Chapter 9:
Black and White
MY FLEET MOVED through space like a beautiful array of lights forging a
path through the abyss. The room prepared for me on the Vár was so gorgeous, I
couldn't believe my eyes. Despite the limited space afforded to most quarters on
a ship, my chambers were vast. Crew members assigned to serve me were lined
up inside.
For some reason, the one who was attending to my every need was Tia,
who was supposed to be a knight. She must have been eager to earn back the
brownie points she'd lost for her tardiness at the spaceport, but I was actually
kind of enjoying watching her grovel.
Tia offered me a drink, and when I took it, she said, "You've finished the
first stage of your training now, Lord Liam. It's a wonderful achievement."
First of all, it's amazing anyone considers what I just went through
"training." Second, it's pretty wild how getting through such a farce is
considered a "wonderful achievement." I don't think anyone should be
praised for this, so she's obviously just flattering me. I have to admit, it feels
pretty good when people butter me up just because of my position.
"It was an utter waste of time. Well, I did get some things out of it." I
caressed the pendant hanging around my neck—the peculiar artifact I'd
discovered during my mining work. I was rather fond of its golden glimmer and
intricate craftsmanship.
As I took a sip of my drink, I spotted Kurt sitting uncomfortably on a
couch. I guess he's having trouble relaxing in here.
I approached him and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, it's just hard to believe we're really on a battleship."
Per my order, some maids stood near Kurt, tending to his needs. He was
the successor to an evil lord, so I wanted him to get used to how it felt. Though
I'd invited Kurt to my room, I'd sent Eila elsewhere. She was the daughter of a
baron, so I couldn't just carelessly invite her to my private quarters.
"Anyway, your fleet is just three hundred ships, right?" Kurt said,
changing the subject. "Are we going straight to my domain? Your troops seem
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ample and well trained, but you'll be up against a lot of pirates." Evidently, he
was worried three hundred wouldn't be enough.
My eyes still fixed on him, I asked Tia, "What are we up against?"
"According to our investigation, the pirate gang lurking in Baron Exner's
domain is three thousand ships strong. Their numbers aren't the only problem—
they've got a fortress as well."
So this pirate gang has a secret base.
"They've probably got some treasure stashed away in there. I'm looking
forward to this." Kurt still looked anxious, so I gave him a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure House Exner gets 30 percent."
"Th-that's not what I'm worried about. You're not nervous at all? I know
we're up against pirates, but sometimes they hire mercenaries too. They're not
going to be pushovers."
This guy really takes things too seriously. I mean, a conscientious evil
lord? He's pretty unique.
"Pirates are a wonderful resource, don't you remember? They gather up
treasure for me and grant me social standing when I defeat them. I plan on
cleaning up every single one of them until none remain."
Plus, I've got the Guide on my side; that's practically divine protection.
My second life has been a string of good fortune, thanks to him. I succeed at
anything I set out to do.
I'd hoped to score a larger bounty, so their numbers disappointed me.
Three thousand? That was nothing. It was encouraging that they had their own
fortress, but I wondered if really big gangs like Goaz's just weren't that
common.
As I pondered this, Tia knelt down and clung to my leg, her eyes blazing
with determination. "Lord Liam, please let me fight in the vanguard!"
"Don't get ahead of yourself. I'll decide what you do."
"I-I'm terribly sorry, sir."
Tia backed up and knelt down again, behaving just like a dog. Kurt must
have been appalled by her audacity too; he gawked at her with his mouth
hanging open.
Just then, Tia received a message on her tablet. "Yes, what is it?"
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When she answered the call, Tia regained the look of a competent knight,
her unfortunate demeanor swept away. Kurt looked even more surprised by her
rapid transformation.
I could hear a voice on the other end. "Enemy ships dead ahead. Twenty
thousand of them."
I cut in, "Enemies in our path? Are they pirates?"
"Pirates and non-pirates as well, sir."
"Explain."
"Well, sir, mixed in with the pirates are ships with a noble crest."
***
By the time we got to the bridge, the two fleets were already facing off. A
large holographic display showed the whole battlefield, and I could tell by
looking at it that the enemy was trying to surround us. Twenty thousand ships
were slowly encircling House Banfield's spherical fleet of three hundred. The
difference in numbers was so vast, it made our armada look laughably small.
"Trying to box us in, eh?" I muttered.
Kurt nodded grimly, his fists shaking with rage. "They aim to encircle and
eliminate. And there are a lot of them. With so many ships, they don't need to do
any clever maneuvering."
I agreed that this number would have been difficult to fight against—with
our current force, at least.
"Where's the main force?" I asked Tia.
"They've already arrived."
It was exactly as she said. Behind the widening enemy force, even more
ships encroached on the display—fifteen thousand in total.
One of the bridge operators turned to me and said, "The main force has
commenced firing on the enemy!"
