Volume 4 Chapter 10 Liam’s Fleet

The days spent at my training assignment continued.

I let the AIs process most of my work, then double-checked the results before noon.

After that came lunch, which was then followed by a short break to relax.

In the afternoon, I finished my remaining work and prepared to leave on schedule so I could enjoy the rest of my day.

When soldiers came in to complain, I used my social standing as a shield, and sent bribes– no, seasonal greetings to their commanders in the regular fleets to get the results I wanted.

Tia told me, “If you send a large amount of replenishment supplies to the front lines, everyone will surely understand your greatness, Lord Liam.”

It was a truly delicious story, knowing I could easily sell favours using my people’s tax money.

I didn’t think it’d be good for my image if I only used their money though, so I made sure to use my personal funds a bit too.

Selling these favours to the commanders of the regular fleets will surely bring great returns someday.

If I wanted to build up a debt the Empire would owe me, wouldn’t it be better to start while I’m still in training?

In anycase, that’s how I leisurely spent those days of mine.

When suddenly, I was invited to lunch by Kurt.

He’s been training as an official after graduating from the university, and it looks like he’s been having a tough time.

Unlike myself, he was a rather serious person, so he didn’t really have many free days for us to meet up like this.

And that Kurt was currently talking to me about–

“My aide?”

It’s been a while since we last saw each other, but the suit wearing Kurt seems to have grown up a bit.

At first glance, he might look like a pretty boy– a respectable youth, but on the inside he was actually a serious villain.

“Yes, it’s a hot topic even on my side. There are many famous soldiers out their who want to become your adjutant, Liam. So many in fact, that the military is having trouble deciding who to assign to you.”

Apparently there was a multitude of soldier’s who wanted to become a future Duke’s aide.

“Anyone is fine, as long as they’re a beautiful woman.”

At that comment, Kurt laughed while saying, “You’re the same as usual, I see.”

Chowing down on a steak, Wallace sent Kurt a gaze,

“Putting Liam aside, as the heir of a Baron house, it looks like you’re quite popular with the girls yourself. There seem to be a lot of them applying to become your secretaries or subordinates.”

Now where’d he hear that? Wallace was apparently familiar with Kurt’s circumstances.

“Is that so?”

Hearing that, Kurt seemed to be embarrassed,

“Well, even if you say there’s a lot, I’m not the only one being aimed for. There are a plethora of people aiming to raise their status by becoming the secretaries or adjutants of heirs.”

Wallace was jealous,

“There are numerous cases where the secretary of military officers or government officials were headhunted after their initial assignment to work for their superiors. If someone is able to slide into one of those positions, they’ve practically made it.”

But no one seemed interested in working for a prince.

The idea of getting involved in the succession war between their family was nothing to laugh about.

As always, they were in a delicate position.

“For my aide– I hope I get an ethereal beauty.”

Wallace burst into laughter,

“Don’t worry, appearances are a required selection criteria for the adjutant and secretary positions. Though rumours say it’s all just a manner of preferences, I wonder who they’ll choose for you, Liam?”

In the end, I’ll be the one to choose from the list of candidates that remain, but the selection process that sifts them out until that point is quite strict.

I’ve heard that they do multiple things like background checks and such.

So who will remain?

◇ ◇ ◇

Attractive female officers were lined up in a large room.

In the place where various beauties dressed in military uniforms were gathered, Tia was walking in-between them after having been promoted for her achievements of consolidating and reorganising the patrol fleets into one that would match even a regular armada.

The status displayed on her badge was one of a colonel.

It was an unusual jump through the ranks, but that’s just how highly they evaluated her achievements.

“Ladies, Lord Liam has finally been officially assigned to the military.”

Tia’s skills in organising a large fleet was highly valued within the army, and although there have been offers of permanent positions for her, they’ve all been refused.

All the female officers collected by Tia were from the Banfield house’s territory.

“You’re all elites chosen directly from Lord Liam’s domain. From those of you here, one of you will surely be chosen to be his aide– no, one of you must become his aide.”

There were a multitude of soldiers who wanted to raise their reputation by becoming Liam’s adjutant.

However, Tia could never trust an outsider to serve by his side.

The reason being was that if he took a liking to said outsider, he’d surely take them with him once he resigned from the army.

This would surely strengthen his connection to the military, but it’d be troublesome if they prioritised the imperial army over Liam.

There was also the possibility of Liam laying his hands on them, and if that was the case, it’d be preferred if that person was an elite that hailed from his territory.

“All for this is for Lord Liam’s sake. Devote your bodies and souls to him!”

“Understood!”

When all of them responded and saluted in sync, Tia made a satisfied expression.

(All of them have the appearance and the ability to serve as his aide– there’s no one more suited than them. Lord Liam will surely be satisfied.)

◇ ◇ ◇

Meanwhile–

The upper echelon of the military were grasping at their heads.

“What are we going to do?!”

