The room was cold and inhospitable. The walls betrayed no emotion, and the only sound inside was Marquis Baldur's screams. He had been hooked up to a machine, and the treatment he was undergoing seemed anything but painless.

  “He won't stop screaming…”

  Hirashi muttered, watching the man suffer. There was neither hatred nor pity on her face. Despite having been mistreated by that man not long ago, she felt no need to feel any animosity toward him. At most, she felt disgust, but nothing more.

  "It's logical that his reaction is this. My machine is causing him visions that are considered terrifying for a human being."

  Shockwave added, intent on supervising the experiment.

  “What specifically are you showing him, Father?”

  Hirashi leaned toward him. The robot was large, but she towered over him without even trying.

  "These are hypnotic images. He's undergoing a forced indoctrination. He'll make an excellent pawn for my lord."

  He answered, undaunted by monstrous physique of his adopted daughter standing beside him. In a fight between the two, Shockwave would have died before he could even react. But he didn’t care.

  “I understand…If I may ask, Father, you think Mother is in this world?”

  “It cannot be ruled out.”

  Shockwave's cold response would have implied that he didn't care about his missing companion, and that was true. He only felt 1% of every emotion, so he could never miss anyone.

  However, calling him a terrible husband or a bad father wouldn't be fair. He was very helpful to his adopted daughter and tolerated his wife- which was saying something, considering even Almodeus struggled to keep from snorting when he spoke to her.

  “If only I had kept quiet, maybe C could have changed this man's mind…”

  Hirashi's tone remained indifferent as she talked about her so-called mistake. She wasn't upset, because C had told her not to worry, but couldn't deny the mistake she had made.

  “I didn't act logically. I was guided by that strange feeling I had when C was mistreated.”

  She had no idea what had gotten into her. Hirashi wasn't an emotional woman; her childhood had left her almost like an empty shell. It was thanks to the people at the Fear Tower that she was learning to emerge from that shell.

  “You acted logically, instead…”

  Shockwave corrected her.

  “Can you explain, Father?”

  “Yes. Defending the Queen was your job. Queen C wouldn’t have been able to change the mind of a human like that. Her chances were around 0.00000000000001%.”

  Hirashi nodded. Her father never miscalculated and wasn't the type to lie to make things less pleasant, so she was sure it was the absolute truth.

  “Thank you for your kind words, Father.”

  She bowed her head, thanking him.

  “There’s no need to be so formal. Even your mother told you to be more direct with us.”

  “I wouldn't think it right to speak to you as your equal, Father.”

  "Its-"

  Shockwave started to answer her, but the door to the room suddenly flew open.

  “Hirashi! Are you here?”

  “Almodea? Do you need anything?”

  “We have some free time! Do you want to watch an anime with me? I found a new one! This one's is another Yuri and…”

  “Is a Harem? Again?”

  Almodea had questionable taste in anime. Some were classics that everyone loved, but she often sought out niche titles that few knew about. Hirashi accepted silently; she didn't mind spending time with her adoptive sister, and she had no problem letting Almodea’s perversions get loose.

  “Father, I am allowed-”

  “You're 25, you don't need permission. You were helping me out of your own free will.”

  “Of course, I understand.”

  Hirashi bowed slightly to her father, then turned to Almodea.

  “I am with you, dear sister.”

  “Hurray! Come on!”

  She followed the other one towards the exit door.

  Talking to my parents in a less formal way…

  Her father's words from earlier came back to her mind.

  No…It would be disrespectful.

  She shook her head. It didn't seem like a logical thing to do. Her gaze shifted to Almodea, who was a few steps ahead.

  Sister…

  As usual, the red-haired girl walked carefree, as if she had no worries in life. Considering who her father was, it made sense that she was always so confident.

  Although Hirashi perceived the other girl as a sister, she didn't consider herself on her level. She was much stronger, more experienced, and older than the other one, but there was a world of difference between them.

  Almodea was the biological daughter of C and Almodeus. She was the heir to the Absolute Lord's throne and could have become the Absolute Lady one day.

  And what about her? Hirashi could have considered herself Nikusa's biological daughter, but...

  I remain only an inferior clone…A mistake…

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "Miss Frederica!"

  She opened her eyes to find herself hugging Yuko.

  "Y-Yuko? Where are we?"

  Frederica asked, confused, not recognizing the enormous room she was in. The only thing familiar to her was the company; in fact, along with Yuko and Lila, all the maids present at Marquis Baldur's villa at the time of the invasion were there too.

