I, who was eager to retire, became an Imperial General.

Chapter 317 The Furious Dragon Girl and the Helpless John
"..."

Upon returning to the Imperial Hotel, John, in the hotel's conference room, enthusiastically asked Bruno to remove the anti-magic suits from the seven captured members of the special operations team.

He originally thought he could deliver a shocking psychological blow to Anna Splinter, the game's designated heroine, as the villainous BOSS, and then use the interrogation as a pretext to lay the groundwork for her initial defection through intelligence gathering and psychological manipulation.

However, after Bruno removed the magic-suppressing suits binding the seven Special Operations Department members and revealed their true faces beneath the helmets, John fell silent.

"WTF? How could it not be there? How could it not be there? This is completely illogical!"

Looking at the familiar faces in front of him, who were just minor characters from the original series who he remembered appearing in only two episodes before disappearing from the story, and who hadn't noticed Anna and Royce among them, John suddenly felt like the sky was falling.

His purpose in going to the Hagia Sophia was to seduce Anna, the game's female protagonist, and try to lure her to the Empire, while also keeping Royce, this troublesome and dangerous individual, under control.
As a result, not only did he fail to get Anna herself, but he also failed to get Royce, the bonus he was given.

Instead, they only gained seven minor characters who were of little use.

"What a joke!"

Looking at the seven timid and silent men before him, John felt a twitch in the corner of his eye. After a moment of silence, he accepted the situation and helplessly asked Carrie, who was waiting nearby, to find a secure room to keep these men under guard.

"Squeak!"

"You seem disappointed?"

As if sensing John's mood, Serbia, who had somehow changed back into a red dress and was carrying a fruit platter, asked this question as she entered the room.

After saying that, she placed the fruit plate on the table by herself, then gently picked up a grape from it and casually sat down at the table in front of John.

She crossed her long, slender legs while toying with the grapes in her hand with her fair fingertips.

As if teasing a disobedient cat, a pair of wine-red pupils looked at John, who was rubbing his temples and looking utterly bewildered, with a half-smile, and said in a playful tone:

"Although I am puzzled as to why you insisted on bringing these seven unidentified assassins back, and I don't know what your purpose is."

"But shouldn't you give me an explanation for disrupting my daily spell practice and forcing me to waste half a day at that charlatan's headquarters with you?"

Upon hearing this, John felt an even greater headache, but looking at Serbia, who was staring at him with a half-smile, John, who knew this Red Dragon War God inside and out, naturally understood.

Although the other party's words seemed casual and like a joke.

But regardless of the other party's expression or the forceful tone in their voice.

If you cannot give the other party a satisfactory answer.

Given Serbia's temperament, the chances of succeeding if I want to ask her for help again later are probably much smaller.

Honestly, when did my luck become so bad?
Could it be that the one favored by the god of misfortune is not Captain Wendy, but himself?

At this moment, Lieutenant General John, who was vaguely aware of his unlucky status, couldn't help but miss the silly and cute pig-headed squad leader.

But feeling the sharp gaze from the Serbian beside him, he could only suppress the sorrow of his impending massive loss of savings and helplessly said to the other party:

"I was just a little surprised that I misjudged the situation... What would you like as a thank you gift? As long as it's not too outrageous, I can agree to anything."

"It is not the manners of a gentleman to make a request from a lady."

Serbia did not make a direct request in response to John's inquiry.

Instead, he supported himself on the table with one hand, then slowly leaned forward to shorten the distance between them.

Her long red hair cascaded down her body like a waterfall, resembling the finest silk, and looked exceptionally beautiful in the sunset.

A ruby ​​necklace, worn at some unknown time, encircled her long, swan-like neck, making her even more captivating.

As she moved, the distance between them began to shorten, and due to the angle, John was even able to catch a glimpse of some scenery he shouldn't have seen, and he couldn't help but subconsciously turn his head away.

"..."

However, Serbia realized what John had just seen from his evasive gaze, but she was not angry. Instead, her smile grew even wider.

"!"

The next second, before John could react, Serbia grabbed John by the collar and pulled him into her arms. At the same time, she flipped him over and pinned him to the table.

