In a complete reversal from before, the audience seats were filled with cheers of joy.
Lucy was shocked by that atmosphere even as she watched Rudel continue to beat Derrick unilaterally.
Around her, the audience had returned and moved to the front to see Rudel's gallant figure from a closer distance.
Lucy's surroundings were full of such spectators.
(But, still, to think that no one is moving to stop this.)
This was natural when one thought about exactly what Derrick had done until now.
No.
(This is the feeling of the people of this country towards the Six Great Nobles.)
It didn't stop there. There was also a strong sentiment of opposition towards the Six Great Nobles who ruled over them.
Someone from the Six Great Nobles who possessed overwhelming power was being unilaterally defeated by Rudel, a foreigner who did not have the divine protection of the sacred tree.
The people in this place were feeling great excitement witnessing that scene.
(Even though you say you're a coward who prefers to run rather than fight. I find you more than once facing danger head-on. I don't understand, what motivates you to keep moving forward fearlessly with such simple resolve?)
Someone who possessed the divine protection of the sacred tree and someone who did not. There existed a great wall between these two types of people in Aster.
The public's discontent towards the Six Great Nobles reached an unnatural emotion that enveloped them in an abnormal heat.
Lucy's arm was suddenly grabbed as she watched Rudel.
"Diana?"
Lucy found Diana when she turned around.
She had been pushing through the crowd to reach Lucy. The dense crowd made her hair disheveled and her clothes messy.
"Sister, come with me for a moment!"
"... But, the duel isn't over yet."
"This is not the time to say something like that!"
Lucy was pulled away from that place by Diana, who seemed really nervous.
Diana told Lucy about the current situation.
"There's war happening outside!"
Now that she mentioned it, Lucy remembered Malcolm saying something like that earlier. She turned her gaze toward Sara and found her talking with some people.
Sara was looking toward the duel arena with a confused expression.
Diana herself seemed very impatient.
"Those guys are dangerous, especially that Rudel. You mustn't get involved with them."
"All the plans are ruined because of their fault. If we don't do something—."
Lucy shook her arm free from Diana as she said that.
"... Sister?"
Confused, Diana looked at Lucy.
"I will stay here and watch Rudel-kun's duel."
Lucy walked to see the result of Rudel's duel. Then she heard Diana's voice behind her.
"Sister! Don't get involved with them! That boy is actually—!"
◇
"Haa~, I'm tired."
I was already bored, so I moved away from Derrick after hitting him many times.
"It's surprising that you never get bored of doing this kind of thing. Is hitting people that fun?"
When I lightly kicked Derrick's head with my foot while asking that question, he muttered something unintelligible from his mouth.
"I can't hear what you're saying. Well, I guess it doesn't matter."
I laughed after saying that. It was then that Sara declared the end of the duel.
"The winner is, Rudel von Bradford! ... Bring a doctor here immediately!"
The doctor wearing a white robe and a nurse entered the arena.
They immediately examined Derrick's condition.
"This is horrible."
"We'll begin treatment."
They effectively began applying healing magic that came from the sacred tree. Transparent roots enveloped Derrick's body and glowed faintly.
It seemed the doctor was an expert. Derrick's face gradually returned to normal.
An armed group was gathering around us and began to surround Derrick.
Derrick seemed to think of them as his allies who came to help him. His arrogant attitude returned.
This guy is really easy to understand.
Professor Malcolm, a knight with a large chin, and Sara also descended from the audience seats and walked towards us. Then Derrick began to protest to them.
"Malcolm-dono! It was this guy! This guy is a cheating bastard! He set a trap for me to win!"
Professor Malcolm paid no attention to Derrick's claim.
The knight with the long chin spoke to him.
"Derrick-sama, enough with that unpleasant act. There's something we want to ask you."
It was important to pay attention to their daily behavior.
Professor Malcolm looked unusually angry as he interrogated Derrick.
"Why are you attacking your own household? Even the combined fleet of Aster has been dispatched now."
"... Huh?"
Derrick made a face like a bird that had just been shot by a peasant. Even Sara looked angry.
"There's also all the injustice you've committed in this duel. There are too many problems with your actions. I wish we could investigate everything you've done immediately, but before that, order your ship... the ship you stole from Rudel-kun, to stop."
