Ah, it’s over…
As Claus concluded that he was going to die here and now, sparks flew at his sides. In the nick of time, Kukuri and Chengsi had stepped in to protect him from Tia’s and Marie’s blades.
“Would you kindly stay out of my way?” Marie glared at Kukuri. “No one who’s heard and opposed this plan can be allowed to live, can they?”
“Kee hee hee hee… It just so happens that I can’t let Sir Claus be killed so easily. I’m rather close to him, you see.”
“You bastard.”
Tia pointed her rapier at Chengsi, glaring. “And what does the berserker have to say?”
Chengsi brandished her own weapon and licked her lips alluringly. “Well, if Claus died, it’d be a problem for me… And I figured if I took his side, I’d have a chance to fight you two to the death, which seems like it’d be fun.”
“Don’t butt in when you can’t even comprehend how serious this matter is!”
When both sides had drawn their weapons, and it looked as if a bloodbath would break out at any moment, Liam finally spoke up. “Claus, finish what you were saying.”
Since he’d expressed his desire to hear what Claus had to say, Tia and Marie reluctantly put away their weapons. Kukuri backed off too, and Chengsi stood by Claus’s side, looking terribly bored.
Why is Chengsi protecting me? Claus had several questions, but he had to prioritize the matter at hand. For now, I have to convince Lord Liam…
He’d decided to sacrifice his life if he had to. Kukuri had protected him as he’d promised, but the operative’s actual feelings were probably similar to Tia and Marie’s. If Liam ordered him to dispose of Claus, Kukuri would do so without hesitation. Claus wasn’t sure what Chengsi would do in that situation, but her protection was essentially meaningless. After all, this was Liam—Claus and Chengsi could never hope to best the head of House Banfield, the Empire’s most powerful swordsman.
Claus had his loyalty as a knight to worry about too. He owed a debt of fealty to House Banfield, which had taken the lost knight in after his previous lord threw him out. Of course, his service had given him no end of trouble, but that was neither here nor there. Claus didn’t want the house he served to walk the path of destruction.
If I don’t say something here, no one will be able to stop him.
They could still turn back at this point. Everyone there would take what Liam had said to the grave with them, after all. However, if they set this plan to topple the Empire into motion, there’d be no going back.
Claus began trying to persuade Liam. “As things presently stand, the difference in strength between House Banfield and the Empire is simply too stark.”
“True. If the Empire threw everything they have at me, I likely couldn’t beat them.”
Liam knew that the Empire couldn’t afford to mobilize all its forces against him, since it was surrounded by enemies. However…
“Even if the Empire didn’t deploy the forces stationed at its borders, House Banfield would be no match for it,” Claus insisted.
“I think there’d be nobles who sided with me,” Liam argued.
Plenty of nobles weren’t happy with the Empire. Liam had brought them together in Cleo’s faction, so he knew he’d have allies if he started trouble.
“I’m sure there would be, but there would still be too many unknown variables.”
“You’ve got a point. It’s not just nobles who aren’t happy with the Empire, though. Don’t you think that, if I made a move, I’d get a lot of support from the public?”
Claus couldn’t say that the Empire’s governance was flawless. They’d made more enemies than necessary, both internally and externally, because of their methods. “If you used too much outside assistance against the Empire, you’d need to reward them appropriately afterward. That would lead to other problems. Unless House Banfield played the biggest role in the conflict, your victory couldn’t be considered complete.”
The problem is that there really would be a chance of us winning, however slight.
Considering House Banfield’s abilities, the likelihood wasn’t zero. Everyone else present was so enthusiastic about this because they understood that. Claus didn’t want the others to join in arguing against him, but if he couldn’t convince Liam, then arguing was pointless in the first place.
This was why Claus had cautioned Liam about the potential problems they could face after victory. If Liam accepted too much help from other nobles or nations, he would owe them that much after winning. Failing to reward their assistance at that point would earn their ire, and if worst came to worst, surrounding countries might immediately swallow up his new nation in the confusion after his takeover.
That was why Claus was talking about the period after their victory. He had to believe that the others around him would at least recognize the potential for problems once the conflict ended. However…
“I understand what you’re saying,” Liam told him. “How much power would I need for the complete victory you speak of?”
Liam seemed to be asking for a number, so Claus gave him an off-the-cuff answer. “Solely in terms of fighting strength, you’d need a fleet of at least a million. And to move such a fleet without issues, you’d need three times that number of ships as reserves. You’d also need territory to accommodate those troop numbers.”
For a fleet to perform well, its personnel needed training, practical experience, and time off. Only a fleet that received all three could hold up in actual battle. In other words, having a million ships that could mobilize anytime meant maintaining four times that number. If the full force consisted of only one million, and you deployed them all at once, they’d be completely spent after fighting. They would push themselves past their limits to defeat the Empire, but only a nightmare would await their depleted forces afterward.
Since I gave him a number like that, he’ll realize it’s impossible. Although I may have panicked and made the number a bit too ridiculous…
As Claus fretted, his face expressionless, Tia butted in. “That number is a bit of a random guess, isn’t it? I could take down the Empire with half that and still maintain peace afterward.”
On the one hand, Tia probably wanted to argue with Claus—but on the other, she genuinely seemed to believe that she could do what she said.
In his head, Claus struck a victory pose. All right… I’ve turned things into a question of numbers.
Having listened intently to Claus’s words, Liam spoke up. “As things stand now, House Banfield can’t maintain a fleet of four million ships.”
Claus was relieved to hear that Liam realized what he’d been saying. Good. If I just explain things to him, he does understand.
Liam rose, looking determined. “I’ve taken your warning to heart,” he told Claus. “Four million… I’ll ensure I gain the power to maintain that big a fleet. At that point, our war with the Empire can kick off.”
“Huh…?” Claus stood there in shock.
Meanwhile, Liam’s mood improved quickly. “If the undefeated Claus says that four million ships is what I need for a complete victory, I’m sure he’s not wrong. I’ll certainly heed that advice.”
“Wha—?!” Undefeated? Who—me?! Wait—what do you mean you’ll heed my advice?! I was trying to argue with you!
Liam was motivated to attain his new goal. At one time, he’d revived House Banfield when it was on the brink of ruin, and now he burned to do as Claus advised. “Four million—it’s a crazy number, but if we get there, I can win. If Claus the Undefeated Knight says so, then I’ll make it happen.”
“Um, Lord Liam? What’s this ‘Undefeated Knight’ business?”
“Hm? Oh, that’s what they’re calling you on the Capital Planet. Cool, huh? Must be nice. They still just call me Pirate Hunter. Wish we could trade.”
Claus couldn’t be happy about this nickname, even if Liam envied it. How did the Busy Work Chief become the Undefeated Knight?!
Liam looked over those assembled before him. “Seems like I’ll be holed up in my domain for a while, building things up. I need to get strong enough to take down the Empire.”
Claus watched as everyone else knelt and replied, “Yes, sir!”
“We’re up against the Empire next,” Liam declared. “I’m going to put everything I have into this fight, so you’d better do the same.” He snickered. “A force of a million, huh? With that, I can fight the Empire head-on. I didn’t expect you to tell me to take them on fair and square, Claus.”
“Huh…?” What?! When did I suggest waging all-out war against the Empire?!
Liam had apparently been thinking about taking the Empire down from inside, but Claus’s unnecessary interference had steered him toward all-out war instead. It was Claus’s own fault that they would be fighting the Empire on hard mode now. The head knight wanted to tear his hair out.