Chapter 0
As a man, I, Duke, set my sights on becoming the final boss that everyone looks up to at least once.
The very embodiment of overwhelming despair that bars the protagonist's path, and the very ideology they must one day overcome.
It hardly mattered when I had first begun dreaming of this.
What mattered was that I possessed knowledge, resolve, and the bare minimum of talent necessary.
But thirty years into my training, I realized one despairing truth.
I had reincarnated into a world with a protagonist from a misunderstanding-driven story.
This world was no longer my personal playground, nor could I become its undisputed number one.
But on further thought, a crisis was also an opportunity.
“If you can't beat them, join them.”
I switched careers to stand beside that protagonist as the final boss.
His first companion, his closest aide, the justification for his power, absolutely invincible, utterly ruthless…
Well, you know, more or less that sort of thing.
A flawless, utterly evil second-in-command.
Of course, there were a few problems.
- “Huh? That area’s at a stalemate? Eh. Deploy Tactical Duke, and it'll work out somehow.”
- “Duke! If you weren't around, I'd be His Majesty's right-hand man! Draw your sword!”
- “I hear Lord Duke only sleeps four hours because he pulls duty and gets up at dawn? I even hear he sleeps standing up…”
I had no idea being second-in-command would be this grueling.
Still…
“Heehee. This is fun. I should make another alt.”
I don't think I'll ever be able to quit this shit.