own emotions.

“Because the people who have already become the wind here have protected us.”

I nodded, meeting their tearful eyes.

“And in the future, they will also protect us… and our era, with peace.”

I took a breath.

Thinking of the people who had fallen first and become the wind.

I quietly recited one of the most famous funeral poems on Earth….

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow;

I am the diamond glints on snow,

I am the sunlight on ripened grain;

I am the gentle autumn’s rain.

When you awake in the morning hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circling flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry.

I am not there; I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

Swoosh….

Just then, the wind blew.

The artificial flowers placed in the graveyard swayed in the spring breeze, scattering a flurry of white petals towards us.

In the flurry of petals falling like spring snow, I smiled.

“I hope you will remember. The faces of the people who fought on this front.”

People closed their eyes one after another.

“The faces of those who fell first and became the wind. And the faces of the comrades who fought alongside you.”

I also closed my eyes and recalled their faces, the time I spent with them.

After a quiet moment of silence.

“If you do not forget those faces, those three years. If you can face and remember them anytime, anywhere.”

I slowly opened my eyes.

“We will be able to live, respecting each other through dialogue instead of swords and guns, as the people before us wished, and truly for ourselves.”

When I raised my head, everyone was looking at me.

I declared once again with emphasis.

“The war is over.”

I slowly turned around, bowed deeply, and paid my respects to the graveyard.

“Heroes who ended this war, who have gone before us. May you rest in peace.”

With sincerity, I whispered softly.

“May we not forget your legacy.”

At the same time as I straightened my back,

Bang! Thump, thump…!

The sound of cannons honoring the dead echoed in the distance.

The last funeral I presided over ended like that.