Volume 11 Chapter 9 - The Strong

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The Kingdom of Dominion’s fleet led by Aluna was rescuing another fleet that had suffered attacks from the Banfield Family.

As to be expected from the Kingdom of Dominion, the purpose of this rescue operation was to scavenge as much information about the Banfield Family as possible.

Now that they were about to fight, Aluna wished to figure out how powerful their opponents were.

A soldier whose injuries hadn’t completely healed was brought into the conference room where he was surrounded and asked a lot of questions.

“Less than a million ships, you say!? How bold of them!”

“If it weren’t Liam and Klaus commanding them, I would’ve assumed their commander was nuts!”

“Since the knights want Liam’s head while the generals want Klaus’, why don’t we put up a bounty?”

“There’s no need for that. Such a thing will only taint the battlefield.”

Naturally, Liam and Klaus were the main topics of their conversation.

Aluna, however, wished to know more about the other commanders as well.

“Are there any enemies that we should be wary of besides Liam and Klaus?” she asked the injured soldier.

“Apparently, there’s a troublesome fleet that’s ten thousand strong which is responsible for guerrilla warfare. Its leader is a knight named Marie.”

“Marie? As I recall, the Empire used to have a knight named Marie Marian in the past. A female knight that was once part of the Three Knights. When I was young, my heart thumped whenever I heard about her tales.”

Aluna chuckled as she reminisced about the stories that she used to hear regarding the female knight back when she was a child.

An imperial knight that served the Empire more than 2,000 years ago. While the Kingdom of Dominion never met Marie on the battlefield, they’d heard various rumors about her.

Though she had been forgotten within the Empire, her stories persisted to this day in the Kingdom of Dominion as its citizens loved to hear tales about heroes.

The other generals also joined in on the conversation, livening up the mood inside the conference room.

“Ah, Your Highness must be referring to Mad Dog Marie. The hero was given this nickname due to her violent style of fighting. I’ve always wanted to fight her at least once.”

This was a sentiment that Aluna shared.

However, at the end of the day, Marie was a figure from the past.

She was more hung up about someone else, a knight that she could’ve potentially crossed swords with.

“It’s truly a pity. I remember being disappointed after hearing the news of the princess knight’s defeat at the hands of space pirates.”

“Is this about Christina the Princess Knight? She was indeed first-class, both as a knight and a commander. Alas, she was betrayed by her allies…”

If Princess Knight Christina had been alive, Aluna would’ve had the chance to fight her.

“To be stabbed in the back by her allies…it just means she wasn’t destined for greatness. That said, it would’ve been nice if we had met on the battlefield,” she muttered regrettably.

There was a lot of chatter in the conference room when the injured soldier opened his mouth with a solemn expression.

“This may just be a coincidence, but—”

And that was how he began his tale.

“The aforementioned commander of the guerrilla warfare fleet… her full name is Marie Sera Marian, and the commander who took down the asteroid fortress Torres is someone named Christina Sera Roseblair.”

Aluna narrowed her eyes when she heard this, thinking the injured soldier was plotting something.

However, on second thought, she dismissed the idea as the soldier didn’t seem to be lying.

It was also unlikely that he had been tricked into believing a lie as the soldier had undergone several tests and screenings before arriving in this room, and he wouldn’t have been brought here if he was untrustworthy.

“The Princess Knight’s middle name should’ve been Reta. Are you sure it’s not just a case of their commander being named after a famous figure?”

“We aren’t. Nevertheless, this piece of information was brought back by our allies, who risked their lives to obtain it.”

While everyone else appeared uncertain, Aluna ordered one of her subordinates to bring out the records.

“Show me the records of those two in combat.”

“Your Highness, we don’t have any detailed recordings of them. All we have are some videos recovered from our allies.”

“It’s fine, so bring them out!”

A visual of their fleets in combat was projected in the air, and Aluna watched this with a serious expression on her face.

However, this soon turned into a smile, and she even began clapping by the end of it.

“They will do.”

“Pardon, Your Highness?”

Aluna stood up from her seat, responding to her men’s confusion as she did so.

“It doesn’t matter whether they’re the real deal or not! All we care about is how skilled they are, and we’ve just confirmed it. Let’s hope our battle doesn’t stain the name of the heroes.”

And with that, Aluna left the conference room, laughing along the way.

