Kays Translations

Chapter 34: Midnight Discussion

“L-Lord-sama!?”

“Is it really appropriate to address the representative of an enemy nation with such respect, Kenya?”

He spoke so naturally, making it difficult to even feel wary.

Ordinarily, Kenya should have immediately drawn his gun and boarded Takemikazuchi.
Yet, the situation felt so natural that he found himself unable to move.

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of fighting. Lower your guard—though I doubt you’d believe me.”

“You expect me to trust you? After we were just trying to kill each other moments ago?”

“If I wanted you dead, I would have already had a sniper take you out. On the battlefield, you were nearly invincible, but right now, you’re just flesh and blood.”

Lord Asgard smiled.

It was true—if they had wanted to, it would have been easy to take down Kenya when he carelessly stepped out of his cockpit.

Reina wouldn’t have done it, but if she had asked him to, he could easily imagine himself stepping out without a second thought.

If Reina asked him, he would charge into hell itself.

“Sieg, can you set things up?”

“Yes, sir!”

From the military vehicle, a table and chairs were brought out.

They were simple, but it looked almost as if they were setting up a casual camping spot.

“Sit.”

Kenya silently took a seat.

Gathered around the table were Kenya, Tanaka, Sieg, Reina, and Lord Asgard.

The key players of this battle had come together.

However, this was far from an idle chat.

This conversation could decide the future of the entire nation.

“There’s a lot to talk about… but first, you really did a number on me.”

“That’s my line.”

The representative of Asgard, whom Kenya had just been fighting to the death—
And the knight of Japan, who had cut down everything in his path.

Kenya was furious.

How much blood had been spilled?

“That was the first time I’ve ever fought like that… and the first time I’ve ever lost. And yet, strangely, I feel a sense of acceptance. It’s as if my instincts chose you. But you really are reckless.”

Lord Asgard looked around at the battlefield.

“Ah, I imagine you’re curious about something. My sister, Ymir Asgard—”

“The princess I let escape… I’ll have to take my revenge on her someday. She caused all of this…”

“No, you won’t. She’s already dead. I killed her.”

“Wha—!? What!?”

Kenya, Reina, and Tanaka all stared at Lord Asgard in disbelief.

Completely unfazed, he took a sip of his tea.

“That woman caused too many problems, even within the empire. She killed too many colonial subjects—for no reason other than her own twisted desires.”

Lord Asgard gazed over the battlefield.

The wreckage of KOGs, the ruins of the slums, the corpses of the fallen.

“It’s horrible, isn’t it? I told them only to fight the resistance, but… well, I knew that was probably a futile request.”

Hearing that, Kenya suddenly recalled something he had momentarily forgotten.

Then, his blood boiled, and his rage surged back.

That’s right—this man was royalty.

He was responsible for Azusa’s death. For all their deaths.

Kenya shot up from his chair and grabbed Lord Asgard by the collar.

“Y-You bastards did this!!”

“Kenya!”

Sieg moved to pull Kenya away, but Lord Asgard held up a hand to stop him.

“It’s fine, Sieg. I understand, Kenya. You must hate us. The Asgard Empire killed your loved ones, without a doubt. But don’t think what happened today is something special. It happens every day, somewhere in the world.”

“Gh…!”

Lord Asgard gazed at Kenya with eyes that seemed to see straight through him.

“Let me swear this much: I do not and will not engage in meaningless slaughter. I have destroyed several slums today, yes, but every survivor has been properly reclassified as third-class Asgard citizens and treated with respect. I had no involvement in the massacre here. I will never harm those who are not prepared to fight.”

Sieg interjected.

“That’s true, Kenya. In any battlefield Lord Asgard personally oversees, there are no casualties. Except here.”

“But! Azusa! Everyone! You—you could have saved them! You’re royalty, aren’t you!? You’re the commander!”

Kenya’s grip on Lord Asgard’s collar tightened as he shouted.

However, Lord Asgard firmly grasped Kenya’s hand.

For a moment, Kenya flinched.

Then, in a chillingly low voice, Lord Asgard spoke.

“If things continue as they are, this will happen all over the world.”

“What…!?”

The intensity in his voice made Kenya instinctively loosen his grip.

“I couldn’t save them. Because Ymir Asgard held more power than I did. Between my orders and hers, the military would always follow her. I couldn’t command her, either—despite both being royalty, my claim to the throne was lower than hers.”

Kenya fell silent, overwhelmed.

Lord Asgard continued, his voice unwavering.

“And my older brother, Odin Asgard, wouldn’t hesitate to make what happened today a global reality. He believes in ruling the world through sheer force. I didn’t kill Ymir because of personal hatred. I killed her because in the imperial succession struggle, she would have undoubtedly sided with my brother.”

The reason Lord Asgard had killed Ymir—
It wasn’t personal. It was political.

“You mean…?”

“Yes. I killed her to become Emperor. To defeat Odin Asgard.”

Hearing this, Sieg, Reina, and even Tanaka were left speechless.

Normally, the throne would go to the First Prince, Odin Asgard.

But Lord Asgard had declared his intent to challenge that.

“You know that our father—the current Emperor—doesn’t have long, right?”

“I do. That’s why the empire’s global invasions have been temporarily halted.”

Kenya answered, his tone more casual now that he no longer saw Lord Asgard as an enemy, though he was far from considering him a friend.

“Exactly. I was on the battlefield myself, but with the war on pause, the EU is already a spent force. It’s only a matter of time before they ally with the Asian Federation.”

Lord Asgard, who had nearly destroyed the EU, knew that with the Emperor’s illness, the war had been put on hold.

And with the EU barely clinging to life, it was inevitable they would join forces with the Asian Federation.

