Chapter 7:
The Berkeley Fleet
ON HOUSE BERKELEY'S home planet, Casimilo spoke with a soldier
standing in his office who had come to see him.
"I took a look at your strategy. Pretty amazing work, though it'll
require some reorganization if we're going use it against that Banfield
brat."
The soldier was Dolph, who had risen to the rank of major. After
losing to Liam in their match at military school, his life was knocked off
course, and despite his rank, he ended up in a do-nothing position within
the army. When he heard the rumors that House Berkeley was gearing up
to fight Liam head-on, he rushed to meet with Casimilo. Eager for another
chance to go up against Liam, Dolph was ready to throw everything he had
into this strategy to defeat him.
"If you'll pardon my saying so," Dolph replied, "I'm not even sure
this is enough. This was the absolute least I could come up with, taking
into consideration a realistic budget and timeframe."
Casimilo was surprised that Dolph believed his plan to be
insufficient. "It won't be enough to replace my entire fleet and change our
fighting strategies? I've never even heard of a formation that specializes in
mid- and short-range fighting."
Dolph projected a hologram before Casimilo. It was a stolen image
of House Banfield's regular fleet.
"The quality of House Banfield's fleet is on the same level as the
Imperial Army's. As for its size, sources suggest it's recently doubled
from thirty thousand to sixty thousand ships."
"Sure, that's definitely a lot for a count, but they're still no threat to
House Berkeley."
"Well, the problem is they have more than just numbers."
Next, Dolph projected a video of House Berkeley's fleet massacring
some pirates. Their military might was clear to see.
"House Banfield's strength lies in their high level of organization
and the quality of the equipment at their disposal."
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"Why can't we overwhelm them with numbers? All they can scrape
together is sixty thousand ships at most, right?"
"Even if we oppose them with a hundred thousand ships, if they can
break through our formation, both sides will suffer great damage. If we're
unlucky, we lose our fleet's commanding officer, and we'd be as good as
lost in the chaos."
Using his experience in their previous face-off, Dolph had thought
up this strategy specifically to face House Banfield.
"Therefore, we anticipate Liam's offensive mode of attack, and be
ready to receive it. Essentially, we'll lead them into a trap and that makes
them vulnerable. That's why our fleet must concentrate its efforts on mid-
to short-range combat."
Dolph had told Casimilo that in order to beat House Banfield's fleet,
he had to prepare a fleet of over one hundred thousand ships and throw
traditional long-range tactics out the window. Casimilo actually thought
better of him for this advice, though it went against established battle
tactics. In fact, he was impressed because it went against the expected
tactics.
Everybody else thinks so little of this kid. They say all we need to
beat him is superior numbers...but not this one. No one who's advised me
takes the danger the boy poses as seriously as him.
"What do you plan to do with this formation of ours if the enemy
decides to keep a safe distance and sticks to long-range attacks?" Casimilo
asked, testing Dolph.
"That would be dangerous, I admit, but I know Liam's style. House
Banfield has always secured their victories with offensive charges. You're
not likely to throw away a strategy that you've used for decades when it's
never failed you before. The more victories they claim with it, the harder
they'll find it to change their tactics in the middle of a battle."
In their conflicts with pirate gangs, House Banfield had spent the
last several decades charging forward in fights, always emerging
victorious. They had perfected the aggressive charge into an art form; their
ships were always coordinated perfectly, and their gallant soldiers knew no
fear. In a clash with House Berkeley, they were sure to rely on the same
technique that had never failed them before.
Casimilo was satisfied that Dolph understood and anticipated House
Banfield's methods. It's him. It has to be him who'll secure our victory.
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Dolph spoke passionately in order to win Casimilo over to his ideas,
not realizing Casimilo was already convinced. "True, it will take time and
money to set things in motion, but these are necessary expenses if we're to
defeat House Banfield! You'll have to prepare an entirely new, up-to-date
fleet, and train your officers in my proposed strategy in order to pull it off.
Your opponent warrants this effort, though—you mustn't underestimate
House Banfield!"
House Berkeley's fleet would have to be completely reconfigured in
order to fight against this one opponent. The new fleet would be ready to
meet the enemy's charge, but would be lacking in a long-range battle. All
the other soldiers Casimilo had consulted had just told him that so long as
he had the numbers, he could fight in the normal way and triumph, but
Casimilo had always suspected that wouldn't be enough.
"Will we be ready in time? House Banfield had a head start in
building a new fleet."
"We can only try. No, I'll see that we will! We'll start immediately,
to get even one more ship ready on time!"
Dolph's passion cemented Casimilo's resolve.
"Very well, then. Consider yourself hired."
Dolph couldn't help but smile at Casimilo's words, but he quickly
composed himself and responded solemnly, "Thank you very much, sir! I
would like you to begin this process by gathering pirates."
"What? We're gonna use them too?"
"House Berkeley's fleet will be the one to take on House Banfield,
but I'd like you to apply pressure elsewhere with pirate forces to prevent
other houses from lending House Banfield support."
"Good thinking. The brat doesn't have many allies, but he does have
some. Very well."
Part of Dolph's plan was to pressure those who had allied
themselves with Liam so that he wouldn't be able to summon
reinforcements.
"The thing is," Dolph went on, "I've heard a rumor that Liam is
putting together a regular army fleet... According to my investigations,
this is true. He might be planning to use it as his secret weapon."
