“Lord Road! You’ve scattered documents everywhere again!!”

“Hm? Oh, Sophie. Welcome back. Tough inspection tour, huh? The documents… sorry, could you leave them as is? I’ve memorized everything—locations and contents.”

Road Earthguard was buried in paperwork.

His room was overflowing with documents, strewn all about.

The Second World War had ended nearly fifteen years ago, and the World Knights had already been formed.

Sophie glanced around.

She couldn’t quite believe he’d memorized it all at a glance, but then again, this man was capable of anything.

“Sigh… The world is at peace now. Can’t you take a little break?”

“What, and waste this life of mine to the end? That’s who I am. I’ve got to work myself to the bone.”

“Busy as ever, I see.”

“Yeah, no time to rest.”

Sophie approached Road.

And then.

*Sniff sniff.*

She wrinkled her nose at the sour smell.

“Lord Road, when was the last time you took a bath?”

“Hm? Three days ago… but I haven’t met anyone. It’s fine, right?”

“You knew I was coming back today, didn’t you? And you know what day it is today!”

“Oh, that? …What’s wrong, Sophie? Why the angry face?”

“Ugh! Forget it!”

Sophie slammed the door shut in a huff.

“What was that about?”

The Devil’s Brain, the world’s greatest commander, had a blind spot when it came to his own affairs.

No, it was more accurate to say he chose not to think about them.

…

“Ugh! At this rate, I’ll end up an old maid! It’s my birthday today! What do you think of that, Kenya?”

“Haha, that’s just how he is, so…”

In Freedom Country—Freedom—at the Mikazuki residence.

Sophie had stormed into my house in a rage.

“I get it if you’re the dense protagonist type, Kenya! But he’s supposed to be the smart guy! That man! Ugh, I’m thirty already—thirty!”

“Whoa, no need to get meta on me… But you know, he’s been through a lot. He can’t fully trust in love or anything…”

“That’s why I’m trying to teach him! Reina! What should I do?”

“Seduction.”

“Whoa, Reina!?”

“When they don’t notice, seduction works. Put on a negligee and let him grope your chest. That usually does it. That’s how it is with Dad—he pounces right away.”

“Stop it, Reina. Don’t share our family’s embarrassing secrets.”

“Seduction… That’s my specialty. Leave it to me.”

“Eh, I dunno… Maybe you shouldn’t?”

Sophie’s eyes gleamed with determination, and I had a bad feeling.

But then I remembered what happened in the isolation tower.

She’d mentioned some special training. Maybe I could ask her to teach Reina those special techniques sometime.

“Does Road even have a sex drive?”

“He does. When I was cleaning his room, I found some crusty—”

“Stop right there.”

I clamped my hand over the maid’s mouth before she could spill her master’s dirty laundry.

Please stop. Don’t ruin his image any further.

“Oh, welcome back, Kaguya.”

Kaguya returned from shopping, opening the door.

“I’m home, Kenya, Reina. Oh, Sophie’s here?”

“Ah! Kaguya! You should hear this too!”

“Hm?”

Sophie explained the situation to Kaguya as well.

…

“Pin him down.”

“Knew you’d say that!”

Sophie laid out her story, and Kaguya gave her advice.

But as expected, it was pretty much the same as Reina’s.

“You and Lord Road have about the same stamina. We could take you both down easily.”

“Exactly! Lord Road’s got no strength! He’s as weak as you, Kenya!”

“Haha, I’m a KOG specialist.”

“Yeah, that’s why Dad’s no match for me at night—”

“Stop right there.”

Close call, close call.

My kinks were almost exposed. Is this what girls’ talk is? The dirty jokes have been nonstop.

“Alright, combining your advice—negligee, let him grope, then force him down.”

“You’ll be fine, Sophie—you’re cute!”

“We’ll cheer you on.”

The women’s resolve was firm, so I decided to say nothing more and gazed out the window at the sky.

(Hang in there, Road. All I can do is pray for your safety.)

Satisfied with the advice, Sophie left the Mikazuki residence in high spirits.

…

Sophie reappeared in Road’s office.

“Lord Road! Head home today, okay?”

“Yeah. It’s fine. Almost done here.”

“I’ll be waiting!”

With a smile, Sophie left the office.

“She suddenly seems in a good mood… Women are such a mystery.”

…

“Alright, first up: negligee. Something super sexy. Black, maybe?”

Sophie got to work preparing.

She headed to Road’s house ahead of him, using her servant privileges to light some aromatics, dim the lights for a sultry ambiance, and set the erotic mood.

