I Became The Tyrant Of A Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 824

The Lord’s mansion. My room.

Around noon.

“Is this enough?”

I packed the last of my clothes into my bag and stood before the mirror.

After fixing my hair and adjusting my coat collar, I looked around.

The room was empty, all my belongings gone.

I slowly looked around my haven of the past three years, then smiled faintly.

“I hope you get along well with the next lord. My sweet home.”

Of course, there’s a very high chance the new lord will decorate all the walls and floors with pink, sparkly things, but… well… what can you do? You’ll have to endure it.

After taking one last breath of the familiar air of the room, I opened the door and stepped outside.

“My lord.”

Lucas, dressed in his full uniform, bowed his head as he waited in the hallway.

“Are you ready to depart?”

“More or less.”

Lucas took my bag from me. Together, we walked down the stairs to the first floor of the mansion.

“When will we see each other again?”

“As soon as I finish my work in the Imperial City, I will head to the Bringer Duchy where you will be.”

“You have to come quickly. I’ll be too anxious to go anywhere without my ever-present escort knight.”

“Huhu. With Lady Elysee around, I believe you can trust her to protect you while I’m gone.”

“She’s not my escort. She’s Serenade’s escort…”

I grumbled, then nudged Lucas in the side with my elbow and asked slyly,

“By the way, how did it go with Evangeline yesterday? Did you have a good talk?”

Lucas paused for a moment, then scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

“I think… we had a decent conversation. Fortunately, we feel the same way…”

I could see the tips of this slowpoke’s ears were slightly red. I whistled and patted Lucas on the back.

“Not bad, huh?!”

“Ahem! What about you, my lord?”

“Me? Huhu.”

I waved my left hand, which had the engagement ring on it. Lucas nodded, looking impressed.

“I still have a long way to go to catch up with you.”

“Of course, you do, you rascal. I’m your elder, after all. I have to be at least a year ahead of you.”

We reached the first floor and went out to the entrance of the mansion. A Winter Silver Merchant Company carriage was waiting.

The Winter Silver Merchant Company’s servants took my bag from Lucas. I nodded to Lucas.

“See you in the Duchy, Lucas.”

“I will come to see you soon, my lord.”

I turned away from Lucas, who was bowing respectfully, and approached the carriage.

“……Huuu.”

I found Elysee, the navy-haired maid, sitting in the driver’s seat, her brow furrowed and growling like a guard dog.

“Why the heavy sigh on such a nice day, Elysee?”

I asked with a smile, and Elysee glanced at me.

“No, it’s just… I’ve been waiting for the moment when you and Her Highness would be together.”

“And?”

“But now that it’s actually happened… I feel a bit strange…”

So that’s why she had the expression of a younger sibling who doesn’t like their older sister’s new husband on their wedding day.

“You have to make my master happy. If you make her cry, I won’t let it slide…”

“Go easy on me. You know your master cries a lot.”

“…Then, let’s make it 10 smiles for every 1 tear.”

“That’s a pretty harsh exchange rate…”

As we were exchanging silly banter, the carriage door opened from the inside.

Serenade and Bodybag were sitting facing each other on the seat.

“My love!”

“Serenade.”

“Please come inside. It’s gotten much warmer, but you still need to take care of yourself.”

Smiling, I approached Serenade and bent down… and gently kissed her.

Serenade’s face turned bright red, and she didn’t know what to do.

“T-there are many eyes watching, my love…”

“What’s the big deal now?”

I waved my hand at Elysee and Bodybag, who were already looking bored.

“If you have complaints, you two should date too.”

“If you’re going to say that, then introduce me to a good man first…”

Bodybag chirped. At the same time, Elysee, who had received a signal from the front carriage, nodded.

“We’ll be departing soon. We have a long way to go.”

“Alright. Let’s go.”

I had already said my goodbyes yesterday. I had also finished talking with our Emperor.

The carriage started moving, and I sat next to Serenade.

Leaning back against the seat, I yawned widely. I was a little tired from staying up all night.

“You must be tired, my love. Would you like to lie down? I can… ahem! I can give you a lap pillow.”

“Huh, really?”

Was I allowed to enjoy such luxury on a journey?

