Chapter 15

Belius, the commander of Modera Fortress, had been in a very foul mood lately.

Meaning, it was extremely bad.

It was telling enough that he contemplated quitting his position as fortress commander and returning to his hometown several times a day.

Was he getting old and tired and wanting to retire now?

Did he suddenly feel the need to take care of his grandson at home (15 years old, currently serving in the military)?

That wasn't it.

Even at the age of sixty, thanks to his constitution, his health was as robust as ever.

He could handle cold dawn patrols without a cloak, and his appetite was so hearty that he had meat with every meal.

Considering that people of a similar age were living on porridge due to indigestion, it was nothing short of surprising.

That's why when his peers, classmates, and juniors were entering their coffins, Belius remained perfectly fine on active duty.

So why did the honorable active-duty general Belius suddenly become so filled with dissatisfaction that he dreamed of retiring every day?

It was because of the emperor.

“That bastard old man, to stick me here after losing just one battle, isn't that too much?”

Because the emperor had demoted him to the commander of a small fortress.

***

Throwing a resignation letter in the face of a villainous boss and storming out must be the wish and dream of every office worker in the world.

The renowned general of the empire, Belius, was no exception.

No, Belius felt like throwing not only a resignation letter but also a punch at the emperor's face.

A general who once commanded an entire corps on the western border was assigned to a pea-sized fortress in front of the Imperial Capital; a simple comparison of the number of troops under his command was ten thousand versus one thousand, a tenfold decrease.

Even for a demotion, wasn't the drop too steep?

Belius, enduring the shock of the fall with his whole body, felt extreme frustration.

The appointment to Modera Fortress was as good as ruining his honorable military career and was no different from an order to get lost from the military right away.

So his dissatisfaction grew as much as the fall.

“Damn it, it would have been nice if you got rid of me by giving me a nice-looking honorary position. Something like a seat in the Senate. Does being a mere fortress commander make sense? Or at least give me a chance to redeem myself!”

Of course, being defeated is a grave sin.

It's also true that he should be grateful it ended with just a demotion instead of losing his head.

But Belius had something to say too.

Although he was defeated after being forced to sortie due to pressure from the nobles, the battle itself was not of great importance.

Thanks to a timely retreat, the losses were not significant, and he also succeeded in driving the nomad forces beyond the border.

But what did the emperor do?

Isn't it the emperor's role to trust the border generals and block the interference of the nobles?

My god, to do nothing and then, as soon as things happened, to step forward and say, ‘You, demoted.’ Does that make any sense?

“Tell me, why did you do that to me? To me, who has worked like a dog for 40 years!”

Still, there were people like Zeta who comforted him by saying, ‘It's an important position defending the Imperial Capital.’

But that alone was not enough to stop the illusion of olive trees shimmering in Belius' vision.

‘The hot scorching sun, the humid breeze from the coast, the first love girl I met in the countryside. Ah, if only I had married her back then, I wouldn't have ended up like this....’

The reason why the dissatisfied Belius couldn't put his thoughts into action was simple.

First, because that villainous boss was the emperor,

And second, because a huge retirement pension was at stake.

Belius had no intention of enduring the insult.

People were already laughing at him, saying his final years were ruined after he lost the battle.

For someone of Belius' social standing, unpleasant rumors naturally found their way to him.

Thus, Belius, with a sorrowful heart, went before the throne and expressed his desire to retire, but what came back to the loyal subject was a threat.

─ If you retire without completing your full term, you will not receive a single penny of the pension you have accumulated so far.

For Belius, who was only looking forward to his pension, it was a bolt from the blue and the most terrifying threat imaginable.

Belius was old now.

He was at an age where he had to retire soon, so he was in desperate need of funds.

He couldn't possibly ask his children for money in his old age.

He had to give his grandson (15 years old, active duty) some pocket money too.

The money he had saved up until now?

It was all gone.

It's not that Belius was particularly upright.

Belius was also a man of this era.

Meaning, he took what he could while keeping a low profile.

