“So? Where are those trash heaps at?”

“…We have a few candidates, but we haven’t been able to confirm if they’re just ordinary slums.”

Zeke and Yumir were hashing out their strategy in the meeting room.

“Then we’ll clean the trash out of those slums. That oughta flush ’em out in the end. Alright, strategy meeting over.”

Yumir issued the order to one of her aides, an Earthguard Empire citizen.

He was Jilian, captain of Yumir’s personal guard—a Holy Knight Captain on par with Zeke, a man who lived for loyalty to the Empire.

Still young, he wore glasses and stood tall.

He looked like the poster boy for seriousness, yet he was the prodigy chosen as the Empire’s Holy Knight Captain.

(So that’s Jilian… I’ve heard he’s talented, but only Holy Knight class. Probably got bumped up because none of the real Holy Knight Captains back home wanted to serve as Yumir’s knight…)

Jilian was strong, but his skills were solidly at Holy Knight level.

The Holy Knight Captains from the homeland had grown fed up with Yumir’s atrocities and pushed him forward as her knight in their stead.

Even so, Holy Knights themselves were ace-level talents—prodigies who graduated from the various military academies at a rate of maybe one per year.

“Understood, Lady Yumir.”

“Lady Yumir! That would mean killing civilians too! Please reconsider!”

One of the soldiers standing guard in the room raised his voice in protest.

(Damn it! He’s…)

The soldier had dared to challenge the imperial princess’s words.

Zeke cursed his own blunder upon seeing it.

In front of this woman, anyone below second-class citizenship should have been kept out of sight.

“Oh? You there… You’re second-class, right? Come here for a sec.”

She beckoned the soldier with what seemed like a gentle smile.

The young man in his twenties walked straight to the princess’s side without hesitation.

“I’ll tell you why. Lend me your pen. And put your hand here, would you?”

“?…Y-Yes…”

The soldier handed over the pen from his breast pocket.

The moment he placed his hand on the table as instructed—

“Gwahhh!!”

Yumir drove the pen straight into his hand with all her might.

She smiled as if nothing had happened.

But her eyes weren’t smiling at all.

“That’s why. Get it?”

“B-But Lady Yumir! There are children there too… Gwahhh!”

“There aren’t any humans there. You’re not people. You’re livestock. Creatures who can die anytime I feel like it.”

She twisted the embedded pen even deeper, grinding it around to torment him further.

Yumir gazed at the soldier’s agonized expression with ecstatic delight.

Her beautiful face twisted into that of a grotesque witch.

“You’re second-class, aren’t you? Pathetic mutts who can only wag your tails at us after abandoning your country?”

“Guhh… P-Please reconsider!”

“Hee hee, feisty for a dog. Gets my blood pumping. Hey, you three!”

“…Yes.”

The three men standing behind Yumir.

All handsome and striking, but none were Earthguard Empire citizens.

They were men from nations defeated by the Earthguard Empire in the past, reduced to Yumir’s slaves after losing their homes.

As proof, explosive collars encircled their necks—ready to sever their heads at Yumir’s command.

They offered no resistance to her.

Their spirits had long been broken after watching comrades tortured and killed before their eyes for defying her.

“I wonder how many times it’ll take to break you. Whenever you’re ready. I’ll train you up nice and proper. Duty calls, after all.”

The men pinned him down, forcing both his hands onto the table.

“Gwahh!!”

She stabbed the pen into him again and again.

Yet no one could stop her.

No one in this world could halt its rulers.

They were the rules themselves.

Unless it was that one person.

A single boy entered the room.

“Sister dear. They’re soldiers, even if barely. Ease up a bit. I’ve got some fun stuff prepared too.”

“Oh, Road!”

She tossed the pen aside, her interest shifting instantly to Road.

Her brother doted on her, always doing exactly what she wanted.

“Thanks for coming all this way today.”

“No problem. I’m leaving command to you. Call me when you’re ready.”

With that, Yumir left the room, handing everything over to Road.

“Haa… Of all the times for Sis to show up. More needless blood on our hands. She’s got a nose for this stuff—such a pain.”

“Lord Road… I know it’s presumptuous, but please… try to minimize the bloodshed if you can.”

Road nodded at Zeke’s plea.

He then proclaimed loudly, and the soldiers around him dropped to their knees.

“Yeah, I’ll do what I can. I’m no thrill-killer, after all.”

(Not like Sis…)

And so the operation began.

It was early morning—the same time Kenya and the others headed to school.

…

“Morning, Kaguya.”

“O-Oh, good morning!”

Kenya took his usual seat next to Kaguya.

Lately, she hadn’t been meeting his eyes much, which left him a little lonely.

“Something up, Kaguya?”

“H-Huh!? N-Nothing’s wrong!”

(Why do I turn beet red just looking at him?! Come on, me!)

I don’t like Kenya or anything.

She kept repeating it to herself like a mantra.

The more she tried not to think about it, the deeper she sank—though she was oblivious to that fact.

“Where’s Reina?”

Reina had messaged that she couldn’t make morning practice today, so he’d taken it easy getting here, but she wasn’t in the classroom.

“No idea… Oh, and today’s self-study. Wonder if something came up.”

They’d made it to school, but with the instructors absent for self-study, there wasn’t much to do. He’d been thinking of flipping through the manual.

“No way…”

A notification pinged on Kaguya’s device.

She glanced at the screen listlessly, but her face drained of color.

She shot to her feet right after.

“Kenya, come on!”

Kenya followed the panicked Kaguya out of the classroom.

“What’s going on, Kaguya? Suddenly?”

“Listen calmly. Earthguard forces are heading to our base right now.”

“What!? You mean Amaterasu’s?”

“Yeah. I’m going… What about you, Kenya?”

“Of course I’m going.”

“…Right. Got it.”

Kenya and Kaguya left the classroom and raced to the base.

Ever since then, he’d been heading to Amaterasu’s base almost daily for hands-on KOG training.

An uneasy feeling gnawed at him.

“Everyone… please be safe.”

…

“Alright, let’s get started. Zeke.”

“Yes, sir!”

The massive transport vehicle doubled as a mobile fortress.

This palatial conveyance served as a command center even in wartime.

Spacious and comfortable inside, the commander sat enthroned at its heart.

In other words—

Road Earthguard.

The undefeated prince known as the Devil’s Brain.

“There are three slums nearby. First up…”

“I’ll take this one then. Let’s go, Jilian.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“…Understood, Sis. I’ll handle the other two.”

His sister barged in from the side and decided on her own.

Road, who avoided clashing with her whenever possible, yielded since it wasn’t a key spot.

“Sis, at least issue a warning first… Do what you want with anyone who resists.”

He asked her to at least warn them beforehand.

He knew it was pointless, but the operation was nominally about suppressing the resistance.

“Sure thing. See ya, Road.”

And the Torture Princess sortied.

Road and Zeke watched her go from behind.

Royalty piloting a KOG.

Why?

In the Empire, power was everything—and these days, that meant KOG piloting skill.

Mastery of KOGs alone could elevate one to nobility, so it was held in the highest regard.

Thus, even royals trained to pilot them, by tradition.

But that wasn’t Yumir’s reason.

“Hee hee, been a while since I hunted humans. This’ll be fun.”

The nobles hunted wild rabbits for sport.

She hunted humans as a hobby.

That was the Torture Princess Yumir’s idea of enjoyment.

“Haa, no helping it. Let’s wrap this up quick. Operation start.”

Road rose from his throne and gave the order.

“Begin!”