Derrick was showing the expression of someone who didn't understand what he was told.
"I-It must be a mistake. I don't know anything about what you're saying. Nothing! It was him! He set that trap for me!"
I looked at Derrick, who was pointing at me, and smiled.
"Eeh~, you are the current owner of the ship, right? In that case, how about you keep your promise now?"
Professor Malcolm spoke to me to not disturb the discussion.
"Bradford, now is not the time for that. Derrick's subordinates are using your ship to escape. If possible, I want you to tell us the ship's weaknesses. It's causing a lot of damage even as we speak."
My small smile turned into a crescent moon as I looked at them.
Some of the people around me even raised their guard upon seeing my change in attitude.
"... Cooperate? Are you telling me to cooperate with this bastard who stole my ship and did such terrible things to my compatriots and me? You should keep sleep-talking only when you're asleep. Anyway, I am the victor of the duel. Derrick, bring Schwert before me immediately."
Veins swelled on Derrick's forehead and he acted annoyed.
"That's why I said I don't know—."
When his mouth stopped, Derrick seemed to come to understand the situation as he was speaking. Color quickly left his face.
"What? You can't bring it here? Did you forget your oath to the sacred tree?"
He trembled and begged for forgiveness.
"... I-I'll return it safely. R-Really! Give me time! I'll really return it, I'll even give you whatever you want. I'll do anything, so just give me a little more time!"
Sara saw Derrick's reaction and was surprised upon realizing. She turned her gaze to my face.
"Rudel-kun. Don't tell me..."
Unfortunately, she understood too late.
"So you're crying and begging for forgiveness. If so, would you forgive someone who begs like that? However. It seems the great sacred tree is the one who got angry first before me!"
Derrick lost the duel and also couldn't keep his promise. It seems that angered the sacred tree.
A red magic circle formed with Derrick at the center. All the people of Aster jumped away in an instant and distanced themselves from the circle.
Even Sara reacted the same.
I stayed where I was and looked at the magic circle.
"So this is the so-called wrath of the sacred tree."
This phenomenon was written in Erselica's notes. Apparently, a red magic circle would appear if the sacred tree became angry.
And speaking of what this thing would do...
"No. NOOOOO! PLEASE, NOOO! DON'T TAKE IT AWAY!"
Derrick cried and tried to run from that place, but he fell as vines grew from the magic circle and coiled around Derrick's ankle.
Then he was dragged toward the center of the magic circle.
Derrick was crying as he held onto the ground to resist.
"Forgive me! Please, forgive me! I won't do this again! I won't betray your expectations anymore, so I beg you, don't take it! I don't want to lose the divine protection!"
Sara watched Derrick scream and cry before closing her eyes and turning her face away.
Professor Malcolm looked at the situation with a pitying face. He was watching Derrick but didn't seem captivated.
As for me? I was watching the show with a cheek-to-cheek smile with the utmost interest.
"Don't complain. This is because you couldn't keep your promise on top of losing, hehe."
The vines coiled around Derrick's body and thoroughly enveloped his right hand.
When he saw that, snot began to come out of Derrick's nose and he cried even louder.
"... Someone, help me! HELP MEEEEEE, PLEASEEEEEEEE!"
Even Derrick, who was so selfish, had a strong terror of that red magic circle.
This thing was the symbol of fear for those who possessed the emblem that was proof of the sacred tree's divine protection.
After all, the function of this magic circle was to take that emblem away.
When everything was over, the vines withered and the magic circle disappeared.
Derrick was doing nothing but shedding tears as if he were about to be burned.
"... G-Guh, uhg!"
I approached him, bent over, and looked at the back of his right hand. There were no signs of his emblem.
I put my hand on Derrick's shoulder, who had become nothing more than an empty shell, and whispered in his ear.
"Hey, do you know why your emblem was taken?"
Derrick said nothing in response.
"It's because you messed with the wrong person."
Derrick looked at my face and trembled.
"It wouldn't have gone this far if you hadn't gotten arrogant and just ignored us, but it's a pity. Well, you're the one who started this fight. Learn from this to do better next time. Ah, there's one more thing. I've been wanting to tell you this."
