I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 818

The next day.

It was midday, and the weather was becoming pleasantly mild, as if spring was truly on its way. The chill was slowly fading.

Up in the clear, high blue sky, without a single cloud-

Swoosh!

Griffons with their wings fully spread soared through the air in a dazzling acrobatic display.

Wowwww-!

The crowd gathered in the plaza cheered in unison as they watched the spectacle.

It was an air show by the Sky Knights of the Vermillion Kingdom, led by King Mikhail. The griffons and their riders gracefully chased each other, leaving clear trails in the sky.

“…They said it was a disbandment ceremony.”

I chuckled, watching the air show that had progressed rapidly and reached its climax.

“It’s more like they’ve prepared a festival.”

Mikhail and his wives were now performing a triple aerial formation flight. I had requested that a long time ago, did he really remember?

“There’s a traditional charm to tearful farewells, but!”

Evangeline, who was in charge of planning this disbandment ceremony, appeared beside me, arms crossed, laughing heartily.

“I wanted to say goodbye with smiles this time!”

“Oh, really…”

“The World Protection Front has admirably achieved its purpose, so shouldn’t we disband happily?”

Saying goodbye with a smile, huh?

Well, if we can part with smiles, there couldn’t be a better disbandment ceremony in the world.

The spectacular griffon air show, which I had never seen before, was also nearing its end. Mikhail and the griffon riders spun in the air and then landed as if they were plummeting to the ground.

Bang! Fwoosh!

At the same time as the griffon riders landed, fireworks shot up into the midday sky.

Mikhail struck a cool pose and bowed, and the onlookers cheered at the top of their lungs. Maybe it’s because Mikhail is handsome, but the cheers from the female audience were especially loud…

Mikhail was grinning, oblivious, and his five wives, who looked somewhat angry, dragged him away. You need to be more perceptive if you want to die of old age, you know.

Evangeline, who was watching the scene with a smile, winked at me.

“It’s the last day of our World Protection Front. Let’s have fun!”

I smiled silently and waved her on. Go on, get going.

Evangeline scurried onto the stage in the central plaza and shouted energetically.

“Well then, ladies and gentlemen of the World Protection Front!”

Then, she spun her arm around, gathering her voice as if she was building up energy.

“Let the long-awaited disbandment ceremony, beginnnnnnn!”

She continued to speak for a while, showing off her lung capacity…

“-I declare it open!”

She shouted with a bang.

At the same time, fireworks shot into the sky one after another, and the crowd roared with cheers and screams that shook the plaza.

“So young, so young…”

I couldn’t help but chuckle as I watched the new lord, unable to contain her energy, bouncing around.

Lukas, who was watching the scene with me, suddenly said calmly.

“It’s coming to an end.”

“…It is.”

The days here in Crossroads are coming to an end.

We quietly observed the scene in the plaza for a moment.

Under the spring sunshine, everyone who had come out to the plaza was smiling. There were no shadows on their faces.

With food in one hand and a glass of drinks and alcohol in the other.

They were laughing together… people were greeting each other whenever their eyes met.

It was a farewell greeting to their comrades who would be parting ways after this disbandment ceremony.

“…”

A festival to commemorate the parting.

Amidst this joyful and boisterous scene… for some reason, I felt a little sad.

But I pushed that feeling down and asked Lukas with a smile.

“What are you going to do now?”

“I will always stay by my lord’s side, as I always have.”

Lukas, the human answer machine, gave a sharp, textbook answer.

However, immediately after that.

“…But.”

Lukas hesitated and added.

“This time, I’m thinking of asking for a short leave. I’m having such an audacious thought.”

I was a little surprised and looked at Lukas.

Soon, Lukas seemed to have made up his mind, puffed out his chest, and nodded at me.

“I will return to the Imperial City and completely settle my past that I have been ignoring… my family, the McGregors.”

“…”

“Will you allow it, my lord?”

“Of course.”

I grabbed the beer glass on the nearby table and held it out to Lukas.

“You are free to travel the world as much as you like. As long as you become my knight again.”

Lukas also took his glass and carefully clinked it against mine.

Clink-

After a light toast, we slowly drank from our glasses.

“By the way, you’re busy too. You have to settle your family in the Imperial City. You have to come see me when I leave for the Duchy. And besides…”

On the stage, the new lord, Evangeline, was busy shaking hands and greeting the leaders of neighboring countries.

