Chapter 70 Tyrant
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
In the west of Babellion, in a certain underground city called “Fuckland.”
”Bozero Delica.”
”Ha!”
Three days after the clash with Babellion at Mount Carnad, Crimson Jack, the master of Fuckland, called Bozero Delica and immediately got to the point.
”I’m gonna be straight with you. Get your crew and head to Babellion right away. From now on, you and your sister will be under Charles’ care.”
That was the conclusion Crimson Jack had come to over the past 3 days.
”Uh, what!?”
Bozero Delica’s eyes went wide. For her, it felt like being suddenly fired, so it was no surprise she was shocked. It was totally out of the blue, but Crimson Jack continued without a care.
”I thought about it a lot. I’m not really that hung up on defeating the enemy. So, I figured your revenge would be easier to achieve with Babellion.”
”But, no, wait──.”
”Is that a problem?”
Her doll-like eyes narrowed slightly. Seeing this, Bozero Delica straightened up and raised her voice.
”If it’s an order, I’ll follow it. But I still haven’t repaid my debt.”
”Have you really done that much?”
”You took us in when we had nowhere to go, wandering around looking for our unknown enemies… I’ve never forgotten that kindness, not once.”
Bozero Delica and her subordinates, who had lost everything, vowed revenge. But they needed a base to do anything. When they were so worn out they even thought about ending it all, Fuckland took them in.
Bozero Delica had never forgotten that kindness.
”I see, that makes sense. Being homeless is tough. It’s like being a ronin in the original sense… I flunked out of college too, so I get how hard it is to be stuck in limbo.”
Understanding Bozero Delica’s reluctance, Crimson Jack nodded with a laugh.
”My country is pretty chill for undead folks. I mean, it’s like there’s only undead here…”
Crimson Jack paused, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, his expression was sharp, giving off a cold vibe like a finely crafted sword. He had the tip of it pointed right at Bozero Delica’s neck.
”So, can you kill Charles for me? He’s your Aneki’s master, but if you owe me a favor, you’ll do it, right?”
Crimson Jack, who usually joked around and laughed, now had the look of a ruthless ruler. It felt like an invisible giant hand was gripping her, and her heart, which had never moved since it was created, was pounding like crazy.
”That is… no… if ordered, I could do it right now.”
”Really?”
”Yes, I can.”
”Are you sure?”
”Absolutely.”
”Can you kill him?”
”Y-yes.”
Bozero Delica could only respond like that. She was so tense that words wouldn’t come out. She gulped, but her dry mouth had not a drop of saliva────.
”Just kidding, though.”
But in the next moment, Crimson Jack’s expression changed back to his usual self.
”…Huh?”
”Surprised? You were surprised, right? Haha!”
Crimson Jack laughed heartily, slapping hands with Zombina behind him, saying “Gotcha!” But Bozero Delica couldn’t laugh at all.
It wasn’t because she fell for a silly joke. She understood that everything from a few minutes ago was definitely not a lie.
Bozero Delica didn’t know much about Crimson Jack. He had worn the mask of a clown on stage, never showing his true face. But in that moment, what she had sensed turned into certainty. Crimson Jack was a terrifying man. A man who could make cold decisions with a smile.
”Anyway, jokes aside, I need you to do me a few favors.”
”Yes, sir!”
Bozero Delica didn’t know much about Crimson Jack. But the favor she owed was a fact that existed, and that couldn’t be changed or ignored, no matter what happened.
”Here’s a letter for Charles. I need you to deliver this first.”
”Excuse me.”
Crimson Jack hands over the letter, and she receive it respectfully with both hands.
”From now on, I want you to run messages between us and Babellion.”
”Yes, sir.”
”And one more thing.”
Once again, Crimson Jack’s cold gaze pierces through Bozero Delica.
”I definitely want you to get deep into Charles’s good graces.”
”Are you saying I should become his trusted aide?”
”Close, but not quite there.”
”…What do you mean?”