Originally, the two factions had been bitter enemies.

But against a common, overwhelming foe, they had no choice but to unite.

“Back to the point—the current Emperor will die soon. And the next battle will be for the throne. If nothing changes, Odin will become Emperor.”

“Odin holds most of the power already… I believe that will happen, too.”

“Yes. But I will take the throne instead.”

“Lord, are you saying… you intend to stage a coup?!”

“No. That’s not it. Now, let’s get to the real reason I’m here tonight. I’m going to tell you my plan to become Emperor.”

Lord Asgard leaned forward.

“This is something my father suggested as well… The Emperor wants me to take the throne. But Odin has already secured the support of the noble families. With my father’s illness, they’re shifting their loyalty to him.”

Odin Asgard had already begun his preparations to seize the throne.

Even though the Emperor was an absolute ruler, he was losing influence as his illness progressed, and the nobles had started flocking to Odin’s side.

“I can’t think of a way to change that…”

“Sieg, you should know this well. The Asgard Empire has a centuries-old tradition for succession—one that has long since lost its original meaning: A duel.”

“A duel…? Wait, you don’t mean the Imperial Sword Festival!? That’s just a ceremonial event now!”

Sieg, who had been quietly listening, suddenly raised his voice in shock.

Kenya and Tanaka looked confused, while Reina wore a similarly stunned expression.

“That’s right. Our nation’s grandest martial tournament. Now reduced to a mere spectacle… but once, it decided the fate of the Empire.”

“Explain, Lord. How does a festival relate to the Imperial succession?”

Kenya, who couldn’t make sense of the conversation, questioned Lord.

“Ah, let me explain.”

The Imperial Sword Martial Festival was a tournament established by a past emperor who had witnessed endless fratricidal struggles.

In the past, brothers would engage in relentless bloodshed to claim the throne. To put an end to this cycle, the emperor created a system where subordinates would battle on behalf of their leaders, and at times, the contenders themselves would fight. The victor would become the emperor, and from then on, assassinations were strictly forbidden.

Now, it has transformed into a mere spectacle—an entertainment event where warriors compete to show off their strength.

However, it still embodies the empire’s philosophy: the strongest should rule.

The essence of an emperor lies in their ability to gather and command exceptional subordinates and to emerge victorious.

This festival was born out of the desire to prevent meaningless bloodshed between competing siblings, allowing the rightful heir to be determined through battle.

“If I can defeat my brother’s faction in this tournament, my father has decided that he will officially declare me the next emperor before the entire nation.

The emperor knows that the empire will fracture without such an announcement.

That’s why I need an undeniable achievement—one that proves I defeated my brother. Only then can my father declare me as the next emperor.”

“Is something like that even possible? Deciding the emperor based on a duel…?”

Kenya questioned Lord, unable to believe such a thing.

After all, this was just an old tradition. Couldn’t it simply be ignored?

Wouldn’t it be easier to seize power through force?

“No, Mitsurugi. If it were just a matter of luck, then you would be right,”

Sieg, who had been deep in thought, finally spoke.

“But if Lord-sama emerges victorious, the situation changes entirely.”

Sieg’s eyes widened as he came to a realization.

“The entire world fears Lord-sama’s name. His strategic brilliance and battle records are unmatched…! Wait… could it be…? Was the EU war all for this purpose?”

“That’s right. Without results, no one would follow me.”

“You were only ten years old back then… So, you’ve been planning this since that day, Lord-sama?”

Sieg’s voice trembled as he recalled their past, something only he and Lord could understand.

“What do you mean?”

Reina, struggling to follow the conversation, turned to her father for clarification.

“The Imperial Sword Martial Festival is indeed a tradition, but it has no legal authority. There is no official law that dictates how an emperor should be chosen. However, if Lord-sama wins, it holds a completely different meaning.”

“The victor is seen as having the superior subordinates and thus proves their strength.

Furthermore, Lord-sama’s exceptional command abilities were demonstrated during the EU war. The entire world, and everyone in Asgard, knows it. And according to what Lord-sama just said, the current emperor will officially declare him as the next ruler. That means if Odin were to rebel, he would be the one staging a coup. If that happens, do you understand what comes next, Reina?”

“The other nobles… they would switch sides?”

“Exactly. If the empire were to split into a civil war, many nobles would align themselves with Lord-sama. That is why he needed results—his undefeated record as a commander in the EU war. The empire learned firsthand in that war just how terrifying an enemy Lord-sama can be. And with the current emperor’s endorsement, we would have the moral high ground.”

It wasn’t just about seizing power through a coup.

Even in history, legitimacy mattered.

For example, in Japan’s past, possessing the imperial banner symbolized fighting as the emperor’s army—the rightful government forces.

The same principle applied here.

If the people viewed Lord as the rightful ruler, then Odin would be labeled the villain.

“That’s right. With the banner of justice, I can wage war against my brother head-on. As the legitimate imperial army against the rebellious first prince. But when I first devised this plan, I thought it was nothing more than a fantasy. Even I considered it reckless.”

Lord confirmed Sieg’s explanation but also admitted its shortcomings.

Because—

“In terms of military power, my brother holds more authority than I do. He controls the Holy Knights and even the Holy Knight Commander. Well, Zeke is retired as a knight, so it doesn’t concern him, but there are undoubtedly knights stronger than him. That’s why I sought out Reina, known as the ‘Silver Ice Princess,’ while she was still a trainee, before my brother could influence her. But even so, I knew she wouldn’t be strong enough to fight against the Holy Knight Commanders. However…”

At that moment, Lord turned his gaze directly to Kenya.

“I found you.”

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