Chapter 5:
Calvin and Isel
A FIERCE FIGHT was unfolding on the border between the
Autocracy and the Empire.
Aboard Calvin's superdreadnought, the crown prince was meeting
with nobles and advisors. The large table they sat around was actually a
device for war councils that displayed a simplified depiction of the
battlefield for them all.
Calvin furrowed his brow at the state of the battle. "I didn't think I
was taking them lightly, but I never expected to have this much trouble."
He'd prepared for this war as soon as he heard he'd be facing the
Autocracy. He liked to think he knew what he was getting into, but the
Autocracy was surpassing his expectations.
"We're still neck and neck, but our losses are immense," one noble
reported with a bitter expression. "We just received word that Isel's main
fleet wiped out Count Harper's."
Calvin pinched the bridge of his nose. Count Harper's household
had supported him for a long time. "I believe the count's son was
commanding that fleet?" he asked.
Another noble nodded. "Count Harper always spoke so highly of his
son. He graduated from the officer's academy with top grades, and his
military service was exemplary. I didn't think he'd be bested so easily."
Calvin couldn't believe they'd lost such a promising young member
of his faction to the fighting. No, he didn't want to believe it. He turned to
the representation of the Autocracy's fleet on the display in front of him.
"So the crown prince of the Autocracy himself is fighting on the
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front lines... I'd heard the rumors. Common sense really doesn't apply to
the Autocracy, does it?" The supreme commander himself fighting in front
sounded impressive, but it wasn't a practical approach.
One of the nobles affected a twisted smile, perhaps acting tough to
boost morale. "In the Empire, Liam's probably just about the only one who
fights like that."
When he named Liam, the other nobles agreed, smiling wryly.
"True enough."
"Who do you think's stronger—the Autocracy or that kid?"
"Wish we could pit the two against each other to find out."
Nobles and advisors alike snickered inappropriately at the
suggestion.
Such a thing wasn't possible, unfortunately, although Calvin himself
wanted to agree to it. "That's quite a tempting proposal, but we can't add
Liam to the mix. I shudder to think what he'd do if he were here."
Liam was a boon on the battlefield, to be sure, but he was their
opponent in the contest between Calvin and Cleo's factions. None of them
wanted to worry about the Autocracy and Liam out on the battlefield.
They already had bitter memories from the Empire's war with the United
Kingdom; House Banfield had dealt their faction a serious blow during
that conflict. None wanted a repeat of that, so they didn't like the idea of
Liam joining the fight.
"Anyway, we have to settle things ourselves this time," Calvin said.
"Cleo's already overtaken us, so we need to use this opportunity to regain
ground we've lost."
Calvin wanted to be victorious over the Autocracy to solidify his
position as crown prince. If Liam showed up and turned the tide for them,
that would only earn Cleo more points.
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The nobles and advisors all agreed.
"We'll just have to fight off the Autocracy, then," one said. "It's not
going to be easy, though."
Defeating a formidable opponent was an impressive feat, and the
Autocracy was a truly terrifying foe.
"I understand that," Calvin said. "Now, let's figure out our next
move, shall we?"
Their meeting went on for a long time after that.
***
"This is awfully tedious," Crown Prince Isel, supreme commander
of the Autocracy's forces, muttered from the bridge of his three-thousand-
meter superdreadnought. He stood with his arms crossed, not using his
seat.
The soldiers around him agreed with his sentiment.
"You said it."
"There's nothing fun at all about an enemy that stays on the
defensive."
"It's pathetic of their supreme commander to hide in the back like
this too. He doesn't have to fight on the front line or anything, but he could
come a bit farther forward, couldn't he?" The way Calvin fought was
distasteful to the Autocracy.
Isel sighed. "I hoped there'd at least be a warrior for me to fight."
A soldier corrected the disappointed Isel. "The Empire calls warriors
'knights,' Your Highness."
"Right."
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Both those called "knights" in the Empire, and those referred to as
"warriors" in the Autocracy, spent time from a young age within education
capsules, boosting their abilities beyond inborn human limits. But there
was one major difference between Empire and Autocracy traditions. Any
child could become a warrior in the Autocracy, since education capsules
were available to use cheaply. Only a handful of these children made it to
adulthood, though, due to the countless trials prepared for them on their
way to becoming warriors. Dropping out meant death, and less than half
the children who began the process managed to become any kind of
"warrior."
Isel looked up at the ceiling. "Isn't there a warrior I can go toe to toe
with out there somewhere?"
He'd become so strong, no one was left who could challenge him.
That was Isel's greatest problem at this point.
***
As Isel bemoaned his lack of fitting opponents, G'doire and the
Guide stood behind him. No one could see the pair, so no one feared
G'doire's monstrous appearance.
G'doire was saddened to see Isel's plight. "Ugh... My Isel can't find
any strong enemies to fight. Can such a tragedy be allowed to stand?!"
G'doire had orchestrated countless trials for Isel, watching over him
ever since he was young. The crown prince was the finest warrior he'd
ever raised. His eight tentacles writhed as he listened to his dear Isel's
lamentations.
The Guide had no idea how to react to this. "Wasn't it you who
made him so peerless in the first place?"
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"Yes. Isel overcame all my trials to become the warrior he is today.
He's the finest warrior the Autocracy has ever seen."
G'doire played around with reality as if trying to create the strongest
possible character in a video game. The Guide couldn't help smiling at the
being's innocent fun.
I don't dislike him, but his sport just isn't to my taste. Still, I wonder
just how many lives he wasted to raise this one warrior of his...? It
delights me to imagine.
Receiving G'doire's favor was actually a death sentence. The trials
he arranged for those he took a liking to were all but impossible to
overcome. Any normal person would die during the course of the first one.
G'doire also bored easily. Even if someone survived his trials, if he
grew tired of them, he'd throw them away just like that. The discarded
pawn would be lucky if they were merely dismissed, but he inevitably
used such an individual to train his next protégé. The warriors who'd
previously gained G'doire's favor all ultimately died in battle. The one
exception was Isel, who overcame each and every one of G'doire's trials,
and was in turn peerless.
"Now, shall I prepare a strong enemy for my dear Isel?" G'doire
was ready to take action.
The Guide couldn't hide his excitement. "You're finally getting
serious, I see."
"Well, the Empire's not handing Liam over easily. What could they
be thinking, not sending their strongest knights to fight my Isel?" G'doire
asked, as if he truly couldn't understand the Empire's logic.
The Guide lifted the brim of his hat, though his eyes remained in
darkness underneath. "Human society has its complications. But if you
attract Liam to you, he'll appear on this battlefield whether you like it or
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not."
"It's easy enough for us to control the fate of a few humans."
Even if the Guide couldn't do so in his current weakened state,
G'doire would be able to draw Liam to this place. That was simple enough
for a being whose abilities surpassed humans', like him.
G'doire employed his power to bring Liam to the battlefield, as a
sacrifice for Isel and for the sake of a good show.
"I can't wait to see you, Liam," he said. "You'd better entertain."
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