Chapter 18
Chapter 18
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Meeting the Red Dragon
-----------------------------------------------------------------
While Erika headed off somewhere with one of the maids,
several maids approached me.
They very cautiously surrounded me.
"We'll escort you to your guest room."
The oldest-looking one said politely.
A guest room, not a prison cell.
It felt a bit bitter that the Dragonia Empire—an enemy nation to Ruth Kingdom—seemed to welcome me more warmly.
I had partly orchestrated this myself, but I'd given my all for the kingdom, no doubt about that.
I moved my feet, careful not to show any regret on my face.
"Please rest well. If you need anything, just ring this bell, and we'll assist you."
The maids left the small handbell on the table after showing me to the room and vanished.
-Plop.
Ever since exiting the portal, my body had felt drained. I didn't even think to remove my outer clothes before collapsing into the plush chair.
After leaving the garrison near Zabrinsk, Erika had urged us on relentlessly, so I'd skimped on sleep to keep the carriage moving.
Meals had been hasty rations and jerky.
The expensive carriage was comfortable at a leisurely pace, but at full speed, it felt no different from riding in a rickety cart.
And crossing the portal had sealed the deal—a crushing wave of fatigue hit me.
I was on the verge of drifting off with my eyes closed when,
-Knock knock knock.
the sound jolted me awake.
"Lord Victor? I'm coming in."
"..."
Perhaps waiting for my response, a maid opened the door and entered after about thirty seconds.
"Her Majesty says she'll visit you tomorrow morning."
She delivered the message and quickly departed.
The emperor must have met with Erika today and planned to see me tomorrow.
A day's reprieve wasn't bad.
I wasn't bound, there were no guards watching, and I needed time to think anyway.
This was truly the final stage now.
My goal was to charm the emperor and secure the highest possible starting point.
Strategy and tactics related to war would naturally be my main focus, but having played the empire extensively, I had plenty to say about internal affairs, diplomacy, and politics too.
If this world truly followed The Great War's script, building up slowly wouldn't cut it against the "crisis."
We were already two years behind schedule from the start, so faster development was essential.
To avoid dozing off, I sat in the chair and slowly mapped out my future in my mind.
I'd definitely felt exhausted, but once I started pondering, the sleepiness vanished in no time.
I agonized over many things through the night.
How those I'd left behind in Ruth Kingdom were faring.
How I should proceed from here.
I recalled events tied to the emperor, even imagining the type of person she'd like.
No matter how I racked my brain, all I could come up with was that she favored competent individuals.
Still, I'd settled on a course of action.
The emperor would surely test me in her own way.
Handling it wouldn't be hard.
The boldness I'd shown without flinching before Ruth Kingdom and imperial forces alike.
The loyalty Erika must have reported.
The hostility any Ruth Kingdom general would naturally display before the emperor.
Putting those pieces together, I'd face her as the "betrayed brilliant general, Victor."
-Knock. Knock. Knock.
The soft rapping echoed through the room, signaling it was time to put everything I'd built to the test.
This was what I'd prepared for.
To raise my value, I'd fought tooth and nail across battlefields with Ruth's ragtag soldiers.
To build 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.
"Hoo..."
I didn't think today's conversation would decide everything.
We both knew it would be odd to judge someone fully from one talk.
But it would determine a great deal.
Not as some weakling only thinking of escape, but as Victor, supreme commander of Ruth Kingdom.
Now, it was time to clash.
My opponent was on a whole different level from anyone I'd met before.
Being Dragonia Empire's emperor was just a facade.
Daughter of Vulkanus, the red dragon from the Dragonia founding myth.
One of the candidates for the "late-game crisis" that kept The Great War's latter half from dragging.
The culprit who forces you to hunt gods themselves, no matter your forces, when toppling the empire.
One of the only two dragons in The Great War.
The community called her "human bait" for her blatant fondness for humans.
Despite being a long-lived dragonkin, she was whimsically impulsive.
Luise Zeinburg.
Or rather,
-Click.
the red dragon, Woratikas.
