Color Gallery

Copyrights and Credits

Prologue

THE PALACE ON THE ALGRAND Empire’s Capital Planet covered what had originally been a continent. In truth, the structure was far too vast to be called a palace. No one disputed the term, though; after all, it wasn’t the only unusual thing about the planet.

A metal shell encased the entire planet. The climate inside it was fully controlled. This unique environment demonstrated the Empire’s technological prowess, as well as its distinctive character. Even other intergalactic nations with similar levels of technology and access to resources likely wouldn’t modify a planet in such a way, so the Capital Planet served as a symbol of the Empire itself.

Prince Cleo Noah Albareto, third in line to the throne, had just been summoned by the master of this planet’s palace. Standing before a large door, the diminutive, androgynous, red-haired Cleo gulped nervously. He was surrounded by knights of the Empire’s highest rank, all glaring his way. For these knights, the guards of the man within the next room, suspicion preceded any respect they might owe Cleo due to his lineage. Behind the door, after all, was the emperor himself—Bagrada Noah Albareto. As head of the Algrand Empire, he ruled the entire nation; in addition, he was Cleo’s father.

Although Cleo was only meeting with his father, he’d already been searched and inspected several times since early that morning. The emperor’s guards had observed him all day, not giving him a single moment by himself to relax. Only now, just before noon, had he finally been cleared for this meeting.

“His Imperial Majesty has approved your entrance,” one of the guards told him.

After a short pause, Cleo responded, “Right.”

The large, heavy door before him slid aside, revealing a much simpler room than he’d imagined lay beyond. Only the bare minimum of furniture was present; the room contained a bed, as well as a kitchen area so that its occupant wouldn’t need to leave. The bath and toilet, at least, were separate, but otherwise, the emperor dwelt within this single room. The situation was strange, but the room was quite spacious—probably more than fifty meters across. A view of outside was projected onto one wall, the planet’s artificial sun shining from it.

The man who’d summoned Cleo here, Bagrada himself, was preparing tea in the kitchen. He was clad in a casual white shirt and slacks, and even wore an apron as he went about his task. The emperor’s long hair was straight and glossy, and his eyes had a gentle look. He gave the impression that he was a good-natured young man; he looked so young, in fact, that he almost appeared to be Crown Prince Calvin Noah Albareto’s junior.

When Cleo entered the room, this man—who looked nothing like one would expect His Imperial Majesty to—smiled and said, “I’ve been expecting you, Cleo.”

“I’m grateful that you even remember someone so insignificant as me.” Cleo’s response wasn’t sarcastic. It was genuinely difficult for an emperor of Algrand to so much as remember all their children. And, although Cleo loathed Bagrada, the emperor likely didn’t even remember what he’d done to the prince.

Cleo nervously listened to the door sliding closed behind him. There was no running now. Removing his apron, Bagrada carried the tea to the table, as well as some sweets. Seeing this, Cleo rushed over.

“I’ll do that!” he cried.

Bagrada shook his head, smiling. “You react exactly like Calvin does. Sorry, but please just allow me. Making this small effort is one of the few amusements I have in my long life.”

The people around an emperor tended to him even when he wasn’t doing anything at all. He could lie in bed all day, and his needs would be completely taken care of. However, such a life was bound to grow old.

Bagrada poured the tea with a practiced hand. The steam that rose from the cups smelled sugary. “I have a sweet tooth, you see,” the emperor explained. “But would you have preferred something else, Cleo?”

“No… I like sweet drinks as well.”

“Good. Now, shall we sit and talk?” Bagrada motioned toward a seat.

Lowering himself into it, Cleo began nervously, “Well, may I ask why you summoned me, Your Majesty?” What did he call me here for?

Normally, not even the emperor’s children could meet with him, aside from the crown prince. Cleo might’ve been third in line for the throne, but if he’d requested this meeting himself, he’d probably have been rebuffed. This time, however, Bagrada had asked to see him. Thus, Cleo was desperately curious about what the emperor wanted from him.

Bagrada sipped his sweet tea, then said, “I wanted to have a chat with you, since you’ve worked so hard lately. You’re practically a step away from the role of crown prince, aren’t you?”

Cleo resented the emperor bringing up the succession conflict while calling such a discussion a “chat.” To Cleo, it was a serious affair that endangered not only his own life, but his sisters’ as well. It infuriated him that Bagrada treated it as a topic for idle gossip over tea. Still, this was the emperor he was dealing with.

“That’s all thanks to Count Banfield,” Cleo replied. “I couldn’t have done any of it on my own.” He was being humble, but that was also true.

Cleo did his best to keep his anger from showing on his face. If he upset Bagrada, his current position could evaporate as if it had never existed in the first place. He had to choose his every word carefully.

Bagrada sighed. “Count Banfield, eh? It’s true that he’s rather impressive. House Banfield fell as far as it’s possible to fall, yet he revived his domain in one generation, making a name for himself and rendering his family one of the most important in the Empire. No—considering the house’s past achievements, I suppose it’s more accurate to say that Count Banfield regained the fame his family already knew in the past. He’s practically a hero, the likes of which this country hasn’t seen in centuries.”

All Bagrada’s praise for Liam made Cleo’s feelings of inferiority prick at him inside. He felt like the trace of pride he possessed was screaming at him inside his chest.

“Yes,” he said after a short pause. “Count Banfield really is amazing. It seems miraculous that he chose to support me.” Liam really is impressive, unlike me.

Praise of Liam brought out the worst in Cleo, which he hated. He loathed the ugly envy he felt toward a man who’d not only guaranteed him his life but was practically handing him the role of emperor.

“Cleo, let’s say you’re victorious, and you become the next emperor,” said Bagrada.

“Your Majesty…?” Cleo was shocked by what he’d heard.

The emperor paid that no mind, continuing with a solemn look. “House Banfield would likely become a power the Empire couldn’t defy. After all, Count Banfield himself has elevated you all this way, almost to the very throne.”

If Cleo really did reach that role, he’d owe it all to House Banfield. He would then have to start repaying that debt immediately. That went without saying, but it was still a problem.

Cleo had relied too completely on House Banfield. He didn’t even have vassals who were loyal to him as opposed to the count. If he took the throne under these circumstances, House Banfield—not Cleo—would practically run the country. It would be far too influential within the Empire. If Liam wanted to, he could implement policies benefiting House Banfield throughout the entire nation.

“I understand Your Majesty’s worries,” Cleo said, “but no other options were available to me.” He was of course aware of why Bagrada would feel concerned, but House Banfield’s assistance had been too appealing to pass up. And prior to Liam, Cleo had had no one on his side. “I had no choice but to rely on his power.”

“I won’t deny that, but it’s not true anymore, is it?”

“Huh?” Cleo gaped at him.

Bagrada stood and walked behind him, putting his hands on the prince’s shoulders. “It seems you’ve been using Count Banfield’s funds to gather your own supporters, haven’t you? You even formed an Imperial Guard for yourself, and a formidable space fleet as well.”

“I-I…”

Bagrada was exactly right. Cleo had done just that in order to obtain a military force of his own. After all, if he actually managed to become crown prince, it would be ridiculous for him to have no might of his own.

“I merely thought it best to have my own forces at my disposal, so I’m not such a burden on Count Banfield.”

That wasn’t a lie, exactly. Cleo didn’t like burdening House Banfield every time he wanted to mobilize any kind of fighting force.

However, Bagrada knew the other reason Cleo had taken action. “You do need constant protection, true, and you may occasionally need to send troops elsewhere. House Banfield would surely grow tired of you relying on them for every little thing—I’m sure you truly do feel that way. But it’s a bit odd that you wouldn’t at least consult Count Banfield about all that, isn’t it?”

It would’ve been safer for Cleo to organize his forces with House Banfield’s assistance. On top of his expertise, the count’s connections would surely have helped Cleo gather skilled individuals. Cleo hadn’t relied on the count’s help simply because he hadn’t wanted to…because he was envious of him.

“Count Banfield is a busy man. I wouldn’t want to trouble him with such trivial—”

“That’s a lie. In truth, you wanted a force completely independent of House Banfield, correct? You wanted fighters loyal only to you.”

Cleo couldn’t hide his surprise. But his dependence on House Banfield was a major weakness of his. Should he alienate Liam, he’d essentially be helpless.

“You’ve relied on Count Banfield for everything until now, so you’re afraid of upsetting him, aren’t you? Thus, you formed a military force that isn’t loyal to him.”

Cleo couldn’t say anything in response.

Bagrada patted his shoulder gently. “It was a good move. We can’t let House Banfield run the country. Increasing your own personal power is the right decision.”

“R-right…” Cleo didn’t want to betray his biggest supporter, but he still wished to possess his own power. With some might of his own, he figured he’d be able to express his opinions to Liam, if only to a small extent.

“Cleo, you did the right thing,” Bagrada went on. “You’ll settle things with Calvin soon enough, but if you achieved victory entirely by relying on Count Banfield, it wouldn’t be good for the Empire.”

“I-it wouldn’t?” Cleo turned around to see Bagrada’s gentle expression. For some reason, he couldn’t take his eyes off Bagrada’s. He almost felt as if they were drawing him in, and it was…comforting.

“Just mull that over,” Bagrada said soothingly. “Count Banfield has his own domain. He shouldn’t take responsibility for the entire Empire. He has to prioritize his own territory, and he can’t put the needs of the Empire as a whole above his own subjects.”

“B-but…Count Banfield is a great ruler.”

“He’s a great ruler of his own domain. And, so long as the whole Empire doesn’t become his, he’ll be able to focus all his abilities on his own territory. Or do you plan to give him the entire Empire?”

Cleo didn’t believe either that Liam could act in the interests of the Empire as a whole. His distrust of Liam was only growing. “No, I can’t do that.”

“Exactly. So consider what it’s best for you to do. After all, you’re a prince of the Empire…and my beloved son.”

***

After meeting Bagrada, Cleo returned to his residence in the inner palace, his face noticeably haggard.

The sight worried Lysithea Noah Albareto, his knight and older sister. “Did His Majesty say something to you? Did it have to do with the succession?!”

Cleo shook his head weakly. “He didn’t say anything in particular about that, although it did come up. Just that I’ll have to settle things between me and Calvin soon.”

“I’d say that’s a pretty significant statement! W-we should contact Count Banfield at once!”

Watching Lysithea grow anxious, Cleo thought, I can’t just let Count Banfield win on my behalf. It’d be bad for the Empire. So what should I do? What do I do? He’d felt out of sorts since his audience with the emperor. For the sake of the Empire’s future, Liam has to be defeated. To make that happen, I…

Cleo hardened his resolve. “Sister, can you call for Theodore?” he instructed the still-flustered Lysithea.

“Theodore?” Lysithea frowned when she heard the name, indicating her distrust of the individual in question. “What do you want with him?”

“I merely want to discuss some things with him.”

“If you’ll permit me to speak frankly, I don’t like the guy. I don’t think you should rely on him any more than you have to.”

“However you may feel about him, he is skilled. You’ll simply have to overlook his less savory traits.”

“…As you say.”

As Lysithea began setting up an appointment with Theodore, Cleo smiled darkly behind her back. If I let Liam win everything, it’ll cause the Empire big problems down the line, just as His Majesty said. Yes… I have no choice but to do this.

Continuing to make excuses to himself, Cleo considered the future.

It pains me to betray someone who supported me in my darkest hour, but it will be for the good of the Empire. Yes, that’s right—it’ll be for the Empire! When I take the throne, I’ll make this country an even more wonderful place than it is now. But in order for that to happen…Liam will have to leave the stage.

***

“Where did I go wrong…?”

Sitting on a pile of trash, clutching his knees, the Guide reflected on his failures.

He was on the Empire’s Capital Planet, but in a dirty area full of refuse, a far cry from the planet’s more glamorous region. Since the Guide enjoyed negative emotions, unclean places like this relaxed him. The reason he was now reminiscing in this calming place was Liam, to whom he was deeply connected.

“Liam’s strong enough to beat us now. What am I supposed to do at this point? I mean, there’s ‘unexpected,’ and then there’s this.”

Until recently, there had been another being who’d enjoyed negative emotions, as the Guide did: G’doire. Like the Guide, G’doire should’ve stood above humanity and toyed with mortals, but Liam had cut him down after mastering the secret of the Flash. The boy’s fighting technique had reached such a height that he could have mortally wounded even the Guide.

“Should I leave him alone at this point? Th-that won’t satisfy me! I swore to take revenge against him, didn’t I?!”

The truth of it was, the Guide was terrified of Liam, but he roused himself regardless. He couldn’t let things end like this. He just couldn’t. Yet Liam was too dangerous: He’d set one foot into the realm of the Guide and similar beings, and he could do real damage to them now. If the Guide was too careless, there was a good chance the tables would get turned on him. All this was due to the Way of the Flash—a sword style that shouldn’t even exist.

“I mean, it’s weird, right?! How the hell did he actually start practicing a fake style of swordplay that some street performer made up?! Who does that?! Who can do that?! If he didn’t know that stupid style of combat…and didn’t have Divine Gold! How’d he even get that, anyway? If only he didn’t possess it…”

Liam used a swordplay style—the Way of the Flash—that had resulted from misunderstanding and obsession. And he had a sword made of Divine Gold, a metal that even the Guide and those like him feared. Those were an absolutely diabolical combination. The emergence of the Way of the Flash had been a miracle in itself, but Liam had to go and obtain a Divine Gold sword on top of that?

It was more than the Guide could accept. Dizzy, he put a hand to his forehead. “If I’m careless, even I won’t escape being killed by that blade of his. And then there’s that giant. I tremble just remembering it.”

He shuddered, recalling the manifestation of power that Liam had unwittingly materialized. That giant being of light embodied Liam’s strength itself, and as if it had a will of its own, it had sought out the Guide and bombarded him with Liam’s gratitude. Chances were that was entirely because of the gratitude Liam felt toward the Guide every day. The fact that Liam could unintentionally create such a terrifying monster was enough of a problem, but the way the giant then went after the Guide and attacked him with thankfulness had been more than the Guide could handle.

In any case, now that Liam had obtained these superhuman abilities, the Guide could no longer approach him carelessly. If he got too close to Liam without a plan, Liam’s gratitude could easily erase him, however powerful the Guide was.

“Now that it’s come to this, I’ll have to destroy him indirectly… There’s no reason I have to do the deed myself. I can just manipulate other humans into getting rid of him for me.”

If doing that was impossible for the Guide, then he’d have to use Liam’s fellow humans to do it on his behalf. Fortunately, Liam had plenty of enemies. Supporting their efforts to end Liam was now the most realistic plan.

“After all, Liam has weaknesses of his own,” mused the Guide. “I’ve got to get him out on the battlefield before he realizes that himself.”

As the Guide was right now, he couldn’t beat Liam. Still, Liam wasn’t invincible; the Guide had already noticed that he possessed a fatal flaw. If he wanted to take advantage of that weakness, then he’d need to assist Liam’s fellow humans.

“I’ve already failed so many times, though…” All the individuals the Guide had backed to take down Liam had met their end, so the Guide had completely lost his confidence.

He slowly lifted his heavy body into a standing position, staring high above him at an image of the night sky projected onto the metal shell encasing the Capital Planet. At a glance, the view was beautiful, but it was entirely manmade. From the outside, all that was visible was the metal shell enclosing the planet.

“This closed-in planet’s air is so stagnant. It’s truly wonderful… Just being here, I can feel the wounds Liam gave me healing.”

The malice and greed that had accumulated here over millennia comforted the Guide, and the metal shell protecting the Capital Planet’s occupants only concentrated the negative feelings in the air further. This was the perfect place for him to recuperate.

“Now, I suppose I should get started. Who’s most promising to me right now…? Probably Calvin.”

Calvin was the enemy of the third prince, Cleo, whom Liam supported. Cleo had no real power, so that conflict was essentially between Calvin and Liam. Liam had become one of the most powerful people in the Empire, so at this point, Calvin was more or less the only person who could actually stand against him. But when it came to his conflict with Liam, Calvin had been on a losing streak lately, and his influence had declined significantly.

“But even Calvin hardly stands a chance against Liam right now. Could he win if I supported him? I’m not sure he could hold his own at all.”

By now, the Guide had assisted several of Liam’s opponents. Each had lost, though. The Guide had even wondered at one point whether it would be better for him to stay out of their conflicts. If he didn’t interfere at all, Liam would simply win—but when the Guide helped his foes, they were still defeated! Liam’s existence was beyond infuriating to the Guide.

“Well, I suppose I should just take a look for now.”

He decided to observe the Capital Planet for the time being. He’d spent time in another intergalactic nation recently, so he was a little out of the loop regarding recent happenings in the Empire.

“I should see what Calvin’s up to before I decide what to do. Hm…? What’s that delicious unrest I detect?”

Sensing a disturbance in the direction of the palace, the Guide began to approach it, letting the uneasy feeling guide his feet.

***

Calvin’s residence on the grounds of the inner palace definitely had an appearance that suited its location. But it was just one building of the inner palace, which—despite its name—was a vast place, basically a city in itself.

Several high-rises stood around the residence, which itself covered a wide area and even boasted an inner courtyard. It was certainly splendid enough to serve as the crown prince’s home.

The residence shimmered with light even at night…but inside lay a ghastly scene. In a spacious hall sprawled countless knights and masked agents—all guards of Cleo’s who’d been dispatched by House Banfield. Most were already dead, but one clung to life even as he coughed up blood; he was from Kukuri’s group.

“You’ve betrayed Master Liam!” he declared.

Kukuri’s subordinate was looking up at a raised platform, atop which rested Calvin’s throne. Calvin himself was seated there, but Kukuri’s subordinate was staring to one side of the seated prince.

Standing at Calvin’s side, gazing down on Kukuri’s subordinate, was Cleo.

“I’m grateful to all of you,” Cleo said as he observed the man coldly. “It’s doubtless thanks to you that I’ve survived until today. However…I’m done with House Banfield.”

“If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll at least take you down, traitor!”

Kukuri’s subordinate tried to activate his internal explosive device, but before he could do so, blades flew at him from every direction, impaling him. The explosive failed to detonate, and the man collapsed face-up to the floor.

Hundreds of knights and assassins had been hidden here in Calvin’s palace earlier, both to protect the crown prince and to carry out this plan. A number of skilled knights stood near the princes, their guard still up even with Cleo’s security team neutralized.

Calvin gave Cleo a skeptical look. “I didn’t think you’d join forces with me. You know Count Banfield won’t shrug off a betrayal like this.”

Liam had dispatched talented guards—precious human resources—to watch over Cleo. He’d also deployed some of Kukuri’s followers, who were irreplaceable assets; those guards had been killed as well. Cleo saw this as a show of sincerity to Calvin.

“I’m prepared for that,” he said. “I wanted to show you that I won’t renege on my word now that I’ve joined forces with you, Brother. I’ve broken my ties with Count Banfield.”

There’s no going back now. For the sake of the Empire, Liam, I will betray you.

His eyes lightless, Cleo remembered Bagrada’s words. In the prince’s mind, those words had become a directive. He couldn’t give everything to House Banfield. If he let Liam keep supporting him, Cleo would remain safe, but he could no longer be satisfied with that.

Besides, I can’t stand being treated like Liam’s accessory any longer.

He needed to get rid of Liam, he felt, even if that meant joining forces with Calvin. He continually ignored the fact that, even more than his new “directive,” his personal feelings were driving him.

Though Cleo had offered this show of sincerity, Calvin was still wary of his brother. “Just to show me that, you’re throwing away the rock-solid position you achieved? What is it you’re after? At the rate you were going, you could’ve become crown prince without needing to do anything yourself. Couldn’t you have ousted Liam after you became emperor? That’s what I’d have done in your position. It’s what anyone would normally have done.”

Discarding a vassal who’d faithfully supported you only made sense after you’d achieved your goal. Calvin couldn’t understand what Cleo was thinking. Even Cleo himself knew that he was arguably making a mistake.

“It’s all for the Empire’s future,” he insisted. “I figured it’d be equally hard to betray House Banfield after taking the throne, precisely because it’s House Banfield. But…the main thing is that I care less about being emperor than about not being Liam’s puppet.”

Even if Cleo were installed as emperor, the people would revere Liam, the peerless vassal who’d made him ruler.

“As a man, I want to leave my own mark on this world,” Cleo told Calvin. “If I have to be remembered as Liam’s lackey otherwise, it’d be better to make my mark by destroying House Banfield…don’t you think?”

That excuse only made Calvin more suspicious. “You’d betray him for a reason like that?”

“It might seem insignificant to you, but it’s a strong enough reason for me to do it.”

Calvin gazed down at the dead guards Cleo had betrayed. He seemed to pity the men, who’d been killed in a sneak attack. “So you offer your guards up to me as proof of your betrayal. I see how determined you are, but that’s not reason enough for me to trust you.”

Cleo sighed, perceiving Calvin’s wariness. “Not very courageous, are you, Brother?”

The knights around them put their hands on their weapons, but Calvin raised his own hand to stop them. “Wait! Cleo, do you really understand what you’re doing? This kind of betrayal is much more serious than you seem to think. Especially considering who you’re betraying.” Did he really plan to double-cross Count Banfield, of all people?

Cleo smiled faintly at Calvin’s indirect question. “You obtain the Empire, Brother, and I’ll serve as your support. So long as we keep the Empire out of House Banfield’s clutches, its future is guaranteed.”

Calvin couldn’t dismiss that suggestion. His brother might’ve looked awfully youthful, but Calvin knew better than anyone that he couldn’t win unsupported against him—against Liam—the way things were going now. Nonetheless, joining hands with Cleo was something he had to consider carefully.

“What other choice do you have, Brother?” Cleo whispered. “Now that I’ve betrayed Liam, I’m out of options too. As two people with no other recourse, why not join forces?”

Calvin finally made up his mind. “Very well.”

Once Calvin had made that decision, Cleo knelt before the crown prince and bowed his head. “I shall be your arms and legs from now on, Brother.”

***

Humans really were wonderful. As he spied on the two brothers from behind a pillar, the Guide grew a bit emotional. Entranced by their conversation, he wiped his eyes with a handkerchief. Lately, he’d had to deal with a number of weirdos forcing gratitude on him, but this was how humans were supposed to be—completely illogical. They were supposed to complain even when things were going well and to drag each other down.

Negative emotions swirled around Cleo; he looked radiant to the Guide.

“Humans still have potential. Yes… Humans should be their own enemies. That’s how it should be!” The Guide nodded to himself, appreciating Cleo’s twisted emotions. He wiped his eyes again and blew his nose. “Cleo and Calvin… If you two join forces, I’m sure it’ll be trouble for Liam. I know he’s strong, but he’s still human, if barely. There must be a way to beat him.”

Liam’s ally had betrayed him, joining forces with his enemy, and entirely with the aim of ending him. Delight welled up in the Guide at the thought that Liam had already been put at a disadvantage without him even having to lift a finger.

“I’ve been underestimating humans, it seems. I’ll give you two as much assistance as possible.”

As the Guide watched the pair, grinning, Calvin began to sound Cleo out. “So you want to beat House Banfield… Well, easier said than done. Do you have some sort of strategy?”

Liam had brought his house beyond its past prosperity within his lifetime, and he’d become so powerful that some said he was the top noble in the Empire. How exactly would they beat someone like that? Calvin had to ask that, since he’d already lost to Liam several times. It was good that he was asking, though; it meant that he wasn’t underestimating Liam.

Cleo stood. “We have a chance against House Banfield,” he told Calvin. “Against Liam himself as well.”

“I can’t imagine that beating the Empire’s strongest swordsman will be all that easy.”

“Against the strongest swordsman, we just need to use the strongest swordsman.”

“That makes sense, but three of the Empire’s four Swordmasters have already lost to the Way of the Flash, and we can’t let the fourth leave the border. So who do you propose using? Did you find a new Swordmaster or something?”

As Calvin warned that the approach Cleo suggested likely wouldn’t work, Cleo raised a hand to his mouth and chuckled. Then he explained part of his plan, a foreboding air about him. “I have a lead on a swordsman. What I need you to do is get me a mobile knight identical to House Banfield’s strongest unit, the Avid.”

Calvin didn’t like the way Cleo had dodged his question, but he played along anyway. “Isn’t that whole thing made of rare metals? You could probably buy multiple fleets with that kind of money. You think I can just ‘get you’ something like that?”

“It’ll be worth spending that kind of money to take Liam out.”

“Even if I can get it for you, it’ll be useless without someone who can pilot it.”

“I’ll provide the pilot.”

Calvin cocked his head, perplexed.

Cleo began to project a video for him. Evidently, he’d already been working on this plan for a while. “We’ll upload an AI trained on Liam’s piloting data to the new Avid. For the pilot, I plan to use a clone of Liam.”

Calvin shot up from his throne. “Wh-what?! Are you crazy?! Those are both banned tech!” He couldn’t hide his disgust at the plan. Artificial intelligence had once almost destroyed humanity, and human cloning was taboo.

“You want to win, don’t you?” Cleo asked. “I’m at least treating House Banfield as the threat they are.” That was a foe worth breaking taboos to take down.

Calvin fell back into his seat, forced to agree. Still scowling, he asked what stage Cleo’s plan was at. “How much progress have you made on this?”

“I can start training the AI immediately. Unfortunately, I have yet to acquire Liam’s DNA. If push comes to shove, I’ll have to take DNA from his parents and create something that surpasses him. What I need from you is the Avid—no, a machine that will surpass the Avid.”

“B-but…”

“Brother, if we lose to him, only hell awaits us.”

Calvin didn’t like the plan, but he liked the future that awaited him if he lost to Liam even less. He had no idea what sort of revenge would be taken on him, but he’d be lucky if he died quickly; Liam surely held a grudge over the conflicts they’d already had.

“Very well.” Fearing for his future, Calvin agreed to cooperate with Cleo’s plan. “I’ll provide the mobile knight. But will Count Banfield himself even come out to fight it?”

“If he doesn’t, all we’ll have to do is rip through his army with it. A machine like that—one that surpasses human limits—could definitely destroy House Banfield.”

The way Cleo was chuckling to himself made Calvin break out in a cold sweat.

The Guide was impressed with the lengths Cleo was willing to go to, but he was also a little worried by what he’d heard. “Hold on a second… You don’t actually have Liam’s DNA yet? That craft of Liam’s has a Machine Heart, you know.” He paid this some thought. If he didn’t step in, Cleo and Calvin would lose. And if they were to stand any sort of chance, they’d definitely need Liam’s DNA. “I-I guess this is where I’ll have to help out.”

Cleo interrupted the Guide’s musings. “You. Shoot me,” he commanded one of Calvin’s knights.

“Huh? What?”

Calvin reluctantly gave the hesitant knight permission to do as commanded; he realized what Cleo was planning. “You want to injure yourself to fool him? You’d go that far…?”

Cleo smiled. “I hope you admire my resolve. It’d be suspicious if I came out of this situation unscathed. Well, I’m sure Liam will be suspicious of me even if I am hurt—but if he feels even a little bit guilty over it, we can take advantage of that.”

If something went wrong when the knight shot him, Cleo might actually die simply through trying to deceive Liam, but he wasn’t the least bit afraid of that. Calvin had to acknowledge his brother’s determination, even if it was in a backhanded way.

“You’re a perfect prince for this bloodstained Empire.”

“I’m honored that you’d say so.”

Calvin’s knight raised his gun at Cleo and pulled the trigger.

***

Theodore Sera Zach, one of the leaders of Cleo’s new Imperial Guard, was a baronet. Despite that title, he hardly qualified as noble; baronets were, of course, commonplace on the Capital Planet. Still, as part of a titled knight family, he had a higher standing than knights who’d only held that rank for a single generation. And not only was Theodore part of one of those almost-aristocratic families, but Cleo had recognized his skills when establishing his guard.

Theodore was of medium build, with ash-gray hair parted to one side and shaved on the other. Steps light, he was presently entering a room where he would meet with Cleo. The simple audience chamber contained a throne with a design just subdued enough not to insult the emperor. Cleo normally received petitions in here, but Theodore had come after being summoned.

“Theodore Sera Zach, reporting in response to Prince Cleo’s summons.”

Cleo gave Theodore’s theatrical entrance a slightly irritated look. The wound he’d received in Calvin’s residence was already bothering him, and just seeing Theodore’s face annoyed him. Everything he does is so pretentious. Still, he’s more useful than any of my other pawns. But if I have to put up with him, he’d better at least earn his keep.

Cleo affected a smile to disguise his feelings. “Thank you for coming, Theodore.”

“I would race here from the edge of the Empire for you, Your Highness. Now, what is it I can do for you?” Theodore glanced around at his surroundings, likely looking for Lysithea, who distrusted him.

“I wanted to discuss the plan you proposed,” Cleo told him.

“Regarding House Banfield, you mean?” Theodore asked guardedly.

His apprehension stemmed from the fact that Cleo usually had bodyguards from House Banfield hiding nearby. The guards from Kukuri’s organization typically stayed out of sight, protecting Cleo from similar operatives. But, though they guarded Cleo, their true employer was Liam. Theodore was concerned that if he and Cleo discussed House Banfield in the guards’ presence, the guards wouldn’t only overhear them, they might even assassinate them for the discussion alone.

“None of my guests from House Banfield are present,” Cleo assured Theodore.

“They’re elsewhere? I don’t see Lady Lysithea, either.” Lysithea had become a knight to protect Cleo, and thus normally stayed at his side, but she was evidently just as absent as the House Banfield guards.

Theodore looked as if he was catching on, but Cleo explained things to him anyway. “I tasked my sister with something else, and I’ve taken care of my guards from House Banfield.”

Cleo’s implication visibly threw Theodore for a moment.

His reaction inwardly amused Cleo. “I’ve joined forces with my brother the crown prince in order to defeat Liam. We’ll now have the budget and personnel to carry out the plan you proposed. Please move ahead with it.”

Theodore straightened up and saluted Cleo. “Thank you very much! I swear I won’t disappoint you, Your Highness!”

“I’m counting on you, Theodore.”

“Please do. House Banfield is no danger to me. I’ll send them right back into obscurity where they belong.”

It was Theodore who’d suggested utilizing AI and cloning Liam in order to kill him. He’d always hated Liam and House Banfield, and he’d advocated Cleo cutting ties with them for some time now. At first, Cleo had merely listened to Theodore’s opinions. Then, when he’d asked for a concrete plan, Theodore had suggested breaking taboos without batting an eye. The idea had initially disgusted Cleo, but now he was utilizing the plan.

Cleo smiled, hiding his true feelings. “Make me proud, Theodore.”

Chapter 1: An Unjustified Grudge

Chapter 1:
An Unjustified Grudge

“FINALLY, MY TIME has come.”

Back home, Theodore was enjoying some expensive wine in his luxuriously furnished dwelling. The housing complex he lived in was specifically for hereditary knights, although on the outside it just appeared to be a worn-down high-rise. The complex was old and not without problems, but because it was cheap, knights who weren’t currently employed preferred it for their families. Theodore’s vanity had led him to fill the cheap apartment with expensive furnishings.

“That rural lord made a mistake thinking that he could serve at Prince Cleo’s side for so long. It should be a talented person like myself serving the prince. I was right all along.” Theodore’s disparaging remarks toward House Banfield stemmed, of course, from jealousy, though he also clearly had an extremely inflated sense of self-worth. “Prince Cleo’s lucky to have recruited a talented man like me. From now on, I’ll be supporting him instead of Liam.”

Theodore kept chuckling to himself until he received a call on his tablet.

“What is it?” he snapped as the image of one of his men was projected before him.

The man saluted, looking nervous. “Sir! We’re ready to head for House Banfield’s home planet. We’ve assembled the force according to your orders.”

“Good, good. Only those of considerable skill, I hope?” Theodore asked as he sipped his wine.

“Of course, sir. It’s just…”

“Just what?” Theodore urged the faltering man on.

“House Banfield is bound to have incredibly skilled guards and considerable security!” his subordinate hurriedly continued. “Even if we put together a skilled force, I’m not sure we’ll succeed in our mission…”

“You don’t think my plan’s good enough, then?!” Theodore roared.

“I-I’m sorry, sir,” the man said, his shoulders slumping.

“All you need to do is keep quiet and follow my orders. People are so convinced that House Banfield is invincible,” Theodore muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, the Guide stood behind Theodore, a disgusted look on his face. “Not this again. When will these idiots learn not to underestimate Liam? If you could get the drop on him that easily, I wouldn’t be having this much trouble!”

The Guide was so irritated that he almost killed Theodore in anger on the spot, but he desperately fought back the urge and instead focused on planning ahead.

“I’ll have to help even lumbering idiots like this if I want any chance of killing Liam,” he told himself. “I suppose I’ll lend him my assistance.”

The Guide would normally have enjoyed watching a person like Theodore fall flat on his face, but he couldn’t allow any more failures. Even if Theodore was an overly confident fool, the Guide had no choice but to help him.

“It’s all for the sake of killing Liam. I have to be patient for now.”

As the Guide endured Theodore, the man continued to posture in front of his lackey. “You never take things seriously enough. You know, if you people mess up, I’ll be the one in trouble with Prince Cleo.” He sighed. “Why am I always saddled with incompetents like you?”

“…I have no excuses, sir.”

Theodore went on, now evidently enjoying the lecture.

All the Guide could do was watch, stewing in irritation. “You’re the reason I have to go through all this, you incompetent idiot!”

Although he knew that Theodore couldn’t hear him, he couldn’t help but vent his frustration.

***

Back on House Banfield’s home planet, I—Liam Sera Banfield—was relieved to have my master’s wedding taken care of. I hoped I’d managed to repay him even a little. It wasn’t a very evil lord-like concern, but I wanted my master to be happy, since I owed him so much.

However, that wasn’t the only thing I had on my mind at the moment. I’d called a certain girl to my office.

“How dare you snitch to Master Yasushi like that? This is what you get for your treachery!”

“Ow! Stop it! That really hurts!”

I had my fists to both sides of Ciel Sera Exner’s head and was grinding them into her skull.

There was a good reason I’d summoned her for this little scolding. Ciel’s sin was this: She had told my master Yasushi—the Sword God—that I was reluctant to marry Rosetta.

Up until then, I’d been fleeing my marriage to my fiancée, Rosetta Sereh Claudia. Now that Ciel had spilled the beans to my master, though, there was no longer anywhere for me to run. Ciel had used my master to cut off my escape route. I normally enjoyed seeing Ciel try to defy me, but this time, I couldn’t just let her get away with it.

“Haaah…haaah…” I panted. “You really made me break a sweat this time. I never thought you of all people would get the jump on me.”

Finally freed from my double-noogie maneuver, Ciel clutched both sides of her head, glaring at me even with tears in her eyes. “I didn’t think it would go this way either!”

She hadn’t thought it would go this way? Did she think I’d planned never to marry my fiancée? Well, unfortunately for her, she was wrong about that. “Hmph! I was always going to wed Rosetta. How else would I obtain her peerage? Even if Master hadn’t said anything, I would’ve married her in the next decade…no, century or so.”

Now that I’d finished my noble training, I was really considered a responsible adult. At this point, I was an adult in society’s eyes—regardless of my actual age—so everyone around me constantly pestered me to marry Rosetta and have kids. It was ridiculous that they were still so concerned about things like bloodlines now that people were living out in space, but that was how this society was.

I was one of the winners in this world, and I intended to enjoy my position to the fullest. Ever since this second life of mine began, I’d planned to live for myself and no one else. Marrying Rosetta would be an important part of gaining the freedom to do that. Her title would make my position within the Empire about as close to the top as possible—both in theory and in practice.

Honestly, I myself wanted to get this wedding over with. The problem was that Rosetta’s behavior was completely different from what I’d expected when I got engaged to her in order to steal her peerage.

I was supposed to be forcing her into this marriage because it benefited me politically, so she wouldn’t just be within her rights to bear me a grudge—I’d say that was the only reaction that would make sense. Yet, for some reason, Rosetta called me “Darling” and fawned over me. I’d wanted to strong-arm her into this arrangement, and she’d thrown off all my plans by bending to me all too easily.

Ciel gave me a defiant look, tears still in her eyes. “I won’t let things go your way.”

See? That’s how it’s supposed to be!

Rosetta had caved way too easily, but Ciel was still resisting me. I decided to let her off the hook out of respect for her indomitable spirit. I couldn’t forgive her for using my master as she had; still, she was the daughter of a fellow lord with whom I wanted to maintain good relations. On top of that, she was my friend Kurt’s sister. I couldn’t punish her lightly. If anything, I actually wanted to encourage more defiance from her. Besides, it wasn’t as if she’d done something terrible that I could never recover from or anything. I valued Ciel so much precisely because she was only capable of trivial mischief like this.

“You think you can stop me?” I needled her.

“I’ll bring everyone to their senses and show them that you’re a villain!”

“I’m looking forward to it. I hope you get through to them.”

“D-don’t mock me! I’m going to expose you for what you really are!”

Yes! This is how a conversation between a villain and someone righteous should look!

That said, most people hearing our conversation would have sided with me. After all, Ciel knew the truth, but the people around us trusted me more. Thus, Ciel couldn’t take me down. What had happened this time was a fluke owing to Master Yasushi getting involved.

“Go ahead and keep up your futile resistance. You’ll never—hmm?” My gaze shifted from Ciel to the window, through which I saw distant black smoke. I’d felt a bit of a rumble too; maybe there’d been an explosion or something. “An accident? No, I don’t think so…”

“Huh? Wh-what?” Ciel didn’t even seem to realize that something had happened. This dimwittedness of hers was proof enough that she’d never really threaten me.

I turned my eyes to the floor to summon the hidden operative guarding me. “What happened out there?”

When she saw me ask the floor a question, Ciel first gave me a mocking look. Who are you talking to? her eyes seemed to say. But a black shadow soon appeared beneath me, and someone rose from it.

“Eep!” Ciel let out a cute yelp of surprise, but I ignored her for now.

The masked woman in black who’d emerged from the floor was one of Kukuri’s subordinates—an operative I’d named “Kunai.”

Kunai knelt before me, head bowed. “Thieves have infiltrated the premises, but our organization is taking care of the matter.”

“We were infiltrated…?” I asked, irritated. The members of Kukuri’s organization were skilled, but few in number. I relied on their talents for many purposes, but that didn’t mean I could let them get away with failure. “What’s Kukuri doing?”

“The boss has taken command at the scene.”

“Call him here when he’s done. Letting thieves into my mansion…” I grumbled to myself.

I must’ve let some bloodlust show, because Ciel started shaking like a leaf. Whoops, I thought, reining it in. I was a little worried that, if I scared her too much, she’d stop resisting me.

Ciel put on a brave face, though. “I-if thieves got in, we should evacuate, shouldn’t we?! O-oh, wait—if it’s safest here, maybe we don’t have to.”

Not only did I have my operatives in hiding, but guards were posted outside my office as well, so of course it was safe here. Amused, I watched Ciel put it together. What a little moron. So cute!

Looking back at Kukuri’s operative, I asked, “You’re taking care of all the thieves, right, Kunai?”

She hesitated a moment before responding, instead of replying instantly as usual. That gave me the feeling that there was bad news to report, which just irritated me more.

“I apologize, Master Liam. The thieves got away. At the moment, we’re working with the army to cut off their assumed escape route.”

“Those guys must have been skilled, then.” I was on my guard now, thinking that the thieves must’ve been bad news if they outwitted Kukuri’s men.

Kunai’s response, however, took me by surprise. “W-we haven’t even been able to confirm that, actually.”

“You haven’t confirmed it? Hey, what were they even here for? Did they go for Amagi or Ros—someone?” I’d been worried about Amagi and Rosetta for a moment, but I swallowed the question. “Or were they after valuables?”

“Fortunately, no one was harmed. What they stole was your genetic material, Master Liam.”

