Chapter 6:
Empire Merchants
MY LUXURIOUS LOUNGE on one of the hotel's upper levels had a
nice, quiet feel. Sure, I liked more showy places too, but this was actually
the sort of environment I preferred living in. It had been the right choice
letting Thomas arrange my living quarters on the Capital Planet. The
amount of money that had been sunk into renovating this place was fitting
for an evil lord like me.
Satisfied with my base of operations, I sat on a couch with the two
people Thomas had arranged for me to meet sitting across from me.
One had been introduced as Elliot, the young president of the Clave
Firm. He was a blond man with his hair parted to the side and he wore a
suit. In appearance, he resembled someone in his early twenties, and his
actual age was fairly young for this world. He wore a good-natured smile
on his face.
"Thank you so much for meeting with us today," he said.
Next to him was a board member of the Newlands Company, named
Patrice. She was a beautiful woman with red hair and green eyes, wearing
a suit that showed off her ample bosom. Was this an attempt to seduce me?
There was no doubt in my mind that many men would be easily swayed by
the sight.
The alluring woman tried to butter me up. "We're so pleased we
could meet with a future duke like you, Lord Liam. You're well known,
even here on the Capital Planet."
Despite her flattery, I didn't particularly like this type of woman.
She reminded me too much of my wife in my previous life. Flashy women
like her just didn't agree with me.
I glanced at Thomas, who looked humbled sitting beside the two
powerful merchants.
"Lord Liam, your guests wanted to meet with you in the hope of
becoming personal merchants to House Banfield."
These two big names on the Capital Planet came all this way to see
me, just to ask if they could join my team of personal merchants. Each of
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them had bigger companies than Thomas's firm, so they would both
probably come in handy.
"My personal merchants, eh?"
"Yes," Elliot said, smiling. "We would love to be of use to you,
Lord Liam. The Clave Firm personally serves the Imperial house. Our
company has a long history, with many great accomplishments to our
name. I'm sure we would be very useful to you."
Next to him, Patrice thrust out her chest, not about to be
overshadowed. "True, the Clave Firm stands out among the merchants
here on the Capital Planet, but the Newlands Company does business
throughout the Empire. We support many other ruling lords, so we could
surely support you as well, Lord Liam."
I liked people who flattered me, but you knew there was always a
catch. I never trusted anyone who claimed they "just wanted to help me."
Pure goodwill? That had no meaning when it came to the almighty dollar.
"Thomas is already my personal merchant. Do you understand that
his company is important to me?"
Thomas was clearly flustered when I named him. Come on, if you're
an evil merchant, be a little more confident, Thomas!
"Of course we do," Elliot said, gesturing with animation. "We
would never try to drive the Henfrey Company out of business. We only
encourage you to make use of the Clave Firm's services as well."
Patrice expressed the same stance. "The Newlands Company
doesn't wish for exclusivity either. We would be happy if you continued to
patronize the Henfrey Company as well."
The two of them smiled as they discussed their plans with me. Both
Elliot and Patrice came armed with financial incentives as well.
Elliot went on, "The Clave Firm wishes to donate some funds to
House Banfield as a sign of good faith. We're happy to provide you with
anything you might need here on the Capital Planet during your training,
free of charge."
Patrice cut in, "If you make use of the Newlands Company, we'll
provide House Banfield with any resources you desire at very reasonable
prices, and you can expect plenty of yearly freebies in addition to that."
They both seemed to think very highly of House Banfield, but how
was I supposed to trust anyone who said they'd give me something for
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free?
"Sounds great. So, what's the bottom line... What are you two
after?"
The smiles of both Elliot and Patrice became strained.
"What are we after?" Elliot replied. "Well, we're merchants, of
course. Naturally, we're in it to make a profit. We expect House Banfield
to be big customers."
Patrice answered, "We've seen your meteoric rise, and we expect
much more from you as time goes on. We believe having a good
relationship with you could benefit us greatly in the future."
I'd seen this type of pasted-on smile before. It was the smile of my
ex-wife. I still couldn't forget the face of the woman who had deceived me
so terribly.
I narrowed my eyes and spoke coldly. "Wipe those fake smiles off
your faces."
Elliot's face went blank immediately. "The rumor was that you were
a warm and wise ruler, but I guess there are things you can't know until
you meet face-to-face."
Patrice was still smiling, but it conveyed a different kind of vibe. It
was almost predatory, as though she were sizing me up. "So, these are
your true colors? Well, I have to say, I like it."
See? I knew there was a catch.
"So, again... What is it that you two really want of me?"