”You’re such a naive one. I’m saying you should become Charles’s lover.”
”Wha──? That’s──.”
Crimson Jack’s gaze crawls over Bozero Delica’s body.
”You’re beautiful, right? You’re a bit too skinny for my taste, but use that looks and body to win over Charles’s heart.”
If taken literally, it means to offer her body. If it weren’t for what happened just a few minutes ago, Bozero Delica would have accepted it right away, regardless of her feelings about the command.
But after being told to kill, the situation changes.
”…Are you saying I should stab him in the back?”
”No, no. That’s just your misunderstanding.”
Crimson Jack shakes his head with a puzzled expression. But she already know that this expression is just a mask.
”You are a gift from me to Charles. He’ll gain a level 200 subordinate, and the ‘Night Bats’ will become complete. But that’s still a bit lacking.”
Crimson Jack points at Bozero Delica.
”So, I need you to work hard. Serve at Charles’s side. During the day, wield a sword, and at night, offer your body. That way, you’ll capture Charles’s heart.”
That mission was way too harsh for Bozero Delica. Using her body to seduce wasn’t a big deal. She understood that assassinating Charles would create a second self, and that second self was also her beloved sister.
”If you do this, it’ll keep my position safe. And you guys will secure your place too. That’s all there is to it, nothing more.”
”Understood…”
Bozero Delica bowed deeply. As she stared at the floor, guilt about her debt to Crimson Jack twisted her lips.
”Thank you for everything.”
Then Bozero Delica left the room, looking like she was walking to the gallows.
* * *
Crimson Jack silently stared at the door Bozero Delica had just exited for a while.
”Was that okay?”
The silence was broken by Zombina’s question. Crimson Jack glanced at her and snorted.
”I don’t need a pawn that’s not grounded. Someone obsessed with revenge loses their cool at crucial moments. I get the feeling, though.”
”But she did listen to you.”
”That’s true, but as soon as she thought she had a lead, she bolted straight for the mountains, right?”
”Well, yeah, that’s true.”
To Crimson Jack, Bozero Delica was just a guest… nothing more. Just like Bozero Delica saw it, Crimson Jack didn’t expect anything more from her.
”I’m getting frustrated that the enemy can’t be found. When we do find them, I’m gonna blow up, that’s the vibe I’m getting.”
Bozero Delica was only thinking about revenge. Being in Fuckland was solely for that purpose, and feeling grateful was just because it helped her get her revenge.
Crimson Jack wasn’t actively searching for enemies. Looking around meant his crew would be out and about, which was something he was trying to avoid.
However, Bozero Delica and the others were moving around looking for enemies, and as a result, the opposing forces caught wind of Fuckland’s presence. Because of that, they didn’t feel too hostile, but they didn’t have great feelings about it either.
”So, you pushed it onto Babellion? Before it blew up?”
”That’s part of it.”
What Crimson Jack needed were controllable pieces. A dog that runs when told to go and sits when told to stop. The truth is, a rabid dog that can’t be chained and runs off endlessly is unnecessary.
”And those guys need to eat, right? My citizens are mostly zombies, skeletons, and ghosts that don’t eat. The food situation doesn’t match up, and I don’t want to think about extra stuff.”
Crimson Jack built the dungeon because he wanted his own castle. As a self-proclaimed strongest and most dangerous player killer, Crimson Jack had many enemies. So, he thought, if he had a dungeon where he could wait as the final boss, wouldn’t a lot of motivated challengers come to him? That was the start of it all.
But when it came to creating the dungeon, he didn’t want to deal with the hassle of food situations and other details, so he made it all undead. After APOCALYPSE SAGA faded, he fiddled with monsters and dungeon structures for fun, but he kept it as an undead dungeon.
Despite how it all turned out, Crimson Jack surprisingly liked the undead. They looked scary, but their personalities were surprisingly cheerful. It wasn’t a post-apocalyptic world like a zombie-infested ruin city. Maybe because they existed outside the concepts of life, death, and fear, they sang, danced, and seemed to enjoy life.