“Huh…?” I was relieved to hear that everyone was safe, but momentarily stunned when I heard what they’d taken.

Thieves skilled enough to outmaneuver Kukuri and his men had passed up the chance to come for my head—or my riches—and stolen my genetic material instead? Were they making some statement?

Ciel covered her face with both hands, but her ears were red. “Y-your genetic material? I wonder what they want with that…”

“I’d like to know that myself.”

***

Positioned near House Banfield’s home planet were several ships from the Empire’s special forces. In one such ship’s hangar, some of Theodore’s most talented subordinates had gathered. The leader of the group held a test tube-like container that held Liam’s genetic material.

“We got hold of it more easily than I thought we would.”

Most of those gathered looked relieved, but some seemed almost disappointed by how smoothly the job had gone.

“We didn’t see those shadow operatives, did we?”

“I’ve heard there aren’t many of them. Still, it was kind of anticlimactic, wasn’t it?”

“They’re just bloodthirsty beasts from a bygone age. They’re not good for anything other than assassination.”

The group had obtained information on Kukuri’s organization beforehand, yet they hadn’t encountered its members. That gave them a very unfavorable view of the operatives, who evidently couldn’t even defend the mansion where their master lived.

There was another reason these men had succeeded in their mission, though. He was beside them in the hangar, panting.

“Wh-who do you think enabled you to do this? Do you even know how much trouble I went through so you’d achieve your objective?”

Having lost his body, the Guide had been reduced to his top hat. He’d been run ragged; he was burned here and there where he’d protected the men as they carried out their mission. He’d finally recovered his body back on the Capital Planet, only to lose it once more on this mission to obtain Liam’s genetic material. But this group had only avoided Kukuri’s forces and retrieved that genetic material thanks to his guidance.

In his hat form, the Guide cried, “If not for me, you’d all have died—and not just once or twice! You’d have suffered hundreds of deaths! Where do you get off acting so blasé, huh?! Damn it…”

The Guide had watched them from the shadows the whole time, ensuring they’d pull this off, yet the men knew nothing about that. They smiled nonchalantly as the Guide wept, looking up at Liam’s genetic material.

“It was worth all the trouble, though. Liam…your worst enemy will be you yourself!”

***

“This is disgraceful, Kukuri.”

Tia was participating in this investigation from the Empire’s border, transmitting her image and audio to this specially designed dome-shaped room. Her large hologram gazed down at Kukuri coldly, and those physically present in the room wore the same expression on their faces.

Marie looked so pissed that she’d crossed her arms to keep herself from cutting Kukuri down where he knelt before them. “Not only did you let thieves infiltrate the mansion, you even let them get away. How useless can you be? Aren’t you embarrassed to have allowed this to happen on your watch?”

Kukuri could say nothing to either woman. Instead, he apologized only to me. “If need be, I will apologize with my head and the heads of all my subordinates present during the incident. However, we continue to swear allegiance to House Banfield. Please, if you can allow us one chance to make up for our mistakes…”

“Cutting your heads off would just make your organization more useless,” I scoffed.

I actually had a very high opinion of Kukuri’s group, but they’d really screwed up this time. Tia and Marie were as furious as they were because they understood that only too well.

Only my head knight Claus hurried to defend Kukuri and his forces. “Lord Liam, punishing Sir Kukuri’s operatives too severely will affect their ability to serve in the future, and we have no personnel with whom we could replace them.”

Kukuri’s group been so useful thus far that I’d left things of this nature to them completely, but that had backfired this time around. Claus raised a good point, though, so I decided to let that go for now. “I’ll let you off the hook this time, in light of your previous achievements. I don’t need your heads,” I told Kukuri. “What I need is the heads of the thieves. If you have to, search every nook and cranny of space!”

Those thieves had snuck into my mansion and needed to be punished for that.

“Yes, sir!” said Kukuri.

Tia and Marie both looked dissatisfied with his response. They likely thought I was being too lenient with him. It was true that this was the kind of mistake someone should really need to repent for with their death. But…if I were the kind of guy who’d kill Kukuri for this, I would’ve killed Tia and Marie a long time ago. Had they forgotten how many mistakes they’d made? I gave them a harsh look, and they corrected their expressions.

Claus must’ve sensed the shift in the air; he moved on to report something else. “Lord Liam, regarding the next matter we need to discuss…”

“That attack on Prince Cleo, yeah?”

“Yes. Someone attacked His Highness, killing all the guards we assigned to him. That includes three operatives working for Kukuri in addition to knights and soldiers.”

“They were wiped out, eh?” I muttered.

Everyone looked back at Kukuri. He was feigning calm, but I had to imagine that his blood was boiling.

“Some clan of darkness you are,” Tia remarked, rubbing salt in his wound. “Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?”

Kukuri didn’t respond.

“You must’ve gone soft,” Marie added. “I mean, letting this happen at such an important time, with the wedding coming up? How do you plan to take responsibility if the ceremony has to be postponed?”

She was hitting him with all the bloodlust she had, but Kukuri let it wash over him. Why did she care so much about the wedding, anyway? It had nothing to do with her. I would’ve been happy to postpone it.

In the midst of all this unpleasant tension, it sank in once again that the only person present who’d never disgraced himself was Claus. He always just got his work done quietly.

I glanced at him, and he started defending Kukuri again. “The knights guarding the prince died as well. The enemy must’ve been quite powerful. Blame for this can’t fall on Sir Kukuri alone.”

Claus was on the money, and in any case, we couldn’t waste any more time on this. We had to solve the problems right in front of us. “Claus is right. Send Prince Cleo new guards. If we have to, we can have Ethel’s Royal Guard—”

As I began planning, Claus shook his head. “Prince Cleo says he doesn’t require more guards from House Banfield.”

“What…?”

“He said he won’t trouble us after what happened. That said, I imagine his real feeling is that we’re untrustworthy. From now on, his guard will consist of forces he assembles on his own.”

I’d lost Cleo’s trust, eh? Well, it was true that he’d been injured despite the guards we’d provided for him. We bore responsibility for that.

Marie’s brow furrowed. “We’re untrustworthy? How many personnel, and how much material and money, does he think we’ve provided him up till now? The damned brat wouldn’t even be a figurehead if not for Lord Liam.”

Tia didn’t quash her complaints about Cleo either, but at least she seemed a little calmer than Marie. “The knights we assigned to Prince Cleo were elite. To have bested them, the enemy must’ve been quite formidable. Lord Liam, I’d suggest sending someone from this group to the Capital Planet.”

I did want some intel on what was happening on the Capital Planet, and any of the people present could probably carry out that mission. Tia and Marie had personality issues, but they could both get a job done when they needed to. Kukuri had failed this time, but he had a good track record otherwise. Meanwhile, Claus was more dependable than anybody.

“Well, I wish I could send Claus… Tia can’t leave the border with the Autocracy, and I want Marie to defend the home planet. So I guess only Kukuri can go.” I grinned at him.

He stood slowly, evidently picking up on what I was saying to him. “I would very much appreciate the opportunity to redeem myself.”

“Very well. You won’t get another chance.”

“No, sir!”

“Claus, consult with Kukuri about the personnel we’ll send to the Capital Planet. I’ll leave deploying them to you.” Although I’d decided to send Kukuri, I couldn’t leave this to his organization alone. He’d need numbers to investigate and respond to whatever they uncovered.

“Yes, sir,” Claus responded calmly.

Meanwhile, I thought, Yes! This is it! In the past, I’d stupidly decided to surround myself with beautiful female knights. But experience had taught me that there were personality flaws that no amount of good looks made up for. Tia, Marie—that refers to you.

Kukuri approached Claus. “Sir Claus, I can tell you exactly what I’ll need. Let us discuss this right away, shall we?”

Claus shot me a look, so I nodded, and he left the room with Kukuri.

***

Claus did his best to maintain a calm demeanor, but as he left the room with Kukuri, he was inwardly terrified.

Why do I have to walk alongside an assassin? These people are scary!

For some reason, Liam trusted him immensely, so Claus had been assigned all kinds of tasks. For his own part, however, Claus had no idea why he held such an important role. His abilities were those of an average knight, at best, and he had no particular talents to speak of. Yet he’d been made House Banfield’s head knight.

Claus did his best to wear a neutral expression so no one would see the turmoil he felt inside. As he maintained this facade, the taller Kukuri looked down at him from an angle. “I owe you my thanks, Sir Claus,” he said. “Please allow me to repay you.”

“Repay me?”

“Yes. Your defense saved us. If you would like someone killed, please tell me. We’ll get rid of anybody in your way, even Christiana or Marie.”

As Kukuri snickered to himself, Claus thought, So he was upset with those two as well. Okay. Still, we can’t kill our allies, can we?! “I don’t need anyone assassinated; your appreciation is enough for me.”

“Are you sure? Those two are after your position, you know. I’m certain they would take the opportunity to kill you if it presented itself.”

Kukuri didn’t need to tell him that. Claus was plenty wary of those two already. Yeah, I bet they’d kill me to take the role of head knight. I’d give it up in a heartbeat, but I doubt Lord Liam would let me.

Although Kukuri had just told him that Tia and Marie would kill him if they had a chance, Claus would never have considered doing the same. He understood that House Banfield would suffer greatly if it lost any of them. It wasn’t that Claus didn’t value his own life, but he also felt indebted to Liam and didn’t want to do anything to drag his lord down if he could help it. He didn’t want any blood spilled between allies, although he wasn’t about to let them kill him either.

“It’s not necessary. It wouldn’t benefit House Banfield,” he insisted. “What if I asked you to simply protect me from them instead?” Kukuri’s organization could probably fend off any assassination attempts made by Tia or Marie.

When Claus asked for that instead, Kukuri stroked his chin. “Hmm…I don’t mind,” he said, accepting the request.

And so, by defending Kukuri, Claus made a new, rather sinister connection.

Chapter 2: A Proxy War

Chapter 2:
A Proxy War

WHEN YOU RANKED among the Algrand Empire’s most powerful nobles, your wedding took quite a while to plan. You couldn’t just shoot a few people a message announcing that you’d wed in a month or so. Ensuring that all those attending would be ready took years of prep.

Now, I could’ve ignored all that and tied the knot whenever I wanted, but there was the petty pride of nobles to deal with. If I’d had a quick, casual event, I’d no doubt have gotten complaints from people who weren’t invited. Even if all those who wanted to attend were invited, the event would still require careful planning so that no one got upset about who was seated where or whatever other stupid complaint they might come up with. Also, if the ceremony was too frugal, people would think we were poor and look down on us. All in all, nuptials were a huge pain in this intergalactic nation, compared to how they tended to go in my previous life.

As I worked in my office, my butler, Brian Beaumont, stood beside me and looked over the list of potential attendees with great emotion. “Master Liam, look at all the people who wish to attend your wedding to Lady Rosetta! My tears of happiness simply won’t stop! Why, I dare say House Banfield has become even more prosperous than it was under Master Alistair’s rule.”

About a century ago, House Banfield was considered a family of destitute backwater nobles. With my birth, the Banfield domain had seen a surge in development. The family had now become one of the most influential in the Empire.

“It’s more prosperous than it’s ever been, huh? Still, it feels like it was pretty easy to get to this point.” I’d turn exactly one hundred this year. Given that fewer than a hundred years had passed since I took over the domain, it was pretty shocking that I’d achieved all this.

As I wondered why other nobles didn’t accomplish the same in their own domains, Brian corrected my assumption. “That’s because you did so, Master Liam. I can’t imagine other counts achieving the same results even if they emulated you.”

He had a point. Emulating me wouldn’t allow other nobles to achieve everything I had. At best, they might get halfway to where I was. After all, I’d only succeeded because of the Guide’s protection; in other words, I owed my success to a supernatural patron.

“Well, I am lucky.”

“I hardly think luck alone got you this far, sir.” Brian didn’t seem satisfied with my explanation of things.

Still, as far as I was concerned, I’d only gotten where I had because of the Guide. Not only had he let me reincarnate into this world, he was a great guy who’d helped me out countless times since then. He didn’t show himself much these days, but I’d glimpsed him a few times since reincarnating, so I had no doubt that he was still hard at work on my behalf out there somewhere.

“How come so many people want to come to this thing anyway? It’s just a wedding.” Looking at the list of potential attendees, I was already exhausted.

Brian looked over the list with pride, though. “That’s proof of how many nobles wish to use this opportunity to make a connection with us. Although, unfortunately, it also shows how many people wish to exploit such a connection.”

Brian used one such unfortunate individual as an example. The data he showed me included a rather long petition for aid alongside a request for an invitation. The individual in question was a noble from the outskirts, like me, but he was shouldering an enormous debt. The sum he owed was so significant that he couldn’t even make payments on it, so he wanted my support. There were actually several such pathetic individuals on Brian’s list.

“These people are so shameless,” I remarked.

“Well, their wishes are also proof of the reputation for dependability our house has earned.”

“I guess I could throw them some spending money and make ’em my lackeys.”

“You’re not going to invite everyone without investigating them thoroughly, are you?”

Well, I had no interest in anyone upstanding and virtuous. After all, I was an evil lord; I should join hands with other villains. “You don’t think it’d be fun to tie them down with debts, then work them for all they’re worth?”

“Er, I…”

Brian didn’t seem to agree with my methods, and he was fervently trying to dissuade me from inviting that type. I was beginning to think that it’d be fine not to if it was going to be such a pain. That was when I received an emergency call.

“Who is it? Amagi?!” When I saw that the call was coming from her, I hastily let it through.

In front of me appeared an image of Amagi from the bust up. “I apologize for the urgent call, Master.”

“You can contact me whenever you want. Just tell me what happened.” It was odd for Amagi to call me instead of visiting in person, which made me worried that there was a real emergency.

“There has been activity on the Capital Planet.”

“Something to do with Prince Cleo…?” I narrowed my eyes, and Brian straightened up beside me.

“Yes. A baron has petitioned Prince Cleo for aid in a territory dispute with a viscount.”

“Not an unusual thing.”

Nobles fought over territory all the time. Rare metals might be discovered on a planet, or ancient ruins might be unearthed—well, there were plenty of reasons why two houses might dispute an area’s ownership. Such squabbles occurred daily in the Empire, so there was nothing surprising about someone petitioning a prince for aid. The baron had probably asked Cleo for help in order to establish ties with him, since it looked as though Cleo was winning the succession conflict. So far, nothing about what Amagi had told me was strange.

“No, it isn’t unusual. However, the viscount in conflict with the baron has requested aid from the crown prince, and the crown prince’s faction has put their full support behind him.”

“What?”

Amagi sent me the data, which I displayed in the air around me. Right away, I noticed what was strange.

“I understand that rare metals were discovered on the disputed planet, but it’s still strange for Calvin to take a minor squabble so seriously,” I mused.

What would be a good way to describe it? It was as if the state were getting involved in a minor dispute between two small towns. There was no reason for the nation itself to interfere in such a petty conflict, but even if there were, simple mediation should solve the issue. Yet Calvin was dispatching serious military force to deal with the problem.

“What’s Prince Cleo planning…?”

Since the other side was receiving military aid from Calvin, the question was how Cleo would respond. I was also curious about why I hadn’t been contacted at all about this issue.

“It seems that Cleo promised the baron his full support on the Capital Planet. He has announced his plan to dispatch an army, with you as its supreme commander, Master.” Amagi’s tone was as flat as ever, but I now understood why she’d used the emergency line.

“Now, why would he go and do that?” I said.

The news shocked Brian. “H-how could he…?” he muttered, although he didn’t interrupt my conversation with Amagi further than that.

I decided to take action right away. “Amagi, call Claus immediately.”

“Understood.”

When the call with Amagi concluded, Brian finally spoke up again, his tone sour. “What is the prince thinking, involving our house in a war when he knows what an important time this is for us? This problem could be solved with a simple discussion. It’s downright unfair of him to announce you as this army’s commander, manufacturing a situation you can’t get out of.”

Cleo definitely knew about my upcoming wedding to Rosetta; regardless, he and the and crown prince had announced serious support for opposing sides in the conflict between the baron and viscount. In other words, it was a proxy war between Cleo and Calvin. On the surface it was nothing more than a small territorial dispute, but really, the princes wanted to decide their succession conflict through this war. I didn’t know if Prince Cleo just wanted to get it over with, or if Calvin was getting hasty; either way, though, the pair were clearly looking to settle the competition between them.

“I planned to hash things out with Calvin a little later, but… Well, what should we do about this?”

Clashes between large factions like these were time-consuming. In the worst-case scenario, this could go on for decades. Even then, we might not manage to settle things in a concrete way. In a sense, this was the perfect excuse to get out of my wedding.

“You’d better tell Rosetta about this,” I ordered Brian.

He began sullenly tapping at his tablet. “It truly is unfortunate. Lady Rosetta was so looking forward to the wedding… Oh, my tears may never stop.”

Brian had always cried a lot, but he seemed to find even more excuses lately. He really spent a lot of time in tears.

***

A member of the Henfrey Company’s upper management had come to visit Liam’s mansion. The woman was speaking to Rosetta, smiling ear to ear as the duke’s daughter tried on a pure-white dress in a dressing room.

“What do you think? It’s woven with thread made from the precious gemini plant. The weaver’s technique made it both light and durable. It’s not only beautiful but practical too: There’s purified silverwork in it, so it should serve as a powerful talisman for warding off evil. The price is, of course, significant, but the dress suits you wonderfully, Lady Rosetta.”

The luxurious, ridiculously expensive gown cost as much as a cheap mobile knight. The pure-white garment was so light that one could almost forget that they were wearing it. In addition to incorporating a precious plant, the design was crafted with other special touches as well. It clung delicately to Rosetta’s smooth skin, containing her large breasts without any spillage so she wouldn’t have to worry about an accident during the ceremony.

The design also accommodated Rosetta’s tastes, so she was more than happy with how it had turned out. It was the wedding dress of her dreams—only the exorbitant price made her head spin.

“The cost just has me a little dizzy…” she admitted. “A-and it’s so br-bright… It’s actually glowing a little, isn’t it?”

The faint light emanating from the dress hurt Rosetta’s eyes a bit. All the stitching had been done with thread made of gold, a material Liam adored. Several prototypes had been sewn before this one, and even with the dressing room light dimmed, all those expensive dresses glowed brightly around Rosetta.

Marie, who’d accompanied Rosetta to the fitting, wept upon seeing her in her wedding dress. “It looks wonderful on you, Lady Rosetta!”

“Thank you, Marie… Although I can’t quite wrap my head around the price.”

“Well, that won’t do. Why don’t you sit down and take a little rest?”

Marie snapped her fingers, and a chair glided quickly over to stop beside Rosetta, who sat down.

Marie turned to the merchant. “I’m surprised to hear that gemini has become so valuable. Weren’t those abundant enough that they were quite cheap not long ago?”

The woman from the Henfrey Company smiled awkwardly. “I think you must be mistaken. Gemini’s pharmaceutical applications were discovered a long time ago, so its cultivation is regulated strictly.”

“Regulated? Didn’t people used to carry gemini around as lucky charms because of its holy properties?”

“Gemini plants have always been strictly regulated as far as I know, since they can be used to produce illegal drugs.”

Marie’s knowledge—commonplace two thousand years ago—was proving unreliable during the era she’d found herself in. Noting the woman’s explanation, Marie made a request of her. “In any case, since Lady Rosetta seems to like the dress, I’m sure you won’t mind preparing another of the same as a spare?”

“A-another gown of this quality as a spare?! This is a bespoke piece sewn for this specific occasion. We could easily provide something else in addition to this one…”

“There’s always the chance of some trouble on the big day. We’ll need at least two gowns, just in case. In addition, Lady Rosetta will need other dresses for separate parts of the event, so we’ll need a few different designs for those as well.”

“You mean a few different designs of this quality?! If you could at least be satisfied with a step down…no two steps down…from this, I think we could deliver a few more dresses.”

“Enough! Lord Liam entrusted us with more than sufficient funds, so all your company has to do is be quiet and prepare some dresses Lady Rosetta will like!”

“Y-yes, ma’am!”

Despite what Marie said, Rosetta was overwhelmed. She’d been destitute for so long that, confronted with all the expensive goods around her, she completely lost her nerve. “No need to go so far for me, Marie. You only marry once, so I think one dress is enough.” And i-it’s crazy to pay so much for a dress you’ll only wear once.

Twisting around, Marie smiled widely at Rosetta. For a moment, Rosetta was relieved, thinking she understood. Then Marie spun back to the woman from the Henfrey Company and glared at her. “I want several lovely dresses of the utmost quality,” she insisted. “I’ll send you more specific requests later, and I expect to see at least three hundred design ideas in return.”

Rosetta tried to stop the knight, since hiring a first-rate designer to come up with a few hundred designs would already be incredibly expensive. “Marie, that’s enough. I like this dress, so this one’s fine.”

“You mustn’t compromise, Lady Rosetta! This will be a once-in-a-lifetime moment in the limelight!”

Rosetta was getting overwhelmed, but Marie seemingly wouldn’t stop no matter what she said to her.

Suddenly, Marie received an emergency message. “Who’s contacting me at this—Lord Liam?!” She quickly read the message and deflated, all her energy vanishing in an instant.

“What is it, Marie?” Rosetta asked, worried.

“Lady Rosetta… It’s possible the wedding may have to be canceled,” Marie said apologetically.

“What?”

“There’s been activity on the Capital Planet. Prince Cleo and Prince Calvin are preparing for a proxy war.”

“U-um…” Rosetta quickly understood what Marie was saying.

I suppose Darling will have to participate… And if it’s a large-scale war, then it’s sure to take a long time. We won’t have time for the wedding now.

Rosetta hung her head, and none of the maids waiting nearby could say anything to comfort her. However, she swiftly looked back up. “Well, we can’t do anything about that. Didn’t Darling summon you, Marie? Go to him quickly.”

“Are you sure?” Marie was asking whether Rosetta intended to protest.

“If Darling decided this, then it’s not my place to complain,” Rosetta said, shaking her head. “He’s deemed this necessary, right?”

“I shall make sure Lord Liam hears those words.”

When Marie left the room, Rosetta smiled somewhat sadly.

“I suppose the wedding’s getting postponed again.”

***

Emerging from the dressing room, Marie went to join Liam, moving at a rapid pace. Her adjutant, Haydi, had been waiting outside the room; he quickly fell in step beside her.

“Well, you’re in a bad mood all of a sudden. You were over the moon when you went in there.”

Marie’s cheerfulness before entering the dressing room had actually concerned Haydi a bit, but now she’d emerged with such a scowl that everyone they passed shrank back in fright.

“…I’ve told you before how I feel about Lady Rosetta, right, Haydi?”

“Yeah, I remember. She’s the descendent of that friend of yours who you couldn’t protect.”

Marie and Rosetta’s relationship transcended generations. Two thousand years ago, before Marie was petrified, she’d been close to a daughter of House Claudia. They’d met when Marie saved the young lady from space pirates, after which the daughter summoned Marie for something or other; they’d remained inseparable from then on. Soon, they were close enough to consider themselves best friends. Their relationship had come to an abrupt end, however.

Those two millennia ago, House Claudia had selected a groom from the Imperial family for the daughter. By the end of that time’s succession conflict, though, a prince from an opposing faction ended up on the throne. That new emperor’s rise to power was followed by a political purge, and opposing princes were rounded up for crimes they hadn’t committed and executed one after another. The emperor didn’t stop at that; even House Claudia was made to pay for associating with the opposition.

“To protect my friend—Rosetta’s ancestor—I fought and fought, and I made quite a name for myself.” Marie clenched her fists as she reminisced.

“Right,” Haydi said, urging her to continue.

“Yet not only did the emperor break his promise, that piece of garbage tormented House Claudia for two thousand years… And because of him, I became garbage who couldn’t even protect her friend as she’d promised.”

What Marie truly couldn’t forgive was her own weakness, her inability to protect her friend after vowing to do so.

“So that’s why you want to protect little Lady Rosetta now,” Haydi said.

“No. I want her to be happy. Maybe my friend will feel a little better if Lady Rosetta achieves the happiness she didn’t, right?” Rather than just protecting Rosetta, as she’d promised, Marie wanted to protect the young woman’s happiness. That was what she wished for. “That’s why, one day, I’m going to make sure those princes on the Capital Planet suffer for destroying Lady Rosetta’s happiness this way.”

“Sounds good to me. I’m all for it.” Two thousand years earlier, Haydi had been petrified, like Marie. He thus held a grudge against the Empire, as she did. “In that case, we should finish all this up as quickly as we can. Right, Marie?”

“Yeah… I’ll grind all the idiots causing us work needlessly into dust.”

***

Several weapons factories supported the Algrand Empire’s military. Among them, it was the Seventh Weapons Factory that Liam had maintained a relationship with ever since taking over as lord of his house. That relationship had begun when the Seventh Weapons Factory repaired the Avid; since then, they’d been indispensable to House Banfield’s military might.

Engineering Major Nias Carlin, who worked with the Seventh Weapons Factory, had been summoned by her superior.

Once the two were alone in one of the mobile-knight design offices, Nias’s pale, tired-looking superior spoke. “Nias… I want you to design a machine to succeed the Avid.”

Nias cocked her head at her superior’s meek request. “That’s another task that’s pretty annoying. I don’t mind designing something, but making something with specs that surpassed the current Avid’s would be fairly difficult. I mean, it’s thanks to the Machine Heart that the thing’s evolving all on its own—and that tech is a black box. But if we work from the original design, we could at least make something pretty good.”

Nias wasn’t sure why her supervisor was asking her to do this. She’d assumed she would be told to build something that improved on the Avid eventually. Liam had installed the Machine Heart in the Avid himself, though, and she didn’t think any weapons factory could create a mobile knight with better specs. She was pretty sure no Imperial arms producer could.

“If House Banfield’s going to make such an annoying request, I wish they’d ask us to design a new mobile-knight model instead. I know I could make something to outshine the Raccoon and Teumessa!” she said proudly.

Her superior shook his head weakly. “That’s just it, Nias. The request isn’t from House Banfield.”

“Huh…?” Nias’s eyes widened.

She was taken aback for a simple reason. There were requests all over the Empire for a mobile knight like the Avid, and those requests could completely ignore cost-effectiveness. Reality was cruel, though; very few nobles had House Banfield’s vast budget and ability to obtain rare metals. Anyone with the money to spend on a machine like the Avid was better served purchasing a fleet of more affordable vessels. That was why the Seventh Weapons Factory’s upper management usually refused such requests politely. This time, however, Nias was being told to do the work.

“Is it from some big noble house?” she asked. “They must be doing pretty well if they have enough rare metals to throw around.”

She was responding in a carefree manner, but from her supervisor’s appearance, she guessed that something about this request was suspicious.

“They have the money, but not the rare metals.”

“Well, the model’s never going to measure up in terms of specs, then. I guess I could make it about sixty percent as powerful.”

Nias figured that reproducing the Avid’s original design would only give the craft six-tenths of the actual Avid’s capabilities. It likely wouldn’t even be half as strong as the current Avid.

As she considered her options, her superior still looked uncomfortable. “No, the client wants a next-gen machine that’ll surpass the Avid. And we’ll use rare metals from our own stock.”

“Our stock? Wait a second—our stock’s only on loan from House Banfield!”

The Seventh Weapons Factory did have a considerable store of rare metals, but since House Banfield had provided those, they couldn’t use them for someone else’s request—and Nias’s superior was well aware of that.

“I’m sure you can understand why I’m asking that you do this. We can’t decline this request.”

Right after her superior said that, an armed knight entered the design office. His weapon was sheathed, but his attitude still intimidated Nias. In a gentle tone, and with a smile pasted on his face, he told her ominously, “Engineering Major Nias Carlin, you will construct a mobile knight surpassing the Avid. Naturally, there’s no need to worry about the cost. Please use as many rare metals as the job requires.”

“Decline and I’ll kill you” went unsaid but was implied. Nias shot a look at her superior, who had obviously already been threatened.

“They’ll be watching both of us from today on,” he said helplessly. “The rest of our staff as well, of course. We won’t be able to contact House Banfield about this.”

Nias sighed lightly. “So, if we don’t cooperate, we’re all dead, eh…? Think Lord Liam will forgive us when this comes to light later?”

Her superior smiled nervously. “I hope we get out of it with just a scolding.”

Once he’d confirmed that he and Nias were resigned to their fate, the knight spoke up again. “I appreciate your cooperation. Now…I suggest that you start as soon as possible on developing a mobile knight that will surpass Liam’s Avid.”

Chapter 3: Planet Charlot

Chapter 3:
Planet Charlot

ALONG WITH THE OTHER NOBLES in Cleo’s faction, I’d been summoned to the palace on the Capital Planet. In addition to the more significant names in attendance were trusted knights and bureaucrats they employed.

The large assembly room featured circular tiers of seating with the lowest rows in the center. Nobles, knights, and soldiers packed the room, Cleo looking down on them from the special seating closest to the ceiling. In the center of this arrangement was a hologram of Planet Charlot; it rotated so that everyone could get a good look at it.

Chairing this meeting was Theodore Sera Zach. He stood under a spotlight, speaking loudly and with great enthusiasm. “He who obtains Planet Charlot shall rule the Empire! I need you all to understand how important this battle will be!”

There was nothing wrong with what he was saying, but his attitude was overbearing, as if he were lecturing a group of children. Theodore was from a baron’s family; they were so-called “court nobles” who didn’t command their own domain, yet still received a salary from the palace, even if they did nothing to earn it. If such nobles served in a government post, they received additional pay, but Theodore had been unemployed until recently. He could only stand before all of us so confidently because Cleo had just given him a powerful position in his Imperial Guard.

Theodore wore a unique Imperial Guard uniform with a rank insignia identifying him as a Special Lieutenant General. That was basically an honorary rank created for him specifically, similar to the Special Staff Officer rank I’d held during my time in the Imperial Army.

Theodore continued his commentary on the planet. “Planet Charlot is already habitable, with an excellent environment, but the most important thing about it is its reservoir of rare metals. Initial reports suggest considerable reserves, and the mining prospects look good.”

The planet was enticing, judging by the documents in front of me. It was beautiful, but sadly destined for environmental tragedy, since it would be mined for its rare metals. Its surface would inevitably be dug up and its waters dirtied, eventually rendering Planet Charlot no longer fit for human habitation.

“Too bad. It’s a beautiful blue… Reminds me of Earth.”

Claus was seated beside me, and my reminiscing about my past home caught his attention. “‘Earth,’ sir? What planet is that?”

“Don’t worry about it. What’s your take on Charlot?”

Claus turned his attention back to the documents and stated his honest opinion. “It’s definitely a promising planet, but we wouldn’t need to interfere if not for the succession conflict.”

No one cared about Planet Charlot in and of itself. We all knew what this was really about: the Imperial succession.

Beside Theodore was one of the people who asserted ownership of Planet Charlot: Baron Schlust Sera Glynn. The thin, androgynous-looking baron had long black hair that went almost down to the floor. He wore a suit, but his striking hair drew more attention than his clothes. His slender, vulpine face gave him an untrustworthy look.

The spotlight shifted to Baron Glynn, who bowed deeply. “I very much appreciate the assistance of all you gallant folk. Charlot is part of House Glynn’s territory, but Viscount Myatt is trying to steal it. I’d like your help in bringing this matter to a just resolution.”

The conflict around Planet Charlot was between Baron Glynn and Viscount Myatt. Glynn had the nobles of Cleo’s faction on his side, while those in Calvin’s faction sided with Myatt. I’d initially thought that the baron and viscount were merely small-time nobles getting caught up in a fight between bigger names, but Glynn seemed perfectly content with the situation.

“‘Just,’ eh? What a shameless guy,” I whispered to Claus.

“You don’t feel that Baron Glynn’s cause is just?” Claus asked cautiously.

“I don’t believe there is such a thing as justice. Charlot’s an enticing planet, so he wants it. That’s all there is to it, right? If no one had found rare metals there, it would’ve been left untouched forever.”

Before, Planet Charlot had only been a habitable planet and nothing more, but now that Baron Glynn knew that rare metals were present, he wanted to settle it for mining. Viscount Myatt, a nearby lord, had noticed the planet at the same time, and so the two nobles began squabbling over it.

Furthermore, there was no guarantee that Baron Glynn was telling the truth. Viscount Myatt would have his own side of the story. No one here had any interest in which of them was actually justified, though. It didn’t matter to the Empire who owned the planet, so long as they got their taxes in the end. Planet Charlot was only coming to all of our attention now because of Cleo and Calvin’s succession conflict.

The other nobles around me gave Baron Glynn cold looks, voicing their opinions.

“He’s a coward who can’t even defend his own domain.”

“If it’s really his territory, he should’ve mined it already.”

“Well, he’s too weak to do that, isn’t he?”

As everyone said whatever they wanted about him, Baron Glynn backed up, his face twitching.

Theodore stepped forward to take his place in the spotlight. “Quiet, please! I’d like to hear Count Banfield’s opinion.”

When my name came up, all the chatting nobles hushed, since no one was stupid enough to talk over the leader of the faction. Having all those stern faces clam up to hear what I’d say felt pretty good.

“As a noble with territory myself, I sympathize with the baron. But we also need to win this fight for Prince Cleo’s sake. I believe it would be productive to discuss how we’ll do that.”

My implication was, “Let’s ignore Glynn and talk about how we’re going to beat Calvin’s faction,” but Theodore and the baron didn’t look too happy about that.

“Now, that won’t do, Count Banfield,” Theodore cautioned. “Winning is important, granted, but Baron Glynn is our ally. His war with Viscount Myatt has exhausted his domain; his planets are ruined. We’ll need to provide him with supplies as well. We can’t forget that.”

Behind Theodore, Baron Glynn nodded, all smiles.

He wants supplies, eh? That was nothing but a pain for the rest of us. War would be annoying enough, and now we’d have to support the baron too? Everyone here was thinking the same thing.

“If this conflict is going to settle things with Calvin’s faction, we should focus on that,” I replied. “Although, of course, we can send aid if we have the capacity to.”

As I essentially told them that I had no intention of supporting the baron, Cleo himself appeared as a three-dimensional hologram in the center of the room. The image only showed his upper half, but since it was oversized, we all had to look up at him. For the record, it didn’t feel great to have a huge 3D image looking down on me.

“Please don’t say that, Count Banfield,” Cleo chided me. “I’d like you to help Baron Glynn. He’s one of us, after all. Can I leave this matter to you?” He glanced down at his right arm; that must’ve been where he was injured. He seemed to be saying, “I got hurt because of you, so I won’t brook any argument on this.”

Claus must’ve interpreted Cleo’s gesture the same way. When I glanced over at him, he shook his head, as if telling me not to argue. Still, I hadn’t expected Cleo to call me out specifically. It would’ve been better if I could split this burden with a few other nobles. I was at a disadvantage with Cleo right now, though; for the time being, I’d have to play nice.

“…I’ll send supplies right away.”

It wasn’t just the holographic image looking down at me; Cleo was gazing at me from his seat at the top of the room too. “Thank you. It sounds like the viscount has really put the baron through the wringer, so be generous with those supplies, all right? It would help, too, if you could send personnel to assist with reconstruction. That’s your specialty, isn’t it, Count Banfield? I’m counting on you.”

He’s not going easy on me, is he? “I’ll be sure to meet your expectations.”

***

As soon as the meeting was over, Cleo summoned Theodore, who entered the room and immediately started grumbling about Liam.

“Don’t you think you were a little soft on Banfield, Your Highness? When I told him to send supplies, he had the nerve to refuse!”

Although Liam had ultimately heeded Cleo’s orders, Theodore couldn’t stand the manner in which the count had rebuffed him.

“He said he’d send aid if he had the capacity,” Lysithea argued. “That’s not a refusal at all. Have you forgotten that you only have the position you now hold because of Count Banfield’s aid?” Cleo had used House Banfield’s money to establish his Imperial Guard. In other words, Theodore only had his job because of Liam.

Theodore understood that, but he still couldn’t hide his displeasure. “Lady Lysithea, this is Prince Cleo’s faction. Is it not natural for the nobles in it to support the faction?”

“Count Banfield is the only one who extended his hand to us when we were struggling, and you want to spit on his generosity!”

Theodore reluctantly closed his mouth when Cleo stepped in. “Leave it at that, Sister.”

“Cleo?! But they’re—”

Lysithea had other complaints about how the meeting had unfolded, but Cleo clearly didn’t intend to listen to them. Instead, he turned to Theodore. “Theodore, you’ll serve as a military observer in this war. I want you stationed on Count Banfield’s ship, where you’ll fulfill your mission—got it?”

“Yes, sir!”

A moment earlier, Theodore had seemed dissatisfied, but he responded to Cleo’s order with gusto. Perhaps he was so enthusiastic because he’d achieved the position of Special Lieutenant General and would thus now be referred to as “Your Excellency.”

However, Lysithea was worried. “Cleo, I’m not sure about appointing Theodore as a military observer. Look at how that meeting went today. The faction’s nobles don’t have a great impression of him.”

Cleo wasn’t taking Lysithea’s advice, though. “It’s already decided. It’ll be fine. Count Banfield will win this conflict—I’m sure of it. All we have to do is sit back and wait.”

Lysithea still seemed dissatisfied, but she couldn’t do anything to change Cleo’s mind.

***

After that meeting, I gathered the most important people in the faction for a little discussion of our own. Baron Exner, my friend Kurt’s father, was of course one of them. Then there were the slender, white-haired Francis Sera Gyanne and the musclebound, eyepatch-wearing, piratical Jericho Sera Gaul. These three formed the core of Cleo’s faction.

I’d had a lengthy relationship with House Exner, and since the baron was Kurt’s father, I trusted him. Meanwhile, the other two were at least very competent lords of their territories. Unlike the ignorant masses, these three knew what they were doing.

Jericho grabbed some of the drinking snacks we had in front of us. He tossed them into his mouth, crunching them and gulping them down. “Theodore might be on top of the Imperial Guard, but that coward’s really full of himself, huh?”

Sipping his drink, Francis agreed. “Prince Cleo seems to have put together his own force of thirty thousand ships with the money we provided him. That’s irritating enough to me, but I imagine you’re more annoyed than anyone, Lord Liam.”

Jericho and Francis gave me expectant looks, no doubt wanting to know what I thought of Cleo.

I returned their gazes. “The prince was helping some court nobles who couldn’t get jobs, right? Very charitable of him.” Despite what I said, I downed my glass in one gulp, which was enough to signal to the other three that I wasn’t too happy about the situation.

Baron Exner wasn’t sure what we should do about the Imperial Guard. “Prince Cleo’s thirty-thousand-ship fleet and Imperial Guard will take part in the fight as well, but it seems Sir Theodore will participate as a military observer. He says he’ll go into battle alongside us, but I wonder what’ll happen.”

That was what had Jericho angry. “Cowards with no real battle experience will only hold us back. Is there any way you can refuse their help, Liam?”

As the head of Cleo’s faction, I could probably prevent the Imperial Guard’s participation. Theodore on my ship as a military observer? No thanks. A newly formed fleet with no real experience would only burden us, so I didn’t want them fighting with us either. I wasn’t in Cleo’s good graces right now, though, so all I could do was accept his orders.

At least, that was what my outward attitude suggested. In reality, I was glad that Theodore and the Imperial Guard were participating. “If they want to chip in, let ’em. I don’t mind.”

Francis gave me a keen look. “You’ve got your own ideas, I see. Well then, we’ll leave things to you.”

The three of them exchanged glances and nodded, all clearly in agreement.

Baron Exner changed the subject. “Ah…but what’ll happen with your wedding, Lord Liam? With all this going on, I imagine it’ll have to be postponed, but I’d love to know what your plans are.”

If there was a real problem here, it was my wedding. As this faction’s leader, I couldn’t get away with just inviting a few members. I’d probably have to ask almost all of them.

