The Reason I Won't Tolerate It
The Reason I Won't Tolerate It
『As expected, the Tsar is not qualified to represent the tribes of the Frozen Lands!』
『I believed you were the last hope of the Frozen Lands...! I truly curse you...!』
『If I had been born a man, I would have exiled Oppa immediately and taken Father's place!』
Alexei Berkut, a sub-villain who appears in the romance fantasy <Splendid Days of the Golden Empire>, was a so-called "villain with a backstory" who evoked pity and sympathy.
A villain more popular than the protagonists.
A villain you desperately want to see win.
A villain who ultimately gets used by the protagonists' exploits.
The reason Alexei Berkut evoked pity and sympathy from countless readers is simple.
Because as soon as the original work begins, countless disasters cling to him as if to screw him over.
A greedy uncle eyeing the position of Tsar.
The tribes of the Frozen Lands, divided like a spider's web.
An Empire that forces submission while flaunting overwhelming military power.
Can you endure this without turning evil?
Tough, really tough.
Let's see how much you can take.
"Surrounded by countless disasters with no allies to help..., getting constantly fleeced by the Unified Empire (the protagonists' faction), then falling as a traitor to humanity after being corrupted by the Demon King's dark magic—how can you not turn evil after being treated so unfairly?"
Tsar.
The great ruler of the frozen earth.
Leader of the Frozen Alliance.
The Frozen Lands is a power boasting infinite potential, with vast territory and resources as its core. Furthermore, the Frozen Lands held barbarian tribes with immense military power and countless demi-humans who had been exiled by the oppression of the Unified Empire.
If he had united all the tribes, he might have been able to put up a fight against the Unified Empire.
But he failed.
The Unified Empire would never tolerate the gathering of uncivilized barbarians. Every time Alexei, the Tsar, attempted a policy of appeasement, they made it fail by engaging in cunning division and sowing discord.
"Honestly..., aren't the romance fantasy bastards the real villains, and the Unified Empire the den of scoundrels? Kicking away the ladder for others to climb, always causing trouble for neighboring countries..., hmm."
The Unified Empire, ruled by the protagonist bastards, demands tribute from the Frozen Lands in many ways. Along with a brutal warning that if the tribute is even slightly short, they will wipe out all the barbarians.
Hides of magic beasts.
Pure silver and magic ore.
Whale oil and walrus ivory.
They suck it dry properly.
To the point of sucking it down to the bone marrow.
A Golden Goblin.
They treat him exactly like a Golden Goblin.
Should I call him an epic monster that drops items every time you hit him?
"I was wondering what kind of wealth the protagonists used to enjoy such extravagant banquets..., but they were just pocketing the high-quality goods they ripped off from the Frozen Lands! Fuck, is this even possible?!"
If you don't have money, you don't have romance.
You need money to cultivate romance, too.
So they plundered by abusing embezzlement and breach of trust.
If you extort taxes from the citizens of the Unified Empire, it's violent 'tyranny,' but if you extort tribute from the barbarians of the Frozen Lands, it becomes a glorious 'conquest.'
Fuck.
They are such fucking bastards.
It feels like staring at rotting food swarming with cockroaches.
Ever since I learned the source of the wealth that the romance fantasy protagonists constantly use, I've been reading while spitting out curses every time the protagonists enjoy extravagant banquets for the sake of romance and elegance.
『I must..., I must provide the tribute...! If the Unified Empire leads a great army to invade, the entire Frozen Lands will be engulfed in a sea of fire, and countless tribes..., countless demi-humans will be sacrificed to the spears and swords of war...!』
An indecisive and incompetent, but kind-hearted Tsar.
Alexei, the Tsar, repeatedly accepts the coercive demands of the protagonist bastards. To protect the Frozen Lands from the protagonist bastards who know nothing of compassion or common sense.
『No more! Do you have any idea how many brothers have died so far!』
『Tsar! Do you not even have the guts to fight those arrogant civilized bastards?』
『The Varangians do not desire a humiliating peace!』
But the result flowed toward the worst.
Just as it proves that good intentions do not necessarily lead to positive results.
The greed of the protagonist bastards had no satisfaction.
The patience of the barbarians who followed the Tsar exploded.
Alexei was exiled by the tribes of the Frozen Lands, whom he had tried to protect even while enduring countless humiliations and criticisms, and he threw himself at the Demon King. And the tribes of the Frozen Lands, who cried out for war, met the fate of being destroyed by the Unified Empire's suppression.
"This Alexei, the Barbarian Tsar, is also frustrating as hell. If it were me, I would have struggled somehow. Ugh, I want to grab the heroine by the hair and rip it all out in front of the male leads. Should I write a secondary parody where the heroine gets 'true education'?"
