V6 Chapter 12. Hearing

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TN: First of all, I apologize for not introducing myself last time. I'm Eternia, and I will be your translator for the foreseeable. I am trying my very best to ensure that my writing style is similar to Cipher's, but please tell me down in the comment section if you detect any discrepancies. Also, I have noted that a lot of you are dissatisfied with the way chapters are displayed on the format. Although I have already talked to the site manager, there is very little that they can do at the moment. If you can't bear with the way things are at the moment, you can visit my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/posts/48084594) where past chapters are set as "Public". That will be all for today. Thanks for reading!

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"Master, forgive me."

Amagi had resigned herself to her fate of being destroyed.

Precisely at that moment, the ornament on Amagi's dress shone and generated a shield around her.

However, the Guide did not panic.

"Fuahahaha! I know that those are disposables! As long as I continue to attack—continue to—?"

No matter how many shots were fired, the shield before Amagi did not falter.

In fact, the pistol that the Guide had brought exhausted its energy first.

Kachi. Kachi.

The only sound that remained was that of the trigger being pulled.

Amagi stared at the Guide.

"—I thought you were going to destroy me?"

She looked somewhat amazed.

Her reaction was understandable.

The Guide had declared that he would destroy her, yet the pistol he brought could not even penetrate the shield.

She had thought that the intruder had come with ample preparation, but that did not seem to be the case.

It was too crude.

"S-stop looking at me with that kind of eyes!"

The Guide threw the pistol away and retreated as if to flee.

"Damn it! I haven't absorbed enough negative emotions! I'll gather more of them before throwing them all at Liam! I'm done with this kind of ploy! I'll give my all to kill Liam!"

Realizing that she could move again after the Guide left, Amagi shook her head.

"In the end, what kind of existence was that?"

Had she just encountered a ridiculous existence?

What's more, that existence kept blurting out Liam's name.

Amagi felt anxious.

"—As I thought, is there a secret surrounding Master?"

From time to time, they had come across some inexplicable occurrences.

If an existence like that was behind them—

There were still some things that did not make sense, but Amagi was worried about Liam.

"Is Master really as lucky as he claims to be?"

Amagi felt uneasy knowing that Liam was being targeted by such an existence.

"It's a bit early, but it might be in our best interest to make a move ahead of time."

The existence known as the Guide made her come to a certain decision.

◇

Liam has decapitated a battleship.

It was such an absurd notion that very little would've believed the story.

However, it was something that had happened above the Capital.

There had been a lot of eyewitnesses, so there was credibility in the story being spread.

Words of his exploits spread not only within the Capital, but to the entire Empire.

Everyone had no choice but to acknowledge that the School of One-Flash was the real deal.

Inside his room, Calvin was sitting with his elbows on his desk and his hands clasped in front of his mouth.

"To think they'd cause a scene by flying a battleship above the Capital. What an outrageous thing they've done."

This was due to some aristocrats going out of control.

It was a big mistake on his part.

Calvin had never expected them to do something this stupid.

He had belittled the extent of their stupidity.

Although they had left, they were once members of the Calvin Faction.

Even before this, Calvin had been branded as a coward that pushed his responsibility to his younger brother to avoid participating in the interstellar war.

Now, he was also known as a fool that failed to assassinate Liam.

Calvin's gaze was on the box that was on the desk.

The box was filled with the cores of Ninjas—broken cores that signified the death of those that had abandoned their mortal bodies in exchange for ones that could turn into any shape.

He had found the box on his desk when he woke up in the morning.

"Is he warning me that he could kill me whenever he wants to?"

Calvin had underestimated the strength of Liam's Black Ops.

Thanks to the foolish acts of the aristocrats under him, Calvin had been driven to a corner.

"I was under the impression that we were cornering him. Seems like it was actually us that were being cornered."

'I can't let things end on this note.'

Calvin convened a meeting with his aristocrats.

"There's a democratic movement going on within Liam-kun's territory, and I'm thinking of holding him accountable."

If they couldn't compete with him on the battlefield, they would do so where they had the upper hand.

Calvin decided to take a jab at Liam's weakness, which was the democratic movement in his territory.

"The Empire abhors anything associated with democratic movements. The army will be dispatched, razing Liam-kun's territory to the ground."

If that became a reality, there was little doubt that Liam would lose a lot of power.

