Chapter 9
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Survivor
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One hour later, the desolate air in the banquet hall had completely changed.
The sizzle of meat cooking on plates filled the air, mingled with the rich, nose-tingling aroma of roasting fat.
The dish the head chef had brought out, sweating buckets as he did, was a thick cut from the hind leg of a battle boar that had been lying dead beneath the walls just moments ago—a steak.
"Hic, huck... To think I'd be grilling monster meat..."
The head chef muttered to himself in self-loathing, but his skills were impeccable. Using the top-shelf 50-year brandy confiscated from the emperor's bedroom floorboards to kill the gamey smell, and searing the outside crisp over high heat, the presentation was damn impressive.
"Oh..."
I picked up my knife.
Slice.
The feel of the blade cutting in was worlds apart. A heavy resistance followed by tenderness—nothing like that brick-hard black bread or the sawdust porridge from before.
Pink juices beaded up and dripped from the cross-section. I cut off a hefty chunk and popped it in my mouth, chewing.
Crunch.
The crisp crust shattered, and hot juices exploded like fireworks across my tongue. The wild boar's deep, rugged meaty flavor melded perfectly with the brandy, wrapping around my taste buds.
"Mm."
A low sound of admiration slipped out unbidden. Honestly, it couldn't hold a candle to the crunch of fried chicken or the spicy kick of kimchi jjigae, but for a rush job in this barren fantasy world, it was a solid pass.
"It's good. Excellent work."
I nodded, and the head chef's hunched face lit up like the sun.
"Th-thank you! I ground crypt salt instead of regular and infused it with rosemary for aroma! And the gamey bits... with the brandy Lord Kasian procured...!"
"Nothing beats expensive booze for masking meat funk."
I swirled my empty glass and glanced across the table. Emperor Friedrich stared mournfully at the half-empty bottle.
"My... my Royal Salute... using something that precious to marinate meat."
"Quit griping. Thanks to it, you've got some energy to extend your lifeline."
I pointed at his plate.
"You too. Dig in. No drooling."
Steaming steaks sat before Friedrich and Elicia as well. They gripped their forks, hesitating. Revulsion at monster meat clashed with the instinct screaming for real protein after days without.
"You sure it won't make us sick? It's monster meat..."
"I told them to purge all the poison. And you wanna be picky about hot or cold rice right now? Eat that, build some strength, then worry about saving the empire or not."
I popped another piece in my mouth and urged them on. The emperor squeezed his eyes shut first and shoved in a bite.
Chew chew.
His eyes flew open.
"!!!"
"How is it? Good, right?"
"Th-this flavor...!"
Friedrich started hacking away furiously. Dignity be damned.
"Heavens! It melts in your mouth! Every beefsteak I've had was like leather! This richness! These juices!"
Elicia beside him took a cautious nibble, then her hand sped up.
"D-delicious...! Who knew boar could taste like this..."
Watching their cheeks puff out as they scarfed it down nearly made me chuckle. Made sense—after moldy bread, greasy meat would turn anyone's head.
"Eat up, plenty there."
I polished off my portion, scraping every scrap from the bone. Belly full, I finally felt alive.
"Friedrich."
"Y-yes? Speak!"
"While I'm out, do some homework."
"Homework?"
"Gather every scrap of intel on the rebels."
My gaze hardened.
"Troop numbers, commander profiles, their backers. Especially the demon bastards pulling strings."
"G-got it! I'll issue orders right—"
He nodded mid-chew. I smacked my lips and added,
"And honestly, looking at how you lot run things, it's a wonder rebellion didn't spark sooner. I'd have grabbed a sword ages ago if I were them. Starving peasants, do-nothing emperor, rotten nobles. Wouldn't you wanna flip it all?"
Their forks froze. Fact to the face, choking them up.
"If they hadn't hooked up with demons, I'd have joined their side. Been at the front of the revolution mob, flag in hand, coming for your head."
"L-Lord Kasian...!"
Elicia's face drained pale. My eyes told her I wasn't joking.
"So be grateful."
"......"
"They crossed the line, that's why your head's still attached."
With that, I snatched the brandy bottle from the table—the one he'd cherished.
"I'm taking this."
I gripped the bottle and left the banquet hall.
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Exiting the hall, I headed to the rear of the palace.
A collapsed wall overgrown with weeds in the garden. And in its corner, a quiet cemetery.
Hill of Eternal Rest, where the empire's past emperors and greats slumbered.
"Look at this maintenance..."
I tsked. Moss clung to tombstones, statues of heroes headless or armless. No time to tend ancestors' graves with the country crumbling, but it still soured my mood.
I stood before the grandest tomb on the highest spot.
[Alexander von Reinhardt]
[He who unified the continent and promised eternal peace rests here.]
"Eternal peace my ass..."
I squatted before the stone, pulling a cigar from my coat—the fancy one from the emperor's office.
