I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game Chapter 175

"One, two, three. One, two, three."

In ti with Serenades rhythm, the two of us waltzed.

There were no mistakes anymore, and I found myself keeping a decent rhythm. Serenade grinned.

"Youre dancing quite well now, my lord, arent you?"

"..."

I quietly looked at Serenade.

Fernandezs words kept ringing in my ears.

- This ti, shes a genuine lady of noble blood. A princess of the Ariane Kingdom, as you know, the Ariane Kingdom is the largest ally in the North...

- If you accept this marriage proposal, you can return with enough elite soldiers to protect Crossroad.

My teeth ground together.

- Ill break off the engagent with Silver Winter. And et the princess of the Ariane Kingdom.

I had said this to avoid the situation at that ti.

But rationally thinking, this choice was obviously right.

A daughter on the brink of ruin from the Silver Winter rchant Guild and a princess from the powerful Northern kingdom.

The comparison itself was embarrassing. There was no need to weigh which side was more beneficial for the monster frontline.

Even if the Silver Winter rchant Guild was large, it couldnt compare to the strength of a kingdom.

Moreover, the Ariane Kingdom was the strongest military power among the Northern states.

There were so rcenaries from the Ariane Kingdom in the ga.

As befitting those from the frozen lands, each was an incredibly tough character.

With ice resistance as standard, and even a few SSR ranks.

If I strategically married the princess of the Ariane Kingdom, I could deploy these robust Northern soldiers on the monster frontline.

But was it only that? By strategically marrying as the Imperial Family wishes, my relationship with them would improve.

Then I could receive support from the central.

Imdiately this ti, they would support elite troops when I returned to Crossroad.

However-

"..."

It felt uncomfortable.

Sothing indescribable was nagging at my intuition.

Thorns.

Guardians.

Another frontline.

Fate of destruction...

My hesitation wasnt because the lady dancing and holding my hand was pitiable.

It was a gars intuition, honed through 742 strategies.

There was sothing in that route.

But what on earth was it?

Strategy isnt conducted through emotions or intuition.

It is a well-trodden path based on concrete data and evidence.

And the data and evidence clearly pointed towards the princess of the Ariane Kingdom.

"..."

I sensed Serenade looking intently at my troubled face. Suddenly regaining my senses, I continued to dance and asked,

"Serenade, whats the progress on the task I assigned earlier?"

"Ah, yes! I was just about to tell you."

I had instructed Serenade to reorganize the rchant guilds finances to enable information trading. Thats what I was asking about.

"In every city where we have a guild branch, there are information sources. Mostly they were used to understand local prices, weather, and the status of specialty products."

"Can you make use of them?"

"Yes. Since the connections are already established, all we have to do is change the type of information collected."

The information network was already completed nationwide.

"And I have systemized a code that our family used independently, and had every citys guild branch manager master it."

Serenade spoke thodically.

"Using this thod, all the branch managers can write the code, but only I and my closest staff can decode it."

The encryption thod was also prepared.

"Moreover, not to boast about our guild... each branch owns a ssenger Hawk."

"You an they use hawks to deliver mail?"

"Yes. After a rival guild deliberately killed our ssenger hawks, my angry father introduced them. Taming magic was needed, so it was incredibly expensive, but the accuracy, speed, and reliability are far superior."

This guild had more than I thought.

I nodded my head.

"Good, Serenade. Then use those information sources, the coded ssages, and the hawk friends to collect the information Ill instruct for the next three days."

I then detailed the information that the Silver Winter rchant Guild needed to collect, speaking at length and with precision.

After hearing the entire story, Serenade looked at , swallowing her dry saliva.

"Is, is this okay? This information could be quite dangerous..."

I spoke sternly.

"Its necessary for your family to survive, Serenade. You must carry it out properly."

Serenades face turned pale, but with a resolute expression, she nodded her head.

"Understood. As you command, my lord."

"Spare no expense on this. Even if the information seems unrelated, gather as much as you can. Quantity over quality, collect as much information as possible."

Thus, we continued our eting while dancing, and todays dance practice ca to an end.

Serenade and I stood facing each other, bowing.

"It was a good ti, my lord."

"I enjoyed it too, Serenade."

We exchanged greetings, now familiar to each other.

I looked at Serenades flushed face as she caught her breath and thought to myself.

Whether the Silver Winter rchant Guild would survive or perish,

It all depended entirely on the information they collected.

Do your best, Serenade.

The data and evidence had left Silver Winter.

But my intuition was still telling to stand by Serenades side.

I hoped my intuition was right. But if the data and evidence were too strong, I might have to make a cruel choice for the sake of strategy.

***

As the Victory Celebration Festival drew near, the Imperial Capital beca increasingly busy and chaotic.

In every alley of the city, lanterns wrapped in colorful cloth were hung, and flags of many nations were displayed.

