I Reincarnated into a Game Filled with Mods – Chapter 135

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

 
Her gaze was so intensely fixed on me that I instinctively looked around.

If anyone saw this, there was no way they could miss the fact that Cecilia was staring at me.

But fortunately, everyone else was already kneeling with their heads bowed towards the throne. It was unlikely that anyone had noticed.

Cecilia’s golden eyes curved into a crescent moon shape, a chillingly beautiful sight.

Her eyes were filled with affection and interest.

I tried to ignore her gaze as I walked behind Erica, knelt on one knee, and bowed my head towards the throne.

“Raise your head.”

Less than a second after I bowed my head, the command to raise it came.

I lifted my head.

It was a deliberate order to prevent me from bowing to her.

Cecilia, having transformed from a woman intensely interested in one man back into the sharp, imperious Empress of the Aeternum Empire, rested her chin on her hand and spoke in a nonchalant tone,

“Do you know why I summoned you?”

“I do not! Forgive me, Your Majesty!”

The Golden Twilight Knight Commander’s voice boomed in response to the customary question asked whenever someone stood before Cecilia.

“We do not know either. We apologize, Your Majesty.”

Aurora also replied calmly.

It was a formal question, met with a formal apology. No one here expected to give the correct answer.

And the one who asked the question also seemed to expect as much.

Cecilia, her elbow resting on the armrest of her throne, leaned her chin on the back of her hand and looked at Aurora indifferently.

Aurora flinched under her gaze.

“You’ve been acting rather audacious lately, haven’t you, Aurora?”

“…….”

Aurora, unable to answer, lowered her head.

“Did I give you permission to avert your gaze?”

A sharp warning followed immediately.

Aurora’s head snapped back up.

“Tell me what you’ve been doing.”

“……I was attempting to reinstate the Silver Dawn Knights.”

“I see. You’re well-informed. I commend you.”

Aurora’s body trembled, visible even from where I was standing. The same was true for the four Knight Commanders in front of me and the former Silver Dawn Knights standing at the back of the Golden Twilight Knights’ formation.

Silence followed.

No one dared to speak when Cecilia remained silent. No one in this room was foolish enough to do such a thing.

“…….”

Aurora’s trembling intensified as the silence in the central hall stretched on.

Silence wasn’t a word with positive connotations, especially not when the Empress had just asked a pointed question like that.

“Delta.”

Cecilia, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke.

I quickly replied,

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“What are your thoughts?”

“……Pardon me?”

“Do you think I should restore the Silver Dawn Knights to their former positions?”

For a moment, I wondered why she was asking me this. It was strange that she would ask for my opinion.

Cecilia didn’t seem like the type to ask for others’ input when making decisions.

I was momentarily bewildered, then steeled my resolve. Whatever the reason, this was a chance to revive the Silver Dawn Knights.

I could think about Cecilia’s motives later.

“Yes, I do.”

The Knight Commanders shifted slightly, their bodies tense. Their fate depended on the Empress’ answer.

Cecilia, her chin still resting on her hand, stared intently at me, then turned to Aurora with a smirk.

“Since your efforts have been spared, you should thank Delta, Aurora.”

“…….”

Aurora’s shoulders slumped slightly, the tension draining from her body.

She had probably been worried about incurring the Empress’ displeasure.

“I will accept your opinion. The Silver Dawn Knights will be reinstated.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty!”

The Knight Commanders bowed their heads, their voices trembling slightly.

Cecilia waved her hand dismissively, seemingly ignoring their gratitude.

The women in white tank tops and black dolphin shorts, who had been kneeling at the back of the Golden Twilight Knights’ formation, stood up and approached me.

They formed two lines on either side of me, knelt on one knee facing the throne, and bowed their heads. They were now officially the Silver Dawn Knights once more.

“I’m not finished yet.”

The slightly chaotic atmosphere instantly subsided.

Cecilia’s golden eyes turned back to me.

A sense of foreboding washed over me.

“Delta.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

As always, my premonitions were never wrong. Once again, Cecilia called my name.

I wondered what she was planning this time.

But her next words were even more unexpected.

“I’m giving you half of the Golden Twilight Knights. You will no longer be a trainee of the Silver Dawn Knights, but the Knight Commander of a newly established order.”

“Your Majesty! What do you mean?!”

The golden-armored figure gasped and raised her head in shock. The impact seemed so great that she froze, unable to move.

