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Vol. 9 Chapter 13 - At a Disadvantage
🕑 Added 2022-01-31 06:37:59 +0000 UTCGoing back in time, a large fleet was cruising through space.
This fleet belonged to Rosetta's personal guards, and rather than having state-of-the-art equipment like Liam, this fleet was equipped with weapons that were currently mainstream.
It was a sight to behold as the 20,000 battleships present all bore the crest of the Claudia Family.
Rosetta, who was overseeing the situation from the bridge, shifted uncomfortably on her exclusive seat.
As Liam's wife-to-be, her seat looked as luxurious as a queen's.
The seat itself was made with functionality in mind, but it had been decorated afterward.
“Have we gone overboard with the numbers?” Rosetta asked worriedly with her hand on her cheek.
Ciel, who was in her maid outfit, dispelled her mistress' worries.
“Absolutely not! This just goes to show how many people support Lady Rosetta!”
Eulisia, who was there to act as Rosetta's military advisor, scowled at Ciel.
“It was within our budget, but we've clearly gone too far.”
Rosetta felt slightly guilty after hearing what Eulisia had to say.
“You're right. We might have taken things a bit too far.”
“It's not just a bit. Lady Rosetta's military might now surpass that of an average Count.”
With Eulisia correcting her, Rosetta's figure shrunk even further.
“I wonder if it's really alright for us to go out, and train like this.”
They were conducting a huge military exercise with their entire army this time around.
In a sense, it was to showcase Rosetta's military prowess, and Ciel had been the one to plan this out.
“It won't pose any problems. It's to show everyone how wonderful Lady Rosetta's personal guards—huh?”
Ciel suddenly stopped mid-sentence and looked around.
“What's up with you?” Eulisia asked with her arms crossed.
“N-nothing. It's just... I thought I heard a dog howling.”
Exasperated, Eulisia let out a small sigh.
“If it's about Chino, she's back at the mansion.”
Chino of the dog tribe was working as a maid in Liam's mansion.
Ciel shook her head.
“I wasn't talking about her! It was a howl from an actual do—”
Suddenly, there was a stir among the operators.
“Lady Rosetta, our fleet has received a request for reinforcements.”
Rosetta's expression changed.
“A request for reinforcements? From which fleet?”
“It's a fleet that exists in our database, but none of its information is disclosed.”
“By my authority, find out which fleet it belongs to.”
“Yes, ma'am!”
Further investigation revealed that the request was from a special fleet that Liam had put together.
“It's—it's from Lord Liam's fleet!”
“Darling's?!”
The operator confirmed the situation.
“It seems he's engaged in battle against some Calvinist aristocrats. They're outnumbered 60 to 1!”
A commotion arose inside the bridge.
Eulisia was quick to try and establish contact with fleet.
Meanwhile, the commander on board Rosetta's mother ship was issuing orders to his subordinates.
“Quick, request help from the main planet!”
Rosetta stood up.
“All ships of my personal guard are to head to the battlefield. We're going to rescue Darling.”
“L-Lady Rosetta?!”
Surprised, the commander tried to persuade her to return to the Banfield Family's home planet, but she shook her head.
“I've made my mind. We're going there to help!”
Seeing how determined she was, the commander gave in, and Rosetta's personal guards started heading towards Liam.
(H-huh? Did my plans somehow end up saving Liam?)
Such were Ciel's thoughts on the matter.
◇
—This shouldn't be happening.
An urge to retort wells up within me as I witness the appearance of a huge fleet consisting 20,000 battleships.
“N-no. This ain't it, Guide!”
Inside Avid's cockpit, I cut off communication with Marie and proceed to hold my head in my hands.
“Why does it have to be Rosetta of all people?! It could have been literally anyone else!”
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that one day I'd be saved by Rosetta.
I agonize for a while before firmly grasping onto the control stick.
“I'll take it out on you guys!!!!”
I set off with Avid, and direct my pent-up anger towards the Calvinist aristocrats that are rushing in.
◇
A pilot that belonged to the enemy fleet later recounted what happened on that fateful day.
“I still dream of what happened that day. —It was a nightmare.”
The pilot had already been defeated and was drifting in space by the time Liam made his appearance on the battlefield.
He had been swept away, and could only watch the battlefield from a distance.
“The monitor inside the cockpit was still working, so I could watch what was happening outside, but I'm sure no one would believe what I'm about to say. Heck, I don't want to believe it either.”
A video had been recorded, but people were dismissing it as edited footage.
It was just that unbelievable.
“Wherever Avid passed, allied ships would explode soon after. They'd be chopped up before being engulfed by the ensuing explosion. Explosions followed wherever he passed, almost as if he was being tailed.”
The pilot chugged some beer.
“The Count's fleet tried to retreat, but the mercenaries that turned traitor blocked their path, cutting off any escape. They even offered to surrender, I'm sure of it since the message also reached my cockpit. —But do you know what their response was?”
Apparently, Marie, the commander of Liam's fleet, had looked coldly at the Count's fleet which had offered to surrender and said, 'We won't be accepting any surrenders. This is the end of the road for you.'
The pilot laughed as he cried.
“A strange story, isn't it? We had 50,000 ships on our side even if we accounted for the traitors. The enemy numbered around 24,000. In other words, we had double their number, and yet we were still overwhelmed. I-I could only watch on as our side was crushed.”
