Novel Full Chapter 123 - V8 Prologue
The Algrand Empire’s capital planet is gray in color as the entire planet is covered in metal. There are numerous buildings on the planet, but they’re also painted gray.
Everything on the planet is being managed through artificial means.
As impressive as it may sound, I feel slightly uncomfortable because of the lack of greenery.
A clear blue sky is being projected in the air.
Natural disasters don’t occur in the Capital, and even the timing of rain is controlled.
It’s comfortable living on a planet where everything’s being managed, so a lot of people wish to live in the Capital.
As a result, the population density is extremely high.
In my previous life, people showed a tendency to flock towards cities and away from the countryside. It’s the same here, but to a more extreme level.
Many of the apartments only provide people with just enough space to sleep, and most hotels in the Capital are capsule hotels.
Of course, this doesn’t apply to me, Liam Sera Banfield.
Not only am I an aristocrat, I’ve built myself a huge fortune.
Be it fame, money, or power, I have it all. While I’m at the Capital, I live in a well-established luxury hotel.
Rather than renting out the best room like a typical person would, I’ve rented the entire hotel for myself to use.
There’s not much point in doing so, but I’m enjoying the luxurious life at the Capital.
It’s early in the morning right now, and I’m changing into a suit.
As it’s my work uniform, there’s very little decoration.
Everything I wear is custom made and ridiculous expensive.
Standing in front of a mirror, I have Amagi check my appearance.
“Master, your check is complete.”
Amagi checks my appearance every morning.
My clothes are disposable, but Amagi’s different. [1]
“I like the one from before.”
“Then I’ll prepare a new suit for tomorrow.”
I don’t like it, so replace everything!
I can give that kind of order on a whim.
Why? Because I’m great.
If there’s a shirt that I don’t like, I won’t so much as touch its sleeve.
It may sound wasteful, but the aristocrats in this world are allowed to make such decisions.
“Time to go.”
It’s time for me to leave for work.
I’m currently working as a civil officer at the palace.
After graduating from the Imperial University and undergoing a two-year training period, I went ahead and took a break at my territory.
There was that incident where I was summoned to some uncivilized planet, but it wasn’t that bad.
Chino, of the dog tribe, is looking out the window restlessly in her maid uniform.
“Woah~ we’re so high up. Are we above the clouds?”
She’s looking at the scenery outside while making sure to not get too close to the windows.
She hugs Ciel who’s standing next to Rosetta and asks, “Is the building gonna collapse?”
What a cute fellow.
“Chino, be careful not to fall off.”
When I tease her lightly, Chino backs away with her ears and tail standing straight-up.
“Y-y-y-y-you can fall from here!?”
Her legs shiver uncontrollably in fear that she will suddenly fall.
Realizing that I’ve taken the joke a bit too far, I turn towards Amagi.
“You’ll be safe next to Amagi. Amagi, can you take care of Chino for me?”
“Understood.”
Chino jumps towards Amagi in tears as the latter bows to me.
“I-I want my room to be downstairs! In fact, the closer to the ground the better! I-it’s not because I’m scared of heights or anything. Alright?”
Terrified, she expresses her desire to head downstairs
Like I said, she’s really cute.
“I’ll let you have one of the guest rooms downstairs. Ciel, prepare a room for Chino.”
Being addressed by me must feel terrible for her, but Ciel replies without revealing any signs of hatred.
“Acknowledged.”
Yes, this! This is what I’ve always wanted!
I can already feel the reluctance in her heart.
She wants to get rid of me, but she’s helpless to do anything with her meager abilities.
She’s apparently doing various things behind my back, but she hasn’t realized that the information is being leaked.
I would’ve dealt with her already if she was truly competent.
Considering her abilities, it should be fine to leave her alone.
She’s only somewhat capable, which means she can only show a moderate level of struggle.
She’s a rare find.
As I’m celebrating in delight, Rosetta enters the room having finished getting ready.
She smiles at me as she appears wearing a suit jacket and a skirt that goes below her knees.
“Darling seems ready as well. Let’s leave together then.”
My mood drops in an instant.
“Right…”
“Darling will be working at the same place as me. Just thinking about it gets me excited.”
“The same place? I mean it isclose, but you can’t really call it the same place, right?”
“The buildings are close enough, so that’s that.”
