The night passed.

After a long day, with numerous events taking place across the world, the sun finally set beneath the horizon.

And the night passed without further event.

The morning sun rose quickly from the North, and Oscar found himself alone in a hotel room.

'Hmm….'

Lifting his head from his own bed, there were two things that Oscar immediately took note of.

The first was that his bed was empty.

He was the only person here.

The second was the memory of the previous night, which entered his mind.

"Would you like to get a room for two?"

Oscar had asked this question to Risa ever so casually.

He had worked away at the strings of her heart, easing her caution towards him bit by bit.

She was the first woman he had met in this world who hadn't easily fallen before him, and so it was a challenge even for Oscar to get her to trust him.

Oscar believed that he had succeeded at deceiving her, making her believe that he cared for her well being and was there for her.

Yet her reply would suggest the contrary.

"Actually, I'll be getting a room for three."

"Three?"

Oscar looked at Risa with confusion as she took her normal tone when she corrected someone with sarcasm.

"Me, myself, and I. "

And with that, for the first time he came to this world, Oscar had been rejected.

For the first night since he came here, his bed was empty of company as he slept.

'That woman really is a hard nut to crack. I thought I had wrapped her around my finger, yet she was able to reject my offer with ease…'

However, there was something which Oscar didn't notice, as he was too preoccupied with his own rejection.

The fact that Risa hadn't stormed off or blown her top on him just for making the offer.

Oscar didn't know Risa as well as he thought, but if someone made such an offer to Risa before, that would very likely have been the result.

However, partially due to her own tipsiness and partially due to her improving disposition with Oscar, Risa had not done such a thing.

She finished the meal and headed off on her own, completely unaware of the conflict she had spurred within the mind of Oscar.

Risa had no way of knowing just how much of a playboy Oscar was.

'Then, looks like I'll have to really put some effort into this. Interesting. You're giving me a real challenge, hero.'

Oscar smiled to himself as he got up.

'Well, that's fine. There will be plenty of chances to win your heart today.'

----

Early in the morning, many had gathered in a central plaza before the palace of the Emperor.

Oraguth was hidden among these gathered.

'Keh heh… brings back memories of when I attacked this place and those guards. Though none of em' should remember me.'

Two legions of men were gathered on the left and right sides of the plaza, respectively.

Standing on the platform before the gathered soldiers were five figures.

The two legion commanders, two heroes of humanity, and the Indeterminant, the leader of the heroes.

These five were the lineup selected to lead this campaign.

"Chaos….. can never create peace."

The Indeterminant stood forward and spoke in a bolstered voice, quieting the crowds in front of him as he prepared to give a speech.

"Those who strive for vengeance are never satisfied. Even after taking revenge on those who have hurt them, they find themselves lost and without purpose. Those who are quick to turn to hatred and anger are never able to calm themselves. It is easy to seek revenge. Yet it takes one who is truly powerful to seek repair."

The Indeterminant stepped back and forth as he spoke, flailing his hands around with exaggeration.

"Yet this campaign is not about revenge. Revenge is when retribution is taken for deeds of the past. That is not why we have gathered today, soldiers of the Empire."

The Indeterminant looked at the men with fervor and dedication to his task.

"We have gathered here not to take revenge for past wrongs, but to prevent further wrongs from being committed."

Oscar grasped his hand, looking to the skies.

"The former Emperor Percius IV was killed in cold blood by the hero of the Ruthobold Kingdom before my very eyes. It is now known that on the very same day this hero slaughtered his own king and took the throne for himself. And I fear greatly for the citizens of his country who are living under the tyrannical rule of such a vile dictator."

Closing his eyes in reminiscence, the Indeterminant smiled.

"I was only able to meet with the Emperor once, so you all know him much better than I. However… after only a single meeting, I know just as well as you all do."

Opening his eyes and speaking with fervor, the voice of the Indeterminant resounded in the people, stirring their hearts.

"That man was a true leader."

While many of the men in the 4th legion couldn't care less about the man at their head so long as they were allowed to rampage on their enemies, they were encapsulated by the words of Oscar just as the men of the 2nd legion were.

"I have no doubt in my mind that he was the glue who held together the nations of humanity before my arrival, preventing them from delving into chaos. And without him, we have been forced to go to war with the Kingdom. But remember this, my men!!! This is not a campaign of mere conquest!!! This is a campaign of salvation. Salvation for the poor and innocent who are currently suffering under tyranny. We will drive Kyle from his throne, and thrust him down from his undeserved position as a hero!!"

Oscar smiled as he looked onto the men, who were nodding in agreement.