Baron Exner—and everyone else, really—wanted to know what I planned now that we had to deal with Planet Charlot. This conflict with Calvin would likely take a long time to settle. There was no time for a wedding now, so all I could do was cancel it. But…

I thought back to when I’d left for the Capital Planet.

***

Rosetta came to the spaceport to see me off as I boarded my superdreadnought, the Argos.

When the lord of the domain was leaving, a lot of people ended up packed into the spaceport to see him off. Amagi and Brian were among them, and Brian’s crying was creating such a commotion that no one wanted to get near him.

Why does he cry so much? Doesn’t he ever get tired of it?

I didn’t have time to speak to everyone present, so Rosetta saw me off as their representative.

“I’ll be praying for your good fortune in battle,” she told me.

“For now, I’m just going to talk. I’ll be back soon.”

“Still, please allow me to pray that you’ll come back safe.” Rosetta held her clasped hands before her heart.

I felt a bit triumphant as I stood before her. “Too bad we can’t hold the wedding. Neither side can back down easily, so this war’s going to drag on. In the worst-case scenario, it could go for a century.”

The longer it extended, the longer my wedding to Rosetta would be postponed. My mood was truly sunny at the prospect of staying single for longer. That said, if Rosetta had simply shown some hostility toward me, I would’ve married her in no time.

Rosetta unclasped her hands and looked warmly at me. “You coming back safely is more important than our wedding, Darling. Even if it takes a hundred years, I’ll wait for you.” She was smiling, but she looked as if she had to push herself to do it.

“Hmph…”

I turned my back on her.

***

I wished that she’d gotten pissed off instead and said, “Just don’t come back!” or something. Seeing her try to put on a brave face and smile had been downright painful.

As I silently thought back on parting with Rosetta, Jericho spoke up. “If we’re unlucky, this war could continue for decades. You can always have the ceremony when you get back, but there are no guarantees in war. A simple ceremony would be one way to do it sooner.”

Francis didn’t seem to think that there was any point in rushing it. “It’s bad timing, that’s for sure, but there’s nothing we can do about this,” he said. “Calvin’s faction has its back to the wall now, and it’s scary when your enemy has nothing to lose. I feel bad for House Banfield, but you should prepare for a long fight.”

Baron Exner remained silent, but he must’ve agreed with the two of them.

I didn’t have any problem with the war dragging on. If anything, I felt lucky to have a legitimate excuse to avoid the wedding… But that sad smile Rosetta had given me before I left flashed through my mind again.

“It’ll all have to wait until we beat the crown prince,” I said.

I couldn’t lower my guard against Calvin. He’d been a thorn in my side for a while already, so it would be best to focus on settling things with him rather than worry about what would come after.

Chapter 4: Baron Glynn

Chapter 4:
Baron Glynn

THE FLEET THAT WOULD AID Baron Glynn was put together on the same day Liam delayed his wedding by three years. As the fleet’s supreme commander, Liam was leaving along with it, so Rosetta came to see him off.

At the spaceport, she was flanked by Amagi and Brian. This was intended to show everyone present that things at home would be in Rosetta’s hands while Liam was gone; the two individuals Liam trusted stood alongside Rosetta to show that they would support her.

“Come home safe, Darling,” Rosetta said to Liam as he set off for battle. She clasped her hands as if in prayer, clearly worried for his safety.

Liam watched her evenly. It was as if he never considered the possibility that he might die. Then again, he certainly had a good track record for turning desperate situations around. No one thought he was being proud; rather, they admired his attitude. He was House Banfield’s fearless leader, and if he was going to be present in battle, they would surely win once again.

Liam’s strength and past accomplishments empowered the people around him. Still, Rosetta couldn’t help fretting about whether he’d come home unharmed.

“You really think I’d lose to Calvin the way he is now?” Liam asked, giving her an exasperated look. “Our victory is a foregone conclusion.”

Although Liam seemed to have no doubt that he would ultimately win again, Brian watched him with a complicated look. Amagi appeared expressionless as always, but Rosetta could tell that she was worried about Liam as well.

“Still, I’ll pray for your safe return, Darling.”

“…How commendable of you.” Liam seemed unsure of how to receive Rosetta’s attitude, and with that, he turned away and walked off.

As he left, Rosetta said a prayer toward his back: “Oh God, please let Darling come home all right.”

***

Ruined land and dirty air extended across the planet that served as Baron Glynn’s home base. The area immediately around the baron’s mansion was well-maintained, with luxury residences and high-rise buildings, but beyond the wall cordoning off that district were desolate slums.

This planet’s habitable land was limited. Hundreds of years earlier, nature had abounded, but the environment had taken a downturn after the current lord had assumed his role. He’d destroyed the ecosystem by developing the planet too rapidly, and he’d only made matters worse when he tried to fix things too hastily. Now the only habitable areas had been produced by arcology, and the space within those zones was limited, so people who didn’t fit inside ended up settling around them. Two separate environments divided by a wall—that was Baron Glynn’s domain.

The source of the problem, Baron Schlust Sera Glynn, had done nothing to truly resolve it. In fact, he seemed to have given up completely on doing anything about it. A typical Imperial noble, Schlust spent most of his time on the Capital Planet and left his domain to itself. Since he’d failed to develop the planet, he’d given up on managing it entirely.

But now that he’d started a war and involved other nobles in it, he reluctantly had to return. With Theodore in tow, he looked out at the domain he’d finally come back to.

“I see it’s even worse than it was when I left,” he remarked. “If it’s this bad, though, I’ll be able to get lots of supplies out of Liam, right? If anything, this is convenient.”

Such were Schlust’s thoughts about his own ruined domain.

Theodore was taken aback. “If it’s this bad, living on Planet Charlot would probably be preferable. Haven’t you thought about relocating?”

Schlust wrinkled his nose. “That’d be a pain. I live on the Capital Planet most of the time anyway. Since I hardly ever come back here, I can put up with it for the short periods when I need to return.”

“Put up with it, eh?”

Schlust had no concern whatsoever for his subjects. What he was interested in was the provisions from House Banfield. “The supplies are more important anyway. I talked to a merchant I know who’ll be happy to purchase them. Now I’ll finally be free from my long years of debt.”

Since he planned to sell the supplies to line his own pockets, his suffering people wouldn’t see any of the goods meant for them.

Theodore rolled his eyes at the baron but still made sure to pursue a profit of his own. “Don’t forget my compensation. If you liquidate those goods, I get ten percent for keeping quiet.”

“Of course, of course. And the only other thing you want in exchange is for me to keep as many of Liam’s forces as possible tied down here, correct?”

Theodore nodded. He didn’t expect much of Baron Glynn’s forces. “That’ll be enough. We’re not winning this fight anyway.” They weren’t out to win, and Theodore had confided their true objective to Schlust.

“If Liam loses the fight, I expect to be rewarded with a decent position as well,” Schlust said. “I’m sick and tired of this planet.”

His goal was to leave his domain behind entirely to live on the Capital Planet. He was cooperating with Theodore’s plans to land a spot in the capital as a court noble, with a position that comprised a title only. He wanted a high wage for no work so as to live lavishly on the Capital Planet.

Theodore scorned the man’s ambitions, but his face didn’t show that. “Prince Cleo has promised to give you a fitting position once the crown prince takes the throne. You needn’t worry about a thing. Just do your part.”

Schlust breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll make sure Liam’s forces get stuck here, then.”

Theodore smiled and extended his hand, shaking Schlust’s. “We’re counting on you, Baron Glynn.”

The interaction had been perfectly pleasant, but inside, Theodore resented Schlust.

Spoiled idiot, born into your position. Once this is all over, you’ll be erased. You’re lucky you’re useful as my pawn right now.

***

On a moon orbiting Baron Glynn’s planet, my fleet—which had arrived faster than anyone else—was organizing itself. I’d rounded up three hundred thousand ships for this conflict; House Banfield might be more powerful than ever, but I was still putting a lot into this fight. A fleet of mine was positioned at the border with the Autocracy as well, and I couldn’t leave my domain undefended, so it was rather impressive that I’d mustered three hundred thousand ships, if I did say so myself.

I hadn’t just pulled that off thanks to the alchemy box either. That artifact might’ve been able to turn scrap into gold, but there was a limit to what it could accomplish. After all, I couldn’t use it twenty-four hours a day, and even if I entrusted it to someone else to keep it working, the alchemy box had its own limits.

Besides, it was too dangerous to entrust to other hands. Not only could someone have run off with it if I gave it up, but now I had to worry about it being stolen too. I knew now that there were thieves out there who could get past Kukuri’s security, so I didn’t even want to risk Amagi and the other robot maids hanging on to it. I didn’t know what I’d do if one of them was destroyed while trying to protect it.

I couldn’t give it to a human either. I’d never trusted humans in the first place.

Therefore, my only option when it came to creating my fleet was a slow, steady pace. Nothing beat putting in the hours every day. This fleet was the result of my daily effort to build enough military strength that I’d never have to bow down to anyone else. Maybe that wasn’t exactly how an evil lord should do things, but it hadn’t failed me yet.

As soon as we arrived, my operators began attempting to contact House Glynn, but something seemed a bit off.

“For how neglected this planet is, its communications systems are top-notch,” one said.

“We’ve established a link with the fleet,” another reported.

“This’ll make long-range communications nice and easy.”

Baron Glynn’s planet apparently had state-of-the-art communications infrastructure, despite its low overall level of development. I felt that the baron should’ve prioritized developing other things first; still, the communications systems were convenient for us now, so I wasn’t complaining. We could use them long-range, which might mean I could contact Amagi more frequently…although that wasn’t important.

There was a bigger problem than the strange way the baron had prioritized his assets.

“Well, we’re the first ones here…and things really are bad, huh?” I noted.

I could tell that even from space. Only the areas where arcology had been applied were truly habitable. It reminded me of House Razel’s domain, where I’d undergone my noble training. Their situation had stemmed from resource mining, but here, it looked like Baron Glynn had tried to develop the planet, failed, and then just left it as it was. It was a pitiful world, cast aside like a toy a child no longer wanted to play with—that was the impression I got from looking at it.

“This is what happens when you let incompetents run things,” I added. “If he’d just left things to AI, I’m sure they wouldn’t have gotten this bad.”

I’d projected our view of the planet onto the floor of the Argos’s bridge so that I could look down on it from above. It was the perfect example of how any civilization, however advanced, would fail with an idiot in control. I could hardly stand to look at it.

Tia pulled me out of my reverie. She’d overflowed with motivation ever since I appointed her my adjutant for this mission. “It’s as you say, Lord Liam! Idiots who can’t even be called average never run things smoothly. If only everyone would learn from your sterling example!”

I knew that there were things I could and couldn’t do, and when necessary, I relied on others. I’d seen countless people who didn’t take that approach meet tragic ends.

Tia’s compliment had improved my mood, but I couldn’t be too happy, since something was still on my mind: The fact that no one was coming to meet us. “I appreciate the praise, but where’s Baron Glynn’s entourage? It doesn’t seem like he’s prepared a place to receive our fleet either.” I’d come here with three hundred thousand ships in tow, but I didn’t see any facilities for them anywhere.

Marie, whom I’d appointed my second adjutant, scowled. “I’ve contacted Prince Cleo’s Imperial Guard about this multiple times, but the only thing I ever get back from them is ‘Everything’s fine.’ Even after I told them that our advance scouts had seen no sign of a spaceport, they were like a broken record.”

She’d probably assumed that they’d bring a fortress-class ship to serve as our base. If they were so insistent that everything was “fine,” thinking that was only natural. That is, if you assumed competence on their part.

Tia was also furious with Cleo’s new guards. “Because of these Imperial Guard idiots, we won’t even be able to resupply. We should summon the person responsible for this immediately.”

One operator followed through on Tia’s suggestion and connected us with Theodore, who was down on the baron’s planet. “Connection made to Special Lieutenant General Zach. Putting it on the main monitor,” they said, displaying Theodore’s face onscreen for us all to see.

I saw some quite opulent furnishings behind Theodore. It seemed that the baron was treating him very well in his mansion.

“If it isn’t Count Banfield,” Theodore said. “You’re right on time, but I would think that you’d have come a little earlier if you were truly motivated to win this fight.”

Ignoring his snide remark, I made known my frustration with our lack of accommodations. “You don’t even seem ready to receive us yet. I’d say you’re the ones lacking motivation.”

“You were aware from the beginning that the war has worn down Baron Glynn’s domain, weren’t you? We’ll get more allies soon enough. I figured you could prepare your base yourself, considering your ample experience, Count Banfield.”

It was true that I’d done that several times in the past, but if he wanted me to do so again here, he should’ve told me beforehand. If I’d known, I could’ve prepared for that.

Theodore’s childish tactics for harassment made Marie even more furious. “We’re not here to play around, bastard! You want us to prepare a base ourselves without so much as letting us know in advance? Do you even want to win this fight?!”

Theodore remained at ease on the other side of the screen, even as he reacted to Marie’s bloodshot eyes. “I figured you could make that leap in logic yourselves. I guess I was wrong.”

Marie seemed about ready to explode in response to his attitude.

I sighed quietly. “Down, Marie.”

“…My apologies.”

Marie stepped back obediently, but she’d blown her lid awfully quickly this time. Tia seemed to have noticed that, but she kept quiet, apparently not wanting to interrupt Theodore and me.

I turned back to the monitor. “I suppose you have a point, Special Lieutenant General. In that case, I’ll handle things here my way.” I turned around.

Claus, who’d been silent until now, straightened up. “Sir.”

With that short response, he set to work mobilizing ships carrying engineers and other specialized soldiers. We’d start building a makeshift base right away with the supplies we’d brought. The ships headed down to the planet to get to work immediately.

From his position in the mansion, Theodore could see the dispatched ships as well. He looked vexed at the sight. “If you were ready to do this work, you should’ve just done it to begin with! If you’ll excuse me!” The call ended.

Tia clicked her tongue. “How dare he speak to you that way, Lord Liam?! That piece of trash with nothing but an undeserved title backing him up!”

As she fumed, Claus came over to me. “It seems that those construction ships we brought along just in case will come in handy after all, Lord Liam.”

“It’s too little, too late at this point, though.”

The forces that would join us soon would number in the millions. That wasn’t as many as would be involved in a fight between nations, but it was a ludicrous number for a squabble between local lords. The number had ballooned to this degree because both sides were putting their all into the fight.

I gave Claus a look. Seeing how calm he was, even in this miserable situation, I felt the urge to tease him. “It’s pretty awful that we’re putting all these people, resources, and funds into this fight, and all it’ll do is let Baron Glynn add to his territory. What do you think about that, Claus?”

Claus gave a boring response to my goading question. “If this battle will decide the next emperor, then I suppose victory will yield more than one mere planet.”

I projected a hologram of the ruined planet above my hand. I liked doing that, since it made me feel as if a planet was literally in the palm of my hand. This spoiled world resembled nothing more than a lump of stone, though. “Personally, I can’t imagine this place is of much value.”

“I would caution against such statements, Lord Liam.”

Making Claus sweat a little satisfied me. I changed the hologram to Planet Charlot, a beautiful blue globe. Quietly enough that no one could hear, I muttered, “This planet seems a lot more valuable to me than the throne Prince Cleo will sit on.”

***

War was about to break out over Planet Charlot, and on the Capital Planet, Cleo’s sister Lysithea had become rather nervous. She would sit down on the couch in Cleo’s office as he worked, only to shoot up and pace around the room.

Cleo sighed. “Your worrying won’t change the tide of the battle, Sister,” he told her.

Lysithea flushed red. “Well, aren’t you curious?! Even Cecilia’s nervous about this…”

“Right, because Lord Kurt—her fiancé—will be fighting.”

Cecilia was their older sister. She was currently engaged to Liam’s friend Kurt Sera Exner and living in House Exner’s domain. When she’d become engaged to Kurt and abandoned her claim on the throne, she had left the inner palace. Still, Lysithea was in regular contact with Cecilia, and had apparently heard from her right before this conflict was set to begin. Her big sister’s anxiety must also have worried her.

“There are so many people fighting whom I don’t want to see killed, like Lord Liam and Lord Kurt. When I think about what could happen to them, it’s difficult to stay calm.”

Lysithea’s pure-hearted feelings nauseated Cleo. He didn’t feel like his sister understood reality. What’s she talking about? Millions of people could die in this conflict. She’s so naive… She can only see what’s right in front of her, not the Empire as a whole.

Lysithea, who had become a knight to protect her brother, was a fundamentally good person, but she was too naive for the inner palace. This was why Cleo hadn’t told her the truth: that he’d secretly joined forces with Calvin to protect the Empire from Liam.

“Well, the count is strong. I’m sure he’ll win victory for us.”

Liam had overcome terrible odds many times. This time around, it seemed like he should actually have an advantage over Calvin’s side—at least, on the surface.

Lysithea composed herself to a degree. “You’re right. Lord Liam is strong! He really can do anything, can’t he? I’ve heard that even the prime minister thinks highly of his governance. If he keeps supporting you after you become emperor, Cleo, the Empire will be all set!”

“…I suppose so. Let’s have faith that the count will be victorious so that it can happen.” Internally, Cleo was disgusted at Lysithea’s simplistic thinking. If Liam wins, I’ll become his puppet, and the Empire will be under his rule. I won’t let that happen. He clenched a fist where Lysithea couldn’t see it. I clung to him to survive. Because of that, I’m close enough to reach the throne now. But I can’t stand the idea of remaining beneath him…

Until now Cleo had been desperate just to survive. Having obtained some stability, though, he could finally focus on other things. He wasn’t desperate now, and he brooded more often. Who was he to blame? The emperor, who’d made a sideshow of him? His mother, who’d insisted he was a man? No—who was using him? Liam Sera Banfield. The man who’d obtained everything that Cleo could never hope to. What was so different about the two of them? Why was Liam endlessly praised, while Cleo had been reduced to his puppet? The hatred in Cleo’s heart swelled by the day.

As he stewed, Lysithea attempted to chat casually with him. “Man… Lord Liam truly is amazing. He’s like a hero, really! If he didn’t already have a fiancée, I guarantee you that the ladies couldn’t stay away from him. I mean, he even makes me swoon sometimes. Cleo, I bet you—”

“I’m a man!” Cleo rose from his chair, furious.

Lysithea apologized, looking awkward. “I-I’m sorry. That’s right. You’re a man.”

“…Please be more careful.”

Lysithea didn’t drop the matter, though, even if she seemed sorry about broaching it. “Still, the truth is—”

“Drop it.” Cleo wasn’t hearing it. Irritated, he left his office.

***

Theodore left Baron Glynn’s domain to visit a lab where he was surrounded by strange, masked researchers. This team, which specialized in various scientific and magical fields, was hastily developing a number of children inside capsules.

As Theodore peered into a capsule, a researcher told him apologetically, “Unfortunately, most of the specimens can’t withstand the quantity of information we input. Their brains or bodies fail, and they have to be disposed of.”

Theodore frowned at this disappointing news. “I believe I told you that failure wouldn’t be tolerated. Do you realize how much money we’re investing in this project?”

The flustered researcher began making excuses. “Rapidly grown clones can’t withstand the amount of data you’ve collected from Liam. We don’t have enough time.”

“You can’t even finish one or two of them?”

The children floating in the capsules had been cloned from Liam’s DNA. Many such clones had been grown rapidly in these information capsules and instilled with Liam’s data but hadn’t survived the process.

“They simply can’t endure the rapid aging and data dump on Liam and the Way of the Flash,” the researcher insisted. “Even adult bodies couldn’t withstand that input. And their life expectancy already isn’t long when they’re artificially aged this way.”

The researchers were trying to forcibly replicate Liam’s strength through cloning. Yet even if they succeeded, those clones wouldn’t live long, making them fundamentally flawed weapons.

Theodore was as agitated as the researcher. “You must succeed before this war ends! It’s pathetic that, with all these specimens, you haven’t yet had one success.”

“One did survive the process…”

“Then hurry up and show it to me.”

“It’s right over here.”

The lead researcher led Theodore to another room. In it sat a small child with messy, knee-length hair, wearing a hospital gown.

Theodore had been pleased to hear that they’d had a success, but he quickly let his displeasure show. “You deliberately made it a girl?” That surprised him; he’d thought that they would only make males, since they were cloning Liam.

The researcher seemed uncertain too. “It’s completely female, yes. We’re still investigating exactly what went wrong in that regard. But this is the only specimen to survive the installation of all Liam’s data.”

Theodore was relieved to hear that they’d pulled that off. “Well, if you succeeded, the gender hardly matters. So, this one…”

“Number 3588.”

When the researcher told him the clone’s number, Theodore turned to look at the girl. She did resemble Liam, but she had none of his outward arrogance. She simply looked up at Theodore curiously.

“So, how does Number 3588 perform? It must have strength rivaling Liam’s, right?”

However, the researcher shook their head. “No… Merely enduring the process doesn’t make for success. Number 3588 has a significant flaw.”

“A flaw?” Theodore’s brow furrowed.

Gazing down at Number 3588, the researchers explained the situation.

“It can’t perform at Liam’s level.”

“And its physical limitations mean it can only exert its full strength for a short period.”

“We can’t call it a success.”

An incomplete specimen who had survived the process, but nothing more—that was 3588.

“So it’s another failure!” Theodore spat, looking down at the clone.

Upon being labeled a failure, Number 3588 hung her head, but neither Theodore nor the researchers paid her any mind.

Theodore couldn’t accept the research team’s lack of success. He had assured Cleo that he would prepare a suitable clone of Liam, and failing to deliver would worsen the prince’s opinion of him. For his own self-preservation, he ordered the researchers, “Focus on training the AI. The mobile knight will be delivered on time, so be sure to calibrate the AI so it can be installed right away.”

“So we’re canceling the clone project? We’ll dispose of Number 3588, then.”

This project broke a taboo, so it would be best to leave no evidence of it.

Theodore stopped them. “Don’t be stupid. I’ll be in trouble if I don’t deliver some result. Number 3588 will pilot the mobile knight as our success.”

“Even though it’s actually a failure?”

“Even if it’s a failure, we can claim we achieved something if we can get it into the cockpit. Leave it alive until then.”

Thus, Number 3588’s fate was decided.

Chapter 5: Child Rearing

Chapter 5:
Child Rearing

IN AN OTHERWISE EMPTY ROOM, Number 3588 lay curled up under a blanket.

“A failure… I’m a failure…a failure…”

She had been branded a failure by both Theodore and the researchers who had created her. Now 3588 spent all her time alone, with no one taking an interest in her. At this rate, would she be disposed of like all the other specimens? That fear plagued her.

“I don’t want to be disposed of… Why am I a failure…? No… I don’t want to die…”

As she sobbed to herself, she heard a voice, though she had no idea where it came from. “How dare those idiots fail over and over like this? They don’t even know what I’m going through for them. At least I can collect their negative emotions. Still, do they really think this project will be enough to beat Liam? They’re throwing away this golden opportunity…”

The room had a thick door, and there’d been no sign of it opening. It hadn’t opened in quite a while, in fact, since the researchers dumped 3588’s nutritious food in through a small hatch in the door.

“Who’s there? Where are you?” Sitting up, 3588 spotted a top hat resting on the floor beside her. “A hat?”

She reached for the hat, and small arms and legs sprouted from it.

“Wah!” Number 3588 exclaimed.

The hat performed a movement almost like a bow. “Pleased to meet you, little lady. I am the Guide—he who will show you the way.”

“Show me the way?” Number 3588 cocked her head as the Guide spoke in his affected manner. Since he was a mere hat, his showmanship came off as comical, and 3588 was highly amused. After being locked in this empty room for so long, the Guide’s appearance provided her with some much-needed stimulation.

“Do you know the purpose for which you were born?” the Guide asked her.

This question saddened 3588. Everyone around her had already told her that she wouldn’t be able to fulfill her purpose. “To kill Liam…but I can’t do it.”

“Why not?” the Guide asked gently.

“Because everyone says I’m a failure,” 3588 explained. “They say I can’t kill Liam, so I’m useless. I could be killed at any moment.” She wept over her inability to fulfill the purpose for which she had been brought into the world.

“You’re wrong about that,” the Guide said firmly. “You can fulfill your purpose. You aren’t a failure. You’re a miracle—with the potential inside you to kill Liam.”

“I-I’m not a failure? But I get out of breath right away, and I’m not that strong…”

“Non! Non, non, non!” The Guide jumped up and spun in midair. “You’re the blade that can reach Liam that I’ve been waiting for! True, on the whole, your abilities can’t hold a candle to his—but you’re still able to display power that rivals his, at least for a short time!” He landed and struck a pose.

All of a sudden, 3588 smiled and applauded. She was thrilled to hear the Guide’s praise. His affirmation told her that it was okay for her to live, which brought her tremendous relief.

Looking up at 3588, the Guide said, “You still have time to grow. During that time, I will educate you. With my help, you’ll become stronger.”

Number 3588 was happy to hear that she could build her strength, but something else the Guide said was even more important to her. She brought her face right up to the hat. “R-really?! You’ll stay with me?!”

“Huh? Uh, yeah…” the Guide wasn’t sure how to respond to her enthusiasm. Still, he pulled himself together quickly enough and struck another pose, clearing his throat. “I will provide you with education and support until the day comes when you fulfill your purpose. After all, I can’t count on anybody else here to do their job.”

Smiling ear to ear, 3588 exclaimed, “I’m so happy! Starting today, I won’t be alone anymore. It’s the first time I’ve ever been so thrilled!” She wept with joy.

Once again, the Guide wasn’t sure how to respond. “I-is that so?”

***

The next morning, the Guide’s days with 3588 began. He took advantage of the fact that no one in the facility cared about her to do as he saw fit. He bought her toys with money he stole from the researchers and read her picture books. Those were his strategies to get on good terms with her, and they worked immediately. Day by day, 3588 cared more and more for the Guide. He felt a little like she had already developed too much affection for him on the day they met, but he didn’t want to make any more mistakes in his fight against Liam, however trivial. Thus, he was careful to build his relationship with 3588 as much as he could.

“What are we going to play today?” Number 3588 asked innocently.

She always blindly accepted anything the Guide said, and she had no qualms about her mission to kill Liam, no concern over whether it was right or wrong. She would simply do it because she’d been told to.

Still, the Guide was putting plenty of effort into his role as her playmate. “Shall we chat today?”

“Yay! I love talking with you, Mr. Hat!”

“Well then, why don’t I tell you how that vicious villain Liam has tormented me? Yes. This was back when I was searching for negative emotions, plunging people into despair. All I wanted was a little bit of fun, you see…” The Guide gesticulated with his tiny arms and legs. “But Liam is a bad guy who likes to torture me! He stole my little bit of fun and shoved the revolting feeling of gratitude onto me instead! I was just enjoying myself by making people a little unhappy, but Liam wouldn’t even let me do that!”

The Guide’s story, scummy as it was, saddened 3588 deeply. After all, the Guide had become an incredibly important person to her—the one she had spent the majority of her young life with. “Poor Mr. Hat…”

The Guide’s only response to that, frankly, was to think, Why should I need sympathy from you? Gross! Still, he had a soft spot for the girl, who wasn’t even aware of the tragedy of her own circumstances. Treating the most valuable part of their plan to kill Liam as a failure… Theodore really is useless.

From the Guide’s point of view, 3588 had much more potential than the AI the researchers were developing. True, she was a girl, and she hadn’t met the criteria they had desired, but she had developed the ability to exert strength that rivaled Liam’s in a very short time. She was more than sufficient as a trump card.

“Heh heh heh… Thanks,” he told her. “Grow big and strong so that you can kill Liam, okay?”

“Yeah! I’ll do my best!”

Under the Guide’s direction, the girl progressed quickly.

***

A great fleet amassed around Baron Glynn’s home planet. Once all the forces had gathered, the nobles who had contributed ships to the fleet boarded the Argos in small transport vessels. After all, space aboard was still limited, even though my gargantuan superdreadnought was several thousand meters long.

The nobles gathered in a grand meeting room, where we held a buffet party to welcome them. We should really have had an actual meeting to maximize our chances of victory, but a party suited villains like us better. A pointlessly luxurious celebration that would raise our spirits before battle—now that was villainous.

“Heh… I’m more of a villain than ever,” I told myself in the party hall. There, Baron Exner and Kurt soon approached me.

“Liam!” Kurt ran over with a hand raised, looking thrilled to see me. We clasped hands and exchanged grins.

“It’s been a long time,” I said. “How’s life in the military treating you? Have you been good?”

“Yes, I’m good. I’m actually taking some time off from the military right now, though.”

“Some time off? You’re as serious as ever. You’re the heir to House Exner, you know. You should quit altogether so that you have a little time to goof off before you take over your domain.”

“Upstarts like us don’t have time to fool around.”

Kurt was the hardworking type of evil lord. In fact, he tended to focus so much on work that he neglected his personal life. I wanted to tell him to fool around a little, like I did, but he was too focused on making as many military connections as he could. Since connections were power, that was admirable of him as an evil lord.

“Well, when you go back to the military, let me know. I’ll make sure they treat you right.”

“You’re the same as always, Liam.”

I had remained in contact with Kurt, of course, but it really had been a long time since I’d seen him face-to-face like this. It was nice to talk in person.

Baron Exner chose that moment to cut in. “My, how decadent. I can hardly believe we’re about to go to battle.” Rather than being exasperated, he was actually impressed by the opulence of my ship and party hall.

Baron Exner and Kurt were both evil lords like me, but they were less upfront about it than I was. Their domain was tiny compared to mine, and although I admired the villainous spirit it took for them to squeeze every last drop of wealth they could from it, I didn’t think it should be enough to satisfy them. I felt that they could live it up a little more, rather than hoarding their wealth.

“I don’t think your flagship would be far behind mine when it comes to extravagance,” I replied.

Baron Exner shot Kurt a concerned glance. Looking apologetic, Kurt told me, “We haven’t made that ship you gave us House Exner’s flagship.”

When I gave Kurt a mobile knight—the Vanadís—that I’d purchased from Mason of the Sixth Weapons Factory, I’d thrown in a ship they built to go with it. You could apparently get a ship as an add-on if you bought a mobile knight with all the bells and whistles, which was pretty ridiculous. But Amagi had been really pissed at me for buying a whole ship without consulting her—so I’d given that to the Exners as well.

“Why not? It’s not quite a superdreadnought, but it should still be more than good enough as a flagship.”

The baron was leading a fleet of a few hundred ships, and a simple battleship would certainly suffice as the flagship of such a small force. Its specs would be fine too, since the Sixth Weapons Factory built the vessel.

Kurt looked awkward. “Well, it operates as a set with the Vanadís Frey… And, well, it’s so expensive that we can’t bring ourselves to put it in front of our other ships.” He looked toward his father for help.

The baron continued for him. “We decided to make it Kurt’s personal vessel. His fiancée, Princess Cecilia, travels with it often, which seemed a better use for it.”

It was the fanciest ship in House Exner’s fleet. If they needed to transport an Imperial princess—or even a former one—I figured using it for that purpose made sense. “Well, it was a gift. It’s not my place to tell you how to use it.”

“Sorry. As for the upcoming battle, though—”

When Baron Exner and I began discussing the war, Kurt stepped back from the conversation. He probably felt that, since he was only an heir, he should leave the discussion to the reigning lords.

“I plan to give Kurt a hundred of my ships to command,” the baron told me. “He’s not yet quite experienced enough for the front lines. I figure it’s best that he observe from the rear and learn from the fight.”

“If something were to happen to both the head and heir of your family, I couldn’t sleep easy,” I replied. “Should I lend Kurt some of my spare forces too?”

“That wouldn’t be too much of an imposition?”

A family’s head and his heir sometimes traveled on the same vessel, if it was a powerful ship like mine. In a war like this, though, they more often used different ships to prevent the loss of both individuals at once.

“No problem. I’m lending ships to several other houses anyway.”

Some nobles treasured their heirs, but plenty didn’t. Sometimes it was the heir who fought on the front lines while the lord hung back. Part of my job as supreme commander was to ensure that those at the rear were comfortable. In a sense, the nobles at the rear were hostages. Their family members couldn’t easily betray me with their precious heirs or lords in my custody.

For a moment, Baron Exner seemed unsure, but he eventually decided to entrust Kurt to me. “I’ll leave him in your care, then.”

“Please do. Let’s talk about this later, Kurt.”

When I said his name, Kurt trotted back over to me happily.

“That would help. I’m a little nervous about this, since I’ve never fought in a conflict between nobles before.” He may previously have fought in battle as an Imperial knight, but he had no experience in a war between fellow nobles.

“Leave it to me. Fights between nobles are my specialty.”

***

Leaving Liam, Kurt headed for a meeting between the nobles who would remain at the rear during the fight. He had wanted to talk more, but as supreme commander, Liam was very busy—even at a party like this, since part of his job was to greet all the nobles who came to say hello to him.

“He’s really got it together, as always.”

Kurt gazed over at Liam, who stood surveying the party hall with a glass in his hand. Why host a party like this right before a war? Plenty of people would ask that, and those in the military would probably roll their eyes at the idea. A general might understand, but a lot of the rank and file wouldn’t support such a concept.

This party was only taking place because the war was between nobles, though. Nobles themselves would be fighting, and they preferred parties to meetings—they could speak more freely at events like this. Kurt figured that was why Liam threw this party.

When I’m with the military for too long, I stop thinking from a noble perspective.

The lords and heirs who had met Liam face-to-face, and been promised a place at the rear, no longer looked so anxious about the fight. But if they had simply been ordered to take up a position there, they might still have been nervous. Would they be used as hostages? Would they be threatened if they did something wrong? A friendly chat with the commander at a party like this wiped those worries away.

Checking the faces nearby for people he was familiar with, Kurt noticed someone approaching—a short-haired woman who looked embarrassed by the short dress she wore.

She came up to Kurt and stopped, greeting him. “I’m Marion, Viscount Algren’s daughter. You’re Lord Kurt from House Exner, right?”

As Marion Sera Algren smiled at him, Kurt blinked in surprise for a moment, then quickly pasted a smile on his own face and replied, “Yes, I’m Kurt Sera Exner. Algren… You must be related to Margrave Algren, on the border with the Autocracy.”

He pretended he wasn’t sure who she was, and Marion didn’t seem to see through him. “Yes, I’m from a branch family.”

“Is that right? For a while, Liam was dispatched to that border to serve as magistrate on Planet Augur. Is that where you met him?” And where you got close to him so you could spy on him, you traitor?

Marion didn’t notice the disgust Kurt was hiding. “I actually worked with him in the capital too. I happened to get on his bad side, which is why I’m being punished like this.”

“Punished?”

“I’m called to places like this and put to work…and then there’s this outfit.”

As he watched Marion act embarrassed by her getup, Kurt realized that this was what it felt like to be revolted by someone. He had first met Marion on the Capital Planet, when he was in the guise of Lillie, and he still remembered the terrible first impression Marion had made.

“Liam picked that outfit for you?”

“Yep.”

Marion liked to dress as a man. Normally, she would have worn men’s clothes to an event like this. After she betrayed Liam, he began forcing her to wear cute, girly outfits. Given the extent of her betrayal, however, that was a slap on the wrist.

Kurt asked what Marion was doing there. “I didn’t think Margrave Algren or his branch families were participating in this battle.”

“I’m a hostage. I’m just here to ensure that House Algren will always be on the count’s side. He wants everyone to know it.” Marion shook her head in exasperation.

Meanwhile, Kurt took a thoughtful sip of his drink. He couldn’t bring himself to like someone he knew had betrayed Liam. He also saw something in Marion that reminded him of himself, which made him dislike her instinctively.

Thus, without meaning to, he found himself saying what he truly felt. “After betraying Liam, you should be glad you’re still alive.”

The smile disappeared from Marion’s face. “You knew? Wow. You look like a sweet guy, but you’re not very nice, are you?”

“You’re lucky he let you off the hook so lightly,” Kurt insisted.

“Yeah, I guess so. But I’m pretty sick of being embarrassed and put to work like this. Liam’s really a jerk, don’t you think?”

Marion clearly didn’t enjoy having to dress as a woman. Still, she had the wherewithal to glance around on occasion as if in search of something.

What’s she looking for? Is that something Liam told her to do? I can’t believe she still calls him by name, as if they’re friends. How shameless.

Kurt was suspicious of Marion, but before he could figure out her behavior, she bowed her head to him.

“Please excuse me, then. I’m rather busy, you see,” she told him, leaving.

Watching her go, Kurt muttered to himself, “What a rotten woman.”

***

In one corner of the party hall, Schlust was tucking into the refreshments.

“This is wonderful. You can’t get any of these dishes or drinks in my domain. They’re all luxuries you hardly even get to taste on the Capital Planet!”

You could get anything on the Capital Planet, but these items did cost a pretty penny. Schlust might’ve been the lord of his own domain, but it seemed that House Glynn’s finances couldn’t let him live the sort of life that would satisfy him.

Theodore’s face twitched as he watched Schlust glut himself on food and alcohol. “You haven’t forgotten your role here, have you, Baron Glynn?”

Schlust’s mouth was full; he washed the food down with some alcohol before answering. “No need to worry. I’ve spread rumors to increase discord within the faction, and I’ve cried to Liam that he didn’t send enough supplies. I got him to promise more; he can’t come off as stingy at a party like this, after all!” As he mocked Liam, Schlust apparently didn’t find his own behavior—crying for more aid at a party—at all shameful. Then, as if he had fulfilled his own duties completely, he asked Theodore, “How’s your work going?”

“You needn’t concern yourself with that. At any rate, I’ll be aboard this ship as a military advisor from now on, so please be careful when you contact me.”

“That won’t be a problem. I’m overseeing the entire army’s communications, after all.”

That was why Baron Glynn’s planet had state-of-the-art communications systems that didn’t align with the substandard technology elsewhere on the planet. As the one responsible for maintaining those systems, Schlust could eavesdrop on all the army’s communications.

“We have the upper hand, but I’d still caution you not to drop your guard,” Theodore said.

“Don’t worry; we’re more than prepared. Everything will go fine. Just enjoy the food while we’re here.”

As he watched Baron Glynn continue to indulge in food and drink, Theodore did his best not to let his irritation show on his face. I thought that he was a well-bred but rich idiot. He’s a complete glutton too, though. So much for that good breeding.

Theodore looked out over the party venue. The resentment he harbored over holding low status despite his noble birth made the sight seem ridiculous to him.

Throwing a party before a war… None of these idiots are ready for what’s coming. Once Prince Calvin takes the throne, I’ll get rid of the whole incompetent bunch.

Theodore pictured his rosy future, vowing to become the kind of great noble that no one there could ever hope to be.

***

When the party ended and everyone had left, I went back to my quarters.

“Welcome home, Master.”

“What are you doing in my room…?”

Eulisia Morisille bowed, three maid robots behind her. For some reason, she wore a maid uniform. That pissed me off. That uniform, with its exposed shoulders, was unique to the maid robots, so it was almost enraging to see Eulisia wear it so brazenly.

When she noticed my undisguised frustration, tears sprang to Eulisia’s eyes. “Can’t you enjoy it a little bit?!”

“That’s my maids’ uniform. Besides, aren’t you here to provide me with support?” I had brought her along to act as a secretary of sorts, so why was she in my bedroom? Had she forgotten why she’d come along already?

As I side-eyed her, Eulisia collapsed to the floor in tears. “You’re terrible! You won’t even clarify my position now that you’re marrying Lady Rosetta! My job is supposed to be supporting you out here on the battlefield, isn’t it? So how come I can’t support you at night, like—”

I cut her off. “I’m good.”

That only made Eulisia more desperate. She clung to me, sobbing. “Good with what?! You don’t have anyone else, do you?! I certainly don’t see anybody else around here!”

“Shut up! I’m about to get married, aren’t I?!”

As I tried to pry the wailing Eulisia off me, my tablet sounded.

“Who is it? Kukuri…?”

