Yasuyuki-kun has declared that he wants to become a knight.

I did consider entrusting him to Klaus to make him a knight before—but I couldn't see how that would lead to his happiness, so I reconsidered.

For a knight, weakness is a major liability.

Ideally, I would have wanted Yasuyuki-kun, who has no talent for the sword, to pursue a path as a bureaucrat like his mother.

However, given his strong desire, I can't just refuse him outright.

But if he continues down the normal path to knighthood, he'll surely end up as a low- or mid-rank knight at best.

While strength isn't everything for a knight, it is also what makes a knight.

Tia and Marie are prime examples of this.

Those two may have problematic personalities, but they are strong and capable knights who can get the job done.

—And despite their excellent looks, their personalities are truly awful.

They should learn a thing or two from Klaus.

If Yasuyuki-kun becomes a knight as he is, there's a high chance he'll lose his life on the battlefield. Of course, I won't throw him into a dangerous warzone. I won't, but there are no absolutes in this world.

An enemy might attack the place he's dispatched to; in any case, unforeseen circumstances can and do happen.

For Yasuyuki-kun to survive in the future, he'll need a role model as a knight—a master.

If I place him by the side of a competent knight to learn, he should surely grasp something.

If, even after all this, he can't even reach the mid-rank as a knight, then unfortunately, I'll have to ask him to give up.

—Now then, who is the knight I will prepare for this purpose?

Klaus, of course.

Tia? Marie? They're competent, but their personalities are too flawed to entrust Yasuyuki-kun to them. I can't have them being rude to the son of my precious master.

I, too, thought I must prepare the best possible master, and Klaus's face came to mind.

As I wait in my office, Klaus arrives.

◇

"—Huh?"

Summoned by Liam, Klaus was taken aback for a moment.

Liam's serious expression made it clear he wasn't joking.

"I've taken in my master's son. He wishes to be a knight, so I'd like to entrust him to you for a while to look after. Can I count on you?"

Yasuyuki—the child of Yasushi, whom Liam reveres. It's rumored within the territory that if you lay a hand on him, a swordsman of the One-Flash School will come to kill you.

As for Klaus, he wanted nothing to do with being responsible for someone so important to Liam.

"I'm not confident I can raise him properly. Shouldn't he be trained like all the others?"

When he expressed his lack of confidence in his teaching ability, Liam explained the details.

"His knightly education has already begun. You just need to teach him the right mindset and the fundamentals. If he still shows no promise after being taught by you, then it's due to his own lack of talent. He'll have to give up on the path of a knight."

Klaus understood this instantly.

(Isn't this a decision that will determine the course of an important person's life?! This is too much for me!)

As he desperately tried to think of a way to refuse, Liam let out a sigh.

"I feel bad for entrusting you with so many important jobs, but you're the only one I can entrust him to with peace of mind."

His superior's trust made Klaus's stomach ache.

"I am humbled by your high praise. However, I fear it is beyond my abilities."

(Having such high expectations placed on me is just troublesome!)

But Liam had no doubts whatsoever about Klaus's training abilities.

He projected data all around them, showing off Klaus's track record.

"Don't be so modest. I wouldn't entrust my precious master's son to you without reason. I've already investigated and confirmed that the knights, soldiers, and even officials working under you have achieved great results. Your training ability is the real deal."

Klaus broke out in a cold sweat.

(That's not it! I just assigned tasks to the kids who seemed capable and left them to it, and they grew on their own!)

Klaus didn't think of himself as competent; if he had capable subordinates, he would listen to their opinions.

Having no ambition for promotion, he reported his subordinates' achievements without hiding anything.

As a result, Klaus's subordinates received more opportunities to shine than others.

"I was just blessed with good subordinates."

When he said that, Liam smiled.

"You have such low self-esteem. But results are everything. I'm leaving Yasuyuki-kun to you. You will be the one to judge whether he has what it takes to be a knight."

Unable to defy his superior's decision, Klaus had no choice but to accept.

"I will do my best."

Klaus somehow suppressed the urge to hang his head in defeat and left the office.

◇

Meanwhile.

A major development was underway in the Hegemon Kingdom.

During the thirty-year truce with the Empire, a bloody battle among relatives had been raging over the vacant position of Crown Prince.

Gudwar, who reveled in conflict, had been defeated by Liam and the Guide, but the Hegemon Kingdom was still mired in constant warfare.

The one who rose to prominence there was—Aluna.

The heroine who had declared at a party that Liam should give her his genes had won the conflict in the Hegemon Kingdom.

The royal castle of the Hegemon Kingdom.

In the grand hall, a great number of military officials were in attendance, rejoicing at the birth of a new Crown Prince.

