Chapter 56

[Translator: Dawn ]

[Proofreader: Alissa ]

Chapter 56: [Side Story] The Funeral (2)

“I didn’t know you had the noble hobby of reciting poetry.” 

I smiled awkwardly after hearing Evangeline. 

“I recited it without anyone looking because it doesn’t suit me. But you got me.” 

“You have a pretty great voice. You should recite it louder next time.” 

I couldn’t figure out what she was thinking since her face was expressionless. I asked her cautiously. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Of course I’m okay. I knew this day would come eventually.” 

Evangeline shrugged her shoulders. 

“I would never be able to return to this city once I get commissioned as a knight on another front, anyway. If my father passed away at any time, it was a set procedure that I wouldn’t be able to stay by his deathbed.” 

“……” 

“I should consider myself fortunate to be able to attend his funeral like this.” 

At only 16, Evangeline was pretending to be an adult. 

However, what can I say? This child really has to become an adult now. 

“You’re planning on leaving to a different front, I reckon?” 

“Of course. Why would I stay in this outskirt countryside?” 

Evangeline glanced at Crossroad which could be seen from afar. 

“Once I’m done with sorting out the inheritance, disposing of the family’s mansion, land, and property… I’m going to leave.” 

Evangeline had her heart set on it from the start. 

That must be why she decided to bury the armor that had been passed on for generations. 

“I’ll help you with sorting out the inheritance.” 

At my words, Evangeline sharply raised her eyes. I grinned. 

“Because it is too much for a young teenager to deal with. Allow the adults to help.” 

“You know, I graduated from the academy… I do have fundamental legal knowledge.” 

“Then think of it as a favor from a Sunbae from the same academy, Hubae! Wouldn’t it be easier if the current lord was to help, anyway?” 

Evangeline, who had been staring at me for a while, lowered her gaze. 

“Are you not going to scold me?” 

“For what?” 

“Y’know, I’m about to throw away the Cross family’s task and run away. Just for myself, selfishly.” 

I chuckled. 

“You can call it a task, but in reality, your family was just forced to make one-sided sacrifices.” 

“……” 

“The Cross family has done more than enough. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do it as well as your family did, but I’m going to try my best to guard this frontline.” 

I knocked on my own chest. 

“So you can leave without a single worry, Hubae. I will do my best so that the sacrifices your family has made so far are not in vain.” 

“……” 

Evangeline looked at me for a long time with her brow furrowed and tilted her head. 

“You really are different from what I heard, Sunbae.” 

“Huh?” 

“If you were demoted to a place like this, I thought you would start thinking about how to go back to the capital.” 

I felt a little guilty. Well, if it were the real Ash, that’d be the case. 

“I’m surprised that you’re working as the lord of this place more seriously than I thought.” 

“Haha…” 

I told her honestly as I laughed awkwardly. 

“Someone promised to grant a wish for me if I were to guard this place really well. That’s the only reason for my hard work.” 

That was the condition presented by the self-proclaimed director of this game. 

– If you lead this world to the true ending, I’ll grant you a wish. 

That’s right. I didn’t throw myself into this hardship because of some noble cause. 

As a means to achieve my personal wish, I set out to reach the true ending. 

Evangeline put her hand on her chin and groaned, misunderstanding what I had said. 

“His Majesty promised you that? I don’t know why he’d do that much for this outskirt frontline…” 

Well, he didn’t. 

However, I could tell that it would get more complicated the more I tried to explain, so I decided to just let her be. 

It was at that moment. 

Thunder! 

There was a sudden thunderous noise. What was that?! The sky is clear as blue! 

“Ah, I’m hungry.” 

As I was wondering what that was, it turned out to be the sound that came from Evangeline’s stomach. 

How could it make such a loud noise like that? 

Evangeline scratched her stomach, then put her hands in the pockets of her jacket again and spat out at me curtly. 

“Get me a meal, will ya? The dish you made yesterday was delicious. Can I have that again?” 

