Chapter 3
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Who Deleted My Save File?
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The underground prison turned into a slaughterhouse in an instant.
“Groan...”
“S-Spare...”
I crushed the skull of the last rebel crawling on the floor, cutting off his breath.
He was the final one.
I roughly shook the bloodied cheap iron sword in the air. The stench of blood was thick, but to me, who'd breathed it like perfume for twenty years, it was a scent that actually calmed my mind and body.
“Hoo...”
I let out a sigh and turned around. The princess and the mages were huddled together, pale-faced. They'd summoned me as their savior, but now that I'd sliced up the enemies, they looked at me like I'd summoned the Demon King himself.
“Lighten up those faces. I just took care of the guys who came to kill you all. What, you think I'm gonna eat you or something?”
“Th-Thank... you...”
“Save the lip service.”
I plopped down on my blood-soaked army boots. Sitting atop a pile of corpses, but who cares. My mood was already in the gutter anyway.
“Explain. Summarize. You get three minutes.”
“Y-Yes?”
“Tell me why the Empire's in this state. When I left, we were on the verge of continental unification. And now some puny rebels have stormed the palace basement? Does that even make sense?”
The woman who'd introduced herself as the Empire's Princess Elicia clasped her trembling hands and began to speak.
“After you left, Kasian, the Empire enjoyed a golden age for about a hundred years. But peace became poison.”
“Poison?”
“The later emperors were incompetent, and the nobles grew corrupt. Your feats and those of your comrades became mere legends, and the other races, who once feared our power, began eyeing our weakened Empire again.”
Other races.
That word made my eyebrow twitch.
“Which ones?”
“It started with the elves.”
“What? Elves? Those pointy-eared bastards?”
I let out a disbelieving scoff.
“Hey, I purified their polluted forest and even brought back a world tree sapling. Their queen swore to regard the Empire as eternal benefactors.”
“That oath was broken three hundred years ago.”
“Who the hell broke it? Her successor?”
Elicia bit her lip and nodded.
“The newly ascended Elf Queen declared that short-lived humans are foolish and greedy, unworthy to rule themselves...”
“What...?”
“They claimed the continent needed purification. That noble elves must rule and guide the barbaric humans for the world to turn right. They unilaterally tore up the non-aggression pact and crossed the border.”
“Wow, what ungrateful pricks.”
I was so stunned I couldn't even speak. Backstabbing us? With that chosen-people bullshit? What are they, Nazis...?
“When I saved their forest from the Demon King's army, they thanked humans profusely. But now that they're comfy, we look barbaric? They wanna play master now?”
This is what they mean by repaying kindness with enmity. Don't raise a black-haired beast, they say—turns out pointy-eared blondes are the same.
“That's not all. The dwarves halted all weapon and mineral exports to the Empire and declared independence. They said they wouldn't touch our collapsing currency even if we begged.”
“After making a fortune with the mithril refining techniques we taught them, they cut ties?”
“And the beastkin in the north cross the border every winter to pillage.”
“...”
My unintentional killing intent made Elicia flinch.
“And lately... rebels colluding with black mages have appeared.”
My head throbbed, and I pressed my temples. My blood pressure was rising, neck stiffening—I needed hypertension meds.
“So, let's recap.”
I ticked off my fingers one by one.
“East is overrun by pointy-ears... I mean, elves, turned into forest.”
“Yes...”
“Western mines and underground are cut off by short-ass dwarves.”
“Correct.”
“North has beast bastards raiding like it's their backyard.”
Elicia bowed her head deeply.
“And inside, lunatics plotting with demons sparked a rebellion?”
“...”
Silence was affirmation.
“The Empire's the continent's official pushover now? What, are we a giving tree, handing out whatever they ask?”
“W-We have no excuse...”
“So how much territory's left? You gave away everything—what's even remaining?”
Elicia answered in a choked, tearful voice.
“The capital region... and three cities including the Academy. The rest is essentially lawless wasteland...”
“Haha...”
Laughter burst out. Capital and three cities left?
“You fucking idiots!!!”
I couldn't hold back and yelled.
“I reclaimed over half the continent from the Demon King's forces! Elf forest? Dwarf mines? We took those back and handed them over! And in five hundred years, you lost everything but the home base?”
Not just Elicia—the surviving old mages bowed their heads too. I was beyond angry; it was sheer absurdity.
This Empire I built. Sleepless nights, eating shit rations, pouring in twenty years of my youth for that happy ending.
And I left that perfect save file to my nephew, only for this punk to format the data and infect it with viruses?
“Hey. What about the demons? Don't they invade from the Demon Realm? If they had, you'd be gone already.”
“The gate to the Demon Realm hasn't opened since you sealed it. That's our one stroke of luck.”
“Luck my ass!”
I slammed the wall. Damp brick dust rained down.
“Better if demons invaded! At least that's an excuse. Force majeure! But this? You morons ruined the country through sheer incompetence!”
The princess staggered like she'd been struck by facts. No rebuttal possible—it's the truth. I stood up. No point hearing more; it'd just stress me out.
“So, why'd you summon me? Want me to grab this sinking ship by the scruff and salvage it?”
“I know it's shameless...!”
Elicia dropped to her knees on the dirt floor, heedless of her white dress getting filthy.
“The Elf army's main force is camped outside the capital. Rebels have neutralized the Imperial Guard inside, and the outskirts are surrounded. At this rate, by tonight, His Majesty, I, and the Empire vanish into history.”
She looked up at me.