"I believe that the young Emperor will treat the citizens of the Kingdom much better than whatever horrible treatment Kyle is currently putting them through!! Therefore, I need your help!! I need you to help the people of the Kingdom, and save them from their peril!! We will defeat the hero, and when that is done we will annex the lands of the Kingdom, incorporating them into the Vythguard Empire!!!"

'Eh?'

'How boring…'

'I just wanted to let off some steam.'

'Does this mean we're not allowed to collect the loot for ourselves?'

[Feel free to rampage all you want during the battles. After all…. anything that is done in the midst of war cannot be accounted for.]

To the men of the 4th legion who began to harbor doubts about this campaign, the sinister voice of the Indeterminant played inside their heads.

Oscar had used a message command which allowed him to send messages only to those who met certain conditions.

Those who were displeased with his statements.

He could not read the minds of the people, but through his own experience and based on the looks on the faces of many, Oscar understood more or less what they were thinking.

"Therefore, lend me your strength, soldiers of the Empire. Will you help me to put a stop to the rampage of this hero?"

This question posed by Oscar quickly led to the cheers of men on all sides.

"We will fight, Indeterminant!!!"

"We will help you and assist humanity!!!"

"We will act as your fingers, grasping victory for you!!!"

The people responded with gracious cheers.

Oraguth merely watched this from among the crowds of the 4th legion, unnoticed.

Chuckling to himself, not a single person was focused enough to call him out.

After all, he blended right into this group of rogues.

Currently he wore a bronze legionnaire outfit, and wielded a spear. Aside from the cloth which covered his skin completely, he appeared to be a normal soldier- though very short in stature.

'Hahaha…. these men are nuts. It would seem that the Indeterminant set some strange condition to send that message to all? He cannot read minds like her excellency, that much is for certain. If he could, then he would certainly have taken notice of me.'

Oscar smiled once more and shouted out to the people, pointing in the direction of the Kingdom.

"The time has come, soldiers. Let us march on the Kingdom. For the sake of humanity."

----

Oscar couldn't help but think that he was a genius without equal.

His goal- to become the harem king of the world, eliminating all other men from existence and incorporating every woman in the world into his own personal harem.

It was no small task, and one which would require time, dedication, and lots of intricate schemes.

However, he had run into an unexpected obstacle- namely the existence of a woman resistant to his charm.

Yet with every challenge comes the satisfaction of a hard earned solution.

Oscar had found the solution.

It was flawless.

Perfect.

Failproof.

There was no way it could go wrong.

Oscar thought of it the moment he noticed something off with the expressions of the members of the 4th legion.

Why were they not responding like the people of the 2nd legion to Oscar's statements?

Did they not care about helping people?

Did they not wish to do the right thing?

Oscar hid a grin as he realized exactly what was happening.

'Ah…. So they're THAT type of men.'

Oscar could use this.

Glancing to Risa, Oscar smiled brightly as the two headed off the stage, beginning the march.

'Watch and learn, you resistant little bitch. I'll win your heart a hundred times over and then crush it.'

All is fair.

In love.

And in war.

----

20,000 men marched West from the Capital of the Empire, towards the border with the Kingdom.

'Sure would be nice if I could just give everyone cars, but these idiots would probably crash into each other and cause a hundred accidents before we made it out of the country.', Oscar thought.

"Something on your mind, Risa?"

The girl was looking forward with resolve, ready for anything. She gripped the bow behind her back, prepared to fight.

"I…. would like to help them."

As if admitting something to herself, she spoke bluntly.

"If it truly is as bad as you say it is, then the people of the Kingdom are in dire need of a change in leadership. I don't want anyone else to have to suffer so much."

Oscar nodded gravely.

"That's why we're doing this."

"Do you truly think putting them under the rule of that Emperor will be any better though?"

Risa had a hint of disgust in her voice as she recalled the scene of the Emperor sitting on his throne of concubines.

It was the very definition of debauchery.

"I am not too sure, but the people of the Empire are not suffering anywhere near as much as those of the Kingdom. What else would I do aside from have the Kingdom become a part of the Empire? Lead them myself?"

"Hmm…. Maybe."

Oscar joked with Risa but was met with a serious answer.

"Eh? You think I should… try to become their ruler?"

"They're a people without a leader, and I'm not sure if that Emperor will treat them well. Well… I guess we do have a duty to perform."

The two looked forward with resolve.

"That's right. We have to leave the people in good hands, and then we will head off to fight the monsters of the East and their demonic queen.", Oscar stated.

"Tch… if only we didn't have to fight the demonic queen. Why can't she just die? We have our own problems over here.", Risa spit.

Oscar put a hand on Risa's shoulder, and this time it was not slapped off.

"If all our enemies would just die then there wouldn't be any need for a hero."