That’s… a bit forced.
Rosetta used to be a rebellious woman who hated me more than Ciel.
Unfortunately, she’s like a domesticated cat now. No, is “dog” a better way to put it?
Anyway, she’s practically a beast without fangs.
Her rebellious spirit is nowhere to be found now.
“Whatever. Amagi, call the car.”
“It’s already waiting outside”
Naturally, I ride a car to get to my workplace.
“I guess I’ll put in just enough effort to get through my workload.”
I don’t care about receiving high evaluations.
After all, I’m a distinguished aristocrat.
Just by sitting there silently, I’ll rise up the ladder.
There’s no need to put in any effort.
I leave the room with Rosetta, only to stumble upon the scene of Tia and Marie in maid uniforms glaring at one another.
“I’ll clean the floor that Lord Liam has stepped foot on. Get out of my sight.”
“As if. I’llbe the one to clean every corner of the floor that Lord Liam has visited. ME. Capiche?”
It’s still early in the morning, yet these idiots are already so energetic.
They’re kind of getting on my nerves.
Why are so many of my subordinates so useless?
I guess this is what happens when you prioritize appearance above everything else.
I really should choose my knights based on their skills and loyalty.
It’s not like these two are lacking in those departments, but they’ve got no common sense. Which makes them useless.
“Don’t cause a scene so early in the morning. Since you guys enjoy cleaning so much, make sure to be finished with everything by the time I’m back.”
The girls kneel before me in a hurry after hearing my words.
It feels somewhat surreal watching them kneel in their maid uniforms.
“Good morning, Lord Liam!”
I ignore Tia’s greeting.
“Who told you to kneel? I’ve taught you two how to greet me properly, have I not? Now, do it again.”
As knights, they have no choice but to obey my order for a redo.
They stand back up and greet me the way I taught them to with a blush on their faces.
Tia curls up her hands and uses them as cat ears while sticking out her hip.
“Master, good morning-nyan!”
Meanwhile, Marie’s using her hands to mimic the ears of a rabbit.
“Lord Liam, good morning-pyon!”
It feels great to watch two grown-ups, that have climbed to the top as knights, greeting me in maid uniforms while they shake in shame.
Rosetta looks away from them.
It seems like she’s trying to be considerate.
I guess she couldn’t bear seeing them in such pitiful states.
I’m still far from satisfied.
“That will do for today, but make sure it’s more refined tomorrow.”
Tia and Marie’s shoulders droop when they hear my command.
“As you command, Lord Liam.”
“If that is your wish, Lord Liam.”
I walk past the two regrettable idiots and head for the elevator.
The elevator installed here is wide and has a sofa in it for me to sit on.
Amagi and the others also enter just as I’m sitting down.
It’s a pity, but only my fiancée Rosetta can sit next to me.
I would’ve liked to have Amagi sit down as well, but she refused flatly and said; “That wouldn’t be appropriate”.
Rosetta plops down beside me and starts a conversation as the elevator begins to descend.
“Darling, can I ask you a question?”
“What is it?”
“I heard that the Kingdom of Dominion has attacked. Is Darling not going to fight in that war? Wallace seemed to have expected Darling to participate.”
The Kingdom of Dominion.
Officially, it’s called the Gudwar Kingdom of Dominion, and it’s a country where might makes right.
The kingdom is in a constant state of war, and it’s impressive how they don’t get bored of fighting.
While the Empire wages a lot of war. It still falls short of the Kingdom of Dominion, it’s a country made for Asura. [2]
It’s like hearing about the Shimazu Clan from the Warring States Period. [3]
To put another way, it’s as if the warriors from the Kamakura period [4] have set up base in this Intergalactic Era.
Sorry, but I’m not interested in fighting against those kinds of people.
I refuse to fight against anyone strong. What I enjoy is trampling over the weak.
I’d rather not get involved in fighting against battle maniacs that thirst for battle all year long.
“I don’t feel like fighting right now, and I want to give my army some time to rest.”
“You’re so kind, Darling.”
That of course was a lie.
I make them work like slaves when it’s necessary.
The only reason they’re having a break is because I don’t want to make any moves right now.
I’m not kind.
In fact, I’m extremely selfish and prioritize myself over everyone else.
My political enemy, Calvin, is the one who would be facing against the Kingdom of Dominion.