The reason he had no money despite that was because he often had to spend his private funds whenever he was assigned to a new post.

The military is a place where a lot of money goes out for this and that, but none comes in.

Since he couldn't ask the central government for help every time, most of Belius' private funds were invested.

Of course, he had reported it to the emperor and was supposed to be compensated with a pension later.

Now that the emperor was trying to wipe his mouth clean, Belius couldn't help but be furious.

‘I just have to complete my term. Complete my term and leave the Imperial Capital.’

‘No. Let's just quit and farm olives. At least I won't be insulted like this by olives.’

‘No, still, I've done so much, I have to get the pension.’

‘The emperor is a son of a bitch.’

So there was no way Belius could get any work done.

It was a good thing he wasn't drinking and turning into a dog.

However, there were those who were hit by the storm as a result: Belius' subordinates.

As their superior's mood swung back and forth every day, the subordinates naturally had to walk on eggshells, and because of that, the morale of the entire fortress was in shambles.

But it seems that's about to end now.

This morning, the news that the emperor had died was delivered to Modera Fortress.

Their reaction upon hearing the news was indifferent.

“To be honest, since it's just us, His Majesty was at an age where it wouldn't have been strange for him to die at any time.”

“Well, His Majesty was ten years older than our commander. Then our commander will probably retire now, right?”

“That's something to celebrate.”

Belius had served for a whopping 40 years and was a soldier who had rarely survived to the age of sixty.

Even compared to the head of any noble family, Belius was much older.

So no matter who the next emperor was, he was bound to wield power, and at that time, Belius would be able to retire without having to walk on eggshells, was the subordinates' speculation.

Rather, the successor might feel burdened by Belius' presence and try to retire him quickly.

“So that's why His Majesty didn't retire the Commander? To mess with his successor?”

“No way. You think so? ......Maybe.”

The subordinates agreed that the emperor must have had malicious intent.

That's how much the subordinates sympathized with the demoted Belius.

It wasn't that they particularly respected Belius, but simply because as fellow members of the same industry, having their pensions cut off was the worst nightmare.

Everyone hopes to live comfortably on their pension in their later years, not to work to death.

The situations they thought could lead to a pension being cut were,

1. Bankruptcy of the Imperial Central Government

2. Annihilation of the Imperial Central Government

The commonality of these predictable situations was that they were all the result of an unrealistic and supranational disaster befalling the empire.

Meaning, no one thought such a thing would actually happen.

Then, when the emperor declared 3. Refusal to pay, the fear the soldiers felt was no joke.

─ Uwaaaah!

─ He did it! He's done it!

Although it was an order that applied only to Belius personally, it was a self-evident fact that if he could refuse to pay a pension to an individual, he could also refuse it to a group.

At that moment, it was natural that the emperor's status was replaced in the soldiers' minds with something evil that had crawled up from the depths of the sea.

The fact that it too was something unrealistic and supranational shows how feared the emperor had become.

However, the devil in the story is always defeated by the messenger of God.

─ Alleluia!

─ God is great!

That fearsome emperor, too, could not overcome the laws set by God and was called to leave the earth, so now everything would return to its natural order.

When Belius retires, everyone would get promoted one by one, and then they wouldn't have to commit the disloyalty of pretending not to hear the shout of “The emperor is a son of a bitch!” coming from the commander's quarters every morning.

Wouldn't that be a happy thing for everyone?

Because of that, no one paid proper attention to the news delivered by the messenger.

At the end of the news delivered by the messenger, there was clearly a phrase that said, ‘Given the situation, thoroughly fortify the fortress against any potential danger and prohibit the entry of suspicious persons,’ but the messenger was too busy, and the soldiers were too happy.

A day after that, a carriage entered the entrance of Modera Fortress.

They were the ones who threw cold water on the joyful atmosphere of Modera Fortress.

“Commander, sir? A guest has arrived.”

“Guest who? I'm not expecting anyone.”

“Royalty.”

“Royalty?”