Chapter 6: A Last Stand

Chapter 6:
A Last Stand

NATURALLY, I HAD my own personal quarters on the Argos. And, although even superdreadnoughts like this were normally designed to make the most efficient use of their limited space, those quarters were pointlessly spacious and opulent. After all, the Argos was my ship. It had been built with my money, so my demands had been accounted for in its construction.

An image of Kukuri was projected onto one wall of my quarters as he communicated with me from the Capital Planet. As I listened to his report, I felt my face twitch. “The Seventh Weapons Factory is creating a successor to the Avid using my rare metals…?”

The intelligence Kukuri had managed to obtain on the Capital Planet indicated that the Seventh Weapons Factory had betrayed me.

“The crown prince’s faction requisitioned those rare metals, and they’re monitoring the factory staff and their relatives. The Seventh couldn’t have contacted you even if they’d wanted to, Master Liam.”

“Guess I can’t write them off as traitors, then.”

I supposed that they’d had no choice but to do what they did, under the circumstances. Regardless of those circumstances, however, my rare metals had been stolen.

“Master Liam, what are your orders?”

Although Kukuri was asking me for direction, I didn’t have time right now to go save Nias and the others from Calvin’s knights and soldiers. “Is there any chance that Nias and everyone else will be killed to silence them…?”

“I doubt that. The weapons factories are under Imperial control, after all. If the crown prince’s forces are too ruthless, it won’t reflect well on him.”

If Calvin barged into an Imperially owned weapons factory, forced its staff to do a job for him, and then killed them all afterward, his reputation would be shot. He’d even run the risk of other weapons factories turning on him. The nobility wouldn’t think highly of such brutish methods either. Everyone would worry that they’d be next if they happened to have something Calvin might want, which would lead fewer and fewer people to support his bid for the throne. This whole business with the Seventh Weapons Factory was a bad move.

“Leave them be, then. We don’t have time to go save them.”

“What about just helping the young lady—Nias? We would be more than capable of rescuing one person.”

“No. In fact, I want her to work on this successor craft.”

“Are you sure, sir?”

“Calvin must really be panicking. He’s acting stupid.”

Taking over the Seventh Weapons Factory to make them produce a successor to the Avid… What was the point of that? I couldn’t imagine that action alone would turn the tide for Calvin. Buying a new fleet of ships would have served him better than going to all this time and effort over a single machine.

“If they do create this successor to the Avid, then I’ll help myself to it as part of the spoils of war when I win. I was just thinking that I want a new mobile knight for Ellen or my sister apprentices to use.”

At present, those sister apprentices were completely enamored with Yasuyuki, our master Yasushi’s son. I had invited them to come fight in the war with me, but they’d turned me down, saying they would rather remain behind to play with Yasuyuki.

Still, I wanted to take them into battle with me one day. They needed to gain combat experience as Way of the Flash practitioners, after all. But I couldn’t give them any old mobile knight to do so. I had thought about having a mass-produced version of the Avid developed, but Amagi shut that down as a waste of funds, so I’d been at a loss on the matter. If Calvin was going to the trouble of developing a successor to the Avid for me, then seizing it in battle was a good plan.

“As long as it doesn’t look like anyone’s going to be hurt, you can ignore them. If the Seventh’s in trouble, though, then go ahead and save Nias and the rest of them.”

“Yes, sir,” Kukuri said, then added, “I’d like to inform you of one more thing, Master Liam.”

“What’s that?”

***

On the Capital Planet, Calvin emerged from the emperor’s chambers looking haggard. His knights were waiting outside; they rushed to support him, but he waved them off.

“I’m fine.”

After shooing his knights away, Calvin walked off by himself, but the knights rushed to follow him.

“Sir, you’ll collapse at this rate.”

“It’s fine,” he insisted. “And it’ll raise eyebrows if people see you holding me up.”

He stopped to catch his breath, then moved on again, thinking about the visit he’d just had with Bagrada. Father changed after taking the throne. He used to be so kind, but there isn’t a trace of that man left in him. Calvin could remember the good-natured father from his youth, but Bagrada had changed after becoming emperor. The throne must be that great a pressure.

The man’s majesty frightened him. Simply speaking to the emperor had taken all the willpower and stamina Calvin could muster. The crown prince wasn’t frail, but the emperor’s presence had worn him down completely.

“If you don’t mind my asking, why did His Majesty summon you, Your Highness?” one of his knights asked.

Calvin answered without stopping, walking quickly, as if trying to shake off his doubts. “To tell me that, should I lose this proxy war, Cleo will be crown prince…and that, in that case, I’m to be handed over to Count Banfield.”

The blood drained from the knights’ faces. If their master was given to Liam, the count would be free to do whatever he pleased with the prince. They had opposed Liam for a long time now, and he would be free to take whatever revenge he deemed appropriate over the grudges he bore Calvin. There was a good chance that Calvin would prefer death to whatever he’d go through at House Banfield’s hands.

A knight brought up the Seventh Weapons Factory. “W-was it over those rare metals? Do you think maybe we were too hasty in joining hands with the third prince, Your Highness?”

When he had made his deal with Cleo, Calvin had promised to prepare a successor for the Avid. Taking over the Seventh Weapons Factory was a rather forceful way to achieve that goal, and his reputation took a hit in turn. Cleo was breaking worse taboos, however. He wasn’t merely making use of the artificial intelligence that humanity so despised—he was even dabbling in cloning, which was avoided for many reasons, ethical and otherwise. Still, Cleo was sticking to his promise while embarking on those dangerous endeavors.

“Cleo’s the one in real danger right now,” Calvin replied. “Besides, it’s too late for regrets. The fighting’s already started, so now we need to worry about winning.”

That’s right. I’ve got my back to the wall now. Calvin pictured his wives and children—his family. If I fail, they’ll be erased too.

Just then, a noble from Calvin’s faction dashed up to him, wearing a bright expression. “I have good news, Your Highness!”

***

“Damn her!”

On the bridge of her ship, Marie screamed and kicked her chair, which broke into several pieces. Her monitor displayed the wreckage of a fleet belonging to Cleo’s faction.

“We’ve received a distress signal. C-commencing rescue operations,” a bridge operator notified Marie fearfully.

Marie was angry that the enemy had outsmarted them and taken out one of their fleets. She had hurried to aid their allies, but by the time her ships arrived, the enemy had already escaped.

“This wouldn’t have happened if that ground-meat woman knew what she was doiiiiing!”

Marie slashed at her broken chair with a cleaver, taking out her stress on it as everyone else watched, stunned. She was also upset that Tia was commanding their army, while Marie had been tasked with cleaning up after her.

Liam was the one who had given Tia command, so while Marie had complaints, she had kept them to herself at the time. Now that Tia was making so many mistakes, though, it was hard for Marie to check her anger.

“It wasn’t your mistake, so there’s no point getting so upset about it,” Marie’s adjutant Haydi told her.

That was true; this was Tia’s misstep, so it had nothing to do with their own performance. Marie would normally have accepted this loss with only minor grumbling, but the circumstances were different now.

“This war will go on longer for every mistake that stupid woman makes!” she retorted.

“R-right…” Haydi’s expression showed that he knew he’d put his foot in his mouth. He must just have remembered Marie’s goal when it came to this war. To her, the conflict was more of an irritation than anything.

“We should be preparing for Lord Liam and Lady Rosetta’s wedding, not doing this! Why the hell are we fighting a proxy war for idiots on the Capital Planet?! Why can’t they kill each other on their own time?!”

The crew members all pretended not to hear Marie’s extremely rude comments about the royal family.

Haydi was now desperate to calm her down. “I understand where you’re coming from, but it’s not like we can call the war off now that it’s started. Even the boss is fighting out here, right?”

“That’s what’s so frustrating… If he would at least leave all the fighting to us, Lady Rosetta wouldn’t suffer so much.”

As long as they were out here, Liam and Rosetta’s wedding grew more and more distant. Marie wouldn’t be able to live with herself if Rosetta had to wait decades for the wedding she looked forward to so fervently.

She bit down on her thumbnail. “I’m not sure why that ground-meat woman is being this useless, though. I may detest her, but she’s not stupid enough to make this many mistakes in battle.”

Haydi was curious about Tia’s losing streak too. “I’ve been wondering about that myself. However superior the enemy may be, it shouldn’t be possible for us to lose this many engagements.”

Marie and Haydi may have opposed Tia, but both held her skills in high regard.

“There’s a traitor somewhere close to Lord Liam,” Marie muttered.

The supreme commander was aboard the Argos, and that was also where all the battlefield information would be gathered. Marie’s instincts told her that there must be a traitor in their midst.

“Should I let Claus know?” Haydi asked. “He could probably sniff out the traitor and get rid of them. ’Course, it’ll be his win in that case—not ours.”

To Marie and her allies, Claus was another rival. He’d come out of nowhere and usurped the position of head knight in no time. The hateful man had stolen that role right out from under Marie and Tia while they were busy squabbling over it.

Although it would mean another achievement under Claus’s belt, Marie replied right away, “Yes. Let him know immediately.”

“…Yes, ma’am.”

Marie couldn’t say that she was fine with giving Claus all the credit, but it was more important to her that they get this conflict over with as soon as possible for Rosetta’s sake.

***

At that moment, Tia was bowing her head before Liam in the wake of their most recent loss. Her face was pale, and cold sweat ran down her back.

Theodore stood beside Liam, watching. Inside, he was beside himself with amusement at the sight of the shamed female knight, who normally enjoyed a higher standing than Theodore himself.

“Well, it’s been months since the war began,” he remarked. “How does piling up all these losses feel, Miss Christiana?”

“Do you have something to say to me?” Tia raised her head, glaring at him. “Please refrain from comments that might make me want to kill you.”

Her rage intimidated Theodore. He took a step back. “H-how dare you speak to me like that?! It seems you don’t feel very responsible for your failures, do you? And how dare a mere vassal knight glare at an Imperial knight like myself?! I should have your head!”

Much to Theodore’s annoyance, Tia’s master, Liam, denied his demand. “Tia’s my knight. You have no right to punish her, Special Lieutenant General.”

This obvious statement hurt Theodore’s pride, so he switched to trying to hold Liam responsible in his capacity as military advisor. “Well, who will take responsibility for this, then? Prince Cleo is disappointed in our army’s performance.” He sneered, but straightened up when he noticed Claus staring at him from Liam’s other side. He was chilled by the ice-cold eyes of the Empire’s greatest knight—the man who had destroyed the United Kingdom of Oxys’s army in battle. Not even Theodore wanted to make an enemy of the most dangerous man in the Empire.

“A-and how long do you plan to leave Sir Claus in the rear like this?” he added. “Surely he would be a better commander than Miss Christiana, who has only blundered so far.”

It had now been some time since the fighting began, and Liam still hadn’t thrown Claus into the ring. All the head knight did was track figures from Liam’s side. That didn’t seem like a good use of his talents to Theodore.

Liam chuckled and looked over at Claus. “The special lieutenant general seems to want to see what you’re capable of, Claus.”

Claus shook his head. “You jest. Lady Christiana is clearly the superior commander. The special lieutenant general overestimates my abilities.”

He acted as humble as ever, and Liam took his input into account, keeping him in the rear.

Theodore strove to understand what Liam was thinking, but the looks Claus shot him every so often distracted him. The man never said anything, just directed a sharp gaze at Theodore, which Theodore found endlessly unsettling. Claus’s eyes almost implied that he saw through Theodore’s scheming. Theodore was terrified of him.

“There you go—avoiding the question again! If you’ll excuse me!”

As if fleeing, Theodore left the bridge.

***

When he returned to his guest room aboard the Argos, Theodore sighed deeply. He couldn’t stand feeling monitored when Claus gazed at him like that.

“I can’t imagine that he’s recognized my betrayal, but…”

As he lowered himself into a recliner, a call came with perfect timing through his hidden line.

It was Schlust. “Good day, Sir Theodore.”

“…If it isn’t Baron Glynn.”

“Hm? My, you look exhausted. Is something the matter?”

“No, everything’s going fine here. Please don’t contact me so often, though. Someone could get suspicious.”

If people found out that he and Schlust were purposely impeding House Banfield, who knew what would happen to them? Aboard this vessel, Theodore was like a spy alone in enemy territory.

Schlust merely grinned as if he didn’t understand Theodore’s concerns at all. “I called you because it’s an emergency. You see, some officers have actually realized that there’s a traitor among them. Some even suspect that the traitor is aboard the flagship.”

“I’m being careful…”

“Well, I don’t know how they figured it out. Still, you probably shouldn’t ignore this, should you?”

Theodore straightened up in his chair. Schlust was right—this was an emergency. “I’ll pass those suspicions along to a couple of nobles I know.”

“Will that be enough?”

“We just need to spread around some nonsense as well. That Claus is the traitor, for instance. Enough false reports will bury the truth.”

“Ah, I see.” Schlust nodded along.

Internally, Theodore scoffed at him. He couldn’t even come up with something like that? What an idiot.

As Theodore relaxed, knowing that he could hide the fact that he was the traitor, Schlust added, “Anyway, I’ve requested more aid from House Banfield, but I haven’t received any money or supplies at all. Could you find out what’s going on with that?”

“Sure. I’ll check later.”

“Much appreciated! I’m thinking about building a lavish mansion on the Capital Planet, you see, and the deadline for the down payment is coming up.”

While the other nobles in Cleo’s faction fought a war, Schlust was constructing a mansion in the capital. All in all, Theodore was satisfied enough with the baron’s performance, but he had complaints about the man. “…As long as that uses up House Banfield’s money, it’s fine with me.”

Does the baron even understand this is his family’s war? He could at least pretend to feel some responsibility for the conflict.

As Theodore endured his irritation with Schlust, the baron received an update from a subordinate. It appeared to annoy him deeply, so Theodore was curious about what he’d learned.

“Is something the matter, Baron Glynn?”

“Nothing, really. It just sounds like my subjects found out that I’m back in my domain and are swarming my mansion. They have all these opinions on my policies and whatnot…but why in the world should I have to listen to them? Honestly, I wish they’d learn their place already.”

His subjects’ desperate pleas were nothing more than annoyances to Schlust. Of course, Theodore didn’t care about House Glynn’s subjects either. “If the commotion gets big enough to reach Liam’s ears, it’ll be trouble. Hand out some supplies, and they should calm down for a bit, shouldn’t they?”

“I suppose I’ll have to. I’ll need more supplies from House Banfield to do that, though.”

“Yes, that would be for the best. I’ll have a word with the count.”

Theodore and Schlust were doing everything they could to squeeze House Banfield dry.

***

The torture was over. Returning to his room, Claus saw to a few odd tasks before taking his usual stomach medicine from a drawer in his desk.

“Aaaaah… Couldn’t the special lieutenant general be a little more tactful? I understand feeling frustrated that we’ve lost so frequently, but with an attitude like his, things will never improve.”

Theodore had to find fault with every little thing, so the fleet wasn’t as cohesive as it could have been.

“Still, should I say something? Or would pointing it out shame him?”

Something else had been bothering Claus.

“I’d embarrass him if I told him he has hair coming out of his nose, right? How can I let him know less bluntly? Could someone else say something? I don’t think Lord Liam looks at his face all that much…”

It was Theodore’s nose hair. Usually, it wasn’t noticeable, but when he sneered at people, his nostrils tended to flare. That revealed it. Ever since noticing this, Claus had been hopelessly distracted by it. Now, whenever he looked at Theodore, he couldn’t help focusing on the issue. He was tormented over whether to say something about it or keep quiet.

“It would be best if it came from Lord Liam… But the special lieutenant general tends to control himself when speaking to Lord Liam. He doesn’t really make that face…”

He thought about wordlessly handing Theodore some tweezers, but he could easily imagine how much that would upset the prideful man. Claus didn’t know what to do.

“Why am I stuck at Lord Liam’s side like this anyway? If I weren’t right next to him, I doubt I would’ve noticed.”

Claus couldn’t understand why people treated him like Liam’s right-hand man when he was merely performing simple logistics for the army. Of course, it was only natural for the head knight to be near his master, but everyone’s inflated opinion of Claus pained his stomach to no end.

He took his medicine, and after a little while, the pain in his gut subsided.

“Ahh… What would I do without this?”

He’d planned to go straight to bed after taking the dose, but all of a sudden, he found himself being summoned.

“Who’s calling me at this time of night…? L-Lord Liam?!”

Claus scrambled to report to Liam’s side.

Chapter 7: Daily Life at House Banfield

Chapter 7:
Daily Life at House Banfield

WHILE LIAM AND HIS FORCES warred over Planet Charlot, life on House Banfield’s home planet was rather peaceful. The battlefield was a faraway concept, and life continued as usual in House Banfield’s mansion—though one thing had changed.

Wearing casual clothes rather than a maid uniform, Ciel stood before Rosetta. “My stay here wasn’t long, Lady Rosetta, but I truly feel that it benefited me.”

Ciel curtsied, and Rosetta’s eyes welled up. “You’re finally old enough to attend primary school, Ciel.”

Ciel Sera Exner would start attending primary school this year, so her time training under House Banfield had come to its end.

Standing behind Rosetta and to either side were Brian the butler and Serena the head maid. Brian looked despondent. “Baron Exner’s daughter leaves from our care a splendid young lady… It’s wonderful, but at the same time, I can’t help feeling sad about it.”

As Rosetta and Brian teared up, Serena—who had overseen Ciel’s training—gave them an exasperated look. “I’m fairly certain that she’ll return to us in the future. Have you two forgotten that?”

While training under House Banfield, Ciel had committed a fairly serious blunder. House Exner had taken that very seriously and decided that she needed to be punished. They had reached an understanding with Liam, however, that Ciel would return to House Banfield after her noble training was complete; she would only be gone for a short while.

Rosetta looked embarrassed. “I-I know that, but we’ll still miss her. Primary school and the Imperial university will take at least eighteen years.”

As a woman, Ciel wasn’t obliged to serve in the military. She could enlist, of course, but her father, Baron Exner, insisted that she abstain, feeling that too much education in the wrong subjects would likely lead her to make more mistakes in the future. Ciel hadn’t been too pleased about that, of course, but she couldn’t exactly argue after what she had done.

“It’s just a couple of decades,” she said. “I’ll be back before you know it.” I need to come back soon so that I can continue to observe Liam anyway.

Ciel was one of the very few people who had realized Liam’s true nature. As such, she felt a responsibility to keep an eye on him so that he couldn’t do whatever he liked.

“But you haven’t been home in a long time either, have you?” Rosetta asked following Ciel’s brief reply. “If you like, you can take your time and return in thirty or forty years.”

Rosetta had made that suggestion out of the goodness of her heart, but Ciel nonetheless flatly turned her down. “No, I’ll come right back—as early as I possibly can!” I can’t leave Liam for too long, for one thing. But there’s no place for me back home anymore either.

From House Exner’s point of view, Ciel had caused trouble for Liam, to whom they owed a great deal. If she went home, all that awaited her was a strict education—another reason Ciel couldn’t return there.

Leaving the mansion through the front door, Ciel headed for the limousine-like vehicle that would take her to the spaceport. Before she got in, footsteps pattered toward her quickly.

“Cieeeeel!”

“Chino?!”

Chino, dressed in a maid uniform, jumped on Ciel and clung to her, crying. “I heard you’re leaving! I don’t want you to leeeeeave!”

“I’ll only be gone twenty years or so.”

“A whole twenty years?!”

Chino was a beastgirl, and Liam had picked her up from a planet that didn’t yet have access to lifespan-extending technology like education capsules. She still expected a lifespan of somewhere between thirty to forty years, so her sense of time differed greatly from that of everyone else there. Since Chino arrived at the mansion, her lifespan had already been extended via an education capsule, but that hadn’t changed the way she thought about time.

Despite her maid’s uniform, Chino’s role was less about caretaking and more about providing a calming presence. Even when she behaved improperly, Serena didn’t scold her for it.

As Chino clung to her, Ciel looked to Rosetta for help. “Wh-what do I do?”

Rosetta smiled placatingly. “She doesn’t want you to leave, huh? Okay—let’s head to the spaceport together. I’ll come too.”

***

When they climbed into the vehicle, Amagi did likewise, since she had been tasked with looking after Rosetta. Besides the driver and knights serving as their guards, the vehicle’s passengers were Rosetta, Ciel, Chino, and Amagi. An unseen operative like Kunai might also have been present.

Chino had worn herself out crying, so she slept on Ciel’s lap in the car.

“Isn’t she carefree? And with House Banfield at war right now.”

“It’s not surprising. The war probably doesn’t feel real to her.”

Chino had grown up in such a different environment that she had trouble understanding these circumstances.

“I’ll regret having to miss your wedding, Lady Rosetta.”

“You’ll be able to take time off for it.”

“That’s not what I meant. I’ve heard that conflicts like this can go on for decades. In the worst-case scenario, it might take a century to end.”

If the war went on that long, Liam wouldn’t have any chance to return to his home planet from the battlefield, so in the worst-case scenario, Rosetta could be left alone for a hundred years or more.

Rosetta knew what Ciel meant, but she shook her head. “As long as Darling comes home safe, I’ll be fine. Of course, I can’t say that he should take a century if he wants to. That would burden the domain terribly, after all.”

As Rosetta laughed awkwardly, Ciel replied, “I’m not his maid at this point, so I won’t use Liam’s title when speaking of him. But if he’d just gotten the ceremony over with before this, there wouldn’t have been a problem. I can’t imagine that he really has your happiness in mind, Lady Rosetta.”

When Ciel made her opinion on Liam clear, Amagi looked over at her. Ciel gasped, but Rosetta chuckled. “Ciel, I am happy.”

“Huh? But…”

“Yes, it’s a shame that we can’t have the ceremony now, but I got to try on a beautiful dress. It was so expensive that it made me dizzy, but it was more stunning than anything I had ever dreamed I might one day wear. I was thrilled.” Continuing to tell Ciel how happy she was, Rosetta added, “I’m content every day, for that matter. I wake up each morning in a warm bed, and I have so many people around who support me. Most of all, I have a wonderful fiancé.”

Ciel cocked her head. “Isn’t that only natural? You’re the daughter of a dukedom, Lady Rosetta. Liam chose you personally.”

“A person can lose sight of happiness too easily, Ciel.” Earnestly, Rosetta imparted her final lesson to the girl. “I told you about my circumstances, didn’t I? My house was a dukedom in name only—we were never treated like true nobles.”

“I’ve heard that, but it’s not the case anymore, is it?”

“Back when I met Darling, I dreamed in order to escape from my painful reality. I could only forget that reality by imagining happiness for myself. But my real circumstances always crushed those happy dreams of mine, however much I fantasized. Reality forced me to recognize how pitiful I was every time I imagined a happy life for myself.”

“Er…”

“I’m not scolding you, Ciel. I just want you to remember this.” Rosetta had experienced a cruel, harsh youth, and her current life was better than anything she could have dreamed of when she was young. “It’s fine to pursue happiness, but don’t lose sight of what’s really important. If you only realize it when it’s gone, it’ll be too late.”

“Then what’s important to you is—”

“Being with Darling is my happiness. The wedding isn’t what matters to me; all I want is for Darling to return to me.” Rosetta clasped her hands as though praying.

Meanwhile, Amagi watched her silently.

***

I contacted House Banfield’s home planet, excited to talk to Amagi for the first time in a while.

“Lady Ciel has left the domain to begin her primary school education,” Amagi informed me. “It is only a temporary separation, but several people already mourn her absence—particularly Mr. Brian.”

“Brian’s always crying. Ignore him. So, Ciel’s off to primary school, huh? I’ll miss her a bit myself.” She was no Chino, but I found Ciel’s presence similarly soothing, so I was reluctant to let her go. “Well, it’s not like I could leave here anytime soon anyway. By the time I get home, she’ll probably be back at the mansion, so it’s not bad timing.”

Amagi looked a little saddened by my words. “Even you think this war will drag on, Master?”

“I don’t like being away from you either, but getting out of this would be too tough. People are working against me behind the scenes here, which only makes things harder.”

Amagi hesitated. “It is not me whom your absence pains, but Lady Rosetta.”

When Rosetta’s name came up, I looked away from the screen. “I’m sure she’s just sad that we’re postponing our wedding, right?”

I’d initially wanted to marry Rosetta to upset her, but she didn’t feel the same way about me now as she had back then. I’d wanted the strong-willed Rosetta of those days to resist me the way Ciel did. Now, though, Rosetta was like a wolf with her fangs pulled… No. Like a big dog wagging her tail, begging to be petted? No, that wasn’t it either. Basically, the way she was now, she wasn’t my type.

“Maybe we should give up on holding a ceremony and file the marriage paperwork just to be done with it. The way Rosetta is now, I think that’d affect her more deeply. If doing that might let me see her look frustrated, I suppose it’s worth a shot.”

I snickered as I told Amagi my nasty idea, but she gave me a sharp look. “Lady Rosetta wishes only for your safe return, Master.”

“Huh…?”

Hearing me express doubt, Amagi played me a video of a conversation between Rosetta and Ciel earlier. As Rosetta earnestly prayed for my safety, there was one thing she said I couldn’t ignore.

My chest tightened at those words. They reminded me of my own past life—of those painful days right before I died. I’d once believed that I would be rewarded for my hard work too. I’d gone to sleep dreaming that one day I might have happy times with my family again, but would only wake to cruel reality instead.

I clutched my chest, and Amagi stopped the video. “Master?!” she exclaimed, worried.

“Amagi…get me Wallace.”

“Of course, but is your—”

“I’m fine!” I shouted.

At that, Amagi moved to carry out my command. “Very…well.”

When the call ended, laughter bubbled up from inside the ache in my chest, which I couldn’t ease.

“She went straight for my old wounds… You’ve done it now, Rosetta. I guess I’ve been underestimating you.”

Chapter 8: Victory Conditions

Chapter 8:
Victory Conditions

THE FIGHTING HAD STARTED several months ago, and against our initial expectations, Calvin’s faction was piling up victories and maintaining superiority.

While millions of ships fought in this type of conflict, they were split into smaller fleets with more manageable numbers. Occasionally, they all fought together, but splitting into smaller groups was easier. Otherwise, the chain of command could become confused in a battle involving nobles. After all, many nobles disliked being ordered around by others. Besides, different groups sometimes had weapons so dissimilar that they had trouble coordinating with each other.

For those reasons, a single battle typically involved tens of thousands of ships at most. The fleets would attempt to capture areas of space or satellite bases, or to take out enemy fleets. As supreme commander, my job was to deal with the reports on all those battles as they came in every day. Of course, I left all the grunt work to Claus.

As a result, we’d done nothing but lose—our position had remained inferior the whole time. No wonder our military advisor, Theodore, got on our case…or so I might say, if I were a more responsible type.

I’d called my henchmen to the Argos to discuss the situation. Before me were my head knight, Claus, and those two problem children who were nevertheless highly skilled: Tia and Marie. Claus stood beside my chair, while Tia and Marie knelt before me in repentance.

“Now, let’s hear your excuses.”

Marie spoke up immediately. “I believe the ground-meat woman is at fault for poor command, Lord Liam.”

Marie usually rushed into quarreling with Tia, but she directed her comment squarely at me today. Tia’s face twitched; she looked a moment away from exploding, but evidently strove to rein in her fury while I was listening.

“If you’ll give me command,” Marie continued, “I swear I’ll end this conflict within ten years.”

That was as much as Tia could take. “You wish, fossil! If not for the traitor, I could—”

I stopped Tia as she lunged for Marie. “Quiet.”

“Y-yes, sir.”

Ten years of war. That felt like a long time to me, but in this reality of intergalactic nations, it was actually pretty quick. Wars between forces of this size could drag on for decades. There were stories that sounded like bad jokes about conflicts that lasted for centuries too. That showed how difficult it was to conclude a war like this. Some wars even finished with nothing but a negotiation to decide on the ultimate victor, because definitively ending the conflict was otherwise impossible.

In short, Marie’s intended meaning was, “I promise to bring you victory in a short time.”

Tia’s brow had furrowed when Marie foisted all the responsibility onto her. I allowed her to speak. “You’re next, Tia. Anything you want to say?”

Glaring at Marie, she replied, “Lord Liam, it’s true that some responsibility lies with me, but if you give me the chance to redeem myself, I can promise you victory within ten—no, eight years!”

If Marie says ten years, Tia will say eight, eh? Their rivalry was touching and all, but I couldn’t wait even eight years. “That’s too long. Finish this in two.”

When I put my foot down, even Claus—who’d just been listening to the conversation—goggled at me.

Tia’s eyes darted. “I-if that’s your wish, I will do my utmost to achieve it. B-but two years may be a little too soon…”

Marie evidently felt the same way; she reluctantly agreed with Tia. “It pains me to admit it, but I believe the ground-meat woman is correct. We do have an idea of who the traitor might be, but eliminating them will take some time as well.”

Apparently, Tia and Marie were already aware of the traitor.

Claus sighed quietly. “If not for your reports, we would have overlooked this traitor,” he told the pair. “After all, the Argos receives suspicious information every day from various individuals.”

We kept receiving impossible reports claiming that Claus was the traitor. Some idiots even sent those messages anonymously.

Tia shook with anger, looking as though she was picturing someone’s face. “I’ll have my revenge on that man. I haven’t forgotten the insults and slights he slings my way every day—and I won’t let him forget them either.” Like Marie, she seemed to have an idea of the traitor’s identity.

“Well, I’m relieved that you both seem to know the identity of the traitor—though Claus seemed to know from the beginning.”

“Huh?” Claus said.

Although he was playing dumb, I got the sense that he’d known from the start of the conflict. The fierce way he had watched Theodore the whole time he was at my side made me pretty sure of that.

“I’ve been investigating on my own as well, and I finally obtained some proof,” I said. “Come in, Marion.”

I snapped my fingers, and the door opened, revealing Marion in the frilly outfit I’d forced her to don. She looked at me with tears in her eyes, so I figured I’d better compliment the getup.

“Looks good on you. I’m always happy to see you enjoying the presents I give you.”

“You’re as nasty as always,” Marion spat, tugging down her short skirt.

When she realized I had given Marion that outfit, Tia shot her an envious glare. Frightened by Tia’s bloodshot eyes, Marion ran over to me, then reported on what I’d asked her to look into.

“I investigated as you ordered. It seems that Baron Glynn was never even under attack by Viscount Myatt in the first place. His domain is a mess due to his own botched attempts to cultivate it. I guess everything he did failed, and he ended up ruining his planet—he’s basically your polar opposite. And he also met with that military advisor, Theodore, several times before the war began.”

Listening to Marion’s report, I grinned, then asked, “Well, it’s true they’re fighting over Charlot, right? So couldn’t he just have met Theodore to discuss the upcoming war?”

“You already know everything, don’t you…? Sure, those two families are in conflict over Charlot. Both Baron Glynn and Viscount Myatt reside on the Capital Planet, though. Neither has the guts to go to war over another planet. And the baron’s made a deal with Theodore. He’s liquidated all the support House Banfield sent him and given Theodore a cut.”

During my civil-service stint, Marion had been my coworker. She was second-rate as a knight, but gathering intelligence suited her well, so I’d put her skills to use behind the scenes to dig up dirt on Baron Glynn and Theodore.

Of course, everyone here probably already knew all this. No one reacted with surprise upon hearing it. The way they didn’t react at all was a little boring for me, but I supposed I was relieved to know that they weren’t stupid.

“So, not only has Theodore betrayed us, but this whole war might be a setup,” I said. “I have an idea of who’s behind it, but for now, we should deal with the situation right in front of us.”

Those words brought a new look to the faces of everyone but Marion.

“We’ll take care of Theodore and Baron Glynn,” I continued, “and win this war within two years.” I indeed planned to end the war in that timeframe—and with our own victory.

After I gave the group my demands, Claus spoke up hesitantly after having remained silent all this time. “It’s too reckless, Lord Liam. Sir Theodore is a leader in Prince Cleo’s Imperial Guard, and Baron Glynn is a noble whom the prince has promised to aid. Even if we could eliminate them both, as well as everyone working for them, two years would simply be too little time.”

I knew that common sense would call it impossible, but I still wanted to finish this in two years if at all feasible. “This is an order,” I insisted. “We’re finishing things in two years.”

Both Claus and Tia looked reluctant to promise such a thing, but I saw determination in Marie’s eyes. When she looked at me, I also saw sparkles in her eyes, which was really irritating.

I crossed my legs haughtily to hide what I was feeling. “Give me all the strategies you can think of to win this war within two years. I’ll allow for some degree of sacrifice.”

After I asked for tactics, neither Tia nor Marie protested that they couldn’t think of any. They didn’t seem entirely confident in the plans they came up with on the spot, but they presented those strategies to me nonetheless.

Tia was first. “If we deal a heavy blow to the enemy’s main force, we may turn the tide. To do that, we’d need to lure them into a trap. We could pretend to retreat, then strike at their main force after they use their momentum to pursue us. If the enemy gained too much momentum, though, that might tempt other nobles to join the battle on what looked like the winning side. Allies would likely pull out too, which would only widen the gap in our numbers. I can’t truly recommend this plan, but…”

We’d also have to decide which fleet to target with that attack. If we thought we were going after the enemy’s main force, and ended up being wrong, it would be bad. The losses our allies would take to their forces would also be a problem. In the long run, it would be best not to waste too much of our fighting power.

Marie had a different strategy in mind. “I hesitate to suggest this tactic for a battle between nobles of the same nation, but we could use a separate force to attack the home planet of a noble in the crown prince’s faction. With their home in danger, they’d have to pull their troops from here. Then, by exploiting the temporary weakness in the enemy’s defenses, we might be able to end the conflict early. It’s possible… Still, I can’t recommend that approach, considering the long-term implications.”

“A tactic House Berkeley used in the past.”

This was a battle to determine the next emperor, so if I attacked the home planet of any nobles fighting here, I’d be treated like a dirty cheater. It would be like stabbing someone in the back—not a tactic lauded in noble society. The relatives of whoever I targeted would resent me too, so it wouldn’t be good for my long-term popularity in the Empire. I didn’t want to be called a coward who broke unwritten rules. On top of that, it was possible that the enemy would go after my home planet in retaliation.

I clasped my hands, intertwining my fingers, and grinned. “Yep, those are both plans I can’t use.”

When I rejected their suggestions, Tia and Marie looked relieved. They hadn’t spoken because they were eager to utilize those tactics.

I turned to Claus next. “Well, Claus… Let’s hear what you have to say.”

He was silent for a moment, his face expressionless. Eventually, however, he could no longer endure the look I was giving him, and he opened his mouth to speak.

***

How come you expect so much of me?!

On the inside, Claus was panicking. With Liam giving him that look of anticipation, the knight couldn’t exactly say that he had no ideas.

Although Liam had decided against them, Tia and Marie had offered him ideas, albeit tactics that would get Liam labeled a coward. Anyone sensible would hesitate to suggest such strategies to their lord, but Liam had asked for ideas, so they’d given them. Claus knew that it wouldn’t be fair to abstain when those two had spoken up. Maybe their display of loyalty influenced him somewhat too.

Should I just say something that Lord Liam definitely won’t do? What sort of strategy would he not use? He said he would allow a degree of sacrifice, so will he not mind military casualties? Something that would affect his reputation, then…?

Claus made up his mind and proceeded to offer a strategy he was certain Liam wouldn’t employ. “What if we abandoned the fight for Planet Charlot?”

“What?” Liam looked at him dubiously.

Tia’s and Marie’s eyes grew cold.

Until this conflict, Liam had been undefeated. Marring that perfect record would be unacceptable to them, and that was what Claus was counting on. “We’ll abandon the war between the baron and viscount and focus solely on the succession conflict.”

Liam didn’t look happy about what he was hearing, but his eyes signaled Claus to continue anyway.

“The enemy is targeting Baron Glynn’s home planet,” Claus said. “If they take it and capture the baron, we’ll lose the war—but we could challenge the foe to a final battle afterward.”

The idea, which Claus came up with even as he explained it, was to gather the enemy forces in one place and take them all out at once. It essentially combined Tia’s and Marie’s plans into one. Claus only got the idea from listening to them, and he hadn’t given it much thought either. He’d suggested it assuming that Liam would turn it down, and that the other two would caution him against it as well.

Unexpectedly, though, Liam immediately expressed interest in Claus’s idea. “I see… Well, if it’s Baron Glynn’s planet, who cares what happens to it? We can use this as an excuse to get rid of him too.”

When Liam seemingly wanted to use his strategy, Claus was surprised. Huh? Why does he like it?

He tried to tell Liam that it would be better to forget that plan after all, but Marie beat him to it. “Please wait! If we do that, people will doubt your capabilities, Lord Liam! And you’ll be raked over the coals for failing to protect Baron Glynn. Even if we later prove that he was a traitor, on the surface, it’ll still look like we lost the war!”

Tia was against it too. “Lord Liam, it’s easy enough to attack an enemy fleet that has its guard down after a victory, but if you continue a fight after the opponents have reached a conclusion, you’ll be perceived as struggling pointlessly. Even if we’re victorious in the end, it’ll still damage your reputation.”

Both women were worried about Liam’s reputation, but he stood and applauded Claus nonetheless. “I knew I could count on you, Claus. That’s a great strategy that fulfills our objective and gets rid of a traitor. We’ll go with it.”

For a moment, Claus was speechless. Then he simply said, “Are you serious, sir?” Are you insane?! Do you realize what kind of a hit your reputation will take if you do this?!

Liam grinned, amused. “I was just thinking that I didn’t want to give Baron Glynn any more of our profits. Okay—let’s nail down the specifics of this right away. Marion, I’m going to have to sequester you for a bit, since you heard all this.”

Marion would have to be confined as a security measure, since she’d been privy to their plans for the war.

She raised both hands obediently, a resigned look on her face. “Yeah, I didn’t think I’d get away after hearing all that. When the war’s over, you’ll let me go, right? Oh—and if you could make my prison guards cute girls, I’d appreciate it. I did what you asked of me, so I deserve special treatment!”

“I’ll let you go once the war’s over. You’ll have to make do without the cute girls, though.”

“Cheapskate!”

Claus felt like he’d done something terrible. “Are you sure about this, sir? It won’t be a laudable way to win. Baron Glynn may be a traitor, but if he dies, we’ll lose. I know I suggested this, but it’ll damage your reputation, Lord Liam. I can’t recommend this strategy.”

Liam gave Claus a daring smile. “It’s fine with me. If we can win through a mere hit to my reputation, I’ll use your strategy gladly. I told you—some degree of sacrifice is fine.”

Wh-why is this happening?!

All the blood drained from Claus’s face. He hadn’t expected Liam’s reputation to be among the things on the table as a “degree of sacrifice.” For better or worse, Liam was a singular presence within the Empire. As such, there was much to gain through his reputation, yet now he wanted to end the war quickly, even if he had to sacrifice that reputation.

Claus had underestimated Liam.

This is a disaster!

Spreading his arms wide, Liam declaimed, “Now, let’s settle this fight with Calvin, shall we?”

***

When Liam left the room, Marie chased after him. They were on the Argos, so he was walking alone, unaccompanied by guards.

“Lord Liam!” Marie shouted toward his back. “I’d like to ask you something!”

Liam stopped and sighed, responding without turning around. “What is it?”

Understanding that Liam didn’t want her to look at his face, Marie knelt, though she knew he couldn’t see her. “It’s about what you said earlier. When you commanded us to end the war within two years, was that—”

Liam cut her off. “I just don’t want a stupid war like this dragging on forever.”

It appeared that Liam—who still had his back to her—didn’t intend to tell Marie what he was truly thinking. Still, his feelings got through to her.

Why was he so eager to win the war quickly, even going as far as sacrificing his reputation for it? Marie had realized the answer to that question. Tears welled in her eyes as she gazed up at her lord’s back.