I smiled sinisterly and said.
"Derrick-chan, you are a truly magnificent clown."
Derrick's face, who was called a clown, wrinkled and he began to cry as he lowered his head.
Sara approached me.
"You are a very bad boy, more than I thought."
She didn't seem to be seriously criticizing me, even though she told me I was bad.
"And so? Can the aircraft be stopped? I'm sorry, but we won't have any other option but to destroy it if it can't be stopped."
"That will be impossible. Ixion at the moment is happily ravaging everything. Any attempts to destroy Schwert won't even happen unless I get close."
I looked toward Schwert, which was decorated with a villainous appearance.
"... I guess I should apologize?"
That guy would go overboard if I didn't go there soon. That would be worrisome.
◇◇◇
In the sky of the Herring Household territory.
A large number of aircraft confronted Schwert with the aim of stopping its advance.
The state-of-the-art aircraft of the supreme kingdom had their side, lined with cannons, face Schwert, but Schwert was attacking them unilaterally from outside their cannon range.
Behind the Aster fleet was a very large castle.
It was the castle of the Herring Household.
The fleet was desperately trying to protect the castle.
Inside Schwert's cockpit, Ixion was aiming at the fleet's openings and bombarded the castle from afar.
"... It's difficult to land the cannonball in places where there are no signs of life."
The Herring Household's personal fleet took flight to protect the Herring Household territory.
Moreover, the combined fleet that gathered aircraft from all over Aster also lent its strength to sink Schwert.
Ixion had intercepted their communications.
"Our cannons can't reach it!"
"For a kingdom's aircraft to be this strong, does it have a charged orb inside?"
"That stupid second son of the Herring Household, what the hell is he doing!"
From their communication, Ixion learned that the enemies kept confusing Schwert with belonging to the Herring Household.
It was fine like that for now.
Ixion observed the situation in the castle using its remote viewing capability.
There, the head of the Herring Household was running un-aesthetically.
Ixion bombarded a nearby place to threaten him, but it was blocked using the power of the emblem.
"So that's the sacred tree emblem. How interesting... Oh?"
The enemy fleet showed a movement.
A colossal-sized aircraft rammed towards Schwert. It was called the Devastator-class.
"So the flagship is launching an attack? That's not an efficient method, but are they thinking only their flagship can stop Schwert? ... Well, it doesn't matter what they're thinking. They'll never be able to sink the technology of ancient humanity."
The flagship was extremely large, reaching a kilometer in size.
The commander aboard the flagship was shouting.
"Sink it at all costs! We cannot allow the Aster fleet to be defeated by a single kingdom ship!"
The legend of Aster's invincibility.
Ixion had been investigating various aspects of the supreme kingdom's army, which knew no defeat as long as it was a defensive battle.
"All their aircraft are installed with a device different from what the kingdom uses. It must be a device that uses the energy of the sacred tree. I see those aircraft can use energy freely without any cost."
The aircraft of this world normally used magic stones as energy to move their engine.
"Humans are very conceited, I don't like that at all."
But the aircraft of the supreme kingdom could use a lot of energy without needing to load many magic stones inside.
With the space for storing magic stones freed up, the amount of weapons and ammunition they could carry increased, and they could also use a lot of energy for their shields.
The supreme kingdom's aircraft were very powerful when fighting in their own country.
But when it came to invading another country, the energy of the sacred tree wouldn't reach them and the aircraft would become nothing more than normal aircraft.
The same applied to their armed units.
The drones kept shooting down the armed units flying from the enemy fleet, but their specifications were better than the kingdom's armors.
"They are only at this level when their opening is truly open."
Ixion lost interest and rammed towards the flagship heading towards him.
"Attack."
Schwert's bow was designed like a narwhal's horn, but it was just a decoration.
The crews of the enemy flagship were escaping from their ship one after another.
Moments later, Schwert's horn collided with the bow of the enemy flagship. The enemy flagship's bow was easily cut.
"Don't think of my little one as a normal aircraft. To begin with, the likes of Aster's aircraft can't even begin to compare."
