Became a tyrant of defense games - Episode 563
◈ 563. [Side Story] Before the Storm
When he came to, Candler was sitting in a bustling bar..
“Now, let's start with a toast.!”
“Cheers~!”
“Thank you for your hard work today too!”
The party ‘men’ clinked their glasses vigorously..
Nobody, Chain, Zenith, and Thorkel sat at one table and raised beer glasses. Candler, who raised his glass in an awkward manner, also toasted..
“nice~!”
“There's nothing better than a drink after work..”
“It was so hot today that I thought I was going to get heatstroke, but after drinking this, it went away..”
The three of them said a word each, except for Thorkel, who drank in silence. Candler, who was sitting next to me blankly, shook his shoulders in shock..
‘……why am i here?’
I was drawn in by the atmosphere, but how did I end up here?.
Candler hungrily swallowed the glass in his hand..
“I'll just drink this and go…….”
Then, Nobody and Chain's expressions fell..
“Ah? What are you talking about, Candler?.”
“Just because you quit your mercenary job, you don't want to play with us anymore, lady.?”
“No, it's not like that.…….”
……Isn't it the opposite?.
The person who retired because he could no longer be on the battlefield, the person who ran away because he was afraid of monsters... … Is it okay to continue hanging out with them?.
Nobody and Chain clicked their tongues as they handed Candler a new beer glass..
“Why is this so sad? We are colleagues who have worked hard together all these years..”
“You shouldn't become this cold just because you moved to a good job.!”
Zenith and Thorkell also helped..
“Was it during the time of the Gorgon sisters that we all fought together? I really had a hard time back then..”
“Hehe… … Still, it was worthwhile, right?.”
Everyone's expressions relaxed at Thorkel's next words..
“Because I saved Sid..”
“…….”
It was like that..
Everyone here was a comrade who fought together that day for pregnant Lily and newborn Sid..
Holding newly filled beer glasses in their hands, the group toasted again..
“Now, for Sid.!”
“Grow up quickly! My uncles and aunts will give me a lot of pocket money.!”
In the end, Candler could not leave his seat and swallowed his drink while looking at others..
The second glass of wine was about to be half empty..
Squeak-thud!
The bar door opened violently, and someone came rushing in..
Other guests sitting near the entrance were startled and backed away when they saw that..
“Hehehe!”
“Hey, look over there.!”
“why are they here?!”
Candler looked back in confusion at the fearful reaction. And I was equally astonished..
“giggle.”
“Kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk.…….”
“It smells delicious in here..”
Evangeline in the lead. Behind them are Lily, Elise, Yoon, Junior, Verdandi, and Rosetta.…….
A famous female hero from the front line was walking in with a grumpy attitude..
“Big, it’s the ‘Big Women’s Management Committee’!”
“‘‘Scary Sisters’……!”
“Ouch! I'm here today to lay waste to this bar.!”
“Everyone run away! Now that they're here, the alcohol and snacks at this store are over.!”
The terrified customers quickly paid their bills and left the bar in a huff..
Evangeline, who was laughing evilly and enjoying this atmosphere, eventually discovered this group and came sauntering over..
“reel? Who is this? It's 'the men'?”
“Welcome, Miss Evangeline.”
Thorkell greeted Evangeline politely..
“First off, Sir Lucas will be joining us in a moment..”
“Ah! thank you… … No wait. Why did you think I was going to ask that first??”
Anyway, the women took the table next to us..
And, true to his fearsome command, he poured out a huge amount of orders. The waiter was sweating coldly and wrote down the order on the order form..
Everyone broke into a cold sweat as they looked at the number of orders, which were almost twice as many as on this table. Then, Thorkel discovered an unexpected person buried among the women..
“But why is Damian there?……?”
Among the female heroes drooling over the menu with evil smiles, Damien was seen with a helpless expression on his face..
“The church leader said he would buy us dinner, so we came out together.…….”
Damian muttered, his face in tears. Maybe it was because I was surrounded by scary sisters, but my complexion wasn't very good..
“In the first place, it was big... … Isn't this a group of female mercenaries? why am i here……?”
“Hey, Damian! It's okay to be honestly happy if you get to eat among these pretty girls..”
However, Damien was not happy at all despite Evangeline’s words. Instead, I started sniffling..
“Wow, I miss you… … half…….”
“Ah, I cry. cry.”
“Okay, okay. Then Damien, go to those gloomy guys over there.!”
As soon as the words fell, Damian was visibly relieved and quickly got up from his chair. He must have been really scared..
At that time, Lily, who was looking at the table at the 'Uncles' party, smiled brightly..
“Hey, Mr. Candler! long time no see!”
Candler shrugged his shoulders and pointed at himself..
“me, remember me?”
“sure. You got hurt while protecting me and my child. You seemed like I was such a heartless person that I even forgot my benefactor.?”
Lily smiled broadly and gestured..
“Great! Damian sits there, Mr. Candler! Come this way! It's been a while since I talked to you.”
So, somehow Damien and Candler switched places..
Lily sat Candler down next to her and introduced him to people she had never met before..
“This person is Candler. He's a golem magician, and he saved me and Sid a long time ago... … These days, you are helping the Production Association restore the base..”
Yoon and Junior clapped their hands..
“Ah, I saw it while passing by. He's the one who built the wall with that golem.!”
“I've heard the story too. Thanks to the golem, work efficiency has increased significantly due to the effort of installing medium-sized construction equipment.…….”
why does everyone know me?
Candler's hand holding the glass trembled slightly..
Since he quit being a mercenary, this city has already been defended more than 10 times, and he was just one of the mercenaries who passed by.…….
