I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! - Chapter 17 - Epilogue

-Liam’s home planet-

Despite the ongoing war, people on the street were going about their daily lives.

Nevertheless, there was tension in the air, probably due to the proximity of the battles.

The government had set up a number of projections in the sky to inform people about the situation at the battlefront.

[The defense fleet led by His Excellency Klaus has dealt a heavy blow to the subjugation force. With a fleet numbering only in the hundreds of thousands, he is holding off a fleet of millions!]

A scene of the battlefield was then shown to the public, proving that the Banfield Family was emerging as the victor.

And there was more:

[Colonel Shishigami Fuuka’s kill count has gone up even more. According to what was reported, she has taken down over 300 enemy knights with her valiant efforts.]

[Colonel Chengshi Sera Tourei has destroyed over 100 enemy ships. To celebrate her achievement, the military has announced that she will be awarded a medal.]

[The planet that is under Lieutenant General Christina’s protection is holding on well against the enemy fleet’s onslaught. We will now bring you footage of the battle.]

Good news was reported one after another, and the people living on the planet cheered whenever a new piece of news was delivered.

◇

-Banfield Family’s mansion-

Unlike the citizens who were celebrating their imminent victory, Rosetta was frowning as she listened to the news that kept pouring in.

Amagi, who was standing by her side, was curious as to why Rosetta seemed upset.

“The Banfield Family has suffered much less damage than we originally anticipated. Furthermore, we’re closing in on a major victory. Yet Lady Rosetta appears upset. Why is that?”

They were on the cusp of a brilliant victory, but there was a shadow on Rosetta’s face.

Rosetta replied while resting her forehead on her folded arms.

“–There have been too many casualties. Tens of thousands are dying in the blink of an eye. And I’m not just talking about our allies. Enemy troops are being mowed down as well.”

In fact, the damage to the subjugation force was much greater.

Cleo had ordered her soldiers to charge without any semblance of a plan, and as a result, they suffered catastrophic damage.

Liam was of the belief that there was nothing as worthless as human life in this world. He saw little value in them and couldn’t care less whether his enemies died or not.

However, that wasn’t the case for Rosetta, and Amagi tried to empathize with her sadness.

“–There’s nothing quite as inefficient as war.”

“Right? And yet humans continue to wage wars to this very day.”

After a brief moment of silence, Rosetta decided to stop thinking about it and returned to work.

◇

-At the mansion’s courtyard-

Edward was playing with the children of Liam’s retainers.

Not only were there several knights to serve as his escort, but members of the Black Ops were protecting him from the dark.

Edward seemed bothered by something, which piqued Wallace’s interest.

“Is something wrong, Edward?”

“Oh, so it’s you, Wallace.”

“You could address me with a little more respect, don’t you think? After all, I’m a former royal and your father’s friend.”

“Nata told me the royals were enemies.”

Wallace turned his attention to [Nata], a child close to Edward’s age.

Despite her young age, the atmosphere around her was clearly different from that of the other children.

She was blending in relatively well with the others, but Wallace knew that she belonged to Kukuri’s clan.

(The next generation of Black Ops personnel is being born. But is it really appropriate to have one near Edward?)

Black Ops personnel were famous for getting their hands dirty, and there were voices in the Banfield Family that claimed they shouldn’t be allowed near Edward.

However, Liam disregarded these opinions, valuing their competence over everything else.

Nata, the girl from Kukuri’s clan, was glaring at Wallace with murderous intent.

(I heard their clan holds a grudge against the royal family. I really hope they didn’t pass that on to their children. Besides, I’ve got nothing to do with them anymore.)

Wallace tried to speak with Nata to improve their relationship.

“Nata-chan, you seem to be misunderstanding something. You see, I’m–”

Unfortunately, Nata turned away from him before he could finish his sentence.

“Please refrain from speaking to me. I wouldn’t have allowed you near Lord Edward if it wasn’t for the fact that you’re a friend of Lord Liam.”

“T-that so.”

Sensing her hostility, Wallace gave up on befriending her and instead turned to Edward.

“Edward, I’m not your enemy. Far from it. I’m Liam’s friend and ally. He’s my patron after all.”

Edward looked up, tilting his head.

“But Wallace, you haven’t done anything, have you? If you’re our ally, you should be helping Father.”

Wallace’s cheeks twitched at the child’s brutally honest words.

“Me? Helping Liam? Oh please. I can throw a mean party, but on the battlefield? The most I can do is housesit with you like this.”

The children who were listening were speechless, and Nata once again directed a cold glare at him.

As for Edward–

“So you’re useless.”

“Now listen here, young man! I’ve done a lot for Liam until now! And if we’re talking about someone who’s done the least amount of work, you should be pointing your fingers at Chino, not me!”

Wallace then proceeded to point at Chino, the wolf girl.

The silver-haired woman was in a maid’s outfit, striking a cute and petite figure.

She had laid down a rug on the grass and was in the midst of enjoying some sweets.

Seeing her sitting up straight and happily munching on her sweets, Edward shook his head before returning his gaze to Wallace.

“Father once mentioned that Chino is a pet that’s meant to soothe our eyes.”

“You’re treating her like an ornament!? That’s quite a horrible treatment in its own right!”

Edward then looked up at the sky.

“Wallace, would I need to fight on the battlefield as well?”

It took a moment for Wallace to come up with an answer.

(It’s better to leave children with hopes and dreams.)

“By the time you take over his mantle, Liam would have resolved everything that needs resolving, and the world will be at peace.”

He knew this was impossible, but he judged that it was better to lie here than to hit Wallace with the cold truth.

