My discussion with my master ended without a hitch.
It was the first I'd heard of the One-Flash Style's long-cherished wish, but I was genuinely happy to be called his successor.
Apparently, this world is crawling with other troublesome creatures similar to that giant octopus.
As a corrupt lord, it's my duty to swat away any sparks that fly my way.
I resolved in my heart to cut down every last one of those who threaten my safety, but the problem is that there's an enemy that even my master couldn't match.
My master is stronger than me. So, it's certain there's someone out there stronger than the giant octopus I defeated.
Still, I never knew the sword style I learned by chance held such a secret.
The Guide's support is truly something to behold.
It feels like I've been saddled with an unnecessary destiny, but if I had known, I would have asked to learn it myself, so it's not a problem.
"The One-Flash Style's wish is fine. But the problem is—"
Perhaps thinking I was making a pained face, Marie, standing beside me, inquired about my condition.
"Lord Liam, perhaps it would be better for you to receive treatment first?"
"It's not a problem. More importantly—let them in."
I was in the reception room to answer a request for a meeting.
The door opened to reveal Rosetta, the rims of her eyes red.
Seeing me, she seemed relieved, and tears streamed down her face as she approached.
She looked like she was restraining herself from hugging me.
"Darling, I was so worried! I heard you were injured, are you okay? Let's get you treated right away!"
Rosetta, chattering away, was clearly worried sick about me.
Of all the people to save me, it had to be Rosetta's Royal Guard... Guide, I'll honestly thank you for the help.
But—but! I have my doubts about calling her.
"You saved me this time. I'm grateful, Rosetta."
"I'm just glad I could help you, Darling."
I had been neglecting the matter of Rosetta's Royal Guard, but I never imagined their numbers had swelled to twenty thousand ships.
Their training and quality were decent, but they were stronger than the enemy's paper-tiger fleet.
There's no doubt that Rosetta rushing in as reinforcements secured our victory.
—But I didn't want to be indebted to Rosetta.
"I will repay this debt, no matter what."
As I muttered with a hint of frustration, Rosetta wiped her tears with her finger.
"As long as you're safe, Darling, that's all that matters. Besides, you've helped me so much until now, so I'm happy I could be of some help to you."
Rosetta's happy face seemed to be speaking her true feelings.
But my heart couldn't accept it.
To think I'd end up indebted to Rosetta, of all people.
I held my head in my hands internally.
◇
Yasushi was staggering through the ship's corridors.
"It's over. My life is over."
Havning snuck out of the infirmary, Yasushi was on the run from his beloved disciples, Rinho and Fuuka, who were chasing him.
Thinking about his future made him sick.
After all, he was facing house arrest on Liam's home planet.
Liam and his two disciples would surely come barging in at every opportunity.
A life with no room to relax was about to begin.
"If it were just me, I could have escaped."
His wife, Nina, would never let Yasushi escape.
Yasushi shivered, recalling the terror of when he tried to run away once, only for Nina to slash at him with a kitchen knife.
And his son, Yasuyuki, was adorable.
He was a good boy who looked up to his pathetic self as a father.
And Liam was holding that very son hostage.
"Damn it. My life is a mess because of him."
Even if he managed to escape Liam's home planet, what awaited him was a life on the run from glory-seekers wanting to make a name for themselves.
Furthermore, Imperial nobles, the Hegemony Kingdom—and even other countries—were searching for Yasushi, seeing him as the false image of a "Sword God" they wanted to recruit.
Life would be hard whether he stayed with Liam or ran away.
But he didn't want it to end like this.
"I want to at least get one shot in at that bastard. I won't be satisfied until I pull some kind of prank on him, something that won't get me in trouble!"
Yasushi was a man of small stature and even smaller courage.
As Yasushi swore petty revenge on Liam, he thought he saw something cross his vision.
"Hm? Is there a dog here?"
The dog seemed to have entered a narrow passageway.
Peeking into the passage, he saw a single girl in the back.