The reaction of the romance fantasy protagonists, who massacred tens of thousands while turning the Frozen Lands into a wasteland, is ridiculous.
Showing their respective reactions, they reveal their double-faced and hypocritical aspects without fail, muttering, "Sob, if they had just followed peacefully, they could have continued their peace!" or "Ellie, they were barbarians who only knew war, so they brought death and misfortune upon themselves."
Wow.
They don't even know the war started because of them?
My stomach churned.
To think there are cases where you feel nauseous while reading a web novel.
No matter how much of a 'dog' I am who reads everything from top to bottom, even the low-ranking works, I can't eat this anymore. Even the seafood bibimbap sauce I ate in the military is better than this.
"I'll sleep for now..., should I write 5800 characters? Wow, 150 comments just on this episode? All of them are long. I'm not the only reader who thought this was a drop-off point. Even considering the plot and settings are all over the place..., it's rare for a female-oriented work to receive such a barrage of criticism."
The gold I paid to unlock up to episode 120 is a waste.
My phone battery is a waste.
My time, as an excellent house security guard..., no, I was just an eat-sleep-masturbate loser anyway.
'I'll take a short nap, and maybe act like I'm looking for a job before Father gets home. I wish a job would just fall from the sky.'
Thinking that, I plugged my phone, which was on the verge of dying from watching third-rate romance fantasy, into the charger and headed to the bed.
A middle-aged woman's voice rang out, screeching like nails scraping a chalkboard.
"The Frost Boar hides! The Heim Wolf hides! And the mining yields of pure silver and magic ore are truly pathetic! With such laziness and laxity..., can you even fulfill the tribute demanded by the Emperor of the great Unified Empire? How pathetic!!"
"......."
"Tsar! This is a notification from the tax collector delivering the orders of the Unified Empire! Are you ignoring my warning, Tsar Alexei? Answer me now!!"
"......."
Noise filled with contempt and disgust flew in like arrows.
It's noisy.
And I felt annoyed.
I opened my eyes, feeling the lingering sensation of waking up from a long sleep.
"...What is this."
I lifted my head while crossing my arms. Then, I faced a middle-aged woman screaming with a face covered in flour-like powder.
The heaviness of the chair supporting my whole body.
The fierce heat spewed by the firewood in the fireplace.
And the gazes of countless people sitting to the left and right, watching the scene.
It's vivid.
It's a liveliness that couldn't possibly be a dream.
The sensation felt in my hands.
Even the heat of the fireplace wrapping around my face.
"Tsar Alexei!"
"Sseup..., I dozed off for a second."
"What did you say?! The tax collector sent by the Empress of the great Unified Empire is delivering an Imperial order..., and you say you dozed off while leaning on your chair! Keep in mind that if Her Majesty the Empress withdraws her mercy, the Tsar's rule and the survival of the barbarians will be trampled in an instant!!"
"Alright, alright."
Wait.
Unified Empire.
Her Majesty the Empress.
Tax collector.
And the title used to call me, 'Tsar Alexei'.
As a sense of déjà vu, thick like storm clouds, rushed in, I realized that these were the settings that appeared in <Splendid Days of the Golden Empire>, which I had quit reading today while spitting out curses.
Possession?
Without any process?
Just because I spat out curses?
No,
I don't understand.
You possess the world of a web novel for such a trivial reason?
"The uncivilized barbarians of the Frozen Lands, the exiled inferior species, are only able to prolong their lives on the frozen earth because the Unified Empire and Her Majesty the Empress have bestowed their grace upon you. So, no matter how many warriors are sacrificed while hunting magic beasts, no matter how many warriors are sacrificed while mining magic ore..., chew on the grace bestowed by the Empress and fulfill your duties and responsibilities!!"
"......."
The Unified Empire was the ruler of the continent that had annexed countless kingdoms with overwhelming military power. If I were to refuse the demands of such a Unified Empire, the Frozen Lands and the tribes would meet their ruin just as the plot of <Splendid Days of the Golden Empire> dictated.
Let's bow my head for now.
They say a gentleman's revenge is not too late even after 10 years.
"Hmph. Ungrateful barbarians...."
However,
Click.
A cold metallic sound rang out.
It was the sound of the tax collector, with fat bulging under her chin, putting a cigar in her mouth and lighting a magic stone lighter.
"You ugly bitch, smoking in a way that's an eyesore!"
I stood up from my seat and raised one hand.
And I slapped the cheek of the tax collector, who was puffing out thick smoke.
King of the Frozen Lands.
Alexei Berkut.