A skyscraper towered atop the battleship.
The sheer, gaudy excess of its nouveau riche aesthetic was enough to give me a headache.
Compared to this, the members of the Duke Association were actually quite elegant...
The figurehead was the Goddess of Justice—the same one you’d see at a courthouse. They probably wanted to imply they had brought justice itself under their heel.
Humanoid fighters launched from the battleship, garish purple machines that assaulted the eyes.
"You monsters! I can see right through you! Leo Kamishiro! Your legend is a fake! You just stole the credit from your comrades! I know the truth! (Screech...)"
My speakers shrieked with a massive, distorted volume. Shut up! I can hear you just fine!
"Yeah, yeah. Total fraud. Whatever you say."
"I knew it! You're actually pathetic in a duel, aren't you? Come on then! Let’s settle things between two pieces of trash!"
"Uh-huh, I'm terrible. I was so scared I just spent the whole Zork war running away. Oh no, a duel. Eddie-tan, save meee (monotone)."
"Is that so? Gya-ha-ha-ha-ha! Die!"
The pirate didn't even bother to introduce himself before drawing his blade. How tiresome. Had he not seen us take down those other battleships?
He used Imperial Style Swordsmanship. I pulled out my hammer and swatted at his blade. Predictably, I was faster.
"Wh-What? So fast!"
"Imperial Style, huh? Must be a disgraced knight."
"Gya-ha-ha! Like I could stand being a knight!"
He swung wildly. Slow. The moment he tried to wind up, I slammed my hammer into his sword with everything I had.
"Guh?"
The impact drove his own blade into his machine's head. His defense was full of holes. I followed up by burying the hammer into his torso.
The pirate lost his balance. This happened because he wasn't keeping his body properly angled.
"H-How... What is... what’s happening..."
I delivered one final blow to the head. I didn't kill him; if he had enough grit, he could probably still fight without his cameras, but a pilot of this caliber wouldn't be able to manage.
"I've witnessed something truly horrific..."
Eddie sounded exhausted. Alright, time for a little PR over the comms.
"Hellooo! It’s the weak big brother here! Surrender now if you don’t want to end up like this guy!"
The response was an immediate salvo of missiles. Trash, trash, you're just a small-fry big brother. I wasn't about to let such pathetic missiles hit me.
I wove through the barrage. Two more humanoid fighters closed in, but they were too focused on me.
One had its head sniped clean off by Eddie. The other was sliced in half by Melissa. I noticed a sniper positioned on the goddess statue, but Ren took them out with a headshot before I could even point it out.
Honestly, their gear was nothing but siphoned goods from the Duke territories. That alone was enough to charge them with High Treason.
They were far too fixated on us. The entire battleship was. Because...
"All ships, open fire!"
They hadn't even noticed Wifey launching her all-out assault. It was a one-sided slaughter. A total massacre.
Well, of course it was. That was the Emperor's personal flagship. The ruler of the galaxy was unleashing a bombardment of overwhelming material force.
The missiles from a criminal organization's ship were nothing more than the fleeting, pathetic sparks of a ground spinner. The goddess statue crumbled, the skyscraper was reduced to ash, and the enemy battleship plummeted toward the surface of Planet Lady Grey.
I wonder if anyone survived? As expected, Wifey knew exactly the kind of flashy spectacle I enjoyed.
"W-Wifey! You're the most incredible woman in the universe!"
"Praise me! Praise me more!"
And so, an article titled [Imperial Couple Delivers Justice Strike to Syndicate] was broadcast throughout the Empire. It was a clean story, and I hadn't even had to ask for propaganda...
The safety of Ren, her people, and the rescued Female-type Zorks was now guaranteed. While people might wonder why we were doing this instead of fighting the Zork, for some reason, the Imperial citizens were thrilled. Politics is a tricky business.
Now, for the aftermath. A massive, simultaneous crackdown on the Syndicate was carried out across multiple planets. It became a mission to reclaim the Beast Race members who had been sold into slavery.
Tens of thousands were rescued and sent to Ren's planet. The one who was even angrier about the situation than Ren was Wifey. She had lived a slave-like existence under the Maros herself, so this was the one thing she could never forgive.
"It is a purge!"
Wifey ruthlessly targeted every noble who had harbored slaves. She rounded them up and put them through formal trials. In the process, several more noble houses were wiped from existence.
Ren's father... honestly, it was lucky for him he was already dead. I felt like I finally understood why so many dynasties start their reigns with a series of purges.
Coverage of our battle was everywhere, from public broadcasts to the internet. The reason was simple: the Zork War wasn't going well. I understood the government's desire to promote a win, and the public was tired of hearing nothing but reports of lost battles.
News about us played from morning until night. I realized it wouldn't be good for me to become too famous, so I decided to share the glory. Specifically, with Eddie.
I-It’s not like I just pawned the annoying media off on him!
During the usual interview, I was asked the secret to our victory. "It was all thanks to my brilliant adjutant."
There was a reason I made Eddie the face of it. If it were Claire, people would just say I was favoring my own woman. Besides, Lady Claire already controlled the supply routes for several planets. No one dared cross her. She was far more important than I was!
So, I pushed it all onto Eddie. "This young man, Second Lieutenant Eddie Anheim, is our squad's ace pilot and an exceptionally talented officer..."
I praised him to the moon. Beside me, Eddie had a look that screamed, "You totally just dumped the press on me!" but I ignored him.
After the interview, we actually received a letter of thanks from the house of Eddie's fiancée. They were clearly planning to lock him down as hard as they could. Well, he didn't seem to mind her, so it was fine. When I asked, he just said, "She's a good girl."
So mature... Maybe I should start calling him Master Eddie?
This wasn't just about being annoying, though. It was a bad idea for me to monopolize the credit. If Wifey had a weakness, it was the potential for the Kamishiro Clan to splinter. That was why I shared the honor and glory as much as possible. I had to make sure no one felt like they were being overlooked.