“Hehe, this oughta get Lord Road… I’m getting excited.”

Sophie wore a lewd expression.

She was of age—well past it, really.

And Road’s fault had kept her pent-up all this time, so her libido was ready to explode.

“Something with ‘sex’ in the name, loads of it…”

Sophie perfected her cooking too.

Today’s menu was special: dishes loaded with aphrodisiac ingredients, prepared with a grin.

*Rrring rrring.*

“Hello? Lord Road?”

A phone call came in.

“Oh, Sophie. Sorry—an emergency world conference came up. I have to head to Chungmu. Might not make it back tonight. Go ahead and eat dinner without me. Sorry.”

“Oh… I see. Got it.”

*Click click.*

“I guess so…”

Sophie turned off the stove.

She covered the food with plastic wrap and stowed it in the fridge.

Slowly, she undid the decorations, extinguished the aromatics, and returned the room to normal.

“He’s a busy man. Can’t be helped.”

Forcing a smile, she told herself that as she cleaned up.

“He’s one of the world’s leaders. Someone like me… Someone like—huh? Huh?”

As she wiped the desk, she noticed tears spilling from her eyes.

She wiped them hastily, but once aware, they flooded out, staining the desk.

“N-No… What was I expecting? Pull yourself together, Sophie. Lord Road is genuinely busy.”

Heading to Chungmu today meant he definitely wouldn’t be back in time.

Her birthday wish was impossible.

She corrected herself for that faint hope of a celebration.

“Lord Road’s running around for the world. Not for someone like me…”

With cleaning done, Sophie headed to bed.

“At least this much…”

She hugged Road’s pillow and drifted off.

It let her bask in his faint scent, if only in her mind.

“Good night, Lord Road. Let me be selfish just for today. I’ll work hard again tomorrow…”

Sophie fell asleep, soaking the pillow with her tears.

……

A roar echoed.

It sounded like a fighter jet landing at Road’s home.

“Wha? What!?”

Sophie bolted upright from bed.

She’d slept for hours, it seemed.

Fixing her disheveled hair in a panic, she rushed outside.

What she saw:

“Takemikazuchi…”

The world’s strongest, fastest machine.

World Knights Commander Kenya Mikazuki’s personal unit.

“Go on, Road!”

“Yeah, sorry, Kenya. You saved me.”

“This is a one-time thing, got it? Using me as a taxi. Now go seal the deal!”

Road emerged from Takemikazuchi’s cockpit.

The mecha gave them a thumbs-up.

“Huh? Why? Lord Road?”

“Sorry. I had to make it today, no matter what. It’s still 11:53. Cutting it close, but I’m glad you’re here, Sophie.”

“For this? You used Takemikazuchi? The world’s strongest machine!?”

“Yeah, had to pull some strings. Kenya flew full throttle from Chungmu. Friends’ discount.”

“Hehe, honestly…”

Road knelt down.

“Eek!? Lord Road!?”

“Sophie… Look, I’ve always focused on the world. Peace for the world, happiness for everyone. That’s been my mission since that day. But Kenya chewed me out. Said I should make the people closest to me happy first. He’s an idiot, but he nails it sometimes. He was right.”

Sophie pressed her hands to her eyes, gazing at the kneeling Road.

“Sophie, I was once the wicked emperor who tried to destroy the world. I have many enemies. But I know you’ve been by my side all along, supporting me. I’m grateful.”

“I… That’s…”

Road pulled a box from his pocket.

“Wicked emperor, undefeated commander, Devil’s Brain, Freedom representative—I have many titles, inescapable pasts. But right now, just for this moment, let me speak as plain old Road: a man who truly loves you, one woman.”

Road opened the box and proposed.

“I love you. Marry me, Sophie.”

“Ye˝s! Gladly!”

Tears streaming, Sophie threw herself into Road’s arms.

He slipped the ring onto her finger.

That day, they were united.

Kenya, who had witnessed it, retrieved the flowers hidden in Takemikazuchi.

Not swords in hand, but flowers.

He placed the massive bouquet of red roses around the couple and departed.

“Hehe, what are we going to do with all these flowers?”

“Haha, proposals need flowers, right?”

“Too many.”

“Heard it’s the measure of love.”

“Hehe…”

Road and Sophie were wed.

That night, needless to say, an overexcited Sophie overwhelmed Road.

This night, Road learned the taste of defeat for the second time.

“Hehehe, Lord Road… I’m not letting you sleep tonight.”

“Nooooo!!”

End. The Second Loser.