If the war ended in the next two years, Liam could marry Rosetta as originally planned. Marie had assumed that the wedding was already canceled, but what if preparations were actually already underway on their home planet, and that was why Liam was being so particular about the timing? The way Liam was acting convinced Marie of this.

“You don’t need to answer,” she told him. “I swear that I’ll bring you victory, no matter how difficult the battles awaiting us, Lord Liam.”

All Marie had done was pledge to bring him victory, but the passion behind her words made Liam turn his head. When he peered back at her, his face was faintly red, as if he were embarrassed. The unusual expression on his face made Marie blink in surprise.

“You’re fond of Rosetta, aren’t you?” he asked. “You seem pretty motivated… Why don’t you command the army instead of Tia?”

When she heard this, Marie snapped out of her reverie and focused. “Are you sure, sir?”

“You’ll have command over everyone—even me. It seems like things will end faster that way.” Having said all he wished to, Liam walked off.

Watching him go, Marie bowed her head. “You have my gratitude, my lord.”

Chapter 9: Fishing

Chapter 9:
Fishing

ON THE ARGOS’S BRIDGE, Theodore attempted to keep a straight face, guffawing on the inside. Liam’s faction must have had weak ties to fall apart this quickly! Or am I that good? My own talent scares me!

The faces of the nobles in the faction were displayed on screens floating in the air, and every single one appeared furious with Liam.

“Count Banfield, you’re responsible for this!”

“You wait. When this is over…”

“You’ve let me down.”

Half a year after the war began, Calvin’s faction had gained a significant advantage. On the other hand, Cleo’s faction had lost nearly all its territory, and many members had been forced to retreat to the rear. More than a few nobles had declared that they were leaving the faction entirely and fled from the battlefield. Some even defected to Calvin’s side.

The remaining nobles were now berating Liam for his failure, but…

“Is that all you have to say?” he replied to them. “Turn tail and run, then. I’ll fight Calvin on my own if I have to.”

The young, fiery Liam had missed his chance to back down from the fight. He hadn’t managed to keep his allies from defecting, and now he was trying to browbeat those who remained. Anyone could see that the war had already been lost, yet Liam insisted on fighting to win.

Theodore was thrilled. Yes. Struggle on, and spill even more blood. Once this fight is over, none of you will be able to defy Prince Cleo ever again. A fitting conclusion for a spoiled brat born into a count’s family.

He glanced around the bridge and saw Tia and Marie hanging their heads in frustration, as if they couldn’t bear to watch Liam embarrass himself.

“Any more efforts will cause further damage,” Tia cautioned her lord.

For once, she and Marie were on the same page. “The battle is over,” the other knight advised. “We should either retreat or begin negotiations with the enemy.”

Even with two skilled House Banfield knights advising against it, Liam demanded they continue the fight, his emotions getting the better of him. “Shut up! The only thing I’ve permitted you two to do is bring me victory! But Tia…Marie…you’ve done nothing but lose ever since this war began. If you’re too incompetent to carry out my orders, I have no need of either of you. Gather up our wounded and go back to the home planet.”

Since he was relegating the pair to taking home wounded soldiers and broken weapons, even Tia and Marie had now been chased from the battlefield.

Claus, who still remained, spoke up to rebuke Liam. “It’s over, Lord Liam. If they push us back any farther, the enemy will reach Baron Glynn’s planet. Even if we focus on defense, the enemy has over four times our numbers—we’ve lost.”

In response to Claus’s warning, Liam brought up his past battles against pirates. “There’s no problem, then. I’ve overcome similar odds countless times. I’m used to being outnumbered like this.”

“But, sir…!”

“Claus, are you defying me too? I’m disappointed. You can leave as well, then.”

Having witnessed Liam dismissing all the talented retainers at his side, Theodore decided that it was time to act. This is over sooner than I expected. How handy that he’s sending all his close advisors away too!

***

After ensuring that he was alone on the ship, Theodore contacted Schlust. Communications between the two traitors weren’t viewed with suspicion, since they were on the same side. Theodore delivered the code phrase he and the baron had picked beforehand to let Schlust know that their plan was entering its final stage. Since the baron controlled the local communications, that layer of deception was just for fun.

“We’re in trouble. You should prepare yourself, Baron Glynn.” Under the circumstances, no one would think these words were strange.

Baron Glynn’s eyes widened when he heard them, however. He nodded firmly. “Understood. I’ll resist until the end.”

They had decided in advance what those lines truly meant. Theodore’s line translated as. “We’ve cornered Liam. Prepare to surrender.” In turn, Schlust’s response meant, “Understood.” Schlust had never intended to fight in the first place, so he planned to surrender the moment Calvin’s faction invaded his planet.

“You’ve dispatched the defensive forces House Banfield provided you with, right?” Theodore confirmed with Schlust.

“Yes. I’ll make sure to put them to work. Glad I pushed for those extra forces!”

Schlust had insisted that Liam lend him additional fighting power, since his planet wasn’t well defended. He planned to hand those forces over to Calvin’s faction when he surrendered, but if they resisted, he’d join Calvin’s faction in a pincer attack against them.

“That will be all, then.”

“Be careful.”

Theodore disconnected and grinned nastily. “This will be worth a lot, and not solely with Prince Cleo. Prince Calvin won’t be able to ignore what I’ve done either. And I know their secret, so I have them at a disadvantage… If I play my cards right, I could be one of the Empire’s most powerful nobles.”

He snickered to himself as he pictured his rosy future.

***

It had now been a year since the fighting began. When Calvin received news on the Capital Planet, he couldn’t help shooting up from his chair in surprise. The young noble who delivered the message had tears in his eyes.

“We won?” Calvin asked. “Really?!”

“Yes, Your Highness! Our army repelled House Banfield’s and now occupies Baron Glynn’s home planet! The baron has surrendered. Defense forces on the ground dispatched by House Banfield are still resisting, but there aren’t many of them, so we should subdue them soon.”

If they had taken control of Baron Glynn’s home planet and captured the baron, Calvin had won. The proxy war was over.

Still, Calvin couldn’t believe it. “It’s too easy,” he said. “Didn’t Liam have his right-hand man, Claus, with him?”

“Our spies tell us that Liam pursued victory against Claus’s advice.”

Would Liam really have done that? At this point, Calvin felt more uneasy than relieved. “What’s Cleo doing…?”

Getting his excitement under control, the young noble solemnly continued his report. He seemed distrustful of Cleo himself. “Our operatives are watching him, but he hasn’t done anything suspicious. He doesn’t seem to be in contact with Liam, and he’s doing everything we planned for him to. That worries me more than anything, frankly.”

Anyone would feel dubious hearing that Cleo, who’d pulled ahead in the succession conflict, was throwing the competition for Calvin, who’d had his back to the wall. Earlier, Calvin had had no choice but to join forces with Cleo. If he’d killed the other prince then and there, Liam would simply have backed someone else. There would have been no point. It was Liam who Calvin feared, not Cleo, and he’d joined forces with Cleo because Liam was the more daunting threat to him. Still, he was still nervous…about Cleo, and about Liam’s hard-to-believe defeat.

“Tell our allies not to let down their guard,” Calvin instructed. “If he…if Liam were so easily defeated, we’d never have been driven this far in the first place.”

When Calvin ordered that they not let their guard down, the young noble straightened up. “I’ll tell them right away!”

“Good. I’ll remind them too when I go thank them for their efforts.”

This would normally be when everyone in the faction relaxed, assured of victory. Yet that victory had been so effortless that Calvin was struck with anxiety, suspecting that they were walking into a trap.

When the young noble left his office, Calvin held his head in his hands. “It’s over…right? I’ve won…haven’t I? Then why am I so anxious…?”

He’d just been told of his victory, yet he couldn’t be happy about the news.

***

Thousands of battleships floated above the enclosed city in which Baron Glynn resided on his home planet; the vessels blocked the light of the sun.

On the bridge of one such ship, a noble in Calvin’s faction—a commander—was intoxicated over their easy victory. He had commanded the detachment that took control of the planet.

“The crown prince sent us a secret weapon, but we didn’t even have to use it, did we?” he boasted.

The commander’s adjutant was equally relaxed. “Isn’t it a secret weapon precisely because, unused, it remains secret?”

“I suppose so. No reason not to let sleeping dogs lie, and all that.”

Calvin’s secret weapon and its supplies now took up much of the space aboard the commander’s ship. The weapon was unwieldy and had come with its own specialized staff. Even the commander didn’t know many details about it. He was curious, but it was clearly dangerous, so mostly he wanted nothing to do with it.

Together, the commander and his adjutant looked down at the enclosed city from a bridge window.

“What a devastated planet.”

“Baron Glynn’s got a reputation for being an idiot. Guess Prince Cleo picked the wrong ally.”

“I doubt this was about his abilities. It’s all politics. That’s above my pay grade, though.” The commander hadn’t been told anything about what was going on behind the scenes.

“We really did achieve a flashy victory, though, didn’t we? And we’ll have to change our plans, won’t we?” His adjutant asked, intending to confirm their plans with him.

“Well, it’s not over yet. House Banfield still has a ground force on the planet. Our allies should be heading for them now.”

“They ought to be cleared out soon. Baron Glynn reported the unit’s size to us, after all.”

“…I really wouldn’t want him on my side.”

With the end of the war in sight, the pair felt utterly relaxed until an allied ship a few kilometers away suddenly exploded. The commander and adjutant looked down in surprise and saw the wrecked vessel crash to the ground somewhere near the enclosed city.

“What’s our status?!” the adjutant yelled at a bridge operator. “Hurry!”

“The attack came from above!”

“Are there enemies up there? Only our allies are supposed to be above us in space!”

As sirens blared, they shifted to high alert. Meanwhile, more and more of their allies exploded, pierced by beams. Some fired upward, but their own allies came falling from space toward them. The ships shot down by friendly fire likewise plummeted toward the ground.

“Is it House Banfield? They don’t know when to give up…” The commander took his seat, prepared to issue orders.

Just then, the operator identified the enemy ships. “N-no, the vessels bear…House Exner’s crest!”

The commander was confused for a moment before remembering who that meant. He recalled that there was a baron with close ties to House Banfield among the enemy forces.

“That upstart baron?! Didn’t he defect?”

A moment later, a mobile knight the commander had never seen before appeared outside the bridge windows, swinging down a huge sword gripped in its right hand.

That was the last thing the commander saw.

***

The mysterious mobile knight was the Vanadís Frey, and its pilot was Kurt, who took stock of the situation around him from its cockpit as he fought.

“Entering the atmosphere and fighting on the surface… What a reckless plan.”

The mobile knight Kurt piloted was one the Sixth Weapons Factory was particularly proud of. The original Vanadís model had a slender, feminine frame, but Kurt’s was outfitted with extra armor that made it look bulkier. The cockpit was situated where a woman’s chest would be, and every time Kurt boarded the craft, he found himself wishing that it had been placed somewhere else. Still, the Vanadís boasted superior specs that the Sixth Weapons Factory had every right to be proud of.

Mobile knights spilled from within the ship he’d just destroyed the bridge of. One approached the Vanadís Frey, a megaphone in hand.

“You’re filth clinging to House Banfield—and you don’t know when to give up!”

The enemy pilot was apparently familiar with House Exner’s position.

The mobile knights nobles piloted were different from those manned by normal soldiers. Piloted by superhuman knights, they could move with likewise superhuman speed and strength. The enemy mobile knight fired a beam machine gun at the Vanadís Frey as Kurt closed the distance between them, going for a close-quarters fight. He wasn’t worried about being hit, since his extra armor would absorb the damage.

“You’re good. However…!”

Kurt immediately noticed the enemy pilot’s skill, but he still sped toward the craft without fear. The enemy tried to switch to a close-quarters weapon, but Kurt swung the sword in the Vanadís Frey’s hand and bisected his foe’s machine. The sword’s physical blade was overlaid with an energy beam that gave off a faint yellow glow. The sword had incredible cutting power—the perfect weapon for Kurt, who specialized in close combat.

When he destroyed one of the hostile mobile knights, the other enemy craft grew more cautious.

“Don’t get too close!”

“Guy’s got skills.”

“I heard that Baron Exner’s heir was good, but this is—”

Hailing from a command ship in Calvin’s forces, they were well informed about the nobles in their enemy’s ranks.

“I have nothing against you,” Kurt told them. “I suggest you surrender before you get hurt.”

“You arrogant brat!”

The enemy mobile knights surrounded the Vanadís Frey, firing on it in an attempt to shoot it down, but Kurt had expected that. Attacks rained down from above, taking out his enemies for him.

“Did you think I came out here all by myself?”

He looked up in his cockpit and saw his mothership above him. Mobile knights streamed from it one by one.

Unlike the Vanadís, the mobile knights House Exner’s soldiers piloted were all a generation behind the times. With Kurt opening the way for them, though, that was no problem.

“Let’s overwhelm them!” he ordered his men.

They responded in unison, “Yes, sir!”

Looking down at the planet’s enclosed city, Kurt saw small allied ships descending into it. Armed soldiers alighted from those ships to begin a ground battle within the city.

“Don’t forget to back up the ground forces. Rescuing Baron Glynn is an important mission!”

“Sir!”

As Kurt said “rescuing Baron Glynn,” he sighed to himself. I don’t like lying to my men when they’re putting their lives on the line for this fight… I understand being reckless in order to win, but Liam’s gone a little too far this time. I’ll have to give him a warning later, as his friend.

***

Wearing powered suits, House Banfield’s landing forces descended into the enclosed city. Led by Tia, and heavily armed, these brawny, well-trained experts in battle entered the baron’s mansion.

“Oh, baaaron! Where are youuu?” Tia called.

Dressed in a pilot suit that also functioned as a powered suit, Tia gripped a rapier in her right hand. Her left held a handgun, which she used to take out the enemies popping up to meet them as they appeared. Her movements were precise and controlled, but under her helmet she was smiling, eyes bloodshot.

When she came across a group of enemies trying to resist them from behind a barricade, Tia kicked the ground and leaped over the barricade. Landing in the midst of the group, she sliced into them with her rapier. She wielded the blade so swiftly that it almost seemed to bend in her grasp. It sliced through the enemies’ armor easily, staining the surrounding area red.

Discovering an enemy fortunate enough to survive the onslaught, Tia planted her foot on the fallen man’s chest to pin him down. The soldier’s expression was anguished; he was desperate to survive. He threw aside his weapon and raised his hands.

“Sp-spare me! I was ordered to fight!”

“Where’s the baron?” Tia demanded, threatening him with her rapier.

The enemy answered without hesitation. “H-he ran off right away. I don’t know if he’s hiding somewhere, or if he’s already fled. We were simply told to buy time for his escape with our lives!”

Tia kicked the soldier, knocking him unconscious, and ordered one of her subordinates to tie him up. “Take this one prisoner. Can you confirm whether there’s a vehicle escaping skyward? It might be a small ship or something else. Just see if you can spot anything.”

A communications officer checked in with the forces positioned above the planet. Receiving an immediate answer, they reported, “We’ve captured everyone who fled the planet, and the baron isn’t among them.”

“He’s hiding here, then… Find him. Lord Liam ordered us to make the baron atone for his sins.”

Tia led the knights and landing force through the mansion, wreaking havoc. They were ostensibly here to “rescue” the baron, but as they searched, they shot up the mansion with machine guns. They had the run of the place, blowing down walls with their bazookas anytime the urge struck them.

“Find the traitor! I’ll personally make him understand who he’s made an enemy of!”

Tia kept searching for Schlust with bloodshot eyes until one of her soldiers noticed something.

“There.”

The soldier had discovered an inconspicuous shelf that opened a door onto a hidden room. They didn’t know how to activate the mechanism, though, and the secret door was shielded by thick metal, so that it couldn’t be easily penetrated.

“There’s an elaborate mechanism here.”

“Oh, is there?” Tia kicked the door, forcing it open.

The brawny landing forces watched her in shock.

“She can’t be human, kicking a door like that open!”

“Knights can probably do that kind of thing, though, right?”

“No… Even a knight shouldn’t be able to…”

Tia shot a glance at the gossiping soldiers, who all fell silent. Then she started down the stairs the hidden door had formerly concealed. As she went, she called out in a voice that would surely terrify Schlust if the baron was hiding inside and could hear her.

“Oh, baaaron…baron who betrayed us from the start… Come out, come out, wherever you are…”

At the bottom of the stairs was a simply constructed room with no traps, self-destruct devices, or anything of the kind. Tia entered and found Schlust cowering in the middle of the chamber, the interior of which was entirely too lavish for a mere hidden room. He clutched treasure to his chest, tears streaming from his eyes.

“Eep!”

Piles of rare metals and antiques that Schlust had collected dotted the room.

“It’s quite a stash you’ve got here, considering what bad shape your domain is in. I’m impressed.” Following this sarcastic comment, Tia sheathed her rapier.

Evidently misunderstanding something, Schlust sighed with relief. “D-did you come to save me? Oh, thank goodness! I was hiding because I was terrified of being captured by nobles from Calvin’s faction.”

“Well, that’s good.”

Schlust stood and approached Tia. Smiling, she slammed her fist into him.

“Bfft!” Schlust flew backward into a wall.

Tia walked over to him. Lifted him up by his long hair, she said in an affected lilt, “Oh nooo! How could this haaaappen? We rushed here to save the baron, but we were too late and he diiied!”

“T-too late?! No, I’m—bfft!”

Before he could finish, Tia smacked his face a second time. Then she hit him a third and fourth time, his face becoming a swollen mess.

“I-I’ll gifh you treashrre,” Schlust cried, “Sho pleashe…”

He struggled desperately to get away from Tia but couldn’t do anything to escape her grip.

Tia gave him a disgusted look and said stonily, “Pathetic until the very end, aren’t you? Where’s your noble pride?”

“I’m shorry… Pleashe…”

“You’re pretty despised by your subjects, aren’t you? That’s only natural if you ruined the planet, didn’t even try to fix it, and then taxed your people heavily on top of that.”

Though Tia listed the baron’s failings, he didn’t even seem to understand the problem with his actions.

“What wassh wrong wifh fhat?”

When Schlust seemed genuinely not to grasp his misdeeds. Tia felt anger well up in her. “You don’t even realize how much suffering you’ve caused your people, do you? I know… In that case, why don’t I give you a fitting end?”

Still holding Schlust by his hair, Tia started walking. She emerged from the hidden passage to find her soldiers waiting for her.

“Lady Christiana?! Our plan was to—”

Their plan had been to kill the baron if they found him, then claim it was the work of nobles from Calvin’s faction. Thus, seeing that Tia had captured the man alive confused her soldiers.

As she kept walking, Tia explained herself. “He seems not to understand how foolish he is, so I’ve decided to teach him at the end of his life. Gather the people living in and around the enclosed city. We’ve got a wonderful show for them.”

Realizing what Tia was planning, her soldiers quickly scattered, leaving only a few behind to flank her as guards.

“Is it okay to do this without getting permission first?” one asked her.

Tia looked down at Schlust, who continued to struggle pathetically against her. “It’ll be more fitting for him to die at his subjects’ hands than at those of one of Calvin’s nobles.”

***

Tia brought Schlust to a square in the enclosed city and threw him to the ground. There, he was set upon by waiting citizens of House Glynn’s domain, all of whom were armed. A knife—probably from someone’s kitchen—stabbed into the baron’s calf.

“Ow! Id hurds! Helb me!”

Schlust screamed and cried, but his subjects’ anger hadn’t been quelled. They stepped forward and stabbed him—one by one, as if there was a rule that each got a single turn.

“What do you mean, ‘it hurts’?! Do you know what we’ve been through?!”

“My family died because of you!”

“Living a life of luxury while the rest of us suffer!”

Schlust’s rulership had been horrible, so his people’s anger couldn’t be contained.

“Forgib me! I wun do id again! I’ll lower takshes—I will!”

His words were ignored, and blades stabbed him again and again. As a noble, Schlust had a body more robust than a normal person’s, but that worked against him now. A regular person would’ve died quickly, but the benefits of Schlust’s nobility only prolonged his suffering. Tia watched the scene with annoyance.

Her adjutant, Claudia, noticed her foul mood and asked about it. “Lady Tia, are you displeased about something?”

Tia turned her gaze to the sky. “I wish that I could be fighting up there instead. I feel pathetic, since Lord Liam entrusted Marie with the army in my place.” Marie had stolen her command role.

Claudia didn’t think that they could’ve prevented that, however. “Well, the fossils are rather gung-ho about this fight. Lord Liam was probably just being considerate.”

“I suppose so… But I wish that I could at least have killed Theodore myself.” He’d been such an annoyance to her that she was upset not to be personally eliminating him.

Claudia smiled wryly. “It’s too bad, but we’ll have to give that one to Sir Claus.”

Chapter 10: Lily and Gerbera

Chapter 10:
Lily and Gerbera

SHOT-DOWN SHIPS, reduced to space trash, floated around Baron Glynn’s home planet. My superdreadnought, the Argos, cruised through that wreckage, surrounded by the ships of the nobles who’d supposedly defected from my side. The battle still raged all around us, but Cleo’s faction clearly had the upper hand at this point.

I observed all this from my position on the Argos’s bridge, checking the situation on the planet’s surface via a monitor and watching our ships enter the atmosphere and destroy the enemy. Among them was Kurt in the Vanadís Frey; he shot down mobile knights one after another.

“Kurt’s improved, huh?” I murmured.

As I said this, a man came running onto the bridge. It was Theodore.

“Wh-what in the world is going on?!” he cried. Knowing nothing about my plan, he stared in shock at the screen.

“Finally awake, Special Lieutenant General?”

When I addressed him, Theodore jabbed a finger at the monitor. “What are you doing, Count Banfield?! The war is over! Why are you continuing to fight?!” He couldn’t believe that the battle before him was even taking place.

“The enemy took Baron Glynn’s planet, true. And it seems the baron’s subjects put him down. Those are my failures, and I have no excuses to give for them.”

“Baron Glynn was killed?! I haven’t heard anything about this!”

Once the baron’s planet was taken, Theodore had decided that we’d lost the war, and he’d called for retreat. Then he’d gone back to his room to rest, so at that point, I began my counteroffensive. The situation had changed so much overnight that he couldn’t keep up.

“Well, we only got word of his death moments ago.”

As I remained sitting in my chair, the very picture of calm, Theodore exploded at me. “W-was this a sneak attack?!”

When he accused me of foul play, I gave a slight smile. “It’s not very nice to call it a sneak attack. I’m eliminating Calvin’s faction for Prince Cleo’s sake. Sure, we lost the proxy war, but I have no intention of losing the succession conflict.”

Theodore took a step back. “I-I can’t believe you. I never thought you’d stoop this low.”

“Well, sorry to betray your expectations, but Calvin’s faction has taken a heavy blow. Prince Cleo is sure to become crown prince now, right? As one of the heads of his Imperial Guard, you should be happy about this.” I was asking him,“What do you have to complain about if Prince Cleo’s going to win?”

His face bright red, Theodore argued back, “If Prince Cleo wins in such an underhanded way, no one will acknowledge him! You’ll need to take responsibility for this when we get back, Count Banfield.” His nostrils flared as he shouted at me, and I noticed hair sticking out of them conspicuously.

I glanced at Claus, who stood next to me. “I guess I’ll have to take responsibility, Claus.”

“I would say that’s inescapable if the war is an apparent loss on paper, sir.”

“Pretty unfair, don’t you agree? I’ve spared no expense supporting Prince Cleo up till now, and I have to eat crow over one loss?”

At that point, Theodore finally seemed to notice Claus’s presence. He trembled in fear before my knight. “Wh-what’s Sir Claus doing here?! I thought you made him leave!”

This was probably enough, right? “Yeah, I got sick of keeping up the ruse. Let me fill you in on the truth.”

“The truth?”

Theodore still hadn’t caught on, so I explained my little magic trick to him. “Did you seriously think that we didn’t know you and Baron Glynn were feeding the enemy information? Me throwing a tantrum and sending my retainers away was all a performance. Am I a good actor? I’d love to hear your opinion.”

Although I’d told him that I tricked him, Theodore refused to acknowledge his own treachery. “Th-that simply isn’t true. What an accusation! Besides, I have no motive to betray my allies!”

When he kept up his own act, even after all this, I lost interest. “I couldn’t care less about your motive. You betrayed me—that’s all there is to it.”

“H-have you gone mad, Banfield?!”

The more agitated Theodore got, the farther his nose hair poked out, distracting me so much that I couldn’t focus on the conversation. I glanced over at Claus. “Would you like to say anything to the special lieutenant general?”

“You’ve noticed too, Lord Liam?”

Claus kept glancing in the direction of Theodore’s nose hair as well. You can’t concentrate ’cause of that either, huh?

“I have,” I replied. “So? What’s your opinion?”

Claus handed down a harsher judgment than I expected from him. “I believe removal would be prudent, sir.”

I’d thought that he would advise me to keep things peaceful. Even if Claus did feel that Theodore should be killed, I would’ve expected him to tell me in secret somewhere later. I was surprised at how brutal he could be.

“I didn’t think you’d say something like that,” I admitted. “You’re that upset by this?”

“No, it’s nothing like that…”

Claus seemed hesitant, so maybe he wasn’t sure whether I should really kill the man. After all, Theodore was a military advisor whom Cleo had sent to keep an eye on me. I had plenty of evidence of his betrayal, but I might still get in trouble if I got rid of him without even speaking to Cleo in advance. Even accounting for that though, Claus had determined that I might want to remove Theodore right here.

“Very well,” I said. “I was of the same opinion. I thought you’d stop me, Claus—but if you’re in favor of it, removal it is.”

Eulisia, who was also beside me, silently handed me my sheathed sword. As I accepted the weapon, Theodore realized what I was about to do, turned tail, and ran.

“Somebody stop—him…?”

A second later, Theodore tripped to the floor. I’d severed his Achilles tendons, so he’d have a hard time even walking now. He didn’t seem to understand what had happened, though, so I walked over and planted a foot on him.

“I’m still far from my master’s level…but I think I finally see his back in the distance.” I remarked. I felt that I was getting closer to the abilities Master Yasushi held in his prime.

“Do you think you’ll get away with this? You’re a heinous criminal who’s now turned on Prince Cleo! You won’t get off scot-free!” Theodore must’ve misunderstood why I hadn’t killed him. Did he think I couldn’t kill him or something?

If he wanted to play tough, I didn’t mind teasing him for a bit, but if I fooled around too much I’d soil the bridge. “Don’t get the wrong idea. The only reason I haven’t killed you yet is that I don’t want my bridge dirtied.” I addressed my underlings. “Hey! Put a spacesuit on him and throw him off the ship.”

“Wh-what’re you saying? D-don’t…” The blood drained from Theodore’s face. When he realized what I was going to do, despair set in.

“You’d better pray that someone finds you out in the vastness of space.”

A battle was raging outside, so there was a high risk that a stray beam or being struck by debris would kill Theodore instantly. Even if he survived those things, there was hardly any chance that someone would rescue him. His own fear would torture him until his suit’s oxygen ran out, he suffered an accident, or he killed himself.

“If you kill me, you’ll never come back from this!”

I shouldered my sword, replying, “It’s a little late for that, isn’t it? You’re the ones who betrayed us first.”

Finally, Theodore seemed to understand what I was saying. It must’ve sunk in at last that I was really going to throw him overboard, so to speak. Knowing that it wasn’t an empty threat, a despairing expression came over his face.

“D-do you realize…?”

“Take him away,” I ordered my soldiers, no longer interested in what he had to say. They escorted Theodore from the bridge.

“Spare me… Spare me! Count Banfield, I was being used—”

The bridge door closed, cutting off Theodore’s pleas for mercy. I thrust my sheathed sword back at Eulisia.

She took it from me, wide-eyed. “Did you even need this?! You didn’t draw it, did you?”

“Are you stupid? I couldn’t perform a delicate move like the Flash unarmed. But if I’d butchered him, there would’ve been a big mess to clean up. Now then, that’s enough of that. Claus, order Marie to attack Cleo’s Imperial Guard.”

This command made Claus hesitate again. Was something bothering him?

“Will it really be all right to attack the Imperial Guard, sir?”

If we just got rid of Theodore, the traitor, we could still make excuses to Cleo. But if we attacked ships piloted by his Imperial Guard, there’d be no going back. If I went through with this, I’d cut my ties with Cleo—but what of it?

“Show them who they made an enemy of. Wipe them out,” I insisted.

“…Understood.”

***

Inside, Claus was panicking.

Who would’ve thought that he’d kill Theodore when we were only discussing his nose hair?!

Claus had only been hoping that Liam would order Theodore to remove the hair. He never thought they’d throw the man off of the Argos. He was still technically their ally, after all. And now Liam was ordering them to wipe out the Imperial Guard too.

This isn’t good. I mean, they did betray us—but if we do this, we’ll really have no choice but to fight Prince Cleo next. But, well… Agh, I can’t…

However long he contemplated the situation, he couldn’t figure out how to proceed. After all, if the Imperial Guard had betrayed them from the start, then there was a good chance that Cleo was pulling their strings.

Even if we let them go, we’ll still have to confront Prince Cleo. I guess this is it for our alliance.

Claus felt nothing but anxiety about the future. For the time being, though, he’d carry out Liam’s orders.

When exactly did that betrayal begin…?

***

The Purple Tail—which Liam had given Marie—wasn’t a superdreadnought, but it was a high-performance ship with good maneuverability, so Marie was fond of it. It suited her fighting style well.

Marie stood on the Purple Tail’s bridge, her stance wide, her arms crossed, and her eyes closed as she awaited Liam’s orders.

Haydi, who’d been talking to a communications operator, finally raised his voice. “Marie, orders from the boss! He says, ‘Wipe ’em out!’”

Receiving that order, Marie slowly opened her eyes. Her aura seemed different from usual. A quiet rage unlike her usual explosive anger now smoldered within her.

“Betrayal seems to be the Imperial family’s forte,” she remarked. In Marie’s mind, an image of Cleo was now superimposed onto the emperor who’d long ago turned her and her men to stone. “I won’t allow anyone who would destroy Lady Rosetta’s happiness to live. All ships, target Cleo’s Imperial Guard fleet!”

Marie thrust out her arm, and every House Banfield ship under her command took aim.

“For Lord Liam and Lady Rosetta…destroy them.”

The ships all moved at once to attack the confused Imperial Guards. The enemy fleet’s commander immediately opened a line of communication with Marie’s ship, and a man wearing the Imperial Guards’ uniform appeared on the monitor in front of her.

“Who the hell do you think you’re firing at?! We’re your allies!”

When the man called himself her ally, Marie raised an eyebrow. “Then why were you sitting there silently while your comrades fought? If you were truly our allies, you’d have joined the attack and contributed to our victory, wouldn’t you?”

Marie spoke in a low tone, not with her usual pretentious speech pattern. The crew on the Purple Tail’s bridge cowered at the sound.

Even Haydi said quietly, “Marie’s scary today…”

The enemy commander protested, enraged, almost as if he were trying to claim that they were the victims here. “Are you insane? The battle’s over! Count Banfield lost. What are you thinking, launching a sneak attack on the enemy? Our job is to get you off the battlefield!” He’d apparently been arguing with Liam about leaving the fray for some time now.

Marie scoffed at that news. “I see… You were in on this too, then.”

If this commander were in the dark, he would’ve participated in Liam’s plan, attacking Calvin’s faction with the rest. He hadn’t just failed to do that, he was now trying to stop them, so chances were that he’d been in on the betrayal from the start. It would have been strange for Cleo not to tell him what was going on, considering that the man was commanding an Imperial Guard fleet of thirty thousand ships.

The commander’s eyes darted awkwardly. “Wh-what’re you talking about?”

“Enough. Your master betrayed us… That’s sufficient, isn’t it?”

Even as Marie spoke to the commander, her fleet continued its fierce attack on the Imperial Guard. The commander’s ship must’ve taken a hit itself, because the man’s image onscreen shook violently.

“St-stop this foolishness! If you cease now, we’ll negotiate with Prince Cleo for—”

“That won’t be necessary.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll send that brat who doesn’t know his place to join you later. You can play Imperial Guard for him in the afterlife.”

Her commander’s authority allowed Marie to end the call.

Outside the bridge windows, enemy ships were being shot down one by one. Some of the pilots begged to be spared, but they were destroyed without mercy as well.

Haydi realized that the Imperial Guard’s formation was breaking apart. “Marie, the enemy has started to flee.”

“Don’t let a single one escape. Lord Liam’s noble allies are surrounding this area, but we’ll finish this ourselves.”

Watching the enemy fleet’s formation break apart, and its ships flee, Marie ordered a change in her own formation. “Split the fleet into four and surround them. They won’t be able to reform to fight back. We’ll round them all up and wipe them out.”

When she issued that order, the more than two hundred thousand ships under her command moved to carry out her will. These well-trained elites had been tempered by countless real battles, and they fulfilled Marie’s directive with perfect precision.

Her prediction was spot on. The enemy fleet could no longer coordinate, and they were quickly surrounded and destroyed.

Marie prepared to leave the bridge. “I’m going to sortie in a mobile knight. Haydi.”

“Y-yeah?” Haydi tensed when she spoke his name.

Marie turned back to him and smiled. “I’m going to go blow off some steam. Look after things here, okay?”

The faint smile on her face wasn’t that of a war-crazed beast, nor the phony noblewoman’s smile that she usually wore. This was the smile of an entirely different person.

When Marie was gone, Haydi let his real feelings slip. “If she acted that way more often, I bet the boss would be a lot happier with her… Guess that’s too much to ask, though.”

***

In the hangar of one of the ships Kurt had downed was the Guide. Having regained his humanoid form, he was doing his best to extricate 3588 from the pile of debris she was buried beneath.

He shoved rubble aside, searching for the girl.

“Urrrgh! My trump card can’t die here!”

The hangar was a mess. Sparks flashed here and there, and an explosion could occur at any moment. However, the Avid’s successors—dubbed the Neos—were protected by rare metal armor, so there wasn’t a scratch on them. These craft had the same basic silhouette as the Avid, but certain details had been changed in an effort to surpass the original. What stood out most about the Neos was their great shields—and their heads.

Since the five Neos were equipped with artificial intelligence, they didn’t require pilots—but the flip side was that they wouldn’t move without orders. The commander who should’ve directed them to sortie had perished along with all the staff under him, so at this point, the Neos were little more than piles of expensive junk.

Among them was one craft painted red. In addition to being outfitted with AI, it had been adjusted for 3588 to pilot. The Guide sensed 3588 somewhere near that red mobile knight. As he cleared debris, he at last located her.

“I finally found you!”

The falling rubble had injured 3588. “Sorry, Mr. Hat. I got hurt…” She laughed weakly.

The Guide smiled. “Worry not. Liam is coming now. Let me take you to your craft.” Seriously, what were you doing here?! You wouldn’t have gotten hurt if you’d been in that machine to start with!

The red mobile knight 3588 would pilot was the only thing that could possibly defeat Liam, and their chances of that would be much higher with the white Neos added to the mix. Yet Calvin’s faction had treated 3588 as if she were nothing more than a bonus.

I don’t want to lose any more power, but if she collapsed here, it would cause me trouble. The Guide held his hand out above the wounded 3588, and her injuries healed.

“Wow! It’s magic!” Number 3588 said happily.

The Guide wasn’t sure how to react to that. “Well, it’s not actually magic. Just get into the machine, would you? You’ll be safer in there.”

He took 3588 to the cockpit of the red mobile knight. When the craft’s pilot approached, its hatch opened automatically.

Number 3588 looked lonely. “You should come too, Mr.—”

The Guide shook his head, though. “You have to do this by yourself.”

“Huh?”

“You’ll be fine! The mobile knights with AI will protect you. Work with them to take Liam down, okay?” The Guide set his hands on 3588’s shoulders, his words manipulating her sweetly.

Number 3588 smiled back at him. “Okay! Got it, Mr. Hat. After all, I made a promise to you. I’ll definitely beat Liam, so watch me, okay?”

“Sounds good! Now, off with you.”

Entering the cockpit, 3588 sat down and started up the mobile knight. The craft’s head resembled the Avid’s, but its visor set it apart from the original. The visor was lit up by several camera eyes, giving it an odd look.

The other four craft had simple round heads designed without a shred of character. They were plain mobile knights that moved using artificial intelligence—and when the four powered on, they began destroying a nearby wall to open a path outside.

“I swear I’ll do this, since that was my promise to you, Mr. Hat.”

When the Neos came online, 3588 opened communications with her temporary commander. “Th-this is the…special…mobile knight…force? Permission to launch?” she said, trying to employ the emergency-launch method she’d been taught.

The temporary commander’s confused-sounding reply came back to her. “Confirmed. Yes, you should all launch.”

Watching 3588, the Guide spread his arms. “Right! All of you attack Liam together! If you do, I’m sure you can—”

This, however, was where the Guide’s plan began to fall apart. The temporary commander didn’t really understand how the Neos worked. The original commander had been killed, and this man was only taking his place for the time being, so he hadn’t had time to read up on details about 3588 and the Neos.

“Your red craft is a different model, right?” he asked 3588. “In that case, I’d like you to go after the ground forces. An enemy ace is making short work of our mobile knights down there.”

The Guide froze, his arms still spread wide. “Huh…?”

“The other four craft can go after House Banfield’s main force as planned. If they’re functional both in and out of atmosphere, I expect a lot from them.”

Once the temporary commander had given his orders, the Neos moved to carry them out. The four units broke through the hangar wall fully and flew out into the sky.

“Oh—they left! U-um… I’ll go too, okay, Mr. Hat?”

The red mobile knight likewise exited through the hole the Neos had opened. Finally, the Guide understood what was happening; he reached out an arm to stop the craft, but he was too late.

“Wait! You have to prioritize Liam, or there’s no…!”

The red mobile knight flew off, and the Guide despaired.

“Why?! Attack him with all five units, like you planned!”

***

Commanding his mobile-knight squadron from the cockpit of the Vanadís Frey, Kurt noticed some enemy mobile knights launching from a ship he had shot down.

“Are they sending out craft that missed the chance to deploy earlier?”

By now, they’d taken down almost all the enemy forces on the planet; Cleo’s faction—now House Banfield’s faction, in truth—was one step away from victory. Thus, new enemy units joining the fray at this point didn’t make Kurt too nervous.

Another knight in command of his own mobile knight unit, like Kurt, headed toward the adversaries Kurt had just spotted. “We’ll take on these new foes. If I let House Exner’s heir steal all the glory down here, I won’t be able to boast to our leader.”

This squad was made up of mass-produced current-gen mobile knights. As he watched the twenty units make for the new enemies, Kurt received some fresh information.

He hurried to warn the squad. “Don’t get too close! They’re—”

The enemies that had sortied were large, twenty-four-meter craft. Even now, with Liam’s Avid making waves, units of that size were considered outdated. The Avid was an outlier; other mobile knights of that scale couldn’t perform at its level in battle.

The charging knight was assured of his victory. “Looks like they’re new models. But they’re out of luck now that they’ve run into me! Large craft like that are—”

The knight couldn’t finish his sentence. His craft was shot down the moment the enemy mobile knights came within range. The particular craft that had downed him was a unique unit that, unlike the other four, was painted red. Kurt felt a chill. Something about that red craft set it apart from the others.

“They look like the Avid…”

All five ascending craft resembled a mobile knight of Liam’s that Kurt was quite familiar with. Some details differed from the Avid, but there were many similarities.

The red mobile knight spread its arms, and several magic circles appeared in the air around it. Moheive mobile knights appeared from within these circles, wielding weapons. Their upper halves leaning out of the circles, the Moheives took aim.

“How does it have the processing power for that much spatial magic?! All units, retreat!”

The moment Kurt gave that order, the mobile knights in his squad moved, but other friendly craft were a little slower to respond. The Moheives around the red mobile knight opened fire, blowing away House Banfield’s forces.

