Vol. 6 Chapter 1 – Betrayal

The United Kingdoms of Oxis is on the move.

That piece of news was enough to cause a stir in the Capital planet.

Although skirmishes were commonplace in the borders, the scale of the battles became different when it came to full-on invasions.

It wasn’t a matter of tens of thousands anymore.

Instead, millions of battleships were bound to clash with one another.

This time, the United Kingdoms was serious in its endeavor.

“Three million ships?”

“Y-yes! The United Kingdoms has organized a large fleet centered around the troops of countries and aristocrats that have taken part in the civil war. Lord Liam, we’re in serious trouble!”

If both sides are serious, a war between intergalactic nations could last up to hundreds of years.

Inside my hotel room, I’m gracefully drinking a cup of coffee.

“That so.”

“T-that so!? Lord Liam, are you properly considering this matter?”

The person reporting is Thomas, who has connections with an evil lord of the United Kingdoms.

It seems as though the foreign evil lord is swift in his tasks; he has brought back information for me at a moment’s notice.

“But it’s not my business. The military should be doing something about it. Right now, my status is that of a government official’s.”

Thomas had barged in just as I was thinking of spending some quality time before heading out for work.

“Y-you’re not wrong, but the military won’t be able to handle this situation alone. It would soon be asking for the aristocrats’ assistance.”

“In that case, I’d simply decline. Not to mention that I’m currently going through training, as a soldier, I’m part of the reserve forces.”

A fleet consisting of three million strong would be invading the Empire—this is certainly alarming news, but let’s not forget that the Empire is a powerful intergalactic nation as well.

It could pump out twice the force if it so desired.

The problem is, when people have too much leeway, they tend to pull the legs of their allies.

For example, people like me would choose to watch on without participating.

As an evil lord, I will not put myself in a place of danger.

Even if the Empire emerges victorious, it would be after having faced an army of three million.

The Empire would’ve no doubt suffered some damage by then.

Is there any guarantee that the one to suffer damage won’t be me?

“We’ll provide assistance in the form of capital and supplies, nothing else.”

“That—might be for the best.”

Thomas regains his calm.

Did he expect me to participate in the war?

While taking a sip of coffee, a call arrives from Klaus, my competent underling.

“Lord Liam, as this is an urgent matter, please forgive me for calling abruptly.”

Klaus, who has contacted me without prior appointment, looks to be in a rush.

“What happened?”

If the call had been from either Tia or Marie, my disappointing subordinates, I would’ve ended the communication there and then.

It’s just that they get excited over my cold attitude as well, so it feels like my loss either way.

“A request has arrived from the Royal Palace asking us to join the war against the United Kingdoms.”

“Declined. I’m busy.”

“—And it’s been decided that His Highness Cleo would be the commanding general of the war.”

“What?!”

◇

In the United Kingdoms of Oxis, there was a nobleman with a connection to Liam known as Count Norden.

He was someone who had been receiving resources from Liam through Thomas.

This man had been bestowed a planet as his territory, but the king he was serving had joined the rebel army in the civil war.

Thanks to that, he was forced to participate in the upcoming war to redeem himself.

With his connection to Liam, a nobleman of the Empire, Count Norden had led an easy life up until then.

He wasn’t planning on working for the United Kingdoms.

At the same time—he wasn’t going to side with Liam, either.

Everything he did was for himself.

“Basically, all I have to do is to help you pull Liam onto the battlefield?”

A merchant hailing from the Empire nodded with an amicable smile.

“Recently, some aristocrats have been causing a disturbance in the Empire. Your country would be facing those people in the battle.”

“To think you’d have the United Kingdoms get rid of your rival faction. Aristocrats of the Empire are frightening indeed.”

“In return, we will keep you updated on the information about the fleet which His Highness Cleo would be leading.”

Count Norden was all smiles.

With this, he could build up his achievements.

In addition, the Empire wished to see its fleet defeated by the United Kingdoms.

Not only would the Empire’s fleet have to face their enemies, it would have to endure the harassment of its allies.

“But what a pity~ I’m indebted to Liam, so asking me to betray is a bit~”

The Empire’s merchant chuckled when he heard Count Norden demanding for more compensation in a roundabout manner.

“Of course, if you succeed, the Empire will reward you with whatever you want. This here is the advance payment.”

What he handed over was a list which promised Count Norden an astronomical sum of money and resources.

Count Norden could not help but laugh inwardly.

(Count Banfield, it looks to me that you have created far too many enemies within the Empire. Give up and relinquish your life for my benefit.)

◇

-Inner Palace-

In the building where Cleo resided, there was a huge fuss first thing in the morning.

