My father and mother died right after the start of the Zork War.
I, Jason Azumi, watched our domain being overrun from the dormitory dining hall of the National Officer Academy Senior High Division.
My family was at the very bottom of the Duke Association. For generations, we had served as chief retainers under a certain duke. The story went that during some past era, a duke who struck it rich handed down a planet to us on a whim, making us counts.
Both my father and mother had easygoing personalities. As long as you nodded along and answered "yes, of course" to whatever the duke commanded, your livelihood was guaranteed. That was how our household had gotten by for hundreds of years.
Naturally, looking back on it now, the preferential treatment granted by the Duke Association was staggering. If you joined the military, you were given a rear-guard posting. If you entered public service, you spent your days lounging around doing no real work at a central government office. Just shy of thirty, you would enter an arranged marriage with a suitable woman from among the Duke Association vassals. You would be granted a detached home in the Imperial Capital's residential district meant for Duke Association retainers, where a carefree life awaited you. If you had children, admission to the Officer Academy or university was guaranteed. There were quotas reserved exclusively for the Duke Association. There was never any need to worry about competence.
Among the Duke Association's chief retainers, my family leaned toward military official status. Without giving it a second thought, I leisurely enrolled in the Officer Academy. Meanwhile, retainers who had served our house for centuries handled the governance of the domain. As an only son, I was slated to serve the mandatory military service in a rear-guard role for the required number of years. After serving the Empire for about a decade, I was supposed to join the Duke Association's knights.
Nowadays, the Duke Association is talked about like some evil syndicate, but its lower ranks were really just a laid-back gathering of folks. Even the Duke Association's knights had no actual duties. They had maintained a give-and-take relationship for centuries with the pirates operating near our territory. I was supposed to simply report to the Duke Association's station in the Imperial Capital every day, spending my life idly chatting with my peers. There was no need to ever worry about money.
I only realized how abnormal such an existence was after my family home collapsed.
During the Zork War, each lord returned home to defend their territory. For my parents, it was probably the first time in their lives setting foot on that soil. And that was where both of them died.
My father was a member of the Duke Association's knights as well. However, he had zero combat experience. That, right there, was the sin of the Duke Association. Yet I had been so foolish and narrow-minded that I never even noticed.
Afterward, the Duke Association was utterly crushed by Empress Veronica and Leo Kamishiro. To think the Duke Association had been colluding with the Zork... I had no idea. No, unless you were among the tiny handful of top executives, you never could have known.
I was arrested at the Officer Academy dormitory and sent to a detention facility. I didn't resist, knowing full well that resisting would be pointless. Perhaps because of that, I was treated with courtesy. There was no torture like having my fingernails torn off or being waterboarded. I wasn't even interrogated harshly. The interrogator probably took pity on an ignorant boy whose destination would likely be the execution grounds. They even brought me sweets. To this day, I still maintain friendly ties with that interrogator.
If anything stood out, it was merely the hospital examinations. What those exams revealed was that I was not a Zork. To be precise, activation of the Zork factor was confirmed, but the fact remained that I had not transformed into one. Furthermore, the activation of the Zork factor had awakened a unique ESP within me. It was a mind-manipulation type of ESP. They explained to me that what I was originally supposed to mutate into was likely a Zork relay machine.
From that point on, a whirlwind of days began. Mind-manipulation ESP users were rare. I was forced to participate voluntarily in all sorts of experiments. What did "voluntarily" even mean?
A little while later—around the time the Duke Association was on the verge of total collapse, I believe. A high-ranking military officer came to the detention center where I was confined. He introduced himself as Colonel Isono of the Army. He was a partially balding middle-aged man with round glasses and a mustache. However, his bulging muscles were blatantly obvious even through his military uniform. I was no brawler, but I could tell immediately that this man, who had come without any guards, could kill me with his bare hands.
"Jason Azumi. Would you like a chance to redeem your honor?"