The girl, dressed in a maid's uniform, was holding her head and writhing in agony.
However—there was no sign of a dog.
"If this keeps up, everything will go Liam's way!?"
Yasushi watched the girl.
(I thought this battleship was only filled with people who worship Liam—but I guess there are others after all.)
Havning found the girl—Ciel—who held a sense of disgust towards Liam, Yasushi approached and spoke to her.
Stroking his unshaven chin, he put on the air of a respectable swordsman.
"You seem to be in some trouble."
Startled by the voice, Ciel turned her face, and upon seeing Yasushi, she began to tremble.
"The Sword God! —sir."
Seeing Yasushi, the man whom even Liam proclaimed he couldn't match, Ciel's face turned pale, as if recalling her previous muttering.
Yasushi was convinced in his heart that he had found an ally.
(She thinks I overheard her badmouthing Liam. With someone like you, I think we could pull off all sorts of retaliation against Liam.)
"Please, don't be so frightened. The truth is—I wanted to ask you about Liam. You see, I've also been caused a great deal of trouble by him."
Ciel looked at Yasushi with a suspicious expression.
"But you're the sword master that Liam respects, aren't you?"
"It's because of that same Liam that I've become famous and am now in a bind. That's why I was thinking of playing a little prank on him as payback."
Ciel was half-believing, but she must have thought that Yasushi had no reason to lie about something like this.
Furthermore, perhaps thinking that having Yasushi as an ally would be a great asset, she began to talk about Liam.
"—That guy, he's not the wise lord everyone says he is. In his heart, he's a villain! He was looking down on his people, and he decided to raise taxes just because he felt like it. When I told him the people would suffer, he said it's fine if they suffer!"
"I-I see."
(Huh? Does that mean a clumsy retaliation would be a bad idea? I'll have to be careful with the degree of my payback.)
But not stopping his plan for revenge is what made Yasushi who he was.
Ciel told Yasushi the truth.
"Everyone's being deceived. It's the same with his fiancée, Lady Rosetta. She's such a good person, but she's being fooled by Liam. That Liam, even though he has Lady Rosetta, he's not getting married and is just fooling around."
The plan was to get married as soon as his training was over, but due to Liam's selfishness, it had been postponed indefinitely.
And Rosetta had allowed it.
From Ciel's perspective, Rosetta seemed very devoted.
"I can't forgive Liam! My older brother and father were also deceived by him—"
Seeing Ciel's frustrated expression, Yasushi felt his own blood boil.
And then, he thought of a prank.
"Understood. I shall lend you my aid."
Ciel's face lit up with a smile, as if she had gained a million allies.
"R-Really?!"
Yasushi placed a hand on Ciel's shoulder.
"Leave it to me."
◇
Yasushi, with Ciel in tow, barged into the reception room.
Inside were Liam, Marie, Rosetta, and her female knight guards.
At Yasushi's sudden entrance, the guards momentarily let out a flash of killing intent.
Yasushi broke into a cold sweat at the killing intent, but he kept his expression calm.
"Don't you dare direct your killing intent at my master. I'll kill you."
"M-My apologies!"
The female knights who had directed their killing intent at Yasushi suppressed it at Liam's command.
Furthermore, realizing their target was Yasushi, they hastily apologized.
Rosetta, seeing Yasushi, lifted her skirt and curtsied in greeting, lowering her left leg and bending her knees.
"I have heard about you from my fiancé. I am Rosetta. Lord Liam's fiancée."
Rosetta, who had stopped calling him "Darling," was showing respect to Yasushi.
Seeing her, Yasushi thought.
(A blonde drill-haired lady, huh. Not my type.)
To Yasushi, who preferred intelligent, dark-haired beauties, Rosetta was certainly beautiful, but not to his taste.
Liam looked awkward.
"Master, what is it? If it's an urgent matter, I can hear it."
Liam, asking if he had some business, looked like he wanted to escape the room.
Yasushi was certainly a petty man, but he had an above-average ability to see through people's weaknesses.
