My legs gave way from dizziness.
“Young… Young Master!!”
07 hurriedly supported me.
“Shit. Shit. Shit.”
The Lucifel Star System.
That place was right under the nose of the Imperium Marshal’s Office. Originally, it wasn’t even under the jurisdiction of Sector 16. It jutted out alone from Sector 16 like a rhinoceros horn.
So. Is that place under attack by the Imperium Marshal?
‘Would he even bother?’
Not necessarily. He had never once attacked that place first. This was because the Imperium Marshal’s true objective was plunder.
Then why was I having such a fit? Because it was a place far more dangerous than any attack from the Imperium Marshal.
“For now, let us head to the hotel. You need to get some rest first since you have to stop by the Marshal’s Office soon,” Sojin said calmly.
We took a taxi immediately and moved to a hotel near the Marshal’s Office.
“Drink this and try to calm down.”
Sojin handed me some royal jelly tea. Since I had taken it not long ago, there was no real effect. Still, I was able to clear my head a little.
“Whew… this is driving me crazy.”
“This is a serious matter. That place is practically enemy territory, isn’t it?”
Sojin wore a grave expression. Seeing her eyes fixed on something in the distance, she seemed to be thinking of a countermeasure.
“No. The Imperium Marshal won’t attack that place.”
“What? What do you mean by that?”
“Because his goal is plunder anyway.”
“Ah! He intends to take it intact later.”
I nodded. Once he thoroughly thrashed Marshal Humildas, it would be a place he could take for free.
“Captain. Then isn’t that a relief? Since all the family assets have been moved anyway, we can just surrender.”
This time, the Vice-Captain spoke. This guy must have been running his own calculations too.
“We must not surrender to the Imperium Marshal’s Office. You won’t live out your natural life under a man like that.”
He treated talented people generously, but he was a paranoid bastard, making life exhausting. You had to prove your innocence through constant suspicion. One wrong slip of the tongue and your head could be lopped off.
“Then, couldn’t we just hand it over and withdraw?”
“It’s doubtful he’d let us go peacefully. And if we did that, it would leave a serious stain on our family’s reputation.”
We had to at least pretend to fight before withdrawing. And in that process, I couldn’t afford to look too competent. Despite being paranoid, this Imperium guy was also quite greedy for talent.
“It won’t be easy.”
Yeah. It wasn’t easy. But that was a problem for later.
“Now isn’t the time to think about things like that. There is something else that’s more important.”
I put on a serious expression.
“Is there another problem?”
“A massive swarm of aliens is hiding there. The scale is roughly 1,000 ships. Those bastards have reached the breaking point of how long they can stay hidden.”
It had been a long time since they had received supplies. In such a situation, what if Marshal Humildas’s headquarters happened to be attacked? They would see it as an opportunity and rise up.
The damage sustained then wouldn’t be recovered even by the middle of the game. Most of the colonial residents would die, and everything down to their underwear would be plundered.
“Th… That!”
Everyone took on a serious expression. This body’s father was currently walking into a deathtrap with the family’s entire fortune.
“We must launch a high-speed vessel right now!”
Sojin spoke, but 07, who was beside her, made a tearful face.
“The Lord will hold out no matter what. He is a man who values credit above all else.”
“Ah…”
Sojin bowed her head deeply. They were watching the process of a family’s downfall in real-time.
But.
“It’s not that there’s no way at all.”
“What is it?!”
Everyone looked at me with expectant eyes. After all, I had shown them results until now.
“The leaders heading the aliens are the Ant Race.”
“Ah! Then we just need to catch the Queen.”
I nodded. The moment the Queen dies, they all fall into chaos. The minds of the Queen and the soldiers are connected through quantum entanglement, so the effect is the same even if they are in different star systems. The moment the Queen dies, they will splinter instead of uniting.
“But the Queen’s location…”
They also knew the Queen’s importance. That was why the Queen didn’t step out into battle. She would be hidden away securely somewhere.
“There’s a guy who knows the location. And he’s right here on the Marshal’s Office’s center planet.”
The problem was that the center planet had a population of 100 billion.
“Who is it?”
“Sudongtae. A guy who was caught after being a slave to the Ant Race.”
He would be locked up in some prison on this planet. He was a guy who would give a clue later when subjugating the Ant Race.
And.
This guy actually possessed incredible Herculean strength. In terms of close-quarters combat power, he was Tier 1. The problem was that he was a bit too stupid, perhaps because he had spent a long time as a slave. Or maybe his race was just like that.
“Hmm? Young Master. Is that why you kept that Sudongtae guy around?”
“….????”
I blinked my eyes.
“I know where he’s locked up.”
“How do you know?”
“Didn’t he get caught while doing a task you ordered, Young Master? Ah… as expected. You’ve forgotten.”
What on earth was this situation?
“Well… my memory is a bit fuzzy.”
“You were drinking and said you weren’t feeling the mood, so you told him to bring a singer.”
I scratched my head. Picol shook his head and continued speaking.
“That idiot. Even after taking the money, he just up and kidnapped a singer in the middle of a performance and was arrested…”
“Then why didn’t you get him out back then?”
Looking at the behavior so far, with our family’s influence, we could have easily gotten him out.