“…we need a connection with the Count– no, the future Duke.”

“But do we even have anyone suitable for a position as a liaison?”

After making great achievements in the logistics department, Liam had prepared a regular fleet consisting of the latest models of mobile knights and ships for his position in the military.

While he was a person who solved one of the army’s most troublesome problems, he was also a nobleman with an abundance of rare metals.

They really wanted a connection with him.

However, because Tia had shown absolutely no interest in a permanent military standing, they didn’t have any way to build one.

It was possible to create one through the assignment of an aide, but the majority of the candidates were residents of his territory.

One of the officers raised his head.

“…there’s one person I know of exceptional talent.”

“What of her appearance?”

“There’s no problems in that aspect either, and she’s even already acquainted with the Count.”

“Now who’s that exactly?”

The woman’s data was pulled up.

“Major Eulisia. She was originally assigned to a weapons factory, but after retraining she was transferred to the special forces. She’s also received espionage-related training.”

She had a variety of qualifications and a proven track record.

Although she was someone the army would be reluctant to let go of, a capable and beautiful person had a higher chance of getting Liam’s attention.

“What of the individual’s will? People with similar backgrounds have been known to cause problems. Has she consented to this assignment?”

Would she be okay with potentially becoming a noble’s lover or mistress? This was the problem.

Some people were willing to go that far, but many were adverse to it.

“No problems there either. She seemed willing when I brought it up.”

“Still, she sure has a great track record. I’d rather keep such people as our subordinates.”

Eulisia was highly rated among them.

“If it’s not the major, then it’d be better to just give up. Send her documents to the Count immediately.”

–the power of the guide worked, slipping Eulisia in as one of Liam’s adjutant candidates.

◇ ◇ ◇

I was looking through documents that resembled matchmaking photos during work.

The surroundings seemed to be concerned about what I was doing, but no one dared to complain.

Picking one of them up and examining the paper’s contents, Wallace cried out in surprise,

“What a beauty! Haa~ can’t she become my aide?”

As a member of the royal family, he’ll be promoted to a lieutenant after our training is finished.

However, there were no plans for him to receive an adjutant.

That was because his position didn’t require one.

“Do you need another session with the drill sergeant?”

“That’s a good joke Liam… that was a joke, right?”

Leave the drill sergeant as this guy’s educator– that might be a good idea.

However, I wasn’t too fond of driving in the military’s values into him.

Since our conscription in the military was only temporary, it wasn’t something he really needed.

While Wallace was sifting through the various papers, he stopped at one.

“Oh, this person’s track record is amazing. She’s formerly from the special forces.”

“What?”

When I checked the contents of her document, what was there was a picture of Eulisia.

Looking at her career, after leaving the Third Weapons Factory, she went through retraining at a military re-education facility, where she was then transferred to the special forces.

After that, she studied espionage and information technologies at another facility.

She was like a female spy.

“Now why would someone like her join the special forces?”

When I pondered that out loud, Wallace raised his head.

“She’s your acquaintance?”

“I was her charge while she was still a saleslady at one of the weapon factories.”

“Man, you have it good~ Even if you don’t do anything, beautiful girls seem to naturally flock to you.”

Seeing Wallace’s balant envy made me happy.

Then I turned back to the pile of documents.

–if I really looked through all of these, I probably wouldn’t be able to go home on time.

After all, no matter who I looked at, none of the girls so far really interested me.

Haa… I miss Amagi.

Should I try bringing her over to the imperial capital?

But right now I’ve entrusted her with work in my territory, and right now the Berkleys and other nuisances are wandering around me, so I’m worried about what dangers I might be putting her in.

…I’m seriously tired of fighting with the Berkleys.

I wish I could just finish this all already.

“Should I just go with Eulisia then? I’m already acquainted with her, and she seems pretty competent, right?”

“Is it really okay to decide that easily?”

“Hah! I can gather as many beautiful girls as I want whenever! So is there really any need to be so hung up over who I’ll have as my adjutant?”

Since it really matter who I chose, I decided to go with Eulisia.

She was a bit disappointing, but she was still ok.

◇ ◇ ◇

The day after I decided my adjutant.

Eulisia visited my training site.

“It’s nice to see you again, Lord Liam.”

Eulisia, who saluted to me with a smile, seemed to have a somewhat more toned body than before.

Yet both her chest and butt still had the right amount of fat– her style seems to have improved.

Almost as if she had chosen specifically what she wanted to train, her more supple parts seemed to be more emphasised in comparison.

Seeing Eulisia approach while I was still working, I stopped processing my electronic documents.

“…wasn’t there still half a year before you were officially assigned to me?”

“I’ve already gotten permission from my superiors. I heard that your workload increased since you’re going to be transferred soon, so I’m here to help.”

Isn’t she a lot sharper now?

It’s almost as if she’s a different person.

◇ ◇ ◇

Now standing directly in front of Liam, Eulisia was holding back the dark feelings welling up inside her.