The Hegemon King, Aluna's father, was placing the circlet, the symbol of the Crown Prince, on the head of Aluna, who knelt with her head bowed.

The Hegemon King spoke to his daughter in a low voice.

Thus began a conversation between parent and child, inaudible to those around them.

"I never expected you to become the Crown Prince. Why not just change your gender? Being a man would give you an advantage in battle."

The Hegemon King himself was once a woman but had changed his gender in the past to live a life of battle.

Aluna, now standing, scoffed at such a Hegemon King.

"I have decided to stand at the pinnacle of strength as a woman. Do not lump me in with you."

"You've never had a charming bone in your body. —I've disliked you since you were a child."

Despite being hated by her own father, Aluna wore a smile.

"I know. But the strong are always envied. I shall accept your jealousy."

Aluna, treating the Hegemon King as her inferior, turned her back on him and faced the assembled military officials.

And then she declared.

"We have been mired in civil war, but I have had enough of it."

The military officials stirred at the Crown Prince's seemingly weak-willed statement.

However, Aluna's ferocious smile told everyone who her new prey would be.

"I am done dealing with these weaklings. This time—we will resume our war with the Empire!"

The military officials erupted in a great cheer at Aluna's words.

The thirty-year truce was over, and they were finally about to begin a full-scale war with the Empire.

For Aluna, the battle for the position of Crown Prince had been tedious.

Her target was the Empire—and specifically, the House of Banfield.

(I pray the House of Banfield comes forth. They are a fine bunch. The Empire's strongest knight, Klaus—and Liam, the man who killed my brother! Truly, they are worthy opponents.)

Licking her lips, Aluna imagined the prey she desired.

(I will defeat him without fail and obtain Liam's supreme genes.)

◇

The Hegemon Kingdom declared war on the Empire.

On the Empire's capital planet, where the news had arrived, Crown Prince Cleo and Emperor Bagrada were devising countermeasures in the palace.

However, there was no tension in the air.

For the Empire, it was just another incident on one of its many borders, and a few wins or losses would not affect the grand scheme of things.

To put it bluntly, even if they lost, it wouldn't hurt them in the slightest.

That being the case, other motives crept into the war with the Hegemon Kingdom.

What Cleo proposed was the elimination of his political rivals.

"Perhaps we should leave the war with the Hegemon Kingdom to the House of Banfield."

Bagrada appeared as a gentle-looking man in his thirties, dressed in casual attire unbecoming of an emperor.

He was currently enjoying a board game with Cleo.

"How blatant. But I don't dislike it."

Bagrada moved a piece, and then Cleo picked one up.

While toying with the piece in his hand, he explained his intention to entrust the border to the House of Banfield.

"If we pit the Hegemon Kingdom against the House of Banfield alone, both sides will be exhausted. The Duke is certainly the most powerful man in the Empire, but a war with the Hegemon Kingdom will weaken him."

"The Hegemon Kingdom is strong. And they love war. The House of Banfield won't escape being weakened, I imagine."

Despite the prospect of losing their own territory, the two were remarkably calm.

In fact, they were discussing how to weaken their political rival, Liam.

Bagrada seemed to be enjoying himself immensely, even though a war was about to break out.

"Let's dispatch the nobles close to the House of Banfield to other borders. We need to separate them from their friends. We could also throw other troublesome people at the Hegemon Kingdom and grind them down."

Cleo placed the piece he had been toying with and showed reluctance at Bagrada's suggestion.

"Will the nobles close to the Duke obey me now?"

"They will obey an imperial edict from me, the Emperor."

"You would go that far for me?"

"But of course."

For Cleo right now, his greatest supporter was the Emperor.

If an imperial edict were issued, even the nobles close to Liam would have no choice but to obey.

The Emperor mentioned the Prime Minister's name.

"Actually, the Prime Minister informed me of some unsettling movements from the House of Banfield. Apparently, they are rapidly building up their military. The Empire has no choice but to see this as a sign of rebellion. To dispel these suspicions, Duke Banfield must work for the Empire with the utmost sincerity."

Pitting the House of Banfield against the Hegemon Kingdom alone was a test of their loyalty to the Empire.

Having been given a pretext, Cleo smiled slyly.

"So it's fine if he loses, and even if he wins, there's no reward, just the dispelling of rumors?"

"The Empire's finances are tight. That would be more convenient for the budget."

The merciless condition of defending the border with no support from the Empire was given to the House of Banfield.

If they lost to the Hegemon Kingdom, the House of Banfield would be greatly weakened.

Even if they won, they wouldn't escape unscathed against the Hegemon Kingdom.

Either way, Liam would suffer significant damage.