I stared at her as I was at a loss for words. Then I started laughing out loud without realizing it. 

She’s right. The living have to continue on. 

I shouted at everyone who followed the funeral. 

“Alright, let’s go back! To eat!” 

Bury the lost under the ground, and those who survive must move on. 

‘Time to go do what I must.’ 

The next stage was approaching. 

[Translator: Dawn]

[Proofreader: Alissa]

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From that day on, I handled two tasks simultaneously. 

One was the same as before, preparing for the next stage. 

In preparation for the invasion of the Golem Corps, the walls were remodeled and repaired, and the artifacts were set to be suitable for dealing with large monsters. 

Above all, the existing kill zone strategy does not work on monsters classified as large. 

The large monsters advance while ignoring small obstacles or barricades and destroying them with their bodies. 

Instead, because of their large body, it is quite convenient to focus the firepower from a distance. 

‘I need to explain the tactical changes to all soldiers and teach them how to deal with golems.’ 

I must train and teach them the locations of the magic cores depending on the type of golem, and how to efficiently destroy them. 

The first task was to continue preparing for the next stage like this. And the second task was, 

‘Cashing out the inheritance of the Earl.’ 

It was dealing with the Cross family’s assets. 

Evangeline gave up the title of Earl of the Frontier and hoped to leave for another place. 

I figured that it’d be best to cash out the property clean so that child will never have to come back to this place ever again. 

This task was entrusted to Aider as I knew he’d be much faster than me. 

“Is that so? You’ve decided to let Lady Evangeline go.” 

Aider muttered in shame and nodded. 

“I understand. I will cash in all the assets of the Cross family and hand them to Lady Evangeline. I will also take charge of all legal reports and handling of the inheritance process.” 

“Please and thank you, Aider. Make sure to report the progress once in a while.” 

“Of course. Hm, buuut…” 

Aider was willing to take on the job, but he seemed to be at a loss for the conditions I suggested. 

“It’ll be challenging even for me to cash them all out in just under a week…” 

The time limit I set was a week. 

It was just one day before the start of the next stage. 

“Most of the Cross family’s assets are properties. I’m not sure if a buyer will appear within just a week.” 

“Then buy it under my name after appropriate pricing.” 

I nodded my head heavily. 

“I’d like to send Evangeline off within a week after cashing out all the assets.” 

I wanted to get this done before the start of the next stage if possible and get Evangeline off this front. 

‘I cannot let Evangeline get involved in the next battle.’ 

If Evangeline doesn’t leave this place before the next stage begins, 

The monsters will come and the battle will begin, and depending on the situation, Evangeline may also get involved in the battle. 

Then no one knows what will happen after that. 

The image of the Earl who died in my arms kept flashing in my mind. I bit my lip. 

‘All members of the Cross family died here on the frontline.’ 

Evangeline is the last heir of that family. 

In other words, she is the sole survivor. 

‘Evangeline has to leave intact without getting caught up in the war here.’ 

That was the Earl’s wish and last will. 

I was determined to keep it faithfully. 

After seeing my face, Aider must have understood my intention and then smiled. 

“Understood! You can trust me and leave it to me, m’lord!” 

As the director of this game, he has many suspicious qualities, but as the Chief of Staff, Aider is very competent, so I’m sure he’ll take care of this task well. 

I opened the stage information window. 

[STAGE 3] 

– Until the start: 8 days 

Time continued to flow mercilessly, and the next defensive battle was approaching without fail. 

I clenched my fists tightly. 

I’ll make sure to do it. 

That this game can be conquered without losing one’s morale and without using one’s life as a sacrifice. 

I will certainly prove that. 

The time passed by in a flash. 

And a week later, 

In the forge. 

“My apologies, Your Highness. Since it was our first time crafting a magic gun, there were many obstacles…” 

The Blacksmiths’ union leader and the Alchemists’ union leader bowed their heads. 