“Didn’t you run away from home? And the Lord made him serve his sentence.”
Somehow, it sounded like something that Sudongtae guy would do. The only silver lining was that his strength hadn’t been unsealed yet. If his seal had been released, a lot of people would have died.
“So things turn out this way again.”
The corners of my mouth went up involuntarily. It seemed like this might be doable…
“Sojin. I think I’ll need to ask a favor.”
“I will help with whatever I can.”
“I need light destroyers. As many as possible.”
“You intend to deal with the Queen.”
I nodded. It looked like I would have to use some of Sojin’s fortune. A lot of it.
And.
“07. Contact the Marshal’s Office. Ask them when I should appear.”
If he was already standing trial and serving a sentence, it would be hard to get him out with just money. I would have to ask the Marshal for the favor of getting Sudongtae out.
***
“I have come to escort you.”
The Marshal’s Office had sent a limousine. Stepping out of the hotel, I saw a five-star license plate. He had sent his own private vehicle.
Grin!
It seemed things were going well. I could roughly tell what he was thinking.
Clack!
As I boarded the car, the limousine moved smoothly. The interior was excessively luxurious. It was covered in high-grade dark matter.
There are many types of dark matter. High-grade stuff could basically be seen as a precious metal. Selling just this limousine alone could probably buy several combat ships.
Ba-ba-ba-bam! Ba-ba-ba-bam!
As we arrived at the Marshal’s Office headquarters, the military band began to play. Journalists were gathered like a swarm of bees.
Snap!!
As I stepped out of the car, the soldiers unsheathed their swords and held them up. It was the way to welcome a war hero.
[The hero, Pak Yu, is entering!]
Along with the broadcast, a massive image was projected into the sky. It appeared to be highlights of scenes captured on the black box.
Flash! Flash! Flash!
Flashes went off everywhere. I furrowed my brows slightly and stepped forward.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
A loud sound echoed every time I walked with a limp. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on me.
“What?! Was he injured during combat?”
“He lost a hand too.”
“I guess he wasn’t just commanding from the back.”
“It doesn’t seem like the Marshal’s Office is just trying to hype him up either.”
I could hear the journalists whispering. Do those guys not know I have sharp ears? Or maybe they just don’t care if I hear.
Clang!!
The massive main gates of the Marshal’s Office opened. From there, a raccoon about one meter tall emerged. The raccoon was riding a levitating saucer.
I stood before him and paid my respects. Since I wasn’t a soldier, I brought one hand to my chest and bent my knees slightly.
“Ah! That’s enough. I know your body is not well.”
Marshal Humildas approached me and patted my shoulder.
“Even though you were born with noble blood protected by the Force, you volunteered to perform difficult tasks yourself.”
Beside the raccoon, a minister handed over a small box. Inside the box was a medal.
‘Oh, what’s gotten into this cheapskate?’
A gem was embedded in the medal, but it was an unsprouted seed. Roughly speaking, it was something that came out of a broken holy artifact or an unsprouted seed that failed to become one. You could use this to enhance a holy artifact.
“You have brought down the hammer of justice upon those who sought to destroy the peace of our sector, and this serves as an example for all. I hereby bestow this medal upon you.”
The medal was pinned to my chest.
Flash! Flash! Flash!
Flashes went off in every direction. I didn’t feel bad either. Since I had obtained a free item.
However.
I probably shouldn’t enhance the crowbar with this. Ah! I could use it to unlock the curse on that Sudongtae guy.
“Thank you.”
I bowed my head in gratitude. This wasn’t acting; I was sincere.
“Now, let us go inside.”
The Marshal hurriedly entered the headquarters. I could roughly guess the reason.
‘He’s afraid I might cause some kind of trouble.’
I would feel the same way. Really, the previous owner of this body was a madman. One never knew what kind of impulsive action he might take. If things went wrong, he could be humiliated in front of the journalists.
Thump, thump, thump!
I followed behind the raccoon.
The place we arrived at was the Marshal’s Office audience chamber. The Marshal’s chair was in the center, and high-ranking officials were standing on both sides. The reason it was made this way was likely to pressure the opponent.
Plop!
The Marshal took his seat.
“You have achieved a great feat, successor of the Pak family. Therefore, I wish to grant a reward to your family as well.”
It was obvious what the reward would be. If he couldn’t use me as a meat shield, he was going to use me for drawing aggro.
“I hereby grant the Lucifel Star Cluster to the Pak family as their fief!”
If a manor was a single colony, then a fief was a concept that gathered several manors together. As long as taxes were paid, there would be no interference whatsoever. Almost everything, excluding diplomatic rights, was delegated.
‘He’s basically telling me to just go die.’
An aristocrat who easily gave up a fief or manor would lose the family’s prestige. Who would want to live in the fief of such an aristocrat? Furthermore, he had even brought in journalists and done massive promotion. Not just for the sake of propaganda for allies, but hoping the enemy would take interest as well.
‘This is why you’ll never make it.’
Because he tried to use everything first, he couldn’t gain the trust of those close to him. Marshal Humildas’s headquarters had quite weak cohesion. If things became unfavorable, his subordinates would start having other thoughts.
Anyway, you’re trying to get a free ride off me?
I pouted my lips and spoke.
“I’m not taking it.”