With the air of phony goodwill dispelled, Thomas explained things
plainly.
"Lord Liam, what the two of them desire is House Banfield's
military power."
"That I can understand. Though, it seems a bit strange for such
accomplished merchants to want to rely on me in particular. I'm sure you
have plenty of other options."
Plenty of minor merchants dreamed of an alliance with House
Banfield, but these two firms already had a lot of other nobles to rely on. If
they didn't, they wouldn't be such big names. The Clave Firm served the
Imperial house directly, meaning they could rely on the Imperial Army
itself to back them. House Banfield's name should be meaningless to
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them.
Elliot laced his hands together in front of his face, drawing in a deep
breath before explaining his circumstances. "A few years ago, when I had
just become head of the family business, I had some clashes with the other
higher-ups. Right now, our ties to a certain noble family are tighter than I
like, and that's why I'm trying to be careful. I'd like to cut those ties, but
the other board members don't agree with me."
I could imagine how hard it would be for a company to sever a
relationship with a powerful noble, if the noble didn't want that...and
especially so if there was resistance from the other leaders of the company.
"It's highly frustrating when people think you'll be easy to
manipulate just because you're inexperienced. The truth is that my father
also wished to cut ties with these nobles, but they found out about that—
and they assassinated him. So as you can see, I'm in a dangerous position
right now myself."
What a story. I guess even successful companies have their serious
issues.
"Why don't you go crying to the Empire for help?"
"What the Empire requires is the Clave Firm, not me personally. In
a sense, I'm expendable. The other thing is that a lot of the people who
work for my father's killers are also connected to the Empire."
So, rather than continue to be at the mercy of his board members,
Elliot had decided to seek out a noble who would back him up personally.
I glanced at Patrice, who then told me her own circumstances. She
was just ambitious.
"Unlike Mr. Elliot here with his sob story, I just want the Newlands
Company for myself."
Now that the masks of propriety were gone, Elliot put on a sour face
at her words. I was interested in hearing what she had to say.
"Go on."
"A bunch of my relatives are on the board of the Newlands
Company, and succession is always a fairly messy affair." Patrice crossed
her arms under her large breasts to push them up more. "I want you to pull
some strings and make me the next company president. There would be a
handsome reward in it for you, of course."
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Thomas explained the pros and cons of joining forces with the two
of them. "House Banfield would undoubtedly make great progress with
their assistance, Lord Liam, but in either case it would also mean taking on
some trouble."
"I can imagine that'd be true."
It was precisely because of how powerful these merchant companies
were that these two would need an outsider's backing to go up against
them. It was easy enough to understand: they both desired my ability to
use violent force.
My guests waited for my answer.
"Sounds fine to me. I'll help you two out."
Elliot and Patrice both looked wary. My swift answer likely made
them suspicious.
"You understand what it is you're promising, right?" Elliot
cautioned me.
"Of course I do."
These two must have been pretty villainous themselves if they
wanted to partner with a guy like me. No doubt they had heard all about
my evil deeds from Thomas. The noble Elliot wanted to "cut ties with"
must have been one of those upright types who tried to impose morality on
moneymaking efforts. I hated sanctimonious nobles, so I didn't mind
helping the guy out.
Less wary now, Patrice smiled at me, but it wasn't an expression I
would call beautiful. Indeed, it was more like the hungry grin of a villain.
It was oddly scary seeing a stunning woman smile in that way. She seemed
excited at the prospect of taking on her competitors.
"So, then, you'll help me too? You'll support my climb to the
position of president over all my other relatives?"
Patrice seemed quite excited at the prospect of her little family
quarrel.
"Do what you want. Either way, I'll support the two of you, but I
will say this first. Your end of the bargain is to make me profit. I want you
to profit by our association as well. The best sort of deal is when we both
get something from it, right?"
Loyalty? Duty? Gratitude? I couldn't believe in ideals like those.
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The relationship I proposed was much more honest.
Patrice put a hand to her mouth and her cheeks flushed red. "You're
not at all like I imagined you, Lord Liam. I mean that in a good way, of
course. I thought you would value honor over profit."
Honor? Me? I'm an evil lord. Does she think I'm one of those bad
guys with a heart of gold in a mobster movie or something? I might have
liked those kinds of characters back in the day, but I didn't care for them
now.
"What, would you guys rather have honor over profit? You can't run
a business like that, can you? Isn't that right, Thomas?"
Thomas fidgeted nervously at my question. "I-I'm not sure what to
say to that..."