As I was seriously considering it, Bodybag, who was sitting in the front seat, clicked her tongue.

“Can’t I ride in another carriage…?”

“Of course not. My favorite thing is the Black Sunflower Seed 1st Aide. You’re my attendant, so you have to stick close to me.”

“Are you really going to use that as my name?”

“Blame Crossroads, not me. The contests in this town always have terrible results…”

Bodybag, holding her forehead, began to ponder her new name. She seemed to dislike the rodent-like name.

As we continued our light conversation, the carriage completely left the Lord’s mansion and entered the city center…

“Huh?”

I began to see a strange sight.

“Huh? What’s going on?”

We were supposed to exit through the North Gate of Crossroads, but the main road leading to the North Gate was lined with people…

That is, the citizens of Crossroads.

“Prince!”

The people lined up on both sides of the departing carriage waved their hands and shouted.

“We will never forget the past three years!”

“Your Highness was truly the best lord!”

“Crossroads will always be open to you, Your Highness!”

“You have to come visit again!”

“We’ll miss you…!”

Wow…

The endless lines of people stretched out on both sides of the carriage.

I was frozen for a moment, staring blankly.

My eyes grew hot, and my lips trembled.

“…Thank you.”

I opened the carriage window, leaned out, and shouted with all my might.

“Thank you!”

To the people who had been my citizens for three years, who were cheering at my sight…

I waved back and promised.

“I’ll definitely come back… everyone, take care!”

When the line of ordinary citizens ended, familiar faces began to appear.

The heads of the production guilds and their members were waiting for me, lined up by organization.

“We were frogs in a well, trapped in the outskirts, but we learned about a new world by meeting Your Highness!”

The guild leaders shouted in turn.

“Thank you for showing us a new world!”

“We will always keep your teachings in mind!”

“We will continue to live diligently!”

I shouted back to all the guild members who were bowing their heads in unison.

“It was because of your hard work that our front line could be maintained.”

I nodded deeply, thinking of the city I had built with these people.

“For the sake of Crossroads, and for yourselves… keep up the good work!”

When the line of guild members ended.

Behind them, soldiers were lined up in an orderly fashion.

The world’s best warriors who had fought more bravely than anyone else under my banner for the past three years.

“The leader of the World Defense Front, the new Grand Duke of the Bringer Duchy, the Crown Prince of the Everblack Empire, and the world’s greatest war commander!”

An old veteran I had known for a long time called out.

“To Ash ‘Bonehater’ Everblack, Crown Prince- Salute!”

Thump-!

My soldiers, lined up neatly on both sides of the carriage, raised their salutes perfectly and simultaneously, without a single flaw.

Leaning out of the carriage, I also saluted back.

“It was an honor to be with the world’s greatest commander!”

“We were able to fight with our lives on the line because we believed that Your Highness would make our graves!”

“Because of your guidance, we, who were clumsy recruits, have now become veterans!”

“You are the hero who saved the world!”

“We pray that we may serve under your command again someday!”

My soldiers, lined up regardless of their unit, were all crying. They were all shedding hot tears as they saluted me.

“It was also an honor for me to be with all of you.”

I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer.

I cried proudly and shouted to my soldiers.

“See you again! Until that day, good luck!”

The soldiers answered at the same time, as if they had made a promise.

“Loyalty!”

When the line of soldiers passed.

This time, the kings of the world, led by the Emperor, were waiting.

I was startled because I hadn’t expected this at all.

“You created an organization representing the world, so you could have enjoyed that power for a long time.”

My father grinned, showing his teeth.

“As soon as you achieved the goal of saving the world, you actually disbanded the organization in just one night… this admirable, pure prince. My son, Bonehater!”

The kings laughed together. The Emperor looked around at the kings on his left and right.

“Last night, we realized one thing. That we had never properly thanked you.”

And then.

The Emperor slowly lowered his head.

“So, we will pay our respects here and now.”

Before I could even refuse.

All the crowned people gathered in this place bowed their heads to me in unison.

“Thank you. For saving the world. And for giving us the precious experience of the world uniting as one.”

“…”

“This world owes you a great debt.”

He raised his head.

The Emperor wore a gentle smile.

“We will not forget that fact.”

