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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Confronting the Red Dragon
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While Erika headed off somewhere with one maid,
several maids approached me as well.
They very cautiously surrounded me.
"We'll escort you to your guest room."
The one who looked the oldest among them said politely.
A guest room, not a prison.
It felt a bit bittersweet that the Dragonia Empire—an enemy nation to the Ruth Kingdom—was welcoming me more warmly.
Even if I had partly intended it, I had undoubtedly done my utmost for the kingdom.
I moved my feet, trying not to show any hint of regret on the surface.
"Please rest. If you need anything, ring this bell and we'll assist you."
After arriving at the guest room, the maids set down a small handbell and departed.
-Plop.
Having no strength left in my body since exiting the dimensional gate, I couldn't even think of removing my outer clothes as I threw myself onto the plush chair.
After leaving the garrison near Zabinsk, Erika had urged me on relentlessly, so I'd cut back on sleep to keep the carriage moving.
Meals had been rough rations and jerky.
The expensive carriage was very comfortable at a leisurely pace, but at full speed, it was hardly different from riding in a rickety cart.
Crossing the dimensional gate had sealed the deal, bringing on an overwhelming fatigue.
I was just about to drift off with my eyes closed when,
-Knock knock knock.
a knocking sound jolted me awake, shaking off the drowsiness.
"Lord Viktor? I'm coming in."
"..."
Whether waiting for my response or not, after about thirty seconds, one maid opened the door and entered.
"Her Majesty said she will visit tomorrow morning."
She delivered the message and quickly left the guest room.
So the Emperor had met with Erika today, heard her story, and planned to come tomorrow.
Having a day's leeway wasn't bad.
I wasn't bound, there were no watchers, and I needed some time to think anyway.
This was truly the final stage now.
My goal was to charm the Emperor well and set the starting point as high as possible.
My main field was naturally strategies and tactics related to war, but having played the Empire extensively, I had plenty to say about internal affairs, diplomacy, and politics too.
If this world truly progressed just like the 'Great War' game, slowly building up our weight class would make it hard to cope with the 'crisis.'
We were already about two years behind the starting point, so we needed to develop even faster.
To avoid falling asleep, I sat in the chair and slowly envisioned the future ahead in my mind.
***
I definitely felt exhausted, but once I started pondering, the sleepiness vanished in no time.
I worried through the night about many things.
How those left behind in the Ruth Kingdom were faring.
How I should proceed from here.
I recalled events tied to the Emperor and even imagined the type of person she might like.
No matter how I thought about it, nothing came to mind beyond her preference for capable individuals.
But I had decided on a path forward.
The Emperor would surely come with some kind of 'test' of her own.
Dealing with it wouldn't be hard.
The boldness I'd shown without discrimination before the Ruth Kingdom and Imperial forces.
The loyalty Erika must have reported.
The hostility any Ruth Kingdom general would naturally show upon facing the Emperor.
Putting those elements together one by one, I just needed to confront her as the 'betrayed famous general Viktor.'
-Knock. Knock. Knock.
The small sound of knocking echoed through the room, signaling that it was time to confirm everything I'd built up until now.
I had prepared for this moment.
To raise my value, I'd roamed the battlefields relentlessly with the ragtag soldiers of the impoverished Ruth Kingdom.
To protect my reputation, I'd maintained a courteous demeanor even when no one was watching.
To flaunt my loyalty, I'd knelt at the king's feet.
To prove my strength, I'd faced every crisis with unwavering resolve.
"Phew..."
I didn't think today's conversation would decide everything.
We both knew it would be odd to try grasping everything in a single talk.
But it would decide many things.
Not as some weakling only thinking of escape, but as Viktor, the Ruth Kingdom's Commander-in-Chief.
Now, it was time to clash.
My opponent was on a whole different level from anyone I'd met so far.
All that 'Emperor of the Dragonia Empire' business was mere camouflage.
The daughter of the Red Dragon Vulcanoos from the Dragonia Empire's founding myth.
One of the candidates for the 'late-game crisis' that kept the latter half of 'Great War' from dragging.
The culprit who, even when destroying the Dragonia Empire, forced you to seek out a god no matter your forces.
One of the only two dragons appearing in 'Great War.'
In the community, called 'human on a stick' for her blatant fondness for humans.
An immortal being, yet whimsically impulsive beyond measure.
Luise Zaunburg.
No,
-Click.