“You won’t be able to see Evangeline as often now either.”

“…”

Even I, a hopeless romantic, could sense that the atmosphere between the two knights was unusual.

That’s why I was more worried. Unlike the past three years when they were always together, now the two of them would have to live busy lives in their own places.

“Don’t worry.”

But Lukas smiled with confidence, a smile that was truly worthy of a protagonist.

“I won’t miss a single thing.”

“…”

“I’ve decided to live as I wish, so I will work hard for that decision…”

I was impressed and unconsciously held out my beer glass again.

“You’ve grown up well, you rascal.”

Lukas winked playfully as he clinked glasses with me.

“I learned from the best man.”

This guy’s tongue gets so smooth when he drinks, it’s an art.

I shook my head and drank my beer. Lukas chuckled as if he found himself funny and took a sip of his beer.

We were silent for a while, smiling quietly, watching the plaza and drinking together.

***

I began to tour the city to greet the people.

Once we part ways this time, I don’t know when we’ll meet again. I shook hands with as many people as possible and said goodbye.

And as I was walking through the streets…

“Whoa!”

I suddenly arrived at a place with a gloomy atmosphere! What is this?!

The whole city was in a festive mood, but this small plaza alone had a gloomy atmosphere. Just looking at the dark and damp air, it felt sadder than yesterday’s funeral. What’s going on!

“Ah, Your Highness!”

Someone who recognized me among the people gathered in the small plaza waved enthusiastically. It was none other than Junior.

“Welcome!”

“Oh, Junior. It’s good to see you. But what is this gathering…?”

A group of people wearing robes all looked like they were about to die, pouring wine into their glasses and drinking it like water. What is this depressing atmosphere that makes you feel miserable just by watching it!

Then, Junior muttered, sweating profusely.

“That is, a gathering of mages…”

“Ah.”

Indeed, upon closer inspection, they were mages gathered from various countries. They all looked so dark that I didn’t recognize them at first, but they were familiar faces.

Among them, an especially familiar old mage with a long white beard – Diermuidin – found me and popped out, shouting.

“You there, Ash! You’ve come at the right time!”

“D-Diermuidin-nim?!”

Diermuidin’s face, which always maintained its dignity, was flushed red with intoxication, as if he had drunk quite a bit.

“You shouldn’t drink so much and get so excited when your heart isn’t in good condition!”

“Is my heart the problem now?! Magic, magic…”

Then, Diermuidin collapsed into his seat, crying like a child.

“All the magic has disappeared, how can I endure without drinking!”

“…”

I was sweating profusely.

By closing and destroying the Spirit Realm, all magic, miracles, and mysteries disappeared from this world.

Most magic users lost their powers. People who had demonstrated their talents using magic in various fields lost their special abilities.

The society would experience chaos for a while. It would have to go through considerable growing pains.

Among them, mages were the profession that was most severely affected by this situation. They had lost all their foundations.

In short, I had effectively made these people unemployed as a group…

“It’s for the sake of the world! Everyone understood! Understood! I understood, but!”

Diermuidin, who had agreed to the closure of the Spirit Realm with the consensus of the mages, was now sobbing.

“Even so, to have everything I’ve built up over a lifetime turn to dust, oh dear…!”

“I… I’m sorry, I… about the employment issues of the mages in the future…”

“Employment or money is not the problem! Since magic has disappeared, everyone in this world will suffer together for a while!”

Diermuidin blew his nose into a handkerchief.

He spoke in a calmer voice.

“The problem is the magic studies we have built up.”

“Magic studies…”

“It means that the magic that has been passed down as a field of study for the past thousand years has been lost. As a scholar who has inherited this field of study from distant teachers, how can I not be resentful…”

Not just because of their interests, but also as pure scholars.

Diermuidin and the mages were saddened by the loss of their field of study.

“So, I was just despairing and drinking, but damn it, Ash, it was you who saved us!”

“Yes… Yes?”

I blinked, not understanding.

I saved them? What is that about?

“I heard about the history foundation you want to create… the ‘Jupiter Foundation’ from Junior.”

Junior scratched the back of her head, embarrassed, as her story came up.

The Jupiter Foundation.

A history foundation that cross-verifies events from different factions and records only the neutral truth as much as possible.