Why do these people still remember me?.
Evangeline naturally approached Candler, put his arm around his shoulder, and made a soft voice..
“Now, then, Sister Candler? I'm going to join the Big Yeo Yeongyong Committee.?”
“Big, big Yeo Yeong-yong… … ? join……?”
“Crossroads is an abbreviation for female heroes and mercenaries. What are the benefits of signing up here?…….”
Evangeline explained at length the benefits you would receive at company dinners and drinking parties when you signed up, but Candler stuttered and asked..
“but… … I'm no longer on the front line... … Can I wear it in a place like this?…….”
“What does it matter?.”
The answer was given by a young man who had just opened the door to the bar..
“We're all fighting together in our own places, right?.”
It was Lucas who arrived before I knew it..
Lucas smiled brightly and looked around at everyone..
“No matter where we fight, we all have the same desire to protect the world. So we are all colleagues.”
Evangeline frowned as if in shock..
“This guy said the same thing as his senior during his speech.…….”
“I'm on my way to see my master. So I guess this comment comes out naturally..”
Lucas, who smiled at the teasing Evangeline, took his share of beer glasses from the bar and raised them as he approached the table..
“According to the lord's words, the next battle is predicted to be quite difficult... … If we all work together, we can overcome it again..”
Lucas was very good at making comments like this because he often took on the role of acting lord when Ash was away. Lucas sang.
“Now, for all the people in this city who fight together!”
Regardless of the men and women at the table, everyone cheered and raised their glasses accordingly..
“for!”
“for~!”
Evangeline was the only one in tears..
“No, I will do the toast! Why are you doing whatever you want?!”
“When you become a lord later, you'll do it to your heart's content. I'm taking advantage of this opportunity.”
“This is profit!”
Everyone swallowed their cups, chatted loudly, and started talking about what a difficult but rewarding day it had been..
“…….”
Candler slowly lowered his head..
My own face reflected in the glass was rippling with the alcohol..
***
The drinking party was over..
Lucas, Evangeline, Damian, and Junior split up separately, saying they had something to talk about with the main party members..
Zenith and Rosetta walked out separately with serious expressions on their faces.…….
After everyone dispersed in groups of twos and threes,.
Candler, who was the last person left in the store, left the store with Nobody and Chain..
The three naturally left the west side of the city without saying a word and headed toward the grave site. And I stood in front of a familiar grave.
‘It was the grave of two colleagues who moved together during the 'Blacklist' era..
When the Gorgon sisters attacked the city, they both died and were buried here. And the three who survived were still tied up in this city..
“Come on, you guys have a drink too.!”
Squeak-
Nobody opened the bottle of alcohol he brought and sprinkled it on the grave. Eventually, a clean, empty bottle was placed in front of the tombstone..
After a long silence, Candler cautiously opened his mouth..
“……I was scared.”
Nobody and Chain, huh? He looked at Candler. Candler looked at the two of them..
“I thought you wouldn't treat me like before when I ran away from the battlefield.…….”
“Hey Candler. I don't know why you think that way.”
Nobody laughed and tapped Candler on the back..
“You've never run away.”
Chain, who was listening, agreed..
“Yes, that's right! You were always gambling until you ran out of stake, let alone making a profit.!”
Even when fighting the Gorgon sisters.
Even though she screamed at them, asking why they didn't run away, it was she, Candler, who ultimately got injured while protecting Lily and Sid until the end..
Nobody and Chain laughed in front of Candler, who stood still with his mouth shut..
“If you understand, don’t avoid us from now on! Next time let's play at the casino, just like before!”
“You've worked hard so far, so you've saved up some money, right? I have to have fun!”
After chatting a few more words, Nobody and Chain left first..
The only thing left in front of the graves of old colleagues is Candler..
“…….”
Candler stood still until the summer sun set and his son-in-law entered the dark night, and then he slowly looked down at his legs..
Since the battle that day, he has been limping and unable to walk properly, the leg that made it impossible for him to work as a mercenary anymore..
“……No, I'm not as great as you…….”
The golem master's hands clenched tightly into fists..
“I am… … I mean, I ran away.…….”
***
Same time. Interethnic barracks.
Ash, who visited the Fairy Queen to meet Burnout and Body Bag, broke into a cold sweat..
A dark room lit only by dim candles. Four kings were sitting around having a meeting.
Fairy Queen, Schooled.
Dwarf King, Kelly Thorn.
Mermaid King, Poseidon XIII.
And now Kuilan, who is the King of Beastmen in name and reality..
4The kings of the different races were gathered together and talking quietly among themselves, and looked embarrassed when they saw Ash suddenly barging in..
Ash, who had stiffened in confusion, asked carefully..
“……What kind of meeting is this again??”
“Hehe, I got caught..”
Skuld covered his mouth and smiled, caressing the diamond-shaped tear spots under his eyes..
“As you can see, this is a meeting secretly brought by the kings of the four major races.…….”
“…….”
“We call ourselves ‘Outsiders’..”
Ash sighed inwardly as he looked at this gathering of assholes..
‘Why a private organization I don’t know about… … No, it seems like the number of small groups is increasing.?’
Well, it would be nice if the heroes could become friends on their own.…….
‘Prince, I feel a little sad.?!’
……Ash seemed a little upset that people were playing without him..
“So, His Royal Highness Prince Ash. What's happening here today?”
Ash came to his senses at Schooled's question..
The original reason for visiting was to order burnouts and body bags, but after meeting these kings, I also had something to talk about..
“I have something to tell you, folks..”
After catching his breath, Ash let out a sigh..
“This defensive battle. It won't be easy.”
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