"If you want to be my personal evil merchant, Thomas, you've got
to get ahold of yourself, man. In any case, if you guys make me money,
I'll help you out all you want. A nice, simple deal, right?"
Elliot smiled, but it wasn't the smile of the good-natured young man
he'd come across as at the start. "Of course. It's much easier to trust the
terms of a simple contract than abstract concepts like duty and obligation."
Patrice's cheeks were still flushed with excitement. "Let's draw up
that agreement then, shall we? One between you and me, Lord Liam."
Sounds good. I like them much better now than when they were
pretending to be benevolent. I've become a lot more like an evil lord
myself, haven't I?
***
After signing contracts with Liam, Elliot and Patrice were alone
together in an elevator, returning to the ground floor. The walls of the
elevator were glass, so they could look out over the night view of the
Capital Planet.
Elliot loosened his necktie and said to Patrice, "He was easier to talk
to than I was expecting."
Patrice crossed her arms, putting her back to the wall instead of him,
as if she hadn't let her guard down yet. "Don't act like we're friends,
Elliot. We're still on different sides here."
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"Oh? I think it would benefit both of us if we worked together."
"What benefit would there be in joining forces with a powerless
president?"
"That's rich, coming from a mere board member like yourself."
"At least I'm not some little boy who came crying to House
Banfield because he's so scared of House Berkeley."
The nobles Elliot feared were indeed House Berkeley. The board
members of the Clave Firm supported House Berkeley, because the way
they saw it, a paying customer was a paying customer even if they
happened to be a pirate noble. But things weren't necessarily that simple.
Elliot's fear was that if the pirates gained too much of a hold over the
company, it would ultimately suffer or even fall under their control
completely. Elliot didn't want to see that happen, so he'd decided to work
with Liam since he was already in direct conflict with House Berkeley. He
was a little worried when he heard how upright a person Liam was, but the
boy turned out to be a lot more interesting than he was expecting.
"I thought you were in the same situation as me," Elliot said. "I hear
a lot of your board members are close to House Berkeley as well. The
principles you hold aren't exactly in fashion these days."
Elliot knew that Patrice was a much more honorable person than she
presented herself to be.
Patrice averted her gaze and feigned innocence. "I don't know what
you're talking about."
"I know the Newlands Company has been close to House Berkeley
for a long time. You want to change that, don't you?"
House Berkeley was a problem for the Newlands Company, as well.
The bullying pirate nobles were hard to ignore, so the current president
chose to coexist with them. The Newlands Company supported House
Berkeley in order to avoid pirate attacks, but that arrangement just didn't
sit right with Patrice.
"I can't just go along with the rest of them," Patrice said. "There's
no point in just going with the flow. If they want to bet on House
Berkeley, I'll just bet on House Banfield and hope for House Banfield to
prevail."
Elliot smiled when Patrice said she was only using Liam to leverage
for control of her company. "You sure that's the only reason you want to
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work with the count?" he asked suggestively.
"Of course that's the only reason! Anyway, like you said, it was
easier to talk to the head of House Banfield than I was expecting."
"We can't exactly let our guards down yet, though."
Patrice had planned on trying to win Liam over by appealing to the
virtuous nature she had heard people speak of, but she smiled thinking
about what a surprising personality he turned out to be.
"I think it'll be more fun working with him than I was expecting. I
like that he's not just a goody two-shoes."
Most nobles prioritized their own profits, but Liam didn't trust that
sort of relationship.
"We just need to do what we can so he's victorious against House
Berkeley," Elliot said.
Patrice nodded. "Of course. I'll be in trouble if he isn't."
***
Once Liam started training at the Capital Planet, a lot of soldiers
soon found their fortunes taking a turn for the worse. These disgruntled
people turned out to be the delinquent soldiers living wastefully
extravagant lives.
"Dammit! That cocky brat!" one of these men complained to
another.
The soldiers who'd been enjoying a cushy life until now, including
nobles assigned to patrol fleets, were furious with Liam. These individuals
had been committing embezzlement, paying bribes, and doing all sorts of
other unsavory things.
"You said it," said another of these disgruntled soldiers. "The booze
they ration out to us is cheap as hell, and now there's no budget for
entertainment? What is this?!"
"What's the point of these logistics people if they can't provide the
creature comforts we need?"
"Plus, our fleets! My fleet was just ordered to downsize!"
They were all in agreement: these changes were the fault of Liam of
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House Banfield. None of these soldiers would dare defy him to his face,
but it was common for them to gather and badmouth him to voice their
frustrations.
"Somebody needs to educate that brat!"
"Yeah, you do it, though. I'm not doin' it."
