—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Stepping off the transport and onto Earth’s soil after so long, Karl felt a sense of deep emotion. Five years of traversing the universe had taught him that planets as blue and beautiful as Earth were exceedingly rare.
His face glowed red in the beautifully setting sun.
“This way, young master.”
Ellis, recently promoted to Deputy Commander of the Solar Knights’ 1st Team, led Karl somewhere.
“Damn, Earth’s air really is good.”
Karl took a deep breath, savoring the fresh air. And he freely enjoyed looking at the numerous people around.
As a fugitive, he’d always been nervous and on edge, but now that he was free, he couldn’t be more relieved. Perhaps this was why they said a person couldn’t live with guilt.
“Ellis, you should travel the universe too. You need a more cosmic perspective. Don’t you think?”
But she didn’t answer, just walked silently, looking straight ahead.
Yeah, just ignore me, you bitch—.
They soon entered a large building and boarded an elevator. It ascended smoothly, carrying them to the upper floors.
Ellis, who had been silent for a while, spoke cautiously.
“…Karl.”
At her call, his face slowly turned towards her. She transformed from a knight back into his friend.
“Can’t you just live a normal life now? Come to your senses, please. How long are you going to live like this? Every time you do this, I’m so worried. Please come back to how you were before, okay?”
He stared at her with an indifferent expression, then, after a while, the corner of his mouth twisted into a crooked smile.
“It’s not like the world’s going to end without me….”
“That’s not what I mean. I’m just worried about you…!”
“Shh, stop it. It’s none of your business.”
Ellis sighed deeply and reverted to being a knight again. The elevator soon stopped on a high floor.
They stepped out and began walking down a quiet corridor. The knights stationed here and there suggested it was a military-related facility.
…Oh no.
Karl’s heart skipped a beat. Just in case, he asked Ellis, who was walking beside him.
“…My father isn’t here, is he?”
“It seems even the young master fears him.”
“Who wouldn’t be afraid of him? So, is he here or not? …He’s not, right?”
“No, he’s not here.”
“Damn, that’s a relief. If he were here, I would have died of a heart attack.”
The one person in the universe Karl truly feared.
The Duke of the Empire and Supreme Commander, Jeffrey Zeile—.
“Don’t contact my father. If you do, we’re all dead—!”
But again, Ellis remained silent. While Karl was fretting about whether she would or wouldn’t, she stopped in front of a door. A Solar Knight stood guard.
“I’ve brought the young master.”
“Yes, sir—!”
The knight saluted smartly and pressed a button, and the door slid open smoothly. The two of them entered.
“I’m staying here?”
Karl asked, looking at the large window overlooking the bustling cityscape. Then Ellis went to a table and started operating something, pressing buttons.
“What? What are you doing?”
The window darkened, and a familiar face appeared on it. Oh—. Karl was so startled by the face that he almost screamed.
“F, Father…!”
Karl Zeile—!
Ellis retreated to the door, stood at attention, and saluted. But the Commander’s attention was solely focused on his troublesome youngest son.
“Haha…, you’re busy, what brings you to this humble abode?”
”Shut up. I’m barely restraining myself from throwing you in jail right now—!”
“There’s no need for jail….”
”You deserted without authorization from your superiors—! How dare you mock military law and say such a thing—!”
Karl’s face hardened.
“How could I just stand by when Mother passed away?”
That’s a separate matter. A soldier must act like a soldier—!
“That’s why I resigned my commission. I don’t want to be a soldier.”
“There’s nothing more to discuss. Make your choice now.”
The Commander glared at his son with a fearsome gaze.
“Prison, or reenlistment. …I’ve been lenient enough.”
“I’ll go to prison. I’m never being a soldier again.”
“Very well. Then to prison you shall go. Do you think I’m just bluffing?”
A window popped up on the screen. It appeared to be the prison Karl would be sent to.
“…Oh, shit, wait—.”
But it wasn’t just any prison. It was the most notorious of all the prison planets.
Hel-lugal.
“You’ll rot there for five years. I warned you. I show no favoritism, not even to my own son.”
“F, Father, wait a minute—!”
“Why? Changed your mind?”
A hint of a smile appeared on his father’s lips. It was very similar to Karl’s own sly smile.
“Even so, isn’t this a bit much? It was just desertion—!”