Belius was puzzled.

Because he had received the obituary of the only royal he knew yesterday morning.

In the first place, there were almost no people left in the royal family.

Strangely, the people of the Akardi family were unlucky, so there was no one alive besides the emperor.

At best, the only one safe was Leon Akardi.

As his thoughts reached that point, Belius suddenly had an ominous premonition.

“Don't tell me it's that troublemaker Leon? Leon Akardi?”

“Yes, that's correct. He is currently causing a scene at the entrance, saying he wants to meet the Commander.”

“What on earth is going on? I don't even have an acquaintance with him. Did he say why he came?”

“He says he came out hunting in a carriage, got tired, and wants to rest at the fortress.”

“That's a very troublemaker-like reason. Does he think the fortress is an inn?”

“Then shall we just turn him away?”

Belius' brow furrowed.

He was still royalty, after all.

He couldn't just turn him away.

He thought for a moment and then said.

“Did Leon Akardi come alone?”

“No. Escorts accompanied him. They seem to be Snow Elves.”

“Hmm, we can't just send away someone who came to see us. Let him in. No. I'll go out myself.”

“Understood.”

***

When I entered Modera Fortress, leading Dharma Protector Ryuba and Left Dharma Protector Theo, Belius did not,

“The Emperor's Second Coming! All Demons Submit! I see the rightful successor of His Majesty the Emperor! Death to the false emperor!”

shout and prostrate himself before me.

It was a natural thing.

Although I claimed to be a guest, we had no acquaintance with each other.

Instead, Belius responded by rushing out of the fortress at once.

Theo, whose eyes were better than mine, spotted Belius first and said.

“Someone is coming out from inside the fortress. His face is tanned, and his hair is white. He's big.”

A reply came from outside the carriage to Theo's words.

“That person is Belius.”

It was Ryuba, who was disguised as a coachman.

I asked back.

“You said you didn't know him well?”

“I've seen his face a few times for work.”

“Then you are acquainted, aren't you?”

“It's hard to say you've made friends with that. You have to eat together at least once to be considered acquaintances.”

“Ugh. Never mind that, just mediate if any problems arise. By the way, is that person always that angry?”

“……I don't think so? There must be some reason.”

Belius glared at me as he approached the carriage.

It wasn't difficult to read the emotion in his eyes.

An unwelcome guest, is what it is.

“The way he's looking at me is as if he's looking at a villain.”

“Still, as an official of the Imperial Central Government, he wouldn't fail to distinguish between public and private matters. A host has a duty to entertain guests, doesn't he?”

“Does that mean Belius has a personal grudge against me?”

“Who knows. Your Highness might have caused some trouble without my knowledge.”

I was about to poke him in the side for his impertinent attitude, but Theo dodged it as smoothly as flowing water.

He was a detestable fellow who wouldn't let me hit him even once, even though he could easily take it.

He even protested back.

“No, Your Highness. You said we must be fully prepared. If I'm not in good condition and make a mistake, how can I protect Your Highness?”

“Okay, then I'll just trust Ryuba.”

“That's so mean, really.”

Anyway, hitting him would only hurt my hand.

I gave up on punishing him and waved at Belius through the window.

He was the third game character I met since coming to this world.

The problem was that they were all in Duke Isak's camp, but still, I felt a sense of familiarity somehow.

At that, Belius' pace quickened.

It seemed he had resolved to punch me.

Belius approached with the momentum of a bull charging a carriage and shouted.

“Leon Akardi, what is the meaning of this rudeness? To suddenly ask for a meeting without an appointment, and above all, we are not even acquaintances─.”

People who meet me seem to have a habit of dragging out their nagging.

I cut him off before his denunciation of my rudeness could go on any longer.

“I came to deliver a gift.”

“A gift?”

“Look to the side. You have to check before you receive it, don't you?”

Only then did Belius spot Ryuba and the unconscious Nilion and freeze.

And as if he couldn't properly understand what had happened, he muttered a single word.

“Ah.”

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