The pilot was asked why the battle happened in the first place.
“Why did we fight? We were commanded to fight by our higher-ups. I have no clue why. —Having said that, there are rumors that say the Count's idiot son kidnapped Liam's master. Yeah, the one from One-Flash. Enraged, Liam is said to have raided the son's mansion. Unbelievable, isn't it?”
No one believed such a rumor.
The must be another reason for one of the Empire's most illustrious aristocrats, Count Banfield, to bother heading to such a remote planet—or at least that was what the pilot thought.
“There was so much light coming from our fleet as ships exploded. On the other hand, I couldn't see any such light coming from the enemies. I knew our fleet was a paper tiger, but I didn't think we'd be that weak. We were confident in winning because we outnumbered them greatly.”
The pilot's hands shook, perhaps recalling the scene of battle.
“There are legit some dangerous knights in the Banfield Family. I've heard about them from rumors, but seeing them on the battlefield was something else. They were skilled, sure, but the scariest thing about them is that they're drunk on battle. They aren't afraid to die, and that's what's most terrifying about them. One particular ranked knight that appeared during the middle was scary as all heck. —I'm talking about that Chengshi. She's a maniac that used to rampage on the battlefield, attacking friends and foes alike. And yet that lunatic is serving as a loyal vassal under Liam. Can you believe that?”
Liam had won countless battles where the odds were stacked against him.
The pilot was asked if he knew that.
“You think we'd have challenged him if we knew that from the beginning? We just assumed it was a story that people liked to pass around on the battlefield. We thought the stories were exaggerated. I mean, even if they were strong, how strong could they possibly be, you know? Still, we were cautious about it and gathered 60 times their force, and yet we were overrun.”
The pilot was then asked about Liam, who was on the battlefield.
“Liam? For the people living in the Banfield's territory, he's no doubt a virtuous lord. I'm so jealous of them I could cry. After all, our lord was a terrible person.”
Was? What's with the past tense? What happened to him?
“—Dead. When the survivors returned to the territory, we were told that the Count and all his descendants died. Rumors say they were silenced, but no one knows what really happened. All we heard is that they were killed in a pretty terrible way.”
The pilot stood up from his seat before further questions could be asked.
“Anyway, I don't want to remember what happened, and I've decided never to get involved with anything that has to do with the Banfields or Liam. I've seen a lot of things on the battlefield, but that—that's a real monster.”
◇
With the battle over and done with, I left the clean-up to my subordinates, and decided to laze around on my ship...or so I hoped.
Now that the battle has ended, Marie's tending to my injuries with tears in her eyes.
“Wounds on Lord Liam's body—wounds—this Marie is disappointed by her incompetence. Please allow me to repent by taking my life.”
“Are you stupid? Shut up, and just keep doing your work.”
Though I say this, I'm sure that Marie, who's overflowing with loyalty, will think something along the lines of 'Lord Liam has forgiven me. Such benevolence!'
She's such a perfect example of a corporate slave that it's making me nauseous.
As I used to be a corporate slave before, I hate the notion of it.
I believe in simplicity.
Don't expect anything else. Pay and be paid only for what one has done.
That's all there is to it, and that's all there needs to be.
After getting treated, I sit upright on the tatami mat that has been prepared and fix my appearance.
Rinho and Fuuka are already sitting upright in seiza, and Ellen has also sat down after me.
Before us is Master, and his family.
“Master, we're glad that you're safe and well.”
I bow my head, and so do Rinho and Fuuka.
For some reason, I sense hesitation from Ellen—I should scold her later on.
Master Yasushi laughs out loud.
“Hahaha, I'm grateful for your help.”
Master's such a generous man.
However, there's still something that's bothering us.
Fuuka is the first to open her mouth.
“Master! How did you get caught by those bastards from the Original One-Flash! Since it's Master we're talking about, a swing of your sword would've been enough to deal with those small fries!”
—Exactly. How was Master caught?
Rinho asks about Master's condition.
“Master, what did you mean when you said you can't fight anymore?! You used to be so strong! What happened?”
Besides those two, I have some questions that I'd like to ask as well.
“Master, unfortunately, we weren't able to locate the instructor of the Original One-Flash. I thought he'd be with the governor, but we failed to find him even with the help of Kukuri and his men.”
Master, having heard our questions, folds his arms, and closes his arms.
I'm also interested in what happened with that giant octopus.
“Not to mention that monster. It seemed to have a deep-rooted hatred for the School of One-Flash. Did something happen in the past?
It was my first-time meeting with that monster, but it seemed to know me, or rather, it seemed to know about the School of One-Flash.
The giant octopus hadn't bothered masking its hostility as it called the School of One-Flash something that shouldn't exist.
Master Yasushi opens his eyes and addresses our questions.
“It seems like the time has arrived for me to reveal everything.”
At long last, Master begins recounting the secrets of the School of One Flash.
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Brian (*´ω｀*): “This Brian is relieved to hear that Volume 2 of 'I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!' is being well-received by the readers. Please look forward to Lord Liam's future successes in both the light novel and the web novel.”
Wakagi-chan ( ゜∀゜): “Volume 7 of 'The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs' will be released next month, so please look forward to that as well!”
