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Vol. 8 Chapter 5 - Traitor?
🕑 Added 2021-08-30 09:08:27 +0000 UTCTranslator: Eternia
Editor: Baset
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There's a planet near the Empire's border with the Gudwar Kingdom of Dominion.
I say “near” loosely here as it's only in respect to the sheer size of an intergalactic nation.
In actuality, the distance between them is very far.
However, it's in a position that can be easily reached using warp technology.
As such, the planet where I was dispatched to is considered a strategically important base, especially now that the front line has moved.
It used to be one of the planets behind the front lines, but its importance has increased after the Imperial Army was pushed back.
-On the bridge of a battleship-
The floor beneath us has changed into monitors, showing us the planet which will be developed into an important base.
It feels really nice to look down from a high place.
“To think they'd dispatch me to build such an important base. The Empire must be seriously lacking in manpower.”
Wallace, who's been forced to tag along, yells at me after seeing me grin.
I brought him with me since he was trying to finish his training at the Capital without doing any form of actual work.
From his perspective, it's like being banished from the safe confines of the Capital and being sent to the front lines.
If I were to draw an analogy, it's like being demoted and moved from the company headquarters to one of its remote branch offices.
What's more, it's a branch office without any infrastructure to work with.
“Liam, you moron! You should've refused this sort of work! You have enough authority to do so, do you not!?”
“I do. In fact, I could slap it away whenever I wish to.”
“Then why!?”
“Just cuz. Now, don't get so upset. I was getting bored of the Capital anyway. It's not a bad idea to sit back and watch how Calvin's doing here.”
The planet beneath us doesn't have a ruler as its former lord was an aristocrat that fell to ruins.
The Empire has been thinking of dispatching a deputy in his place, but truth be told, developing such a remote planet doesn't bring much benefit to the Empire.
There's no need to bother with such remote places as there are a lot of other undeveloped planets under the Empire's direct control.
Even if the Empire acquires a planet that's already been exhausted, they don't stand to gain much.
I was dispatched here this time around to act as a civil officer so that this planet can be developed into one which could support the front lines.
To this end, the Imperial Army has dispatched 3,000 of its battleships.
Not only that, there's a transport fleet containing the materials which would be used for the planet's development with a Major General leading this fleet.
I'm a civil officer at the moment, but if I were to return to the army, I'd be a Lieutenant General. Wait, no, I think I'm a General now?
Either way, not only am I a future Duke, I hold a high position in the military as well.
The Major General has no right to tell me what to do as I'm essentially the highest ranking officer here.
I get contacted by the Major General while Wallace is complaining, and a 3D image of him saluting gets projected into the air.
He seems to be in his mid-twenties, but what's his actual age?
The thing about living in an intergalactic nation is that it's difficult to determine people's age with their appearance alone.
“Substitute Deputy Officer, the transport fleet has arrived safely.”
“I see. Wait until given further orders.”
“U-understood.”
The call ends there, but Wallace seems to feel sorry for the Major General.
He looks like he wants to say something.
“Out with it.”
“Usually, it's the military officer that gets to act all high and mighty. It just feels weird that he's behaving like your inferior.”
Even if I'm an aristocrat, I'm probably just another brat who hasn't finished his training in the eyes of the military officer.
The Major General is supposed to be in command, but Wallace must be feeling sorry for him since he's being led around by a kid like me.
There's a reason for this.
Not only do I frequently give the army bribes and by that, I mean the usual greetings. I also purchase weapons from them whenever they're selling things.
Due to these reasons, the Imperial Army has a favorable opinion of me.
As such, the Major General wouldn't want to accidentally offend me.
What's more, since I knew that I'd be coming all the way to the frontier, I came prepared.
In contrast to the 3,000 Imperial troops, I've brought with me 30,000 of my own ships from my private army.
Even if the Major General tries to put up a front, he'd have no choice but to shut up in front of such a massive difference in numbers.
I'll crush you if you complain! That's the message that I'm trying to convey.
Oh, and I also brought Avid with me this time.
That goes to show that I'm pretty serious about this mission.
“More importantly, the planet's situation is a bit...”
I brush aside whatever Wallace was about to say midway, prompting him to say, “You're just going to ignore this?”
See, the problem on our hands isn't the military officer.
It's the planet that is beneath our feet... it's in a really terrible condition.
It's a desolate place, probably because the former lord was incompetent.
I'm alright with him trying to be an evil lord and squeezing his citizens dry.
The problem here is that the territory's been exhausted and is on the verge of collapse.
That's just no good at all.
The art of squeezing citizens dry is to leave them in a state where they could neither live nor die.
Since the former lord couldn't do something so simple, he's worthless in my eyes.
Villains must be strong.
All else is worthless.
“The planet's in a horrible condition. This will take a while.”
Wallace draws back after seeing me look down at the planet with a grin.
He must be wondering how I could act so cheerful after being sent to the frontier, but I've brought my fleet with me, and within that fleet is the huge Fortress Class Mobile battleship.
Thus, I can enjoy a luxurious life even if I'm in the countryside.
Wallace droops his shoulders and looks at the data of the planet that we've been assigned to.
“Are we really setting up base here? The population's less than a hundred million, not to mention that the territory's already exhausted.”
The former lord apparently portrayed aristocrats as gods.
If I were to reference my previous life, the people on this planet are living like those from the Middle Ages.
It seems the former lord was a fan of watching people struggle, leading to this travesty of a territory.
Nobody would be willing to develop this kind of territory.
In fact, no one even bothered to lay their hands on this planet before we got dispatched.
It would've been fine to leave things as is if this was any ordinary territory, but we must make sure this planet is equipped to support the front lines.
This is quite the responsibility.
“Worry not, for we have a good chance of succeeding. I'll get some things done before that person arrives.”