It was understandable.

Not only had the Silver Dawn Knights, whom she had worked so hard to disband, been reinstated, but now half of her Golden Twilight Knights were being taken away.

“…….”

I stared up at Cecilia, dumbfounded.

She was giving me what? Half of the Golden Twilight Knights?

‘…Is this also a consequence of the story’s deviations?’

It would be foolish to expect the original story and events to proceed as planned, but this was something that had never happened in the game.

The player becoming the Knight Commander of another order?

And what was I supposed to do as their Knight Commander?

They might be able to handle the early-game bosses, but even the mid-game bosses would wipe out ordinary knights in an instant, no matter how many there were.

Even with the Darkest Light mod’s enhancements, the increase in boss stats was several times, or even dozens of times, greater than that of ordinary mobs. The fundamental stat difference between field mobs and bosses couldn’t be overcome.

They might be able to handle ordinary enemies like themselves, but it would be much easier and more efficient to bring the Knight Commanders instead.

‘Nothing would change.’

If I continued to rely on others for truly dangerous enemies and handled the rest myself, leveling up as usual, nothing would change even if I became a Knight Commander.

“Did you just raise your voice at my decision?”

Cecilia’s voice dripped with menace as she glared.

The golden-armored figure, sensing the dangerous shift in atmosphere, hurriedly bowed her head.

“N-No, Your Majesty! How dare I!”

Cecilia’s expression softened as she saw the Knight Commander prostrate herself.

Her voice, colder than before, continued,

“You must have heard the rumors circulating in the Imperial Palace. Speak. Now.”

At her sharp command, the Knight Commander froze for a moment, then stammered,

“The rumors… about someone who confronted and repelled the dragon… during its attack. And that the one who repelled the dragon… was the new recruit—”

“Knight Commander. Are you still out of your mind?”

“……Knight Commander, Your Majesty.”

Judging by how quickly she corrected herself when the Knight Commander tried to call me a “new recruit,” Cecilia had no intention of changing her mind.

I felt a wave of dizziness.

“Yes. The rumors say that this knight single-handedly confronted the dragon and forced it to retreat.”

A slender finger tapped the armrest of the throne.

A thought, a premonition, flickered in my mind. I had a feeling I knew what she was going to say next.

“Those rumors are true. I saw it with my own eyes.”

Every eye in the hall turned towards me, filled with shock.

It was a rumor that had spread throughout the Imperial Palace, so it was impossible for them not to have heard it. And now, the Empress herself had confirmed its validity.

It was a natural reaction.

‘Wait, she saw it?’

I thought she had fainted after hearing the roar.

I couldn’t completely dismiss her words, since I didn’t know when she had woken up.

‘Where do I even begin explaining?’

The dragon had tried to read my memories, then muttered something about understanding and left. But to Cecilia, it must have looked like I had confronted and repelled the dragon.

I had no idea where to even begin unraveling this misunderstanding. I wasn’t even sure if it was possible.

“B-But, Your Majesty—”

The Knight Commander, still in shock, stammered, trying to refute Cecilia’s words.

“You did the same thing. What is wrong? Do you want to be torn apart completely, without even half of you remaining?”

“……No, Your Majesty.”

Of course, her attempt was futile.

The golden helmet bowed low. It must have felt like a bolt from the blue, but I didn’t feel any sympathy for her.

As Cecilia had said, she was simply reaping what she had sown.

In fact, she had gotten off lightly, losing only half of her knights, unlike the Silver Dawn Knights. And she hadn’t been exiled to the outskirts of the Empire with the disgraced former lord.

“Come closer, Delta.”

Ignoring the completely demoralized Golden Twilight Knight Commander, Cecilia called my name.

I obediently walked towards her. Learning from my previous experience, I knelt a little closer this time.

The corners of Cecilia’s lips curved upwards slightly.

“I have a proposition for you.”

A proposition. It sounded ominous. It could easily be an order disguised as a proposition. Cecilia was more than capable of such a thing.

“What is it, Your Majesty?”

I couldn’t show my apprehension, so I raised my head and met her gaze.

Cecilia leaned forward, her cleavage exposed through the opening in her uniform.

Her thumb and index finger gripped my chin, tilting my head upwards slightly. She leaned closer, as if about to kiss me.

I could feel her warm breath on my lips.

“I’m offering you a position as my direct subordinate. Lead your knights, and become mine. What do you say?”

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