Chapter 383

Hiroshi Nakajima.

He was one half of the idiot duo.

He was the glasses-wearing member of the Baseball Club—a lewd brat, to be sure, but unlike that bastard Isono, his face was actually well-formed.

Gah! It was infuriating!

Nakajima’s fiance, Kaori, was a famous villainous noble daughter. Apparently, she had been engaged since childhood to some brat from a house of vassals serving the Duke Association—a house whose name I couldn’t even recall.

Young ladies from military factions were popular. After all, if you were ever beaten to a pulp by pirates, you could go crying to them and they would save you. The next most popular move was to enroll members of one’s own clan into the military to let them climb the ranks. This was the exact strategy employed by my family, the Marquis House.

If the Zork War hadn’t broken out, wouldn’t the goal for my life have been to marry into some suitable military faction as the groom of the youngest daughter, becoming a vassal to the head of house while serving as a soldier? Lately, as I had come to understand the workings of the world, my original life goals had come into focus.

Reaching the rank of Major as a military lawyer hadn’t been the endgame. The real goal was something like being the chief retainer of a regional military clique. I was gaining knowledge and updating my perspective as well. If a house had even one person like that, they could be entrusted with all military affairs. Naturally, that was a highly sought-after talent.

Since military factions were so prestigious, the vassals of the Duke Association also wanted to get close to them. However, that bastard of a fianc was an idiot. He performed the clichd routine of breaking off the engagement and publicly condemning her at a party. It was so perfectly template it was exhausting.

Where Kaori differed was that she proceeded to beat every single person present to a pulp. Even if they were just vassals of the Duke Association, they had a certain level of economic status and even their own private soldiers. She thrashed them all. Naturally, Kaori’s parents arrived on the scene, and she thrashed them too. Apparently, Kaori brought out a pair of hair clippers with a smile and gave her fianc a buzz cut. I suppose he should be glad he wasn’t killed.

Well, since there was absolutely no physical contact between them, it probably only went that far. If he had actually laid a hand on Kaori, his magnum would have bid its magazine a final "Adios." Not "Ciao" as in "see ya.‐ I meant "Adios" as in "farewell forever." (My inner thighs trembled just thinking about it.)

Kaori, having caused such an Evening Party Destruction Incident, was branded a villainess by the hands of the Duke Association. Well, since we destroyed the Duke Association ourselves, the common consensus now was that the man had been entirely in the wrong. Consequently, Kaori’s house was quite friendly toward us. Their affinity was at an all-time high.

Regarding that Kaori, however... I had a feeling she was looking at Nakajima with some rather questionable eyes. I mean, since they were engaged, it would have been fine if it were romantic. I looked at my own wifeys with lewd eyes, after all. But it wasn’t that.

As Nakajima was being beaten to a pulp by Katori-sensei, she watched with an expression of pure ecstasy. Compared to Lady Hanazawa, her expression was much more unsettling. Lady Hanazawa looked on with a sense of, ‘Isono-sama, you’re so cool for being able to fight this hard!’ She was the type to be enchanted by a boy performing a super play in a sports club. Kaori’s face, however, said: ‘It’s heeeeere! Pant, pant... I can’t stand how he keeps trying to fight even after being broken that badly, it’s too much!’

She looked like she wanted to lick up his blood, but whatever. I was the type to respect individual sexual fetishes. It was a good thing for them to get along. I should add, for the sake of her honor, that Kaori was usually quite refined. ‘I’d like to try making him cross-dress at least once,’ she had mused.

...I chose to hear nothing.

Those peaceful days met a sudden end. The Taikyoku Nation had gone and declared an all-out war on Latarnia. Their fleet suddenly set sail and attacked the border regions. This was within the scope of our expectations. It likely looked as though the border regions were seeking independence and were on the verge of being annexed by Latarnia. Ordinarily, this would have ended with Latarnia simply lodging a protest, since it was technically a civil war.

However, the Taikyoku Nation—or rather, the Ghouls whose brains had rotted away—were a bit different. They proceeded to launch a direct attack on Latarnia’s planets. Since the targets on the Latarnian side were military bases in the border region, the civilian evacuation was carried out swiftly. Apparently, they had built shelters deep underground.

As I watched the news in the dining hall, the situation shifted. Kevin arrived, her chest swaying noticeably as she ran. She had become a bit more rounded lately. It wasn’t that she had gotten fat; she simply felt completely like a woman now. She was growing her hair out, too. Was her feminization progressing even further?

‘Everyone! It’s terrible!’

‘What happened?’

‘I-I was eavesdropping with a drone, and the Taikyoku Nation is launching a general offensive against Latarnia!’

‘Say what?’

Yes, that was what happened just moments ago. From that point on, things moved rapidly. I had thought they might try a general offensive, but the Taikyoku Nation would have needed to be in perfect condition to actually wage an all-out war with Latarnia. But look at them now—pilots were deserting in their fighter jets. On the Latarnian side, you had the Revere the Emperor Armed Hyahhaa, and in other border regions, rioters were going ‘Hyahhaa’ as well. Even on the Taikyoku Nation Home Planet, multiple underground organizations opposing the Ghouls had emerged. I heard that military buildings were being torched.

Administrative functions were completely paralyzed; the only units that could be moved were the Ghouls under the network’s control. In other words, it was effectively a war between the Ghouls and Latarnia. Were they morons?

No, perhaps not. In history, decisions that looked like foolish choices were often not picked from a variety of options, but were the only ones that could be made. In a world where I was dead and the Duke Association was thriving, the Empire would have had no choice but to send Edge to the Zork Mother as an assassin. It was the same here. The Ghouls had made their final gamble. Since there was no chance of them suing for peace knowing they would lose... did they have a trump card left that made them think they could win?

This was bad. I couldn’t predict what that means might be.

Then, an internal broadcast echoed through the halls.

‘Lord Groom! Get to the operations room this instant! It is war!’

‘And so,’ I said, ‘everyone, stand by. I’m heading out.’

‘Leo! I’m going too!’ Claire insisted.

She was currently in a position that was essentially that of my secretary. ‘I’m going too,’ Edge added. He was my military adjutant. ‘Me too, me too!’ cried Melissa, the Commando Squad Leader. Kevin also tagged along, her chest swaying. Kevin was the Intelligence Squad Leader.

Honestly, our members were actually at the level of base general managers rather than just squad leaders. Since they couldn’t possibly perform actual operations, they remained squad leaders for now. Yes, only I was being forced to work like a dog as a Brigadier General. Why?!

In any case, the war had begun. I turned to Shiyun.

‘Shiyun! I’m going to make it so you can go home!’

‘Y-Yes...’

For some reason, Shiyun looked down, her gaze fixed on the floor.