  "I don't know. They captured us..."

  Yuko paused and lowered her head, barely holding back her tears.

  "Please forgive me, Miss Frederica! I couldn't save Lila! I only managed to pass her off as my daughter and have her brought here with the other servants. Apparently they don't kill servants."

  "There's no need to apologize, don't worry, Yuko. I know you did your best. Besides, I didn't keep my promise either; that monster defeated me with ease. Forgive me."

  Lila hugged her, while Yuko shook her head, approaching her friend and putting a hand on her shoulder.

  "There's no need to apologize, Miss Frederica! You did your best. I can't do anything but thank you for risking your life for us..."

  "Thank you, Yuko. Thank you so much..."

  She smiled and began to look around, observing the situation and realizing that, in addition to the two monsters that had attacked the villa, there were about twenty guards watching over them. They seemed to be of the same race as the two colossi.

  "Miss Frederica, did that giant monster really beat you? You are very strong..."

  Despite her young age, Frederica was one of the strongest of her clan, before she was cast out.

  "Tsk! I hate to admit it, but he didn't just beat me-he destroyed me! He probably didn't even try!"

  "Is that strong? Do you think the one with four arms is as fearsome?"

  "I don't know, though it's certainly powerful! It killed a dozen men in one fell swoop. The worst thing is that these beings take orders from someone, who I assume is even stronger than them!"

  Yuko looked visibly frightened at the prospect; beings more powerful than the monsters that had attacked them? It was impossible for her to even imagine.

  "Miss Frederica, are you sure that..."

  The woman was silenced by a claw from Frederica, which was placed gently on her lips.

  "Shhh! Look! The smaller guards are moving towards the door, maybe this is our chance to escape!"

  She pointed to the smaller monsters, who were moving toward the door, intent on splitting into two lines, one parallel to the other.

  Are they preparing some sort of welcome? For whom? Another monster? Maybe the pack leader? I need to find out more! If there's even a chance of escape, I have to seize it!

  The woman looked around, but couldn't find a single escape route. The room was windowless, lit only by strange glowing globes.

  What the hell kind of magic is this? Maybe Continual Light?

  Continual Light was a level 0 spell that allowed you to generate a dim source of continuous light for 24 hours.

  "Miss Frederica, look!"

  Yuko touched her arm and drew her attention to the larger monsters, Hardshell and the other four-armed one. The two turned to face the door as it opened, revealing a huge creature wearing a hat and a black walking stick, followed by a shorter figure.

  For some reason she reminds me of that girl the Marquis chased away a while back. I think her name was C.

  "Bow before the Absolute Lord! His Majesty Almodeus!"

  One of the drones guarding the door declared, and so everyone else, including Hardshell and the four-armed monster, bowed .

  Is that colossal being called Almodeus? I don't recognize what kind of monster it is. From the looks of it, it could be an Ancient Demon. I'm not sure, but one thing I know for sure: if a beast like Hardshell bows to it, it must be an extremely powerful creature.

  "Lift your heads up. Let's see what we have here..."

  Almodeus commented as he approached the maids, speaking in a light, detached tone. There was no lust or interest in his eyes. He looked at the women as if they were merchandise, but not in a negative way.

  He treats us like we're merchandise, I'm already pissed off with this one!

  "Hardshell, Smaug...You did a fine job."

  "It's an honor for us, sir!"

  "You deserve a reward, my loyal servants."

  "Serving you is reward enough for me, my Most High Lord! I am sure my brother Smaug agrees with me."

  Wait, Hardshell and the four-armed monster, Smaug, are brothers?! They don't look alike except for their size and color, otherwise they look completely different. I don't feel like arguing here, though. I need to figure out how to use this moment to escape!

  As Frederica scanned the room, looking for a way to escape, Almodeus approached the two henchmen and began arguing with them.

  "I was told there were some doubts, can you explain?"

  "Um...First of all, one of the maids resisted, but now she's meek."

  "I understand. Is there anything else?"

  "Smaug has found a little girl, one of the maids' daughters it seems. What do we do with her?"

  "A little girl?"

  "Yes, my lord!"

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  "Very interesting..."

  Damn! This "Absolute Lord" is closing in on us! What does he want with Lila? I don't know, but I'll defend her at all costs!

  "From what we've been told, Baldur has a daughter between the ages of 8 and 10. However, we haven't found her..."

