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Vol. 10 Prologue
🕑 Added 2022-02-28 10:48:37 +0000 UTCTranslator: Eternia
Editor: Baset
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Where did things go wrong?
On top of a mountain of garbage which had piled up, the Guide was hugging his knees, and asked himself this question.
“Liam now has the strength to defeat us. What now?”
By unleashing what he called the ‘True One-Flash', Liam had been able to defeat Gudwar.
In other words, his attacks could now reach the Guide as well.
“Should I just leave him alone? B-But then what about my feelings? I've sworn to take revenge on him!”
Liam had ranked up from being someone he couldn't touch easily to someone who could erase his existence if handled carelessly.
And this was all because of a school of swordsmanship that never existed in the first place.
“He's the anomaly here! One-Flash my foot! To think he'd seriously believe in that hoax of a street performer, and even reproduce it. There must be something wrong with him.”
Through his own misunderstanding and diligence, Liam had given birth to a swordsmanship that shouldn't have existed, and his abilities were about to transcend the natural boundaries of humans.
Someone like Liam couldn't be artificially created.
Put another way, Liam's existence was a miracle in and of itself.
“But as things stand, I'll be erased if I try to approach him.”
The Guide shivered as he recalled the manifestation of power which Liam had unconsciously created.
The light giant embodied Liam's strength, and it would force his gratitude upon the Guide after finding him.
Liam's daily gratitude toward the Guide had led to its creation, and though he wasn't aware of it, the giant would shove his gratitude toward the Guide whenever it could.
Liam had gained power beyond human comprehension, and he wasn't someone the Guide could easily approach anymore.
If he tried to do so, he would be forced to accept Liam's gratitude, which would erase him in the process.
“—In that case, I'll have him die in the real world. Yes, that sounds more feasible.” [1]
Since he couldn't do it himself, he'll have another human perform the deed.
Fortunately for him, Liam had many enemies.
The most the Guide could do at the moment was to support Liam’s enemies in defeating him.
“But— this strategy has failed numerous times in the past.”
The Guide was beginning to lose faith in himself as everyone he supported had eventually met their end.
He slowly raised his heavy body, and looked up at the sky.
The Capital was surrounded by various metals, but there was a starry night reflected in his eyes.
At first glance, the night sky appeared extremely beautiful, but it was nothing more than a projection.
From outer space, the Capital would look like a planet covered in metal.
“Such stuffy air. The Empire's Capital is truly wonderful. The wounds I received from Liam are being healed just by being here.”
Being a connoisseur of negative emotions, the Guide was very much pleased with all the feelings of malice and desire that had accumulated over thousands of years.
The metal shell was there to protect the Capital, but it was also what led to such stale air, making it an excellent location for the Guide to heal from his injuries.
“Well then, shall we take a look at the situation? Calvin seemed to be the most promising candidate.”
Calvin was the Crown Prince of the Algrand Empire. He was someone who stood in the way of Cleo, the third prince, and the one Liam was supporting.
Truth be told, Cleo held no real power. The fierce battle was between Calvin and Liam, Cleo's backer.
At the present time, Calvin was the only person who could compete against Liam, who had become one of the most powerful people in the Empire.
However, there were problems with Calvin as well.
“At the end of the day, Calvin is inferior when placed next to Liam. Can he win with my support? In fact, even if I were to take into account my support, will he even be able to put up a fight?”
The Guide had helped out Liam's opponents many times in the past, yet they were defeated time and time again, to the point where the Guide began asking himself whether his help was doing any good.
Having said that, if he stood by and did nothing, Liam's victory would be all but assured.
“Let's first observe what's going on.”
The Guide decided to the investigate the inner-workings of the Capital.
As he had been away from the Empire for a while, he wasn't as familiar with what was happening as he was before.
He was curious about how Calvin was doing, and so with a heavy heart, he began his investigation.
◇
The building containing Calvin's living quarter was located in the Inner Palace, and had the appearance of a castle.
Though it was called the Inner Palace, the place was extremely huge, and a lot of skyscrapers had been built there, making it almost like a big city.
Kukuri's subordinates were on the floor, collapsed inside the castle's great hall.
While vomiting blood, one of Kukuri's subordinates looked up at Cleo, who stood before them.
“You've betrayed Lord Liam!”
Cleo had short red hair, with only the right side of his bangs being longer than the rest, giving it an unbalanced feeling.
Though he was dressed as a man, he could easily be mistaken as a woman due to his androgynous appearance.
Cleo stared down at Kukuri's subordinates, who had protected him until then, with cold eyes.
“I'm grateful to the Count. I'm only alive right now thanks to Banfield. However— I no longer need him.”