A regular fleet consisted of tens of thousands of ships. When
Casimilo heard this, his confidence faltered. If this was true, even rounding
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up pirates to increase their own forces might not be enough. "Well, that's
not good!" he said.
"However, there are plenty of people in the army who don't think
highly of the Banfield brat. It wouldn't be a bad idea to gather them up."
"That would be fantastic!" Casimilo was excited by the idea. If they
could get together all of the remaining patrol fleets and noble soldiers, that
would be tens of thousands of more ships. Plus, it wasn't only disgruntled
soldiers who would ally themselves with Casimilo. He'd already been
approached in secret by merchants and representatives of the First and
Second Weapons Factories, who were bitter that Liam wasn't using their
services.
"Dolph, can you put together a fleet with the soldiers we can
gather?"
"I can try, but I don't know how useful it will be. It could be used as
a decoy, perhaps."
Neither Dolph nor Casimilo put much stock in those volunteering to
help.
Casimilo said, "You gather those patrols together into one fleet, and
I'll contact a couple of weapons factories and have them get it into better
shape."
"Are you sure? It'll increase your budget by a lot. Plus, those kinds
of soldiers will complain and desert at the first sign of even slightly poor
treatment."
Dolph had his doubts about spending so much money on a fleet that
might end up as a sacrificial pawn, but Casimilo told him not to worry
about the expense.
"I don't care! If we're going to do this, we're going to go all out!
Whatever it costs, if that misfit fleet is able to do any damage at all against
him, it's worth it!"
Casimilo had one more ploy in mind.
"Plus, the pirates will also serve as bait for House Banfield."
"Bait?"
"That's right. We'll begin with having our pirate allies engage with
House Banfield's forces, but they'll fight in the conventional way, long-
range, to keep Banfield stuck in his usual strategy of charging head-on.
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That way, when we strike back at him later in a close combat battle, it'll
come as more of a surprise."
Hearing that Casimilo was determined to succeed even at the cost of
sacrificing his pirate allies, Dolph broke out into a cold sweat. Still, he
smiled. "That's a good idea. I feel one step closer to victory already."
Unseen, the Guide watched these plans take shape and clapped his
hands. Knowing that pirates, weapons factories, and resentful soldiers
would be allying themselves with House Berkeley delighted him.
"Wonderful! Do everything you can to take Liam down, you two.
I'll be here in the shadows, supporting you all the way."
Dolph had one last plan in his pocket, for the sake of insurance.
"Lord Casimilo, may I suggest one more thing?"
"What is it?"
"I hear Liam's going to have his own patrol fleet. We should try to
sabotage it. Because he's young and inexperienced, I seriously doubt the
army would leave a fleet under his sole command. We should try to recruit
the commander of his patrol fleet to our side."
"You're full of good ideas!"
The Guide's grin curved even wider as he listened to the two revel
in their evil plans.
***
"What is this?"
I was supposed to be assigned to a patrol fleet, and I had asked Tia
to put one together for me, but what I now saw before me was a full army
fleet, several times larger than standard. From the bridge of a new
superdreadnought over three thousand meters in length, I looked out at a
seemingly endless line of ships. The sight of battleships completely filling
my field of view was stunning, but how exactly had things ended up
like this?
As part of the ceremony celebrating my appointment, a holographic
message of congratulations was projected into space above the ships. Next
to me stood my adjutant, Eulisia, and my knight Marie, who was back
from her special forces assignment. Wallace was also there as my
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benchwarmer. And then...
"Special Staff Officer, sir, thank you so much for appointing me as
captain! Really, thank you!"
A large man with short, spiky hair had both my hands in his, and
was shaking them up and down vigorously.
This was the recently promoted Brigadier General Cedric Noah
Albareto. As he was Wallace's half-brother, he was technically an Imperial
prince as well, but he had no more claim to the throne than Wallace did. In
other words, he was another worthless Imperial prince like Wallace. He
would be serving as captain of my superdreadnought, the fleet's flagship.
Though I had been promoted to lieutenant colonel, for this
appointment I had received the unique title of "Special Staff Officer." It
was a position that had been specially created for me to fill.
Wallace was exasperated at his effusive brother. "Are you really
going to start crying tears of happiness?"
"Of course I am! Do you have any idea what it was like, spending
countless days pointlessly patrolling empty space? And how'd you nab
such an exceptional patron, anyway?"
Cedric grabbed Wallace and gave him a noogie out of jealousy.
"Enough! Enough!" the younger brother wailed.
Tia eventually brought the fleet's nominal commanding officer to
the bridge.
"Lord Liam, allow me to introduce the commander."
This was a man who looked to be in his forties, but it was hard to
tell what his age truly was because of the popularity of anti-aging
technology. In this world, looking middle-aged was proof of a significantly
long life.
"I'll be counting on you, Commander," I told him.
The man smiled affably. "I never thought I'd be looking after the
count who's such a topic of conversation lately. Well, all there is to it is to
do my duty."
He wasn't exactly sucking up to me, but to get to the position he
was in he was probably quite capable. I was determined not to butt heads
with this guy because of everything I had on my plate with House
Berkeley—I didn't need any new headaches. House Berkeley... They were
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so persistent.
With our greetings finished, Tia informed me of our immediate
plans.
"Lord Liam, we'll begin surveying our bases out on the frontier
tomorrow."
"Surveying bases?"
"Yes. In part to introduce ourselves to them, and in part to ensure
our routes are secure."
Normally such an activity would be carried out with far fewer ships.