  When she realized that Almodeus had called Yuko's bluff, Frederica's blood ran cold.

  "Don't you dare touch them!"

  The wolf roared, rising to protect Yuko and Lila. She knew she was helpless against such a monster, but she didn't care. She would fight until her last breath to protect those who were important to her.

  “Hmm? Do you want to challenge me?”

  “Make yourself understand-“

  Frederica felt faint. She'd only met eyes with that monster, and her instincts set her on edge.

  Death.

  This is what her mind kept telling her.

  Am I…Dead?

  She fell forward, but managed to stay upright. It was then that a voice spoke to her.

  "Don't worry, I don't intend to let that fool Baldur's sins fall on his daughter..."

  "How do I know you won't hurt us?!"

  "You have no proof of what I say. You'll have to trust me... Although, I suppose it won't be hard to believe her."

  Frederica's mouth and eyes widened in shock. Behind Almodeus stood a familiar woman. This woman approached and smiled warmly, her beauty a stark contrast to the brutality of the other beings.

  "Frederica! It's nice to see you're well!"

  This voice, there's no more doubt! It's...Her!

  "W-What? I-Is that you? What did they do to you?!"

  "Ahahaha! Nothing, my dear Frederica! You must know that I was already a demon even before we met..."

  The red-haired woman bowed slightly and stared at the wolf with her brown pupils.

  "Sorry for deceiving you, but you have to believe me. Hirashi and I were just doing business, everything that happened was the Marquis's fault."

  "I see...W-Wait! You mean Hirashi is also...?"

  "Yes, eh eh! Let's just say you'll find her much taller and... Bigger. Anyway, back to us, don't worry! The little girl won't be harmed! As with all of you, my husband has a deal to offer you."

  Her husband? Is Almodeus her husband!? I think they're the weirdest couple I've ever seen.

  Nevertheless, Frederica felt she could trust C. She didn't know why, but it was probably thanks to her that the servants had been spared.

  If I hadn't been kind to those two, I'd be dead now. And Lila...She would have been...

  Frederica shook her head.

  I don't want to think about it!

  "You will work as a maid for me. You will be protected and respected, with plenty of time off and rewards."

  At that statement, all the maids looked at each other. It wasn't a real choice; Almodeus had them cornered. No one would refuse what such a monster would propose, especially since he hadn't mentioned what would happen if anyone rebelled.

  "Frederica! As punishment for your rebellion, you will be the representative and coordinator of the maids. Do you accept this position?"

  Another false choice, Frederica could only nod reluctantly.

  "I accept! On behalf of all the maids present, former servants of Marquis Baldur, I pledge you our absolute loyalty!"

  "Very good! One of my subordinates will give you the instructions."

  "Yes, Lord Almodeus!"

  The wolf bowed her head and knelt. She hated having to do it, but it was the only way to allow Lila and the others to survive. She had to swallow her pride for the umpteenth time in her life.

  "Hardshell! Smaug! Follow me to the office..."

  Frederica looked up and noticed Almodeus leave, followed by his wife and the two giants. When only the smaller monsters and the maids remained in the room, Frederica let out a sigh of relief, mixed with one of regret and sadness.

  Is this our destiny? To serve monsters?

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "So Anxy, how are the studies on the magic of this world going?"

  Almodeus asked, approaching a hooded figure hidden among several bookshelves. The figure closed one of the volumes in front of her and picked up another, opening it and reading some notes. She was studying there from almost one week.

  "Good, my lord. Though incomplete, my research has made significant progress in just five days..."

  Anxy replied, observing the interlocutor with her black and golden eyes, then shifting her gaze to the various books on the table. She was a skilled magician, but extremely shy. She did everything she could to avoid showing her skin and preferred to stay hidden more than anything else.

  "Marquis Baldur's knowledge was basic, but combined with that provided by Shockwave, I could see that the magic of this world is similar to that of ours. However, there are some substantial differences."

  "Could I have an example?"

  "Certainly. One of them is categorization. I discovered that spells are catalogued into ten tiers or levels, some of which are like ours, like Lightning at level 3 or Hell Flame at level 7. Despite this, their power varies from caster to caster, a mechanic absent in our world..."

  "This means that a Fireball cast by me would cause much more damage than one cast by a human spellcaster, is that correct?"

  "Precisely! Besides, I've learned that humans appear to be able to use spells only up to 5th level, with some exceptions of course."