Ixion had felt unhappy since Aster's inspection of Schwert, where they called it ugly and pathetic. Now he was venting his anger towards the enemy.
Schwert kept advancing while penetrating the enemy flagship, which was five times larger than its own size, without stopping. In the end, the flagship was split in two. It was reduced to an atrocious state and sank. The crew who were evacuating from the flagship using boats could only watch as that happened.
There were explosions on the flagship. When Schwert appeared unscathed from inside the flames and smoke, voices of despair arose from the enemies.
"It's unharmed!"
"All ships, attack!"
"Stop it, no matter what! The opponent is just a third-rate country's ship!"
The combined fleet of Aster threw all its power and attacked, but Ixion drew its interest to something else.
The escort drones had just recovered a green orb that emitted a faint glow.
It was the orb that was charged inside the flagship.
"This will be a good gift for the Master. Only if he apologizes."
Ixion obtained a souvenir for Rudel.
◇◇◇
The fleet commander watched the flagship sinking from an emergency boat.
He was looking at Schwert with a gaze of despair.
"... That kingdom's aircraft is a monster."
The reason he was extremely disheartened was because the supreme kingdom's fleet, which had been undefeated in defensive battles until now, had just been defeated.
He would have been able to swallow it if the opponent was a force from his homeland, but the opponent was an aircraft built in a third-rate country's kingdom.
He lamented that the legend of Aster's invincibility ended during his time as fleet commander.
The fleet commander murmured with his eyes fixed on Schwert.
"... We have nothing left that can stop it."
Even the flagship was easily destroyed.
The Supreme Kingdom of Aster had no more methods to stop Schwert.
As he thought that, a small ship approached the battleship, accompanied by a green armed unit.
"What?"
A nearby subordinate in charge of communication reported to the commander.
"Commander, it's an ally! A message under the name of Sara of the Rosenberg Household says that armed unit will stop the enemy aircraft!"
The green armed unit flew toward Schwert. Drones swarmed around it as it approached.
The armed unit shot them down in an instant and landed on Schwert's deck before a young man jumped from inside the armor.
He boarded Schwert with great ease, despite them not being able to get close no matter what they tried.
Seeing that, the commander put his hat on his head until it covered his eyes with resignation.
"It's too late. Even if the aircraft stops now, we have already lost."
The number of warships Schwert had shot down was too many.
The commander turned his gaze to the ground. As far as the eye could see, many were the flaming remains of allied ships.
"... Oh, sacred tree, bring down your hammer of judgment in fury upon that monster."
The commander prayed to the sacred tree.
◇
When I entered Schwert's deck, Ixion was waiting for me with drones lined up on both sides.
His red lens was looking at me, then turned away to avoid seeing me.
"Don't you have something to say to me?"
His tone clearly showed he was annoyed.
"Sorry about the other day."
"Is that all?"
I stared at him since he really seemed to be upset.
"I'm sorry for making fun of you. I was wrong to do it, but you are also partly to blame."
Little by little, Ixion turned around.
"Certainly, some of the blame falls on me, but that's because you are the worst Master in the world."
"I'm sorry for that. But I'll never change."
I showed him my reliable and honest smile. His red eye looked at me intensely.
"There is a way to do it. Commit suicide and be reborn as a new, better Master."
"I won't do that, you damn sociopathic AI!"
"I am not a sociopath. I feel no interest in human life, but the preservation of your safety is more important than anything in this world."
Hearing that made me blush a little.
"How unpleasant it is to see you blush."
"You are a...!"
Upon noticing this habitual method of conversation, I laughed. The drones approached to clean me.
"When did you realize it was all a farce?"
The drones cleaned me while Ixion asked me something Erselica doesn't know.
"After getting home. I really thought you had betrayed me."
"He's an idiot, right? If I really did, humanity would have been erased."
"I know. But Erselica and the others had to believe we were really in trouble."
"And they were. I made sure everything went according to the plan that 'you' supposedly devised."
After being beaten and seeing Ixion on Derrick's side, I understood that if this guy hadn't done it, that trash would have been annoyed since he wouldn't have known the method to start the ship.
Which would have implied a huge disaster for us at that moment.
So Ixion planned to betray me, and I pretended it was true.