“Our only savior is the legendary hero Kasian Revnant. Please... just once more, wield your sword for the Empire.”
Hero. Savior.
Sickening words. Chained to them like a slave for twenty years.
Now again?
Come back a day later, all merits reset, difficulty cranked to hell mode?
“Nah, pass.”
“P-Pardon?”
“Not doing it. Why should I? I'm retired! That's enough heroics!”
“But you have no way back!”
Oh, right. That was the issue. Dropped here against my will—returning wasn't up to me. There was a clear condition last time.
Previous mission: [Lead the Empire to victory].
So, another system condition this time? Or wait till these idiots fix the magic circle?
Can they even fix it? I turned and glared at the robed old men crumpled in the corner.
“Hey. You geezers.”
“Y-Yes? Us?”
The head mage flinched and asked back. His shaky eyes screamed guilt.
“Yeah, you. Look at this magic circle on the floor.”
I nudged the faintly glowing corner with my toe.
“Mana circuits are tangled. Basic equations don't match, array's a mess. What's the principle here? You drew it.”
“W-Well... restoring from ancient texts...”
“Restoring? Bullshit. Be straight. Is this even complete?”
Under my grilling, the mage sweated bullets, glancing at Elicia. The princess clamped her mouth shut, avoiding my eyes.
Ah, chills. That spine-tingling sense. Bad vibes.
I strode over and grabbed his collar.
“No eyeball rolling. Spill. Can I go home or not?”
“...”
“Counting to three. One.”
“Th-There were variables!”
The old man shrieked desperately.
“Insufficient absolute mana... This summoning circle is one-way by design.”
“One-way?”
“We can open the path here, but returning... beyond our current level...”
These bastards... Called me without a return ticket?
“What if I kill you all and extract mana from your hearts? Could I go then? Think I can't?”
Electricity sparked from my hand; the old man's face went ashen.
“Eek! N-No! Coordinates! The coordinates are gone!”
“Coordinates?”
“Interdimensional coordinates are single-use! Recalculating takes at least ten years... or the Mage Tower's essence!”
Can't leave right now, then. I roughly released his collar. He flopped onto his ass pathetically.
“Fuck...”
The curse slipped out. Robbed of chicken and sleep, now forced labor too.
For the second time.
Where to vent this injustice? Killing these weaklings dirties my hands, but I couldn't just sit here.
One choice left.
“Hey.”
“Y-Yes!”
“Get the key.”
“K-Key?”
“Imperial warehouse key. Need to gear up. You have it? Where my weapons are stored.”
I picked up the rebel leader's sword from the floor. The blade was chipped from decapitating him earlier.
“Ah, that key... is with Father.”
“Father?”
“Current Emperor Reinhardt the 15th.”
15th... He was around 8th when I was here, so great-great-grandkid or something...?
Feels like yesterday I drank with the old man...
By my clock, it was yesterday. Gathered with comrades before leaving, swapped stories over booze.
“Lead the way.”
“Pardon?”
“Guide me. To your dad, the Emperor, whoever ruined this Empire.”
I cracked my neck.
“Gonna see his face. Ask how he managed ancestral legacy into this mess.”
Heading from the underground prison to the Emperor's office, the once-grand palace corridors were eerily empty—not even a rat scurried through.
Famous paintings gone from walls, leaving bare patches; gold ornaments stripped, pillars skeletal.
“Hey.”
“Y-Yes! Kasian!”
Princess Elicia, trotting behind, startled and replied.
“Where's that Founding Empire painting on the wall? The one with the Emperor beheading the Orc Lord.”
“It... Great-great-grandfather sold it for funds...”
“What about the red carpet? Top-grade fur weave.”
“Th-That too, thirty years ago as collateral to nobles...”
“...”
“And the chandelier on the ceiling... magic stones extracted and sold.”
The more I heard, the higher my blood pressure. These guys didn't run a country—they ran a flea market, selling off household goods.
I gritted my teeth and quickened my pace.
Finally, the Emperor's office. Massive double doors shut tight. Two guards out front—mere boys.
Rebels hit mages and princess, skipped Emperor? Tells you how screwed he is.
“Wh-Who goes there!”
One boy aimed his spear, voice quavering. I flicked it aside with one finger.
“Step aside, kid. This is grown-up talk.”
“S-Stop or I'll strike! This is His Majesty's—Guh?!”
I ignored him and kicked the door.
BAM-!
The heavy door flew open.
Vast office. Behind a huge desk sat a middle-aged man in flashy robes.
Empire's 15th Emperor. Friedrich von Reinhardt.
Trembling in fear, he spotted Elicia behind me and relaxed.
“O-Oh! Elicia! Success! You've summoned the hero of salvation at last!”
The fat Emperor heaved himself up and waddled toward me.
“You must be the legendary Kasian Revnant! Indeed, your presence dwarfs the portraits! I am the Empire's 15th Emperor...”
He extended a hand with feigned dignity.
“Pleased to meet you. In the Empire's name, I welcome your—”
A handshake offer, but no way.
Instead, I raised my hand high, face blank.
“Wh-What are you—?”
As confusion crossed his face, I swung without hesitation.
SMACK-!!!
The impact echoed through the office.
“Gahack?!”
His body spun like a top before crashing onto the desk.
Crash! Clatter!
Papers scattered, goblets rolled. Elicia and the boy guards gaped, frozen.
“Skip the greetings.”
I shook my stinging palm and looked down at the sprawled Emperor.
“Bow your head, punk.”
Ancestor’s here—no manners.