"He's too strong to go up against. What an annoying kid."
"He doesn't even take bribes! I tried to find some weakness or
vulnerability to take advantage of, but there's jack."
They were all trying to solve their Liam problem somehow, but no
one was having any luck. Meanwhile, watching over these grumbling
delinquent soldiers was the Guide. He sat in a seemingly empty chair
nearby, bouncing his legs and clapping joyfully.
"It's so nice that Liam's steadily making enemies. I'm sure I can
find a use for these resentful people too!"
The Guide snapped his fingers, and black smoke began to emanate
from his body. It filled the room, and the men didn't even notice as they
breathed it in. Then, one of them seemed to suddenly come upon an idea.
"Wasn't there a rumor that House Berkeley was going to settle
things once and for all with House Banfield?"
All the other gathered soldiers were very interested in the man's
story.
"Is that true?"
"I've heard they're recruiting soldiers. What do you think? We
should join forces with House Berkeley to get the army back to the way it
was before. If we join now, we could probably get tons of rewards from
House Berkeley."
The delinquent soldiers exchanged ugly grins. The Guide was
positively gleeful, having recruited even more enemies of Liam.
"This still isn't enough... I can't stop here if I'm going to take Liam
down."
The Guide had been careless in the past, but he wouldn't
underestimate Liam again. He stood, adjusted his hat, and left the room.
Of course, he didn't notice that a small light followed behind him as
he left. The light took on the shape of a dog, and it had been watching him
the whole time from the corner of the room.
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***
For the first time in quite a while, I was spending one of my days off
with Kurt. Normally, I would have invited along Wallace and Eila, and
probably Rosetta too, but they all happened to be busy, so it was just me
and Kurt.
We sat across from each other at a round table on a café terrace,
discussing our recent lives.
"How have you been, Liam? Is your work going well?"
"Well enough that I'm so bored, I'm yawning all the time."
I usually spent my days lazily at my training assignment. I left most
of the work to the AI to handle, and I was already finished checking
everything over before noon. I then had a leisurely lunch and relaxed for
the rest of my break. After that, I wrapped up my work, prepared to go
home on time, and took it easy until the shift was over. If anyone
complained to me, I used my position to chase them off, and here and there
I threw some regular army commanders a bribe—I mean, a seasonal
greeting. That is to say, Tia had told me that if I sent ample supplies to the
front lines, everyone would "understand how wonderful I am." I figured it
couldn't hurt.
For various reasons, a lot of supplies hadn't been finding their way
to the front lines up until now. Part of it was that there wasn't enough
budget to meet and ship the requests, but the other reason was that the
deliveries would get diverted before reaching their proper destination.
Another logistics operation was channeling the supplies where they
shouldn't be going, so I ratted them out as soon as I was aware of it. I had
that brigadier general of the military police who unjustly took me in for
questioning make it up to me by investigating this other logistics group.
Now, goods were getting to the front lines where they were meant to be
going.
Our budgets had recovered significantly after we stopped sending so
many unnecessary supplies to patrol fleets, and as a result, all the regular
Imperial Army fleets that protected the Empire's borders owed me one. I
was just doing the job that was expected of me, and to my personal benefit,
I racked up a bunch of people who were now indebted to me. It was a
pretty nice deal. I was sure there'd be some favor or another I could ask of
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a commander of the regular army one of these days.
I asked Kurt how he'd been doing.
"So, what about you? You graduated from the university and now
you're fulfilling your training as an official, huh?"
Kurt looked up from his lunch, a troubled look on his face.
"Actually, there's a bit of a problem right now. My work is going fine,
but... I have a lot of female suitors, you see..."
Since graduating from primary school, Kurt had grown in pretty
much all the ideal ways. He shot up from a pretty boy to a handsome man.
He told me that there were more and more women gunning for him at
work by the day, and he was having an awkward time of it.
"I'm jealous!"
"It's not all fun and games, you know. What, you don't have any
stories like that, Liam?"
"Nope. There are more men than women where I work, and when I
go out, I've only got Wallace and Eila with me. Well, sometimes Rosetta
shows up too."
Now that I was talking about my situation, I felt rather pathetic. An
evil lord like me should have women waiting on him hand and foot. Why
were there so few women around me? I mean, Eila was definitely pretty,
but she was just a friend of mine. Tia was busy right now, and Marie was
doing her training somewhere else... Not that I looked at those two knights
that way anyway... They had impressive skills, but they just didn't do it
for me as potential lovers.
I sighed, and Kurt looked pleased for some reason.
"Oh yeah?" he said.