The design of the international flags was quite deliberate, with the Empires flag alongside the flags of its allied nations, particularly emphasizing those of the Northern Front allies.

Clich but effective.

Ti flew, and suddenly it was the day before the party.

Heeding Albertos tearful plea to stay quietly in the palace, I donned an invisible cloak and stepped outside.

Its too late to listen to you now, Alberto. The festival eve, what a ss.

After safely escaping the palace, I removed the cloak and put it in my inventory.

I whistled as I surveyed the bustling city streets, filled with vendors, stalls, food, entertainnt, and throngs of excited people.

It would be fun to bring my party mbers here.

As I walked through the noisy streets, I briefly imagined bringing my party mbers here.

Evangeline would lead the way, hopping around, promising to be the guide since she had recently graduated from here, and then fall flat on her face due to her [Error-Prone] trait.

Damien would scout around with wide eyes, pointing out Theyre selling chicken skewers there! or They sell fried bread there! with his sharp eyes.

Junior might hover around shops selling fireworks or magic balloons, muttering sothing like, I should have tried running a stall, too.

Lucas would probably stick right behind , sternly protecting , and feeding anything I picked to eat.

As I wandered the festival streets imagining the antics of my main party mbers, soone tapped on the shoulder. Huh?

I turned to find Elize, still in her fearso face, maids attire, and carrying that ominous urn.

"Youre here, Your Highness."

I clicked my tongue.

"Why dont you lighten up a bit for the festival, Elize?"

"..."

"At least put down that coffin while you walk around."

Whats an coffin doing at a festival? People around are scared of it. Besides, its contents are truly frightening.

Ignoring my words, Elize grumbled in her characteristic gloomy voice.

"My master commanded . She said His Highness the Prince would surely roam the city alone, so I must escort you."

"So you were waiting for ?"

"I was standing by near the palace, and I felt an invisible presence. I followed it and found it was Your Highness."

Had she sensed and followed through the cloak that even level 3 detection magic couldnt catch?

Truly an SSR-ranked snif... I an, she certainly has good detection abilities. (TL Note: He was going to say Sniffing Dog)

"Right now, many foreigners have arrived in the Imperial Capital. Though the central comrcial army has heightened its security, the excitent of the festival, coupled with the usual circumstances, has increased the likelihood of disturbances."

Elizes piercing blue eyes sharply scanned the surroundings.

"I will escort you. Lets move to safer places."

"Arent you the most dangerous of all?"

That was quite a statent coming from the one who had once aid at my throat.

"...At this mont, I have no intention of harming you, Your Highness."

Elize glanced at briefly.

"Youve changed, Your Highness... and, most importantly, I am not a shaless person. I have no intention of stalking the one to whom I owe my life."

"Then Im relieved."

I shrugged my shoulders and began to walk forward. Elize quickly followed behind .

"So, where are we headed?"

"To your master."

Where else would I go? I must check on the dance the night before the party.

"Why, do you dislike it?"

I asked, and Elize responded brusquely.

"Honestly, I do not like it, but since she enjoys it. Ive also heard that I should bring you to the lady as soon as possible."

"You are not being honest, I see."

So escort this is. She could have just sent a ssage saying, Elize is coming to et you, so co to .

"...Is everything okay at the rchant guild?"

As I waded through the bustling street toward the dock, I suddenly asked Elize.

"Is there no pressure from the Imperial Family, or covert operations from the secret group... nothing unusual?"

"Nothing."

Elize, who answered coldly, looked at a bit surprised.

"Do you expect sothing to happen soon?"

"Who knows? You never know how things will turn out in this world."

So far, the Imperial Family hasnt touched the Silver Winter rchant Guild.

Perhaps theyve judged that its better not to cause unnecessary turmoil with such an essential event ahead.

Or maybe theyre just too busy to care.

There were no edicts from the Margrave, no movents to seize the guild.

Theres still a chance.

If tomorrows party goes well...

The Silver Winter rchant Guild still has a way to survive. Even if I join hands with Serenade and Ariane Kingdom...

"Huh?"

Thats when it happened.

Elize began to sniff around, detecting a sll. Whats up with that dog nose?

"I sll sothing burning sowhere..."

"Really? Isnt that just the sll of at grilling from the left stand?"

"No, this is..."

Elizes blue eyes widened.

"Its the sll of a fire."

A foreboding sensation ran down my spine.

Without a word, Elize and I made eye contact and started running south through the crowd.

We could see the thick smoke rising in the southern sky.

Pushing past screaming, fleeing people to reach the dock, we were t with enormous flas.

The building engulfed in fire, burning intensely, was the very building where I had been practicing my social dance just yesterday.

It was the building of the Silver Winter rchant Guild.

"...Milady."

Elize let out an unprecedented scream of terror and dashed toward the burning building.

"Lady Serenade!"

Damn it all.

I hurriedly chased after her.