Chapter 15:
The Weight of a Life
PEOPLE TOOK LIFE LIGHTLY in this universe, even those who said
otherwise. In this intergalactic empire, it was the same—no, it was worse
—than in my previous world. Even the tiniest skirmish here wiped out tens
of thousands of people. Larger battles could claim millions, and were
always taking place somewhere or other. Strides in science and magic
meant nothing when humanity didn't advance along with them.
Well, that was preamble enough. One reason life was indeed cheap
in an intergalactic empire was that children could be made easily. I myself
had been born into this world from a test tube, and grown in a machine
rather than a womb. My parents felt no love for me, and as soon as I turned
five, they'd saddled me with their domain and debt, abandoning me.
Children were born easily, and people died even more easily. That
was how this world worked. Life was cheap, right? Still, this particular
incident was a new low as far as I was concerned.
"Let's hear your excuses. But first... Claus, tell these two exactly
what their crimes are."
I'd called Tia and Marie back from their work and had them
prostrate themselves in front of me. Sitting with my legs crossed, my
cheek on my fist, I stared down at the pair's bowed heads.
Standing beside me, Claus read out their crimes with an expression
that transcended exasperation and sat somewhere around enlightenment.
"First, you ignored Baron Noden, Isaac, and their coconspirators to deploy
Lord Liam's fleets without permission. Then you occupied planets within
Lord Liam's domain without authorization, and, in an act of rebellion,
pitted his forces against each other. Finally, you stole Lord Liam's genetic
material, which is meant to be safeguarded within the domain."
It was all too much. When I was away, my knights were supposed to
protect my domain, not go off the rails.
"I've been disappointed with you two a number of times," I
snapped, "And this time, your greatest sin was betraying me by acting
completely on your own whims."
Glancing up, Tia began making excuses. "Lord Liam, my only
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thought was to protect your realm, which is without an heir—"
"What was that?"
"Eep!"
I silenced Tia with a stomp on the floor, then remembered that I was
going to tell them something important before hearing their justifications.
"How noble of you. I need to warn you both, however—if I consider your
excuses unacceptable, I'll cut you down where you stand."
These two had served me for decades by now, but however capable
they'd been, I wasn't keeping traitors around. At first, I had wanted to
recruit a bunch of hot female knights, but if they were all going to turn out
like this, I'd keep knights out of my harem. From now on, I wouldn't
recruit based on looks—I only wanted people I could actually count on.
Both women went quiet. In my eyes now, they were as bad as Isaac
and the rest. I reached for my sword, which leaned against my seat. Marie
pulled her hair over her shoulder, exposing her neck to me.
"Hunh. How noble," I acknowledged. "Don't worry, I'll decapitate
you painlessl—"
"I wanted to bear your child, Lord Liam!"
"Uh..."
Her blurted excuse left me speechless. What the hell was she saying
at a time like this?
Marie kept going, her explanation getting worse and worse. "E-even
if you'd returned and refused the child, rejecting it as your heir, I would
simply have raised it on my own! Pl-please forgive me!"
At a loss, I turned to Claus, but he was speechless too. I was a bit
relieved by his consternation, since I thought of him as someone with a fair
amount of common sense. For a second, I'd worried that Marie's thinking
might be normal in this universe, but Claus's reaction assured me that he
was also flummoxed. Thank goodness. Marie's excuse couldn't possibly
be anything but bizarre, right?
Weeping, Tia made her case as well. "I would never be so brazen as
to request your affection, Lord Liam...but I wanted a connection to you!
Even without an incident like the recent one, I had hoped to have a baby
using your genetic material someday, to carry on my family name. I would
not have claimed that child was an heir of House Banfield. Un-under the
circumstances, I couldn't resist the temptation."
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"You both wanted to have my child?"
Marie nodded, trembling. "I know it's insolent, but I desired a
connection to you too. I'm aware of the extent of my sins, but I couldn't
control myself! If you wish to cut me down personally, I could not ask for
a better punishment! My life is yours, Lord Liam!"
What even are kids to these two? Tools to connect with me? And
now she wants me to cut her down? Well, that just makes it unappealing.
They'd thrown me for a loop, and I withdrew my hand from my
sword. "I can't strip you of your qualifications as knights of the Empire,
but you will no longer be considered to have the position or authority of
knights in my domain. For now, you'll only work as maids here in the
mansion."
