BATTLE FOR STARS

Therefore, even though there was no such thing as private property, everyone still pursued higher ranks.

In theory, it was possible to rise all the way to Rank Nine.

But for the vast majority of people, reaching Rank Six was already the dream of a lifetime.

Going beyond that required not only sufficient contributions, but also the “approval” of the people.

Vivian’s female military uniform was also highly eye-catching.

The three missile insignias representing her rank as a Grand General stood out prominently, along with the orange flower marking her Rank Seven status—a level second only to National Congress representatives like Iijima Toshida.

Vivian had been born into a fairly well-off family.

Her great-grandfather’s generation had once been a member of the National Congress.

However, after failing in an election for a Standing Committee seat, he was brought down by political opponents, who accused him of bribing voters and illegally possessing private property, in order to eliminate future “trouble.”

Whether any of it had been true, the ten-year-old Vivian never knew.

All she knew was that everything at home changed drastically.

Their status dropped from Rank Seven straight down to Rank One—reserved for criminals.

Although her grandfather’s punishment did not officially extend to the rest of the family, all privileges and conveniences vanished overnight.

As a result, the entire family quickly fell apart.

Many relatives distanced themselves from them.

They were met with constant contempt from those around them.

Her parents, unable to endure the psychological pressure, eventually took their own lives one afternoon after years of suffering.

As for Vivian, although the state still provided free education, housing, and basic living support, she was still a minor and required a guardian.

When none of her relatives were willing to take on that responsibility, Iijima Toshida appeared.

Vivian did not know whether Iijima had been motivated by reputation or whether he had long been attracted to her beauty.

But when a National Congress representative appeared before her, she did not miss the opportunity.

Through her body and her high emotional intelligence, she completely won over the man.

From that moment on, she became his secret lover.

And so it continued for more than fifty years.

The little girl had grown into a fleet commander.

Vivian was not naive enough to think about leaving him.

Over the years, she had come to understand that it would not be easy.

Although she had reached Rank Seven, she was still fundamentally a woman who could be summoned or dismissed at will by Iijima Toshida—and she had to obey him absolutely.

One mistake could easily send her crashing back down to the bottom.

Especially since Iijima was a rising figure, even expected to become Chairman in the coming years.

Because of that, Vivian always carefully “served” him.

She also kept their relationship strictly confidential, exactly as he required.

Her only advantage was that she was far younger than he was.

Vivian leaned gently against Iijima as they walked toward the rooftop restaurant.

It was a place with extremely high privacy.

Without special clearance, no one could even reach it.

As soon as they sat down, a side door opened and another man and woman entered.

“Matthew, come sit here!”

Iijima called out loudly.

The man was his close friend and strongest ally—Matthew, also a National Congress representative.

Both of them were in Muslai this time to inspect the troops and encourage morale before the expedition.

Their relationship was close, built over many years.

Their political stance was also aligned.

Iijima was preparing to run for Chairman in the next election, and Matthew was one of his strongest supporters.

With Matthew came a young woman.

Her long pink hair immediately stood out.

She was slim, yet no less beautiful than Vivian.

What she lacked, however, was the commanding aura of a fleet commander.

More surprisingly, she wore a Kramic Kingdom military uniform.

Although the Confederation was composed of four nations, coordination mainly existed only in military affairs.

Outside of that, each country operated independently.

There had once been debates about standardizing military uniforms.

After all, command systems, communication systems, weapons identification systems, and control systems had already been unified.

So why not uniforms?

But the military was a core instrument of national authority.

If uniforms were unified, one of the most basic distinctions between nations would disappear.

There was strong opposition.

After long discussions, a compromise was reached:

each country would retain its own uniform, with a unified Confederation insignia added.

“This is Elizabeth. You’ve met her before.”

Matthew introduced her.

In truth, the introduction was unnecessary.

He and Elizabeth had met Iijima before.

It had just been a long time since then.

And besides, in matters like secretly meeting lovers, they did not always act in coordination.

But as an experienced politician, Iijima had an excellent talent for recognizing people.

With assistance from his Personal AI Assistant, he would never miss the identity of a friend’s female companion.

Of course, the Duir Republic did not allow lovers.

It officially enforced monogamous marriage.

This was also considered part of its fairness policy.

The only difference from other places was that divorce was extremely easy.

As long as one party agreed, the divorce was recognized.

Thus, marriage and divorce were routine affairs in the Duir Republic.

Relationships were common and fluid.

However, there was one widely accepted rule:

A person could only be in a relationship with one partner at a time.

Cheating—having multiple partners simultaneously—was considered a serious violation of moral boundaries.

Although legal punishment was relatively light, such behavior made it very difficult to advance in rank.

In some cases, it could even lead to demotion during annual evaluations.

Like Vivian, Elizabeth was also Matthew’s long-term lover.

The only difference was duration.

Elizabeth had been his lover for only about twenty years.

She had met him when she was eight.

The experiences of the two women were somewhat similar.

Both had met their respective partners during the most difficult periods of their lives.

For politicians who valued public image, helping the vulnerable was one of the best ways to build reputation.

And for both beautiful women, the outcome was unexpectedly the same:

they became their lovers.

As for why neither of the men married them, the reason was simple.

Both already had wives—and wives with powerful backgrounds.

Divorce was easy, but the consequences were not something they were willing to face.

Of course, Iijima had never even considered divorce.

And Matthew simply could not afford to.

Without discussion, both men had placed their lovers into the military.

The military was a classified institution.

Many rules did not apply there.

And tracking personnel inside the military was far beyond the reach of sensational journalists or ordinary civilians.

The only difference was:

Iijima placed his lover into his own nation’s military.

While Matthew placed his into the Kramic Kingdom’s military.

Iijima’s reasoning was simple.

In his own country, it was easy to meet her—one order and she would appear.

Matthew, on the other hand, wanted to give his lover a better future.

Because citizenship in the Kramic Kingdom was something most people across the galaxy desperately desired.