“Are the preparations ready, Lamia, Orug?”

“We’re good to go anytime, Lord Road.”

“Me too.”

It had been one week since they defeated Odin.

Road had been building up his forces, and now that every preparation was in place, he declared war on the world.

“But to think you harbored such ambitions, Lord Road… I honestly thought the fighting was over for good.”

“Embarrassingly, so did I.”

“I suppose I never told anyone. Though my brother seemed to suspect something…”

“I’m thrilled, my lord! Dying on the battlefield is the greatest honor for a knight. Let’s achieve it—world unification!”

“But Lord Road, is Sword Silfield really staging a rebellion?”

Lamia stared at Road in disbelief.

She didn’t know Sword all that well, but she couldn’t imagine the man who had fought through the Empire Sword Martial Festival in tatters would betray them.

“…Yeah. He’s in the isolation tower at Valhalla Castle right now. It’s just suspicion for the moment.”

“…I see. His strength is on the level of a national asset… Such a shame.”

“…Yeah.”

Lamia and Orug caught the look on Road’s face.

Those sorrowful eyes—what did they mean? But surely it was grief over a knight’s betrayal.

That’s what they decided to believe.

And so, just as declared, Earthguard launched its war on the world.

“My brother left me a fine gift—the Zeus-class aerial battleship. Now I can command from right near the front lines.”

Road boarded the state-of-the-art floating aerial warship Odin had left behind.

The Earthguard Empire began its advance, with the entire world as its target.

“Alright then. Let’s get started—the final battle.”

Road made his declaration.

“I hereby declare the start of World War II.”

The second world war.

…

“Father!”

“Yeah, I’ve heard. They’ve already mobilized.”

This was the World Federation headquarters.

An urgent report had just arrived from a forward base monitoring Earthguard: the enemy army was on the move.

It had been less than a day since Road’s declaration.

Such swift military action, before the World Federation could even get its forces aligned.

“I’m heading out, Father. Road’s vision of the world is ideal, sure. But…”

“To those of us living in this era, it’s hell. Go get ’em, Byakuren.”

Byakuren wanted a world without war too—she could even understand Road’s arguments.

Children holding hands and laughing, the product of proper education—that was surely the ideal.

Still, she couldn’t accept Road’s declaration that he would wipe out everyone living in the current era.

And Road understood that.

That’s why he used such forceful words—extermination—to justify his world conquest and unification.

And so Byakuren set out alongside Thor.

To clash head-on with Earthguard.

Road—and Earthguard—fought for the future.

Byakuren—and the World Federation—fought for the present.

Each side’s justice colliding.

(Honestly… the odds are against us. Even with Odin’s demoralized army added to ours, we barely scraped by against them.)

When Odin and his forces joined the World Federation, his troops’ morale had been at rock bottom.

Even so, their sheer numbers had been a huge boost in raw power—but now, all that had turned into enemies.

Forces that had nearly doubled were now evenly matched.

KOG numbers, ammunition, fuel, food supplies.

Nearly equal on every front.

In that case…

“It all comes down to… the people.”

The deciding factor would be the human element alone.

And those people were precisely why Earthguard stood as the world’s strongest nation.

One KOG flashed through Byakuren’s mind.

The lone machine that had stalled 50,000 World Federation troops all by itself that day.

The man she had dubbed the Sword God.

“Sword God Sword Silfield. If he shows up… we’re done for. But fighting is our only option.”

And on this day, World War II began.

Earthguard versus the World Federation.

Not like the first war—this one would rage to the bitter end.

Until one side was utterly destroyed.

The war of justice had begun.

…

Meanwhile, in the isolation tower.

Kenya, bound by Road and confined to the tower.

He had braced himself for hellish days ahead…

But reality turned out differently.

“Lord Sword, your meal.”

“Oh, thanks.”

For confinement, it was almost luxurious.

Three square meals a day—and they were delicious.

Kenya had been inwardly terrified, recalling Odin’s inquisition and dreading a repeat.

But when the lid came off…

“May I have your name?”

“I’m Sophie. Starting today, I’ll be tending to you, Lord Sword. Please don’t hesitate to ask for anything.”

Even a personal maid appeared.

And honestly, she was drop-dead gorgeous.

“I’m supposed to be imprisoned here, right?”

“Yes. Lord Road instructed me to make sure you’re as comfortable as possible. That said, you can’t leave this room. My apologies.”

“But what if I just forced you down?”

“I’ve undergone special training. Against the unarmored Lord Sword… it might be a bit reckless.”

“Ah, got it.”

Kenya’s combat prowess was world-class bottom-tier.

The only people he could beat were probably Road or elementary school kids.

Having dumped all his stats into KOG piloting, he stood no chance against this beautiful blonde maid.

(Reina and Kaguya were tough too… Women in this world are no joke…)

“Why’s Road treating me so well?”

“I couldn’t presume to understand Lord Road’s true intentions.”

Kenya tried chatting with Sophie, but that’s the answer he got every time.

(Still, with treatment this good, my urge to escape is fading… Is that the point?)

“Any chance you could tell me about what’s going on outside…?”

“I’m terribly sorry, but I can’t share any outside information.”

“Yeah, figured…”

Even so, stuck in this room, all he could do was eat and sleep.

No entertainment at all—which felt like torture in its own way.

“Ahhh, so bored I’m gonna die…”

“If you’d like, I can provide nighttime companionship. Feel free to use me however you wish to pass the time.”

“Wha!?”

Kenya was rolling around on the bed, bored out of his mind.

Sophie watched with her flawless beauty and emotionless expression, then dropped that bombshell.

“Wh-what was that?”

“Nighttime companionship, my lord. I’ve undergone special training, so I should be able to satisfy you.”

“Special training!?”

(Special training… for that? Not combat stuff? Wait, does it mean bedroom battle skills?)

“Forgive my impertinence, but your feats at the Empire Sword Martial Festival have made you the idol of women across Earthguard. Strength is the empire’s creed. No one in the world can match you now. It’s only natural that women everywhere would want to be at your side.”

Her cheeks flushed faintly as she gazed at him with heated eyes.

He noticed.

“And I am no exception… That’s all I’ll say. Please, summon me anytime.”

Those rosy cheeks were honestly too erotic.

No normal high school boy could resist that temptation with average willpower.

Kenya was right at that age where lust could take over.

And that invitation hit hard.

“Rooooad!!!”

It was torture on par with anything else.

Kenya resented him.

He clenched his fist, tears of blood streaming down.

(What kind of brutal torture is this?! The inquisition was a cakewalk compared to this!!)

If Road knew he couldn’t—shouldn’t—give in to temptation and assigned this sexy maid anyway, then his scheme had worked perfectly.

“Is something wrong, Lord Sword?”

The maid sat beside him on the bed where he was curled up.

On the same bed.

“ROOOOAD!!!”

From that day, Kenya’s battle began.

A lonely man’s fight, no less grueling than the clash between the World Federation and Earthguard.

…

Irk!

“I just got irritated for some reason, Kaguya.”

“What a coincidence. Me too.”