All he would gain from it was the fact that he had shown his loyalty to the Empire.

And even that fact would not resonate with Cleo or Bagrada.

It was destined to be a complete waste.

To corner Liam, Cleo thought of another move.

"Let's also proceed with undermining Banfield's associates. We should quickly bring the merchants and weapons factory personnel to our side and have them betray him—"

In response to the proposal to make allies betray him, Bagrada shook his head.

"Wouldn't that be boring? It's better to involve those who sided with him as well."

"No, but..."

Liam had many associates, and involving them would only increase the chaos within the country.

Bagrada seemed to desire just that.

"There are plenty of replacements for merchants and weapons factories. We must make a point of cleaning house like this from time to time."

Cleo's proposal was rejected.

"Then, shall we plant something in the dispatched army?"

"We'll do nothing."

"Eh?"

Cleo couldn't believe it. Bagrada was saying he would do nothing to Liam, who was about to fight the Hegemon Kingdom. He wouldn't even give secret orders to the dispatched army to obstruct or assassinate Liam.

There was no sign of any attempt to undermine the House of Banfield either.

Bagrada gently explained to the bewildered Cleo.

"An army that has rapidly increased in size is inevitably fragile. Only those closest to the Duke would understand his noble ideals."

"True, if you only increase the numbers, you'll attract troublesome people."

"Especially in this Empire. Buying up planets from lords and taking in wandering people without planets—it's efficient, but things never go that smoothly. There have been others in this Empire who have done things like the Duke."

There had been nobles in the past who had made similar moves to Liam.

Bagrada told Cleo of the fate of such people.

"Most of them were destroyed by the betrayal of their allies or the independence of their subordinates."

"—So the outcome is decided from the start?"

"It's a pity, though."

Chuckling, Bagrada told Cleo his prediction of future events.

"The House of Banfield will be dragged down in their fight against the Hegemon Kingdom by the unruly army they themselves created. Even if they manage to get through this, cracks will inevitably appear. If another opportunity arises, it would be fun to target those cracks."

Bagrada saw that the negative effects of rapid expansion would inevitably hinder them at a crucial moment.

Cleo imagined Liam's future and gave a malicious smile.

"—I will summon Banfield to the capital planet immediately."

"I'm counting on you, Cleo."

Cleo plotted to summon Liam to the capital planet and throw him into a fierce battle with the Hegemon Kingdom.

◇

—That bastard Cleo summoned me to the capital planet.

Who the hell does he think he is?

For a figurehead Crown Prince to summon me, his political rival, is the height of audacity.

And that same Cleo is now giving me orders to my face.

"I shall ask Duke Banfield to defend the border with the Hegemon Kingdom."

I was defending the border until a short while ago, but I withdrew all my forces when I cut ties with Cleo.

And yet, this guy is telling me to fight the Hegemon Kingdom again.

"You should dispatch the Empire's regular army."

"The other borders are restless as well. We're in a situation where we're asking for help from your friends, too. We've even had the Exner family, who are close to the Banfields, deploy."

Kurt mentioned it.

He said he was requested to reinforce the border by imperial edict, for some reason.

Since Emperor Bagrada is behind Cleo, it's all connected, of course.

I was looking past Cleo, at the Emperor behind him.

"You want the House of Banfield to face the Hegemon Kingdom alone?"

Cleo feigned ignorance.

"Of course, the Empire will dispatch an army as well. Besides, I hear you've been significantly strengthening your forces lately. There are many within the Empire who are spreading rumors that the House of Banfield intends to betray us. Don't you think this is a good opportunity to show your loyalty?"

"Me, betray the Empire? Don't be ridiculous."

"That's why I want you to show your loyalty, Duke. Also, the Empire's finances are tight, you see. I'll need you to take care of the dispatched army as well."

"You want me to provide the supplies?"

"That's right."

If I refuse, they'll probably harass me in every way possible, claiming I have rebellious intentions.

I had no choice but to follow the Empire's orders.

But—this is surprisingly lenient.

I confirm the conditions: the Empire will dispatch an army, but there will be no support whatsoever.

This is infuriating, and the troops they send will likely be mostly useless.

There will probably be some who try to hinder me, but that's within my expectations.

Is his plan to have them drag me down as much as possible on the battlefield and shoot me in the back if they get a chance?

Cleo used the same trick, but—I can't help but wonder if this is all the Emperor is capable of.

It feels like he's just playing around.

That feels even more ominous, and my expression can't help but stiffen.

Cleo is in a good mood, perhaps thinking I'm in trouble.

"I have high hopes for you, Duke."

"Do as you please."

My business concluded, I leave Cleo's office.

Just then, I was stopped by Her Highness Lysithea, who was waiting outside.