“Lead a fleet numbering in the millions!? Cleo hasn’t received any military education!”

Lysithea, Cleo’s sister, was expressing her anger uncontrollably.

Despite being of royal descent, Lysithea’s goal was to be a knight, and she acted as the bodyguard of her pitiful younger sister who was turned into a younger brother.

Cleo, on the other hand, was calmly watching his sister’s fury unfold.

“Calm down, sister. I’ve been learning the basics through the education capsule.”

“Cleo, the education capsule is an excellent device, but all it does is infuse knowledge in your brain. It’s meaningless if you don’t know how to utilize said knowledge. If capsules are enough, what’s the point of receiving education at school?!”

“—Either way, Count Banfield would be the one that’s actually leading the fleet, not me.”

“You don’t understand. Count Banfield can at most lead a hundred thousand ships to battle. Double that number and you would need experienced commanders. The Banfield Family cannot do this alone.”

Liam was certainly an outstanding person.

However, this wasn’t something an individual could manage by himself.

Lysithea held her head.

“The Count is too green. To become an admiral who can lead millions, he needs both talent and experience. On top of that, he would need to have tens of thousands of subordinates who can heed his orders and act as his hands and legs.”

Tens of thousands—nay, hundreds of thousands of well-educated officers were required.

Regular soldiers would not do.

This war wasn’t something a single Count could prepare for.

“If we knew this would happen several years ago, we might have prepared in some way. Unfortunately, we don’t have much time, and wars aren’t something you can win with a disorganized army.”

Based on his sister’s speech, Cleo believed that it was the end of the road for him.

(Count, this will be as far as we can go.)

Considering the circumstances, either the Crown Prince or the Emperor himself should’ve stepped forth by now.

The right to the throne was likely to shift if one were to succeed.

Normally, Calvin should have taken charge, yet Calvin had nominated Cleo as the commander.

It was apparent that he expected Cleo to fail.

Lysithea had teary eyes.

“Things can’t be any worse. Since the Empire is in a crisis, the aristocrats supporting you would leave if you refuse to step up as the commanding general. On the flip side, if you do end up becoming the commanding general, we won’t have any chance of winning.”

Assuming that they won, the exhausted Cleo faction wouldn’t be a match against the Calvin faction.

“Elder brother Calvin is a difficult opponent.”

Lysithea fully agreed with Cleo’s opinion.

“As expected from the man who was able to keep his position as Crown Prince for so many years. He’s no joke.”

Reachable yet unreachable at the same time.

The Emperor’s throne felt very distant to Cleo.

◇

-At one of the Capital planet’s government buildings –

After graduating, I’m working at what modern Japan would call a government office.

Why?

It’s because I was removed from the Career Advancement Course.

Originally, I should’ve been sent to the palace where I could’ve worked leisurely.

Instead, I was sent to some rural region.

Despite the long distance, however, I’ve been driving myself to work on a daily basis.

Why?

That’s because the performance of my car is amazing.

Simply put, it has the functions of a small jet plane.

With this, I’ll be fine even if I’m sent to a rural place.

It’s just that my superior is as repulsive as a person can get.

“Liam-kuuun, you always drive here from the Capital, right? You’re rich, so why don’t you rent a room nearby?”

Did he say that he’s the thirtieth son of some great aristocrat?

Anyway, the only thing this trash has is his pride.

He always lazes around without working and comes to my desk to dump extra work on me.

“Oh, and organize these materials for me by tomorrow.”

A large number of files, or rather, electronic documents, get laid in front of me.

Taking a glance at the clock, I notice that I’m scheduled to leave in 30 minutes.

It’s impossible to finish until then.

It’s a classic form of bullying.

I push the documents he gave to the side, grab his head, and smash it against my desk.

“Who do you think you’re ordering, you piece of sh*t?”

“W-what are you doing against your superior!?”

“It’s really annoying when there’s someone as incompetent as you as my superior.”

Having said that, I shove down my superior’s head even harder.

I can hear some cracking sounds that shouldn’t be heard, but I can’t care less.

By the way, I have nothing against incompetent bosses.

As an evil lord, I consider myself an incompetent boss as well.

However, I won’t allow someone above me to be incompetent.

I know it’s hypocritical, but villains are like that.

“Why are you allocating work at this hour, huh? You’re supposed to be in charge of management, so allocating work is part of your responsibility. Do you seriously expect people to finish their work on time when you allocate them so late?”

“He-hegyo.”

He can’t speak properly in his current condition.

“This is your mistake. Take care of it yourself.”

When I release him, he trembles and shouts, “Y-you! You think you can get away with this—”

I don’t, and I’m not letting you go either.