“You disobeyed the order to return and remained at large for a long time. Naturally, the punishment is more severe. Consider yourself lucky it’s only this. If you don’t like it, reenlist. Of course, since you resigned your commission, you’ll have to start from scratch.”
Karl wanted to go crazy. Reenlisting was absolutely dreadful. But going to that infamous prison was also terrifying…. It was a horrible dilemma.
“Even so, making me go through boot camp twice is a bit much, Father…!”
A soldier must take responsibility for their choices—! I want you to use this as a stepping stone for growth. Anyone can make mistakes. But trying to avoid them is wrong. I don’t want my son to become such a cowardly person.
He realized he couldn’t change his father’s mind.
In short, he was screwed.
“So, are you going to reenlist?”
“Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck—!”
After a long hesitation, Karl reluctantly accepted his father’s offer.
“…Yes….”
Karl hung his head in despair. It felt like a terrible nightmare.
He should have just detonated the timer bomb and died on the spaceship—!
“Good. You made the right choice.”
The screen blinked off, and the vibrant cityscape reappeared. Ellis, who had been standing by the door, slowly approached Karl.
“Young master, you’ll be staying here tonight. And we’ll be leaving tomorrow, so you need to wake up early.”
“What? Leaving tomorrow? What the fuck, even I need some time to enjoy myself—!”
Karl jumped up in surprise. He hadn’t even had a chance to get laid after so long, and he was being dragged off to that hellhole without any time to enjoy himself—!
“The Commander’s orders were not to give you any time to delay. He said you might get other ideas.”
“So you two were in cahoots.”
“It was just one of many scenarios.”
“Scenarios, my ass—.”
“Then please rest well. And you can’t go outside, so don’t bother trying….”
Even under Karl’s sharp glare, Ellis remained unmoved and quickly left.
…He was totally screwed.
Reenlisting at a time like this—!
He trudged over to a comfortable chair and slumped down.
That damn bitch. That fucking bitch. That evil bitch. That treacherous bitch. Betraying a friend? Fuuuuck—.
…But her tits got bigger.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Early the next morning.
Ellis entered Karl’s room, accompanied by two knights. Karl, who had jerked off five or six times during the night, was still fast asleep.
She gestured to the knights to leave the items and wait outside. Once they were gone, she sighed softly and cautiously approached the bed where he was sleeping.
“Young master, it’s time to wake up.”
Ughhh.
He mumbled like a child and buried his face in the pillow.
“Young master. Young masteeeer—!”
“God dammiit….”
After repeated calls, Karl finally gave up and sat up. Ellis informed him that it was almost time to leave and pointed to the items on the table.
“These are the belongings we’ve been keeping for you. …They were originally yours…, young master.”
Ah—.
Karl’s eyes widened. He jumped out of bed and rushed to the table. There was a fist-sized mechanical part.
The Ion Buster—.
The body enhancement device he used when he was a knight.
Body enhancement devices were rare and expensive, but the Ion Buster was in a league of its own. It was even better than the one his father, the Commander, was currently using. His father had specially commissioned it to celebrate his son’s graduation.
Frankly, putting a price on it was laughable, but if he had to, it would be at least 500 million jenny. Enough to buy a medium-sized warship.
“The Commander gave special permission. But he said not to use it conspicuously.”
“…He must be worried about his son going to such a rough place.”
Despite it being the day of his reenlistment, Karl’s mood brightened. That’s how incredible the Ion Buster was.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
“What?”
“About where you’re going.”
“…Isn’t it the training camp? Over there—.”
He naturally assumed he was going to the training camp on Earth.
“No.”
Ellis’s blunt reply sent a chill down Karl’s spine. He had a bad feeling.
“…Then where?”
“Hel-lugal.”
—!
Karl was horrified at the name.
“Fuck, I said I’m not going to prison—!”
“It’s not a prison.”
“It’s a prison planet—!”
“It is a prison planet, but where you’re going isn’t a prison.”
”…No way.”
“It’s the Hel-lugal Training Camp there.”
”Wow, fuck—.”
“The Commander said he could entrust you there with peace of mind.”
Scratch that about him caring about his son.
That devil of a father.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
[Your Text Here]
yeah if the whole planet is a prison, you cant put one training camp on it and say that camp isnt prison… its still a prison PLANET.