–Besides, a girl standing behind Wallace was glowering at him, telling him that he wouldn’t get away with it if he said something that would hurt Wallace.

(Nata-chan, scary.)

◇

“Why? Why did the aircraft prepared by the Arsenal lose?”

On the fortress-class flagship of the subjugation force’s main unit, Cleo rested her body on her seat and looked up at the ceiling.

The giant mobile knight that she had prepared as her trump card had just barely managed to break even against the mass-produced Griffin model prepared by Liam.

The fake Griffins built by the Imperial Arsenal should’ve had much better performance, which should’ve guaranteed their victory.

Yet reality was cruel, and Cleo, having lost her ultimate weapon, was now forced to overtake Klaus and take control of the Banfield Family’s home planet in a direct confrontation.

The result was soon evident–

“We cannot pass through the enemy fleet’s defense!”

“Vice Admiral Rodria has been killed in action! Rear Admiral Anson has taken over and has ordered a retreat! The enemies are pursuing them!”

“One of our mobile knight units has been destroyed by the enemy’s ace units!”

The reports that arrived couldn’t have been more bleak.

Cleo turned her gaze to the monitor that showed the Banfield Family’s home planet.

Thinking of the knight that was guarding it, she gritted her teeth.

“It seems his title of the Strongest Knight is well-deserved.”

The military officer beside her offered some advice.

“Your Highness, it would be prudent to retreat once and recapture the supply base. We can always attack again after reorganizing our fleet.”

The officer knew that withdrawing from the battlefield wouldn’t be easy, but continuing to attack would only result in them incurring heavier losses.

Cleo had to acknowledge that her plan had failed.

“Order a retreat. Tell Hampson that–”

Before she could lay down her orders, someone appeared on the giant monitor before them.

It was a recording of Emperor Bagrada.

[Cleo, I hear things haven’t been smooth sailing over there. Oh, and fyi, this was prerecorded, so there’s no point in asking questions.]

Bagrada’s playful attitude caught the attention of the entire bridge crew.

Narrowing his eyes, Bagrada continued.

[The Kingdom of Dominion has begun to make advances, so we won’t be able to send reinforcements for the time being. Normally, the right thing to do in this situation would be to retreat, but I want you and your forces to continue fighting as long as you can.]

“Huh?”

Cleo was taken aback by this, but Bagrada only offered a smile.

[I look forward to hearing about your success.]

◇

-The planet where the subjugation force’s supply base is located-

Having conquered the planet, I’ve had my men rush to replenish supplies and turn their ships in for maintenance.

Eulisia, my assistant, reports while operating on her terminal.

“Eighty percent of the work has been completed. We’ve also succeeded in putting General Cosmo into cryosleep.”

“He’s meant to be a gift for Tia, so treat him with care.”

Cosmo, captain of the pirate fleet, will be handed over to Tia, who’s having a fierce battle with Marquis Hampson.

I’m sure she’ll be delighted to receive him. After all, there’s nothing she hates more than space pirates.

I have no idea what she’ll do to Cosmo, and quite frankly, I’m not interested in finding out.

What I do know is that his fate will be an ugly one.

Either way, he should serve as a good reward for a hard-working subordinate/

“I’m sure Lieutenant General Christina and her subordinates would welcome him with open arms.”

Eulisia’s expression becomes slightly gloomy, probably having imagined the future that awaits Cosmo.

“Do you feel sorry for him?”

“Of course not. It’s just that… Lieutenant General Christina’s hatred seems to run surprisingly deep, it made me think for a bit.”

Christina is admittedly a rare beauty, and her skills as a knight are top-notch.

The knights that serve under her are all quite powerful as well.

The only issue with her is her strong hatred for pirates. The way she treats them is beyond cruel.

Most aristocrats would have felt repulsed by her actions and left her alone or kept her away. Others would have taken advantage of her skills before cutting her off.

As for me–

“I have no problem with subordinates that have a black heart. I try to be accommodating towards those that work for me — as long as they’re competent, that is.”

As long as she can provide results, I’d have no qualms laughing everything off.

An ally of justice might find this unacceptable, but unfortunately, I’m an evil lord.

Eulisia lets out a small sigh, supposedly fed up with my attitude.

“You’re accommodating, alright.”

“I sense you mean it in a different way. If it was anyone else, I would’ve had you punished for that.”

“More importantly–”

She outright ignores my mention of punishment.

Her brazen actions have undermined my authority as an evil lord, but punishing her here would bring about a whole new set of problems, so I’ll hold back for now.

That said, I haven’t forgiven her yet. She better be prepared for what I have in store for her after we return to the territory.

“Now that we’ve occupied and destroyed the supply base, what should we do? The main unit of the subjugation force is knocking at the doorsteps of our home planet, so we can’t approach it carelessly.”

Looking at the simplified map of the battlefield projected before me, I ponder about our next course of action.

Where would be the best place to go wild?

“It honestly doesn’t matter where we go next, but I’d prefer going somewhere that would irritate our enemies the most.”

“Quite a nice personality you have there, Lord Liam.”

“I’ll have them pay for ravaging my territory. –We’ll grind them to dust.”

By messing with the subjugation force, we should be able to deal a heavy blow to the Empire.

–This is where things really start.

—————————————————————————————————————

Wakagi-chan ( ゜∀゜)ノ: “I’ve done lots of promotions throughout the volume, praise me~”

Brian (´；ω；｀)ノ: “This is the last chapter of Volume 12. We look forward to seeing you in Volume 13, the second half of the war.”