The fleet of the Hegemony Kingdom, led by Aluna, was rescuing the allied fleet that had been annihilated by the Banfield family.

However, the reason for this life-saving operation was very typical of the Hegemony Kingdom.

To obtain even a little information about the Banfield family.

In particular, they wanted to know the strength of the powerful foe they were about to face.

Aluna was no different.

They brought a soldier whose injuries had not yet fully healed into the conference room, surrounded him, and bombarded him with questions.

"The enemy's numbers are truly less than a million!? What audacity!"

"If it were anyone else, I'd think they'd lost their minds, but this is Liam and Klaus we're talking about."
"The knights are aiming for Liam, and the generals are after Klaus's head. Why not put a bounty on them?"
"How crude. That's unnecessary for a pure battle."

The conversation often revolved around Liam and Klaus.

However, Aluna was also curious about the other commanders.

She questioned the injured soldier.

"Besides Liam and Klaus, were there any other enemies we should be wary of?"

"I've heard that a fleet of ten thousand ships acting as a mobile unit was troublesome. They say it's led by a knight named Marie."

"Marie? There was one in the Empire long ago, too. Marie Marian. Hearing stories of the female knight known as one of the Three Knights as a child made my heart race."

Chuckling to herself, Aluna recalled the story of the female knight who was said to have been in the Empire in her youth.

She was an Imperial Knight who existed over two thousand years ago. Although the Hegemony Kingdom of that time never had the chance to fight her, the rumors had reached them.

While her name had been forgotten in the Empire, it still remained in the Hegemony Kingdom.

Loving stories of heroes was a national trait of the Hegemony Kingdom.

The others joined in on Aluna's topic, livening up the conversation.

"The hero known as the 'Mad Dog' for her ferocious fighting style, wasn't she? She's an enemy I'd like to have fought at least once."

Aluna also had many reasons for wanting to fight her.

But Marie was a person of the past.

Instead, Aluna mentioned the name of a knight she might have been able to fight.

"It's a real shame I can't fight her. I also remember being disappointed when I heard that the Knight Princess, who seemed like a worthy opponent, was defeated by space pirates."

"Knight Princess Christiana, you mean? She was first-class as both a knight and a general. It was a pity she was defeated by a betrayal from her own allies."

If Knight Princess Christiana were alive, Aluna might have had a chance to fight her.

She muttered regretfully.

"Being betrayed by her allies just means that was the extent of her caliber. Still, I would have liked to meet her on the battlefield."

In the conference room, which was growing noisy with private chatter, the injured soldier spoke with a solemn expression.

"I don't expect you to believe me, but—"

With that, he began to tell an unbelievable story.

"The commander of the fleet that acted as a mobile unit was Marie Sera Marian. And the one who captured Asteroid Tres was Christiana Sera Roseblaia."

Aluna narrowed her eyes, considering the possibility that the injured soldier was trying to deceive her.

He didn't seem to be lying, nor did he seem to have been made to believe a lie.

If that were the case, he wouldn't have been brought here.

He was here after undergoing various examinations.

"Wasn't the Knight Princess's middle name 'Leta'? Or is she just named after a great figure?"

"It's unknown. However, it is a fact that this information was obtained by our allies at the cost of their lives."

As everyone wore dubious expressions, Aluna ordered her subordinate to bring out the data.

"Show me the combat records of those two."

"We haven't obtained detailed records yet. Is a recreation based on interviews with our allies acceptable?"

"I don't care, just show me!"

A recreation of the fleet battle was immediately projected into the air, and Aluna watched its movements with a serious expression.

Gradually, her face broke into a smile, and she began to applaud.

"This is good, isn't it?"

"Your Highness?"

As her subordinates looked on in confusion, Aluna stood up from her seat.

"I don't care if they're the real deal or not! But I acknowledge that their skills are genuine. I'm looking forward to fighting them now. Let's hope for a battle worthy of the names of heroes."