I barely managed to answer with a choked voice.

“It’s not a debt. It’s not something I did alone, but something we all accomplished together.”

I stopped the carriage for a moment and got out, bowing deeply to the kings on my left and right.

“Thank you for believing in my reckless path and following me.”

The kings applauded in unison.

In the midst of the applause, the Emperor, smiling, approached and patted me on the shoulder.

“Now, go! The path you young ones have to walk will be several times longer than ours.”

Following that, the Emperor winked at Serenade, who was standing behind me.

“I’ll be waiting for the wedding invitation. I want to give the congratulatory speech myself…”

I approached my father and hugged him.

The Emperor seemed more flustered than ever at the unexpected skinship, but I held him tightly and said with sincerity.

“Thank you for believing in and supporting your incompetent son.”

“…”

“I will visit you often, Father.”

I released the hug.

After bowing once more to the kings on my left and right, I got back into the carriage.

The carriage slowly started moving, and I shook hands with the various kings who approached the carriage for the last time.

“Thanks to you, I was able to hold out until the end without running away. I praise myself!”

Valendo, the leader of the City-State Alliance, whose burnt beard was starting to grow back.

“I have so much advice to give you about marriage?! See you again, Ash!”

Mikhail, who was smiling brightly with his five wives… and had bite marks all over his body from what happened last night.

“I will visit you soon regarding the history foundation, Prince Ash! Let’s have a very intense discussion!”

Deermudine, who still had a stiff voice.

“Hey! You’re going to let me officiate the wedding, right?! Right?! If not, at least let me sing the congratulatory song!”

Kellybay, who was making absurd demands.

“I will consider it the pride of my life to have fought alongside you.”

Verdandi, who was now shaking hands much more naturally than any human.

“May you be blessed with favorable winds!”

“May you have a wonderful voyage!”

The Rompeller siblings, still with flushed faces from last night’s hangover, yet offering their heartfelt blessings.

“Thank you so much for giving us new hope… !”

And Hannibal, now proudly recognized as a king.

All those who had shaken my hand gradually disappeared behind the carriage. I tried to remember each person’s warmth, the feel of their hands.

The procession of crowned heads ended. Now, at the north gate.

“Your Highness!”

My companions, who had shared life and death with me, were waiting.

“Thank you for everything, Your Highness! Truly…! I will never forget it!”

Starting with Torkel, who had learned to smile brightly.

“May blessings accompany you on your journey.”

“May your new journey also be filled with grace.”

Zenith and Rosetta, smiling and blessing me.

“That was the best gamble ever, Your Highness!”

“It was such a great gamble that I can’t do ordinary gambling anymore!”

“Now I’ll be wandering around singing songs, is it okay if I sing about the legend of the Prince?!”

“If you refuse, I’ll change the protagonist of every story to Violet!”

“Then shall this body begin the tale of saving the world-?!”

The Gamble Club, laughing and chattering noisily.

“Thanks to Your Highness’s consideration, I was able to find a purpose in life, even if just a little. I sincerely thank you.”

Hecate and the Glory Knights, quietly saluting.

And then.

“Dabu-!”

Sid, reaching out his chubby hands towards me, and Lily, holding Sid in her arms.

I got out of the carriage again and hugged each of my companions.

“We’ll meet again. Anywhere, in any form.”

After gently stroking Sid’s head.

I said that while facing Lily.

“Until then, may you all be at peace.”

Lily shed tears, but at the same time, she smiled brightly at me.

Under the spring sunlight pouring down at the north gate, my eternal party members were waiting.

“My Lord!”

“Senior!”

“Prince!”

“Your Highness-!”

I approached the four who called out to me in their own voices, and the five of us embraced.

“I was happy to be with you all.”

All those days of adventure with them.

All those days of joy, pain, laughter, and tears.

They flashed before my eyes like a waterfall. I couldn’t hold back my tears.

“Thank you for coming to me, really, really… thank you…”

Looking around at my companions who were crying with me, I said earnestly, as if making a promise.

“You must, be happy.”

Wherever you are in this world.

We must be happy.

“Alright, go! We’ve said our goodbyes enough to last a lifetime!”

Evangeline, roughly wiping her eyes, shouted.