The Crown Prince himself would be spearheading the army and subjugating the enemies.
It’s because his position has become unstable after being pushed against the wall by the Cleo Faction.
“The Kingdom of Dominion will be up against Calvin. Let’s see how he does in the war.”
“Will His Highness Calvin be able to win? I get that he’s Darling’s political enemy, but I don’t want the Empire to lose.”
Rosetta’s a good-natured girl.
Taking into account the situation of the Empire as a whole, she thinks it’s better for Calvin to win the war.
I beg to differ.
I don’t care who wins or loses, so long as I don’t get hurt in the process.
Heck, if I can benefit from the Empire’s defeat, I’d happily welcome it with open arms.
Things aren’t that simple this time around.
I don’t want the Kingdom of Dominion to gain too much momentum, nor do I want to see Calvin achieve a flawless victory.
In other words, I want both sides to exhaust themselves through the course of the war.
“Calvin’s a competent man. He’s probably going to listen to the advice of his military personnel. The Empire has the upper hand in terms of number, they should be fine.”
Rosetta looks visibly relieved after hearing my confident words.
I’m feeling really annoyed though.
As I said, Calvin’s a competent man.
He was able to shame me in front of everyone at the hearing.
He made a fool out of me and mocked me for the child-making demo that was going on in my territory.
That’s why I won’t make light of him.
The elevator arrives the first floor, and I stand up from my seat.
“I’ll quickly wrap up this civilian officer nonsense and finish my aristocratic training so that I can spend the rest of my life playing around.”
The training that has lasted over 50 years is finally coming to an end.
It was a long time coming, too long in fact.
Back in my previous world, I would’ve been well beyond the halfway point of my life.
“The training will be over in 4 years. W-when that time comes, we’ll finally…”
Rosetta’s face burns bright red as she covers her cheeks with her hands.
I wonder when she became such a disappointing woman.
◇
The Guide was at the Gudwar Kingdom of Dominion, the intergalactic nation which Liam had deemed befitting of the term “Asura”.
He was at the capital of a country where the strong subjugated the weak.
Compared to the Empire’s capital where everything was being managed, this place was far more chaotic.
Fights on the street were normal, and even the so-called police officers were eager to watch them unfold.
The Guide was amazed by what he saw.
“What a barbaric bunch.”
Strength was everything here.
Anyone could rise up in status as long as they were strong.
In a sense, it was a ‘fair’ country.
The Guide was heading to an arena that looked similar to a colosseum.
The blood of millions had been spilt in this fighting arena.
This was where powerful men of the Kingdom of Dominion gathered to decide who was the strongest.
For them, it was a sacred place… yet an eerie existence resided there.
This eerie existence had a mouth which was thin and sharp. It was pressing it against the ground, sucking up whatever blood was soaked into the soil.
“The blood of strong men is always so tasty!”
Despite his facial features, he was an existence similar to the Guide.
Unlike the Guide, he preferred bloodshed over human misery.
As such, he controlled the Kingdom of Dominion from the shadows and ensured that battles would always occur somewhere.
“I finally found you, Gudwar.”
“What a rare occasion for you to contact me first. As someone that can travel between worlds, what do you want with this great me?”
This prideful existence had the same name as the kingdom that it resided in.
“I heard you’ll be attacking the Empire.”
“Staying within the country is getting boring. What? You want me to stay out of your territory?”
Gudwar stood up and readied himself for a fight, to which the Guide held up his hands in surrender.
Liam had weakened him so much that there was no chance of victory.
“Now, now. Hold your horses. I’m just here to inform you about someone strong in the Empire.”
“Someone… strong? Stronger than my pawns?”
The Guide had successfully piqued his interest.
“Of course. There’s someone really strong in the Empire, the type of person that Gudwar likes the most. Want to try beating him?”
“Who is it? Tell me his name!”
“Liam Sera Banfield.”
Hearing Liam’s name, Gudwar’s tentacle-like legs shivered in excitement.
“I’ve heard of him before! Liam of the School of One-Flash! The man who defeated three Sword Saints! I see, so he’s as strong as the rumors say. I look forward to meeting him!”
The Guide politely bowed before Gudwar who was raring to go.
“Your help would be greatly appreciated. Together, let us bury Liam.”
Thus, the Guide gained Gudwar as his ally.