  Almodeus approached Anxy, taking a closer look at his notes.

  "What about teaching? Could Almodea and I learn some spells native to this world?"

  "Of course! You just need to have an affinity for the magical substance to be able to learn them. I've already started teaching Almodea some medium-high spells, and it's going well..."

  The demon smiled and patted the pale, hooded woman, making her blush with embarrassment.

  "M-My Lord! You know I'm not a fan of physical contact."

  "I know, I know! By the way, what about the Skills and Battle Arts? Do you understand something?"

  Anxy adjusted the hood that covered her silver hair and tried to contain her embarrassment before answering. She had always been like this, shy and reserved, a lover of solitude and books. She didn't shy away from company, but she was a lone wolf.

  "Yes, the abilities are gained through the aforementioned magical substance. It seems to fuse with the subject and, depending on certain conditions, grant effects. Would you like an example?"

  "That would be great...You can also call me informally."

  "Okay, let's start with passive abilities, which are always active, like your immunity to poison. For a human or monster to gain it, they would have to ingest poison while in an area with enough magical essence to trigger this so-called evolution. As for active abilities, I still have to experiment, but we're just like those in our world..."

  "The Battle Arts, instead?"

  "They're like abilities, but unique to those who are called warriors, like a video game class. However, I have no idea how a class is identified or assigned..."

  "I see. I'll give orders to capture some warriors for study. Almodea might enjoy hunting some of them. By the way, do you know where she is now? We have a mission with Fiora and her group soon."

  "She's in the next room trying out a new spell..."

  Anxy pointed to a door to the right of one of the bookcases, then returned to studying some of the books, her usual cold, bored look belying the intense interest in the subject. Almodeus followed the direction and joined his daughter in a spacious room. Normally used as a storage room, but since Anxy had converted the bookcase into her study, it had become a magical training room.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "Dragon Burst!"

  Almodea shouted, casting a spell on the mannequins and pulverizing them. Despite her father's fondness for ravens and krakens, she'd always had a strange obsession with dragons, so much so that she knew everything about most of them.

  "Dragon Burst...Is a level 8 spell. You've improved!"

  Almodeus commented, approaching his daughter and looking at the smoking remains of the puppets. He knew his daughter wasn't a fan of training or practice, so he was happy to see her put in even a little effort.

  "Thanks, Dad! This is fun! I can't wait to use it in battle!"

  "Keep your enthusiasm, little spot. You know these spells are very destructive, it would be best to avoid using them at the first opportunity."

  Almodea rolled her eyes, knowing her father wasn't wrong. However, she simply nodded without comment, even though her disagreement was clear.

  "Don't make that face! You know very well that our main weakness, aside from Holy Magic, is our ability to run out of energy. Without it, we can't use higher-level magic or abilities. Given my experience, I possess a large amount of energy, so running out is nearly impossible for me. But you, at only 18, risk running out."

  "Sigh, I know..."

  "Hmm...But I think you're old enough to learn some skills that can help you, both in battle and with your energy problem. Would you like to learn them?"

  Hearing this, Almodea's face returned to playful and carefree, signaling her happiness.

  "Sure! Tell me everything, Dad!"

  "Okay, let's start with the first one! It's an ability that can be used for both attack and defense, it's called Absolute Devourer. Attack me with a fireball, and I'll show you..."

  Almodea was surprised by the request, but obeyed without protest, hurling a fireball at her father, as it wouldn't harm him anyway. Almodeus raised his right hand and released a small vortex of dark energy, which engulfed Almodea's attack. It seemed to devour him without a trace.

  "Wow! How did you do that?!"

  "I used dark energy as a catalyst to decompose the attack. Besides defense, you can also absorb devoured attacks and gain energy after each meal."

  "Cool! It's really useful! What about the second one?"

  Almodeus smiled. He'd captured his daughter's attention, which isn't easy when dealing with an eighteen-year-old.

  "This one is more situational, but extremely powerful! It's called Absolute Cruelty , this ability will allow you to reap terror from living beings, ripping out the souls of those who have lost all hope and fighting spirit, or those who ask for your mercy."

  "So...Is this some kind of instant area death spell?"

  "Yes. With a little practice you'll be able to use it perfectly!"

  Almodea rolled her eyes at the word practice. However, since it was magic, she didn't mind spending some time on it.

  "I say we prepare ourselves, Almodea. Our Aliases, namely Amon and Alcina, must go into action!"