“We’ll be cheering for the start of the new challenges that Senior will open up… !”

Everyone wiped away their tears and nodded.

I also nodded vigorously.

“May good fortune be with you in the new challenges you will begin.”

It was then, as the carriage I had re-boarded passed under the north gate.

Flower petals fell from above.

Looking up, I saw people who had climbed onto the north wall, scattering flowers from baskets as my carriage passed.

“Be happy!”

Blooming with colorful flowers, everyone shouted in unison.

“Be happy-!”

While being showered with flower petals.

The carriage began to pick up speed.

My heroes, who had been walking behind our carriage, began to run one by one. Nevertheless, they gradually moved further away.

“You must… !”

Everyone, as they moved further away, shouted together.

“You must be happy-!”

Soon, the rain of flower petals, the people waving their hands, and the city where I had lived for three years.

Disappeared behind the winding road, out of sight.

I didn’t wipe away the overflowing tears. I just quietly watched my brilliant memories, which were gradually moving further away each time I blinked.

Thus, one journey came to an end…

The next journey, begins anew.

“My lord.”

Serenade, sitting next to me, held my hand tightly, tears streaming down her face. I smiled at Serenade with a tear-stained face.

“Let’s go, Serenade.”

I clasped Serenade’s hand.

“To a new adventure.”

Just like the past three years.

In the future, there will be many failures, many falls, and much pain for me…

It’s okay.

If I don’t let go of the flag in my heart, the path will continue to lead, no matter which dark valley I wander through.

‘Even if another difficult challenge, a rough conquest, a hard life comes my way.’

All the hearts of those who watched over me, those who loved me.

Will illuminate the path I am heading towards like starlight.

Believing that, I smiled.

Serenade gently wiped the tears from my cheek. I also carefully wiped away Serenade’s tears.

We cried and laughed, and our lips met.

The carriage moved without stopping along the endless road that lay before us.

Towards a new life that would continue, like that…

-The End-

Author’s Note

This is a story from my childhood.

I remember it being around the time I was in the lower grades of elementary school. After school, I would often go to the arcade with my friends.

What my friends and I enjoyed playing was side-scrolling action games. Whether it was , or , or . I’m not exactly sure what game it was…

But I liked the feeling of being able to play together with several people, and the feeling of going on an adventure together, so whenever I had coins in my pocket, I would rush to the arcade with my friends.

But defeating the first stage boss was so difficult!

We played the game in the way that is unique to young children, ‘I don’t know about controls or systems, let’s just mash the buttons!’, and the path to the first stage boss was difficult, and even if we managed to meet the boss, we couldn’t beat it.

We would go to the arcade, progress through the stage together with the few coins we had, get beaten up by the boss, and then go home.

Then, one day, perhaps?

As the saying goes, ‘Even a dog at a temple can recite a sutra after three years,’ after constantly bumping into it, we almost defeated the first stage boss.

But we were wiped out with only one hit point left on the boss.

We had no coins left, and everyone was sighing in disappointment…

That’s when it happened.

A big brother, who was wearing a ‘school uniform’ and had been watching from behind, suddenly handed us a coin.

‘I’ll lend it to you.’

Looking back now, that brother was probably only in the first year of middle school, but to my much younger eyes, he looked very big.

I, being naive, took the coin, and my character was revived in a dignified manner, and I was able to defeat the boss that I had never been able to defeat before.

My friends and I hugged each other and shouted with joy.

Of course, as soon as we entered the second stage, we were quickly game over.

After that, I put coins in my pocket whenever I thought of it, and went to that arcade to repay the coin I had borrowed from that brother.

But I never saw that brother again.

A long time has passed since then.

Whenever I feel like I’m going to fall while staggering through life, someone else appears and puts a coin in my hand.

And so, the feelings of borrowing and not repaying have piled up in my heart.

is a story about these feelings of debt.

***

Hello, this is Ryu Eun Garam.

The main story has been completed.

An epilogue that deals with the story after this will be serialized in the near future.

However, since the main story was set for three years at the Monster Front, I will conclude it at this point.

The serialization began in early February 2021, and ended in late January 2024. So, three years have passed in reality as well.

Thank you to everyone who has been with me on this long journey.