Hearing me mention someone else, Wallace tilts his head.
“Someone other than us was dispatched here?”
“Yeah... and they'll be here soon.”
◇
Liam had been sent to a remote planet.
He had left with such hurry in the midst of his training that Rosetta, who was left behind in the Capital, became somewhat suspicious of what was going on.
However, Rosetta couldn't raise a fuss as Liam had happily accepted the transfer before heading to the distant planet.
As a result, the Cleo Faction was lacking someone that could bring the people together.
On the other hand, those who had laid low due to Calvin's absence saw this as an opportunity.
The same was true for Rosetta's senior.
She deliberately sat down on Rosetta's desk while the person in question was busy working.
“I've heard that your fiancé was sent to the frontier. What kind of mistake did he make?”
For those working as officials inside the Capital, being sent to the frontier was seen as a form of punishment.
Not a single aristocrat would willingly head there unless they're guaranteed a decent position along with the promise to be welcomed back to the Capital.
Being sent to the frontier was essentially a form of demotion.
“I was told that it's an important task where he provides His Highness Calvin with assistance. Are you implying that that's a demotion?”
Her senior's face turned bright red after being told that Liam was there to wipe up the mess that their leader had made.
“Is that all you have to say for yourself? Now that your fiancé isn't here, we're no longer scared of you.”
They hadn't been too blatant about how they got about doing things because of their fear of Liam.
There were few aristocrats left in the Capital that dared pick a fight with Liam after his previous display of power.
However, that wasn't to say that there was no one left within the Empire.
Some knights were eager for duels, and there were some aristocrats that haven't heard of Liam's name.
Because of how huge the Empire was, many people were unaware of the happenings inside the Capital.
Just as her senior was about to get off from the desk and yank Rosetta off her chair, one of the female knights guarding the floor called out to her.
“Lady Rosetta, you have a visitor.”
“Me?”
Rosetta ignored her senior and left the office, only to find Marion waiting there.
With a friendly smile on his face, he waved his right hand.
As they were standing in the hallway, Rosetta brought him into one of the rooms where they sat face to face.
“You're one of Darling's colleagues, right? Why have you sought me out?”
Marion flashed a fearless smile, afterwhich he stood up from the sofa to approach Rosetta.
Rosetta was hesitant at first about being approached so casually, but ultimately decided not to resist.
Marion lift her chin with his fingers.
“I'll soon be chasing after Liam-senpai who has left the Capital. Even so, to leave behind such a beautiful fiancée... If you were mine, you wouldn't have to experience such a thing.”
Rosetta was somewhat bewildered by Marion's sudden advances.
“I'm sure Darling has his own ideas. Now, if there's nothing else, I'll be heading back. I'm quite busy, you see.”
Marion let out a light sigh before distancing himself from Rosetta.
“That's a shame... Now then, to the matter at hand. I'd be heading to where Liam-senpai is at, so I was wondering if there's any message that you want me to deliver.”
In other words, he hadn't come here for any particular purpose.
If Rosetta wished to speak with Liam, she could do so easily through her terminal.
“So, what's your real reason for coming here?”
“You're slower than I thought. I came to seduce you.”
Rosetta maintained an indifferent expression against Marion's provacative smile.
“Please stop with the jokes.”
“Fine, for now that is. Leaving that aside, Liam-senpai might lose his life if nothing is done.”
“...And what do you mean by that?”
Marion played with his bangs using his fingertips and pretended to be clueless.
“That's a secret, but if you accept my invitation, I might tell you.”
There was no way she could do that.
Disgusted, Rosetta left, leaving Marion alone inside the room.
Seeing her leave, Marion simply shrugged.
After leaving the room, Rosetta leaned against one of the walls of the hallway, casting a shadow beneath her.
From her shadow, one of Kukuri's masked subordinates appeared.
Rosetta handed down an order.
“Can you investigate that person?”
However, Kukuri's subordinate refused.
“Lord Liam has ordered to leave him alone.”
“Leave him alone?”
“Yes. If it wasn't for Lord Laim's order, I would have subdued him the moment he approached Lady Rosetta.”
Kukuri had assigned a female subordinate other than Kunai to her.
“If Lady Rosetta is displeased with him, should I give him a stern warning?”
“Nevermind, I wouldn't want to disrupt Darling's plans.”
“Understood.”
Kukuri's subordinate faded back into the shadow.
◇
Marion was speaking to someone inside the room where Rosetta had left.
“Yes, it failed... She's a tough nut to crack. I didn't have to be too serious about this, right? Especially since our main goal lies somewhere else.”
The other party's voice couldn't be heard, and the small screen floating in the air was pitch black as well.
Marion continued his monologue.
“As planned, I'll keep an eye on Liam. Have you ever seen me fail before? There's no need for worries... Yes.”
He had harassed Rosetta a bit, but he didn't think it would succeed anyway.
When the call ended, he loosened the area of the shirt near his neck.
“It doesn't matter either way, but it's been a while since I was rejected so flatly.”
He was slightly bothered that Rosetta didn't even bat an eye to his advances.
He was confident in his androgynous appearance that looked like an idol's, and he had never failed to get a woman before.
“It's slightly frustrating... I'll make Liam-senpai pay in full for this grievance.”
Marion laughed with a smirk and left the room after fixing his appearance.
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Brian (´；ω；｀): “Volume 1 of 'I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire' is doing so well that this Brian can't stop crying. It's popular enough to get reprints! Eh? Marion-dono? Oh, he's...”
Wakagi-chan (゜∀゜): “I'm the idol of postscripts! Volume 6 of 'The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs' will be on sale soon! Please look upon it favorably as well!”
Brian (´；ω；｀): “For how long will this plant freeload here? It's painful.”