◇

‘Lord Liam, please leave everything to me, your faithful servant Christina! I’ll put up a much better performance than that fossil woman ever will.’

‘Don’t believe in her nonsense, Lord Liam! That minced woman had her brain messed with so hard that she’s no longer capable of making proper judgments. Leave everything to me, and I promise to make a bloodbath out of the Kingdom of Dominion.’

—I’m currently staring coldly at Tia and Marie, both of whom are being projected as 3D images in front of me.

Our huge battle with the Kingdom of Dominion is drawing near, yet these two are still fighting between themselves.

Klaus is also projected in the air beside them, but he’s quietly waiting for the right time to speak.

I let out a small sigh.

“Haa…Klaus, you’ll be in command.”

‘Eh? Will that really be alright? Wouldn’t it be better for Lord Liam to be the commander-in-chief?’

“You want me to sit around doing nothing like a piece of decorative art? And let’s say I do. You’re going to stand beside me and take command of everything anyway. Might as well just hand you the authority while I go out and do my own thing. I’m especially looking forward to confronting Aluna, the newly appointed Crown Princess.”

Izel, the former Crown Prince, was quite powerful.

It might be an interesting idea to pit Aluna against Fuuka and Rinho.

Tia freaks out when I mention going about my own business.

‘Lord Liam, please reconsider! You must stay in the backlines as the commander-in-chief. Otherwise, our troops won’t be able to fight with peace of mind.’

“Oh, all it takes for you to be at ease is for me to remain seated on my chair? Utterly ridiculous.”

‘Lord Liam, you’re the cornerstone of the Banfield Family, the pillar that gives us strength to fight.’

I can understand where she’s coming from, but it’s still a hard no for me.

As someone who’s had a taste of despair in his previous life, I hate those that just sit around giving orders to people.

Also, I want to watch how my troops perform up close.

If I see someone with potential, I’ll nurture them, and if I see someone incompetent holding a high position, I’ll demote them.

“Look at you, trying to give me orders.”

I give Tia a good glare, which earns me a shiver from her. Nevertheless, she stares back, refusing to back down.

—I’m giving her a chance to speak because she has the skill to back it up. If she was all bark and no bite, I would’ve killed her on the spot.

That’s when Marie suggests a compromise.

‘Then please bring with you our most elite troops to act as your escort. It’ll have to be a fleet of no less than 100,000.’

“Bringing that many with me will affect the rest of the fleet. Right, how about this? I’ll pick 30,000 from my personal army and take them out with me. That’ll make moving around easier as well.”

‘!?’

‘You should’ve just stayed quiet,’ Tia mutters beside Marie, whose eyes are threatening to pop out.

As I’m deciding various things on my own, Klaus opens his mouth, no longer able to remain quiet.

‘That won’t do, Lord Liam. If something were to happen to you, it would spell doom for us. The Banfield Family won’t be able to recover from the damage.’

Klaus is right, but…

“Even if I were to perish, the Banfield Family will live on,” I mutter in a voice.

‘I beg your pardon?’

“Nothing. Also, relax. I won’t go down that easily.”

I say this with confidence, but the trio doesn’t seem convinced.

They understand better than anyone that a moment of carelessness can cost someone their life on the battlefield.

However, since I have a flawless track record, they’re having trouble talking me out of my plan.

“Alright, I’ll compromise here. On the surface, we’ll say that I’m the commander-in-chief, so you can tell everyone that I’m in the rear.”

‘Lord Liam, that just means you’ll do as you please!’

I can infer from how alarmed she sounds that Marie isn’t happy with the compromise that I’ve brought up.

“Heck yeah! And if you don’t listen to my arrangement, I’ll demote you!”

For some reason, all three of them come at me even more aggressively despite the mention of a demotion.

In fact, Tia doesn’t seem fazed by it at all.

‘If a demotion is what it takes to change Lord Liam’s mind, I’ll gladly take it!’

“Mind you, I’ll only consider changing my mind.”

Marie seems fine with that as well.

‘I shall be the one to be demoted. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to persuade Lord Liam.’

“What happened to competing over promotions?”

Next in line is Klaus, and the words of the man who’s risen to the rank of the Banfield Family’s head knight manage to astonish me.

‘These two ladies are indispensable members of the Banfield Family. Hence, I’ll be the one to accept the demotion.’

“Are you for real?”

‘Yes. I’m more than willing to work as a regular knight from now on.’