The two were pressed close together, with almost no gap between them.

Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, the spacious and magnificent conference room felt strangely ambiguous.

"..."

Looking down at John beneath him, feeling the warm breath he exhaled, Serbia's wine-red pupils unconsciously turned into vertical pupils due to excitement.

A pair of eyes stared intently at the other person.

The sight was like that of a wild beast spotting a plump antelope on the grassland.

Their eyes were filled with a desire called 'plunder'.

But just as she was preparing to take further action and savor the deliciousness of the fruit that rightfully belonged to her, she was about to...

Upon noticing John's cold expression, her brows immediately furrowed.

All the interest that had arisen in her heart because of the ambiguity vanished in an instant, replaced by an anger that she could not describe.

What a complete bastard!
Tsk!
John, who showed no sign of panic despite his bold actions and maintained his poker face, looked on.

Serbia loosened her grip on John's collar without much enthusiasm, and instead of using the grapes she had intended to use to enhance the fun of their encounter, she simply reached out and stuffed them into her mouth to chew.

The force was so great that it felt as if it wasn't chewing on soft grape pulp, but rather trying to crush a heart that was harder to destroy than steel.

"Crack!"

She calmly stood up, straightened her slightly disheveled collar, and raised her head with her usual haughty air, but without even glancing at John in front of her, she spoke in an icy tone:

"The grapes from Purfáz taste very good, I like them very much. So, if you want to apologize to me, then get me a vineyard in Purfáz as an apology. Perhaps, I might consider forgiving your rudeness!"

Having said that, seemingly to prevent John, who had just gotten up, from having the chance to refuse this expensive apology, Serbia added to John with a cold face:
"Don't think I don't know how much money you made from mining in Faoken by fooling some idiot lieutenant general. Buying a small vineyard is a piece of cake for you, isn't it?"

"If you can't even show this much sincerity, then I might really have to consider choosing a different ally."

“Let me reiterate, I’m not kidding you, John Maslow, understand?”

“…I understand.” Although John knew that Serbia’s talk of choosing another ally was just an angry outburst, and that what the other party really wanted was definitely not a vineyard in a remote fiefdom.

But knowing he was in the wrong, John could only silently agree.

In his view, this was the best way to ease the awkward atmosphere between the two.

"idiot!"

Seeing that John agreed without even haggling, Serbia, instead of being happy to receive the compensation, looked even uglier.

She couldn't help but mutter a curse under her breath, as if she were cursing the other person's stupidity, or as if she were cursing her own weakness for wavering because of the other person's resistance.

Consequently, they missed the opportunity to complete the sacred ceremony that only engaged couples can perform.

Damn it, I've already seduced him according to the adult novel's description, so why is this guy like a stone, completely unmoved?
Is this guy just too insensitive?
Or is it that I have absolutely no appeal to him?
Surely it can't be because of her own barren chest?
Using such cumbersome things to measure beauty? What a joke! How can there be such a ridiculous standard!
Serbia grew angrier the more he thought about it, especially after catching a glimpse of his smooth chest, which resembled his back. He felt like a powder keg had been ignited, and he was about to explode on the spot, his chest heaving violently.

But she didn't get angry at the man after all. Instead, she glared at the clueless jerk and then held her head high.

He stormed out of the conference room, leaving John, who was silently adjusting his collar, with only his dashing back view.

Then he slammed the door shut.

"Oh!"

"..."

After straightening his slightly disheveled collar, John fell silent.

After a long while, he let out a long sigh, then glanced at the Pinot Noir red grapes left on the table by Serbia. These grapes came from the Pulfac region in the southwest of the empire and were known as the "Black Pearl of the Land." A complex look flashed in his eyes.

He wasn't heartbroken about having to cut his pension to buy a vineyard as an apology to Serbia.

While that was true to some extent, more importantly, if he remembered correctly, during the agricultural development in Longya Territory, he had proposed in discussions to vigorously develop grape cultivation and to achieve the standardization of a series of industrial chains within five years, including planting, winemaking, and high-end animal husbandry centered on pure grape farming.