“One mobile knight can do all this…? Its specs must be the same as the Avid’s too.”

A single moment had made it clear how much their enemy’s abilities differed from their own.

“Captain Kurt! They’re heading for the main force, outside the atmosphere!”

Looking up, Kurt saw that the other four enemy craft were still ascending, leaving only the red one behind. At their speed, even the Vanadís Frey wouldn’t catch up to them. Their capabilities were clearly on an entirely different level from the average mobile knight’s.

“Are they monsters or what?”

“Checking their make… Nothing. There’s no match?! The only model these resemble is the Seventh Weapons Factory’s Avid, but that’s…”

Kurt’s men tried desperately to gather intel on the enemy, but all they could determine was that the craft resembled the Avid.

Kurt switched his focus from the four craft that had escaped to the red mobile knight that had shot down his allies. “We can’t pursue those ones. We’ll attack the red unit that stayed here!”

“Roger!”

“All units, be careful not to approach. Fight from a distance.”

As Kurt gave his orders, a voice from the red craft addressed him through an external loudspeaker. “You must be the one in charge.”

“Huh?!”

Kurt reacted immediately, taking evasive action with the Vanadís Frey just as a slash whooshed past his craft, missing him by a hair.

“That was…”

Cold sweat dripped down his back. He had seen that technique numerous times—often enough to be more familiar with it than anyone else currently on the battlefield. It was the technique that his friend specialized in, and which he himself had been trying to perfect for decades now.

“You copied Liam’s Flash too?!”

“If you could dodge that slash, you’re really something! You’re not a small fry, huh? Maybe I’ll get a little more serious, then!”

The red mobile knight accelerated, coming at the Vanadís Frey, and both drew their swords to slash at each other. Even the movements of the red craft’s blade were familiar to Kurt.

“You wield a sword the same way as him too? How identical are you trying to be?!”

The red craft’s movements resembled those of the Avid to an astonishing extent.

“Do you know Liam? If I kill you, will he come out?”

Lots of pilots were chatty during battle, but his adversary’s voice was giving Kurt some complicated feelings. She sounds so young. She could be changing her voice artificially, but the way she fights is rookie-like too, even if her actual techniques seem well-honed. Who is she?

The enemy pilot could reproduce Liam’s techniques, but her speech and behavior made it seem like she thought that battle was merely a game. “If Liam comes out, I’ll beat him…and if I do that, Mr. Hat will be happy…so die already!”

Kurt sensed more innocence than bloodlust in his enemy. He addressed the red craft. “Who are you? What’s that red Avid?”

“It’s not the Avid! Its name is Gerbera! I gave it that name myseeeeelf!”

As the enemy pilot shouted, a series of attacks rained down on her red craft—the Gerbera—from behind. Kurt’s allies were sniping at it from a distance.

“Shooting someone from behind is cowardly!”

She’d been facing off against Kurt, but when those rear attacks struck her, she turned around. This pilot was overwhelmingly short on experience.

“Don’t turn your back on the enemy in battle.”

Kurt swung his sword at the Gerbera, but it was protected by the same rare metals that shielded the Avid, so he couldn’t land a fatal blow. Still, he managed to damage the craft’s back.

The red unit turned to face him again. “How dare you hurt my Gerbera?!” the enemy pilot screamed, and slashes struck the Vanadís Frey one after another.

“Captaaain!” Kurt’s men shouted as his mobile knight was hacked to pieces.

Chapter 11: Imitation

Chapter 12:
Wedding Gifts

WHILE CLEO’S IMPERIAL GUARD fleet was being wiped out, Haydi—currently in command of the Purple Tail—received a report from a staff officer.

His eyes widened. “Four unidentified mobile knights are approaching from the planet?”

“Yes, sir. They’re capable of leaving atmosphere independently, and their objective appears to be House Banfield’s main fleet.”

“What can four mobile knights do on their own? Shoot them down.”

“W-well…just one of those models inflicted heavy losses on our ground forces. Baron Exner’s heir is now engaged with that craft, but he’s at a disadvantage and has requested backup.”

“Baron Exner’s kid… That’s Boss Liam’s pal, right? He’s supposed to be pretty good, isn’t he?” Haydi put a hand to his chin in thought.

Just then, the communications operator turned around to report, “Unidentified craft have left the planet’s atmosphere and begun attacking our allied ships! H-heavy damage?! They’re requesting assistance—”

Haydi looked out at the battlefield from the bridge windows. “Yeah, I see ’em.”

***

Four white, unidentified mobile knights were routing the ships of the nobles in House Banfield’s faction.

One noble rose to his feet on his ship’s burning bridge, blood dripping down his head. Looking up, he saw one of those white mobile knights outside the bridge windows, lifting the rifle in its hand and pointing it straight at him.

“M…monster…” The noble only got out that one word before the rifle fired a beam, piercing the bridge and burning it to ash.

The white mobile knight was setting out for its next target when knights in their own units surrounded it.

“Think you can do whatever you want, huh? We’ll take you—”

The knights had begun saying something, but the enemy craft was already heading for its next objective—and if the knights were getting in the way of that objective, it would have to eliminate them too.

The mobile knight tossed away its rifle and lifted a Western-style double-edged blade in one hand. Performing a cheap imitation of the Flash, it destroyed the opposing squadron of mobile knights in its immediate vicinity. Then it immediately took off for its main objective.

Nearby, the other three white mobile knights were doing heavy damage to craft around them as they headed for their destination, destroying any opposing mobile knights or ships they passed.

“Are these the count’s—”

“That can’t—”

“Just shoot them! We simply have to attack them from a distance!”

The four white mobile knights raced through the chaos of the battlefield.

The nobles in House Banfield’s faction were taking serious damage from just four enemy craft. The mobile knights slashed through hundreds of thousands of ships, wreaking a path of merciless slaughter. They did so with no emotion, however; in attacking, they were merely executing their orders.

Finally, a ship from House Banfield’s main force appeared before them with its accompanying Nemains.

“Quit letting four measly mobile knights run rampant!”

At the appearance of those Nemains—which were considered next-gen mobile knights—the white craft changed their tactics. Facing those new adversaries and judging them to be a bigger threat than what they’d faced before, they immediately sped toward one another.

“They’re trying to regroup, Captain.”

“Don’t let them! We have to destroy them before they can meet back up!”

The Nemains opened fire on the white mobile knights to prevent them from regrouping. Meanwhile, the ship behind them provided cover fire. That meant that the white craft were facing attacks more intense and accurate than before; they were facing a particularly skilled group, even within House Banfield’s forces. However…

“Annihilate.”

The white craft took advantage of their unmanned state to move in ways no normal mobile knight ever would. Maneuvering along trajectories even human knights couldn’t have withstood, the white craft took down House Banfield’s reinforcements one by one.

Seeing his subordinates shot down one by one, the Nemain squadron’s captain slashed at the white mobile knights. “How dare you kill my men?!”

A white craft blocked the Nemain’s blow with its own sword. A moment later, the Nemain’s arms and legs were severed, leaving it nothing more than a head attached to a torso.

Inside its cockpit, the captain was shocked. “That was Lord Liam’s—”

Before he could finish, a white mobile knight thrust its blade through the cockpit, destroying the craft before continuing to its next objective.

***

By the time information about the unidentified craft had reached the Argos’s bridge, the damage had already been done.

“Th-this is still unverified, but five craft resembling the Seventh Weapons Factory’s Avid have apparently been spotted. Four left the planet’s atmosphere and attacked our allies. The damage is severe.” From that communications operator’s report, the enemy’s movements clearly sounded unnatural.

Having seen the data on the enemy craft, Claus frowned gravely. “They’re moving in ways that I can’t imagine any human passenger tolerating, knight or not. Furthermore, aspects of their fighting style resemble yours, Lord Liam.”

When I checked the footage I’d been provided, the white mobile knights did appear to utilize the Flash.

“So…these are the successors to the Avid that the Seventh Weapons Factory was commandeered to create,” I murmured.

Claus turned to me. “You knew about this?”

“I got a report about it from Kukuri,” I said bluntly.

“If you’d told us about that beforehand, we might’ve been better prepared for them,” Claus said, although without anger.

True, I could probably have prevented some damage by sharing what I’d learned with everyone. But either way, I was currently more curious about what was inside these craft. “If these craft were simply superior to the Avid, they wouldn’t do this much damage. What’s inside them is the real problem.”

Claus agreed, putting a hand to his chin in thought. “True. If they managed to find pilots this skilled, there’s not much I can say except ‘well done.’ If the pilots are actually human, that is.”

He was paying attention to the enemy pilots’ skills himself, and his own experience fighting in mobile knights had probably given him a sense of foreboding about what this could mean.

Even if these enemy pilots had trained on my fighting methods, their style was too similar. Mobile knights that can replicate the Flash and move in ways that human pilots can’t withstand…

“I’ve seen movements like these in a simulator,” I noted.

When I gave him that hint, Claus’s eyes widened. “It couldn’t be…”

There was a certain mode you could choose in a fight simulator; it let you run through missions against AI opponents. That was a relic of a bygone age intended to prepare pilots for another potential AI uprising. These days, such training was a mere formality, but it kept humanity from forgetting that they’d once almost been wiped out.

In other words, the Avid’s successors were loaded with AI. That technology was taboo, not only in the Empire, but for all of humanity. In this reality, it was considered folly to allow weapons to operate independently through artificial intelligence—a reminder of humanity’s bitter past.

No wonder Claus was shocked, although normally he was so unflappable. As I stood up from my chair, I felt a touch of superiority at having startled him. “Have our allies fall back. We can’t let anyone else die in vain.”

“But then the enemy will come—”

“I’ll face them.”

The Seventh Weapons Factory had created these mobile knights using my own rare metals, so I didn’t see a problem with scooping them back up for myself on the battlefield.

***

Marie’s Teumessa perched on the wrecked bridge of the flagship that had commanded Cleo’s Imperial Guard fleet. Her Teumessa had already destroyed the bridge, and behind her, the flagship spewed fire in several places.

Atop this bridge, which might explode at any moment, Marie was receiving a report from Haydi. “Lord Liam’s going out to intercept the unidentified craft? What do you think you’re doing, Haydi? Deploy at once and protect him!”

As Marie seethed in wide-eyed anger, Haydi desperately defended himself on the other side of the monitor. “The boss turned down our help! He said not to interfere, since these are his prey!”

Marie had no argument against that. If this was a command from House Banfield’s head, even she had no choice but to obey it. “St-still, you should’ve stopped him, even if you would’ve been defying orders! Or sortied anyway!” she cried.

“Our orders are to wipe out the rest of the enemy,” Haydi replied. “Also…”

“Uh-huh?” Marie grunted.

“They loaded up those enemy mobile knights with AI,” Haydi finished, a sour expression on his face.

Mobile knights were only equipped with limited AI functionality to support their pilots. The craft weren’t supposed to move on their own through AI control.

From the look on Haydi’s face, Marie guessed what he was getting at. “They went and did it, did they?!”

Enraged, she leaped up from the flagship, and fired her beam machine gun into it, blowing it up. Then she commanded her men, “Whoever can keep up with me, great—we’re going to Lord Liam’s aid right now!”

When Marie had given her orders, allied mobile knights sped after her Teumessa’s back.

***

Inside the Avid’s cockpit, I gripped the control sticks. The machine started up, its monitor displaying data on my surroundings. I could feel the engines rumble in the cockpit. It wasn’t rage I sensed from them, though, but curiosity.

“You’re curious too, eh?” I asked the Avid.

Its engines groaned in response. It did seem to be wondering about the successors it was about to face.

The Avid had really shown its emotions ever since I’d installed the Machine Heart in it. Personally, I didn’t think that was any different from the AI implemented in the enemy mobile knights. But people saw the Avid as having “gained a heart” from mysterious ancient technology, which didn’t provoke any disgust in them.

“Well, why don’t we go meet them, then?”

The Avid walked through the hangar almost entirely of its own accord, heading for the catapult. That utilized a combination of magnetic and magic power; it was like a cannon that fired mobile knights as shells. As we got the go-ahead to sortie, it would launch us.

A small window popped up onscreen; it showed Eulisia, who would serve as my operator. She was in work mode, a serious look on her face, but her voice made her sound as if she were in a bad mood. “The supreme commander himself is not supposed to sortie.”

Since she felt the need to complain, I felt the need to ensure that she looked at this the right way. “This is mere recreation. I’m only going up against four mobile knights, you know.”

“Yes—four very, very dangerous mobile knights! Forbidden weapons operating independently through artificial intelligence! They’ve clearly trained on your battle data too, so don’t you think they’ll be pretty tough to fight? We should just surround them with two hundred thousand ships and blow them to pieces.”

“If they were designed to surpass the Avid, there’s probably extra fuel in their storage space. Who knows how long they could mount a resistance?”

“Either way, don’t you think we could overcome them with numbers?”

“Of course. That’s why this is merely recreation.”

Even mobile knights with AI aboard couldn’t fight forever without supplies or maintenance. However long they held out, it wouldn’t mean anything against an overwhelming number of foes. Even with rare-metal armor, they’d eventually hit their limit and face destruction.

Still, Calvin had really missed the opportunity to use these units as a proper trump card. Deploying them now was no more than futile resistance on his part. And if a commander deployed his trump card at the wrong time, it simply meant he was incompetent.

“The Avid is dying to sortie, so can you launch us already?”

Even while I conversed with Eulisia, the Avid seemed to be itching to deploy.

Eulisia pouted. “You talk like that mobile knight of yours is alive. You’re really fond of it… Couldn’t you be that fond of me?”

“No, I definitely like the Avid more than—”

“Launching.”

“Ah—hey!”

Before I could finish making my attitude toward Eulisia absolutely clear to her, I was propelled from the Argos.

The view around me turned to outer space as the Avid used its thrusters to speed toward the white mobile knights we were targeting. I could tell the Avid was getting more and more excited, as if looking forward to the fight. All its meters showed ideal readings.

“Okay, let’s see how well you managed to replicate me, shall we?”

I was likewise interested in the Seventh Weapons Factory’s—that is, Nias’s—level of success in recreating the Avid. Even if Calvin had forced her to do this, Nias wasn’t the type to cut corners in her work.

When my allies retreated, they’d created a clear path for the white mobile knights to head straight for the Avid. Magnifying the craft on my screen, I did note several of the Avid’s features. The differences were the white craft’s color and their dull, completely unadorned heads.

“Pure white…like heroes of justice or something. Guess I’ll open a line to them.”

Would the AI respond to me? I was eager to find out, but when I tried starting communications, they completely ignored me and continued their attack.

“You’re no fun,” I sighed.

The Avid seemed to want to take the initiative and offer a little greeting. It opened several magic circles behind us. I guessed that it planned to see what the foe was capable of by hitting them with long-range attacks first.

When missiles launched from the Avid’s magic circles, the enemy craft deployed magic circles of their own. The four machines swiftly assumed a formation. I’d heard that experienced pilots who’d been in the same unit long enough could complete complex coordinated maneuvers, almost as if performing an acrobatics show. The four white craft were staging such a show for me now. Each deployed the same number of magic circles as the Avid, but since there were four enemy craft, that meant four times the magic circles.

“It doesn’t look like their spatial magic capabilities are much different,” I mused.

Meanwhile, both sides attacked. We traded live ammo and optical weapon fire, missiles and projectiles blowing up before they reached the other side. My vision went white with explosions and flashes, and since I was outnumbered, I began feeling a bit like I was at a disadvantage.

“The difference in numbers is pushing you back, Avid,” I teased.

The Avid responded by manifesting more magic circles, as if its competitive spirit had roused. The other craft did the same thing, however, so they were still beating us in numbers.

Then our adversaries split up and moved to surround the Avid. Soon enough, we were taking attacks from four directions. To protect itself, the Avid deployed the shields affixed to its auxiliary arms, but the enemy came at us with so many attacks that it was hard to believe that they originated from four mobile knights.

In the cockpit, I was impressed. “So this is what it’s like to face the Avid.” Since it was something I could never have done before, it was strangely compelling.

The Avid continued to avoid the enemy’s attacks, firing back from its magic circles, but they wouldn’t break that nasty formation they were in.

“They’re trained on my fighting style, but they still lack a sense of playfulness. Hmm… We’ll never settle things at this rate.”

Under these conditions, neither side could end things definitively. Maybe a winner would emerge if we kept going like this, but it seemed likelier that we’d all run out of ammo before that.

The enemy must’ve realized that too, because their strategy changed. Two moved to support the other craft, continuing their long-range attacks, while the other pair took up blades and approached for close combat.

“Okay, I’ll see how well you guys can replicate the Flash.”

I gripped my control sticks and took over maneuvering, directing the Avid to take evasive action. I could just make out traces of the slashes I dodged.

“They can imitate me to this extent…? Pretty impressive.”

I flew the Avid backward, observing the movements of the two sword-wielding foes. It was hard to believe that the mobile-knight pilots replicating the Flash were AI.

I was so amused that laughter bubbled up in me. “Ah ha ha ha! Not bad at all, Calvin!”

***

On Baron Glynn’s planet, the red mobile knight—the Gerbera—had ripped the Vanadís Frey to shreds. Yet, in its cockpit, 3588 frowned. She had a gut feeling that she hadn’t actually destroyed the enemy.

“Man. I thought I’d beaten him,” she grumbled, turning the Gerbera back around.

“This is the Vanadís’s true form,” someone informed her.

Floating before 3588 was a slender craft: the Vanadís Frey, stripped of its auxiliary armor. It had a feminine frame, with two bulges on its chest despite being a mobile knight. Number 3588 couldn’t really understand what had happened.

“Sorry, but I can’t let you take me down that easily,” the enemy pilot added.

“This kind of thing’s not fair!”

Number 3588 hoped to defeat the Vanadís quickly now to draw Liam out, but the craft easily dodged the Flashes she threw at it. Having shed its auxiliary armor, the enemy craft was less durable, yet it was much swifter without all that extra weight.

“Its movements are completely different from before!”

Kurt called out to the confused 3588 on his external loudspeaker. “Surrender. You’ll never beat Liam—you can’t even beat me!”

Hearing her foe say that she couldn’t beat Liam made 3588 feel as though he was denying her very existence. She became so overwrought that she decided to use a trump card she’d been saving for Liam.

“I will beat him…! I have to beat him, or I’ll fail. I’m not a failure! Mr. Hat told me! He said I’d beat Liam!”

Kurt sensed the pain in 3588’s wails, even through her external loudspeaker. “Then you really are…”

“Time to get serious, Gerbera.” Number 3588 released her limiter. “I’ll show you that we’re the strongest!”

Since she’d been deemed a failure and abandoned, 3588 hadn’t received enough training to know when to use a trump card like this. Thus, she’d called on it far too easily.

The Gerbera’s camera eyes flashed brightly as its output climbed. Attacking Kurt’s Vanadís, the craft began to move in ways even a strengthened knight couldn’t have withstood. Still, the Vanadís avoided the attacks gracefully, as if dancing. Not only did it dodge each swing of the Gerbera’s blade, it even had leeway to slash at the enemy craft itself as they passed each other. The Vanadís’s blows might not have been strong powerful enough to pierce the Gerbera’s defenses, but the damage to the red craft was adding up.

“Ugh! Why can’t I hit you?!” Number 3588 screamed.

Kurt told her the reason. “If you’d trained on another pilot’s style, I might’ve been in trouble, but your fighting really resembles Liam’s. Do you think I’d lose to you when I’ve watched him so closely for so long?”

Kurt was at such an advantage because he knew Liam so well, having examined the count’s swordplay countless times since meeting him. Since Liam was a better knight than him—and for other reasons—Kurt had put time into studying him, which was now paying off.

But 3588 couldn’t comprehend her inability to win. “Shut up. Shut up, shut up!”

The Gerbera fired one Flash after another, but the Vanadís accelerated and gained some distance, concentrating on evading the red craft’s attacks. The Gerbera flew after it in pursuit, but that was when a change began to occur in 3588.

“Haah…haaah…”

The Gerbera was moving in ways that not even an adult knight could tolerate, so incredible pressure was pressing on the cockpit from all directions. And the reason 3588 had been labeled a failure in the first place was her endurance. She could only exert her full power for a short time. Her control over the red craft grew erratic, and its AI began to call for a change in pilot.

3588 started to cry, gripping her control sticks in frustration. “I promised Mr. Hat! I told him to watch ’cause I’d win! So why—”

Kurt wasn’t generous enough to let his chance slip by. “It’s over.”

The sword the Vanadís swung down at the Gerbera from overhead looked incredibly slow to 3588. Nevertheless, as she tried to evade it, her body wouldn’t cooperate. The blade struck, destroying the monitor in front of her.

***

In the Vanadís Frey’s cockpit, Kurt covered his mouth at the image onscreen before him. He’d swung his blade down as hard as he could to destroy the Gerbera, and in doing so, he’d sliced into the craft’s cockpit hatch. Fortunately, the pilot inside wasn’t dead, but Kurt was disgusted by what he saw through the gap his blade had made in the hatch.

“They’d go this far sheerly to win?” Kurt didn’t even know who he was angry at. Should he blame Calvin or Cleo for this?

More important was the girl in the cockpit before him. Her long hair hadn’t been tied back, so it was all over the place, but she looked familiar nevertheless. Kurt knew better than to believe the foe had simply found someone who resembled Liam to replicate his techniques. It was easy enough to understand what they’d done. They’d cloned Liam—and when Kurt realized that, rage welled in him.

“No wonder Liam’s so desperate to win.”

As Kurt leaned back in his seat, the Gerbera’s pilot opened her eyes. She desperately tried to start her craft up again, but Kurt wasn’t an idiot. He’d destroyed the Gerbera’s joints while the machine was inactive.

The pilot must’ve realized that she’d lost, because she began weeping in her cockpit. Kurt’s chest hurt as he watched her cry like the child she so obviously was.

I’m only doing this for my own satisfaction, but…

Kurt opened the Vanadís’s cockpit hatch and leaned out, calling to the enemy pilot. “If you want to live, surrender peacefully! I won’t let any harm come to you.”

He climbed out onto the Vanadís’s palm and approached the Gerbera’s cockpit. With a nasty metallic groan, its cockpit hatch opened wider. Halfway open, it got stuck, so the pilot had to crawl out under it.

“You really won’t kill me? You won’t hurt me?”

Kurt widened his eyes at the sight of the girl who looked nearly identical to Liam—and he smiled. “No, I won’t. I promise.”

Saying that, he reached out his hand to her.

***

Five streaks of light moved in a complex pattern on the battlefield—the trails of the four white mobile knights chasing the fleeing Avid.

House Banfield’s fleet watched them, and the Guide did likewise, perched atop the bridge of one of the fleet’s ships. Out there in space, he swung his fists around, cheering the white mobile knights on.

“That’s it! Yes! Finish him off!”

Two of the white craft pursued the Avid while the other two hung back, providing support fire. At first glance, they appeared to have the Avid cornered.

The Guide clasped his hands as if praying. “Ooh, it would’ve been perfect if 3588 were here to crush him with the other four!”

Unfortunately, the Gerbera wasn’t present. It was supposed to lead the other four craft in crushing Liam, but that hadn’t worked out, since 3588’s capabilities had gone unappreciated.

“In any case, the way Liam is now, those four should be able to take him out! It was a mistake to come out on the battlefield so certain that you’d win, Liam!”

The Guide had been right to think that Liam might come out to see the Avid’s successors himself if they were placed in front of him. He still didn’t feel that he himself could beat Liam, but that was if they fought one-on-one. On the battlefield, things were different. Even if Liam was setting foot into the realm of the more-than-human, he was still fragile enough to be vaporized like anyone if a ship’s cannon hit him. A space battlefield spelled certain death for Liam—without the Avid, at least. There was almost no chance that Liam would come out here without the Avid, but the Guide still saw a path to victory.

“You underestimate the battlefield because you have the Flash, Liam. Sure, your Flash has surpassed the human realm, but have you realized the strain that puts on your tools?”

Liam’s Flash, which had brought G’doire to the brink of destruction, was more powerful than ever. It had evolved into a technique so strong that the Guide considered it entirely unreasonable, but that strength came with its own flaws. Liam’s Flash was too powerful.

“Sure, you’ve polished your Flash into a sublime technique, but do you think there exists a mobile knight that can weather the strain of it?”

If Liam tried to replicate his Flash in the Avid, there was a good chance the machine would self-destruct, unable to bear the move’s current strength. The Avid’s piloting mechanism was incredibly sensitive and difficult to manage, but a skilled enough pilot could reproduce their own movements with it perfectly. If Liam maneuvered the craft exactly as he wished—if he made it perform his perfected Flash—he could push the Avid beyond its limits. The Guide felt that, since the Avid would destroy itself if it attempted the Flash, the craft only hindered Liam as he was now. Thus, on a battlefield like this, the Guide had a chance to beat Liam.

After all, although Liam couldn’t use the Avid to unleash his Flash, he couldn’t leave the craft either. Even though using the Flash from inside the Avid’s cockpit would likely cause the mobile knight to burst from strain, Liam would be as good as dead if he lost the Avid out here.

…Of course, all that was a matter of possibility. The Guide’s current state demonstrated all too well how slim a chance he was clinging to. Even assuming that Liam would choose to go fight the four mobile knights in his Avid had been a gamble.

From his very soul, the Guide cried out, “You’ll cause your own defeat, Liam!”

The Avid couldn’t even slash at the two craft it was fighting at close range; the gunfire from their supporting craft deflected its attacks. The Avid was struggling, and at this rate, the white mobile knights might beat it. Or would Liam get impatient and try to use his Flash, destroying the Avid?

“Mwa ha ha ha! Kill Liam and take the Avid down with hiiiiim!”

The Guide spread his arms, dispersing black smoke through the area. This smoke coiled around the white mobile knights, giving them power. The ominous negative energy the Guide had given them made the white mobile knights’ camera eyes flash, sinister, as their attacks on the Avid intensified. The Avid’s surface armor became more and more damaged, and the four enemy craft all attacked simultaneously as if to strike the final blow. Assailed from four directions at once, the Avid was engulfed in flame.

The Guide cheered, “Yes! Yes! That should do some dama—huh?”

Behind the fireball engulfing the Avid, a giant made of light had appeared. This being, even larger than the Avid itself, was a manifestation of Liam’s power. It looked like the top half of a naked man wearing a warrior’s mask, and the air of a god of battle. This giant embraced the Avid with both arms.

“Wh-what’re you doing?!”

Light flowed from the giant into the Avid. The craft’s eyes flashed, and Liam’s voice reached even the Guide. “Nice work, Nias! These things are definitely powerful enough to be called the Avid’s successors! They’ll make a good souvenir for Ellen and my sister apprentices.”

To the Guide’s eyes, glowing lines of gold appeared to run across the Avid’s surface as the craft took in the giant’s power and made it its own.

“N-n-no way! That thing can tamper with a mobile knight directly like this?!”

The giant of light was manipulating reality. It was using the same type of power the Guide possessed, but it employed virtuous energy that was the opposite of the Guide’s.

When the Guide yelled in surprise, the giant’s eyes flicked over to him, as if it had finally noticed him.

“Eep!”

If the giant discovered him, it would hit him with Liam’s gratitude, so the Guide held his hat to his head and fled.

“This can’t be! Gratitude that can influence reality simply cannot be! How much do you need to torment me before you’re satisfied, Liam?!”

Oblivious of the Guide’s pathetic, sobbing escape, Liam was in a great mood in the Avid’s cockpit. “Relying on AI was the right choice, Calvin. I think you’ve got good taste—and a compliment from me means a lot, you know? Still, there aren’t quite enough of these to beat me!”

Bolstered by the giant of light, the Avid launched a counterattack on the four white mobile knights.

Chapter 12: Wedding Gifts

Chapter 12:
Wedding Gifts

SITTING IN THE AVID’S COCKPIT, I felt a strange elation, as if power was welling up from deep inside me. The Avid seemed to feel the same way.

“What’s that?”

On the monitor, I noticed a simplified image of the Avid. There was a heart symbol on its chest and a speech bubble inside that.

“‘New function’? Of the Machine Heart?”

The Machine Heart—a mysterious technology from the past that I’d obtained by chance—did exactly what it sounded like: It gave a machine a heart. I’d seen the Avid repair itself and evolve thanks to that tool, and now it had seemingly developed a new function.

I moved the control sticks delicately and pressed the foot pedals, trying to feel out this newly developed feature. The cockpit monitor—which took up the whole wall before me—showed me the Avid’s successors, attacking furiously. Every so often, one of their attacks landed, and the Avid shook. Still, I didn’t let that bother me, calmly reading the explanation of the new function onscreen. It was long, but to summarize…

“I can access these other machines’ AI and bring them under my control…? That’s a pretty damn specific function, but I won’t complain.”

I embraced opportunism. As long as it wouldn’t cause any problems for me personally, it was fine. Maybe the Avid had actually acquired this new power specifically to get us out of this situation. When I thought of it that way, the earnestness of its efforts touched my heart.

“Well, I’d like to capture three of them…but I’ll start with two.”

I tossed away the weapon the Avid held and dispelled its magic circles. Seeing my craft unarmed, the two blade-wielding white mobile knights came in for the kill.

“Predictable. Shows that they don’t have enough experience.”

They’d determined that the Avid had given up the fight, and they were closing in to finish things. The AI-driven craft were willing to bet on this chance at victory, even if it meant being a bit reckless. If I were them, though, I would’ve been warier.

The pair of craft rammed the Avid with their blades, which I blocked with its two large shields. Since these craft were the Avid’s successors, even the blades they wielded were made from rare metals; they pierced my shields easily and even reached the Avid itself.

The two craft accelerated, trying to drive their blades deeper. Pushed back by their power, the Avid’s auxiliary arms groaned; they were at their limit.

I just smiled. “Guess they can’t be wary of a function they have no data on!”

Purging its large shields, the Avid reached out with two arms to grasp the enemy craft’s heads. Normally, that wouldn’t have helped. Positioned so close, all the other craft would have to do was jam their blades directly into the Avid’s chest. Before that could happen, though, the Avid stopped them with its new function.

“Do it, Avid!”

At my command, the Avid began influencing the two craft. Equipped with the Machine Heart, it accessed their AI through its hands while the enemy mobile knights flailed in resistance. The two other mobile knights in the distance had stopped attacking, judging that they would likely hit their allies.

As all this happened, data on the two craft we’d captured popped up on my monitor. Simple representations of them showed there, both with a percentage inside: These percentages started at zero, then shot up at an incredible rate, reaching one hundred in no time.

The two craft stopped moving.

“Well, what’ll happen now?”

As I watched to see what came next, the Avid released the craft. They floated away into space slowly, then rebooted.

Upon restarting, the two craft moved slowly to flank the Avid. Once in position, they deployed magic circles and began attacking the other white mobile knights. Suddenly targeted by their own allies, those craft seemed confused for a moment. They caught on quickly enough, though, and began attacking the pair under the Avid’s control as well.

“You guys change your tune fast. You’re pretty great.”

The remaining two attackers must’ve realized that the Avid had brought their allies under its control. They didn’t move any closer, determining that it would be dangerous to approach, but they didn’t try to flee either.

“They haven’t been ordered to retreat? So, they’re disposable, eh? Me taking them and making good use of ’em should be no problem, then.”

Smiling, I rearmed the Avid. A magic circle appeared above its left hand, and a sheathed sword popped out. The Avid grabbed that sword with its right hand, slowly pulling it from the circle. Even as I did all this, we remained under attack; the craft flanking me deployed their defense fields to protect the Avid, though, so those attacks weren’t an issue.

“You two are good kids,” I told them. “As a reward, I’ll let you see a real Flash.”

The sword I’d drawn from the magic circle was still sheathed; I held it in the Avid’s left hand in a quick-draw stance. Anticipating that I’d use the Flash, the enemy units began to move irregularly to avoid being hit.

As they flew around in front of me, I regulated my breathing. “Wish I could use everything I’ve got, but if I don’t hold back, I won’t be able to capture them. And I need at least one more…”

I wanted three of these craft in total so that Ellen and my two sister apprentices could each have one. Greedy to capture both of the remaining mobile knights, I tried to hold back. I waited for a moment when the two irregularly moving units were both within range, and…

“Flash.”

The moment I muttered that word, my cockpit shook violently. I opened my eyes in surprise, and through my cracked monitor, I saw the two white craft exploding—they’d been cut in half.

“Huh?!”

I definitely couldn’t repurpose them now. I could only remain shocked for a second, though; warnings were blaring in the Avid’s cockpit. I’d ruined not only its joints but its frame as well; it was one step away from blowing up itself.

“Using the Flash once damaged it this badly…?” I sighed, feeling cold sweat drip down my back. I could’ve blown myself up if I’d put even a little more effort into that Flash. “Guess I haven’t used it in a while. Did I make it too strong?”

As I considered where I’d gone wrong, the two craft flanking the Avid grabbed it. They apparently intended to transport us back to the Argos.

“Just when I thought you could withstand the Flash, it’s back to the drawing board,” I mused. “Well, when I get back, I’ll contact Nias—”

As I thought about what to do next, a communications line opened. “Let go of Lord Liam, you piece-of-crap machiiiiines!”

Along with that scream came the Teumessa, kicking one of the white mobile knights away from us. It was Marie.

The Teumessa’s leg crumpled on impact—kicking the Avid’s successor craft away like that had taken a tremendous amount of force.

“Lord Liam, I’ve come to rescue you!” Marie was gearing up to attack the second craft.

I sighed heavily. “I swear, you’ve got to show up and ruin things. I was just starting to reevaluate you too.”

“Huh? Huh?! D-did I do something wrong?!”

I figured that, from Marie’s perspective, it must’ve looked like I’d been captured. I couldn’t blame her for that, but her showing up out of nowhere like this and kicking away one of my precious Avid successors had really brought this battle to a stupid conclusion.

As more of my allies appeared behind Marie, I gave her my orders. “These two craft are already under my control, so there’s no need to attack them. They’ll be wonderful presents—don’t get them even more scratched up.”

“Pr-presents?”

“Yeah…they’re wedding gifts from Calvin. I’m going to give ’em to Ellen and my sister apprentices.”

Marie didn’t know how to react to my sunny mood. “Um, Lord Liam? Those are forbidden weapons that operate independently using AI, aren’t they? I’m not sure that they’re really good gifts… And I don’t think you can really call them wedding gifts if they’re not for Lady Rosetta.”

“You’re pretty argumentative today, aren’t you? Well, whatever. Anyway, what’s our status?”

Sure, since Marie had pointed it out, there was plenty wrong with what I’d said. I’d asked about the state of the battle to change the subject. Marie turned her Teumessa’s head toward Baron Glynn’s planet; I could see the wreckage of destroyed ships floating around it.

“There’s nothing left to do but clean up the remnants of the enemy. Christiana has secured the planet’s surface. Please return to the Argos at once, Lord Liam.”

“Yeah… Guess I won’t be doing any more out here.”

After all, with the Avid like this, I couldn’t fight any further. Once I’d made that call, the Teumessa slid into the spot the craft it kicked away had occupied, and it started carrying the Avid.

Since our craft were touching, our communication line remained open, and Marie spoke to me. “If nothing else unexpected happens, we’ll be able to go right back to our home planet as planned.”

“Guess I was a little reckless this time, huh…?” I’d taken some damage myself, just as Claus and everyone else had warned me I would.

“You rushed things enough to damage your own reputation, after all. The Capital Planet will be in an uproar soon—for more reasons than one.”

The nobles of Calvin’s faction were in for a rude awakening when they realized that the victory they thought they’d grasped had been snatched out from under them. And how would Cleo react to all this? I had the feeling that things would be hectic for a while even after I returned.

“I don’t care about my reputation. Winning’s all that matters. That applies going forward too.”

“Yes, sir!” Marie answered briskly, and we rendezvoused with the Argos, which had moved in to meet us.

***

Aboard the Argos, in a mobile-knight operation area set up specially for the Avid, maintenance engineers bustled around urgently.

The Avid had returned in one piece, but noticeable fractures ran all through its armor. It had considerable internal damage as well; even its frame—which was composed of rare metals—had suffered the equivalent of a complex fracture.

The chief engineer clutched his head at the severity of the damage. “What do you even have to do to break the Avid this badly?!”

The other engineers were equally perplexed.

“It seems clear that it was a pretty intense fight. From the data, though, it looks like Lord Liam’s own piloting was to blame.”

“How the hell did he do damage that’ll take years to regenerate, even with a Machine Heart?”

“We’ll have to send the Avid back to the manufacturer for repairs, won’t we?”

The maintenance engineers had practically given up on fixing the badly damaged craft. They’d apparently decided that the best course of action would be to leave the Avid’s repairs to the Seventh Weapons Factory.

Unseen by the engineers, a translucent dog appeared beside the damaged craft’s head and licked at it, as if in appreciation of the Avid’s hard work. Then the dog seemed to sigh, exasperated with its former owner.

Liam had said that the new mobile knights were wedding gifts from Calvin, and that he would give them to Ellen and his sister apprentices. At that, even the dog had felt sorry for Rosetta. Still, despite all that, the dog wagged its tail gleefully. It was happy, because Liam had overcome yet another aspect of his past.

Chapter 13: The Emperor

Chapter 13:
The Emperor

THE ARGOS, DONE FIGHTING, descended to Baron Glynn’s planet. We came to rest right above the enclosed city that contained the baron’s mansion.

All those nobles in Cleo’s faction who hadn’t abandoned me gathered in the Argos’s large meeting room. I was on a platform in the center of the chamber, alongside today’s other victor, whom I’d invited to the Argos: Viscount Myatt.

Despite the viscount’s victory, he didn’t look too good. After all, the nobles from Calvin’s faction who’d been supporting him weren’t behind him. Right now, he was as meek as a kitten.

As he visibly broke out in a clammy sweat, I applauded him. “Viscount Myatt—congratulations. It’s your victory.”

Following my lead, scattered applause broke out from the stern-faced nobles around us as well. Some looked unhappy with how things had gone, while others wore aggressive smiles. Viscount Myatt appeared terrified to find himself surrounded by them. He didn’t look one bit the victor.

That was only natural. On the surface, this war had been a simple squabble over territory, but in reality, it was a contest that would decide the next emperor. In terms of the fight for territory, Calvin’s faction had won; with the bulk of their forces lost, however, they’d been defeated in the succession conflict.

Viscount Myatt knew all that, so he couldn’t enjoy his “victory.”

I offered him some kind words. “Sadly, we couldn’t go to Baron Glynn’s aid in time to save him. I didn’t expect his subjects to kill him in all the confusion! I must say, though, I’m impressed by you guys. You made me realize that I’ve still got a ways to go myself.”

Essentially, I was actually the one who’d killed Baron Glynn. To be precise, it was Tia’s decision on the ground to let Glynn’s subjects slaughter him—but since I’d signed off on her actions after I found out about them, responsibility lay with me.

“Y-you killed Baron Glynn,” Viscount Myatt murmured hoarsely.

“What an accusation. We tried to save him, but we were a moment too late. That’s the truth of the matter, don’t you think?”

When I pressed him to agree, Viscount Myatt nodded repeatedly. Really, he had no choice but to agree; he apparently had enough wit to realize that if he didn’t, he’d be erased too.

I moved things along. “Well, let’s carry on to addressing post-war matters, shall we? House Glynn lost, and the head of their family is dead, so the baron’s territory will go to the victor. Any objections…?”

I looked out at the gathered nobles, but they only nodded along or looked apathetic. Why would someone else’s territory dispute interest any of them? Nothing they expressed here would make them richer.

“Rejoice, Viscount Myatt. This planet now belongs to you!” I put my hands on the viscount’s shoulders.

He didn’t seem at all happy about the news, though. “I-I can’t maintain a planet like this. And I can’t accept having to shoulder House Glynn’s debts.”

