089 Lord's Domain 1: The Territory

Two chapters posted today.

Chapter 88.5 is short, but it exists.

Due to imperial scheduling, the duel against the Prince was treated as a formal challenge. I won. As a result, the Prince’s entire territory was granted to me.

If I’d lost, my own land—though I didn’t have any to begin with—would’ve gone to him. So it’s like a free jackpot with no risk.

Though, from what I gather, the Prince was really after my life and the heir’s rank.

Now I’m supposed to govern this windfall territory entirely on my own.

Here’s the breakdown:

Graul Sector.

Everything in the Graul System except the two moons—Graul Alpha and Graul Beta—governed by the canine noble, Baron Graul, is mine.

The name "Graul" is just the family name of the canine clan. It wasn’t that the entire Graul Sector belonged to them. They only received these moons as a fief. The name’s been used since then, but that doesn’t mean the whole sector’s theirs.

The primary resource is deuterium, harvested from the gas giant Planet Graul.

The canine race’s main industry is deuterium extraction—but the rights to that deuterium belong to the Prince.

We’ll transfer a portion of those rights and appoint Baron Graul as steward.

Anoi System.

Direct territory. Planet Anoi could be terraformed to support human life, but it’s still in the survey phase.

The改造 budget is substantial, but the system’s only real value seems to be its role as a relay point for the Dimensional Jump Gate.

Assigning Fortress Anoi to Commander Sanders should be fine.

I was thinking of requesting a promotion at this juncture, but since I don’t fully understand appointment authority, I’m holding off.

Digging deeper, other planets might be resource-rich, but that’s not a priority right now.

Aquar System.

Viscount's domain. Planet Aqua 3, the only habitable world in the system, is ruled by the Viscount of Aqua.

It’s only natural the family name comes from the planet—it’s practically a given.

This is a resort planet. Land-to-sea ratio is 1:9—mostly ocean.

Tourism and seafood resources are the main industries.

A precious food storehouse, if you ask me.

Even though the landmass belongs to the Viscount’s domain, apparently most of the ocean resources are mine.

How many planets there are, what kind of resources they hold, how developed they are—none of that’s clear.

Normally I’d just ask my organic terminal, Ai, the support AI, but apparently the data hasn’t been updated—either due to Prince’s laziness or deliberate omission.

That secrecy’s raising red flags. Depending on how the Viscount of Aqua plays this, it could get messy.

Fam System.

Earl’s domain. Two planets terraformed and used for pastoral farming.

One of the planets, Fam Five, is within the Earl’s territory; the other, Fam Four, was once the Prince’s domain, now my own. All other holdings in the system belong to me.

A crucial food storehouse producing livestock goods.

Yet the Earl ruling here? The very one mentioned in whispers from the prisoner—Douglas, the fleeing Earl.

This is going to get messy.

Tatara system.

Direct-controlled territory. From Tatara Three to Tatara Five, mineral resources are extracted, managed by the Prince’s appointed steward.

An industrial satellite orbits Tatara Four, producing various manufactured goods.

Formerly a weapons factory for the former Prince’s army.

Likely home to resistance forces loyal to the Prince.

Four more systems producing grain. All direct-controlled, with stewards stationed there as well.

Whether the steward was sent by the Empire or hired directly by the Prince—big difference, probably. But until I actually meet the guy, who knows?

Then there’s the Sol system.

The idea that the Sol system—Earth included—was treated as the Prince’s personal fiefdom… honestly, infuriating.

It’s mine now. But I don’t plan on doing anything drastic to Earth.

Might let myself use resources from other planets, that’s all.

Jupiter should be harvestable for deuterium, same as Graul.

And to keep the game’s sci-fi flavor intact, we’ll need to keep mining operations going in the asteroid belt.

Mining’s two parts: salvaging enemy ship wreckage and extracting minerals from asteroids. The latter’s been doing Earth a decent favor, turns out.

Only found that out later—SFO was funding Earth’s economy all along.

Now it’s inextricably tied to Earth’s economy. Can’t cut the cord.

As long as there’s a Dimensional Jump Gate, we’re exposed to attacks from rogue starships and other factions. No choice but to rely on the station and SFO’s military strength.

This is my current domain.

These territories are within a two-week jump from the Anoi System, connected via Dimensional Jump Gates.

Ten days should be plenty to summon the lord or his steward to Anoi Fortress.

Earth, the farthest out, has no lord or steward—still on hold.

They’ll probably spark another war with their actions.

What’ll the Douglas Earl’s Fam System do now?