◇

An emergency hearing is being held in the Empire because of those retarded aristocrats that mobilized a battleship inside of the Capital.

As for me, I've been called to act as an important witness.

However, I'm being put on the spot as if I'm the one who committed a crime.

"—I'll never forget this humiliation."

I grind my teeth, holding back the smoldering anger rising up inside of me.

Calvin is also present at the hearing.

I don't like how he's pretending to be cool and looking far into the distance.

You're acting as if this has nothing to do with you, but I know that you're the one who has pushed me into this corner.

You've humiliated me and made me a laughingstock.

I'll definitely kill you with my own hands.

I'll make sure to have my revenge on this guy who has brought me and humiliated me.

I won't forgive the likes of him.

The Prime Minister is staring down at me from a higher position as I express my frustration.

The way he's looking at me is highly unpleasant.

"It's about time we reach a conclusion."

The aristocrats around me are all uttering similar things.

"Liam-dono is such a troublemaker."

"He should be more aware of the fact that he's an aristocrat and fulfill his duties properly."

"As a future Duke, he should be more mindful of his position."

A man and a woman in their thirties are mocking me from above.

It's all Calvin's fault that the hearing is going in this direction.

He put into question my ability to govern.

It was his people that raided the Capital on a battleship, but I'm the one that's being put on the spot.

The aristocrats under him have been raising a ruckus and denouncing me at the hearing.

They're currently facing away from me with cold expressions.

I'll remember you all.

Do not think that I would forgive you!

The aristocrats on my side that attended the hearing are looking at me apologetically.

Baron Exner comes up to soothe me.

"Count, I'm sorry about this."

If you have the leeway to apologize, help me! Help!

Damn it!

Calvin, you're the first one to have driven me into such a corner!

The Prime Minister pounds the hammer like a judge would in a trial, silencing everyone in the venue.

Then, he addresses me.

"Now then, the Count would have to—"

"Ku…"

I clasp my hands with my head down.

This shouldn't have happened.

Things aren't supposed to go this way.

I-I shouldn't have looked down on Calvin so much.

I'll admit my defeat for today.

But mark my words, for it shall only be for today!

◇

When the hearing ended, the Calvinist aristocrats gathered while holding their heads.

To pressure Liam, they had thrown a fit at the hearing by bringing into question his ability to govern his territory.

They had even interrupted the flow of the hearing by clamoring that they would not allow the hearing to continue unless the problem was resolved.

A democratization movement is taking place in Liam's territory.

The people are criticizing the Empire's policies.

They brought up issues that the Empire was sensitive to so that they could "lynch" Liam.

"—Anyone care to explain?"

They had gathered at a location that was near the venue where the hearing was held.

Inside a resting room, Calvin looked around at each of his fellow faction members.

Under his intense glare, everyone turned the other way.

Seeing this, Calvin laughed cheerfully.

"The Prime Minister called me out as we were leaving, and he told me that we should stop making a fool of ourselves."

He was laughing, but it wasn't done so out of happiness.

One of the aristocrats brought up a rather lame excuse.

"Your Highness, the agent that was sent to Liam's territory was someone that served the Viscount who led the secessionists. The data that we received from that agent certainly said that there was a democratic movement going on."

"Does this look like a democratization demo to you?"

During the hearing, they had submitted footage as evidence for the democratization movement in Liam's territory.

Inside the video, Liam's citizens were holding placards.

"Fulfill your duty as an aristocrat!"

"Cherish Lady Rosetta, and please don't forget about Eulisia-san!"

"Exactly, don't forget about me!!"

By the end of the footage, Eulisia had joined the side of the demonstrators.

It was supposed to be a democratization demo, yet it had turned into a child-making demo instead.

Calvin covered his face with his hands and laughed.

"What do you think would happen to my reputation now that I've brought into question Liam-kun's ability to govern with a straight face?"

Calvin's supporters stared into the distance as if to escape reality.

They never imagined that the content of the footage would be like that.

"Why didn't anyone check its content?"

They had simply assumed that they had the necessary evidence.

It was a human error.

They recalled how the tense atmosphere immediately loosened when this evidence was presented.

They had expected Liam to receive a word of warning or even a punishment from the agitated aristocrats of the inquiry committee for his provocative behavior which incited some people to send a battleship to the Capital.

