A Veteran in a Dead Game - Chapter 190



Only Krnovel

190. Post-processing (6)

On the way back from the conversation with the dragon.

“Commander.”

A woman with blue hair appeared in front of Kyle.

“ray.”

It was Ray, the leader of the Obsidian Raiders.

“I’ve been waiting.”

Ray straightened his body and saluted in the Imperial manner. However, his attitude was not serious. His face was a grin.

“It looks like something good happened.”

“No, well. I was complimented.”

Ray relaxed his posture and relaxed.

“I was able to enter the ark! My merits were recognized.”

Ray looked really happy as he said this.

Indeed, Rayda had held in awe and respect the Regeneration Society. Therefore, it was only natural that he would be encouraged by the fact that he might be able to gain the qualification to enter the ark.

‘The Ark’s closure is nearing its end. It seems they are slowly starting to wrap things up outside.’

Kyle, who knew the circumstances of the regeneration meeting, thought this.

“So, why did you come to me?”

Ray chuckled, straightened up again, and lowered his voice.

“The commander is coming, but do you have to go without an attendant? I will escort him.”

“Well, I think using looters as attendants would actually decrease your authority.”

Ray laughed heartily, “Khehehe.”

“Well, just kidding. I just thought now would be the last time I’d have time. I wanted to say thank you.”

“What a surprise. Did I do something?”

Ray shrugged.

“Thanks to you taking care of Part Shet, I was able to enter the ark alive. Of course, you didn’t do it for me… but anyway, it’s true that I benefited.”

I thought that something must have happened since I came all the way here, but the reason was simpler than I thought.

Or perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. With most of his business in the Empire now over, he couldn’t afford to have more headaches.

“Anyway, since we’ve already met, I’ll give you directions.”

“It looks like the meeting place has been decided.”

Naturally, the legion commander had a lot to do.

The process of rebuilding a shattered empire, reorganizing the legions, and accepting the influx of refugees was… a task that truly tested the administrative capabilities of any organization to the limit.

But Kyle had already negotiated with Mirad Jirel, and had long since passed on the duties and responsibilities of a commander to others. Mirad Jirel would often cry for help, but Kyle simply ignored him.

Wasn’t that the condition that led to his appointment as the commander of the legion from the beginning? There was no need to hesitate.

However, that doesn’t mean I can just sit back and do nothing, like this incident for example.

A meeting of the highest ranking members of the Legion. They wanted to meet with the new Legion Commander, Kyle.

“The meeting will take place in the 7th Military District.”

Originally, the Legion Council was supposed to be held in the headquarters within the Imperial Palace. However, the Imperial Palace had already been completely crushed by the steel serpent created by Part Shet, a giant body weighing hundreds of thousands of tons.

The headquarters building was also stuck to the ground like a piece of gum, so a temporary meeting place had to be set up.

So, it seems that the 7th Military District was chosen as the location for the meeting.

“There is a temple in the 7th Military District.”

As they moved, Ray added further explanation.

“The Legion oppressed the faith, but they recognized the usefulness of faith skills. So they made the soldiers use the shrines from time to time. They used the shrines as a device for drawing skills.”

Even the lowest grade skills will help you increase your power if you just get them. Even a 9th grade passive skill will give you abilities equivalent to the strength of a warrior who has trained for a lifetime, so its usefulness goes without saying.

“Why would you use such a temple as a meeting place? I can sense your intentions.”

“That’s right. Now, it’s a gesture to stop persecuting the faith and show a conciliatory attitude. Oh, you said you weren’t interested in imperial affairs?”

“Rather than saying I’m not interested, I think it’s more accurate to say it’s a low priority.”

Despite being directly across the Empire, no one recognized Kyle, the nominal commander. He had never appeared in an official capacity, so the common people and soldiers did not even know his face.

However, not everyone recognized Kyle.

“omg!”

A woman walking among the soldiers of the legion who was busy with construction work was startled when she saw Kyle.

“Is it Laco Girel?”

A surprisingly timid and somewhat lacking character for a member of the Jirel family.

She wasn’t doing construction work like the other soldiers. Instead, for some reason, she was encouraging the soldiers who were doing construction work.