Red Dragon, Waraticas.
She revealed herself.
A single maid followed her in, but I had neither the spare attention nor reason to mind her.
"...Hmm."
Dressed in imperial robes, she possessed a beauty surpassing human limits.
Without resolve, I might have been entranced by that appearance, but recalling how I'd reached this point steadied my heart.
"Pleased to meet you."
I stiffened my expression in response to Waraticas' languid smile.
She was the mastermind who'd dragged me to the Empire, and she knew it too.
-Swish.
As expected, she shrugged once and sat in the chair opposite me.
"I am the Emperor of the Dragonia Empire, Luise Zaunburg."
"..."
"Viktor, was it? I've heard quite a lot. Invincible, immortal—grand titles you've been called."
"..."
"Anghelgorod, Serkurk, Garogorod... Hmm. Hm."
Perhaps because I didn't respond, Waraticas kept probing with questions, her eyes scanning me intently.
Especially when mentioning the battle sites, her half-lidded crimson eyes seemed to gleam with naked interest—an illusion, maybe.
I'd tried not to react, but hearing her let out subtle exclamations of admiration, she might have seen something.
"Well, enough of that."
After glaring at each other like a staring contest for a moment—contrary to my expectation that it would drag on—she closed her eyes and leaned back slightly in her chair.
"I was told I'd passed along that you should call a maid if you needed anything, yet you didn't summon one even once."
Waraticas asked as if genuinely curious.
"And you didn't touch the meal left inside."
A meal.
Now that she mentioned it, there was a bowl of stew on the table, seemingly cooled.
It must have been left while I was deep in thought, but I probably wouldn't have eaten it even if I'd noticed.
Staring at the veggie-packed stew didn't sit well with me.
"Was our hospitality unsatisfactory? It seemed ample for a prisoner."
"..."
"Viktor."
After muttering a few more words to herself, she suddenly called my name and fixed me with wide eyes.
"You are a prisoner. A prisoner I could kill at any moment."
Then, keeping her gaze locked, she slowly rose from her chair and walked toward me.
A faint sneer played on her expression, as if her goal was to look down on me.
Because of those eyes, my body froze solid for an instant.
But staying still under such provocation wouldn't be like 'Viktor.'
Yielding just because my body felt heavy wasn't something 'Viktor' would do.
Mustering all my strength, I forcibly pushed myself up from the chair.
Since I was slightly taller than Waraticas, I naturally ended up looking down at her again.
"Hoh. To think you'd dare..."
Meeting her vertically slit pupils sent a horrific fear making my hands tremble.
"...I am."
I clenched my teeth and forced the words out.
Fear?
There were scarier things in the world than these eyes.
"The Ruth Kingdom's Commander-in-Chief, Viktor."
More than this forced fear, I dreaded failure.
Failing to overcome the 'crisis,' letting world conquest remain a mere dream—that terrified me more.
"No one but His Majesty the King."
I felt my body growing heavier the closer I got to Waraticas, but I took a large step forward, standing right before her.
Boldly, staunchly, uprightly.
I hid my trembling hands in my pockets.
I didn't let on about the cold sweat trickling down my back.
I kept my weakening legs rigidly straight.
"Dares to look down on me."
That was always how the 'Ruth Kingdom's Commander-in-Chief Viktor' had been.
"Hmm."
Waraticas let out a small nasal hum,
"Are you not afraid of death?"
asking in a low voice, the atmosphere thick with tension.
"...Hic."
Perhaps feeling the fear bearing down, the maid who'd been standing back collapsed to her knees.
She'd been fine until now, so the pressure must have intensified.
I felt nothing of it.
If anything, I felt at ease.
A truly absurd question for 'Viktor.'
No need to agonize over the answer—it came all too easily.
"My death has never once frightened me."
'Viktor' had never feared his own death.
Waraticas stared at me for a long while after my reply,
"...Is that so."
then lowered her head briefly, as if realizing something.
When she lifted her face again, her eyes were half-lidded once more, as when she'd entered.
The pressure enveloping the room had completely vanished.
"I won't apologize for the rudeness. My regrets."
Leaving those words, she turned first and walked toward the door.
The kneeling maid hurriedly stood and opened it.
"...I'll visit again later."
Waraticas departed the guest room after that.
I waited until the door closed and the dots marking them vanished from my minimap.
"Haa..."
Then, yielding to gravity, I let my body slump back into the chair.