And they served Crimson Jack without any ulterior motives. That kind of world was unexpectedly comfortable. Women might look good but could be rotten or not real, so there was room for improvement there.
”So, there’s really no deeper meaning to it?”
”Who knows? They’re just guests. Binding them is out of gratitude, not loyalty.”
”Gratitude can be repaid, but loyalty is absolute and eternal, huh?”
”That’s how it is.”
When it comes to realistic talk, loyalty isn’t absolute.
”I’m just saying, it’s not about getting rid of her. It’s just about sending her where she’s needed.”
If Bozero Delica had sworn loyalty to Crimson Jack from the start, things might have been different.
But her master is still Fluffy Cream. Crimson Jack doesn’t want a 2-timer serving 2 masters.
He could have forced her to obey, but after weighing the pros and cons, he decided to keep her as a guest.
”I accepted because I heard there are enemies actively attacking players, but honestly, I’m not really in the mood to go out there right now.”
”I thought since it’s the king, you’d be all like ‘Let’s kill everything, woohoo!’.”
”I’m not a serial killer; I’m a player killer. I’m not into just killing weaklings. I get my kicks from intense battles. Well, I don’t mind hunting weaklings, though.”
Crimson Jack shrugs dramatically.
”Well, finding out there were enemies early on was a big deal. I’ve got to thank Bozero Delica and the others for that.”
”If the king was going wild, we might have been spotted by the enemies, just like Babellion.”
”But we’ve been spotted by the enemies too. We know the local level now, so it might be time to get serious.”
And he’s getting tired of not being with a living woman, Crimson Jack joked, earning a side-eye from Zombina. After a sigh, she said,
”So, you sent Bozero Delica to Babellion for that reason? To take over the world while she’s in bed with someone?”
”I’m just joking. I really don’t have any ulterior motives, at least not right now.”
Crimson Jack laughed and denied it, and Zombina figured it was pointless to push further, so she nodded and said, “Let’s just go with that.”
”But aren’t there more ways to do this? And can Bozero Delica really work as a spy like that…?”
Zombina remembers Bozero Delica’s expression just before. She nodded in front of Crimson Jack, feeling pressured, but it seemed like she was really unsure inside. At least, that’s how it looked to Zombina.
Crimson Jack, still laughing, brushed off her worries.
”You’re such an idiot. If it’s too obvious, it won’t work. They’ll see us as enemies, right? It’s best to act like you’re a little happy about it, even if you don’t really want to… just a bit of forced goodwill.”
With a smirk, Crimson Jack probably had Charles’s troubled face in his mind.
”Anyway, if we fight Babellion, we’re almost guaranteed to lose. But if it’s one-on-one with Charles, I’m totally confident I’d win! But he can just hide in the deepest part of the tower. I can’t take that tower down by myself.”
”What are you being so negative for?”
”Just being realistic. Charging straight into that tower is reckless.”
Crimson Jack points at Zombina’s forehead.
”That’s why I want to get along with Charles. I’m being completely honest here. But──.”
He pauses for about ten seconds, thinking.
”…but I don’t want to be completely looked down on, so I’m not going to be a doormat. I want to play it smart, like being friendly with someone who’s not really useful but still brings benefits. You get it?”
”Not really, no.”
”…You really are dumb, huh? It’s totally different, like night and day. Did you drop your brain somewhere? Want me to check?”
Zombina, with her head grabbed, shakes her body and protests.
”But Bozero Delica and the others were a pretty big force, right? Losing them is a big hit, isn’t it? If Babellion is on our side, it’s fine if they get stronger, but if we lose first, that’s a whole different story.”
”Well… that’s true. But if it comes to that, I’ll just bail. I’m not dying with the castle as my pillow.”
Crimson Jack’s biggest asset is himself. Dungeons are there to boost his skills and make his role-playing richer. So, as long as he’s alive, he doesn’t care much about the dungeon.