But with this many ships in my patrol fleet, it would be a huge waste of
resources. In any case, here we were, so I thought we could at least make
things more fun.
"Why don't we split up the fleet and have a race to our destination?
The first group to get there and take care of any problems like pirates
scoping out the base gets a nice bonus from me."
When I suggested making a game of this excursion instead of taking
it seriously, Tia showed me a rare frown. "This fleet also serves to display
your authority, Lord Liam. I wouldn't advise utilizing it in that way."
"Oh yeah?"
I was starting to think throwing my weight around with a huge fleet
like this would be fun too when Marie cut in to disagree with Tia.
"Oh? You would refuse Lord Liam? I advise you to let him do as he
likes. It's a waste of resources to move a fleet like this all together."
Tia's gaze sharpened at Marie, who was grinning as if to provoke
her. "It's a learning experience for Lord Liam to control a fleet this big,
but I guess you can't understand that."
"Why should the fleet have to be kept together the entire time?
We'll all meet up again at the goal. Don't be so inflexible, head knight."
Seeing the two knights argue, Cedric and Wallace leaned closer and
spoke in low voices.
"Do your patron's knights not get along, Wallace?"
"They sure don't. This happens all the time, so get used to it."
Wallace was smiling, but my two top knights fighting like this in
front of everyone was no laughing matter. Evidently, Eulisia couldn't bear
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to watch either, so she spoke up.
"Lieutenant Colonel, will it be a race to our destination, then?"
She was ignoring the commander and trying to settle the matter with
me directly. I glanced at the commander, and he just shrugged.
"I don't mind either way," he said. "We have no pressing matters to
attend to at the moment."
He seemed to feel I could do whatever I liked with it. Even at this
size, this was still just a patrol fleet after all.
"We'll race, then. I know—I'll give points for beating any pirates
we encounter. Like, ten points for a large pack. The number of points will
determine that group's reward."
Later, I heard there was a meeting among some higher-ups where
they got all fired up about my little game. As for me? Well, I was too busy
enjoying the benefits of being an evil lord, so I couldn't be bothered.
***
With three thousand ships in my group, I reached the planet that
served as our goal. The base there was still in development and under the
Empire's direct control. I wondered when my eager competitors would
arrive here, hungry for their rewards.
Sitting on the bridge in a cushy chair, I swirled the drink in my
glass. "Entertain me, Wallace."
"Heh, you want another performance from me? Well, sorry, but I'm
all out of material."
I'd already made Wallace fool around for my entertainment dozens
of times. I wasn't surprised that he couldn't think of anything new to
share. We'd been standing by here with nothing to do for days, and I was
sick of it.
"I'm so bored..."
I thought it would be fun lounging around on my personal luxury
liner, and the ship's facilities were indeed impressive. It even had its own
little shopping mall and some chain stores, staffed by civilians. When the
crew was on break or had a day off, there was plenty to do. The ship was
like its own mobile colony.
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I was interested in enjoying these amenities myself, but how would
it look for an evil lord to hang around in public like just some common
person? And yet, there wasn't anything for me to do in my quarters. I felt
like lately I'd done nothing but practice the sword style known as the Way
of the Flash.
"Do an impression, Cedric," I said to Wallace's brother.
"Heh... I've gone through all the ones I can do, Count."
Even Cedric was out of material. It appeared I was completely out
of options, until Marie proposed an idea.
"Why don't we construct a spaceport, then? You can have the
soldiers do the work, and it will kill some time. Plus, a spaceport will
make your work easier in the future."
"A spaceport, eh?"
The developing planet we were visiting had no functional spaceport.
Yes, there were several thrown-together structures, but the real thing
would certainly make things easier.
Looking into a monitor, below our many stationary ships I saw a
planet lush with resources. Even from the bridge, I could tell that the
land's development had barely started. For that reason, and because there
was no proper spaceport, this was hardly a place that could support a large-
scale fleet. The reason my patrol fleet had come all the way out here was
because the Empire couldn't afford to be making regular trips.
The Empire's orders to me had been to check the area for pirates or
other dangers. In other words, "go out into the middle of nowhere and kill
any troublemakers you find." Besides instructing us to be watchdogs,
though, they hadn't given us any other instructions about what to do once
we got out here. I didn't see why the Empire would object to me
constructing a spaceport, or whatever else I cared to do.
"Good idea," I told Marie. "But just a spaceport won't be enough.
While we're at it, why don't we finish developing this whole planet to kill
even more time?"
The bridge crew burst into an uproar when I said that, but a glare
from Marie shut everyone up.
"Do you think that's okay?" she asked me. "This planet is under
direct control of the Empire, Lord Liam. I don't see how developing it
would benefit you in any way."
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No matter how much work I put into this planet, it still wouldn't
become mine, and yet I didn't care about that.
"It's just for fun... Like I said, it's just for something to do. Come
on, let's get started right away."
Seeing how motivated I'd become, Eulisia made a suggestion.
"Lieutenant Colonel, the planet is already partially settled. If you give your
support to the colonists as well, I believe they will return the favor when
we use this planet as a relay station in the future."
To be honest, I didn't care at all about the residents of the planet, but
if I was going to do this, I might as well be thorough. In my own domain, I
left most practical matters to Amagi because I liked to concentrate on
making money, but here it would be more fun to oversee all that myself. It
was starting to feel like a real-life simulation game. If my efforts didn't
prove successful, well, it was the Empire's planet and wouldn't hurt me
one bit.