"Hey, Alexander. You watching? Your descendants' shitshow? Said it'd last a millennium, you bastard... Prosperity my foot. One spark from going up in flames, man."
Glug glug glug.
I poured booze over the stone. Fragrant aroma spread across the mossy rock.
"Drink up. Hidden stash from some great-great-grandkid of yours."
No reply. Of course. The musclehead idiot who'd drunk with me the night before I left, yelling 'You gotta come back!', was long dust now—500 years gone.
"You said it when I left. Empire'd last forever without me. Foundation's solid, go rest in peace."
I puffed smoke onto the stone.
"But man, I slept one day and woke up 500 years later. Your descendants tanked it hard. You'd flip your lid in the afterlife, smash your coffin and climb out, you moron."
Alexander. My blood brother, the only one I'd trust my back to. Other stones lined beside his.
I shifted over.
[Hero of Light, Kyle]
The true protagonist of the game Crimson Chronicle.
Righteous, upright, sometimes frustratingly goody-two-shoes.
"Kyle. You at peace? Always were. Villains got backstories, talk it out."
Hated it as hypocrisy back then. Now? World needs guys like him to spin.
"The world you saved? Total mess now. Buy me a drink in the afterlife, bow and all."
And beside him. A stunning woman carved in pure white marble.
[Saintess, Lucia]
"......"
I gazed up silently. The sculptor caught her benevolent, holy.
"Lying through stone. When were you ever that mild? Total thug."
Shed come at me bloody with "You wrecked your body again!" and holy smacks. Freaked at corpse blasts, reining me in.
[Kasian! Life's precious! No playing with bodies!]
[Repent! Repent, you lunatic! Before my mace cracks your skull!]
Her methods physical, sure...
Her voice echoed in my ears.
"Sorry to disappoint. Just used elves as bombs on my way back."
Shed faint or mace my head with holy enchant first.
[Kasian, you can be saved. I'll pray daily. For your soul's peace.]
Her tear-held smile the night before I left flooded back.
I poured the rest at her statue's base.
"Prayers bounced off, Lucia. Dragged back to this shitheap instead of saved."
I smirked, grinding out the cigar. Chest ached heavy.
War over, they lived on. Aged, wrinkled, kids, slow fade.
Basking in the golden age we bled for.
"Fuck... I had a stake too."
Unknown emotion surged.
"You all sucked the honey dry and went happy. Why me stuck like this? Didn't even enjoy it proper."
Only me unchanged. 20s self, skipping 500 years here.
"Ha... Fucking bullshit..."
Sentiment over. I stood, dusting off.
Then. Rustle from bushes.
"Come out. How long you hiding?"
Someone emerged cautiously from a tree.
Princess Elicia.
"S-sorry. Wasn't trying to interrupt..."
Her eyes red. Caught some monologue.
"Saw it? Forget it. Embarrassing."
"It was moving."
"Moving my ass. Just moping. Hey, more importantly..."
I scanned graves again, frowning. Alexander, Lucia, Kyle. Three stones. One missing.
Our party's last. Genius mage, foul-tempered high elf Erendel.
"Where's Erendel's stone? Alexander promised hero party buried here full."
Elicia blinked wide.
"Erendel, you mean?"
"Don't tell me elf bias, dumped in woods? Or betrayed while I was gone, no stone?"
"No! Lady Erendel..."
She hesitated, then softly,
"Is still alive."
Wind seemed to stop.
"......What?"
"She's an elf. Lifespan differs. After war, grand magus guarded empire, left Tower of Silence 300 years ago over feud with humans."
Alive.
Brain blanked.
Thought all gone, but comrade from hell days still breathed here.
"Ha... haha."
Laughter burst.
"That old hag still kicking?"
"Y-yes? O-old hag? She's legendary sage..."
"Sage bullshit. Foul-mouthed granny."
Relief mixed with 'figures'. 300 years ago? Empire rotting, elves in supremacist 'dominate humans' phase.
No way shed sit for that post-demon peace-breaking crap.
Shed persuade to death. Grab emperor's collar, threaten elf queen with magic. Seclusion meant failure obvious.
Disgusted both sides, sure.
"Where now?"
"Rumors say deep northern snow mountains, secluded. Wards up, sees no one..."
"....."
I grinned.
"Perfect."
"Perfect? She hates humans..."
Dead silent, living useful. And most...
'Not alone.'
That lifted the sewer mood a bit.
"Rebel intel gathered?"
Changed topic. Mope later. Clear trash first for face to see friend.
"Yes, main force position and numbers grasped."
"Good."
Coat flap swirling dust, I stepped off.
"Gonna thrash 'em all, then pick up the hag."
"Pick up? To the snow mountains?"
"Yeah. Gotta woo her. Need that grand magus power to save empire."
And for home portal, her help likely key.
"Let's go."
Wait, Erendel. The guy you hate most coming knocking soon.