To acknowledge and clear each other’s mistakes and move into a new era, the first project I would implement if I became the Emperor of Everblack Empire was to train historians.

I had my eye on Junior as the right person for this project, and I had already made her a recruitment offer.

“I’m still not sure if I can do such an important job well…”

And Junior had readily accepted.

“But I’ll do my best. So, when I told Diermuidin-nim that I would go to the Imperial City to take history lessons after this disbandment ceremony…”

“A history foundation! By the gods of magic! That’s a really good idea, Prince Ash!”

Diermuidin interrupted Junior and nodded vigorously.

“I got a hint from that. So, our Ivory Tower will also be reborn as the ‘Ivory Tower History Foundation’ to organize and record the history of magic over the past thousand years!”

“Ivory Tower History Foundation…”

I repeated in surprise, and Diermuidin nodded solemnly.

“The history of magic is also the history of humanity over the past thousand years. But after our generation passes, there will be no one left in the world who remembers magic.”

“…”

“It means that those miracles that could be touched will truly not remain even in memory. So, we will record it.”

Upon hearing Diermuidin’s story, the mages who had been looking gloomy began to raise their heads one by one.

“I know. There is no more magic. In the future world, such past glory may be a record of no value. But it doesn’t matter.”

Diermuidin looked around at the other mages and raised his voice.

“Magic was once everything to us. It was once more precious than any jewel or gold in this world.”

“…!”

“Magic made us live. So, recording its history, keeping magic alive even in records, is something we who have benefited from magic should naturally do!”

He had shaken off all his intoxication.

Even though there was no more light of magic, he was captivating this small plaza with his immense charisma. The head of the Ivory Tower, Diermuidin, declared in a firm voice.

“As a student of magic, I will record that history.”

The mages who had been listening to the story all stood up from their seats.

“We will join you, Diermuidin-nim!”

“Our Azure Tower will join the Ivory Tower!”

“Our Crimson Tower too…!”

“Let’s gather all the magic records scattered and fragmented around the world!”

“Let’s organize and record them thoroughly so that they won’t be forgotten even after a thousand years!”

The small plaza, which had been gloomy just a little while ago, had regained its vitality and become a place for serious discussions about the launch of the Ivory Tower Foundation.

The scholars who had devoted their lives to magic and the study of magic were now passionately expressing their thoughts with pure faces like children.

Junior and I stood side by side, chuckling as we watched this scene.

“The Ivory Tower Foundation… it seems like it could have good cooperation with the Jupiter Foundation.”

“In the history of humanity, magic is an important element that can never be left out. It seems like we can be of great help to each other.”

Junior, who had been fidgeting as if she was itching to join the mages’ discussion about the history of magic, quickly greeted me.

“Then, I’ll go too! As the first historian of the Jupiter Foundation and as someone who was once a mage… I’ll go join that discussion!”

And as Junior ran back into the small plaza, I said quietly.

“Junior.”

“Yes?”

I smiled at her as she turned around.

“Thank you. For worrying about so many things together until now.”

“…”

“Let’s worry about many more things together in the future too.”

Then Junior smiled slyly like a fox.

“Isn’t that something I should be grateful for?”

Then Junior jumped into the discussion among the mages.

I wanted to clearly remember the scene of the scholars, busily exchanging wine glasses and talking about the history of magic and people that had continued for the past thousand years.

This too would be a scene in history that should not be forgotten.

***

On the way out of the small plaza and towards the temple.

“I will go to the temple first and announce your visit, my lord.”

“Okay. I’ll leave it to you.”

At the alleyway right in front of the temple, Lukas strode ahead towards the temple.

As I leisurely walked towards the approaching entrance of the temple…

-Thud.

“…?!”

Suddenly.

Without warning. Without a sound.

Something cold and hard touched the back of my neck.

I stopped walking, stiff as a board. At the same time, a familiar voice came from behind me.

“Your Highness.”

My sniper. My trigger.

It was Damian’s voice.

“Damian?”

“…”

With a perfect stealth befitting a sniper, he had even deceived Lukas.

Hiding in the shadows of the alleyway, Damian had been waiting for me.

After a short silence.

“…The promise you made with me three years ago.”

Damian asked in a low voice, as if whispering.

“Do you still remember it?”