I watched as my reinforcements attacked the pirates and their allies from
behind. Caught by surprise, the enemy ships couldn't turn around in time and
were mercilessly destroyed. Some of them started charging right at us here at the
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core of the fight instead of trying to engage the newcomers.
"I see they don't know when to give up. Unfortunately for them, their
efforts are futile."
The escort that had come to meet me at House Razel consisted entirely of
elites. These warships were my arms and legs, outfitted with the best in both
personnel and weapons.
Kurt looked panicky as the enemy charged in. "This isn't good, Liam!
They're coming this way! We have to flee!"
"Flee? I don't think so—we're fighting back."
Despite our incoming reinforcements, Kurt couldn't believe I wanted to
surge ahead with only three hundred ships.
"Wait, we can't do that, Liam! The enemy's ready for us!"
I ignored him and gave my order to Tia. "All ships, prepare to charge."
Tia was flushed, panting, and sweating. Her sadistic side kicked in when
she fought against pirates, but then again, she had spent many long years being
tortured by a pirate gang.
"Wipe out all of Lord Liam's enemies!" she cried.
Kurt was aghast at Tia's excitement. He once again tried to talk me out of
my decision. "Liam, this is too dangerous! There are too many of them! Even
with the main force behind them, we—"
The remaining enemies who rushed toward us numbered around three
thousand ships—about ten times my escort fleet.
"It's fine. Those numbers mean nothing to me."
I had the Guide, my guardian deity of good luck, on my side. Plus, the
military I'd been putting together all this time wouldn't lose to an enemy like
this.
***
Observing the scene from out in space, the Guide writhed in pain.
"No way! You've gotta be kidding me! Why did you bring so many allies
with you?! Why?!"
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The Guide thought Liam's fleet would consist of no more than a few
hundred ships, so he'd expected to see it crushed by a force many times that
number, yet the fleet that had come to rendezvous with Liam's escort consisted
of more than fifteen thousand vessels.
He was awash with disbelief. None of it seemed possible. It was almost as
if Liam had been anticipating this ambush.
"My plan is ruined! I used the last of my power to make this happen..."
The Guide had worked hard to pull these ships together from both pirates
and House Petack. It was basically the full force of both groups. The Guide
hadn't actually been able to affect much himself, but the combination of rogues
and nobles should have been enough to crush a single boy-count. With these
surprise reinforcements, the tables had turned in Liam's favor.
Curling up into a ball in the air, the Guide buried his face in his knees and
muttered, "It's over... It's all over..."
Even before the battle was done, the Guide had already resigned himself
to Liam's victory.
***
The pirates were quaking with fear. Their leader, sitting in the
commander's chair on the bridge of his ship, couldn't comprehend what he was
seeing.
"I-I didn't hear anything about this! This kid's the real deal! Wasn't
House Banfield supposed to be a poor ol' family way out in the boonies?"
They were up against fifteen thousand ships. With House Petack's ships in
the mix, they had started with over twenty thousand. Now, even though they'd
still had an advantage of five thousand ships, they were being overwhelmed by
the enemy. Their noble allies were being obliterated all around them, and the
pirates had been cornered almost instantly. They tried to come back from the
brink by focusing their attack on Liam's presumed flagship, but the original
three-hundred-ship fleet was fierce, pummeling all contenders.
"Why does House Banfield even have a monster like a
superdreadnought?"
If the pirates' boss had known a ship like that would be among their
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enemies, he never would have picked a fight with House Banfield.
He watched, horrified, as the superdreadnought fired on the ship right next
to his and blew it to pieces. The vessel was turned into space debris, which
rattled his ship as it crashed into the hull. Conversely, their attacks couldn't even
get through the superdreadnought's energy shields to reach its armor.
"Boss!" one of the pirates shouted, his eyes teary and bloodshot. "House
Petack's ships are breaking and running! S-some of them intend to surrender!"
House Petack's fleet, as poorly trained as its personnel were, was swiftly
falling against House Banfield's ships, their initial numerical advantage
plummeting.
"Those guys have state-of-the-art ships, and they're fleeing now? This is
why I hate nobles!"
House Petack had attacked House Banfield from the pirates' shadows, but
as soon as they'd realized they couldn't win, the survivors had begun to cave.
They weren't the elite military the rumors at House Razel chalked them up to be.
It had all been a sham.
"We're getting out of this, no matter what," the boss declared. "Even if we
have to use our allies as shields, we'll get through this!"
Thus, the pirates also gave up on fighting House Banfield and began their
retreat.
***
The battle between House Banfield and the Petack pirate fleet had been
raging for days. Kurt sat on the bridge of the Vár, surprised by the strength of
House Banfield's forces.
They're strong. Too strong. Could they be on the same level as the
Imperial Army?