"What are you grinning about?"
"N-nothing. I'm not happy about it, or anything. U-umm... Oh,
that's right! You'll be receiving your official posting soon, eh? Who's
your adjutant going to be?"
"Adjutant?"
Kurt had thrown me off by changing the subject so quickly, but it
was a less embarrassing topic than before, so I started to think about his
question. Most big nobles like me ended up being field officers when they
were appointed to their official posts. In that case, the army provided them
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with an adjutant.
"I hadn't really thought about it."
Truth be told, I was fine with pretty much anyone. If the army was
sending them, it was bound to be someone talented and good-looking. No
matter who they provided, it would probably be someone decent.
Kurt seemed especially curious about who it would be. "I heard it's
a real topic of discussion in the military right now. Apparently, a lot of
people are already volunteering, so the army's having trouble making a
choice."
Who could blame them for wanting to be an adjutant to the future
duke?
"I'm fine with anyone, as long as it's a beautiful woman."
When I said that, Kurt cautioned me.
"You should be careful. Someone like that is going to want a
personal relationship with you. Some of these candidates would probably
be a real headache. My father told me to watch out, too. Like I said, even
where I'm working now there are all these women who want to be my
mistress."
Kurt then sighed tiredly, evidently put off by my attitude.
"But, well, aren't you popular," I said.
"It's not just me. Lots of people are out there trying to become some
noble heir's adjutant or personal secretary."
"Oh yeah?"
"Adjutants in the military and secretaries for officials. They know if
they make a good impression in that position, their boss is likely to take
them along when they leave. Everybody wants to be the mistress of a
noble. That's the good life, they say."
It was like marrying up without the marriage part, I supposed.
Regular people had to work hard to gain the sort of position nobles
enjoyed at birth. I listened to Kurt with interest, then got an idea.
"I'll request an absolute beauty for my adjutant, then. It's not like I
hate women sucking up to me, after all. I'll get some good use out of her."
Kurt smiled uncomfortably at my wording. "You haven't changed,
Liam. If you request an 'absolute beauty,' though, I'm sure you're bound
to get one. Appearance does come into play in these decisions, after all."
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"I'm looking forward to it," I said, returning to my meal.
Kurt seemed like he wanted to say something more, but in the end,
he just switched the topic of conversation to something else.
***
Lined up in an expansive room were a great many female military
officers, all of them beautiful. It was as though someone had gathered up a
bunch of models and dressed them up in army uniforms.
Tia strode through the room boldly, her military insignia designating
her as a colonel. All the hard work she'd done reorganizing the patrol
fleets hadn't gone unappreciated, and she'd risen high in rank because of
it.
At first, Tia had only been tasked with preparing a patrol fleet for
Liam to command, but the scope of this new fleet ended up dwarfing even
some regular army fleets. She inadvertently created a fleet that anyone
could tell was extraordinarily powerful. Originally, she was just supposed
to reorganize some of the Empire's superfluous patrol fleets and create a
place where Liam could comfortably finish his military service. However,
Liam had given her a little too much pocket money and the overzealous
Tia had put together a patrol fleet of thirty thousand ships, making it rival
some regular army fleets. In the end, she had gotten rid of several
unnecessary patrol fleets and put together one two times the size of a
regular army fleet. It was clear that Tia was extremely talented.
And right now, the new colonel was addressing the gathered female
officers, gesturing as she did so.
"It's finally time for Lord Liam to take his official assignment."
The gathered officers were all women who had graduated from the
military academy and were now serving officially in the army. They were
all from House Banfield's domain, as well.
"You are elites, hand-picked from Lord Liam's domain. Therefore,
Lord Liam will choose his adjutant from among your ranks. No...he must
choose one of you!"
When Liam stepped into his official post, the army would assign
him an adjutant. Many people in the military were already vying for the
position, but Tia wouldn't accept an outsider at Liam's side. She knew that
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if Liam liked his adjutant, he would take her with him when he left the
military. Naturally, an outsider would support Liam in most matters, but if
at any time she prioritized the Imperial Army over Liam, there would be a
problem. Tia's conclusion was that she would simply gather potential
adjutants from House Banfield's domain. There was also the possibility
that Liam would take an amorous interest in the one in this position, in
which case Tia wanted only a very accomplished soldier to get that close
to him. In any case, she didn't want an outsider in that position.
"Whoever is selected, you will devote yourself fully to Lord Liam.
You must offer up your body and soul to him!"
"Yes, ma'am!" the women all answered in unison, giving a sharp
salute. Tia was satisfied with their response.
