It seemed that bastard Eddie’s engagement had finally been settled.
I heard she was an older woman—the daughter of a Marquis from a military clique.
Our situations were similar, really. The youngest children of a Marquis house that wasn’t particularly good at managing its territory had to figure out how to pay their own tuition. Eddie’s fianc e was apparently a hard worker who’d joined the military just to get a scholarship for university.
The sheer relatability of these Marquis house struggles almost brought me to tears.
In this world, some Viscount houses had heads who were theme park presidents and Public Security executives, while some Marquis houses were led by Marginal Village Agricultural Cooperative Presidents.
I truly felt a sense of kinship with her. Please, be sure to invite me to the wedding.
Now then, I had to compile a report on everything that had happened.
First, Ren had been inaugurated as the Great King of the Beast Race.
I honestly have no idea what I’m saying.
When I’d rushed to Ren’s planet, I found her sitting on a literal throne-chair like some evil overlord, reigning over the local populace.
Apparently, when Ren visited her territory, the Beast Race inhabitants had come to her with a direct petition. When the Fairy investigated, they’d discovered slave trading operations across multiple planets.
Ren had snapped and personally raided the enemy organization.
Let’s just call the organization the "Syndicate."
Ren’s raid led to the arrest of everyone involved, and they’d secured a mountain of evidence. It turned out the Syndicate members were all tightly interconnected. Because one branch was crushed, the local nobles associated with the Syndicate on several other planets staged a simultaneous uprising.
It was the "I Don't Want to Go to Prison" Uprising.
What a total mess!
Ren led the Beast Race to annihilate the enemy, and in the aftermath, they’d begun worshipping her as their Great King.
...I suspected at least half of that was just them getting swept up in the mood, though.
The other guys from the Officer Academy were in similar straits; everyone had ended up in combat with the Syndicate. Honestly, the Duke Association... couldn't you guys even maintain the peace in your own territories?
That was why I, as the Kamishiro Clan Leader, had gone to lend a hand. And that was where I saw the "Great King" Ren.
Wifey and I had pointed at her and laughed ourselves hoarse. Ren was mortified, but it was the funniest thing I'd ever seen.
After that, we met up with Eddie and the others who had escaped. We took the Beast Race warriors with us and beat the living daylights out of the villains on Planet Anheim. It seemed the enemy didn’t expect us to return for a revenge match on the very same day we’d supposedly fled.
How naive. We move according to Shimazu Time.
The groups on other planets either fled to us or fought while leading the locals, just like Ren. We systematically crushed the enemies one by one.
Interestingly, the ones the enemy feared most weren’t me, but the duo of Kevin and Nina. You see, those two would burn down entire bases with such ultra-high firepower that not even a single blade of grass remained.
Eddie and I were more the One-on-one Specialization Types.
Anyway, many arrests were made, and the Syndicate collapsed... is what I wish I could say.
Here was the real problem.
The enemy’s actual headquarters was only discovered two days ago: Planet Lady Grey.
"Lady Grey? Who’s that?" you might ask.
Well, that’s Kevin’s territory. Born in a colony, Kevin had no surname. It wasn't about systemic discrimination; it was simply that many colony citizens were wanted criminals who didn't use names, and as the generations passed, those surnames were forgotten. Since the planet just happened to carry the name of the previous lord’s house, Kevin became Count Lady Grey.
But there was a contradiction. Planet Lady Grey was supposed to be an uninhabited frontier. So what exactly had the previous lord been doing there?
The answer was simple: the previous lord had vanished because the planet wasn't uninhabited at all. It was the Syndicate's headquarters for slave trading.
Kevin had landed on the planet, bringing along the old man who’d turned into a girl and his family. There, they’d discovered a fort built into a cliffside, designed to avoid aerial reconnaissance.
The Syndicate’s Humanoid Fighter Corps had emerged from within. Lacking sufficient weaponry, Kevin had fought a desperate battle while protecting the settlers (since Kevin’s drone army took up too much space, he’d only been able to bring the bare minimum).
He’d managed to escape, and once he’d regrouped, he was back for blood.
"Lord Groom! We're arriving at Planet Lady Grey!" Wifey called out.
I was already in my combat suit. Behind me, the Kamishiro Clan was out in force.
"Let’s give the bastards who bullied Kevin a lesson they'll never forget! Right, everyone!?"
"Uoooohhhhhhh!"
"The enemy is truly pitiful..." someone muttered. "To have angered the one group in the galaxy you should never, ever cross..."
Furthermore, the Kamishiro Clan had gained new allies: the warriors of the Beast Race.
"Great King! Give us your orders!" a massive guy with dog ears howled.
Ren sat on her litter, looking deeply embarrassed. She glanced over at me.
"Ren, let’s do this!"
At my energetic call, Ren steeled her resolve.
"Warriors of the Beast Race! Follow me!"
Her face was bright red. Clearly, she was still mortified to have me watching her.
"Uoooohhhhhhh!"
The Beast Race warriors were overflowing with fighting spirit. Technically, the Beast Race were modified humans designed for combat against Native Dangerous Species. While the Chlorella Treatment was for frontier labor, the Beast Race was for war. However, because of their attractive features, they were frequent targets of human trafficking.
There was also a persistent prejudice that they were unintelligent. In fact, there were even some bizarrely "socially conscious" organizations that tore families apart under the guise of "We have to protect them!"
There are always people like that who can only manage to do the exact wrong thing. The Syndicate had been operating from the shadows by mingling with those very organizations.
No wonder the combat race was so fired up. They were howling, brandishing rifles and machetes.
Yeah, if you do bad things, they always come back to bite you. The Kawagon understood that much.
Kevin and the TS Squad were equally motivated. They were taking back the land they’d finally secured for themselves. There was no greater justification than that.
"Let's go, Leo."
Eddie offered his fist. I bumped mine against it.
"I'm counting on you, Vice Commander."
"Eh? Vice Commander?! Wait, Leo, I didn't agree to this!?"
"I just decided it now."
"Hey, Leo! Give me a break!"
"Noooope."
And so, the revenge match began. I boarded my Massacre Night. Eddie was also in his Massacre Night All-rounder Custom Machine.
That guy was strong no matter what role he played. He was the type who could execute textbook tactics with incredible speed and precision.
I'm expecting big things from you, Eddie!