“Oh, you didn’t attend the awards ceremony, so you didn’t know. That guy received a pretty high-level medal. He was even promoted two levels.”

“That’s groundbreaking.”

“The expeditionary force that guy brought played a pretty big role. Thanks to that expeditionary force being able to withstand Part Shet’s bombing quite well, the damage was reduced considerably.”

Mirad Jirel dispatched Rako Jirel to the expeditionary force to somehow resolve the mess that Gruto had made.

But there, it seems that Laco Girel did his job surprisingly well.

As a result, the expeditionary force was able to arrive at the Empire’s mainland on time, and it is said that it fulfilled its role by withstanding some of the legion commander’s attacks.

“So, why is Raco Girel doing that now?”

“She’s a kind of face madam. She has a good voice and a cute face, so she’s popular. She comes from a prestigious family, but she’s not a well-known person. Above all, she has a delicate personality, so it’s hard to think of anyone else.”

“I guess that means he’s a good character to put forward as a hero.”

A minor incident that happened to capture the hidden Raco Girel served as an opportunity for the Empire to limit the damage.

It also became a turning point in Laco Girel’s life.

“Actually, Raco isn’t a particularly unique case. There were more than a few legion officers who died this time, right? There are quite a few people who were promoted to fill those positions.”

“It won’t work out just by filling up the officer corps.”

“What about the regular soldiers? They said they’ll fill them with the refugees who’ll come pouring in.”

As Ray said, the Legion was already preparing to accept outside personnel.

Kyle suspects that the reorganized Legion will lose much of its former color, becoming a bit more flexible, rather than the somewhat closed and rigid past.

This was an inevitable change. If you don’t bend, you will break. The Empire and the Legion were in such dire straits.

How such an empire should be run will depend on how competent the upper echelons of the legion are.

Well, either way, it has nothing to do with Kyle.

“I’m done here. Come on in.”

Leaving Laco Jirel behind for a moment, the two of them soon reached the front of the 7th Military District.

As the legionnaire guarding the entrance recognized Kyle and saluted in shock, Ray waved his hand.

“You’re going to the ark too, right? If you plan on staying there for a long time, we might meet again. I think I’ll go to the ark too after I sort things out here.”

“Well, I plan to leave as soon as I finish my business.”

“You’re definitely getting special treatment. I was told that once you enter the ark, you can never leave.”

Even as he said that, Ray didn’t seem particularly dissatisfied. He probably thought it was a natural measure.

“Come to think of it.”

Before moving forward, Kyle pulled out a dagger from his gauntlet. It was an instant-death rune dagger.

“Oh, that. Are you going to return it?”

“Because it’s borrowed.”

“You’re more honest than I thought. Take it. It’s something you won’t be using anymore once you get to the ark anyway.”

That meant there was no need to get it back. Kyle didn’t refuse.

“I will use it well.”

“Go quickly. The higher-ups in the legion will all be waiting for you to come.”

The meeting room was located between the twenty-seven pillars that made up the temple. Only one seat at the head of the T-shaped table was empty.

‘There are four three-star generals. Two two-star generals. And Mirad Jirel and Lardin.’

Excluding Kyle, there were eight in total.

Most of them were already familiar faces. Two were named characters I had seen in the game, and one was someone I had worked with when I attacked Legion Commander Parth Shet.

‘I think it was called Way Pian…’

Perhaps because they had a sense of kinship from having overcome difficult times together, Way Pien was very kind to Kyle. He even went to visit Kyle, who was still recovering, to personally express his gratitude and give him a gift.

“…….”

“…….”

Even if we consider Mirad Jirel and Lardin as exceptions, the rest of the generals can also be considered capable. If they were outside the Empire, they would have been able to rule a settlement of any size on their own.

They sat together and focused their attention on Kyle, who had just arrived.

The gaze was subtle.

Some people showed a little wariness, others showed curiosity.

There is a psychological pressure that weighs on people when they are in the presence of skilled users. It’s like standing in front of a beast.

Of course, Kyle wasn’t pressed by it. Instead, he leisurely looked around them slowly.

‘Surprisingly, there is no feeling of hostility.’