“Even if it's you—!”
Kukuri's subordinate tried to detonate the bomb embedded in his body, but before he could, dozens of blades whizzed past the air and pierced him, stopping the explosion and killing him.
They were in Calvin's castle, and hundreds of his Dark Ops personnel were surrounding Cleo.
Surrounded by many knights, Calvin could be seen descending the staircase leading to the great hall.
He stopped at the middle of the stairs, and looked at Cleo with suspicion in his eyes.
“I didn't think you'd go this far. Count Banfield won't stay silent to such betrayal.”
Kukuri's subordinates were competent, but few in number. As they couldn't be replenished, they were very valuable.
Liam had dispatched three of them to serve as Cleo's escorts as a sign of acknowledgment toward him.
“I'm prepared for that. He and I aren't compatible with one another.”
(There's no turning back now. Liam— it turns out I don't have what it takes to accept you.)
Cleo's eyes had turned pitch black, with no trace of light anywhere.
He regarded Liam, who commanded greater authority than him, as an eyesore.
He could remain safe as long as he had Liam's support, but he could no longer stand being seen as nothing more than an accessory.
Calvin, however, was doubtful of Cleo's words.
“You're throwing away your stable position just for that? What is it that you're trying to achieve? If you had just stayed quiet, you would've had the title of Crown Prince handed to you, and you could've taken over the throne. If you want to drive Count Banfield out, you could've done so after becoming the Emperor.”
If he wanted to become a dictator by cutting off the supporters who backed him, he should have waited until he took the throne.
Cleo's behavior made no sense to Calvin, and Cleo was aware of this as well.
“Forget about becoming the Emperor. I just can't stand being treated as a tool that's under his control.”
—He could no longer bear being treated as an extra who's beside Liam.
“As a man, I wish to leave a mark in this world. I decided it would be better to get rid of Banfield than to accept being regarded as his sidekick.”
Calvin looked at Cleo with squinted eyes, still suspecting the nature of his betrayal.
“In the past, there was someone in the Empire who killed his allies to prove that he'd switched sides, but it was later revealed that the killing of his allies was also a part of the plan to deceive his enemies. I won't trust you just because you've handed over your guards.”
Faced with Calvin's suspicion, Cleo simply shrugged.
“It seems Elder Brother is a person of low caliber.”
The Black Ops personnel and the knights drew their weapons at his words, but Calvin held them back by raising his hand.
“Step back! —Cleo, do you really understand? Betrayal is a heavier act than you think. All the more so considering who you're betraying.”
Are you seriously going to betray Liam, the Count Banfield?
Cleo responded to his question with a faint smile.
“Once Elder Brother becomes Emperor, I will support you from the side. Rather than relying on Banfield, together, we can make the Empire prosper.”
His desire to defeat Liam overshadowed his desire to reach the throne.
Calvin's expression was bitter.
Cleo whispered.
“Elder Brother—you're at your wit's end, aren't you?”
Indeed, from the beginning, Calvin had no choice, but to accept his hand.
Calvin had suffered continuous defeat under Liam, and he had been backed into a corner.
“—Fine.”
Cleo knelt when he heard Calvin's decision.
“From today, I'll act as Elder Brother's arms and legs.”
◇
Humans were such beautiful creatures.
Or so the Guide thought as he watched over the two from behind one of the pillars.
He was even somewhat moved.
Recently, he had to deal with weirdos that forced their gratitude upon him for no reason, but humans were never rational creatures to begin with.
All he had to do was wait for time to pass. Even when everything was going well, something would make them feel dissatisfied, prompting them to plot against each other.
Cleo, who was trapped in his negative thoughts, appeared dazzling to the Guide.
“There's still hopes for humans after all. The enemy of mankind is no doubt mankind itself.”
The Guide gave a heartfelt nod toward Cleo's twisted emotions, and gestured like he was wiping away tears.
“—Cleo and Calvin. If they join hands, it'll surely place Liam in jeopardy. He may be strong, but Liam was still human, barely. Alone, he stands no chance.”
Calvin, Liam’s enemy inside the Empire, and Cleo, who was supposed to be his ally, had joined hands for the sake of subjugating him.
The Guide was delighted over how things were looking for Liam, even without his intervention.
“It seems I've been underestimating the humans. Fret not, for I'll give you two my full support.”
With the Guide watching over them with a smile, Calvin immediately gave Cleo a test.
“Beating Count Banfield, who's known as the Empire's strongest swordsman, is easier said than done. Cleo—what are your thoughts?”
Calvin and his subordinates had failed many a times trying to beat him.
He was simply asking Cleo for his thoughts, but it also doubled as a test.