"Sure, we can support the colonists. We'll start by setting up our
headquarters on the planet, and Wallace, I'll make you the site foreman."
"Whaaat?"
I tasked the reluctant Wallace with going down to the planet and
readying a government office building for me. All the other facilities I felt
we should construct came to mind one after another. And then...a memory
of my past life came to me.
"I know... Let's build a bunch of public facilities too."
I wanted the colony to be the epitome of excess, after all, with a
pleasing design as the main focus.
Tia clasped her hands and watched me spout off my ideas, her eyes
sparkling. "Amazing as always, Lord Liam. Reaching out to personally
assist in the development of a frontier planet... This is truly befitting of a
wise, virtuous ruler such as yourself."
She really has the wrong idea about me. I'm playing with the lives of
the people on this planet as if it's a game, and she's praising me for it!
Well, controlling other people's lives is just what an evil lord does, and I'll
develop this planet however I want.
***
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Liam's fleet gradually obliterated all the pirates that operated in that
region. It took about six months from the start of his assignment for that
information to reach the prime minister on the Capital Planet. The man's
eyes went wide when he read the report.
"This is incredible."
The prime minister had planted some informants amongst Liam's
crew, so that he could learn just how powerful and effective Liam's special
fleet proved to be. His operatives' reports were filled with nothing but
praise for the noble.
Standing beside the prime minister, one of his aides looked relieved.
"It seems he made his fleet spread out and race to eliminate the area's
pirates. What's an especially nice surprise, though, is how he fixed up the
planet serving as his fleet's meeting point. We'd all but abandoned it, since
we didn't have the funds to complete its development."
Liam had arrived at their goal planet first, and while he waited for
the others had started in on the frontier planet's development. His team
quickly constructed a real spaceport, so future development would proceed
much easier now. In fact, after hearing about the new construction,
merchants were already starting to travel there to do business with Liam.
He also oversaw development projects on the planet's surface. The prime
minister couldn't help but smile as he read the reports.
"Hmm, he's constructed some facilities for the colonists, I see. All
very functional and well-thought-out."
Basically, there'd been no proper facilities on the planet before this,
so the residents would have been happy with pretty much anything.
However, the new buildings had been constructed with an emphasis on
beauty, and as he reviewed the pictures, the prime minister felt they were
quite well done.
If I were to rate this project, I'd give him eighty points. With some
more experience, I'm sure he could do even better. It's his military
achievements people tend to see first, but the count originally became
known for his political skill.
In recent years, Liam had stood out primarily for his success in
eliminating pirates, but when he had first come to be recognized, it was
because of his skill at governing his domain. Now that he was stationed
out in the middle of nowhere, he was developing a new planet base all on
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his own. The prime minister couldn't help but smile when he thought
about how the planet would be able to improve on its own now, thanks to
Liam's assistance.
However...the prime minister wasn't one to blindly trust in
anyone's motives. He couldn't imagine Liam had done all this work with
no thought of reward for his efforts.
"Tell the military I want to see the count promoted to colonel, and to
receive a medal for his achievements, as well."
"Do you think they'll be okay with that?"
"It's a paltry reward for what he's done for us. Maybe next year
he'll become a brigadier general. In fact, before he leaves the military, I
want to see that he makes lieutenant general."
If that doesn't satisfy him, I'll have to think of something else to
throw his way...
***
"Your birth status really is everything, isn't it, Commander?"
The glittering epaulets on my uniform now designated me as a
lieutenant general. It was amusing to me that I had become a lieutenant
general in only a few years simply by lounging around playing a real-life
simulation game. In the time it took a regular soldier fighting on bloody
battlefields to finally rise one rank, I could ascend four ranks just by
fooling around. This was what it meant to be a noble—to be an evil lord.
Chatting with my ship's commander while we played a mahjong-
like game, I confidently discarded a tile.
"Oh, count. Right there. I've got ura dora now too."
But the commander, who was waiting for my discarded tile, landed
a direct hit on me.
"No way!"
As I shot up from my seat, the commander revealed his hand. Sure
enough, he'd reached yaku, and had ura dora as well. The commander was
way too good at this game, and I had lost more times than I'd won against
him.
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"I-I lost again?"
"Ha ha, sorry!"
This commander was a veteran gambler. He was so skilled that he
already wiped out Wallace and Cedric, and they both came crying to me
about being penniless for the rest of the month. Tia and Marie, who
presently shared the table with us, gave the commander murderous glares
as he continued to win.
"How is Lord Liam still losing with me and this fossil working
together?"
"Hey! You'd better not be cheating!" the commander said, smiling.
Even with their cheating, and three of us teamed up against the
commander, I kept losing. Normally, you'd think I couldn't possibly lose,
but I'd been doing nothing but.
I tossed the commander a scoring stick. "Even with all this, I still
lose? Do you have some trick up your sleeve, Commander?"
"I just happen to have good luck, that's all. That's why I make
money off of games like this, and I suppose it's also why I'm commanding
such a fine ship. It's more than luck, too, of course... You have to read the
flow of things."
"The flow?"
"That's right. You can't force your way through everything.
Anyway, another round?"
The flow, huh... True, there does seem to be a flow to everything in
life that you can't always fight against. Maybe I should have the
commander teach me more about this.
I lost again and again. The money didn't matter to me one bit. My
wallet would never empty, no matter how much I wagered. I decided to
spend however much it took to learn more about the flow from the
commander.
"Sure," I replied. "Let me study your ways, Commander."
"I'll do what I can."