“There was not enough time for us to make all five guns. Please forgive us.” 

I shook my hands. 

“No, it’s fine. It’s enough that you were able to craft the magic guns that can be used right away.” 

I didn’t expect to be able to use all five guns I ordered from the beginning at this stage. That would be too much for Demian, anyway. 

“So how many were you able to make?” 

“Uhm… Only two.” 

The two union heads looked at me with nervous eyes. I chuckled. What, do you think I’m going to eat you alive or something? 

“I promise I won’t get mad. Just show them to me.” 

“Yes, Your Highness!” 

The two union heads brought two rifles wrapped in cloth from the table behind them. 

“The Standard low-grade magic core and Magic Core of the Black Spider Queen were used as the core of each of these two guns!” 

“Please take a look at this one first.” 

The first gun was unveiled. 

What was revealed was a gray gun with a simple design. The barrel was slightly shorter than the previous one. 

“This magic gun was made with the Standard low-grade magic core. We figured that there would be a lower risk if we failed with this one, so we started with it first.” 

“Were you able to succeed?” 

“Of course! It works very well.” 

The Alchemist union leader immediately responded and averted his eyes in a cold sweat. 

“…Although its power is a little weak, and there’s a little flaw.” 

“A flaw, you say?” 

I received the gray magic gun and examined its stats. Let’s see. 

[Woodpecker (N) Lv.20] 

– Class: Magic Gun 

– Attack: 25-26 

– Durability: 4/4 

– Magazine Capacity: 20/20 

It was pretty bad. The damage was very low for a magic gun. 

Seeing that the magazine capacity was higher than an average magic gun, it seemed that the damage decreased while trying to increase the number of bullets it could hold. 

“So what is the flaw?” 

When I asked while placing the gun on the table next to me, the leader of the Blacksmiths’ union answered. 

“Because of a small mistake in design, uh… If you pull the trigger and hold it, it will shoot out its entire ammunition.” 

“Hm? So you’re saying that it will shoot out continuously?” 

“Yes, that is why we decided to name it Woodpecker.” 

“If the wielder accidentally fires a series of shots, it will be extremely difficult to keep the aim, and it will easily overheat.” 

The two union heads started to bow their heads again. 

“There were some mistakes here and there since it is our first time crafting a magic gun…” 

“Our sincerest apologies, Your Highness!” 

“Nah, you’ve done a good job. You were able to finish it in the end.” 

If this gun has the automatic mode, then it will prove to be useful in its own way in the future. 

The aim will not be a problem for Demian. 

And now it was time for them to introduce me to their second work. This time, a triumphant light appeared on the faces of the two union heads. 

“This is our next work! It is a magic gun made with the special magic core given by Your Highness!” 

“We are quite confident of this one! No, actually, we’re not just confident. This is our masterpiece…!” 

I wondered how good it was for their atmosphere to change so much. 

As I was looking forward to seeing their work, the two union heads quickly unveiled the rifle. 

“……” 

A dark black gun barrel seemed to absorb all the lights surrounding it. 

With gorgeous embroidered gold patterns. 

It was dignified yet solemn, and also somehow ominous… A long and thin rifle showed itself. 

After swallowing a dry gulp, I received the magic gun and checked its stats. Hopefully it’s not just the appearance that’s gorgeous. 

[Black Queen (SSR) Lv.55] 

– Class: Magic Gun 

– Attack: 225-250 

– Durability: 7/7 

– Magazine Capacity: 7/7 

– Fires a cursed bullet that has a chance to instantly kill the enemy. The chance increases with the wielder’s weapon proficiency. 

– ??? (Unlocked based on the number of enemies killed with this weapon) 

– ??? (Unlocked based on the number of enemies killed with this weapon) 

“……” 

What the hell is this monstrous weapon? 

Such an outrageous thing popped out of nowhere. I dropped my mouth slowly as I was dumbfounded. 

Just… what the hell is this? 

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