The Palace's Grand Design
Philia had been appointed as an administrative officer and tasked with translating the interpreter and agricultural guidelines.
The army’s numbers, excluding mercenaries, exceeded 1,000—more than enough to guard the center.
Everything was going smoothly.
But there was one task left: the palace.
Architectural experts had given countless opinions.
“Using traditional Gothic style to maintain dignity.”
“No! We need to use high-tech architectural style to instill in the Zakum tribe the idea that they are a rising star!”
“Who will provide the materials needed for construction?”
“It’s not like we can’t buy them!”
Honestly, I didn’t know much about styles, and my order was simple.
“Let’s go with a noble feeling.”
“Noble… feeling?”
The man arguing for high-tech had a look of despair on his face, while the one arguing for Gothic swung an uppercut into the air, expressing pure joy.
“Do you have any thoughts on the matter, Chief?”
“I’ve introduced a class system. But the tribespeople still don’t understand what a class system is. To make them grasp the concept of a class system, I believe building is the most important step.”
“By showing them grand, beautiful, and impressive buildings and saying this is a class?”
“Yes. Then there’s culture, but I think introducing aristocratic culture is still premature.”
They all nodded in agreement.
“Then, let’s build it as aristocratic and old-fashioned as possible.”
“And big.”
“Yes! Of course. If the palace is small, who would look up to the leader?”
There was a time when I thought big palaces and gorgeous ones were all bluff.
So I lived in a tent like ordinary people. But after experiencing that life, I realized something. The people of the past who built palaces big and gorgeous weren’t fools or greedy. The size of the palace related to the monarch’s prestige, and the monarch’s prestige was the state’s competitiveness.
That’s why I ordered a big, gorgeous palace. A big, gorgeous palace. It would take a long time, but once completed, it would be used for hundreds of years, so it wasn’t really a big loss.
At that moment, a figure wearing a white mask appeared through the window. Dressed in a coat, her figure was hidden, but the thin silhouette revealed she was a woman. I knew who she was. Hildebard.
“Hilde.”
“Sihyun.”
“There should have been guards outside… Ah.”
She had the ability to turn invisible. If she wanted, assassination would be no problem.
Realizing it late, I nodded, and she chuckled softly.
“I wanted to tell you that.”
“What?”
“The fact that knights are essential to expand our forces in the future.”
Knights were people like her who used superpowers and wielded swords. I knew from experience. On the battlefield, a knight’s abilities were like from another world.
“Humanity once had a democratic republic as the mainstream in the distant past. There was a time when everyone was given equal voting rights under the principle that all people are equal under the law. But now, the nobility has returned, and the class system has revived. Do you know why?”
“Well, I’m weak at history.”
I know Earth’s history, but not this world’s.
“Due to the existence of knights. The existence of Psy-cast, this super ability, and its overwhelming power completely shattered the existing gunpowder-centered wars. With one person acting as hundreds or thousands, it was impossible for all people to be equal. The existence of such knights revived the class system, and the largest force in the universe became the Galactic Empire that operates numerous knights. Of course, there is the Human Federation that denies knights and relies on the power of trained soldiers, but that story can wait for later.”
“…”
In short, because knights are too strong, the class system revived.
“Of course, you can’t defeat thousands of warships single-handedly as a knight. But when a boarding battle breaks out between warships, if the side with knights fights the side without, the side with knights will always win.”
“Yes.”
“I have a knight, but unfortunately, I can’t act on the outer stage. Because I’m a fugitive.”
“I know.”
“So, raise Kumpa as your knight.”
I gave Kumpa the title of knight. But Kumpa didn’t learn the super ability. That’s the difference between Hilde and Kumpa.
“I saw Kumpa fighting. His build, strength, agility, endurance—he’s a born warrior. If combined with Psy-cast, Kumpa will become incredibly strong. Maybe someday he’ll surpass me.”
It’s still not a match yet.
“But… how is Psy-cast created?”
“There is a capsule that liquefies concentrated mana and supplies it. It makes humans quickly get used to super abilities better than anything else.”
“Can I live with it?”
“Someday. It’s about 10 million ducats per shot, so if I save hard, maybe I can afford it.”
Twelve warships? The price is insane… How can I buy that.
“But, Psy-cast is not the only proof of a knight.”
“What do you mean?”
“Only some high-ranking knights can handle Psy-cast. Low-ranking knights can’t handle Psy-cast but still show powerful strength.”
“How?”
“Shield Suit.”
This is the first time hearing it. A suit that creates a protective barrier?
“When you wear the Shield Suit, an energy barrier is created around you. That barrier blocks all incoming ranged attacks. The price isn’t that expensive either. 100,000 ducats. The price of 5 new merchant ships, so isn’t this amount investable?”
“Insane, it’s a scam. Then why didn’t the space pirates use Shield Suits?”
“First, if it’s your wealth, it’s not expensive, but it’s expensive for pirates and small fry to use. Second, this is the really important point: When using the Shield Suit, you can block all enemy ranged attacks, but you yourself can’t use ranged attacks. Because there’s a barrier between you and the enemy, you can’t use ranged attacks yourself.”
“…So, it means I can’t shoot guns? How do I fight?”
“Like this.”
She took a beam saber, a laser sword from her pocket and started approaching me.
The barrier between her and me disappeared for a moment. And as our distance got close, it started to regenerate.
“After closing the distance and approaching the enemy, when the barrier touches the living being, it disappears for a very short time. This time is about 0.03 seconds, which exceeds human perception, so the enemy doesn’t even feel that the barrier has disappeared. After getting close to the enemy, they are cut with a sword.”
“Ah…”
“So, in the battle between knight and soldier, the soldier can’t beat the knight. The soldier’s guns are all blocked right before reaching close range. Therefore, to deal with knights, you need overwhelming numerical superiority and firepower to pierce the shield, or you need another knight. Knight vs knight is a pure swordsmanship battle. When combined with Psy-cast, it becomes…”
“It’s the birth of a monster…”
“Yes. Powerful high-ranking knights kill hundreds or thousands in one battle when they go to a big war. It’s the birth of a war hero.”
A knight wasn’t just a title. It was a military branch. Just as medieval knights rode horses and wore plate armor to achieve invincibility, future knights close the distance with a barrier and swing a beam saber to achieve invincibility.
“Then, what should you do?”
“Gather money to train knights and give them close combat training.”
“Yes. Exactly. And you already have a lot of warriors who are very familiar with close combat. No shields, no shield suits, no guns, but that’s why you’ve experienced countless close combats with your bare hands.”
“Ah…”
It was like ‘new wine in old bottles’ or something. It turns out that being on a primitive planet was actually an advantage. There are plenty of warriors familiar with close combat without needing separate training.
“But will the war happen so easily? I know there’s no force here that can rival us in the borderlands, but…”
“Well, I think we’ve already entered a sufficiently dangerous time.”
“Dangerous… time?”
At first, I didn’t know what she meant.
But soon, I could understand what she was saying.
A few months later.
One warship appeared in orbit.
We could drop it if we wanted. Because we had a Petron Cannon that could reach orbit.
But the real problem was political.
The warship had the mark of the Imperial Army.
And, a warship with the Imperial Army’s mark sent us a telegram.