When a new game started, Tia and Marie both got fired up.
"This time, we'll take everything he's got."
"Let's confirm our signals, Lord Liam."
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The commander kept on winning, no matter how much we brazenly
cheated. I had an odd sense that there was something unusual going on
here. It was the same vibe I got from my sword instructor, Yasushi.
Master... Are you doing well lately? As always, I had no idea where
he was, but he was a master martial artist, so I was sure there was no need
to worry about him.
***
All the while they played, the commander was thinking, Why do
they keep falling for it when they're cheating too?
Liam was openly cheating, and yet the commander still kept beating
him soundly. It had been the commander who had prepared the board for
their mahjong-like game, and naturally he arranged things so that he would
always be winning. He brought the game along with him out here in case
he had the opportunity to separate some rich nobles from their money, but
Liam and his friends had become hooked on it.
The commander was the same sort of person Liam's sword master
Yasushi was—a fake.
This was supposed to be an easy job!
Having previously lived the life of a noble, the commander was only
in this position due to his family's circumstances, the Empire's
circumstances, and basically a whole slew of interconnected
circumstances. His grades at the military academy had been poor, but he'd
been able to get this far thanks to his family's influence.
Something weird is going on here! What's up with these nobles?
They do whatever they want and rise through the ranks because of it. I had
to bribe my way to get this far!
Even nobles weren't just promoted willy-nilly in the military.
Normally, not even those from big houses were promoted as fast as Liam
had been. This just served to show what an unusual case he was.
What's with him? Why is he developing a planet when it's not going
to benefit him in any way? I just don't get him at all.
Starting a new game, the commander grumbled to himself,
perplexed by the differences between himself and Liam.
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As they played, Eulisia watched them. Suddenly, she received a
message on her tablet.
"Lieutenant General," she reported, "there's a request for
reinforcements from the local lord."
"Again? What for? And how many?"
"It's a request to help fight pirates coming in from another region.
He's asking for one thousand ships."
"Dispatch whoever's not doing anything. And collect all the trash
we accumulate."
"I'll dispatch them right away. As for the pirates..."
Eulisia was about to ask if they should capture any of the pirates, but
Tia cut her off.
"Kill them all. Pirates are worth nothing alive. Isn't that right, Lord
Liam?"
Her tone had been extremely cold and firm, yet when she sought
agreement from Liam, she sounded more like a spoiled cat asking for
attention.
Marie clicked her tongue, but Liam just gave a little nod as he
studied his hand.
"Wipe them out."
The commander shuddered at the chilling way in which Liam
treated his adversaries.
There's no need for him to help that local lord, yet he's sending his
allies out just to eliminate some pirates. The rumor that he absolutely
despises them must be true. House Berkeley wants me to betray him, but...
if the count finds out about my betrayal, who knows what he'll do to me!
Liam was intimidating enough on his own, but with Tia and Marie
on top of that, the commander was scared out of his wits.
Eulisia confirmed Liam's orders, exasperated with the way the
others wouldn't break off from focusing on their game. "Then I'll dispatch
one thousand ships, and we'll do as we always do with pirates."
As if he hadn't heard her, Liam looked down at his hand and
muttered, "Now, what do I discard..."
The commander watched Liam curiously. There's nothing in it for
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him to help out a minor lord like this. No one would have complained if
he'd left that frontier planet alone, either. Oh, how I hate sanctimonious
people!
From the commander's point of view, Liam was a diligent noble
who did far more work than needed. He helped out minor lords whenever
he was asked, and readily responded to calls for aid from his personal
allies. He had a bit of a nasty mouth, but otherwise he represented
everything a noble should be. To someone like the commander, who
considered himself a pragmatist, Liam almost shined too brightly to look
at.
Well, there's not much he does personally, so I don't have too much
to do either, which is fine by me.
"Count, ron," the commander said.
"Whaaat?!"
***
In the hangar of Liam's flagship stood a row of looming mobile
knights. Looking up at one of the mass-produced Nemain units in
particular was Marie, her arms crossed and her lilac hair swaying behind
her. Grouped around her were other knights from her faction, also gazing
up at the Nemain. This purple-colored craft everyone was focused on was
customized for Marie. Just like Tia's craft, it was said to be modified for
an ace pilot, and yet Marie and her fellow knights were unsatisfied.
"It's not a bad craft," said Marie, "but there's just something
missing."
The Nemain was a next generation mobile knight, created by the
Third Weapons Factory and provided early to House Banfield and Liam's
patrol fleet. It came at an extra cost, but it was a superior craft boasting
high-powered performance. Still, Marie found it lacking. She remembered
back to her own era, two thousand years earlier. Before she was captured
by pirates and petrified, craft like the Nemain hadn't been used.
"The assist functions are in the way. Why is there so much support
tech in all the mobile knight models besides for Lord Liam's Avid?"
For an easy comparison, it was like the difference between cars with
manual and automatic transmissions. To Marie, who was experienced with
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much older craft, all the automated assist functions lessened the feel that
one was actually piloting the machine. This was the root of her
dissatisfaction.
A knight who served as an assistant to Marie brought up Tia and her
faction unfavorably. "It's because the knights of this era are weak. That
ground meat woman is supposed to be the head knight, but her craft has
assist functions too."
"She's hardly qualified to call herself a knight. Anyway, we won't
be able to display our full abilities in these Nemain units, will we?"