No one could be a more talented candidate than these women, and
still look so good. Any one of them would surely satisfy Lord Liam. The
question remains whether or not he will, in fact, choose one of them...
Tia had worked diligently to assemble this offering of beautiful
candidates, but she still wasn't sure if Liam would ultimately make his
selection from among them. She could explain to him her reasoning for
only choosing from within House Banfield's domain, but she knew Liam
disliked unfairness, and it wasn't her place to be insistent. She didn't want
to bother him by being too pushy.
These women are elites among the elite. Surely Lord Liam will be
satisfied with this group!
***
The top military brass were all at their wits' end.
"What do we do?"
"We need someone who can act as a go-between for us and the
count... That is, the future duke."
"That's why I'm asking if we have someone who can do that."
While Liam had been making a name for himself in the logistics
department, his head knight had been putting together a cutting-edge
military fleet. By shifting resources from the patrol fleets into the regular
fleets, Liam had solved one of the military's annoying problems. On top of
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that, he was in possession of a huge stock of rare metals. The top brass
desired a close connection with him no matter what, and helping Liam
choose an adjutant seemed to be the perfect opportunity...but his people
kept thwarting anyone from getting too close to him in that regard. House
Banfield had already prepared a collection of elites for his selection, so the
military was struggling to find candidates that rivaled these in ability,
appearance, and personality.
One of the gathered officers looked up. "Maybe she could do it..."
"Her looks?"
"There's no problem there, plus she's already acquainted with the
count."
"Who are you talking about, now?"
The woman's data was displayed for all present.
"Major Eulisia Morisille. She was originally with a weapons
factory, but she recently completed retraining and joined a special forces
unit."
Eulisia was certainly qualified and she had a number of other
achievements to her name as well. The military didn't want to let her go,
but with her talent and looks, they decided she had the best chance of
satisfying Liam's requirements.
"Where does she stand on the matter? This will change the course
she's on... Would she accept this?"
There was the possibility that whoever was chosen would end up as
a noble's mistress or concubine. Some would readily volunteer for such a
future, but plenty of women would reject the idea too. If the major was one
of the latter, they would have to give up on her. The top brass would rather
not gamble on forcing her into the position if that made it likely she would
fail at it.
"Don't worry about that—she volunteered. Still, it would be hard to
let her go..."
"These are some incredible accomplishments I'm seeing here. I
wouldn't mind having her work for me."
The top brass thought very highly of Eulisia.
"Well, if this doesn't work out, I'll at least be satisfied that we tried
our best."
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Thus, with some help from the Guide's manipulations from the
shadows, Eulisia slipped in as one of Liam's adjutant candidates.
***
At work, I was looking through a stack of documents that almost
looked like a list of candidates for an arranged marriage, complete with
glamour shots. My coworkers seemed curious, but no one made any
complaints.
Wallace was surprised when he picked up one of the files and
looked inside. "What a babe! Wow... I wonder if she'd be my adjutant?"
Technically Wallace was royalty, so when he finished his training,
he'd be promoted to lieutenant, but there were no plans for him to receive
an adjutant of his own. After all, he wouldn't be in a position where he'd
really need one.
Eila picked up a folder, opened it, and looked inside. "You don't
need one, Wallace. You could ask for a scary drill sergeant to watch over
you, though. Should I put in a request?"
"Very funny. Hey, what are you doing with that request form? Stop
it!"
The two of them kept bickering back and forth. Maybe a scary drill
sergeant would do Wallace some good...
I picked up another file and opened it. I was taken aback by the face
that looked back at me.
"What's she doing here?"
I found myself looking at a picture of Eulisia. When I glanced
through her history, I read that after leaving the Third Weapons Factory,
she attended a military re-training center, and then went on to join a
special forces unit. After that, she entered another re-training facility to
study information-gathering. Apparently, she was becoming some kind of
spy. I'd already thought she was decently talented before, but now she
looked like quite a capable woman.
"Why'd she join a special forces unit?"
Wallace cocked his head at my confusion. "Someone you know?"
Eila looked down at the document in my hands, recognizing Eulisia.
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"Oh, is she that one from back then?"
"Yeah, she used to be a saleslady for a weapons factory. They
always sent her to negotiate with me."
Wallace looked her over. "It must be nice. When you're a count, the
beauties just flock to you without you even having to call them, huh?" He
sounded envious.
I was amused by his jealousy, but right now, I had to do something
about this mountain of files. If I went through all of them, I'd never get to
go home on time. I'd been flipping through them at random, but hadn't yet
found a woman who struck me as being the one.