That’s why, when push comes to shove, he’ll ditch the dungeon and run. Of course, Fuckland is his castle. It’s totally different having a place where he can do whatever he wants, so he plans to fight to protect it in case of an emergency.
But the dungeon is just gear to him, and if things get really bad, he can escape on his own. Because what he loves most, what he’s put the most effort into, is himself (Crimson Jack).
On the other hand, Charles is different from Crimson Jack.
For him, the most important thing is the dungeon. His masterpiece is the dungeon called “Saint Tower Babellion.” So, his biggest asset is the dungeon, and he (Charles) is just one piece of the dungeon as the dungeon master.
At the same time, he feels a strong responsibility to protect the subordinates (memories) he received from his former companions. That’s the chain that binds him to the dungeon.
So, Charles doesn’t have the option to abandon the dungeon and run away alone. He probably doesn’t even think about it, not even a little.
”That’s why Charles and I are different. There’s no right or wrong here, though.”
As Crimson Jack crossed his legs, his smooth skin peeked out from his kimono.
”Bozero Delica is an offensive piece. Cautious Charles probably doesn’t want to turn his defensive pieces into offensive ones, so he must be happy to get an offensive piece that can move freely.”
Especially, Bozero Delica was created to perform well day and night, being one of the best by NearHero. If anything, being specialized in close combat is a slight downside, but having a clear strength makes it an easy piece to use.
”And if he’s just happy about it, then that’s that?”
”That’s right.”
Crimson Jack nodded and glanced behind him,
”Kamekichi.”
Right after Crimson Jack called out a name, a black shadow suddenly appeared from the corner of the room. The shadow took the form of a grim reaper, dressed in black and holding a large scythe, kneeling right there.
”It’s a spy’s job. Send some people into Babellion’s territory and gather intel.”
”If you could be specific about what you mean by ‘intel’…”
A voice so cold it felt like it was coming from the depths of the underworld, freezing you to the core.
”Weaknesses, for one. Also, any future concerns.”
The grim reaper, known as Kamekichi, was the leader of the dark side of Fuckland.
”They just annexed a country, right? There must be some rebels. Not everyone is gonna be happy being a vassal.”
”Are you planning to incite a rebellion after gathering intel?”
”Hey, don’t get it twisted. This is just a backup plan, okay?”
It was the same old denial, and Crimson Jack’s eyes were still completely serious.
”How can I laugh and be friendly with someone who’s terrifying? I need to have one or 2 of their weaknesses as trump cards to have an equal relationship.”
”Understood. I’ll just keep a list.”
”Well, they’ll probably investigate any shady characters on their end too, so it might not have much effect.”
But weaknesses aren’t just about rebels. And of course, you won’t know anything unless you investigate.
”Of course, keep looking for enemies as well.”
”Yes, sir.”
”If we find them first, we can cash in on that, king.”
”Anyone who picks that option first has no sense.”
”Ouch!”
Zombina got a little tap on the head.
”We’re not just sniffing around like dogs looking for enemies to report back to our master. Why should we be used by Babellion?”
Crimson Jack’s thoughts were consistent. He hated standing in someone else’s shadow. At the very least, he absolutely didn’t want to take a step back for free. That was because he had absolute pride in himself (Crimson Jack), his greatest masterpiece.
”A trump card is effective because you use it wisely. If you find it and go ‘Woohoo!’ and use it right away, it’s just a decent move.”
”Just a decent move, huh…”
”Tell them where the enemy is. Babellion will crush them with its immense power. But that might not necessarily work in our favor, you know?”
”So, is that why you brought out Bozero Delica? Because her sister and former colleagues are with Babellion?”
”That’s one reason.”
”One reason, one reason… isn’t that all there is?”
”There can’t be just one reason. I thought it through, you know? You’re really just sucking everything in like a baby, aren’t you?”
”Hey, if you pull me again, I’m gonna snap!”
Crimson Jack pulled Zombina close, squeezing her chest with a mischievous grin,
”Now, how will Charles move?”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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