After some consideration, he decided the strength of his friend's military
must be comparable to that of the Imperial regular army. Whether you looked at
the quality of its equipment or the level of their troops' training, the Banfield
force was superior to the average lord's private army.
All this time, Liam's ships pursued the fleeing pirates and their remaining
allies and thoroughly crushed them.
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Just then, they received a communication from House Petack's flagship.
When Tia saw the incoming call, she shot a look at Liam, who grinned and said,
"We can hear what they have to say, at least."
"Yes, sir! Patch it through."
With Tia's authorization, a Petack soldier appeared on one of the bridge
monitors. The man sat on the bridge of his own ship but it was in utter chaos
behind him.
"This is House Petack's flagship, Peter II. We surrender! I repeat, we
surrender!" The soldier's voice cracked with desperation, and screams could be
heard amid the cacophony around him.
By contrast, the bridge of House Banfield's flagship was quiet and
orderly. The officers handed out orders, and the operators performed their duties,
everyone calm and professional.
Kurt glanced at Tia, who was glaring at the enemy soldier on the screen.
He was in awe of how a knight like her could lead Liam's fleet so effectively.
I knew she was no ordinary knight, but it's incredible that she can
command a fleet of this size. Liam has people like this working for him?
However, she also reminded him of the knights from his home world
whose devotion to their lord was more akin to fanatic idolization. The way Tia
looked at Liam was something he'd seen all too often back home, if not even
more intense.
Tia was asking Liam what they would do about House Petack now. "Lord
Liam, House Petack has officially surrendered. They may have collaborated with
pirates, but continuing to go after them will be more trouble than it's worth.
Shall we accept their surrender?"
She knew they couldn't reasonably beat down the other noble house much
longer, but she hated those nobles for stooping so low. How dare they join forces
with a pirate gang? Her face was set in a hard scowl, her fists clenched. Try as
she might, she couldn't accept it.
Just by looking at her, Kurt could tell the woman despised pirates beyond
words. He even heard a creaking sound from her tightly clenched fists.
This is it, he thought to himself. If this escalates into a full-on war
between two houses, things'll get really bad. House Petack has surrendered, so
Liam has to accept.
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Imperial nobles did attack each other now and then, sometimes under the
guise of piracy, and such clashes were expected to follow a particular pattern.
The dame is right; squabbles between lords are more trouble than
they're worth. It's the unspoken rule in the Empire to accept a surrender when
it's offered. That's all he can do.
All sorts of issues might arise from grudges between nobles. Once the
fight reached a certain point, it was best to back off, let things die down, and
count one's losses.
However, it seemed to the others that Liam was feigning ignorance.
"House Petack? Those guys look like House Petack to you? I'm just not
seeing it. All the ships in front of us are pirate ships, are they not?"
Hearing this, the House Petack soldier on the monitor began to panic.
"Wh-what are you... We are House Petack's—"
Tia cut the transmission before the man could finish.
Having declared that House Petack was clearly not involved, Liam
grinned from ear to ear. "Those pirates can't fool me. There's no way the
virtuous House Petack would play pirate, so clearly they're pirates
misrepresenting themselves as nobles. What reason do we have to accept their
surrender?"
At that moment, the eyes of everyone on the bridge snapped wide. They
knew the truth of the matter, yet they didn't contradict him. Tia beamed, more
than happy to back up her lord on this matter. She said, "I apologize for my
foolish question. We will continue our assault."
"Annihilate every last one of them."
Upon hearing this, Kurt was compelled to make sure Liam knew what he
was getting into. "Liam, are you sure? This is House Petack you're fighting!"
If Liam destroyed a ship that had declared surrender, he would be striking
not only House Petack, but everyone who associated with them. He had to
realize this, but his delight showed no signs of faltering.
"I know what I'm doing. Anyway, we're just about finished here... I'm
going back to my room to rest. Are you coming too?"
Kurt shook his head. "No. I'd like to stay here and watch, if you don't
mind."
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"Oh? Well, suit yourself."
As Kurt watched Liam coolly leave the bridge, he heard Tia proudly say,
"That's our Lord Liam."
"Real noble lords are incredible," Kurt murmured. "I understand why my
father and I are considered upstarts now."
Kurt wouldn't have been able to make such a daring move. He would have
considered all the ramifications and let House Petack go, but Liam had
knowingly chosen a different course.
"They're all pirates. You should just think of it that way too, Lord Kurt."
Kurt recalled what Liam had told him. "If I say black is white, then white
it shall be."
Easier said than done, but Liam can actually make that a reality. If Liam
insisted that House Petack's ships were pirate ships in disguise, then pirate ships
they were. Kurt was in awe of the boy's incredible resolve.
"No wonder he's so strong... He's completely steadfast in his beliefs."