I thought there might be a strong backlash against Kyle, who suddenly took over as the commander of the legion, but the reaction was different from what I expected.

“Are you here?”

As Mirad Jirel stood up, all the other generals also stood up.

In private, Mirad Jirel did not bother to show Kyle any courtesy. But this was a formal setting, and Mirad Jirel was at least somewhat courteous to a legion commander.

In fact, this act doesn’t mean much, because everyone here knows about the deal between Kyle and Mirad Jirel.

It was a kind of formality.

Even if he is just a commander in name, it is an act of acknowledging that he is at the top of the legion.

“Sit down.”

Kyle took his seat, receiving a light salute from Mirad Jirel and the other generals.

“Okay, then let’s begin.

Lardin stepped forward and spoke. There had been some sort of deal between the Legion and the Regeneration Council regarding the future operation of the Empire, and Lardin had also participated in this meeting as a sort of spectator.

“So, you are the new commander.”

But as soon as I started, a cold expression came out. It was a woman whose entire body, except her eyes, was wrapped in bandages.

“Well, since we’ve seen each other’s faces, can’t we just end the meeting right now? Our corps commander doesn’t know anything about the Empire anyway.”

“Chief of Information Headquarters.”

Mirad Jirel tried to stop the Information Headquarters Chief’s ominous words.

“Listen.”

Kyle instead stopped Mirad Jirel.

To be honest, it’s probably easiest to just “figure it out” here and leave it at that. Or leave everything to Mirad Jirel.

But Kyle didn’t do that.

‘Because the Empire could be a pivotal force in the war against the Calamities.’

The same was true of the picture drawn by Mirad Jirel. They were going to accept outside manpower and form a kind of alliance centered around the Legion.

If a few words can help stabilize the Empire and the Legion even a little bit, it’s good for Kyle.

‘Anyway, it was also a deal to take on the role of legion commander.’

Well then, maybe you could show an appropriate attitude.

“Huh. Still, you seem to be a man of integrity. Since you didn’t do anything, I thought you were a plaything of our vanguard commander. Or…”

The information headquarters chief’s eyes turned cold.

“Just a strong man.”

Even though he frowned, Mirad Jirel didn’t say anything. Kyle had said he would listen, so it would be strange if Mirad Jirel intervened here.

“Do you know the state of the Empire’s front? The population? The extent of the damage inflicted by the previous legion commander?”

“…….”

“Do you know what the criteria are for dividing the empire’s districts? Why were the slums left unattended? And what about the work of each division and department?”

As the information chief leaned forward, the rank insignia clung to the bandages wrapped around her body.

“I’m not specifically trying to kick you out, but that’s all. Don’t try to wear clothes that suit you. Leave the imperial affairs to us and leave quietly.”

Kyle stared blankly at the information chief.

‘I think it was called Sichia Lasha.’

Why is the Chief of Information, Sichia Lasha, saying this to Kyle? She has already accepted Kyle as the Legion Commander, and she also knows that Kyle will be leaving soon.

‘You’re on guard.’

Kyle has half given up his responsibilities and rights as a commander. He is even about to leave.

But, a legion commander is a legion commander anyway. That means that if he puts his mind to it, he can exert great influence in this empire.

Just going out there right now and making a speech saying, “I’m the new commander who killed Part Shet,” would create a huge stir.

That’s why Sichia Rasha wanted to leave Kyle. If she wanted to, Kyle was the kind of person who could ruin the empire today.

Looking at the other elders who were also standing still, it seems they were also curious.

What he can do, what he wants. How close he is to Mirad Jirel, or the Regeneration Society. What kind of character does Kyle have?

Or, wouldn’t you like to know if you can manipulate them as you wish?

‘The factional strife may not have ended yet.’

Didn’t Mirad Jirel say it before? The Legion was on the verge of being torn apart into several warlords at any moment.

The Rasha family, to which Sichia Rasha belongs, also has considerable influence. The reason Sichia spoke to Kyle in such a provocative manner is probably to test Kyle’s intentions.

If Kyle is truly a fool who only listens to Mirad Jirel, shouldn’t the other families and factions, including the Rasha family, also change their attitudes?

“…….”