A test to see whether Cleo was truly on his side. A test to see how useful he would be.
Cleo stood up before he addressed Calvin.
“Why, it's just a matter of pitting the strongest swordsman against the strongest swordsman.”
“You're not wrong, but among the Empire's four Sword Saints, three have already fallen victim to the blades of One-Flash, and the last one can't leave the border unattended. Who can we pit him against?”
It was an obvious answer, but when told that the chance of success was low, Cleo giggled with his fist on his mouth.
With an ominous atmosphere surrounding him, he revealed his plan.
“Let's mass-produce the Banfield Family's strongest mobile knight—Avid.”
“That 'thing' is a lump of rare metals, enough to prepare several fleets.”
“But they'll be worth the price.”
“Even so, we won't have anyone to pilot them.”
“Then all we have to do is prepare them.”
Calvin shook his head.
In response, Cleo, who had been planning this for a long time, projected an image in the air.
“They'll be equipped with artificial intelligence that has analyzed Liam's maneuvering data. For the pilots, we can make clones of Liam.”
“W-What?! Have you gone insane?! Those are both taboos!!!”
Artificial intelligence, that which almost drove mankind to destruction.
Human cloning, a forbidden technology.
Leaving the production of Avid aside, Calvin felt reluctant about the use of the two technologies.
Seeing him hesitate, Cleo spoke to him as if to mislead him.
“What matters is that we achieve victory. It just goes to show that Banfield is that strong of an opponent.”
Calvin was still troubled over what to do, and asked Cleo about how much of the plan was already in motion.
“How far has the plan progressed?”
“We've already started developing the artificial intelligence. Unfortunately, we've yet to acquire Banfield's genes. Worse comes to worse, we'll collect the DNA of Liam's parents and prepare someone that exceeds Liam in capacity. What I want from Elder Brother is to manufacture Avid—no, I want you to prepare a mobile knight which surpasses Avid.”
Calvin still had his doubts, but he didn't know what the future held for him if he lost to Liam.
He would be lucky to be granted a quick death.
Fearing for his future, he promised to prepare a mobile suit that surpassed Avid as he wouldn't have to directly be involved with breaching the taboo.
“Alright. I'll prepare the mobile knight, but will Count Banfield appear on the battlefield?”
“If he doesn't come out, we can just have the mobile knight raise hell and cripple the Banfield Family's military. A suit that can move beyond human limits will surely be capable of destroying the Banfield Family.”
Cold sweat ran down Calvin's back as he watched Cleo laugh.
The Guide was impressed by the lengths Cleo was willing to go, even dabbling with taboos.
At the same time, however, he realized a critical flaw to the plan.
“Wait a minute. He doesn't have Liam's gene, arguably one of the most important components to this plan? Also, Liam's mobile suit has a machine heart, does it not?”
The Guide was worried.
At this rate, Cleo and Calvin would lose.
To increase the chance of winning as much as possible, Liam's DNA would be necessary.
“I-I guess I'll have to step in.”
While the Guide was thinking of how to help them, Cleo passed an order to one of Calvin's subordinates.
“You over there. Shoot me.”
“Eh? Pardon?”
Although his subordinate was confused by Cleo's order, Calvin realized his intentions and reluctantly agreed.
“You're putting yourself in harm's way just to deceive him— You're willing to go that far?”
Upon being asked, Cleo smiled.
“Don't you think my resolve is praiseworthy? Besides, he'll suspect me if I'm unharmed. Even if I'm injured, he'll probably be suspicious of what happened. It'll all be worth it if it weighs on your conscience even just a little bit.”
Cleo was ready to get injured to deceive Liam.
There was a chance of him actually getting killed here, but he wasn't afraid.
Seeing his resolve and determination, Calvin made a sarcastic remark.
“As expected of a prince of the blood-stained Empire.”
“I'm honored.”
Calvin's subordinate raised his pistol, aimed it at Cleo, and pulled the trigger.
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Brian (´・ω・｀): “Lord Liam didn't get to have any screentime. It's painful.”
Wakagi-cahn ( ゜∀゜): “But the heroine (lol), Mr. Guide, did!”
Brian (´・ω・｀)ノ: “Anyway, Volume 3 of 'I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire' is scheduled to be released on April 25th. There's still some stock of the limited edition sold by Melon Books-sama, so if you wish to purchase one, you can do so through online shopping.
[1] No idea why he's suddenly bringing up the topic of “real world”. The raw says 現実世界でリアムを消す, which, translated literally, would be “I'll erase Liam in the real world”.
Editor: I can only figure that he can’t kill the golden samurai, but if he killed Liam’s physical body it might kill the giant.