I had planned on executing them, but their stupid excuses ruined my
appetite for bloodshed. The two thanked me with tears in their eyes,
although I truly couldn't have cared less.
"Thank you, Lord Liam!"
"Just as before, Lord Liam, I pledge my service to you—even as a
maid!"
I'd once considered the two decently competent, trusting them
enough to stay out of their way, but that had been a mistake. I'd have
Serena start teaching them how to act like proper ladies.
"Enough—you're dismissed. Oh, and Claus?"
"Yes, sir?"
"I've been thinking for a while now about ranking my best knights.
You did well during this conflict. So from now on, you're first."
"Yes, si—huh?" Claus began by simply nodding, but then his eyes
widened. He was clearly surprised to receive a new title so abruptly.
"I'll expand your authority and increase your pay. I guess it's, you
know, that 'head knight' job. You're the best I've got, so keep up the good
work, all right?"
"Y-yes, sir!"
As I spoke to Claus, I made sure to get a good look at Tia's and
Marie's dead eyes. The exchange seemed to hurt them more deeply than
their actual punishment.
"Tia. Marie."
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They replied with conflicted expressions.
"Y-yes, sir!"
"Yes, Lord Liam!"
"If you two had just done your jobs, I was leaning toward awarding
the role to one of you. I'm beyond disappointed by what you did instead."
Satisfied that they were crushed, I stood and left the chamber.
***
Claus couldn't stop sweating.
In the past, there had been a rumor that Liam planned to rank his
knights officially, assigning them numbers. Who knew how the
rumormongers got the idea? At the time, some House Noden vassals
studying in Liam's territory got it into their heads that they were worthy of
serving as Liam's Twelve Knights. Liam hadn't taken action on the rumor,
so the vassals began to spread it around. When the claims got out of hand,
Liam denied them, but it later turned out to be true that he planned to
number his knights.
Ever since then, who Liam would choose for this honor had been an
oft-discussed subject among his knights. Still, for Claus, this was a bolt
from the blue.
I didn't think he'd choose me as First!
After Liam left, Claus remained in the room with Tia and Marie,
who'd both failed to become First Knight. Their eyes on him were truly
icy.
Tia rose from her kneeling position slowly and eerily, as if she
lacked the strength to move properly. "Congratulations...Lord Claus."
Marie stood as well. There was no life in her eyes; her movements
were sluggish. "Lord Liam's First Knight... It's an exceptional title. Ah...
If not for this incident, it might have belonged to me."
Both women seemed to be taking their failure to become Liam's
First Knight rather hard.
"I-it was sudden news to me as well," Claus replied. "I'm sure Lord
Liam made the decision on the spur of the moment. He may well change
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his mind while discussing things with the other knights and army."
Tia and Marie continued glaring at him enviously, and Claus felt his
stomach pain return.
Why do I have to serve as head knight? What did I do to deserve it?
What do you think an average guy like me can accomplish, Lord Liam?
Claus would continue to shoulder the responsibility for Liam's
talented-but-troublesome knights.
***
I give up.
In the Capital Planet's palace, Calvin lamented his circumstances.
"It's finally, utterly over for me."
He'd been going through intelligence on Liam at his desk. Written
on the document in front of him were the words "Liam's greatest weakness
is his solitary rulership. When he is not present, his domain is utterly
vulnerable." In short, House Banfield's security and stability had indeed
been greatly compromised when word of Liam's disappearance got out.
If Liam's domain was vulnerable without him, that should mean it
would fall easily, so long as one took out Liam himself. Yet that was the
most difficult thing.
"He can't be assassinated. He can't be killed in war. Spreading
negative rumors in his domain does nothing. How am I supposed to depose
someone I can't sabotage?"
The shadowy organization protecting Liam made assassination
practically impossible. Even killing him outright, with no regard for
appearances, likely wouldn't succeed; Liam could defeat even
Swordmasters singlehandedly. Anyhow, such blatant methods would harm
Calvin's reputation. And when it came to war, Liam himself made a
formidable soldier. He had many strong knights and troops in his service
as well.
Following his recent disappearance, Liam had pruned his domain's
traitorous elements, so it was harder than ever to find someone to betray
him. All the inside operatives Calvin had installed long-term had vanished;
their work would go unfinished. And Liam's cleanse had eliminated every
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operative in his domain, not just Calvin's.
