Book 12: Chapter 6: Banfield Territory Defense (1)
"The Empire has not only failed to respond to the loyalty of the Banfield family, but has sent an army of conquerors to conquer us! Is this justice? It is definitely not justice!"
The main planet of the Banfield family has a plaza for outdoor ceremonies.
It is I, Liam Sera Banfield, who will give a speech in that place, which is more than large enough for the occasion.
Under a blue sky, I speak to the people of the territory from a prepared stage with gestures.
How this battle is right - and the enemy is wrong.
People are creatures who can be most cruel the moment they think they are righteous.
That is why we need a cause.
"Remember the war against the High Kingdom! We showed our devotion to the empire with deadly force and without even receiving a reward. But what has the Empire done for us?"
I say to the people listening to my speech.
"They did nothing. They did not respond to our devotion, but rather accused us of treason and treated us as traitors. Is this justice? Which is evil?"
The people will answer.
"The empire!!"
I hear them shout, and then I put my hand out in front of me.
I hear their cries, and then I put my hand forward.
When they calm down, I continue.
"Cleo betrayed us after we raised him to the position of crown prince. This is what it means to return the favor. But I endured. I endured this as it had to be done, and I accepted the dispatch to the High Kingdoms. I did not accept any reward, and I endured and persevered."
As I was acting as if I was speaking from my bitter heart, I could hear the voices of my fellow citizens expressing their concern.
It's not the lord's fault.
Liam-sama is not bad.
The Banfield family is not bad.
I struggled to hold back my laughter.
Nothing is wrong? That was a lie.
I was preparing to rebel, to buy the fight I had been sold.
The empire is evil, but I am evil too.
When I saw that the anger of the people was directed at the empire, I looked up and declared, "The empire is six million strong."
"But fear not! This is the Banfield family's territory - our garden. We will not let them get away with this! I hereby pledge that we will defeat the imperial army and win the war!"
The people applaud my words!
- but the world is not so sweet.
The reason why no one has voiced dissenting opinions so far is because I've been able to cherry-pick among the people in the audience.
They were instructed to raise their voices at the appropriate time.
This level of detail was tantamount to child's play to Kukri and the rest of the dark side.
As I flip my cloak and leave the podium, a bureaucrat stands in my place to give a detailed report.
He tells them what is about to happen and what they should do to help their lord.
I head backstage, where Marie is waiting for me.
Kukri is also there.
I take off my cloak and hand it to Marie as I walk, and they follow.
As usual, Marie praises me.
"It was a wonderful speech," she commented.
"It's the same for anyone. I'm afraid that I can manipulate the people so easily."
They are easily agitated and stupid, that's what I thought, and Kukri looked uncomfortable.
"Liam-sama, I have a report to make."
"What is it?"
I tried to listen to Kukri in a good mood, but he seemed to be in a bit of a bind.
"I have a report from one of our hidden Sakura. Apparently, there was no need for you to raise your voice at all."
"Hm?"
I stopped and looked at Kukri, who gave me further information.
"She said it was unnecessary to manipulate them. The morale of the people seems to have been high to begin with."
"Why?"
I stop, not understanding, and Marie is frolicking with her right hand on her cheek.
"It is a planet ruled by Liam-sama, after all. This is also proof that Liam-sama is a great ruler."
Looking at the happy Marie, I was dumbfounded.
-If you were truly capable, then you would not be in this situation in the first place.
This is all a result of me.
The empire didn't like it, so I picked a fight with them.
I don't care about Cleo's betrayal.
It's just one more enemy.
"Are my men and the people in the fiefdom all idiots? --Huh, Kukri, proceed as planned from now on."
"Ha!"
Kukri replies, and disappears as if sinking to the ground.
Marie follows behind me and reports on her fleet.
"Liam-sama, I too will be leaving the planet tomorrow. I've been entrusted with one of the most important bases on the planet, and I'll make sure to protect it."
Marie has many problems, but she is a capable person who can lead a large fleet to battle.
That's why I entrusted her with one of my important bases.
"Did your fleet arrive in time?"
"--Yes."
Marie, smiling as she responded, seemed satisfied with the finish of the elite fleet she was leading.
The fleet that I established while I was on a secret trip was the original fleet and now it is Marie's elite fleet.
"Keep the local fleet under your command, too."
"Leave it to me, sir. --I'll take care of the local fleet."
Before Marie could ask for anything, I would answer. I don't even have to ask her what she wants, because I know what she wants from the beginning.
"If we win this battle, you'll be in the numbers."
It seems I was not wrong, and Marie was silently burning with fighting spirit.
The opponent who has a sense of rivalry would definitely be Tia.
So, just to be sure, I'm going to nail her.