(So it's true! This guy can't stand his fiancée!)
Havning heard from Ciel that Liam had arranged the engagement with Rosetta to aim for the Duke's title, Yasushi was sure there was no love between them.
He had also inferred from Ciel's story that Liam was running away from marriage.
Seeing the flustered Liam, Ciel's eyes sparkled.
Liam was momentarily surprised to see Ciel behind Yasushi, then quickly showed a bitter expression.
"Why are you with my master, Ciel?"
Seeing Liam's suspicious face, Yasushi decided this was his moment to strike and enacted his revenge.
"Lord Liam, I've heard! You have a fiancée, yet you're running around without getting married!"
"Wh-What!?"
It wasn't just Liam.
Everyone in the room was struck dumb by Yasushi's blunt question.
Marie, for one, looked as if she might have cut him down if anyone other than Yasushi had said it. Her expression was incredibly complicated.
Then, she came to stop Yasushi.
"Lord Yasushi, this matter is very delicate for our house. I wouldn't say you're an outsider, Lord Yasushi, but if possible, I would ask you to refrain from touching upon it."
Though she was being polite, the others also had faces that screamed, "Don't touch that subject!"
Liam, for better or worse, held all the power in his own hands.
Therefore, he was a person whose whims were tolerated.
That's why, even if he ran around without holding a wedding ceremony, there were few people who could admonish him.
Even if Amagi or Brian gave him a talking-to, he would just run away, and he wouldn't even listen to others.
And into this situation, Yasushi had just barged in with his muddy boots.
Liam's gaze wandered, and Rosetta wore a troubled expression.
It seemed Liam was at a loss, being questioned by the man he revered, Yasushi.
(I can do this!)
From Liam's reaction, Yasushi concluded that he wouldn't get angry even if he touched on this topic.
So, Yasushi would execute his little revenge.
He didn't care if it was a huge problem for the Banfield family.
"To run away when you have such a wonderful fiancée is not admirable. Your training as a noble is over, and there are no problems, are there? What are you so reluctant about?"
Yasushi was saying the obvious, but his inner thoughts were different.
(I'm in the graveyard of marriage, so there's no way I'm letting you enjoy a carefree single life! You're getting married too! Wait a minute!? If this guy gets a family and has kids, the frequency he gets involved with me will go down, right? I can get my revenge and there's a practical benefit—isn't this a perfect prank that kills two birds with one stone!)
Yasushi turned around and gave Ciel a thumbs-up.
Seeing this, the people around him understood.
—Ciel had told Yasushi the situation and instigated him.
The harsh gazes of Liam and the others—everyone except Rosetta—focused on Ciel.
Ciel looked at Yasushi and shook her head.
It could have meant, No! That's not it! but Yasushi interpreted it in a way that was convenient for him.
They were just strangers, after all. Not even a married couple, so communication was impossible.
(Still not enough!? Does that mean I can push it even further? In that case!)
Yasushi stared at Liam, forcing his gaze back to him, and decided to block his escape route.
"Lord Liam!"
"Y-Yes!"
"How pathetic for the successor of the One-Flash Style! Return to your domain at once and hold your wedding ceremony! As your master, I am ashamed!"
"W-Well, but, this is—"
"No arguments! Declare right here, right now, that you will return to your domain and get married!"
Liam, overwhelmed by Yasushi, hung his head.
"U-Understood."
"Lord Liam!?"
Marie was surprised, but she was a capable woman, even if her personality had its flaws.
She had been recording Liam's words for a little while now, securing the evidence.
Then, she approached Rosetta.
"Lady Rosetta, we will return to the home planet at once and begin preparations for the ceremony!"
"Y-Yes. —Huh?"
It seemed even Rosetta couldn't keep up with this development, looking bewildered.
When Yasushi turned to Ciel, she was shaking her head violently.
(Still not enough? No, what more could—Hah!?)
Yasushi realized.
(I'll make Liam suffer even more embarrassment.)
Yasushi began to think of his next prank.