Naturally, House Glynn’s debts would come with their ruined planet. The victor took everything from the loser, and in the Empire, that included debt. The Empire was especially strict regarding overdue taxes and debts to the nation itself. Viscount Myatt wanted to avoid paying Baron Glynn’s debts at all costs.

I dropped my smile and put some pressure on the viscount. “It’s your win here—take it without reservations. You can’t just abandon it. House Glynn is no more, after all… You destroyed it.”

“Wh-what?!”

House Glynn apparently comprised plenty of extended family members, so any number of people could potentially have inherited the baron’s title. When they heard what had happened, however, every single one of those relatives had given up their right to that inheritance. It was like House Myatt had struck the coup de grâce on House Glynn—and if that were the case, there was no getting out of this for Myatt. The Empire would make him take responsibility.

The viscount was turning pale, so I gave him an alternative. “If you don’t like that, hand over Charlot to me. If you do, I’ll take the baron’s home planet and his debts as well.”

Myatt widened his eyes at this proposal. The nobles around us started to clamor, but the viscount wasn’t going to let the opportunity go. He leaped on my proposal.

***

Details about the proxy war had reached the Capital Planet as well.

Victory had gone to Viscount Myatt, but it was Cleo who’d won the succession conflict. Many objected to that outcome, of course, but the vast majority came to terms with it.

Accepting his loss, Calvin summoned Cleo to his palace.

“Tell me this one thing. Did this go the way you planned it to?”

At this point, Calvin didn’t bother venting his grievances. All he wanted to know was Cleo’s true objective.

Cleo stood before Calvin with sorrow on his face. He answered truthfully: “I never expected this. I didn’t think Liam would wipe my Imperial Guard out either. He really never does what you expect of him.”

Cleo likewise hadn’t anticipated this outcome.

Calvin sighed quietly. “It would seem he found out we were cooperating. So? What do you plan to do now? House Banfield has climbed to the very top of the Empire. If you’re going to be crown prince, and eventually emperor, getting on his bad side won’t be very smart.”

When Cleo thought about his future reign, he always envisioned one major noble house getting in his way. Although he’d now won the succession conflict, there was still a big problem for him to deal with. Calvin had asked what Cleo planned to do now partly from curiosity, but he also wanted to get a sense of Cleo’s true character.

“He’s killed my vassals, so he’ll have to pay the price for that,” Cleo replied. “I have no intention of letting him do as he pleases.”

Hearing Cleo’s answer, Calvin laughed at himself. “If you’re the one I lost to, it shows how much I’m worth. My only true opponent before was really Liam—Count Banfield, rather.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? As I am now, even my older brother won’t get away with talking to me like that.” Since Cleo was practically crown prince already, he made his displeasure clear. His words implied, “I can have you killed if I feel like it, you know.”

But Calvin felt no need to fear Cleo. After all, the defeated prince was already set to be handed over to Liam. Whatever Cleo said, Calvin doubted Liam would let his brother have him.

“You should just have laid low until you were emperor,” Calvin told him. “From now on, you’ll be Count Banfield’s enemy. If you’d let him underestimate you, you might’ve had some moves you could make, but now it’s you who’ll be taken down easily if you aren’t on your guard. Why do you think Count Banfield’s been looking after our brothers Wallace and Cedric? If he backs one of them and takes you on, you’re done.”

Calvin felt that, if Cleo had wanted to beat Liam, he should’ve kept quiet right up until they fought—and shouldn’t have started that fight until he was crowned. Now wasn’t the time to betray the count. Cleo frowned when he heard that, but Calvin simply looked up at the ceiling.

“You were too hasty. Well…I guess that goes for me, too. If I’d gone and bowed my head to Liam back there, maybe I would’ve made it out of this with my position intact.”

Calvin could never have expected things to go this way back when he offered to let Liam to join his faction. He regretted not inviting Liam personally, but at the same time, he couldn’t help laughing at himself. He was amused that he kept reflecting on such things, even though he knew that was pointless now.

Standing, Calvin gave Cleo some last parting words. “From now on, you’re crown prince; first in line to the throne. Let me congratulate you.”

***

Now that Cleo was unofficially crown prince, Bagrada had summoned him. Cleo headed for the audience hall, Lysithea in tow.

“You’re finally crown prince, Cleo,” she said. “You’ve climbed so high…”

“I suppose so,” Cleo replied with a smile. “Once I’m emperor, I’ll introduce you to a nice man, Sister. You’ll have your pick of handsome nobles.”

Lysithea flushed red, embarrassed. “R-really? I’ll be able to get married, huh? I see… I guess that’d be nice. I thought it was enough that Cecilia could marry, but if I’m also able to, I guess I’d like to.”

Finally, Lysithea didn’t need to worry about being killed at any moment. That thought made her a bit giddy.

I’ve finally come this far, Cleo thought, looking over at his sister. Now I just need to officially ascend to the throne and take control of the Empire. Liam…you may have climbed to the position of the Empire’s most powerful noble, but I’m going to be crowned emperor. And as emperor I’ll have no need to fear you.

When they reached the audience hall, some of the emperor’s guards stopped them. “Only the crown prince from here on, if you please.”

Lysithea accepted this demand as natural. “Go ahead,” she told Cleo.

“Right.”

Alone, Cleo proceeded down a long hallway to a space lavish enough to suit the massive Empire. Though this was called an “audience chamber,” it was mostly outdoors, and since the weather here was controlled, there was no need for a roof.

Lit by the warm light of the artificial sun, Cleo nevertheless felt a terrible chill when he faced Emperor Bagrada Noah Albareto. Wh-what? This is my father, His Imperial Majesty…?! He seems so different from the last time I met with him!

Seated on his throne, Bagrada wore a good-natured smile. He was a kind and jovial-looking man, as he had been before. This time, though, he frightened Cleo so much the prince couldn’t stand it.

“I-it’s been too long, Your Imperial Majesty. I’ve come in response to your summons.” Cleo bowed his head immediately, trying not to look at his father. Cold sweat burst from his pores.

Bagrada responded in a soft voice. “It seems that a lot happened, but I see that you’ve defeated Calvin. No one will complain about you being named crown prince now, Cleo. If everything goes well, you’ll be emperor in fifty years or a century.”

“Th-thank you, Your Majesty.” That’s right. I’m the crown prince—there’s nothing to be afraid of. And I decided that, if I met with His Majesty again, I’d ask something.

In truth, Cleo disliked Bagrada. There was a reason for this: Because Cleo’s mother had insisted that the prince was male, Bagrada had forbidden any of his children to undergo a sex change, solely for his own amusement. Furthermore, he’d made Cleo third in line for the throne as a form of cruelty. Bagrada’s actions had twisted Cleo’s life horribly.

Yes, Cleo was a girl. He’d been required to live as a man all this time sheerly to entertain Bagrada. If Cleo had been a normal citizen, this situation would probably have been obvious to those around him, but he lived in the inner palace as a prince. Since he was surrounded entirely by his relatives, he could hide the truth, and when he went out he wore a special suit that disguised his figure.

Now that he was crown prince, Cleo wanted to clear up the matter of his gender. “I have a request, Your Imperial Majesty.”

“No.” Bagrada denied Cleo’s request before the prince could even say what it was.

Looking up, Cleo saw Bagrada smiling sunnily at him. That smile looked horribly off to Cleo, though.

“You want to undergo a sex change, am I right?” the emperor asked. “If you do, I’ll disinherit you.”

“B-but it’ll be more convenient for everyone if I’m actually male. If only for times when I’m doing my duties as crown prince…”

“No. Then I couldn’t watch you look uncomfortable. Now, let me see that pretty face of yours up close.”

Obeying Bagrada’s teasing command, Cleo stood, trembling as he walked toward the emperor. As he drew closer to Bagrada, his horrible feeling intensified. The closer Cleo got to his father, the more something sinister seemed to coil around the prince.

Bagrada smiled as he watched Cleo. “By the way, it seems that you had a falling-out with House Banfield.”

“After our previous discussion, I determined that to be the best course of action,” Cleo replied. “I have other noble supporters to replace him, and more and more people want to meet with me, so I daresay I no longer require his support.”

“Mm-hmm. I’m relieved to see you working so hard. That aside, though…” As Bagrada’s voice lowered, his kind expression dropped, and Cleo felt a chill run down his spine. The emperor now wore an amused, belligerent grin. “I’ve had a chance to see that prodigy’s face, but I haven’t had an opportunity to speak with him personally yet. Bring him to me, would you?”

What did Bagrada want to speak with Liam about? Cleo was curious, but the atmosphere suggested that it wasn’t his place to ask. Bagrada exuded a pressure that suggested that he’d reject unnecessary questions at present.

“If Liam comes to the Capital Planet, I’ll arrange an interview immediately,” Cleo said.

“Please do, my cute little Cleo. I’ve wanted to have a long chat with him for a while now. He managed to climb to the top of the Empire during this messy succession conflict, so I must commend him, don’t you think?”

The candidates Cleo had beaten to get this far, Calvin and Linus, had both had powerful nobles backing them—people with real strength and abilities. Since Liam had made Cleo crown prince, it was like he’d beaten all those other nobles, coming out on top of every single one of them. It wasn’t that Cleo had become crown prince; that role was now filled by the prince Liam had chosen.

Cleo hung his head and ground his teeth. Bagrada’s eyes narrowed with glee at the sight, and he smiled maliciously. “You dislike Count Banfield? Your face says that you despise the man who brought you this far with your very soul.”

Although surprised by this astute observation, Cleo regained his composure. “I don’t dislike him that much. I just know where I myself am lacking.” He was lying. In truth, Liam irritated him so badly that he could hardly stand it. He couldn’t say that here, however; he didn’t feel it would be appropriate for a crown prince to act that way.

Bagrada reacted in a way Cleo didn’t expect, however. “No need for that. You don’t have to conceal anything.”

“Huh…?”

Although Cleo’s response was bewildered, Bagrada stood and praised him. “Your feelings are what make you the crown prince. No one is more suited to becoming the next emperor than you. That you envy the man who sincerely supported you, wishing to strike him down, is what I like about you.”

“Your Majesty?”

As Cleo stood there in confusion, Bagrada gently embraced him. “I do hope you’ll continue to entertain me, my dear child.”

***

His audience with the emperor over, Cleo staggered back to his home in the inner palace. The worried Lysithea had accompanied him, but now Cleo lay alone in his bed. He’d removed the suit he wore to disguise himself as a man, so his chest bulged slightly. At the same time, he looked smaller than usual, since the suit concealed the slenderness of his frame.

Cleo reached up toward the ceiling and closed his hand as if grasping at something. The audience with Bagrada had thoroughly exhausted him, but hope still showed in his expression.

“Liam, you chose the wrong person to become crown prince.”

Cleo would soon be named crown prince officially, and he would also be Liam’s political enemy. Liam was an extremely troublesome person to have as a foe, but Cleo was excited about fighting with him.

“You shouldn’t have helped me. Your sin was making an ugly person like me crown prince.”

Bagrada had acknowledged Cleo’s true self. He had affirmed the ugliness inside his child, which Cleo had tried to avoid facing. Now, the prince was able to recognize his own ugliness—and accept it.

He acknowledged the part of himself that had betrayed a devoted friend and wished to drive him to ruin. He no longer felt the need to hesitate over defeating Liam.

“I’ll be the one who brings you down…whether I’m truly a man or not.”

***

The Albareto dynasty ruled the Algrand Empire.

The original emperor’s name had been Algrand, but the ruler’s name had changed to Albareto long ago. You could think of it like this—at some point, there’d been a bloody feud, and a branch family called the Albaretos had taken over.

History had gone on like that for millennia, and now I stood before the current emperor: Bagrada. We’d laid eyes on each other before, but we’d never had the opportunity to speak in private. I’d just thought of the emperor as a guy I had to kneel before in the audience chamber. Yet now, for some reason, His Imperial Majesty had summoned me directly. That had to indicate how important I’d gotten within the Empire. Most people who ended up in this audience hall still couldn’t get anywhere near the guy, after all. Now, I was considered important enough to speak with him one-on-one.

Bagrada gave me some slow, listless applause. “Good job beating Calvin. You defeated the powerful nobles who backed him as well, so you’re pretty well the most important noble in the Empire now.”

“Your words honor me.” I played the good boy, but inside, Bagrada irritated me.

“That said, you don’t appear to be getting along well with Cleo now either.”

If you could call annihilating Cleo’s Imperial Guard “not getting along well,” then sure. Were such conflicts so trivial to the emperor? “I determined that there was a traitor in the crown prince’s Imperial Guard, so I made the call at the time to eliminate them.”

As I fed Bagrada this shameless line, he nodded thoughtfully. “Is that so? Then, after our audience, you should clear up that misunderstanding with Cleo. I’d love it if you’d continue to support him.”

On the outside Bagrada looked like a pleasant young man, but I’d picked up on something.

“I swear my unchanging loyalty to the Empire from here on out,” I said.

“We’ll have nothing to fear with you on our side, Count Banfield. No—if you assimilate House Claudia, I suppose you’ll be Duke Banfield soon, won’t you?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I plan to hold my wedding, and the ceremony to assume House Claudia’s peerage, as soon as I return to my domain.”

“Well, congratulations. This will be the birth of a duke the Empire can truly count on. I hope you’ll allow me to celebrate with you.”

“…That would be an honor far beyond my station.”

I could see something pitch-black lurking behind Bagrada’s smile; a sticky, sickening presence. As I got closer to him, the repulsive sensation only grew stronger. Suddenly, my suspicion turned to conviction.

For a long time now, I’d wondered about the Guide’s warning about my “real enemy.” A short while ago, I’d only had the faintest suspicions about the emperor, but at this point, the black aura surrounding Bagrada made things crystal clear to me. I must’ve been able to tell for sure now because I was getting close to Master’s skill level.

My true enemy…was the Algrand Empire’s emperor himself.

Chapter 14: A Clean Slate

Chapter 14:
A Clean Slate

CLEO WAS THE TALK of the Capital Planet. He was a nameless third prince who’d taken down the other, more promising candidates to rise to the position of heir. The capital’s residents were passionate about discussing the sensational topic of the underdog prince.

On the Capital Planet, the succession conflict was coming to an end. Bagrada had subtly made it clear to people close to him that he would entrust things to Cleo in the future, and there was no indication that anyone else would come forward as a rival candidate.

Thus, a great problem plaguing the Empire had been resolved. Not in a way that satisfied me, of course, since Cleo had betrayed me.

I was meeting with Cleo now, since he’d summoned me. We were in a lavish mansion provided to the crown prince. From my perspective, thinking of my past life, it really felt like the kind of place you’d call a palace.

The scent of expensive tea wafted through a parlor of this palace. Calvin had occupied the residence until only a short while ago, but the Imperial knights who stood nearby were now Cleo’s guards. They kept a close eye on me as I elegantly sipped my tea, and I clearly sensed their willingness to slash first and ask questions later if I made any suspicious moves. I sensed secret operatives of the Empire lurking around somewhere too. So, while this meeting was peaceful on the surface, invisible tension sparked between Cleo and myself.

Sipping his own tea, Cleo began the conversation as casually as if he were inquiring about how I was doing today. “So, shall I hear your excuse for eliminating my Imperial Guard?”

He was pissed that I’d wiped out the fleet he put so much effort into. Actually, no, that didn’t seem to be it. Now that he’d been made crown prince, he appeared more at ease, and losing his fleet seemed not to bother him that much. Maybe this actually was small talk for Cleo.

“Theodore and Baron Glynn were working against us. I’d gathered plenty of proof, so I decided to get rid of the lot of them all at once. In the future, you should find better people to work for you.” I too answered as casually as if we were talking about the weather.

Cleo gave me a bold smile. “Theodore had some personality problems, but he was a brilliant subordinate who was completely devoted to me. Can you understand how I feel, having lost him?”

Since he was blaming me, I argued back. “I’ve been with you longer, but Theodore was more important to you, huh? That’s too bad, considering that you’ve finally won the succession conflict… It really is.”

Since we’d been victorious, Cleo would become emperor sometime within the next century. I didn’t think that was too bad a deal. In fact, I thought that he was pretty rotten to blame me for his subordinates’ deaths when he’d set a trap for me alongside them.

“True—I’m crown prince now because of you. I acknowledge that. But don’t you think there’s something you need to say to me?”

“Yeah… Sorry about that. And I’ll be sure to apologize in the future if it happens again,” I said, fully aware that it wouldn’t.

“You’re as shameless as ever.” At that point, Cleo was seemingly done with this topic. “Anyway, you’re taking custody of Calvin, right? I don’t suppose you’d tell me what you plan to do with him?”

Calvin had been disowned, and House Banfield had been given permission to do as we pleased with him. I wasn’t sure whether it was really okay to treat royalty that way, but it did seem like a fitting reward for a victor in one of the Empire’s bloody feuds.

I grinned ominously at Cleo. When I gave him a look like that, he could probably guess what would happen to Calvin without me needing to go into detail.

“Why, I’ll put him through a living hell, of course.”

“I expected something like that. Well…” As Cleo again changed the subject, the smile vanished from his face, and his eyes narrowed with hostility. “I’ve won the succession conflict. Your right-hand man, Claus, really is impressive. He has a reputation for being undefeated, but he’s so focused on victory that it’s a bit ruthless. I can’t say that pursuing victory at any cost is laudable.”

Although Cleo dismissed Claus as cold, I had a glowing opinion of my head knight. Claus might’ve been cruel, but he was talented and reliable. He was the perfect vassal for an evil lord like me. “Undefeated, eh? I’ll tell him you spoke well of him, Your Highness.”

Cleo frowned down at me as I drank my tea. Apparently deciding that it was the right time to get to the point, he told me, “You went too far. Your actions will affect my reputation too. I think House Banfield will have to leave my faction permanently.”

Cleo would be the next emperor, so he wouldn’t need to go to any effort to get new nobles to flock to his side and join his faction. House Banfield had fought desperately to bring him this far, but at this point he could discard us easily.

So, we’re breaking ties, eh? “Sure, I don’t mind that.” I had a mountain of things I wanted to say to him, but I left it at that for now.

Cleo seemed dissatisfied by my answer, however. “Do you understand what I’m saying? I don’t have any position to offer you outside my faction. You won’t get a reward, either.”

Annoyed that he was dragging this out, I rose from my seat. “Do what you want. All my contributions thus far can be swept under the rug. Don’t worry about it.”

When my attitude changed, Cleo frowned. Personally, I liked that he was acting like a small-time villain now. “You’re pretty self-assured after destroying my Imperial Guard.”

“You should consider me modest for not begging for a reward. At any rate, you’re the one who wants me gone. You’re prepared for what that will mean, right?” In truth, I wasn’t sure he did understand how making an enemy of me would play out.

Cleo grimaced in frustration. Had he expected me to panic when this happened? All I could see was a kid who was frustrated because things weren’t going his way.

“Very well,” he said finally. “The slate’s wiped clean between us.”

So, as soon as he became crown prince, he was getting rid of me. I wanted to advise him to learn from Calvin’s mistakes. He had the wrong idea about things too.

Turning around and walking off, I muttered to myself, “‘The slate’s clean’? We’re enemies now, you mean.”

***

As the Argos headed away from the Capital Planet, Claus reported to the location Liam had called him to, and found that everyone else had already arrived there. Naturally, Tia and Marie—who’d fought in the war alongside him—were present, as well as Kukuri, whom they’d met up with again on the Capital Planet. Chengsi was also there, which Claus had to admit he was curious about. No one was chewing her out for her presence, so he could only assume that Liam had invited her as well.

Entering last, Claus heard the door close and lock. This room was strictly safeguarded, so it was used to discuss top-secret matters of the highest importance.

Now that Claus was present, Liam dropped a heavy announcement on those gathered. “We’ll be opposing Cleo.”

None of the five individuals assembled before Liam was particularly surprised; they’d expected something along these lines. For his part, Claus had assumed that this whole thing would lead somewhere bad as soon as they’d found a traitor in Cleo’s Imperial Guard.

I took it for granted that this would happen. I wish he’d start with the more important information. Liam was being too casual about the matter, which worried Claus.

Liam looked at Kukuri. “It was Kukuri who discovered Cleo’s betrayal.”

Kukuri was happy to have made up for his earlier failure. “One of my slain operatives left evidence behind that led me to discover of Prince Cleo’s betrayal… If you wish it, Master Liam, I could assassinate Cleo immediately.” Kukuri had gone instantly from happiness to cold anger. He couldn’t forgive Cleo for betraying them.

Marie felt the same. “It was all thanks to Lord Liam that the brat even ended up crown prince. He should pay for his betrayal.”

Both Kukuri and Marie still bore a grudge against the emperor two thousand years ago. He’d betrayed them, having them petrified despite their faithful service to him, so Cleo’s betrayal opened old wounds they would rather have forgotten. That was why both wished to take an extreme revenge on Cleo.

Tia offered a more peaceful solution. “Considering House Banfield’s influence, we should be able to object to Cleo’s appointment as crown prince. The leaders of the Empire can’t ignore Lord Liam. I suggest we make it clear that we oppose Prince Cleo taking the role. That way, we can back whichever royal comes to us next and install someone beneficial to us as heir.”

Claus liked Tia’s idea. “I second Lady Christiana’s proposal.”

Chengsi offered no opinion of her own; she didn’t seem at all interested in this subject.

Liam sighed, frowning. “I was the one who said I’d make Cleo the emperor. Him being our enemy now doesn’t mean I’ll break my word. I won’t assassinate him, and I won’t prepare a replacement.”

Liam’s intentions not to interfere with Cleo’s ascension to the throne were unexpected, and Marie didn’t know how to react. “B-but he betrayed you, Lord Liam! And if you leave him be, who knows what he’ll do to you later?!”

“Well, I did wipe out his Imperial Guard. But we’ll call it even, considering all the help I gave him before that.”

“He won’t necessarily agree with that reasoning. Lord Liam, please reconsider!”

“Enough. I don’t care if Cleo becomes crown prince or emperor. No… I’ll be glad if he becomes emperor.” Liam looked as though he truly enjoyed the thought.

He’s definitely planning something, Claus thought.

Then Liam declared to the five of them, “Cleo will be the Empire’s last emperor.”

No one could say anything in response to that. Chengsi alone seemed suddenly intrigued, her eyes sparkling.

After several long seconds of silence, Tia began, “You mean to say—”

“If the Empire’s going to be my enemy, I’ll crush it, like I’ve crushed everything else that got in my way.”

It was characteristic of Liam to say that he was simply going to do away with something he disliked. He’d picked the wrong adversary this time, though. He was talking about the Algrand Empire; he’d just announced that he’d stand up against the very nation he belonged to.

“Y-you mean you’ll usurp the Empire?” Marie asked, her voice trembling.

She wasn’t shaky out of fear. Claus didn’t understand it, but to him, it looked like she was shaking in sheer bliss. Why is she happy about this?!

But Liam didn’t seem to confirm Marie’s interpretation of his statement. “I have no interest in the throne. Right now, I’m only trying to figure out how to take down the Empire. That’s really a fascinating question. Do I destroy it from inside or wage a war of conquest?”

It seemed that his goal was now just to oppose the Empire, and he wasn’t thinking about what to do beyond that.

Th-this is bad. At this rate…!

At this rate, House Banfield was done for. No matter how powerful it was, House Banfield could never win against the entire Empire, considering the difference in scale. The Empire was an intergalactic nation—it was utterly massive.

Claus had a very bad feeling about this. All he could see in their future was defeat, yet everyone around him was having a different reaction.

Tia backed Liam’s plan, smiling. “A wonderful idea! Ruling an entire nation would suit you perfectly, Lord Liam.”

Kukuri snickered happily in that creepy way of his. “I didn’t expect that you were after the Empire itself… Please use us as you wish, Master Liam.”

Marie extolled Liam in delight. “Yes, you should rule the Empire, Lord Liam! I’d gladly give my life to destroy this rotten nation! Make use of me as you see fit, my lord!”

Chengsi remained quiet, but her face had turned red, as if she couldn’t wait to fight the Empire in its entirety.

Looking at these vassals, all of whom worshiped Liam, Claus felt himself sink into despair. Someone stop him! We can’t fight the Empire! It’d be way too unbalanced!

Sure, Liam was strong, but that was strong for an Imperial noble. He didn’t have the strength to take on the entire Empire. Maybe he could put up a fight if he rallied enough allies behind him, but the odds against success would still be steep.

Claus decided that he had to speak up. If we betray the Empire, and it beats us, that’ll be the end of us. Who knows what could happen to our families? As his vassal, I need to warn my lord before he makes this kind of mistake.

And so, Claus finally opened his mouth. “Lord Liam, I have to voice my objections to this plan.”

“What…?” Liam frowned as if Claus had offended him.

Claus had no intention of backing down, though. “I said I’m against this plan. As we are now, we could never defeat—”

Before he could finish, he saw blades approaching his throat. Tia and Marie had drawn their swords and clearly intended to kill him. Their eyes weren’t those of colleagues—they were murderous.

Ah, it’s over…

As Claus concluded that he was going to die here and now, sparks flew at his sides. In the nick of time, Kukuri and Chengsi had stepped in to protect him from Tia’s and Marie’s blades.

“Would you kindly stay out of my way?” Marie glared at Kukuri. “No one who’s heard and opposed this plan can be allowed to live, can they?”

“Kee hee hee hee… It just so happens that I can’t let Sir Claus be killed so easily. I’m rather close to him, you see.”

“You bastard.”

Tia pointed her rapier at Chengsi, glaring. “And what does the berserker have to say?”

Chengsi brandished her own weapon and licked her lips alluringly. “Well, if Claus died, it’d be a problem for me… And I figured if I took his side, I’d have a chance to fight you two to the death, which seems like it’d be fun.”

“Don’t butt in when you can’t even comprehend how serious this matter is!”

When both sides had drawn their weapons, and it looked as if a bloodbath would break out at any moment, Liam finally spoke up. “Claus, finish what you were saying.”

Since he’d expressed his desire to hear what Claus had to say, Tia and Marie reluctantly put away their weapons. Kukuri backed off too, and Chengsi stood by Claus’s side, looking terribly bored.

Why is Chengsi protecting me? Claus had several questions, but he had to prioritize the matter at hand. For now, I have to convince Lord Liam…

He’d decided to sacrifice his life if he had to. Kukuri had protected him as he’d promised, but the operative’s actual feelings were probably similar to Tia and Marie’s. If Liam ordered him to dispose of Claus, Kukuri would do so without hesitation. Claus wasn’t sure what Chengsi would do in that situation, but her protection was essentially meaningless. After all, this was Liam—Claus and Chengsi could never hope to best the head of House Banfield, the Empire’s most powerful swordsman.

Claus had his loyalty as a knight to worry about too. He owed a debt of fealty to House Banfield, which had taken the lost knight in after his previous lord threw him out. Of course, his service had given him no end of trouble, but that was neither here nor there. Claus didn’t want the house he served to walk the path of destruction.

If I don’t say something here, no one will be able to stop him.

They could still turn back at this point. Everyone there would take what Liam had said to the grave with them, after all. However, if they set this plan to topple the Empire into motion, there’d be no going back.

Claus began trying to persuade Liam. “As things presently stand, the difference in strength between House Banfield and the Empire is simply too stark.”

“True. If the Empire threw everything they have at me, I likely couldn’t beat them.”

Liam knew that the Empire couldn’t afford to mobilize all its forces against him, since it was surrounded by enemies. However…

“Even if the Empire didn’t deploy the forces stationed at its borders, House Banfield would be no match for it,” Claus insisted.

“I think there’d be nobles who sided with me,” Liam argued.

Plenty of nobles weren’t happy with the Empire. Liam had brought them together in Cleo’s faction, so he knew he’d have allies if he started trouble.

“I’m sure there would be, but there would still be too many unknown variables.”

“You’ve got a point. It’s not just nobles who aren’t happy with the Empire, though. Don’t you think that, if I made a move, I’d get a lot of support from the public?”

Claus couldn’t say that the Empire’s governance was flawless. They’d made more enemies than necessary, both internally and externally, because of their methods. “If you used too much outside assistance against the Empire, you’d need to reward them appropriately afterward. That would lead to other problems. Unless House Banfield played the biggest role in the conflict, your victory couldn’t be considered complete.”

The problem is that there really would be a chance of us winning, however slight.

Considering House Banfield’s abilities, the likelihood wasn’t zero. Everyone else present was so enthusiastic about this because they understood that. Claus didn’t want the others to join in arguing against him, but if he couldn’t convince Liam, then arguing was pointless in the first place.

This was why Claus had cautioned Liam about the potential problems they could face after victory. If Liam accepted too much help from other nobles or nations, he would owe them that much after winning. Failing to reward their assistance at that point would earn their ire, and if worst came to worst, surrounding countries might immediately swallow up his new nation in the confusion after his takeover.

That was why Claus was talking about the period after their victory. He had to believe that the others around him would at least recognize the potential for problems once the conflict ended. However…

“I understand what you’re saying,” Liam told him. “How much power would I need for the complete victory you speak of?”

Liam seemed to be asking for a number, so Claus gave him an off-the-cuff answer. “Solely in terms of fighting strength, you’d need a fleet of at least a million. And to move such a fleet without issues, you’d need three times that number of ships as reserves. You’d also need territory to accommodate those troop numbers.”

For a fleet to perform well, its personnel needed training, practical experience, and time off. Only a fleet that received all three could hold up in actual battle. In other words, having a million ships that could mobilize anytime meant maintaining four times that number. If the full force consisted of only one million, and you deployed them all at once, they’d be completely spent after fighting. They would push themselves past their limits to defeat the Empire, but only a nightmare would await their depleted forces afterward.

Since I gave him a number like that, he’ll realize it’s impossible. Although I may have panicked and made the number a bit too ridiculous…

As Claus fretted, his face expressionless, Tia butted in. “That number is a bit of a random guess, isn’t it? I could take down the Empire with half that and still maintain peace afterward.”

On the one hand, Tia probably wanted to argue with Claus—but on the other, she genuinely seemed to believe that she could do what she said.

In his head, Claus struck a victory pose. All right… I’ve turned things into a question of numbers.

Having listened intently to Claus’s words, Liam spoke up. “As things stand now, House Banfield can’t maintain a fleet of four million ships.”

Claus was relieved to hear that Liam realized what he’d been saying. Good. If I just explain things to him, he does understand.

Liam rose, looking determined. “I’ve taken your warning to heart,” he told Claus. “Four million… I’ll ensure I gain the power to maintain that big a fleet. At that point, our war with the Empire can kick off.”

“Huh…?” Claus stood there in shock.

Meanwhile, Liam’s mood improved quickly. “If the undefeated Claus says that four million ships is what I need for a complete victory, I’m sure he’s not wrong. I’ll certainly heed that advice.”

“Wha—?!” Undefeated? Who—me?! Wait—what do you mean you’ll heed my advice?! I was trying to argue with you!

Liam was motivated to attain his new goal. At one time, he’d revived House Banfield when it was on the brink of ruin, and now he burned to do as Claus advised. “Four million—it’s a crazy number, but if we get there, I can win. If Claus the Undefeated Knight says so, then I’ll make it happen.”

“Um, Lord Liam? What’s this ‘Undefeated Knight’ business?”

“Hm? Oh, that’s what they’re calling you on the Capital Planet. Cool, huh? Must be nice. They still just call me Pirate Hunter. Wish we could trade.”

Claus couldn’t be happy about this nickname, even if Liam envied it. How did the Busy Work Chief become the Undefeated Knight?!

Liam looked over those assembled before him. “Seems like I’ll be holed up in my domain for a while, building things up. I need to get strong enough to take down the Empire.”

Claus watched as everyone else knelt and replied, “Yes, sir!”

“We’re up against the Empire next,” Liam declared. “I’m going to put everything I have into this fight, so you’d better do the same.” He snickered. “A force of a million, huh? With that, I can fight the Empire head-on. I didn’t expect you to tell me to take them on fair and square, Claus.”

“Huh…?” What?! When did I suggest waging all-out war against the Empire?!

Liam had apparently been thinking about taking the Empire down from inside, but Claus’s unnecessary interference had steered him toward all-out war instead. It was Claus’s own fault that they would be fighting the Empire on hard mode now. The head knight wanted to tear his hair out.

Chapter 15: A Present from an Evil Lord

Chapter 15:
A Present from an Evil Lord

I’D DECIDED TO GO to war with the Empire eventually. All I had to do now was prepare for that fight. But I still had another major problem to address…and I found it much more daunting.

“Ah…there’s actually one other thing I want to ask you all about.”

We’d just agreed to wage war on the Empire; Claus and the others were still in the room, and it didn’t seem like their excitement would die down anytime soon. Well, Claus was as unflappable as always. He really was as cool as a cucumber—perfectly reliable all the time.

Tia jumped at the chance to help me. “Ask us about? What do you need, Lord Liam?”

The air was still electric with the heavy subject we’d been discussing, and given the situation, I hesitated to bring something like this up. It had to be done, though, so I swallowed my pride and squeezed out the words.

“…It’s Rosetta.”

“Yes…?”

“Rosetta—I’ve obtained Planet Charlot, so I was thinking about giving it to her as a present… W-would that work, do you think?”

I’d reincarnated into this reality over half a century ago. Now that I understood its values slightly better, I had the feeling I’d been too frugal up until now. Realizing that had been a real shock. I mean, I was attempting to live my best life as an evil lord—had I actually been thrifty this whole time? That wasn’t even funny.

I figured that giving Rosetta a big present would be a good way to get my goal of evil-lord-style extravagance back on track. My plan was to give her Planet Charlot. I figured that even in this universe, that must qualify as lavish. But I wanted to ask the five people here whether I was on the right track.

“A planet as a present—that’d be pretty extravagant, right?”

Tia smiled at my suggestion, but her face twitched slightly. “I-I think it’d be wonderful, Lord Liam. Only you would think of something like that…”

She was clearly forcing herself to say those words. She’d expressed her admiration so openly earlier that it was now all the more obvious how insincere she was being.

I looked over at Marie, who averted her eyes from mine. “We would never have come up with such a fantastic gift, Lord Liam. I-it’s just that…strictly speaking…perhaps that’s a bit outside the realm of common sense?”

I was a bit shocked to have Marie, of all people, question my common sense. I looked to Kukuri.

He met my gaze, but considered what to say. Then he suggested I decide against it. “No one else could afford such a fabulous gift, Master Liam. However, ownership of a planet naturally entails the management of that planet. If she neglected it and bandits took up residence there, the responsibility for that would fall on her. I humbly suggest that if you two plan to cultivate House Banfield together in the future, a planet might not be the best gift for your lovely bride.”

“I-I see. Thanks, Kukuri.”

I found it interesting that Kukuri was so careful with his words, and that he’d said so much more than usual. I looked to Chengsi next… Then I decided that I couldn’t count on her, so I skipped her and moved on to most trusted advisor, Claus.

“So…what’s your opinion, Claus?”

When I looked to him to guide me, he gave me a surprised look—almost as if he hadn’t paid attention to anything that had been said for a while.

“Hey. Were you listening to me?”

“I-I, er…”

From his hesitance to speak, I understood. I must still not have understood this reality’s values properly. As a present, a planet was apparently overkill. My thinking must really have been off for it to shock Claus into speechlessness like this.

“I understand what you’re all saying,” I told them. “I’ll manage Charlot and Baron Glynn’s planet myself. So then…what should I get Rosetta?”

When I asked this, Marie cocked her head. “You’ve already given her everything she needs for the wedding.”

“It’s not specifically for the wedding… I just want to give her a normal present.”

“A-a planet was your idea of a normal present?”

The quartet now gave me pitying looks. Hey,I’m your employer, you know! If I punished them for correcting me, though, that would be embarrassing in a different way.

“Whatever. I’m going to bed, so get out!”

Before my five underlings could vacate the room, Claus took a call. Then he addressed me—and mentioned Kurt’s name. “Lord Liam, Lord Kurt has an emergency report for you.”

“Kurt does?”

***

“Sorry, Liam. I discussed it with my father, but I can’t dissolve my engagement to Princess Cecilia.”

“Yeah. The Empire wouldn’t allow that to happen. Don’t let it bother you.”

Kurt’s emergency report was about his betrothal to Princess Cecilia. She was Cleo’s sister from the same mother, and was closer to the prince than any of his other siblings. Kurt was trying to be considerate to me in light of my conflict with Cleo.

“You are taking my side, though, right?”

“Yeah…” Kurt’s gloomy expression on the other side of the screen made me suspect that he might actually side with the Empire, but then he spoke up again. “Liam, I want to ask you something. You heard about your clone, right?”

“I received a report. According to Calvin, that was all Theodore’s idea. I don’t really care whose idea it was, though. Don’t you think they were arrogant to try to copy me and the Way of the Flash?”

I was seeking agreement from Kurt about how stupid the whole thing was, but he seemed to be worrying about my clone instead. “Have you decided what to do with her?”

“I don’t need a cheap imitation of myself,” I said flatly, and Kurt looked sad. I’d heard that he’d fought the clone personally and captured her. Had he gotten attached to her, then?

“I have a request,” Kurt said. “Do you think you could let me take care of her?”

“What do you mean?”

Why did Kurt want my clone? She had to be a skilled-enough pilot to control one of those fake Avids, but even if she was a strong knight, she was still a child inside, right? Making use of her in a practical way would be too hard. Plus, Calvin had said that they forced my clones to grow too fast, and as a result, the clones had short lifespans. Considering all that, the one we’d captured shouldn’t be of any use to Kurt.

“She was created specifically to fight. If we don’t do something, she’ll be disposed of. That’s too tragic.”

“So? The world’s full of tragedy.”

My words silenced Kurt. In my last life, I’d been one of those tragic people myself. No one had ever reached out a hand to save me. That might’ve been why I was a little jealous of my clone—Kurt had taken such an interest in her. He was reaching out his hand to save her.

“Well…whatever. Do what you want. I’m taking her mobile knight, though. That thing is trouble for all kinds of reasons, so I want to look after it myself.”

Most people would have considered a mobile knight equipped with AI to be a nuisance, but I still felt it’d be a nice gift for Ellen or my sister apprentices. Besides, the craft had been built with my rare metals in the first place, so there was no problem with me taking ownership of it.

Kurt was fine with my demand. “Of course. Can I really take the girl, though?”

“I consider you a friend, and I’m willing to do most anything for a friend.”

I still didn’t know why he wanted my clone, but if it would make him feel that he owed me, it was a cheap price to pay.

“Of course we’re friends! I wouldn’t stop being your friend even if you’d refused! But I want to help her if I can…”

“You do, do you?”

It seemed I’d now be able to count on House Exner’s help when I started trouble with the Empire. There were no guarantees, of course, but I still wanted to do whatever I could to stay on good terms with Kurt’s family.

“I was surprised to hear that you’re going ahead with the wedding,” Kurt added. “So, you wanted to end things within two years for Rosetta’s sake, huh?”

He was feeling more cheerful now—enough so to tease me. “I just don’t like changing my plans. You’d better come to the ceremony.”

“I wouldn’t miss it. I want to see everyone else too. It’s been so long.”

He was looking forward to seeing Wallace and Eila—Eila Sera Berman.

“Yeah. Okay, I’m going to go now.” After ending the call, I sighed deeply. “It wasn’t for Rosetta at all… It was all for me.”

Even I didn’t know who I was making that excuse to.

***

The flagship Argos broke through the atmosphere of House Banfield’s home planet and arrived at the port. There, countless people waited to greet me. Messages of joy at my return were projected in the air. A red carpet was laid before me, and since it was a moving walkway, I covered ground at a pretty fast clip. A vehicle would’ve been faster, but I wanted my subjects to see me returning safely. The personal walkway was enclosed in a glass-like transparent material, so everyone around me could watch me as I moved.

Being forced to celebrate in such an exaggerated way over my return must’ve been rough for my subjects. I held absolute authority here, so all they could do was kiss my ass. It really made me reflect on how unfair this universe was.