The Nemain was a superior model, but Marie and her knights still
wanted craft that were more to their liking. As they stood there fretting
over this, Liam approached, with Nias in tow. Liam's adjutant Eulisia was
also with them, but she looked rather displeased. Marie and the knights
saluted them, and maintenance workers nearby followed suit.
Liam walked up to Marie and raised a hand. "Keep working."
The soldiers got back to their work maintaining the mobile knights.
Marie asked, "Lord Liam, what are you doing here in the hangar?"
Liam nodded toward Nias. "Meeting with this one. My order is
nearly complete, so I'm doing a final check."
Everyone's eyes settled on Nias, and the engineering captain
grinned happily. "This was a pretty fun request."
Eulisia said, "What's so fun about it?" Shifting her gaze to Marie,
she then asked, "And what are you doing in the hangar, Colonel?"
Marie returned her gaze to the purple Nemain, drawing everyone's
attention in the same direction. "We were discussing these mobile knights.
The Nemain is a powerful craft, but we fear these units don't align with
our abilities."
Eulisia was a former member of the Third Weapons Factory and
furrowed her brow at Marie's words. "The Nemain is a top contender to be
mass-produced as the next generation's main model. There's no better
machine in the Empire."
"Well, that's too bad." Marie shrugged.
Sensing a business opportunity, Nias piped up, "Shall the Seventh
Weapons Factory create a craft perfectly suited to your abilities, then?"
The others gave her a look that seemed to say "What is she going on
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about now?" Liam, however, was the only one who showed interest.
"Not a bad idea. I'm sure you've got nothing else to do. I think we'll
take you up on that."
Liam granted Nias his permission so easily, it was as if she had only
suggested building a plastic model ship. Ignoring the others, she leaned
toward Liam with her eyes burning brightly in excitement.
"Really? We can really build them? Can we?"
"I told you to go ahead. Can you build them, though?" He gave her
a dubious look.
Nias readjusted her glasses and spoke with absolute confidence.
"Have you forgotten? When I modified the Avid for you, Colonel Marie
was the test pilot. I still have all that data back at the Seventh Weapons
Factory. As long as we have the funds, we could begin development right
away."
As Nias smiled boldly, Eulisia snapped at her, "Don't be ridiculous!
The Nemain is the masterpiece of the Third Weapons Factory! You won't
find a better craft until the next generation!"
"How rude. True, the Nemain is a well-balanced machine, but for all
its versatility, it's not suited for an ace pilot, is it?"
"Ugh! There are custom Nemains for aces too!"
"I heard one of those custom craft got screwed up though. Its output
was upped so much, nobody could actually pilot the thing. Isn't that
right?"
"How do you know about that?!"
"Just something that reached my ears...about a defective craft
nobody could handle. The Third Weapons Factory is great at mass-
produced units, but frankly, they suck at customizing them for aces."
"Y-you insolent..."
The Nemain's weakness was that while it was an all-purpose craft, it
excelled in no one area.
Marie was intrigued by this over-powered Nemain unit Nias had
brought up. "That craft sounds interesting." She asked Eulisia, "Do you
have access to the data on that?"
Eulisia was hesitant to share information on a defective machine
publicly, but then Liam had to go and show interest.
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"I'm curious too. If you can pull it up, let's see it."
Eulisia gave up and used her tablet to display the Third Weapons
Factory's data. "Please don't spread this around too much, okay?"
An image of the modified Nemain unit was projected into the air
before them. As Marie studied a view of the machine's frame without its
armor, she frowned.
"This won't work," she said.
Eulisia's shoulders slumped. "Not even for you, Colonel?"
"I could pilot it if I had to, but I couldn't make full use of its
capabilities. The normal Nemain unit would be better for me. The only one
who could control this machine would be Lord Liam, or another pilot of
genius level."
As Liam would never give up the Avid and pilot a Nemain, bringing
Liam into it was pointless.
Nias puffed up her chest to show her confidence. "Well, you just
wait. I'll show you what the Seventh Weapons Factory can come up with!"
Marie expected much from her. "Please do that, Nias. I'm counting
on you to create something that will suit our abilities...a craft as graceful
and powerful as we are. Performance is crucial, of course, but I don't want
you skimping on its appearance, either. After all, it must be a craft worthy
of standing at Lord Liam's side."
"Just leave it to me! I'll satisfy you, one hundred percent!"
***
Not long after that, a new machine arrived from the Seventh
Weapons Factory. The body was of a simple, sturdy design, but its specs
surpassed those of the Nemain. It suffered some in regard to
maneuverability, but that wouldn't be a problem if it was piloted by
someone highly skilled. It was a high-powered craft specifically built for
an ace pilot.
Nias announced, "This is the Seventh Weapons Factory's new
model—the Raccoon!"
All the pilots and mechanics gathered in the hangar stared in awe at
the specs shared to their tablets. However...
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"The Raccoon!" Tia exclaimed. She covered her mouth with one
hand but was unable to hide her laughter. "Did you hear that, Marie? The
Raccoon! How nice for you!"
Marie trembled, fists clenched, as she looked up at the giant craft
from below. Seeing this, her entourage of knights was desperate to pacify
her.
"Its performance outstrips the Avid, Lady Marie!"
"I-I think it's kind of cute, don't you?"
"P-please remain calm, Lady Marie!"
In terms of specs, this mobile knight was just the sort of machine
Marie and her knights would prefer to pilot. However, it had one
problem...
"May I ask whose idea this round body design was?"