Kyle found it annoying. The fighting between people was just tiring.

“Hey. Say something-”

“I think you’re mistaken.”

Kyle didn’t want to go through all the trouble of persuading her. He didn’t want to waste his energy on something that was too bothersome.

“It’s not me who has to prove my worth. It’s you guys.”

“what…”

“I am the commander. Not you.”

How dare the inferiors judge me? That was what it meant.

“Even so, it’s only half-assed and has no command or personnel authority.”

“You’re talking nonsense. Authority doesn’t come from your permission.”

Authority is a category of things that allow you to perform certain actions or tasks.

On Earth, it might mean a qualification that comes from social commitment or political power, but here in Piltos, where individuals can transcend groups, its meaning can be a little different.

The most primitive power is none other than force.

“If you have any complaints.”

Kyle pushed himself off the back of the chair and leaned forward.

“Prove to me yourself that you are not worthy of being a commander.”

The ruler of the empire must be the sharpest sword in the legions. If you have any complaints about that, prove it with force.

In short, the saying was, if you are going to get hurt, then get at it.

It was simply ignorant, but it was also a remark that touched on the very foundation of the position of a commander. It was also the simplest way to resolve the situation.

“…….”

At this, Shichia Rasha’s expression hardened slightly.

At the same time, the atmosphere in the room froze. A palpable tension began to rise in the air where only a sense of caution had been floating.

Surprisingly, the balance of the atmosphere was clearly tilted toward Kyle.

Four-star general Mirad Jirel and Regeneration member Lardin are already supporting Kyle. Also, Wei Pien, who joined in the Legion suppression, will also join Kyle.

The other generals who were observing the situation were also looking at Sichia, not Kyle. It was a silent pressure on Sichia to respond to the corps commander’s words.

“Ugh.”

In that situation, the corners of Sichia’s mouth twitched.

“Hahahahahahaha!”

I burst out laughing.

“This is very rude!”

Sichia was smiling as if she was genuinely delighted. She even stood up from her seat and gave Kyle a pointed salute.

“I see, you are not the type of person who would be someone’s puppet. Please forgive my rudeness. I really hate seeing the empire I devoted my entire life to, and my late father’s final years, falling into ruin.”

“Well, I don’t think it’s something that can be resolved through words.”

“ha ha ha!”

Despite Kyle’s somewhat sharp reaction, Sichia still smiled. She thought she had wrapped up the situation in a pleasant way.

“Haha, hahaha… ha… ahem. That, Commander. It’s scary when you stay still.”

“What are you doing? Without attacking.”

“Ah. I, I would like to formally apologize. I was presumptuous-”

Kyle chuckled.

“You take after your father.”

“yes?”

At Kyle’s sudden words, Sichia blinked.

Kyle leaned back comfortably against the back of the chair and continued talking, regardless of whether Sichia was shocked or not.

“Didn’t your father, Draen Rasha, tell you about the sacred item, Solomon’s Key? How he obtained it.”

“…….”

“Bottomless. I was with him in that dungeon.”

It was a lie. But it was also a lie that would never be caught. The only person who survived the bottomless dungeon was Draen Rasha, and he had already died over a dozen years ago.

“A bottomless hole, a cold air rising from it, and countless undead monsters. With nothing but the rope around your waist to rely on, it was a harsh attack where your comrades fell away one by one.”

The only person Draen Rasha had told about the Bottomless Dungeon was his daughter, Sichia. The secret between father and daughter was now leaking out from Kyle’s mouth.

“How… do that…”

Sichia couldn’t even properly ask Kyle how he knew about the Bottomless Dungeon.

To be honest, I only heard it directly from Draen, who appeared as a named NPC in the game. However, from Sichia’s perspective, Kyle would seem like a great person with an extraordinary past.

The same would apply to other elders.

Kyle wanted to use this to quickly sort things out, as a little mystery could be a way to shake off the gaze that was trying to ignore him.

With the little knowledge he had, Kyle was able to avoid some of the hassle that awaited him.

“I’ll move on, considering the fate of that time.”

“Go, thank you.”

Sichia still had a smiling face, but she slumped down on the chair as if she had lost all strength. After that, there was no further noise.