----

Kyle had brought his two comrades back to the barracks the previous night after they fell completely unconscious from a single sip of their drinks.

"I expected them to be lightweights since they can't ever drink on duty but… man they were out quick!"

Kyle woke up in an alleyway outside the royal palace, with a single dirty blanket to lay on.

Fixing his green beanie, he smiled as he dusted himself off.

"Looks like I gotto get back to the throne room. I tried to sleep in that fancy bed last night but I just couldn't get used to it. This is more my style."

Taking the sheet off, Kyle waved to the homeless man next to him who he had borrowed it from. Of course, the man had an extra which Kyle had borrowed. Kyle wouldn't have used it if it was all the man had.

"Thanks a bunch. Hey, take this."

Kyle threw a pouch of coins to the man, which he caught with surprise.

"Wha…. What is this, son!? Why do you have so much money!? Did you steal it from somebody? If you did then I don't need it. Give it back to the person you took it from."

"Nah, don't worry about that. It's my own money."

The man watched Kyle in shock as he walked off.

"Who are you?"

"I'm just a bastard who happened to get real lucky. That's all."

----

Kyle entered the throne room to see his mothers gathered, along with Reagan and Arctus who were standing on each side of Irene.

"And in that case, you should lower the taxes here and increase them in this region…"

Reagan currently was instructing Irene on how to lead a Kingdom.

"Ohh… I see. This isn't all that different from managing a business. Just a lot more customers and products."

"Is that so?"

The two casually spoke to one another without a single shred of enmity.

The girl who wore a maid outfit had the perfect and proper demeanor of an elegant noble, and the woman filling out the documents had a laid back and motherly aura.

Under normal circumstances their positions would be swapped, however here they were.

Kyle walked into the palace, taking his seat next to Irene- not at the throne.

He casually crept up on the three and peeked over at the documents they were working on.

"Don't you want to sit on the throne, Kyle?"

"There's no need to raise myself above you and sit in such a lofty position. So what are you looking at?"

"Tax reforms."

"Got it."

"Why don't we just take the wealth from all the nobles and give it out to everyone?", Riley stated while sitting with her legs crossed and smoking a pipe.

"If we were to do that, then it would be the same as giving a man a fish instead of teaching him to fish. We should instead offer it as a motive for promoting economic activity.", Reagan stated.

"Ooh! You're really good at this stuff. No wonder you were headed to become an archduchess.", Naomi exclaimed as she walked over.

"Your words honor me but that is no longer true. Even so, I am happy to be of assistance."

As the group gathered around one another to discuss politics, the doors opened and a couple of people entered.

"Kyle!! Forgive me for showing up so late!!! I ended up sleeping in as a result of that drink you gave me last night!!"

"It is dishonorable that we were unable to handle something that you so easily conquered. I will strive to become more powerful in that aspect."

Mackayla and Ryan walked in, their head hung low as they realized their own shortcomings the night before.

"Eh don't worry about it. More importantly, come take a look at these taxes and tell me what you think.", Kyle beckoned.

"Er… we are mere warriors, he- Kyle. We have no knowledge on taxes and politics."

"Yeah well all knowledge comes from sitting down and thinking about it. So get over here and lend me your opinions."

"Understood!"

The two rushed forward, gathering with the others around the stands.

A long discussion was held from that point on, however it was at some point that another man entered.

This bearded and gruff man was dressed in rags, not worthy to enter the palace, yet he did so with an irritated expression.

"Hero. I come bearing news.", he stated with clear anger.

"Ah, brother Sylvester!! Enjoying your new job as a messenger? You can no longer gloat about your pride as a warrior or whatever if you don't fight anymore. So? What's the news?"

The man was clearly infuriated, veins bulging in his face as he held in his anger, but he spit the words out.

"An army of 20,000 men have crossed the border from the Empire into the Kingdom. I rode here as fast as I could to inform you of this."

On hearing this news, Kyle looked up with a serious expression.

"An army of 20,000?"

"Yes."

Closing his eyes, Kyle's carefree demeanor became one of determination.

"I see. Thank you for the news. We need to gather our forces to take them on. Of course, I will be leading them."

Looking to Mackayla and Ryan, Kyle spoke out with the wave of a hand.

"We rush to the aid of the outskirts. They are likely to attack those villages before anything. I didn't expect to be attacked so soon, but it looks like it was the right decision to kill that Emperor. He must have been hiding a plot against us the entire time, and now many people are going to suffer if we don't stop them."

Standing up, Kyle was followed by his two military leaders who looked to him with hope.

"But that is why I must take the field myself. I have to protect the poor and innocent from the ravenous dogs who dare to attack them."