Laughing loudly, Aluna left the conference room.

◇

"Lord Liam, please leave everything to this Christiana! I will prove myself more useful than that fossil woman."

"Do not believe her nonsense, Lord Liam! That minced-meat woman's brain has been scrambled, and she's incapable of making sound judgments. Leave everything to me! To me! I will be sure to make a blood sacrifice of the Hegemony Kingdom for you to see."

—I watched Tia and Marie, who were pressing in on me in the holographic projection, with a cold gaze.

A large-scale battle with the Hegemony Kingdom was about to begin, and yet I was being forced to watch Tia and Marie bicker.

In the hologram, Klaus was also present.

However, he was quietly waiting for his turn to speak.

A small sigh escaped me.

"Haaah... Klaus, you take overall command."

"Huh? Are you sure? I believe it would be best if you, Lord Liam, took command as the commander-in-chief."

"You want me to be a mere figurehead who just sits there? You'd be assisting me and taking overall command anyway, wouldn't you? In that case, I'll do as I please. By the way, the one who interests me most right now is Crown Prince Aluna. I'm looking forward to fighting him."

The former Crown Prince Izel was certainly strong.

In that case, it would be interesting to have him face Fuuka and Rinho.

When I said I would do as I pleased, Tia hurriedly tried to admonish me.

"You must not! Lord Liam, as the supreme commander, please command from the safest possible location. That way, the Banfield family can fight with peace of mind."

"They'll feel at ease just by me sitting here? What a blissfully ignorant bunch."

"Your existence, Lord Liam, is the cornerstone of the Banfield family. It is only because we have you, our pillar, that we can fight."

I could understand what she was trying to say, but it felt shady to me.

Having experienced despair in my previous life, I hate guys who just give orders without working themselves.

Also—I want to go around the battlefield and see how my troops are moving.

If I find someone useful, I can promote them, and if I find someone who's just in a high position for no reason, I'll demote them.

"Don't order me around."

When I glared at Tia, she looked frightened but still met my gaze.

—Since it's a loyal warning from a competent person, I'll at least listen, but if this were someone who was all talk, I would have killed them.

Marie offered a compromise.

"W-well then, we shall prepare an escort fleet of our finest elites. We must prepare at least a hundred thousand."

"Gathering that many will affect the entire force. Let's see... how about I just take thirty thousand from my personal guard and move around? It seems like it would be easier to move that way."

"Wha-!?"

As Marie's eyes widened, Tia next to her muttered, "You just had to say something."

As I was deciding things on my own, Klaus, perhaps unable to stay silent any longer, spoke up.

"You must not. If we were to lose you, Lord Liam, it would effectively be our defeat. If that happens, the Banfield family will not be able to recover."

Klaus's words were correct, but—I ended up muttering in a voice too low for anyone to hear.

"Even if something were to happen to me, the Banfield family would probably survive."

"Did you say something?"

"It's nothing. But rest assured. I won't be defeated so easily."

When I showed my confidence, all three of them looked even more anxious.

Their faces showed they understood that being careless on the battlefield could be fatal.

But I have a track record of success, and I was pondering how to convince them.

"Alright, I'll offer a compromise. Announce to the entire army that I am the commander-in-chief and that I'll be in the rear."

"Does that mean you'll still be able to move around as you please!?"

The surprised Marie seemed unconvinced by my compromise.

"I'll do as I please! If you have a problem with that, you're demoted!"

When I mentioned demotion, for some reason, all three of them became even more insistent.

Tia was not afraid of being demoted.

"If I'm demoted, you'll reconsider, won't you!"

"I'll only think about it."

Marie then said that was fine with her.

"In that case, I will accept the demotion. I will be sure to persuade you, Lord Liam."

"Weren't you two competing for a promotion?"

Next was Klaus.

I was surprised by the words of the man who had risen to become the Head Knight of the Banfield family.