Nias smiled. "It was mine! It looks like a tanuki, but this back part
that looks like a tail can be changed out depending on the circumstances.
You wait and see...the Raccoon will become the next generation's main
model!"
A vein popped out on Marie's forehead as she glared at Nias
murderously. She was enraged at Tia and her faction for mocking her, too,
but right now her ire was chiefly concentrated on the one who had
designed this craft, and who had the audacity to claim it was a perfect
match for her and her knights.
It would be clear to anyone that the Raccoon was a heavily armored
unit. It was also undeniable the mobile knight was rather rotund. Some
would no doubt consider it cute, but it just didn't look like a craft a knight
should be piloting.
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Marie grabbed Nias by the lapels and lifted her off the floor. "What
exactly do I look like to you? Are you trying to tell me that I should be
flying around inside a tanuki? What about this am I supposed to see as
being graceful?"
"What do you mean? This is a work of art! It's just...curvaceous!
And powerful! I think it's a great design!"
"You seriously think a craft like this suits me? Let me split that head
of yours open so I can see what's going on in there! I'll kill you!"
As Nias trembled in fear, Tia stepped forward with a mocking smile
on her face.
"Come on, don't be so mad. It does suit you."
"That's it, you're dead!" Marie tossed Nias aside and drew her
sword. All her comrades around her drew weapons as well.
Tia and her faction's knights did the same without hesitation. "Bring
it on!"
As the two groups screamed threats and stepped toward one another,
Liam entered the hangar with Eulisia in tow. He was the only one on the
scene who was in a sunny mood.
"Would you look at that!" he exclaimed, gazing upon the Raccoon.
"That's quite a design, Nias. I think it's cute."
Nias had been thrown to the floor, but at Liam's comment, she
crawled over to him on all fours and clung to his legs. "Lord Liam, please
help me! Everyone's making fun of my precious Raccoon! It's a
masterpiece, though... I was so proud of it!"
As she whimpered below him, Liam glared at Marie and Tia. "Is
that right? I happen to like it, but you two don't, huh? Well, if you've got a
complaint, let's hear it. First, though, how about telling me exactly why
you're all armed. Come on, hurry up and answer me!"
At Liam's shift from sunny to harsh, everyone put their weapons
away. All the mechanics and regular soldiers in the hangar sighed in relief.
Marie and Tia both hurried over to Liam and fell to their knees,
hanging their heads and trembling.
"P-please forgive me."
"I'm so sorry."
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Liam narrowed his eyes at them. "You guys need to get it together.
Anyway, I like the Raccoon, but I'm not entirely sure about its design.
Give it a do-over, Nias. Let's slim it down some."
"Whaaat? But I was so sure you'd use it that I already produced
three hundred of them!"
Eulisia looked upon the engineer in utter disbelief. "Why would you
even make such as assumption?"
***
While Liam and company were enjoying themselves, House
Berkeley had almost finished putting together a huge fleet of over three
hundred thousand ships. One of Casimilo's sons had been made
commander, with Dolph as his staff officer. Of course, in reality, Dolph
was the one who would be controlling the fleet.
The enormous stationary fleet lined up in space was the result of
House Berkeley drawing upon all their resources. They sold countless
elixirs and gathered up all the rare metals they could. They lost most of
their pirate collaborators, using them as bait to keep House Banfield
distracted, but as if to make up for the loss, Imperial Army collaborators
had joined the fleet in their place. House Berkeley had more ships now
than they had initially hoped for, but the fleet didn't only excel in numbers
—thanks to the weapons factories they'd worked with, their ships were
high-quality as well.
"We better be able to crush House Banfield with all this, Dolph,"
said Gene, Casimilo's eldest son and one of the family's top brass.
Dolph gave a firm nod. "If this fleet can't do it, I don't think anyone
can stop Liam."
"Good enough. All right, everyone... Let's get moving! Advance!"
With that, a monstrous fleet of over three hundred thousand ships
began its advance on House Banfield.
***
At the same time, House Banfield was also making a move.
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As Brian was tending to his usual work, an anxious-looking Serena
sought him out. She practically ran down the hallway toward him, a sight
that struck Brian as unseemly for a head maid, or so Brian thought...
"Brian, House Berkeley is on the move!"
"Wh-what? Master Liam isn't back yet!"
It was an unspoken rule of combat etiquette that no lord would
attack a ruling lord who was away from his territory for training. What
House Berkeley was pulling was clearly a sneak attack, a dirty move for a
noble—and one that indicated House Berkeley didn't care how they
appeared to others.
"Contact Master Liam immediately, Brian."
"U-understood!"
House Banfield had been expanding its military might in
anticipation of this day, but that didn't ease Serena's mind much.
"More than three hundred thousand ships, Brian! We were taking
House Berkeley too lightly..."
Despite Liam's military preparations, House Banfield still didn't
have even ninety thousand ships. Of the force they could actually send into
battle, they only had seventy thousand at the ready. Their opponent had
over four times their fighting strength.
"It's such bad timing for Master Liam not to be here," Serena said to
herself, as Brian rushed away to get in touch with him. "House Banfield
really might..." She couldn't bring herself to say the rest. Serena was
irritated at House Berkeley's brazen conduct.
She wasn't alone in the hallway. Watching her happily was the
Guide, his face split into a grin. "That's right—panic! I bet you think if
Liam comes back you'll be saved, but all you have to look forward to is
death!"
The Guide laughed, loudly at least to his own ears, imagining the
complete destruction of House Banfield.