In terms of grape cultivation, he was benchmarking himself against the vineyards of Pulfartz.

Unfortunately, after carefully testing the soil pH, sunlight area, and calculating the annual temperature difference of the longan orchard, it was found that planting it would be quite difficult and the yield would most likely not meet expectations.

John rejected the proposal after discussing it with Glenn.

Serbia, who was forced by Leia to play the role of secretary, was also present.

John thought the other party wouldn't remember such a boring and failed proposal.

Unexpectedly, the other party kept it in mind.

This discovery surprised him, but it also left him with a complex feeling.

"It's really troublesome..."

After a long while, John couldn't help but sigh.

To be honest, he was well aware of the deeper meaning behind Serbia's actions.

After all, he's not really emotionally clueless; how could he not understand?

But the current situation left him with no energy to think about such personal issues.

The Empire's predicament, the formation of political parties, the threat of allies, the numerous mysteries left behind by the original owner, and the marriage agreement with Ellafia, whose authenticity is unknown.

All of this makes it impossible for him to arbitrarily share the risks that he should bear alone with others before resolving the above issues.

They also lack the confidence to share this risk.

After all, as a player who has completed the game countless times, he himself has fallen into confusion and even despair more than once when faced with these problems.

Let alone someone who is completely unaware of the situation?
"Ugh……"

John sighed, then shook his head, clearing his mind of all the complex thoughts and leaving them behind.

Just as he was about to get up and go to the private room to check on the seven people being held captive, intending to interrogate these seven familiar yet unfamiliar former teammates to see if he could get some unexpected information from them.

A knock on the door reached John's ears.

"Dong dong!"

"Enter!"

"Squeak!"

As the door slowly opened, John was greeted by Carrie, dressed in the uniform of a lieutenant general in the Imperial Army. However, due to the influence of the curse, which had not yet been completely removed, Carrie's face remained extremely ugly.

To avoid frightening ordinary citizens, or perhaps out of pride, Carrie has always worn a veil whenever she goes out in Elena since she entered the city.

She would only occasionally take it off when facing John or when holding meetings with the members of the 303rd Division.

"However, it feels a bit strange to always wear a veil, and the appearance of the drow affected by the curse is indeed ugly to the point of being physically uncomfortable. So, after the peace negotiations are over, I'll try to find a way to help these unlucky guys get rid of the effects of the curse."

John thought to himself as he looked at Carrie, who was approaching him with a respectful but incredibly ugly expression.

However, considering the clues given in the side quest, if one wants to break the curse on the Shadow Orc Clan, one must go to an area called 'Moon Spring' in the southern territory of the Kingdom of Loran, cover the entire bottom of the lake with a large amount of high-grade magic crystals during the full moon, and at the same time, spend at least five hundred high-energy magic stones to set up a moonlight attraction array around the Moon Spring.

John realized that this was probably another decision that would cause his savings to burn through.

A silent tear welled up in my heart for my ill-fated retirement pension, but after taking a deep breath, I silently hypnotized myself, telling myself that it was all worth it, that every loss has its gain, and that at worst, the Drow clan would work like crazy for me in the future to increase Faoken's GDP.

Even if I treat each member of their clan as if they were two, with this favor, they won't just not curse me, they'll thank me for my great kindness!
As if envisioning the depleted treasury being revitalized under the industrious 996 work schedule of the Drow clan, Lieutenant General John, the 'strategist,' immediately broke into a perfect smile, then turned to Carrie and asked:

"What's wrong, Carrie? Is there a problem with the prisoners?"

"Uh, no, Commander John, I've already put anti-magic nails on the prisoners, and Mr. Bruno is guarding them with his troops, so there shouldn't be any problems for the time being."

Carrie quickly shook her head, a hint of hesitation flashing in her eyes.

But after thinking about the report she had just received, she gritted her teeth and then, bracing herself, said something that surprised John:
"In fact, the reason why I suddenly abandoned the guard duty you assigned and came to disturb your thinking is actually related to the Drow clan."

……

(End of this chapter)