103 Lord's Compilation 15: Recovery of Earthlings 3

With evidence of Baron Bravie's ambush uploaded to the Imperial Network, the baron was treated as a legitimate target for assassination.

But as for the mastermind—the Tenth Prince—there was no proof of collusion, so no action could be taken.

The Tenth Prince was quick to denounce Bravie’s atrocities and offered me Bravie’s star system as apology.

Now that the hub Dimensional Jump Gate [item] of the Bravie system was rendered inoperable, the Tenth Prince’s home system, the Keen system, would lose control of its main gateway—making travel beyond its borders effectively impossible.

The Tenth Prince now had his freedom of movement beyond his own domain completely in my hands.

The prince was hailed by the public as a man of integrity for going to such lengths to apologize.

We don’t buy that crap.

A masterclass in cutting off a lizard’s tail—conclusion: Tenth Prince not to be underestimated.

If the Tenth Prince could keep economic activity self-contained within his dominion, he’d still have no shortage of luxuries ahead.

Sacrificing his life for the throne? A cheap performance, really.

Maybe he’s counting on allies to turn things around if he just waits it out.

But me? I had to conclude this was a failure.

At this point, the chances of reclaiming Earth-born humans were zero. No progress. Nothing achieved.

So I analyzed the data left behind on the fortress ship, Bribee Fortress, orbiting Bribee IV. Identified the 378 Earth-born humans transferred from the station to its management.

Prince’s playbook: snatch them from the fortress under the guise of protection, then enslave them as poor laborers—forced to work off fabricated debts. Classic.

Could end up getting stuck with the protection costs for refugee status as a debt—no telling how deep that rabbit hole goes.

"Damn. Thought I’d corner the tenth prince and squeeze the location out of him..."

"Akira, you really slipped through the cracks, didn’t you."

"Boss, since we’ve identified the abductees, why not demand their return from the involved parties?"

"If the Empire really is a civilized nation, I’d think they’d let go of Earthlings once they’re confirmed as victims."

"Yes. It’s precisely because they’re out on the fringes—where central oversight can’t reach—that such acts happen. So any well-meaning third party who just happened to grab an Earthling victim would probably return them.

Any high-ranking prince’s associate, who values their standing in the succession line, would go out of their way to avoid the stain of owning an Earthling."

"If Akira's analysis holds, then the real fool's the lower-ranking prince. Might as well push for the truth about the Earthling abductions and demand their return."

We decided to pursue the Earthlings' return through official channels.

The message was posted on the Imperial Network and spread like wildfire.

"First Prince, Second Prince, Third Prince—apparently they're all human. Says they're willing to cooperate on returning the Earthlings."

"Benefit for them too, knocking down a lower-ranking prince like that."

"True enough, boss. Got a moral high ground now—can't really ignore that."

As Akira and I analyzed the princes' responses, Ayame sent a report.

"Several nobles have started responding to the return request."

"Ayame, sorry we dumped window-duty on you."

"Not a problem. But there are also messages saying they can't comply—circumstances prevent it."

“Circumstances?”

“Apparently she’s been taken in by a noble household, taken as a consort, bore the heir, and is living happily ever after.”

“S-she can’t just be told to come back… not really…”

Right. Five years have passed. Cases like this… they’re not exactly unheard of.

Even men might end up as sons-in-law, I suppose.

“But then again, people could fake these kinds of circumstances. We’ll have to verify everything carefully.”

“Yeah, tough one.”

Could someone exploit this too? Might be a job worthy of assigning a human liaison officer.

“No word on your sister, huh?”

“No. Nothing at all.”

Well-meaning third parties are returning the individuals.

But those taken under ill intent? Not a single trace.

Might even be dead by now—thrown into some warzone and gone.

You can’t exactly demand their return if they’re already gone.

But as long as there’s no proof of death… the repatriation effort never really ends.

Families don’t just give up when they know their kin’s been taken.

“Could it be somewhere centralized? Some unified data store?”

My offhand comment earns a reaction from Ayame.

“The wristband registration data is the centralized personal identification database.”

“You’re not serious… just knowing a name could match it to a wristband?”

“If we had access to that data, we could pinpoint their current location.”

“Ah. So no access means nothing.”

“Yes. With authorization, we could even see the records of their removal from the registry.”

“Removed from the registry… that means they’re dead, right?”

“Not necessarily. If they’ve taken off the wristband and are living outside imperial control, they might still be alive.”

“Sounds like a major red flag.”

“Yes. They’d be considered an illegal citizen.”

“Which means it’s all just fantasy unless we get that access. Where do we even get that authorization?”

“Only way is to go to the Imperial Home Planet.”

“The Home Planet…”

"We'll need permission from His Imperial Majesty."

"Ugh. That's a last resort I'd rather avoid."

Meeting the Emperor? Given how deeply entangled we are with the True Empire, I'd really prefer not to.