"Hurry back now, Liam! No, it'd be nice if you came after everyone
was already dead and gone, wouldn't it? I can't wait to see your face
twisted in despair!"
***
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One day, Thomas arrived at the simple spaceport we constructed at
the frontier planet.
"Quick to act as always, I see, Lord Liam."
Was he being sarcastic about the spaceport's hurried construction?
I'd only created it to have something to do, and I knew it was no-frills, but
it had all the necessary facilities.
"I was just killing time. Anyway, what are you here for today?"
"Well, I was hoping for permission to do business here, of course. I
brought some products for your fleet staff with me, if you're all right with
that."
I guess he wanted to sell stuff to the crew of the fleet.
"Do as you please."
"Thank you so much. I'll get right to it, then—"
While Thomas and I were discussing business, the spaceport's
warning siren went off.
"What's that?" I said warily.
Immediately a call came from Eulisia.
"What happened?"
"A group of transport ships just arrived. They don't seem hostile,
but they warped in rather suddenly, so we're on alert."
Ships suddenly just appearing without prior notice that they'd be
entering your region of space was basically a traffic violation.
I clicked my tongue. "Who are these idiots warping in?"
"It's representatives from the Clave Firm and the Newlands
Company. A merchant named Patrice wishes to meet with you right away,
Lieutenant General."
Before even asking what was going on, I had a pretty good idea. I
glanced over at Thomas and his face had gone pale.
"Oh no!" he said. "You don't think House Berkeley has made its
move, do you?"
House Berkeley again... I was sick of being sick of them.
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***
I boarded my flagship, and when I reached the bridge, I found it full
of anxious voices.
"How many ships are finished with maintenance and resupply?"
"About ten thousand right now!"
"Get as many ready for takeoff as you can!"
Tia was in the center of the action, taking command. The
commander was watching her silently, arms crossed. I went over and
spoke with him, since he looked bored.
"You look rather calm, Commander."
"There's no point in panicking. You should always keep your head
at times like these. If you want to raise your chances of winning, at least."
Was this part of the Commander's method of "reading the flow of
things"? He was right, though—panicking made one careless.
"I guess that's true."
I stopped Tia from sending out whatever ships we had ready. "Tia,
don't mobilize them until the whole fleet's ready. Clave and Newlands just
rushed us a ton of supplies, so get them distributed."
Tia was surprised by this change of plan. "Lord Liam? B-but..."
"Tell the fleet back home not to charge, and to buy time instead."
This sharp commander had given me valuable advice, and I intended
to heed it. I needed to maintain my cool right now and not just dive in.
Marie ran onto the bridge with a report. "Lord Liam, House
Berkeley's fleet is about three hundred thousand ships strong! Also,
according to our information, Imperial Army ships have gathered in the
area we'll be warping to."
"The Imperial Army?"
Apparently, Imperial Army ships were standing by to cut us off. But
why...?
***
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Awaiting Liam in the warp zone was a fleet commanded by
delinquent soldiers, consisting of thirty thousand ships provided by House
Berkeley and their allied weapons factories. While most of the ships
weren't new, their numbers were staggering.
On the bridge of the fleet's flagship were several generals with
noble backgrounds. They'd had their uniforms gaudily customized, medals
displayed on their chests.
"He's probably headed here in a blind panic as we speak."
"If House Berkeley gets serious, it's all over for that kid."
"We'll show him what an Imperial Army battle is all about."
As the generals chuckled together, an operator's shrill cry rang out.
"Commander! E-enemy attack!"
"He's already here? Let's take him on then. Open communications
with the brat... I want to hear what he has to say!"
When they contacted the enemy flagship, however, it wasn't Liam
who appeared onscreen. Instead, the monitor revealed a soldier with an
eyepatch who had the look of a seasoned general.
"Wh-who are you?" one of the Imperial Army generals asked, and
the stranger promptly answered.
"Your actions are a clear breach of military regulations. Therefore,
we will now be capturing your ships."
"Wh-what?!"
"You can avoid this skirmish if you return to your proper posts
immediately. Otherwise, you'll be facing off with us."
The generals realized the ships confronting them were regular army
fleets stationed near the Empire's borders. All together, they numbered
forty thousand.
"You dare defy nobles of the Empire?" the corrupt general said, but
the opposing general wasn't cowed.
"You've got it wrong. It's you who are defying the Empire."
"Y-you're taking that brat's side?!"
The general whose forces had allied with Liam told the nobles and
their renegade soldiers the honest truth.
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"We can't have House Berkeley achieving victory in this conflict. If
the nobility gain any more influence within the military, the Imperial Army
itself will fall apart. Unlike all of you, the count conducts himself in an
exemplary manner. If he's going to fight House Berkeley, then the whole of
the army out on the borders will be siding with him."
Too many honest Imperial soldiers had suffered because of the
influence wielded by noble generals like these. In particular, fleets out on
the Empire's borders had become increasingly frustrated with the nobility.
Up until now, they'd had to sit back and take it, but Liam had emboldened
them to finally take action. To these soldiers from the borders, it was much
more appealing to support Liam and see House Berkeley fall.
"A-attack them!" one of the noble generals shouted to his people.
His opponent didn't appear the least bit worried.
"I had a feeling it would go this way. Sorry, but I think you'll find
you're more than a little outmatched here in terms of experience. It's time
for you to learn a lesson from true soldiers."
Consequently, the nobles' fleet was wiped out by the Imperial
regular army without Liam having to lift a finger.
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