Man... I miss Amagi. Maybe I should just bring her to the Capital
Planet. Amagi was handling all of my work back home though, and I
didn't feel comfortable having her around when these Berkeley people
posed a constant danger for me.
I'm sick of fighting with these Berkeleys. Maybe I should wrap this
conflict up already. When I thought about that, choosing my adjutant
suddenly didn't seem so important anymore.
"I guess Eulisia's fine then. I already know her, and I'm sure she's
not a bad choice."
Eila was surprised that I wasn't taking my decision more seriously.
"Can you really decide that quickly? Isn't this like choosing a mistress?"
While I remained in the military, my adjutant would assist me in
both official and personal matters. Since physical relations tended to be
included in those personal matters, most people carefully chose someone
who would suit their tastes. I didn't care about that aspect, however.
"Hah! I could get together as many beautiful women as I want. I
don't need to worry that much about my adjutant in particular."
There's no need to think too deeply on it. I'll just go with Eulisia. I
recall her having a few quirks to her personality, but they shouldn't pose a
problem.
Wallace threw me a frustrated look. "I want to get to a place in life
where I can say that..."
Once I had finished choosing my adjutant, Eila changed the subject.
"Well, we'll be done with our training soon and getting our official
assignments. I want to ask, Liam... Do you mind if I join your patrol fleet
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too?"
Eila was smart to want to stick with me. If she stayed by my side,
she'd be sure to have a cushy life. Unfortunately, patrol fleets came with
danger, however small the risk might be.
"Not happening. I've already arranged with the military for you to
be officially assigned here at logistics, in the same role you've been
training in."
"Huh? Wh-why?"
I sighed and explained it to her in a gentle tone. "Because as soon as
I leave, those idiots will all be at it again and undo all our hard work.
You'll be my representative here, so if you have any problems, you're to
contact me. Got it?"
Reluctantly, Eila agreed. "W-well, I guess when you put it that way,
it makes sense."
Hearing this, Wallace gave me an expectant look and asked, "But
you want me to join you, right, Liam?"
"Oh yeah! I'm going to work you to the bone!"
"Why are you so mean to me?!"
***
The very next day after I made my choice, Eulisia came to see me.
"Long time no see, Lord Liam."
Eulisia saluted me with a smile. I noticed her body was more toned
than it was the last time I saw her, but she still had plenty of fullness to her
chest and rear. In fact, her figure was even more impressive than before.
Everywhere that should have been trim was, further emphasizing her
breasts and butt.
When I saw her approaching my desk, I stopped fiddling with the
electronic documents before me. What's she doing here?
"Weren't you supposed to be assigned to me six months from now?"
"I received permission to come early," Eulisia informed me. "I
figured you'd still have plenty of work to do before your official
assignment, so I'm here to assist. Please allow me to do whatever I can to
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help you with both official and unofficial business."
Well, isn't that nice of her? She's practically a different person than
she was back when she worked for the Third Weapons Factory.
When Eulisia said "official and unofficial business," I got some
jealous looks from the men seated around me. Looks like everyone envies
me. Eh, that doesn't feel too bad.
For some reason, even Wallace was giving me a nasty look, so I
made a mental note to make some problems for him in return later.
"So be it. You can be my assistant, then."
"Yes, sir!" Eulisia gave me another sharp salute, smiling at me
warmly.
Huh? Why does she look cuter than she did before?
***
As she stood before Liam, Eulisia managed to keep her dark
emotions hidden from him.
Finally. Finally, the time has come.
For decades, Eulisia had thought of nothing but this man who had
brushed off her advances and broken her pride. During those years, she
had prepared herself for the time when she could take her revenge against
him.
"Shall we get right to it, Lord Liam?"
I'll learn all of your weaknesses from right by your side!
She had already taken the first step in her revenge plot and was
basking in satisfaction when suddenly, someone came bursting into Liam's
workplace in tears. This person was the rather problematic engineering
captain of the Seventh Weapons Factory, Nias Carlin. At first glance, she
had the look of a studious beauty with black hair and glasses, but Liam felt
her personality left much to be desired.
"Lord Liaaam!"
Nias slammed the door open and collapsed to her knees right before
Liam's desk. Liam was now a captain in the military, and a person of
nobility besides, so her behavior was more than unacceptable.
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Wh-what are you doing?!
Nias was acquainted with Eulisia, but didn't so much as greet her.
Liam was exasperated. "What do you want?"
Normally, Liam would be within his rights to throw her out of the
building, but he was actually curious to hear what she had to say for
herself.