I grab my incompetent superior’s head and squeeze it hard.

Creak. Creak.

The people around us are watching while shaking.

“—Do it. Alone. It was your mistake. Do I make myself clear?”

“Y-yesh!”

I grin when the incompetent replies.

“You told me to finish by tomorrow, yes? I’m sure you can do it then?”

From what I see, it isn’t something that can be alone.

My incompetent superior shakes like a leaf.

“I-it’s impossible.”

“And I’m telling you that you can!”

I send him rolling with a kick. He quivers violently.

“—By tomorrow. That’s what you told me, so you should be able to do it, am I right?”

Walking up to my incompetent superior, I glare at his face.

He turns pale as if he had lost blood.

I smile gently.

“You will finish it by tomorrow by yourself. —If you don’t, you know what will happen, correct?”

“Y-yes, sir!”

The clock chimes, indicating that it’s no longer working hours.

I decide to clean up and head home.

Overtime work?

Psh. That’s not something an evil lord would do.

Other people can do it.

As for me? Never.

“Good work, everyone. –You, make sure that the work is done by tomorrow.”

Although I’m being extremely rude towards my incompetent superior, it’s fine since I’m a Count.

The Empire will not question anything.

Why?

Because I’m a genuine aristocrat.

Needless to say, I’m not talking about having a noble heart or anything of that sort.

I’m speaking purely in terms of my social status.

Noblesse oblige, or the notion that privilege entails responsibility, is utter nonsense.

On a different note, that incompetent superior of mine is making me stressed.

Should I cleanse this workplace a bit?

◇

The next day, I am summoned to a room by my incompetent superior’s boss.

As a relative of the incompetent superior and a member of a powerful aristocratic family, he talks to me in a condescending tone.

“I’ve heard talks that you were uncontrollable during the years of your military service. However, this is a government office. I’d appreciate it if you can refrain from behaving like a barbaric soldier.”

Hiding behind his boss, my incompetent superior looks at me with triumphant eyes.

Me? I’m sitting on a sofa and reading some documents.

“— You think everyone will bow down before you? My parents’ family is a part of His Highness Calvin’s faction. Thus, I’m not scared of you!”

Aristocrats, myself included, are just a congregation of hopeless men.

Being at a position where one must do whatever they can to maintain their status, it’s no wonder that even good people end up becoming rotten.

There are many people out there, and some of them are quire clever.

Unfortunately, there are just as many incompetents like these two.

I respond to the boss while reading the documents on my hands.

“And? Are you done yet?”

“Drop the act. I know that you’ll be sent to the battlefield in the near future. You should rue the day you offended His Highness Calvin!”

—If there’s one thing I sympathize Calvin for, it’s that he has to take care of incompetents like these because of how large his faction is.

That’s why I decided to reduce the trouble in his stead.

“Yeah, and I’m still pissed about that. Right—look at these documents. These are the evidence of your corruption.”

At each and every corner of the room, I display the electric documents that I have collected.

For a moment, the boss and the incompetent reveal surprised faces, but they smile immediately afterwards.

“So what? Corruption of this degree—”

“—Is prevalent? That’s none of my concern. There are enough materials here to ruin you both, and you can be damn sure that I’ll do it to make myself feel good. The working environment here isn’t good. I’ll clean this place of you filths and modify the workplace according to my taste.”

When I snap my fingers, armed soldiers begin to enter the room one after another.

“Freeze! Hold your hands behind your heads and lie down on the floor!”

“Y-you!”

The soldiers blow the boss and incompetent away before detaining them.

The captain of the squad then salutes me.

“We greatly appreciate your report.”

“That was fast.”

I had personally investigated their corruption and reported it.

A long time ago, during the times when Amagi and I had to work hard, I developed the ability to root out corruption.

As a matter of fact, I excel at cleaning them up too.

“—I’m here with a message from the Chancellor: Thanks for the swift work.”

For some reason, a praise is returned when I praise the soldiers.

Finding this a little weird, I laugh.

“So you were under the orders of the Chancellor.”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

“The Chancellor has helped me on numerous occasions. I should give him my thanks.”

Later this day, I should deliver bribes—and by that I mean gifts—to these hard-working gentlemen.

I’m someone who’s considerate towards those that are of use to me.

Even so—I have been strangely unlucky as of late.

Not only have I been dispatched to some rural area, my superior turned out to be an incompetent, the workplace is littered with corruption, and I’m about to be dragged into a tiresome war.

Hassles have been coming my way without end.

Moreover, I managed to get myself entangled in a war between two intergalactic nations.

Honestly, it’s a bit too much for me.

What is going on?