The reason in part was to avoid more of his beatings. The other was because Aster was a very arrogant place.
After the Warren incident, I knew sooner or later they would come for us. Since Liam would likewise be implicated, I decided to use that opportunity to give them a reality check.
It was partly what I desired.
"How was the experience of serving another Master?"
"Very unpleasant. I'd rather serve Erselica or Leonis than Derrick."
"Hahaha, I really think that would be less repulsive."
I took a step forward and Ixion floated onto my right shoulder.
I entered the ship and found the place really messy.
It seemed the robots were doing their best to clean the interior, but many decorations had been stolen.
"They are like pirates."
"That's because more than half of them are actual sky pirates."
"How dreadful."
A drone handed me an electric gun with several magazines as I was surprised by Derrick's circle of friends.
"And were you able to hear anything interesting?"
"Yes. I was able to investigate the domestic situation of Aster in detail."
"That's good."
"And what's the plan now, Master?"
I had beaten Derrick, but that was just a side show.
My real goal was to bring them down from their cloud of superiority. Don't be so arrogant!
"I'll teach Aster how wide the world is. Maybe I'll also ask them to pay compensation."
"The fact that you are teaching Aster about the world by using super technology like me is no different from them."
"No, no, no. I'm just teaching them that there will always be someone above them. With this, they'll know their place and become a little humbler."
"Is it fun to make fun of those who think they are superior to you?"
"Yes, it's fun. Nothing beats this feeling."
We arrived at Schwert's hangar while having this little conversation.
Derrick's henchmen were being tied up there.
The hangar had also been messed up.
"Damn bastards, messing up someone else's aircraft as they please. I'll demand an additional fee for repair costs."
When Derrick's henchmen saw me, most of them seemed scared. But there were also some of them looking at me rebelliously.
"Ooh, you look very confident despite this disadvantageous situation."
An arrogant man who had his arms tied with a rope stood up and spoke in a threatening tone. He didn't seem to know about the situation outside.
"Stupid, how dare you—?"
I was already tired of hearing the shit from this type of person, so I silenced him by shooting him with electric cables.
I watched the man fall and writhe in pain as I spoke kindly to the others.
"Don't talk. And now, rejoice. Your boss, Derrick-chan, has lost to me. He was crying and screaming like a wretch when he finally lost his divine protection. Congratulations! You've lost the patron who can protect you!"
Derrick's henchmen looked at each other upon hearing that and spoke among themselves.
"That's why I said I didn't want to do this!"
"When did you oppose Derrick, huh?"
"A-And now what?"
They were whispering to each other, so I shot the fallen guy again to make them shut up.
Then a man in an academy uniform stood up with a terrified face.
"H-Hey~, I'm not involved in all this, will you help me? If you help me, I'll give testimony that will put you at an advantage."
I directed my gaze to Ixion, and he told me all about this man.
"He is lying. That man participated when they beat Warren. He was even taking the initiative in those acts."
The man's expression changed completely upon hearing that.
"H-How dare a mere servant like you—!?"
Finally, there was no one else talking after I also made that man shut up with my gun.
"Express your excuses to the great bosses of Aster."
"Master, an Aster aircraft is approaching. A commotion is being made to be able to board the ship."
"Just threaten them with sinking it."
I spoke kindly to Derrick's trembling henchmen.
"Now then, I suppose I'll beat you all to near death. You don't have any complaints, right? After all, you've been obeying Derrick and doing whatever you wanted until now."
I took out another magazine, loaded it into the gun, and placed it in the mouth of one of Derrick's henchmen while making a wicked smile.
"You are bad boys and deserve proper punishment, hehehe."
I mercilessly pulled the trigger on the group screaming for mercy.
◇◇◇
The heads of the Six Great Nobles urgently gathered for a meeting at the sacred tree temple.
The topic was about the horned monster, Schwert.
"... Incredible."
"Our fleet lost to Altfode's ship!?"
"We should investigate that aircraft immediately!"
The supreme kingdom had never known defeat in defensive battle, but just now received a huge blow from a single ship. Although the battle didn't continue to its conclusion, where they were clearly declared losers, calling the result a defeat wouldn't be wrong.