"Those two are indispensable assets to the Banfield family's future. In that case, I shall accept the demotion myself."

"—Are you serious?"

"Yes. I don't mind being demoted back to a common knight, effective immediately."

My subordinates were willing to return to the lowest rank of knighthood just to keep me from deploying.

My knights are surprisingly loyal.

Or are they thinking that since the conditions are better than elsewhere, getting demoted means less work, so it's a lucky break?

No way. Putting Tia and Marie aside, there's absolutely no way that's true for Klaus.

I raised my hands slightly, showing a gesture of surrender.

"My bad. The talk of demotion is off the table."

"I-I see. So, you will be commanding from the rear, then?"

For some reason, Klaus looked disappointed for a moment, as if he thought I had given up on deploying.

"No, I'm still doing as I please."

Klaus let out a "Ehhh," looking exasperated with me.

—If you guys weren't so competent, I would have cut your salaries.

◇

A few weeks later.

Tia was fighting the Hegemony Kingdom's fleet, which was in the process of assembling.

The Banfield family's seven hundred thousand ships.

"Press the attack! If we waste time here, it will be difficult to recover."

Watching the enemy with a bitter expression, Tia felt a sense of urgency as the assembled fleet of three hundred and fifty thousand ships held on longer than expected.

From the rear—from Imperial territory—Aluna's main force was returning.

If they wasted time here, it wouldn't be surprising if the Banfield family was caught in a pincer attack and literally annihilated.

Tia's Third Army was launching an offensive against the Hegemony Kingdom's forces.

It was the fierce assault of the Banfield family, feared by pirates, but the Hegemony Kingdom's fleet was holding out.

In fact, it was the Banfield family's fleet that was cowering before the enemy.

Her adjutant vented his frustration with their own forces.

"Our allies are more troublesome than the enemy."

Tia agreed with her adjutant's words and slammed her fist on the armrest of her seat.

"Cowards!"

The fleets that had been defeated by the Hegemony Kingdom's army were wary of the enemy.

At a time when they should be on the offensive, they had switched to a defensive posture, causing disarray in the fleet's movements.

The Third Army had absorbed allied fleets and swelled to a size of over one hundred thousand ships, but many of them were from defeated fleets.

Tia couldn't help but feel frustrated with the fleet that wouldn't move as she commanded.

Just then, the adjutant noticed a change in the enemy's movements.

Hurriedly checking the details, a projection of two mobile knights that had charged into the enemy fleet appeared near Tia.

The adjutant was reporting on Fuuka and Rinho's mass-produced Avids.

"It's the swordsmen of the One-Flash style. They've charged into the enemy formation!"

"I can see that!"

The exploits of the swordsmen who inherited the One-Flash style—the high-performance, mass-produced white Avids named "Amaryllis"—Rinho's unit was called Ein, and Fuuka's unit was called Zwei.

The audio from their two cockpits reached the bridge.

"Hey, hey, if you don't run, you're gonna die!"

Rinho targeted and destroyed enemy battleships.

"Hah! Can't even win with this much? The senior disciple knights aren't all that great! Maybe I should become number two!"

The numbers Liam bestows upon his knights.

In the Banfield family, they were called the Knight Numbers.

It was a number given to a knight chosen by Liam—a symbol of his trust.

The number "One" was given to the Head Knight, Klaus, but no one had received one since.

Christiana felt anger towards Fuuka for taking the Knight Numbers lightly.

"Such a disrespectful attitude—if only he weren't Lord Liam's junior disciple."

The adjutant took advantage of the enemy fleet's broken formation to begin reorganizing their own forces.

"We will reorganize the fleet's formation at this opportunity."

"Place the cowards at the front. Tell them if they run, we'll shoot them from behind. —So this is just a hastily assembled mishmash after all."

The inhabitants of the newly acquired territories had not yet grown accustomed to the Banfield family's ways.

The bridge, where Rinho and Fuuka's laughter echoed, was enveloped in an eerie silence.