Eulisia was exasperated. Ugh! She's impossibly rude! Get rid of her,
why don't you? He's as lenient as ever.
From Eulisia's perspective, Liam was simply too kind to his
acquaintances. He could be firm at times, but by the typical standards of
Imperial nobility, he was practically a saint. Even though she understood
that about him, it still frustrated her to see him treating Nias so well.
"Listen to this, Lord Liam!" Nias cried. "I took the rare metals you
provided me and used them to build a prototype ship! Everyone had to butt
in, though, and—"
"I've heard this story before."
Nias had been conducting various engineering experiments, but
several other engineers in the Seventh Weapons Factory had forced the
group's focus on to other new technologies instead.
"Isn't that unfair?! I had so many tests I wanted to dooo!"
"Oh yeah?"
As a result, apparently Nias hadn't been able to complete her own
plans.
Eulisia chuckled to herself internally. Serves you right. Now, if
you're finished complaining, hurry up and get out of here already.
Eulisia was eager to start sinking her fangs into Liam, but Nias's
presence was blocking her from biting.
Next, Nias said something truly outrageous. "Please, I need more
rare metals and money! I want to create an entirely new kind of
battleship!"
"What?!" Eulisia couldn't help exclaiming in surprise at this
shameless request. It was unthinkable for Nias to be demanding so much
from Liam in such an unseemly way. Unfortunately, she saw that Liam
was interested in what the other woman had just said.
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"A new kind of ship, eh?"
"I'll make a special battleship just for you, Lord Liam! So please,
you have to give me the budget and rare metals for its development!"
Even Liam wasn't ready to make a deal like that without knowing
more details, but when Nias rose from her position on the floor, her skirt
flipped up. It was completely unintentional on her part. After all, the
underwear she had on was a simple pair of boy shorts, plain and practical.
Most men would likely be disappointed at the sight. However, when Liam
saw them, his eyes widened.
Shit! Since Eulisia was always thinking about Liam, she'd
thoroughly looked into his tastes and knew he preferred a sporty look to
overly gaudy underwear on women.
Noticing Liam's gaze, Nias hurriedly adjusted her skirt.
Embarrassed, she started making excuses. "S-sorry about that. Man, I've
been so busy lately, I've gotten into the habit of grabbing whatever
underwear is closest. Usually I wear better ones, really!"
Eulisia was sure that was a lie. Liam was trying to hide his reaction
by clearing his throat, but she didn't miss the pleasurable glow to his face.
"I-is that right? Of course, understandable. Uhh... Right, the budget.
I'll give you something to get it done."
Eulisia hid her face in her hands. You idiot! Why are you so naive
with crap like this?!
Nias didn't miss an opportunity when Liam's purse strings started to
loosen. "Rare metals too, please! Also, could you please buy some of our
ships? I can't believe you! There's not a single ship of ours in that new
fleet you're putting together right now!!! I mean, the whole fleet is a joint
development of the Third and Sixth? I thought we were friends!"
"Oh, really? I left it all to Tia, so I didn't know."
It was his own special fleet, and yet Liam spoke of it as though he
had no real interest in it. Eulisia had heard about the project through her
connections with the Third Weapons Factory. I heard the Ninth was
involved too, but the Seventh was completely left out.
Various factories had contributed to the new fleet, but when
commissioning the work Tia had completely ignored the Seventh. Hearing
this now, Liam had a guess as to why.
"You guys built a bunch of ships without taking their appearance
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into consideration again, didn't you?"
Nias removed her glasses and wiped her eyes. "We did our best with
their appearance, but when we offered them to Tia, she said they 'didn't
suit you' and turned them all down! Now we have eight hundred unsold,
brand-new ships in stock! We need someone to buy them from us!"
Their methods haven't changed, I see, Eulisia thought. And why take
a gamble on making eight hundred ships when they weren't even ordered
by anybody? Are you stupid?!
Liam seemed just as exasperated, but then he looked like he'd gotten
an idea.
"Very well... I'll buy those eight hundred ships then."
"Really?"
Before Nias could get too excited, though, Liam added a condition.
"Let me make an additional order as well. Seems like the other weapons
factories are busy but you guys don't have much to do. Let's see... You've
got older ships and weapons going out to scrap, right? I want those too."
"Of course! All the better! Yay! Now I can continue my research on
next generation tech!"
"And on top of that, I want you to build a ship for me."
"One ship? A battleship?"
"Yeah, it'll be a battleship, but it's something I want made just for
fun."
"H-huh?"
Liam then began to fill Nias in on the details of this request. Eulisia
had no idea what the man was thinking.
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