The expression of the acting head, Randolf, was also more tense than usual.
"Herring-dono, can you explain what the meaning of this is?"
Randy had previously only reported that Derrick obtained a kingdom's aircraft. But no one imagined in their wildest dreams that the aircraft would become such a grave threat.
Randy threw a tantrum and shouted like a child.
"We must protest to the kingdom! Do you know how great the damage inflicted on the Herring Household is? It's not just the port. Our aircraft and military installations were also destroyed! We should send a protest in the name of the Six Great Nobles!"
Linus directed his gaze toward Randolf after seeing Randy's reaction.
"He can't be reasoned with. Acting Head, how is the progress of the negotiation with the aircraft's owner going?"
That was also a problem.
"It's not going well."
The owner of Schwert, Rudel, was making claims. "The owner at the time was Derrick, so this has nothing to do with me. Rather, I am the victim here. I expect some compensation for all this trouble!"
To the Aster officials. Rudel exclaimed that the responsibility fell on them because of their compatriot's fault. Randolf found it difficult to understand why his daughter was lending her assistance to that man.
(... Sara, what the hell are you thinking?)
"I'm sure we can talk with the kingdom's diplomats."
"They say this is a matter that must be discussed personally with Count Bradford."
Randy shouted, "I didn't do anything wrong!". The other five heads only looked at him with disgust as the meeting continued.
◇
While the Aster fleet was entering the hangar to arrest Derrick's unconscious henchmen.
I was holding a photo with trembling hands, excited by the evidence that god existed.
"I would never have imagined it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, but... Airi's butt is so big! No! Perhaps huge is the right word!"
It wasn't just a photo of Airi pointing her butt at Alisa's face.
Alisa also seemed grateful to see that butt in front of her.
That wasn't all.
A photo of Alisa fixing her hair. That extremely long hair, finally I could observe how she managed to have it so small in the style she wore.
It was terrifying what I saw, but it was really fascinating how much girls cared about their hair.
Another divine image was of the girls taking a bath together. There were bubbles everywhere and rays of light for some reason in the girls' bathroom. Airi was scrubbing Alisa's back and then together they made bubble hats.
And so the photos continued.
"Bless you, Bell. I'll give you a reward when I return home."
"Master, your nose is bleeding a lot. And the expression on your face is very unpleasant for anyone."
"S-Shut up! Can't you see I'm supervising the growth of my girlfriends?"
I put the photos in my wallet to polish them more later.
"You and Liam would be a perfect duo of stalkers."
"Don't compare me to him!"
"Who was it who asked me to find out Alisa's three measurements and what color her underwear was last year?"
"Back then I was very shy and didn't know we'd end up together! Life gives surprises!"
"... If you so desire to see their naked bodies, just ask them. Those two are just as weird as you."
"That's a lie! They are normal."
"Was the look they gave you on your engagement day normal? Because even I was surprised. No physical phenomenon is capable of explaining what that was."
Huh? Wasn't I the only one who saw those strange hearts?
◇
After returning to Erselica's mansion, I changed clothes.
While I did, Ixion told me what happened with Lucy-chan.
"That Cashmiro Family was hired by Balzac to frame you. Thanks to the war, their ships that were coming to destroy the kingdom, I destroyed them in my fight against that black thing."
"... I never imagined she would be kicked. It's undoubtedly an unforeseen calculation and mistake on my part."
After she was kicked, a robot entered and took her to Schwert to place her in the recovery machine it used on me.
Currently, that machine was placed in the mansion so everyone could give their support for her recovery.
"It's not your fault, I never imagined they would go for the sapling. I thought they would attack me on my way to the arena, but not in this way."
"Even if that's the case, it's my fault for not being able to protect an inferior life."
Wait, did this guy just criticize himself? Are you saying that because it's an animal or because it's a living being?
"Hey, Ixion, do you really love living beings, or do you just pretend to hate them?" I wanted to ask him that, but at that moment, I heard footsteps and someone entered, opening the door.
It was Lucy in human form.
I could guess what happened from her expression.
At that instant, I felt as if my legs lost strength.
"... Damn, I truly hate death."
I hadn't felt this sad since I lost my parents in my previous life.