My subordinates are adamant about keeping me here, even if it costs them their career. All I can say is that their loyalty is surprisingly high.

Or maybe they consider this an opportunity to work less. After all, even if they get demoted, their working conditions would be significantly better than in most other places.

No…Marie and Tia aside, Klaus isn’t the type of person to do that.

I raise both hands in surrender.

“Forget it. I won’t be demoting you guys.”

‘I-is that so? Then are we right to assume that Lord Liam will be taking command from the rear?’

It might just be my imagination, but for a split second, Klaus seemed disappointed.

And it appears they’re under the impression that I’ve given in to their demands.

“Nope, I’ll be doing as I please.”

‘Ehhhhhh?’ Klaus exclaims in surprise, probably feeling fed up.

—Seriously though. I would’ve reduced your wages by now if you guys weren’t so competent.

◇

—Several weeks later—

Tia and the Banfield Family’s fleet which numbered around 700,000 strong was battling against the kingdom’s fleet which had become bigger over time.

“Order the troops to go on the offensive! If we dilly-dally for too long, we’ll be put in a difficult spot!”

Tia had on a bitter face as she looked over at the enemy fleet, which was only half their size. She was growing impatient as they were more tenacious than she expected.

—Aluna and the kingdom’s main forces were returning from the Empire, closing in on the Banfield Family from behind.

If they wasted too much time here, they might suffer a pincer attack, which would likely end in their annihilation.

This was why Tia’s Third Division was launching an offensive against the kingdom’s fleet.

However, the kingdom was fending off the Banfield Family relatively well.

Although pirates had come to fear the Banfield Family, the same couldn’t be said about the Kingdom of Dominion.

In fact, it was the other way around, with a fraction of their troops cowering before the kingdom’s fleet.

Tia’s adjutant didn’t shy away from expressing her dissatisfaction when she saw this.

“Our allies are pulling our legs.”

Tia concurred, slamming her fist on her armrest.

“Those useless cowards!”

Many of her troops were wary of the Kingdom of Dominion, having had a taste of defeat before.

Whenever they were ordered to attack, they would hesitate, focusing more on defense instead and disrupting their formation.

The Third Division now numbered above 100,000, having absorbed many allied fleets.

That said, most of these fleets had suffered defeat at the hands of the kingdom and weren’t capable of following orders properly, which frustrated Tia to no end.

That was when her adjutant reported a sudden change in the enemy’s movements.

Tia rushed to investigate what was going on, and she soon learned that two mobile knights had charged into enemy line.

According to her adjutant, it was Fuuka and Rinho piloting the mass-produced Avids.

“Disciples of the School of One Flash have slashed into enemy line!”

“I can see that. Tell me something I don’t know.”

The white aircraft that the two were piloting were replicas of Avid which boasted a high performance, and they belonged to a series known as the [Amaryllis].

Rinho was piloting Ein, whereas Fuuka was piloting Zwei. Both their voices could be heard from the bridge.

‘Ready or not, here I come! You’re dead if you don’t run away!’

Rinho was destroying enemy battleships one after another.

‘Ha! Senior brother’s knights aren’t that big of a deal after all, struggling against enemies of this caliber. I guess I should take the title of Second.’

Liam bestowed numbers to his favorite knights, and within the Banfield Family, they were known as the Numbered Knights.

Being given a number was proof of Liam’s trust, and no one had received it other than Klaus, who was given the title of First.

Christina was furious to hear Fuuka mocking the knights.

“I would’ve beaten her to a pulp already if she wasn’t Lord Liam’s junior disciple.”

Her adjutant, on the other hand, leaped at the opportunity when she saw that the enemy’s formation had collapsed.

“We should use this chance to get our troops back into formation.”

“Place the cowards at the very front. Tell them that we’ll shoot if they try to run away. —I guess this is what happens when an army grows too quickly.”

The troops from the newly acquired territories weren’t yet used to the ways of the Banfield family.

Rinho and Fuuka’s laughter reverberated inside the bridge, which was enveloped in awkward silence.

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Wakagi-chan, pretending to be wise (゜∀゜): “Naegi-chan’s had an epiphany. The thing is—”

Brian (｀・ω・´)ｒ鹵~＜≪巛;゜Д゜)ノ“Ugyyaaaaa!!”

Brian (´・ω・｀): “…Volume 4 of ‘I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!’ is currently on sale. We’d be delighted to have your support!”