I thought of it as being related to destiny or fate.
Apologies for the lack of information, but anyhow, doesn’t the word karma sound neat? It carries a lot of weight to it.
“Am I unable to escape from the karma called being a mob?”
As if intending to set something straight, Luxon corrected me in a straightforward manner.
[Karma relates to actions committed in a former life, doesn’t it? Cause and effect──there are consequences to one’s actions. I believe what you said just now was strange.]
Did this thing know how it felt to be corrected after saying a cool phrase?
──It felt extremely embarrassing.
“Pretend that I didn’t say anything.”
[As you command.]
I was standing on top of the deck.
Under the cold sky, there were three airships from the duke household that were flying alongside Partner.
Furthermore, facing us were warships──a fleet of flying battleships from the earl household.
Basically, the earl household wanted us to hand over the sky pirates we captured.
The duke household wondered if they were idiots for wanting us to give them the sky pirates after a house under their guardianship made a request to be saved from them. That was the kind of attitude they had.
The earl household was desperate since they didn’t want us to find evidence of them having collaborated with the sky pirates.
However, that wasn’t possible once the duke household dropped by, so they instead came for discussions.
I handed Olivia over to Anjie, and they went to her own airship.
Seeing Olivia cry, Anjie got angry and slapped me while having a sharp glare.
[Leaving that aside, was what you chose to do fine?]
“Entrusting negotiations to someone else? Do I look like someone with high negotiation skills? It’s fine to leave it to the duke household.”
I requested the duke household to have negotiations with the earl household.
I guessed that there would be a couple demands after negotiations were over.
I was rich right now, so it wasn’t a particular problem, though.
I snatched the armor, airships, and treasure of the sky pirates along with capturing the sky pirates themselves.
There was nothing that could go wrong.
[That’s not it, I was referring to the feat you’ve made. Why did you give Bred and Greg the credit for it?]
“I’d be grateful if those two returned to their original positions. Don’t they seem like people who could protect Olivia? Even if that doesn’t turn out to be the case, they’re still people who are reliable in a time of emergency.”
The story had deviated quite a bit already.
I was frightened about what would happen in the future if I didn’t correct it at least a bit. Even if the two didn’t return to their original position, it would still be better than what the current situation was.
The two did their best this in this event. I thought that was pretty good on its own.
[You’re cutting ties between Olivia and yourself. You’re giving those two the credit, and you’re only leaving behind a few items for yourself. Have things returned to how they originally were?]
Did this thing not include the treasure and armor inside the airship into its calculations?
“It’s enough. This is enough for me. I’ve got you, after all.”
Thinking hard about it, Luxon was a lost item that Olivia could have potentially found. Considering that I robbed her of a cheat-class spaceship, my own hardships shouldn’t be considered.
When I said that, Luxon said nothing.
[Anjelica got angry when Olivia cried.]
“A rich, pampered girl can be hard to please. It seems that she hates me now.”
[Are you also going to keep your distance from Anjelica?]
“I would say that I’ve been too close to her up until now.”
I had to keep a reasonable distance from everything.
As I waited on top of the deck, the fleet of the earl household changed directions and left the scene.
It seemed that discussions had ended.
â—‡
The duke household’s airship.
Livia was invited to a room prepared for Anjie.
There, Livia sat while cradling her arms around her knees.
Anjie was amazed by what she heard.
“You’re partly to blame too, but Leon’s just acting pathetic.”
Anjie was blind to her own shortcomings, but Livia contemplated over them.
“I’m a terrible person. I vented my anger on Leon and now he hates me.”
Anjie reached out her hand in order to comfort her, but she paused mid-way and stopped herself.
(Do I even have the qualifications to criticize Leon and be friendly with Livia?)
She thought about what she had said, and felt regretful.
As a result, she couldn’t convey her feelings to Livia.
“Get some rest for now. We’re going to return to the academy soon.”
Anjie didn’t know what to do.
Livia wasn’t a follower nor a friend granted to her, but a friend she made through her own effort. However, Livia was a commoner, and she didn’t know how to properly interact with her.
The relationship between the three had broken down.
â—‡
The royal palace.