However, when they saw how mortified Liam was about the demonstration, their words became something along the lines of "Don't forget about your duty as an aristocrat", "The Count is still wet behind the ears", and "—Be more careful in the future".

It was as if they were speaking to their favorite grandchild.

They teased him somewhat sympathetically, and Liam's wrongdoings were treated as water under the bridge.

He was practically forgiven after being told to lay low for a while.

On the other hand, the inquiry committee's impression of Calvin was at its worst.

Their act of disrupting the flow of the hearing was seen as a major distraction.

From Calvin's point of view, it was as if he had lost to Liam despite being at an advantageous position.

Before they knew it, the weak Cleo Faction had almost caught up to them.

"We can no longer afford to put on airs."

The Calvinist aristocrats steeled themselves upon hearing Calvin's words.

◇

An idiot brought along a battleship to the Capital.

It's like the world's filled with idiots.

After being attacked at the party venue, the court told me to lay low for a while.

That's why I've been elegantly spending the past few days at the hotel.

Because of the disturbance that happened at the venue, I've been holding back from throwing parties left and right.

An investigation was held for several weeks, and I was even summoned to a hearing.

I'm presumably under probation for a couple of months.

"Now, I just have to deal with the fakes that are pretending to be disciples of the School of One-Flash."

Rumor has it that there are two such people.

Is this the price that one has to pay for being famous?

If they turn out to be imposters, I'll have to eliminate them.

That said, the Empire is an intergalactic nation.

Searching for someone is easier said than done.

I haven't been able to track down the footsteps of those that are claiming to be from the School of One-Flash.

Tia, who has been wagging her tail and preparing tea for me in my room, talks to me.

She's back from being part of the expeditionary force.

When she first came back, she asked to be praised, to which I replied by saying,

"Aren't you glad to work under me?"

She shivered in response and nodded her head enthusiastically.

She should really learn a thing or two from Kukuri, who is excellent at his work.

"Lord Liam, won't you also have to deal with the large-scale demo?"

"—When everything's over, I'll crack down on the demonstrators. Who do they think they are to protest about the lower part of my body?"

It's unforgivable how they're ordering their lord to sleep with Rosetta.

How dare they meddle with my business!

Curse them!

Once I return, I'll crack them down in earnest.

My army has come back from the expeditionary force and is taking a break right now.

To make myself appear more impressive and imposing than I really am, I have to take good care of my military.

I sometimes have them work their asses off, but if I overdo it, they might betray me.

Thus, I leave them alone when they're resting.

The point being, I can't make a move at the moment.

I'll be suppressing the demo as soon as the army is ready.

Tia laughs when she hears what I say.

—I'm pretty evil myself, but she's quite dangerous as well.

"Well, it's a good thing that a democratization movement isn't happening in Lord Liam's territory. If it was, we would've had to seriously crack the demonstrators down. Otherwise, the Imperial Army would've sortied to suppress the movement."

"I would've preferred that."

The Calvin Faction targeted me during the hearing to recover from their previous losses.

The hearing was held for the purpose of investigating them, but I was the one that took the bullet instead.

Calvin has made me realize that I'm no match against him when it comes to a court battle.

A democratization movement is happening in his territory!—or so he had exclaimed.

The Empire detested democratization movements, so the center of people's attention shifted to that during the hearing.

However—when an imperial investigator was dispatched to my territory, they came back with the news that the demo was over the issue of succession and not democratization.

Do you have any idea what it was like to stand in the court while everyone around me discussed the issue of my successor?

The footage that showed the figure of Eulisia participating in the demo left me speechless.

She creates all sorts of problems when left unattended.

When I was shown that footage—I was embarrassed to no end.

I still remember how everyone looked at me.

Some were laughing, others were amused, and the rest were sympathetic.

Even the Prime Minister was looking at me with warm eyes!

Tia smiles as if to suggest something.

"But that has also driven the Calvin Faction to a corner. While they were being cornered, the Cleo Faction was able to become much stronger than before. Everything has been going according to Lord Liam's plan."

"My victory was set in stone from the beginning. I'm actually baffled by how lucky I am."

I say that, but all my luck is thanks to the Guide.

From an outsider's perspective, it might have looked like I was in hot water, but in reality, everything was set in place for my victory.

As an evil lord, my life is in easy mode.

"I'm growing tired of remaining quiet. It's been a while since I went out to play, so ready the car."

"Understood."

Tia orders her subordinates to prepare the car.