Without Liam's leadership, House Banfield was hardly a threat, but
Calvin could find no way to eliminate him. Even the baggage Liam had
been enduring—the rabble who should have been flocking to Cleo's
faction—Calvin was now burdened with; they were gathering under his
banner for some reason. Not even Calvin could wrap his head around that.
He'd given them only a covert hint of support, and now they claimed to
have his full backing.
"Things are looking rather precarious."
Calvin was beginning to see a real chance that Cleo would unseat
him and become the new crown prince. He had no idea what to do about it.
***
Another man, too, clutched his head in dismay—or his hat, rather. It
was the Guide, crouched low to the ground with only his tiny arms and
legs showing under his top hat.
"No matter what I do, it somehow just benefits Liam."
He'd tried sending Liam far away with summoning magic, then
wreaking havoc in his domain while he was gone. At first, that was
successful. Yet ultimately, it just illuminated existing problems which
Liam then dealt with.
Crouching on a wide boulevard within House Banfield's domain,
the Guide looked up at a huge floating monitor.
"Footage shared by the government shows Lord Liam attending
parties with Lady Rosetta. The two seem quite intimate!" said one news
anchor.
"It's speculated that they released this footage in response to
concerns that there's been no progress in their relationship," continued
the other. "But aren't they the most darling couple?"
Liam's lavish parties on the Capital Planet had been widely
broadcast, yet his subjects hadn't reacted strongly to his wasteful spending.
Their concerns lay elsewhere.
Citizens walking down the street chatted mirthfully.
"Oh, so they do get along."
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"Guess we didn't need to stage those protests."
"Eh, they were fun. Anyway, if Lord Liam and Lady Rosetta are
that intimate, I'm sure we'll have an heir soon enough."
"Let's have another protest when it's born, demanding they give it a
sibling!"
The news anchors on the floating monitor began discussing the tax
hike.
"In our next story, the government has announced increased taxes
to fund a new social welfare program."
"This program will include—"
The citizens didn't react all that strongly to that either.
"A tax increase?"
"Lord Liam, you jerk."
"I hear it'll reduce medical bills, though."
"Lord Liam rules!"
They weren't happy about paying more taxes, but they accepted it
readily alongside the promise of improved social programs.
At that point, the Guide became aware that the ground he rested on
seemed unusually hot. Yes, it was hotter. Suddenly, it felt like he stood on
heated steel.
"Hot! Hot! Gyah!"
He hopped up and down on his little feet awkwardly, then tripped
and fell to the ground. There, he started to burn, hat and all.
"Nooo! It's hot no matter where I go!"
There was a sizzling sound; black smoke billowed from the Guide,
draining his power. At this rate, surely he would burn to death. He rolled
around, searching desperately for a safe spot. As he began to char, the
Guide finally realized why this was happening.
"I-it can't be!"
He launched himself into the air and headed for space. There, the
home planet looked divine below him. Particles of golden light glimmered
everywhere.
"What is that? Where is it coming from?!"
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Its quantity seemed far too great for it to be gratitude coming from
Liam. Could Liam's thankfulness have enveloped the entire planet and
forced the Guide off it?
At that point, the Guide finally remembered. "I-is it the w-world
tree?"
This concentration of energy flowed toward him from a planet far
away, traversing time and space. That planet had just been revitalized, and
the world tree that had appeared there was under Liam's protection.
Though it was still small, it must have felt grateful to Liam. Its holy power
was reaching out and trying to protect him.
"The world tree is protecting Liam? Th-there's just no way for me to
win, is there?!"
A world tree was a truly holy plant, and in effect a deadly poison to
the Guide. This one would have withered under the care of the evil elves
who'd wished to exploit it, but the Guide himself had drained the elves'
desire for shortsighted profit.
Normally, a world tree would not favor one person to this extent.
The Guide trembled at this unforeseen consequence of his actions.
"A-at this point, th-there's nothing I can do on my own anymore,
except gather other entities like myself in this universe to assist me."
He'd just have to find help. Ordinarily, a being like the Guide would
never stoop to asking for help, but at this point he was terrified of Liam.
To defeat him, the Guide would throw away his pride.
"I'll do anything I have to, if it means taking Liam down!"
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