With the suppression of the sky pirates being a success, Greg and Brad had returned to the royal capital and were summoned to the royal palace in order to discuss about the future
However, the government official in front of them was at a complete loss.
Brad slammed the desk.
“What on earth are you planning to──ouch, that hurt my arm.”
His recently treated arm was in pain after slamming the desk.
Though Greg was amazed at Brad acting that way, he glared firmly at the government official.
“We weren’t the ones who suppressed the sky pirates. As if we can accept this kind of reward when all we did was assist!”
The reward for the two was to officially appoint them as knights.
In addition, they were paid remuneration for the suppression of Winged Shark sky pirates.
Brad protested with teary eyes.
“Don’t look down on us! The one who defeated them was Baltfault. Are you saying that you’re going to deprive him of his achievement?!”
The government official was stupefied.
“It’ll be troubling if you don’t accept. The report from Baron Baltfault said that he only assisted you two. A, also, you two currently aren’t knights and don’t have any court rank or class. It would be nature to place more faith on Baltfault’s report since he’s above the sixth rank and is a baron. I, if something’s wrong, we could do an investigation, though.”
The government official stuttered on some of his words.
It was bewildering that the two wouldn’t accept their rewards.
Normally, people would want both recognition and remuneration.
Yet, in an unbelievable turn of events, the two refused to accept.
If Leon was the one snatching away someone’s achievements, then the government official would firmly order for an investigation. However, Leon said that those two were the ones who accomplished the feats.
The official just wanted the two be obedient and accept the rewards.
Greg folded his arms.
(That idiot’s doing something strange.)
Taking a deep breath, Greg told the government official everything.
“We only helped out. The one who defeated the sky pirate group was Baltfault, and we didn’t do anything worth gaining recognition for. At the very most, we were just there on the battlefield. We would accept rewards for participation, but nothing more.”
Brad nodded.
“We didn’t really take an active role. We can’t accept this kind of reward.”
The government official breathed a sigh.
“I was forbidden to say this to you two, but Baron Baltfault’s planning something with your households. Perhaps he wants your disinheritances to be reconsidered.”
The two were surprised, and soon made complicated expressions.
“W, why would he do that?!”
While Greg stood up in surprise, Brad made a face as if he couldn’t understand.
“R, right. What reason would he have to do this for us?”
The government official exchanged glances with the two while replying.
“I don’t understand the baron’s feelings, but he sent corresponding funds to the royal palace. Something about a befitting amount of money and goods being bestowed upon your households as well. How about just complying and accepting the rewards?”
After saying that they could return the favor in the future, the official left the room.
â—‡
The royal palace’s courtyard.
Greg and Brad both sat on a bench.
Neither of them could sort out their feelings.
Greg had a disgruntled face, and Brad hung his head with a slightly gloomy face.
Julian appeared in front of the two in such a state.
He rushed over after spotting them.
He had a slightly exhausted face, but showed a bright smile after seeing the two.
“You two, I heard the news!”
It seemed that he had heard about their services. The two made complex expressions.
“Your Highness?”
As Brad raised his head, Julian got excited and began to speak.
“It seems you’ve successfully suppressed the sky pirates! Furthermore, you did in front of that Baltfault guy! Doesn’t that make this our win? I even heard that your households have a better opinion of you two now that this matter has come to light. Perhaps you’re close to become heirs again.”
Greg spoke in a low voice toward the pleased Julian.
“That’s not it. We couldn’t win against him. He had both strength and spirit. Furthermore, we lost in terms of endurance.”
Brad didn’t object.
“Your Highness, we’ve decided on something.”
“What have you decided on?”
Brad and Greg stood up.
“We want to win against Baltfault. It’s not like our goal is his defeat. What we want is to win in terms of being more of a man.”
“Right. We can’t compete with him at this rate. He’s an amazing knight. From the very beginning, we weren’t people who could be his opponent.”
The two, thinking that they couldn’t just keep hanging their heads, soon began a new course of action.
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Brad made a request to Julian.
“Your Highness, could you arrange a meeting with the queen?”
“Mother? I think I can make it work, but what are you guys thinking?”
Greg made an awkward smile.
“We’ve received so much. We can’t be men if we don’t return a favor.”