Only then did Kurt notice that he was trembling from head to toe. He was
glad he hadn't made an enemy of Liam, but at the same time, he held an odd
desire to face off against him. To be more precise, he wanted to fight him again
as a swordsman, but he knew he should never, ever make an enemy of him as a
lord.
He clenched his fist. "I want to learn more from Liam."
His training at House Razel had left him unsatisfied, but he felt truly
fortunate that he had been able to meet Liam and strike up a friendship with him.
Meanwhile, the battle continued until House Banfield had ruthlessly
crushed almost the entirety of House Petack's fleet along with the pirate gang.
***
After returning to my room, I sat down on the couch and kicked my feet
up.
"Those pirates were idiots. I can't believe they tried to pass themselves off
as House Petack, of all things."
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Sometimes, pirates would masquerade as some noble's fleet—an
especially serious crime. These fools probably thought that if they disguised
themselves as a well-known family like House Petack, we would bow to their
superiority.
Their mistake was that I knew House Petack. From what I'd heard at
House Razel, House Petack was made up of picture-perfect nobles, a benevolent
family who were good to their people and governed with a steady hand. It was
clear enough from their heir, Peter, that the family didn't put much stock in
personal martial prowess, but their military was supposed to be superlative. And
yet, the fleet trying to pass itself off as House Petack was composed of only
aged, worn-down ships. It just wasn't realistic. Maybe they'd pulled this off
before, but this time, they picked the wrong house to imitate. What villains.
"Of course, I'm a bigger villain than those pirates."
Truth be told, nobles were essentially just pirates at heart. The ones who
had better manners and properly managed home planets were nobles, and the
ones who roamed about freely and did as they pleased were pirates, but they
were the same beast at the core. They both wielded their might to steal from
others in order to prosper—one group just called it taxes.
In fact, this made nobles even nastier villains than pirates, and among their
ilk, I was the lowest of the low.
***
As a guest on the Vár, Eila had been taken to a heavily armored shelter
room when the battle had started. The room was staffed with maids and had
plenty of amenities, as befitted her status as Baron Berman's daughter, but she
wasn't the only one in it; Nias and Eulisia had also been brought there. As
employees of Imperial weapons factories, they were being given the same
treatment as Eila.
Eila sat in a chair and listened to the back-and-forth between the two
saleswomen.
Presently, Nias was lashing out at Eulisia. "What's with the specs of this
shelter? Looks to me like there are some issues with the armor material."
"We ran plenty of endurance tests with this material. It will hold up if
worse comes to worst. I don't suppose you've heard the term 'overengineering,'
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have you? You people at the Seventh are far too obsessed with performance.
Have you never heard of the price-performance ratio?"
"I'm sorry—you want us to cut corners to keep costs down, like you? Not
happening. Your price-performance ratio is the reason Lord Liam's abandoned
you!"
Confronted with Nias's triumphant face, Eulisia bit her lip. She wanted to
refute it, but Liam truly did appear to have lost interest in her.
"I-I'm sure it was just that my outfit at the time wasn't to his tastes."
Nias smirked, relishing Eulisia's sour grapes.
Watching the two of them, Eila asked them—particularly Nias—
something she'd been wondering for a while. "What kind of women does Liam
like, anyway? You said you've known him since he was a kid, Miss Engineering
Captain?"
Nias pushed her glasses up her nose, trying to play the part of an
intellectual beauty. She was able to pull it off...until she opened her mouth.
"Oh? Curious, are we?"
"Very!"
Eulisia, however, was a little hesitant in response to Eila's enthusiasm. "I
understand you are Baron Berman's daughter? Pursuing a relationship with the
count might be difficult. The lowest noble a count would typically marry is a
viscount's daughter. Or are you aiming to be a concubine?"
It was difficult for nobles of vastly different ranks to get married, but that
didn't appear to be what Eila had in mind.
"Me and Liam? No way."
"Oh, is it Lord Kurt, then?" Nias guessed. "You could certainly marry into
Baron Exner's family. If you promise to make use of the Seventh Weapons
Factory in the future, I'll be sure to put in a good word for you."
Eulisia couldn't believe Nias had promised to support their romance if the
girl patronized her company. "You're so greedy."
"Not as much as you."
They started glaring at each other again.
Eila tilted her head in puzzlement. "Huh? No, that's not it either."
"Really?" Eulisia said, equally confused. "The way you look at them is so
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heated, I just assumed you had romantic feelings for one or the other."
Eulisia and Nias had both noticed the passionate stare that Eila sometimes
directed at the two boys, but when Eila replied to them, it didn't come across
that she was hiding her true feelings.
"No way. I mean, I'm pretty much a baron's daughter in name only. I
wouldn't dream of marrying either of them to unite our houses."
Then what was with the feverish gaze she was always sending their way?
Nias and Eulisia exchanged a confused glance.
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