She revealed herself.
A maid had followed her in, but I had neither the spare attention nor reason to mind her.
"...Hmm."
Clad in imperial regalia, she possessed a beauty beyond human limits.
Without my resolve, I might have been captivated, but recalling how I'd reached this point steeled my heart.
"Pleased to meet you."
I hardened my expression in response to Woratikas's languid smile.
She was the mastermind who'd dragged me to the empire, and she knew I knew it.
-Swish.
As expected, she shrugged once and sat in the chair opposite me.
"I am Luise Zeinburg, emperor of the Dragonia Empire."
"..."
"Victor, was it? I've heard plenty about you. Invincible, undying—quite the grandiose titles."
"..."
"Angelgorod, Serkutsk, Garogorod... Hmm. Hmph."
Since I wasn't responding, Woratikas kept probing with questions, her eyes scanning my reactions.
When she mentioned the battle sites, her half-lidded crimson gaze felt piercingly intense, almost like a spotlight.
I'd tried not to react, but her subtle sounds of admiration suggested she'd caught something.
"Well, enough of that."
After a staring contest, contrary to my expectation it'd drag on, she closed her eyes and leaned back slightly in her chair.
"I instructed them to tell you to call a maid if you needed anything, but you haven't once."
Woratikas asked with genuine curiosity.
"They say you haven't touched the meal left in your room either."
The meal.
Sure enough, a bowl of stew, now cold on the table.
They must have left it while I was deep in thought, but I wouldn't have eaten it anyway.
Seeing the chunks in the stew soured my mood.
"Not satisfied with your treatment? Seemed ample for a prisoner."
"..."
"Victor."
After muttering a few more words to herself, she suddenly called my name and fixed me with a fierce glare.
"You are a prisoner. One I could kill at any moment."
Her gaze locked, she slowly rose from her chair and approached me.
Her faint smirk suggested she meant to loom over me.
Those eyes made my body freeze solid for an instant.
But staying passive under such provocation wouldn't be "Victor."
Yielding because my body felt heavy wasn't something "Victor" would do.
I forced myself up from the chair with all my strength.
Being slightly taller than Woratikas, I naturally looked down on her now.
"Oh? How dare you..."
Meeting her slitted pupils sent tremors through my hands from the horrific dread.
"...I am."
I clenched my teeth and forced the words out.
Fear?
There were far scarier things in this world than those eyes.
"Victor, supreme commander of Ruth Kingdom."
Than this contrived terror, I feared failure more.
Feared not overcoming the "crisis," letting world conquest remain a mere dream.
"No one but His Majesty the King."
I felt my body grow heavier the closer I got to Woratikas, but I took a bold step forward, standing right before her.
Confidently. Resolutely. Righteously.
I hid my trembling hands in my pockets.
I didn't let on about the cold sweat trickling down my back.
I kept my buckling legs rigid.
"Dares to look down on me."
"Victor, supreme commander of Ruth Kingdom" had always been that way.
"Hmph."
Woratikas let out a small nasal sound,
"Are you not afraid of death?"
and asked in a low, ominous tone.
"...Hngh."
The fear reached the maid standing apart; she collapsed to her knees.
She'd been fine earlier, so the pressure must have intensified.
I felt nothing.
If anything, I felt at ease.
A truly absurd question for "Victor."
I didn't need to think what to say; the answer came effortlessly.
"My death has never once frightened me."
"Victor" had never feared his own death.
Woratikas stared at me for a long moment after my reply,
"...I see."
then bowed her head slightly, as if realizing something.
When she lifted her face again, her eyes were half-lidded as when she'd entered.
The oppressive aura enveloping the room had completely vanished.
"Forgive my rudeness. My apologies."
Leaving those words, she turned first and headed for the door.
The maid hurriedly rose and opened it.
"...I'll visit again later."
Woratikas departed after saying that.
I waited until the door closed and her markers vanished from my minimap.
"Haa..."
Then, yielding to gravity, I slumped back into the chair.