(Finally… I can finally have my revenge against you, Liam.)

Eulisia had only approached Liam so that she could have revenge for when he crushed her pride.

Filled only with thoughts of ensnaring him in a honey trap, she had polished herself for decades.

“Lord Liam, for now lets–”

Her first step of revenge would begin here.

That’s what she thought, but then a person burst into Liam’s workplace crying.

It was Nias, the technology captain of the Seventh Weapons Factory, a place filled with various problems.

At first glance, she was an intelligent woman with black hair and glasses, but she was actually a person with many unfortunate sides to her.

“Lord Liam~!”

After wildly flying through the door, Nias broke down into tears.

(Y-you?!)

Eulisia was another of Nias’ acquaintances, but she didn’t even greet her.

Liam had an exasperated expression on his face.

“…what is it?”

(Urgh! You’re an annoyance, so go away already! You’re lucky he’s being so lenient!)

Liam was basically sweet to his acquaintances.

Although he was pretty severe, he was still one of the more benevolent noblemen.

While Eulisia knew that, she was still annoyed that Nias disturbed her plans.

“Please listen to this! Lord Liam, I was building a new prototype of ship using the rare metals you prepared for me! But then everyone kept butting in and getting in my–”

“You’ve told me this already.”

Although Nias wanted to experiment with various things, it seems the higher-ups of the Seventh Weapons Factory had collectively decided to work on other projects.

As a result– Nias was unable to work on the things she desired.

Eulisia was smiling in her heart.

(That’s nice. Now if you’re done venting, hurry up and go home already.)

She wanted to get rid of Liam early, and Nias was in her way.

However–

“–I want additional rare metals and funds.”

“Huh?!”

At her impudent request, Eulisia couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.

If one wanted to develop a new generation of battleships, they needed an immense budget.

They also needed a large amount of rare metals.

It was unreasonable to ask Liam for such things.

However, he was surprisingly interested.

“You were developing a new battleship?”

“I’ll make sure to prepare a special battleship for you, Lord Liam! But the development costs for such things aren’t cheap, so that’s why I need more funds and rare metals!”

However, Liam didn’t seem willing to make a budget for a proposal like that so he refused, which in turn led Nias to drop to the floor crying, turning up her skirt slightly.

She didn’t seem to do it intentionally.

After all, the shorts she was wearing underneath were of the functional variety.

But Liam’s eyes went wide at the sight.

(T-this isn’t good!)

With Liam always on her mind, Eulisia had also tried her best to study his hobbies and preferences. So she knew.

Liam preferred sporty underwear over the flashier kind.

Noticing his line of sight, Nias rushed to return her skirt to its original position.

Embarrassed, Nias hurriedly began to make excuses.

“P-please excuse me. D-don’t get me wrong, I’ve been really busy recently, so I was only wearing this because it was all I had on hand at the time. I usually wear better underwear than this!”

Despite thinking that it was such an obvious lie, Eulisia didn’t miss Liam’s joy.

“I-is that so? Yes, I see. Now then, we were talking about the budget, right? I’ll prepare you the money using my personal funds.”

Eulisia covered her face with both her hands.

(Stupid! Why do you have to be so easy now of all times?!)

Nias immediately went on to make additional demands.

“Please give me rare metals as well! Also, I’d like it if you bought some battleships too. Aren’t you being a bit mean? Lord Liam, you’re preparing a whole new fleet, but you didn’t even commision a single ship from us. It truly was mean of you to jointly hire the third and sixth factories to produce the vessels needed while ignoring us.”“Oh, is that so? I didn’t know because I left that job to Tia.”

Liam didn’t seem interested in those details.

As a former employee at the Third Weapons Factory, even Eulisia had heard about the joint development.

(…joint development of the next generation of ships. I’ve even heard rumours that the Ninth Weapons Factory is on the move.)

Each of the weapon factories were hurriedly preparing new fleets.

Meanwhile, the Seventh Weapons Factory was completely disregarded by Tia.

“…it’s because you people completely disregard appearances during development.”

Nias removed her glasses and wiped her tears.

“We did our best! However, that lady refused us and said, ‘They’re not suitable for Lord Liam’, and we even had eight hundred ships ready in storage for that sale! If you don’t buy them, we’re screwed!”

Eulisia fell into thought,

(Their focus on performance and developing technology is still the same as ever. They shouldn’t be making eight hundred ships without an initial commision in the first place.)

Even Liam seemed to be surprised– and then he seemed to realise something.

“I understand. I’ll buy those eight hundred ships of yours.”

“Really?!”

But to Nias’ happy reaction, Liam tacked on a condition,

“I’ll make more commissions for you. The other weapon factories are likely to be busy, but you guys seem to be free. Also– do you have any ships or weapons that are designated to be discarded? Turn them over to me instead.”

Eulisia had no idea what Liam was thinking about.