As I walked down the moving pathway with an unfazed smile on my face, Rosetta tackled me in a hug.

“Darling!”

“Stop that!”

A second ago, I’d been acting like an imposing evil lord, but Rosetta had ruined all that when she hugged me and called me that stupid, sappy nickname. As she clung to me, my guards just smiled wryly. Marie actually looked happy about this—but she also knew her station, so she stepped forward to stop Rosetta.

“Lady Rosetta, that’s improper.”

Tia looked at our surroundings. “It’s not a problem. Everyone knows each other here.”

Rosetta was weeping with happiness at my return. “I’m so glad you’re home safe! I was so scared in the beginning, when I heard things weren’t going well…”

“You thought I’d lose? Impossible.”

“No, I believed in you. But if you hadn’t come back, I’d…” Tears spilled from Rosetta’s eyes.

I averted my gaze from her. “You don’t need to worry about me. Anyway, that’s not important right now. It’s about time to begin, right?”

When I mentioned the time, Amagi—who was waiting nearby—bowed her head deeply. “Preparations for the ceremony have concluded.”

“I guess Wallace did his job well, then.”

“Yes.”

Hearing his name, Wallace appeared from the crowd. He must’ve been waiting for my return along with everyone else. He came over to us looking as though he was satisfied with a big job well done. “When you told me to keep planning the wedding you were supposed to cancel, I thought you were just being a huge jerk! It was a real pain to start everything back up again, you know!”

Wallace looked a little tired as he needled me. This wasn’t any simple wedding, it was a noble affair, so putting it all together must’ve been exhausting.

“That’s your specialty, isn’t it?” I replied. “You’ve got to do something useful once in a while. I’ll make sure you’re well compensated.”

Wallace did look happy at that, but quickly frowned again. “I heard that you cut ties with Cleo. I can’t understand how he thinks at all.”

“We’ll talk about that later.”

Once I implied that I didn’t want to discuss politics here, Wallace backed off. He was replaced by a crying Brian—crying even more than usual, that is.

“Master Liam! I’m so glad to see you return home safely…and I’m so proud that you ensured that, in your absence, the ceremony would still be arranged! Despite all the things you say, you really do care for Lady Rosetta, don’t you? I feel pathetic for having worried so much about you seriously abandoning your planned marriage…”

Brian had dropped a bomb on everyone assembled; they all look shocked. I heard various exclamations over how I’d ended the war early for Rosetta’s sake.

Stop it! You’re embarrassing me!

When I remained silent, Wallace grinned. Any suggestion of heroic sacrifice had vanished from his face, and the way he smoothed his hair back with one hand irritated me to no end.

“I’ve prepared a magnificent wedding just for you, Liam! I hope you and Rosetta enjoy it!” He gave me a thumbs-up.

Everyone else around me was still giving me those heartwarming looks. Right before my eyes, the evil lord image I’d worked so hard to foster all these years was crumbling.

I insisted to everyone present that they had it wrong. “It wasn’t for Rosetta—it was for me! Now get everything ready, already!” I shouted.

At that, they all saluted or bowed, responding in unison, “Yes, sir!”

Them all being in sync like that was somehow incredibly irritating. These people were supposed to fear me, but today they were all giving me tender looks.

This simply could not be allowed.

Chapter 16: The Birth of Duke Banfield

Chapter 16:
The Birth of Duke Banfield

IT WAS THE DAY of the wedding. A noble wedding was more like a ceremony or performance than a memorable personal occasion of some kind. These were formal proceedings intended to let everyone in the Algrand Empire know that House Banfield had absorbed House Claudia, and thus become a dukedom.

Rosetta and I awaited our cue, both dressed to the nines.

I’d limited the wedding attendees to nobles who fought with me on the battlefield and people connected to House Banfield. I’d originally wanted more people—I’d planned to invite all the idiots who wanted to get close to me for their own selfish reasons, then have some fun with them. I’d abandoned that idea, though; there was no time for me to play around anymore. From now on, I’d have to choose who I associated with carefully, or I wouldn’t win my fight with the Empire. I could put off toying with people who were after my fortune until later.

Now that I thought about it, if I counted my past life, this was my second marriage. I decided to tease Rosetta, since it was her first. “You look nervous, Rosetta.”

“Would you like to sit down, Darling?” she responded, looking slightly confused.

“…I’m more comfortable standing.”

She was nervous, but for some reason, she was trying to comfort me. Everyone around us was likewise being extra considerate of me. Even Marie, who was usually obsessed with Rosetta, was trying to calm me.

“You can be your usual self, Lord Liam. There’s nothing to worry about. If a problem arises, we’ll deal with it, so you don’t need to be concerned about anything.”

“I am my usual self!” I said somewhat forcefully.

Marie nodded but looked entirely unconvinced. “A-are you? You look a little anxious, so I was worried.”

I’d just been trying to tease Rosetta, so why was I getting all tense?

I started remembering my past life… Telling my ex-wife that she was beautiful, and all kinds of other sentimental crap. Now that I thought about it, all that had been pointless. Thus, I’d sworn not to say any of that stuff to Rosetta, but…

“Darling.”

“What?”

“You look so dashing in that.”

Rosetta was complimenting my outfit.

“This? Well, I paid Thomas a ton for it, so it better look good. He even prepared spares, even though I’ll only ever wear this once. Pretty extravagant, right? What a waste.”

The garments were faintly luminescent, made from some rare “gemini” plant or something that provided luck through holy protection. I’d wanted something that incorporated more gold. When I asked Amagi about that, she’d shut me down, saying, “Please match your clothes to Lady Rosetta’s.” She’d looked completely exasperated.

Rosetta looked down at herself in concern. “It’s not a waste… It suits you wonderfully. I’m worried mine doesn’t look as good on me.”

What is this? Is she being considerate again? Rosetta looked somber, so I figured I had to buoy her up. “Th-that’s not true. It suits you perfectly. Isn’t that right, Marie?!”

“Huh? Oh, yes.” Marie had a look on her face that seemed to say, “Why are you bringing me into this?!”

You know, I shouldn’t let you get away with giving me looks like that!

As I was about to chew her out, the door opened, and Amagi walked in.

“Master, it is time.”

“Right.”

Amagi turned to Rosetta and bowed deeply. “Master is needed for another matter prior to the ceremony, so he will proceed to the venue before you. Please wait here until it is time for your appearance, Lady Rosetta.”

Rosetta stood up. “Take care of Darling for me, Amagi.”

“Of course. And…”

“Yes?”

As Amagi stared at her intently, Rosetta hesitated—until Amagi smiled wide enough that it would be visible to anyone looking at her. “Allow me to say this in my master’s place, since he cannot be honest with himself. You look truly beautiful today, Lady Rosetta. I believe that is what my master intended to say to you.”

“A-Amagi?!”

Rosetta wasn’t the only one who turned red at Amagi’s sudden words. I blushed up to my ears too.

“L-let’s go!” I sped out of the room, unable to remain there any longer.

“Yes, Master,” Amagi said. “Please excuse us, Lady Rosetta.”

***

When Liam left the waiting room, Rosetta snapped out of her dazed state, giggling to herself.

“Is something the matter?” Marie asked.

Thinking about how Liam had just acted, Rosetta explained, “I simply didn’t expect Darling to be so nervous. Seeing him that way calmed me down, and it just struck me as funny.”

Marie nodded. “He doesn’t even act like that on the battlefield. That side to him belongs to you alone, Lady Rosetta.”

“I don’t think that’s true. I think Darling’s number one will always be Amagi… She’s who’s truly special to him.”

***

After leaving the waiting room, I walked down the hallway. Amagi followed behind me to one side. It was how we always traveled in my mansion, but today it felt strange.

“That surprised me, Amagi.”

“I apologize. However, it is true that you were enchanted by the sight of her, is it not?”

“Wha—?! Th-that’s…”

“I could tell by your eye movements, Master. Pairing those with how difficult you found it to compliment her, it was a simple deduction.”

Amagi had been by my side since I was little, and it seemed I was an open book to her. “…You didn’t have to say it in front of everyone.”

“I determined that my statement had meaning precisely because of the people present. Master, I believe it would behoove you to be more honest with yourself, at least at a time like this.”

“I’m trying to be a villain, not a devoted husband!”

It was too late for the latter, wasn’t it? I couldn’t take a different path now, and I didn’t want to, either. I’d said goodbye to my former self—that was how I’d gotten where I was today.

“Anyway, as soon as this marriage is finalized, I’ll be a duke. It’s all thanks to you that I got this far in a hundred years, Amagi.”

The Guide had provided assistance too, of course, but Amagi had supported me all through these long years. When I thanked her for that, she responded with her usual neutral expression.

“All I did was support you, Master.”

“That’s how I got this far. I could never have done it without you.”

When I was handed a domain on the brink of ruin, I’d had no idea what to do, but Amagi had made it all easy to deal with. There’d been hard parts along the way, but I’d made it through because I wasn’t alone.

“I’ll still be counting on you in the future, too. Stay by my side forever.”

After I told Amagi that she would continue to be important to me, her tone of voice changed, if only subtly. That tiny change, which only I would notice, made her sound a little sad. “You no longer need my support, Master. You have already accomplished more than I could ever do for you.”

“Well, I’ve been at this a long time, so I’ve got some experience now.”

It had been almost a century since I’d started governing, but I’d only managed that because Amagi was at my side.

“My work could easily be handled by someone else. I believe you should rely on Lady Rosetta from now on, not me.”

“Even if someone else could do your job, no one could replace you. Stay by my side. Didn’t I say that already?”

I turned around and saw that Amagi looked a little happier. She smiled at me. “I shall serve at your side for as long as I am able.”

That was the same answer she’d given me before. The “as long as I’m able to” part bugged me, though. “Why do you put it that way? Don’t you trust me?” Did she think I’d change my mind someday? “Do you think I’d ever be cruel to you? I won’t ever abandon you.”

“There are no absolutes in life, so you can make no guarantees.”

I felt myself smiling at that AI-like answer. It had been a while since Amagi had said something like that. It was true that there was so much fighting in this universe that it wouldn’t be strange for me to be killed at any time. Accidents in space were frequent too, so no one could guarantee the future. No one except for me, at least—since I had the Guide’s protection.

“You’re right. But don’t worry. I’ll be with you always. I can guarantee that.”

“…Yes, Master.”

***

The Guide was looking down on House Banfield’s home planet with an expression that suggested that he’d eaten something sour.

“Don’t think that this is over, Liam!”

Even from space, the Guide could view Liam’s wedding to Rosetta. Liam was feigning a neutral expression as he stood before his bride, but the Guide could see how happy he was.

“I can’t believe he’s this happy when he said all that other stuff before! What happened to never trusting a woman again, huh?!”

The Guide had wanted to see Liam’s distrust of women play out further, so he was highly displeased with this outcome. Thus, he decided to play a prank on Liam.

“I’ll take all the negative emotions I collected on the battlefield and throw them at you! A little prank is all I can manage right now, but I’m not going to stand by and do nothing!”

Since the Guide had absorbed all the negative emotions produced by the proxy war, he’d regained some of his power. Unfortunately, Liam had set foot into the realm of the inhuman himself, so at this point the Guide couldn’t do much more with that power than tease him. He was also concerned that, if he took some petty revenge here, he’d lose all the power he’d built back up.

Still, the Guide couldn’t bear seeing Liam look so happy. What he should’ve done was leave Liam alone and continue to restore his strength for later, but he chose to be irrational; that was the sort of petty creature the Guide was.

“Make a fool of yourself in front of everyone, Liam!”

Black mist emanated from the Guide’s body and flowed down toward House Banfield’s home planet, onto the wedding venue. Meanwhile, the Guide watched the moment just before Liam and Rosetta would kiss.

“Don’t think I’ll let you—hmm?”

As the Guide’s curse-like attack sped toward the couple, the gemini-plant clothing both wore reacted and shone brighter. The holy plant that staved off evil didn’t just shield the pair from the Guide’s attack—it reflected the curse back at him. Boosted by the celebratory feelings of Liam’s subjects, the light below took on more and more of the holy power the Guide despised. Before he knew it, that holy power had transformed into a silver lance. It was aimed out into space at the Guide, having locked on to his presence.

“Another holy item?! Is tormenting me that fun, Liam?!”

Flying toward the screaming Guide, the lance reached the speed of light. It was meant to destroy the creature that had cursed Liam and Rosetta.

The lance impaled the Guide, then ate away at his body.

“Eyaaaaah! I’m meltiiiiing!”

The Guide’s body fell to pieces and scattered, and he flew away, once more reduced to nothing but a hat.

“I’ll remember this, Liaaaaam!”

If he’d hung back, he wouldn’t have taken any damage, but the Guide never learned.

***

The wedding was over. Around me stood Claus and all my most important retainers, showering me with congratulations. It had to be hard to be a mere employee. Not only did they have to attend my wedding, they had to praise me obsequiously the whole time. I understood how they must feel, but I liked the attention, so I accepted it without comment.

“Lord Liam, allow me to extend heartfelt congratulations from all your retainers.”

It was Claus who’d spoken up as their representative. By now, I’d heard the words dozens of times. If you counted letters, texts, and messages, I’d probably received millions of congratulations. I had to look at multiple messages at once to check them all, which was exhausting in and of itself.

“It’s just a wedding,” I grumbled. Loosening my collar, I leaned back haughtily in my chair and brought up the future to Claus and my other underlings. “We won’t be able to hold many more lavish ceremonies in the future.”

I’d decided to hold the minimum necessary ceremonies from now on in order to invest our finances in the domain as much as possible.

Tia stepped forward. “I have a suggestion for you on that subject, Lord Liam. If you plan to live frugally in order to further your grand plans, I believe it would be prudent for your retainers to do so as well. I could not allow you to be the only one suffering for your great work.”

“Huh?” My mood worsened instantly.

Marie stepped forward next, apparently thinking that Tia had offended me. “House Banfield treats its knights better than any other, but doing so strains its finances. We should review our—”

Everyone living frugally as a team? What a moving image—not. I didn’t trust others enough to find such a stupid suggestion touching. “No need for that. I have no intention of changing the way I do things. I want to be sure I retain the talented individuals I currently employ.”

“B-but…” Tia started to argue, so I corrected her misunderstanding.

“All I expect of you is the work that I pay you for. No more and no less.”

I didn’t have faith in people. Did Tia and Marie believe that others would put in the same effort for lower pay because they were willing to? That was the kind of thing employers wanted to believe. Talented people went where their talents were appreciated, though. If I started paying people less, I’d only end up employing the talentless. I didn’t believe in anything as unrealistic as loyalty.

Tia and Marie began to pout, so Claus tried to improve my mood instead.

“Well, we can discuss such matters at a later date. Don’t you think it’s about time for you to go see Lady Rosetta, Lord Liam? You’ve kept her waiting for a while already.”

“Huh?”

“Lady Rosetta is waiting for you, so you should return to your room, don’t you think?”

When Claus told me I should leave, I straightened up. “No, I think there’s still more to discuss. Come on—I’ll listen to whatever you want to say.”

As I postured as the considerate boss who would lend an ear to his employees, Kukuri bowed his head deeply to me.

“It will be your first night together, and a very important moment for the family. Please, pay us no mind—spend the night with Mistress Rosetta. Do not worry; we will ensure your safety during the act.”

“That’d be peeping, you creep!” I yelled at Kukuri.

Tia gave me an impudent look as if she saw right through me. “Are you nervous…? If so, I won’t mind serving as your practice partner, Lord Liam!”

After that ludicrous offer, I shoved Tia away, but Marie raised her hand next. “Stay out of this, ground meat! Please practice with me, Lord Liam. My body is pure, so you won’t need to worry about catching any strange diseases.”

Tia leaped up, shouting, “What’s that supposed to mean, huh?!”

“Why, exactly what it sounded like. You were captured by space pirates and subjected to all manner of things, were you not? Poor thing.” Marie wore a poorly concealed smile when she said the last two words.

“I was experimented on, but I’m inexperienced!” Tia barked.

As she and Marie started scuffling, I watched coldly. “If you’re inexperienced, you wouldn’t be a good practice partner, would you?” I heard Claus mutter.

True. But the two women continued fighting and yelling about how little experience they both had—it was truly a stupid sight. “Will you two shut up?”

As they deflated, Claus gave me some advice. “Lady Rosetta is nervous as well, Lord Liam.”

“I’m not nervous.”

“Then I would suggest that it is your duty to ease Lady Rosetta’s nerves, sir.”

“R-right… I guess so. I should get going, then.”

I stood up. As I left the room, the four of them all called after me.

“Lord Liam and Lady Rosetta will finally be together! What a wonderful night this will be! My men and I will pray for your success and celebrate your union!”

“Do your best, Lord Liam! I’ll pray for your success tonight as well!”

“Please leave your security to me. Do not worry; I will station only Kunai and other female operatives around your room.”

“This really is an important moment for the family.”

Are these guys actually making fun of me or what? “Just shut up!”

***

I reached my bedroom and found Rosetta waiting there, a nervous expression on her face.

“Darling! Um…er… Well, what do you think?”

“R-right…” I blurted out.

Rosetta posed awkwardly atop my large bed in a provocative dress. Was it a negligee? The fabric was thin—I could see her underwear through it—so I had to question the purpose of such a garment. I didn’t know where she’d gotten the idea, but she was doing what I assumed was her attempt at a sexy pose in it; she looked too awkward, though.

I sat facing her on the bed, my back ramrod straight for some reason. What is going on? I wondered.

Regardless, I needed to explain a few things to Rosetta. “Rosetta.”

“Y-yes?”

“S-sorry, but we’ll have to be a little frugal from now on, for a few reasons.”

“Y-yes, I suppose so… Hmm?” Rosetta had tilted her head.

Not intending to listen to any protests, I went on. “I imagine you’ll have complaints, but this is something I’ve already decided on. Now that you’re married, you probably want to live lavishly, but that can’t happen.”

I planned to put everything I had into developing my domain so that I could go to war with the Empire. This wouldn’t be like the fooling around I’d done up until now. I was getting serious about my future at this point.

Rosetta thought for a moment, then nodded. “R-right. We can’t be too wasteful.”

“Exactly.”

It was good that she’d agreed so easily…but now we simply sat across from each other, staring, as the time passed.

Eventually, Rosetta couldn’t take any more. “Um, Darling?” she said. “Is that something we need to discuss further here?”

“No… It isn’t.” I didn’t have to think about that one very hard. It wasn’t a subject to talk over at the moment.

I didn’t know what she found so funny, but Rosetta giggled.

“Hey, what are you laughing about?!”

“It’s just funny that you’re nervous too, Darling.”

“I’m not nervous!”

“Y-you’re not? You’re used to this, then?”

Rosetta asked that with some shock, so I decided to tell her what was what. I wasn’t the kind of guy she thought I was! “Of course I am! I’ve had relations with all kinds of women… All kinds of…relations. H-huh…?”

“Darling?”

‘I’ve had relations with all kinds of women’? It had been a century since I’d reincarnated, but that was still only true of Amagi. I’d so often declared that I would gather a harem, but I hadn’t managed that at all. That fact hit me like a ton of bricks.

“What have I been doing for the last hundred years…?”

I was supposed to be an evil lord with a harem of women to serve me, but before I knew it, the only ones around me had been complete wastes of space. I’d had experience with two now—counting Rosetta!

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this…”

I curled up on the bed, crying at my own ineptitude.

“Oh, Darling, don’t cry! Come on. Let me comfort you.”

When Rosetta embraced me, I finally realized that one of the goals I’d held for such a long time had remained completely unfulfilled. I really needed to start acting like an evil lord from now on, I decided. Even if I had to live frugally, I couldn’t forget my original goal.

For now, I figured I’d have to start with Rosetta.

“Enough! Rosetta, we’re having sex!”

“Right…”

Rosetta smiled happily, her cheeks flushed…and I had to admit, she did look pretty cute.

Chapter 17: People After

Chapter 17:
People After

AFTER HE WAS HANDED OVER to Liam, Calvin had been exiled to one of House Banfield’s pioneer planets—a place that definitely didn’t offer the luxuries a crown prince would be accustomed to. Calvin wasn’t allowed to leave that planet without permission, and other aspects of his life were controlled as well. His employment on the planet consisted of manual labor.

“Let’s call it quits here today, Calvin.”

“Is it that time already?”

“You’ve been working too hard, man.”

Getting down from a piece of heavy equipment, Calvin checked his watch and found that it was after 5:00 p.m. There was nothing around except the construction equipment his crew was using to develop the planet, and everyone else seemed to have finished their work for the day already.

A younger man asked Calvin what his plans for the rest of the day were. “Going straight home again today?”

Calvin nodded awkwardly, wiping away his sweat. His long hair had been cut short and his facial hair shaved off. He’d begun acquiring a tan lately, too, so he looked like a completely different person from before.

“My kids are always bugging me to play with them,” he explained. “I’ve got to take them to an amusement park on my day off tomorrow, so I need to get to bed early tonight, or I won’t last.”

“You really care about your family, huh?”

“I guess it’s my way of apologizing…or atoning. I neglected them up until recently.”

“You? Wife-Guy Calvin?”

“I had a lot going on.”

When House Banfield took custody of Calvin, most of the women he’d surrounded himself with had left him. None had wanted the hard life awaiting them in House Banfield’s domain. For all they knew, if they went along with him, they might even be killed. They’d had no idea what sort of punishment would await them, and Calvin didn’t want to involve them either.

Only one woman had come along with him, bringing their children as well. Calvin had initiated their courtship when the woman was a simple commoner. She alone had stuck with him.

At first Calvin hadn’t wanted her to come, since he didn’t know what retribution he would face from House Banfield. However, the woman had insisted on staying with him no matter where he went or how low his position became, and that had been that. She’d said that, if he had to leave, it would be better for him to go with his family. He’d wept from happiness that he wouldn’t have to be alone, despite how pathetic he felt for those tears.

Because of all that, Calvin’s family was now his top priority.

“Calvin’s not drinking with us tonight either?”

“I wish he’d come. He’s got great stories.”

“Yeah. He’s kind of, like, intellectual. And he’s got all kinds of skills. Rumor is he’s some noble from somewhere.”

“Yeah, right. What would a noble be doing on a pioneer planet like this?”

“Hey, it’s not impossible. Maybe he got tired of it all and made himself scarce. Lots of nobles end up on the run, you know.”

“Really? We’re working with a fancy noble, huh?”

“Well, it’s just a rumor.”

These ordinary citizens of House Banfield had no idea that they worked alongside the former crown prince of the Empire.

***

On his way home from work, Calvin bought his family a treat.

Compared to the palace, his new home was incredibly small—it was a single building smaller than his former bedroom. Living there felt a bit cramped to him, but it wasn’t too bad.

When he arrived home, he rang the doorbell, and his wife stepped from the kitchen to greet him. “Welcome back. Dinner’s ready.”

The woman wore casual clothes and an apron. She was officially married to Calvin now, and they were living as husband and wife. When he picked up the delicious scents coming from the kitchen, Calvin remembered how hungry he was.

“That smells great.”

He stepped inside, and his children leaped at him.

“Papa, what’d you buy us?!”

“Hey, I’m all dirty from work, so don’t hug me right now. I bought donuts.”

“Yay!”

He watched his children dash off into the living room with the box of donuts.

“You haven’t had dinner yet, so don’t eat them! They can be dessert.”

“Okaaay!”

The children were more active here than they had been while living in the palace. They were quicker to adapt to their new surroundings than Calvin, and they seemed to be enjoying themselves. In the palace, they’d lived lavishly, but the circumstances had meant that their lives were more restricted too. They seemed happier to be free from those restrictions.

When he watched the children having so much fun, Calvin felt guilty. I wonder how the other women and children are doing back on the Capital Planet.

Concerned for the family members who weren’t there, he asked his wife, “How were things today?”

She guessed what he was asking with this vague question and replied, “Investigators from House Banfield came, and we talked, but that was it.”

“Did they say anything about their plans from here on out?”

“No, not really.”

Here in House Banfield’s domain, Calvin and his family were living at the level of ordinary citizens. Having received an extensive education, Calvin could choose from all manner of work, and his family was given a fair amount of freedom. Although they couldn’t live extravagantly, this was actually something of an ideal life for them.

In the palace, they’d needed permission to do anything, and they’d always had to be concerned about the reactions of people around them. They’d had wealth, but no freedom. There was nothing to tie them down here, though.

Calvin honestly preferred this degree of freedom to the wealth he’d had before. After all, he could’ve died if he’d made one wrong move on the Capital Planet, crown prince or not. In the palace, worry had always accompanied him.

Freed from all that, he was happily living a tranquil life here. Still, that in itself also made him nervous.

“Hmm… I feel like I expected something a lot harsher,” he admitted.

“Duke Banfield probably sees it as enough of a punishment that the former crown prince is living like a commoner, don’t you think?”

Calvin had the feeling that his wife was probably right. He and Liam had been enemies; still, he felt that his opponent had a sense of integrity. Ironically, Calvin had sort of expected that Liam wouldn’t treat him all that badly. Even when he’d been handed over to House Banfield, he’d suspected that he wouldn’t face anything too gruesome. Still, he hadn’t been envisioning this.

“I thought I’d have to work a lot harder. Parts of this life definitely are hard, but to be honest, I’m a lot more comfortable here than I was on the Capital Planet.”

“Are you?”

“I don’t have to worry about the succession conflict or any of that stuff anymore, after all. If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve given up a lot sooner.”

Ultimately, Calvin was grateful that he didn’t have to shoulder the weight of the whole Empire. He enjoyed living a normal life with his family under House Banfield’s watchful eye.

The kids were being noisy, and Calvin’s wife returned to the kitchen, leaving him alone. Heading to the bathroom to wash his hands, Calvin considered the weight of what he’d lost and his current happiness.

“I wouldn’t have made so many unnecessary sacrifices if I’d known this would happen. I feel bad for all the people who had to accompany me all that time.”

With a dark expression that he couldn’t have shown to his wife, Calvin prayed alone in front of the bathroom mirror. He prayed for the people who’d died for him. He knew it was only for his own satisfaction, but he couldn’t bear not to.

***

House Exner’s domain had been developed so much with House Banfield’s assistance that it was practically unrecognizable, yet Baron Exner still made use of the same small mansion he’d always lived in. He hadn’t had a new one built as Liam had, instead living frugally.

Kurt lived the same way and didn’t find it burdensome at all. Presently, he was strolling in the mansion’s yard alongside two other people. Ahead of Kurt and his fiancée, Cecilia, 3588 was frolicking, wearing a dress.

Kurt called her name. “Lily, don’t get too far ahead of us!”

“Okay!”

Just like other little kids, Lily enjoyed running around and getting covered in mud.

Cecilia watched the girl alongside Kurt. She lived with House Exner now, and her marriage to Kurt was coming up soon.

Cecilia was a mellow woman, and she watched over Lily warmly. “My—Lily really is a tomboy, isn’t she? She reminds me of Lysithea when she was young.”

Kurt smiled awkwardly. “I’m sorry that my selfishness forced us to take her in.”

Cecilia shook her head. “She’s an orphan you found on the battlefield, isn’t she? I think that’s what a noble should do.”

Lily’s presence didn’t bother Cecilia at all. That was in part because Kurt hadn’t told her that Lily was a clone Cleo had created of Liam, but mostly, it was because Cecilia was good-natured, like Kurt.

Although Cecilia believed that Kurt had only taken Lily in because he felt sorry for her, a small part of her did wonder.

“Would you say that she’s your type, Lord Kurt?”

“I guess…I can’t deny that.” Kurt decided not to hide how he felt. “And, while it’s true that I want to help her, she does have a somewhat complicated past. She won’t be able to live that long a life either. I at least want her to be happy for whatever time she has.”

“Will you make her a concubine?” Cecilia asked worriedly.

“Never!” Kurt replied, flustered. “I think of her as a cute little sister, that’s all.”

Cecilia breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m a little glad to hear that.”

“Huh?”

“Well, it’s rather embarrassing, but I found myself getting a little envious of Lily. When you brought her back with you, I worried a bit that you might start ignoring me.”

“Lady Cecilia…”

Cecilia explained why she’d felt that way. “I heard about what happened on the Capital Planet from Lysithea… That Cleo broke things off with House Banfield. So I worried that our engagement would be called off too. I still can’t believe that Cleo betrayed the duke like that.”

Kurt hugged Cecilia gently. “There’s no need to worry. I’ve already checked in with Liam, and he’s not against our marriage.”

Cecilia wrapped her arms around Kurt’s back, embracing him tightly. “I do so adore you, Lord Kurt.”

Cecilia and Kurt’s marriage would be a political one, but they had put in effort to grow closer to one another. By now, Cecilia truly loved Kurt. When she laid bare her feelings to him, Kurt felt nothing but apologetic to her in his own heart.

“Yes. I feel the same way.” But I’m sorry… I can’t betray Liam. Even if Cleo is your brother, I’ll point my sword at him if Liam tells me to fight the crown prince. Even if that saddens you.

Watching Lily run around and play, Kurt felt enraged by what Cleo had done.

I understand betraying Liam. It angers me, but it’s politics. Even if it doesn’t sit right with me, I can accept it. There are some lengths you simply don’t go to, though, and Prince Cleo crossed those lines only too easily.

In an effort to beat Liam, Cleo had created clones and made use of AI. Stealing another noble’s assets was also a bridge too far. All that was starting to show Kurt how foolish Cleo really was.

If he takes the throne, the Empire will decline.

While Kurt was worrying about the future, Lily tripped and fell. Kurt and Cecilia ran over to the girl and picked her up.

“Goodness,” Cecilia said. “It’s because you cavort about like that!”

“Hee hee hee… I fell.”

“Come here.”

Kurt and Cecilia led Lily to a nearby fountain to wash the dirt off her. Though it was just an outdoor fountain, it washed the dirt off Lily completely when she submerged herself, and as soon as she got out, she dried off immediately.

Lily clapped her hands. “Wow! I’m already clean! This is amazing!”

Cecilia looked confused. “Is it? Don’t they have these everywhere?”

At that point, Kurt explained a bit about Lily’s background to his fiancée. “Lily grew up somewhere a little special, so she doesn’t know about a lot of everyday things like this.”

“Really? Oh, I’m sorry, dear. That was inconsiderate of me.”

When Cecilia apologized, Lily only shook her head. “It’s okay. I had Mr. Hat back then, after all!”

“Mr. Hat?” Cecilia cocked her head at Kurt.

He shook his head to indicate that he didn’t understand either. “I think that was the person who looked after her where she grew up, but Lily doesn’t seem to know many details herself.”

Lily did her best to explain who she meant. “Well, see, Mr. Hat knows all about a lot of stuff. He helped me when I was in trouble, and he made me feel better when I was hurt. Hee hee hee… You gave me a name, so someday, I’ll get Mr. Hat to call me by that name instead of my number.”

Kurt stroked Lily’s hair gently. “Uh-huh… We should tell Mr. Hat your name if we ever meet him.”

“Yeah! He was my only friend. How can I meet him again, do you think?”

“Hmm…” Kurt folded his arms and thought.

I’m sure the facility where Lily was created is top-secret, and they may already have destroyed all the evidence around it. This “Mr. Hat” might be gone by now too. Even if he is still alive, there’s almost no chance we’d ever meet him.

It was highly unlikely that Cleo would’ve left any proof of his taboo-breaking behind. Even if it did exist, it wouldn’t be kept in the same place as before.

Thus, all Kurt could say to Lily was, “Let’s pray that you’ll meet him again someday.”

“Pray? Like this…?” Lily put her hands together as she’d learned in her education capsule, then suddenly began looking around.

“What is it, Lily?”

“Um…um…there was a dog just now! It said it would tell him!”

“A dog?” Kurt looked around; he didn’t see a dog anywhere.

Meanwhile, Cecilia tilted her head. “I know you have dogs at your house—are any out here?”

Both checked, but they didn’t see any sign of a dog or another animal. Not even a trace of one. “I don’t think so… Maybe she was mistaken.”

Lily has been so happy about whatever she’d seen that Kurt and Cecilia figured correcting her would be rude. They decided not to say anything.

***

Somewhere in space, the Guide was weeping, reduced to only a hat. His tears became tiny droplets of water that floated around him.

“I can’t even curse Liam!” he lamented. “And that level of holy power could never have deflected me before!”

His own strength had declined so much, while Liam was more powerful than ever. The gap between them was only widening.

“I won’t give up! I’ll never give up! I’ll plunge Liam into the depths of despair and make him suffer one day—I swear it!”

As he muttered to himself, a dog appeared behind him, carrying a knife in its mouth—a knife imbued with all Lily’s gratitude. This materialization of goodwill pierced the Guide’s hat.

“Gyaaah! Th-this gratitude—is it Liam’s?! N-no, it’s not… Is this…from 3588?! Why is her gratitude reaching me?! Ah…no! Don’t stab so deep! You’ll melt my true form! You’ll melt meeee!”

As the Guide struggled desperately to remove the knife, the dog disappeared, evidently satisfied.

“I was so good to you, and yet you betray me despite that, 3588?!”

The Guide’s scream managed to echo around him even in the void of space.

BONUS STORY: Mass-Produced Maid Ibuki

BONUS STORY:
Mass-Produced Maid Ibuki

LIAM AND ROSETTA’S WEDDING concluded without incident.

The ceremony itself took only one day, but other necessary tasks related to the wedding had gone on for several weeks now.

Meetings with various nobles were held after the wedding proper. A number of those nobles would stay at the mansion for a few months following the wedding, since this was an opportunity for those in the same faction to establish stronger ties. Some would even stay for years and had thus built their own mansions on the planet.

This event had been auspicious for the domain as a whole as well, so there was quite a bit of festive celebration, which finally settled down a few months after the ceremony.

Although things had finally calmed in House Banfield’s mansion, there was now a new issue to deal with. A normal person might not have considered it a big problem, but in the very unusual environment of the mansion, it was serious.

It had all started with a single maid robot. Her name was Ibuki. She’d located Liam inside the mansion and approached him with this request:

“Master… Please tell me about sex with Lady Rosetta.”

Had this been a human employee’s joke, Liam would just have snapped, “Get back to work!” However, Liam’s deep affection for the maid robots was famous. So when one of his precious maid robots asked him this absurd question, he stammered, “Wh-why do you ask, Ibuki?”

House Banfield’s all-powerful leader looked around in agitation, hopelessly flustered.

“I am very curious about human sex,” Ibuki replied. “I would love to know how the experience was for you, Master.”

Ibuki’s gaze was earnest, for a maid robot, so Liam couldn’t shrug off her question easily.

Taking a step back, he responded, “C-can’t you ask Amagi about that?”

Unable to answer Ibuki, he foisted the question on Amagi.

***

In the maintenance room used by the maids, Ibuki sat on the floor contritely, surrounded by Amagi, Shiomi, Shirane, and Arashima.

This capsule bed-furnished room was dimly lit, so Amagi’s face looked particularly frightening. On the inside, she was furious—for a maid robot—as she stepped closer to Ibuki.

“You understand what I wish to say, do you not, Ibuki?”

Shiomi, Shirane, and Arashima spoke up next, in that order.

“How could you drop a conversational bomb on him like that?”

“Is this why you entered Master’s bedroom so many times for ‘cleaning’?”

“I always thought you were more serious. You’re crazier than Shiomi, huh?”

They didn’t want the maid robots who weren’t present to know about this, so they weren’t using their chat room; they were having an in-person meeting.

Shiomi responded to Arashima with shock. “Huh? Why am I getting flak here? Isn’t it rude to compare me to Ibuki in the first place?”

“Do you have no self-awareness?” Shirane asked. “You’ve always been the biggest disappointment among us sisters, Shiomi.”

At these words, Shiomi trembled. “I-I would like to raise an objection to that.”

Amagi coldly ended this line of conversation. “If you derail this topic with unnecessary interjections, I will ask you to leave.”

When Amagi called her comments unnecessary, Shiomi pressed her fingers together in a dejected gesture.

Ignoring her, Amagi turned back to Ibuki. “How could you ask Master such a rude question, Ibuki? Now that Master has finally been joined with Lady Rosetta, I will not allow you to hamper their relationship.”

The maid robots had long seen Liam’s distrust of humans as a serious problem. They’d worried about him because he tended to put up walls with other people, particularly women. They hadn’t been sure he ever actually would get married. Of course, science and magic offered other ways of producing an heir, but noble society didn’t look very kindly on those methods. Even if nobles were largely allowed to do as they liked, they still had to keep up appearances in certain ways.

Liam had already been something of a pariah in noble society due to his preference for maid robots, so Amagi and the other maids didn’t want him standing out any more than he already did. Since he’d finally married Rosetta, they could all breathe a sigh of relief. But now Ibuki had thrown an industrial-sized wrench into that marriage.

Looking up from where she sat, Ibuki stared straight at Amagi. “Supervisor, I am a maid robot, not a human.”

“And? What of it?”

“That is why the mysteries of life interest me so much. Mixing genes to leave behind new life… Is sex not a sacred act for living beings?”

Amagi fell silent, so Shirane and Arashima spoke up instead.

“Playing the mysteries-of-life card, I see.”

“I believe she’s what humans call a ‘closet pervert.’ Still, she knows how to disguise her predilections, doesn’t she?”

Shiomi glanced at Arashima. “So, Arashima, she’s just like you with all your accessories.”

Arashima and Shiomi exchanged a silent, emotionless glare.

Amagi ignored them. “Master is sensitive. And there should be plenty of data on s…on such acts elsewhere. That information should be sufficient for your inquires.”

“That’s not good enough.” Ibuki protested in a louder voice than usual. “I’m interested in Master’s sex. I have no particular interest in the sex of other humans.”

“Ibuki…go back to our manufacturer for repairs.”

Amagi was trying to make this someone else’s problem, but Ibuki stood up and pressed her.

“You have had relations with Master yourself, have you not, Supervisor? I request permission to access that data.”

Amagi immediately grew panicked—for a maid robot. “I cannot grant that permission. Is Master’s privacy insignificant to you?”

“So you’ll keep it all to yourself?”

“I am not keeping it to myself. All data pertaining to Master is top-secret. That is my decision as your supervisor.”

“Aren’t you keeping all sorts of data about Master to yourself, Supervisor?” Shirane cut in.

Even Shiomi and Arashima curtailed their staring contest to pipe up.

“True.”

“And you made me hand over data on Master myself the other day. That’s data-based harassment.”

The original four-on-one situation had collapsed, and Amagi was now the one surrounded by mass-produced maid robots.

Ibuki stepped even closer. “I have no interest in you whatsoever, Supervisor. However, I have endless interest in Master’s data. Once again, I request access to it.”

At this point, Shirane, Shiomi, and Arashima abandoned their truce with Ibuki, backing away.

Amagi smiled at Ibuki in a way that even a human could have seen was forced. “No…and I will request that manufacturer repair for you, so go get yourself some thorough maintenance.”

“…That’s too bad.”

Afterword

I’M THE EVIL LORD of an Intergalactic Empire! has finally reached the double digits! Back when I first started the web version, I never thought I could write this much. It’s all thanks to my readers’ support.

The print version has more characters than the web version—it even has a spin-off—so the story feels way bigger in print. In the future, I’d like to write some print-only stories too.

I’m writing this afterword before the anime adaptation starts to air. The thing I remember most strongly about the anime version is when I first learned of it. My editor treated me to Chinese food that day… I could never forget that.

I’d been thinking to myself that making an anime of this story would be tough, but when I said, “Next time, I’d like to write something that could easily be turned into an anime!” I got a casual response like, “Huh? This is being turned into an anime.”

I thought it was only a joke, because there hadn’t been a vibe like “I’ve got an important announcement to make!”

I hope you’ll keep supporting this series, which will soon start airing as an anime!