Writing was a continuous challenge every day.

That’s because, first, I would give the protagonist a difficult task, and then I would work on it while thinking about the solution myself.

I would introduce ridiculously powerful enemies and problems that were not easy to solve, and then I would think, ‘So how should I conquer this?’

Finding the answer to this question during a real-time live serialization was a very difficult and painful way of working.

But that’s why I was able to think fiercely with the characters at the same level.

And from a certain point on, the characters began to move and fluctuate on their own, finding ways to overcome the huge wall, and coming up with answers to their problems.

I wrote this novel with the feeling of recording the story of the characters who were doing their best to face their own challenges, and who were converging and running in one direction, from their perspective.

The character leads the novel, the story pushes the writer’s back… It’s a phenomenon that I sometimes experience while writing, and I’ve had such experiences myself.

But this is the first time I’ve experienced the characters and the story moving so firmly with their own will.

And so, after three years, at the end of a long journey, the characters were able to come to a conclusion about their own problems.

And I was able to finish the biggest challenge of my writing career like this.

***

There are so many people I am grateful to for writing this novel.

First of all, my number one contributor, editor Kim Jun Young.

He read and corrected the manuscript himself, and gave me appropriate feedback every time.

In particular, the advice he gave me in the early stages of writing, ‘Focus on the relationships between the characters,’ was truly the feedback that completed the identity of this novel.

Thanks to that advice, Lily and God Hand were able to face each other, and at that moment, this novel finally gained complete life.

It was because the editor was there that was able to be born as a novel, and was able to run to completion like this.

Thank you so much for your hard work over the long time. I sincerely thank you.

Editor Cho Hyun Woo, who was in charge of my previous work. And the Naver Web Novel editorial department.

They coaxed and persuaded me from my previous work, and they also passed the serialization of .

If it weren’t for my relationship with Naver Web Novel, I might have given up on web novels and chosen a different path.

Thank you always.

The series upload team.

I have caused a lot of trouble with the always tight deadlines and frequent revisions.

I will probably cause a lot of trouble in the future as well. Please forgive me with a generous heart… I’m sorry and thank you…

Webtoon artists, Gyo, and Hajung, and their assistant artists. Webtoon editors, and everyone on the webtoon team.

Thanks to the webtoon, was able to be known to many readers. Those who created the webtoon gave wings to the web novel.

I look forward to the webtoon serialization day every week with a pounding heart.

Thank you. And I look forward to working with you in the future.

My friends who read it from the pilot episode before serialization. And my friends who have been reading it steadily during the serialization. And my friends who have supported me even if they didn’t read it.

Thank you all so much. I’ll buy you something delicious… Contact me…

And, my beloved wife.

She has always been my number one reader, and not only has she improved the quality of the manuscript with her honest impressions and sharp criticisms.

She is a grateful person who has always supported me when I was having a hard time, when I was in pain.

Thank you always. I hope we can continue to cherish, care for, and respect each other in the future.

Finally, thank you to the readers.

Thank you for not giving up on this story and watching it to the end for a long time of 3 years, and a long serialization of 825 episodes.

It was because the readers loved this story that I was able to move forward with confidence. It was because the readers were watching that I was able to not give up on this story.

was a novel that could be written because of the readers.

Thank you. Sincerely, thank you.

***

The after-story that will deal with the story after the ending will be serialized after a short break.

There are preparations for the lives of the main and supporting characters, the endings that each of them will face, and the recovery of some of the plot points that were not covered in the main story.

This after-story is also a story that has been prepared for a long time, so I hope you will enjoy it.

***

Finally, I would like to boast about one thing.

Like the classic maniac in the novel, I also donated a small amount of money to the Korea Pediatric Cancer Foundation to commemorate the completion.

The donation was made in my name, but the heart is gathered by the readers who have been with me on this journey.

I remember a coin that a nameless brother lent me at the arcade when I was young.

Just as the good deeds that others have given me whenever I was having a hard time have kept me alive until now.

I will also continue to look for good things to do in the future, and try to share my heart little by little.

I was happy to be able to write during that time.

I hope you have enjoyed being with this story as well.

Thank you sincerely, sincerely for being with me on this long journey.

Always be healthy and happy.