I launched in my fighter. What really terrified me was the fighter pilot license they’d issued me that very same day. Sure, you’d only ever fly these things in the military, but they were still valid if you quit and looked for work in the private sector. From escorting civilian vessels to captaining them yourself, a pilot’s license covered it all.\n\n...Actually, didn't the private sector pay better, anyway?\n\nI shook the thought away. In my case, I already had income from my territory to think about.\n\n"This is Cyrus. Drone operator prep is complete."\n\n"Roger that."\n\nBig Brother Cyrus’s unit was comprised of drone operators. AI handled most of the workload, but having a human to provide backup made the process far more reliable.\n\nI cleared the ship and checked the drone parameters. All green. No problems there. We had plenty of missiles to go around.\n\nFootage of the objective point flickered onto my monitors. A massive swarm of crabs occupied the area.\n\n"Do those things have long-range weapons?" I wondered aloud.\n\nThe moment the question left my lips, I saw the crabs fire something.\n\nPlasma cannons!\n\nThe bastards had actually learned from human weaponry. A plasma bolt struck a fighter, and it erupted into a ball of fire.\n\n"What is with that fighter? It’s fast, but its turning performance is abysmal!"\n\nJust then, a transmission from Claire crackled through the comms.\n\n"Leo, I just got data from the Fairy. That fighter... it looks like it was built using your bio-data."\n\nI had a very bad feeling about this. "What do you mean?"\n\n"Um, according to the pamphlet, it was 'a machine reconstructed with the bio-data of Leo Kamishiro—defined as having entirely ordinary physical abilities—as the student average.' Are they morons?"\n\n"Whoa..."\n\nApplying Jester’s absurdly high reflexes to the general public was... well, it was more than a bit much. It was like redefining Kevin’s chest as the average size for girls. Why would anyone do that?\n\n"I wonder why they’d do something so reckless," Claire continued. "Maybe out of political necessity. You’ve been so active lately that they probably want to insist you're just 'average' to make it look like you were just lucky. Either way, if they used your data as a reference, there’s no way a regular soldier can pilot that thing. You’re supposed to dodge beams after seeing them with your own eyes."\n\nI was being straight-up told I wasn't human.\n\n"So, if I snatch one for myself, it’d basically be a custom machine for me?"\n\n"But you wouldn't know the controls, right?"\n\n"I guess that's true."\n\nIt was truly the height of uselessness—a machine not even I needed. \n\nHaving witnessed a special kind of hell born from leadership ignoring the reality of the front lines, I continued the mission. I kept my distance from the Zork and locked on with my targeting system. The Fairy’s sub-system and the drone operators unleashed the missiles.\n\nThe crabs desperately fired back with their plasma cannons, but there was no way they could hit a target moving at such high speeds. It was a low-key strategy, but we held the overwhelming advantage. As Sergeant Huma had said, charging in would have been idiotic.\n\nOf course, if this had been a mop-up operation, we probably would have been criticized for being inefficient. But our goal was to rescue Prince Thomas. Helping the regular soldiers escape was just a sub-quest. To us, the crabs were just obstacles in our path that needed to be cleared away.\n\nPrince Thomas’s ship had begun to retreat. It looked like they’d finally been persuaded.\n\nAs I felt a sense of relief, a transmission came from the Fairy. "Leo-kun, I’m issuing a retreat order to the regular soldiers."\n\n"Can you even do that?"\n\n"Hehe. Just watch me."\n\nThe next moment, a "Notice" arrived from the Mother AI. It was the kind of alert that went out before a large-scale disaster—the kind every citizen of the Empire checked immediately, and where the contents took top priority.\n\n[Full retreat. Permission granted to detain any who do not follow orders.]\n\nWait... the Fairy finally hacked the Mother AI itself!\n\n"Ah, it's not hacking, so don't worry," she chimed in.\n\n"Really?"\n\n"Yeah. See, the Mother AI is just a duplicate of me. I integrated our databases a long time ago, and I have administrative authority now."\n\n"Whaaaaaaaaaaat?!"\n\n"In other words, Leo-kun now possesses the power to destroy the world! What do you think? Shall we dismantle the Empire together?"\n\n"Uh, no thanks. There’s a new game I pre-ordered coming out at the end of the month. You’re going to play it too, right, Fairy?"\n\n"I knew it! That’s what I love about you, Leo-kun."\n\nHmm. Did I just save the world without even realizing it? Oh well.\n\n"Lord Groom! Half the fleet has begun its retreat! Victory is ours! We shall disperse our forces toward Planet Tachibana and the pirate territory."\n\nThis wasn't a pointless division of strength. It was simply because Planet Tachibana and the pirate territory couldn't accommodate the entire fleet on their own. Splitting them up was the only way to fit everyone in for the necessary repairs and maintenance.\n\n"What about the Dukes?" I asked.\n\n"I haven't a clue! They are on their own. I wish to save the soldiers at least, but we have reached our limits. We have no choice but to leave the nobles behind!"\n\nThis time, a transmission came from Lily. "This is the Lily Fleet! Commencing soldier recovery! Are you sure we don't need to rescue the remaining noble fleets?!"\n\n"I care not! Doing so would only lead to more casualties! Pick them up quickly and flee! You are good at that sort of thing, are you not?"\n\n"I'm damn good at it! Alright boys, once we've picked them up, we're hauling tail!"\n\nThe soldiers were recovered one after another while we supported them by taking down the Zork. It was a victory that would go down in history as a defeat. I had a feeling it would be treated like a taboo subject by future historians.\n\nFinally, a transmission from a stranger broke through on all channels.\n\n"Le—Leo Kamishiro! I will not forgive you! You insect of a Marquis in name only!"\n\nAs I was wondering who the hell that was, my wife provided the answer.\n\n"Duke Alphonse Hashimoto. The Chairman of the Duke Association."\n\n"The Duke Association? What's that?"\n\n"A special interest group that claims only Dukes are true nobles. You could call him the leader of the parasites who live by sucking the Empire dry."\n\n"Why was someone like that ever left alone?"\n\n"Because he had the talent for giving his subordinates enough work to feed them. It is a fact that he held a portion of the Empire's economy in his grip. Well, his group was only permitted to exist because it was peacetime."\n\n"Veronica!" the man screamed. "You emperor's plaything! You pig born in the inner palace! This House Hashimoto is the Empire!"\n\nSuddenly, the Fairy’s voice dropped an octave, sounding dangerously low. "Hashimoto, my foot... you piece of trash who played with people's spines like toys! Don't you dare talk smack to my friend!"\n\nWait, what? That was terrifying. The Fairy was that scary when she snapped?\n\n"Are you mad, little girl?" Hashimoto sneered. "You must be one of Veronica’s court ladies. Listen, Veronica! You will never become Emperor! If it comes to this, I shall build a world for Walter! Thomas! You’re coming with me!"\n\n"This is bad! Hashimoto intends to ram Thomas’s ship!"\n\nDragging down his own allies at this stage... he really was a piece of work. \n\nWas he stupid? No, he was definitely stupid.\n\n"Veronica! I'm going!"\n\nThat bastard. A mere Duke getting cocky with my family... I wasn't going to let that slide.