The colonel was a man of few words. Yet his silence spoke volumes: Refuse, and I will kill you. I could see what looked like a red aura around him. I only learned later that seeing this was part of my ESP. Besides, I had no reason to refuse.
"I pledge my loyalty to Her Majesty the Emperor and His Excellency Grand Duke Leo Kamishiro."
That was what I said. There was no other way to answer. Imagine if I had just meekly replied, "Yes." I might have been beaten to death on the spot.
"Full marks. I expect great things from you."
Colonel Isono smirked and handed me an appointment letter. My assignment to the ESP Corps was finalized. My rank was Private First Class. I think even that was the utmost preferential treatment.
First, I had ESP-amplifying tattoos engraved over my entire body. I had no choice in the matter. I had to amplify my ESP, forge my body, and demonstrate my loyalty to the Empire in a tangible form. That was my only means of survival.
Honing my ESP, I was selected to transfer from the Army's ESP Corps to the Space Marines Special Forces. For about a year after that, I was primarily tasked with eliminating the Duke Association's remnants. Given my abilities, it was only natural that I became an executioner. After all, my power was specialized for assassination. Most likely... I had been destined to become a relay machine designed for assassination.
That day was no different. I infiltrated a corporate party, placed the Duke Association remnants under hypnosis, and made them jump from the building. With my ability, compelling a target to end their own life was entirely possible. While there were times I grew sick of those days, I understood the importance of the mission all too well. For an Empire threatened by external foes, a security hole like the Duke Association had to be wiped out without leaving a trace.
I held no grudge against Her Majesty the Emperor or Leo Kamishiro. If I held a grudge against anyone, it was the Duke Association that had betrayed us. Besides, Her Majesty the Emperor was trustworthy.
After transferring to the Special Forces, a document arrived. It was the paperwork for the restoration of my noble status and the return of our domain. True, the military had made that promise, but... I thought it was just an empty gesture. The world isn't that soft. I was part of a criminal faction. I couldn't complain even if I were kept on a short leash for the rest of my life. Rather, I had assumed I would eventually be killed. That was why I had been planning to ask for exile somewhere like Repsitore. I had even submitted a petition to the military outlining my true feelings.
Yet Her Majesty the Emperor kept her word. Forgiving a former enemy. That is no easy feat. There wasn't a one-in-a-million chance I could ever win against them anyway. The restoration of my house was accomplished. I had no complaints. I didn't relish assassination missions, but... that was my punishment. I simply had to devote myself selflessly to public duty.
And then, I was appointed as Leo Kamishiro's bodyguard. I was summoned to Military Headquarters by someone whom it would be far faster to count from the top of the Space Marines hierarchy. In that office, I received the appointment and debriefing directly.
"Congratulations, Warrant Officer Jason Azumi. You have been selected as the bodyguard for His Majesty Leo Kamishiro Chronos."
"I hail from the Duke Association, however..."
"But you harbor no grudge, do you?"
"No, none in particular."
"Nor do you harbor ill will toward Lady One-O-One Mendelevium?"
"I consider her a vital figure who brought the Zork War to an end."
Though she is a Zork Queen, I had heard that she was on humanity's side from the moment she was discovered. Her existence allowed the war to conclude before it degenerated into a quagmire. I felt gratitude toward her, but had no reason to bear a grudge.
"What are your thoughts on Doctor Kevin Mendelevium?"
"I view her as a victim of the Zork."
I was in the exact same boat. I merely awakened to ESP without undergoing a physical transformation. There was only a paper-thin difference between Doctor Kevin and me. When I thought about what it would be like if my gender had been changed... I couldn't even fathom her anguish.
"Very well. It seems you are telling the truth."
Terrifying! Did that mean an ability user like me had been monitoring my mind from somewhere?
And that was how I became the bodyguard to Leo Kamishiro Chronos.
Little did I know that the days ahead would be spent playing the straight man in an unending battle against a Space Monster...