075 Wandering Arc 15: The Prince

Even though the verdict had been delivered, both Lord Gilbert and his vassals retained their military force.

If we were attacked by the fleet in open rebellion, or assaulted by the lord’s soldiers in close combat, we’d be helpless—no weapons on us besides the ship itself.

But when the judge announced the court’s closure, the lord suddenly convulsed and fell into paralysis.

Apparently, they used the function of the wristbands worn by all Imperial citizens to subdue him—just like we do.

Lord Gilbert’s 183rd Fleet, being a regular military unit, wasn’t his personal army, so aside from his personal vassals, all units at Anoi Fortress surrendered without resistance.

Even those personal vassals were arrested as accomplices, so there was no chaos at all.

Still… we must remember—those wristbands’ functions could turn against us, too, from now on.

The verdict was relayed from Judge AI to Commander Sanders, and Lord Gilbert, along with his vassals, was imprisoned.

They’ll be transferred to the imperial capital later, along with the charges.

The imperial military aide serving as guard knight? Not a vassal of Lord Gilbert at all—turns out he’s the son of the unfortified Dish Lord.

Legally, it was confirmed that every act was a reckless overreach born from Lord Gilbert twisting the law.

At that moment, I was informed to Commander Sanders that I am the sixth imperial prince.

Commander Sanders gave a tiny thumbs-up upon learning I’d married into a baronial family of dog-kin.

Oh right—those three divisions at Anoi Fortress? Their wives’ families were all private armies. (The mixed-force regiment from minor fiefs is practically run by the Lather people.)

I ended up running Anoi Fortress through my wife.

For them—experiment subjects, oppressed by beasts, resigned to second-class citizenship—elevating me to emperor meant climbing their own social ladder.

They quickly decided to back me, the sixth prince.

I return to the office. The president and everyone else who’d been released were all worried about me.

Ayame, who’d been forcibly dragged away, has come back.

"The one who secretly wrote the script behind this whole thing? It was the Prince."

"What?!"

The president is stunned. Everyone else is frozen in disbelief.

"Forgot all about it, but when the station arrived at Anoi Fortress, I snuck a peek at the damage... in secret, using fan-nel."

I just remembered, now that I’m stuck in this mess, how weird it was that the station—reportedly hit hard—hadn’t a single scratch on it.

It had to have been unscathed. They’d abducted us and were probably aiming to place us under noble control—nothing more, nothing less.

I should’ve talked to everyone about what felt off back then…

"So, the Prince is the enemy, then?"

"Probably. Ayame, which son is the Prince?"

“Wait… the prince?!”

Everyone’s stunned. Yeah, I never mentioned I was a prince, did I?

"The Prince is the thirteenth son. With Akira revealed as a prince, he dropped one position from twelfth."

“Wait—Akira’s a prince? What the hell is going on?”

"When Prince Akira registered his DNA at the station, it was discovered he carried the Emperor's genetic marker. Based on the strength of that marker, he was recognized as the sixth prince."

"So, that means the Prince's position is now in danger?"

"Likely. Suddenly having another heir to the throne just popped up, right?"

The CEO's words snapped me back to reality. The Prince had been trying to eliminate me all along.

"Once someone’s declared a prince, can that information be kept secret?"

"Practically impossible. The fact that my data was locked down? Probably the Prince’s own order."

"So I’m already tangled up in the succession crisis."

"Exactly."

"Wait—how far can this go?"

"Your question is too vague. Be more specific."

"Can the Prince be legally, physically eliminated?"

"Legally, it's impossible. Status trumps law every time.

But this incident grants Akira-sama the right to retaliate against the Prince."

"Retaliation... just how far can it go?"

"From exposing this matter across the Empire and undermining the Prince's authority, all the way to open combat—duels, full-scale warfare, anything."

"Full-scale warfare sounds like it'd be more dangerous for us.

It's frustrating, but there doesn't seem to be much effective retaliation left.

First things first—we need to strengthen our forces before they strike back."

Seems like reclaiming Earth means taking down the Prince.

Now, where should we start building strength?

Should I bring surrounding regions under my control?

If it's within the Prince's domain, that's fine.

"Ayame, I need Imperial intelligence. Tell me everything.

First—what exactly are our enemies?"

"The enemy forces are remnants of the old imperial faction and rogue starship organisms."

"Wait a sec. There are two pieces of insane info here. First off, what's this 'Old Emperor Faction'?"

A long time ago, before the current imperial family, there was an emperor who was overthrown by treachery.

One of the forces labeled as enemy is the lineage and vassals who still resist, claiming they are the rightful heirs of the empire.

"Is it just resentment driving the Old Emperor faction to fight the Empire, though?"

Yes. It seems we're trying to reclaim a certain relic that the Empire still holds onto.

"What is this so-called hidden treasure?"

"There's no information itself in the Support AI's databank."

Old Imperial faction. From my point of view, they seem more legitimate than the current empire, which seized the throne by force.

Still, if they see me as a prince now, I'm probably just another enemy to them, right?

Getting them on our side seems impossible.

"What's a stray ship creature?"

"Imperial warships originated as ship creatures, too. Mineral-based lifeforms that took the shape of ships, guided by information left in the DNA of imperial people.

It's theorized to be a relic of the old empire—rumored to have been biological weapons originally.

Stray ship creatures are those that went feral. They attack people to absorb their DNA and evolve."

"A runaway mineral-based weapon. Doesn't sound like there's any room for negotiation."

Still, if we can control them via Naurackrak, they might become a powerful asset.

"Are the imperial factors that rank the princes fixed?"

"No. The factors grow stronger as the ship matures. The stronger the factor, the higher the rank."

"So the next emperor is decided by rank?"

"Essentially, yes."

"Seems like you're grabbing power without passing it down through your bloodline."

"No. For now, the new Emperor’s bloodline continues."

"Does that mean anyone not in the bloodline gets wiped out in practice?"

"Partially. But mostly, they just die of illness."

"Illness?"

"Emperors with the Factor are frail by nature. That’s why they tried biological enhancement—inserting DNA from life-force strong creatures."

"So the results of those biological experiments are the cat- and dog-people?"

"Yes. Those enhanced by the experiment are the new Emperor’s bloodline. Naturally occurring Factor bearers are weak."

"So I’m weak too, since I’m naturally occurring… though I feel pretty healthy.

So rank changes outside of illness must mean bloodlines fighting each other, right?"

"Yes."

Bloodstained story, this one.

Why the hell do I have to get dragged into this imperial succession mess?

"Prince Akira is the first factor bearer to emerge outside the Imperial bloodline.

Humans from Earth originated from an entirely different lineage than the Imperials.

It's strange that they're genetically nearly identical to Imperials—so much so that interbreeding is possible.

Perhaps we're siblings from a shared ancestor?"

I think I finally get why I'm being seen as a threat.

Akira still doesn't know his sister's been fooled by the Prince too.

May 24, 2018 — minor revision for draft 074.