"--I know you're competing with Tia."
"Yes, sir."
I glared at Marie, who was dismayed at the mention of Tia's name.
The problem with these guys is that if you don't scold them moderately, they will run amok.
"This time, be a grownup and follow Klaus' orders. I've told Tia to stay out of your way. --Don't disappoint me by dragging each other down in this battle."
I don't expect to lose, but still, I can't have my victory spoiled.
Marie looked serious, as if she had been bracing herself.
"Ha!"
"That's fine. --And before you go, make sure you see Rosetta and Edward. Rosetta's been looking out for you."
"Oh, thank you."
The conquering force, which had departed from the Imperial capital planet, grew in numbers as it approached Banfield territory.
They stopped along the way to resupply on an imperial planet, but they sucked up most of the supplies in storage.
To sustain a fleet of six million ships, many times that number of starships and space battleships were on the move.
And on a planet they stopped at on the way, Cleo was greeted with hospitality.
"Our family is very honored that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has stopped by."
"I see."
Sitting in an ornate and luxurious chair, he drank the finest sake the viscount had prepared.
Just one glass of the expensive liquor costs as much as a lifetime's work for the viscount's family lords.
The aristocrats and military personnel who support Cleo in the crowd open the bottles one after the other and drink without tasting the wine.
Cleo drank it all in one gulp, but Hampson, who was sitting nearby, drank it while tasting it.
Cleo, thinking that his rough attitude did not suit him, asked him.
"Hampson, I thought you were a rougher man than that?"
Smiling annoyed, Hampson glanced at the Viscount.
The viscount is looking somewhat pale in front of the expensive liquor and food that are being consumed one after another. It's not just the liquor and food.
The empire pays the price, but the stockpiled supplies and other items in the territory are being uprooted.
The more sane lords feel sick to their stomachs.
They could use the money to buy from somewhere else, but prices have already skyrocketed in the empire.
If they were not good enough, they would have to go into the negative.
Knowing this, Hampson raised his glass to the viscount.
"I thank you for your hospitality, Viscount. I will remember you."
"Thank you, sir."
Cleo looked at the Viscount curiously as he bowed deeply.
Hampson said.
"It seems that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince does not understand the feelings of country lords. Didn't Banfield teach you that?"
Cleo is miffed at the thought of Liam.
"He was already a very wealthy man when he met me."
"I see."
Hampson said nothing more to Cleo.
Because he understood that Cleo's understanding of the feelings of the frontier lords would not change anything in the empire.
Tride joined the conversation.
"Even so, it's amazing what a huge army of six million can do. On every planet we stop by, their supplies are siphoned off. Some of them seem to be on a rampage, though?"
The one to whom Tride's gaze was directed was General Cozmo.
He pretends to be aware of it, but pretends not to be.
"There are some bad guys out there."
Cleo knew that they were looting the planets they stopped by.
"General Cozmo, don't make too much money before the real deal."
But he had no intention of pursuing it.
Cozmo drank his drink in a good mood.
"If the Crown Prince so orders!"
He must have thought he was allowed some leeway.
Dustin, who was sitting nearby, ate the food served to him with good manners.
" --Your Highness, the Crown Prince. I have a favor to ask of you."
"What is it?"
"I may not be able to kill Liam, but I want the head of his apprentice. It would be a great opportunity to make Roman swordsmanship known to the world. --If there is a knight named Ellen Sera Tyller, please let me know."
He offered to promote Roman swordsmanship and his victory over One-Flash to the world.
Cleo accepted.
"You can do whatever you want. If you succeed, I may recommend your disciple to become a sword saint."
If he is recommended to become a sword saint, Roman swordsmanship will become a major sword art in the empire.
He pushed aside the two major sword arts and could see the sign that he was the strongest.
Dustin licked his lips with his tongue.
"Then I will ask for the best disciple."
The Banfield family spaceport.
The general flagship [Argos] that I boarded had personnel boarding one after another.
The time of departure is approaching.
At the spaceport, there were Amagi, Brian, Rosetta, and Edward.
Amagi and Brian were behind them, and Rosetta was hugging me.
"Good luck, Darling."
I was about to pray to the guide as usual when Edward hugged me on the leg.
"Father, may you have good luck."
Edward, looking up at me, must have been imitating Rosetta.
He didn't seem to understand what he was saying, and he didn't seem to know where I was headed.
I put my hand on his head, annoyed.
"--Well, leave it to me."
I left them both and headed for Argos as if to escape.
I turned around once to look at Amagi and saw that Brian was crying next to her, crying like a donkey.
Amagi noticed my glance and lightly bailed.
I responded by raising my hand and dashing over to Argos.
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