  He said, summoning the helmet of the armor he used as a disguise. Almodea summoned her cloak and draped it over her shoulders. She smiled, knowing she could return to acting, as well as spend time with Fiora and her group, with whom she had become very close.

  "What should we do today?"

  The young demon asked, curious about the mission that awaited them.

  "We're going to clear out some bandits attacking Bashad Federation merchants. They're human, but we can still kill them..."

  "Hurray! I have a lot of boredom to vent!"

  Almodea commented happily as she left the training room, following her father. Although she was very cheerful and sociable, she hid a perverse and cruel side, especially when angered.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "We must prepare! The Kingdom will declare battle upon us soon! After winter comes the harvest season, the perfect time for an attack..."

  Marquis Besham commented, slamming his fist on the table. He was one of the Empire's most important nobles, so many agreed with him.

  "I agree! Let's show those kingdom-dwellers!"

  Another nobleman, Count Bonarumi, a short, unimportant man in the service of Marquis Buck, one of the “Great Eight”, replied.

  Hearing these words, Gareth simply sighed, remaining standing beside the Emperor.

  But is it really possible that the aristocrats only think of their own interests? It is not by provoking the Kingdom or attacking first that we will win and give hope to the Empire !

  Normally, a commoner like him wouldn't have been allowed to listen in on such conversations, but Gareth was the Imperial Captain, Her Majesty's bodyguard, so the nobles made exceptions, albeit reluctantly.

  He looked over at His Majesty the Emperor, who merely nodded and offered generic answers as the two factions engaged in a duel of deceit.

  The Aristocratic faction, the one opposed to the government, wanted to expand their fiefdoms and increase their autonomy by achieving crushing victories over the enemy Kingdom. They promised victory and used it as an excuse to exploit the recurring annual war with their neighbor as a springboard to glory. The Imperial faction, on the other hand, wanted to limit themselves to what we've been doing for the past twenty years: simply defend ourselves. The idea wasn't wrong in itself; the Kingdom fielded fewer soldiers, but each of their men was trained to fight and could defeat 10-20 Imperial soldiers, who were merely poor, unpaid peasants. However, here too, there was a true and a false motivation. The false one was the one shown and brought into play in these meetings, that is, the greater military power of the Kingdom, the real motivation was economic or image gain, the Imperial faction wanted to avoid wars because, having fewer resources to put into play than the Aristocratic one, it was aware that in case of victory the enemy faction would take all the credit.

  Gareth repeated this in his head, a warning to him. At the first meeting, he had immediately promised not to forget it and not to fall into the illusion that the nobles truly cared about the Empire. They only wanted power.

  After several hours of discussion and farce, the meeting room emptied and fell silent, leaving only the Captain and His Majesty the Emperor.

  "We are in a precarious situation, Your Majesty. If we were to expose ourselves, Ashen would strike us brutally and we would end up losing..."

  He told the Emperor, and he nodded, knowing his dearest friend was absolutely right. It had happened before, and it was Gareth who saved the day, even defeating one of the five knights, the crown jewel of the enemy army.

  "That's true, my friend. However, to defend our borders, we need the support of the aristocrats. If only I'd addressed that problem before the split into two factions..."

  His Majesty commented, lowering his head. Gareth sighed with his sovereign, still feeling the guilt in his words; the internal division of the Empire was the Emperor's greatest regret. Besides causing him harm now, it reminded him of the time when his beloved wife, the mother of his four children, died.

  "Your Majesty...You already know what I think."

  For me, the Emperor must not continue to blame himself for his son's sins, after all, any man would have done as His Majesty did .

  "I know, my faithful friend. However..."

  Slam!

  The Emperor was abruptly interrupted by the door of the hall, which was slammed with great force and opened without any restraint due to the noise it caused.

  "Father! Good morning!"

  Said smiling Prince Bilius, the Emperor's eldest son, followed closely by his father-in-law, the Marquis Buck, one of the great 8. He had a robust physique weakened by age.

  "Prince Bilius! You are his son, but you are not permitted to enter without His Majesty's consent..."

  Gareth thundered, trying to maintain an authoritative yet respectful tone. He was the sovereign's bodyguard, but he remained a commoner and unfortunately had no authority over the Prince or the Marquis.

  I just hope they understand that I'm doing my job and not acting like someone special.

  "Hey! Commoner! You're talking to the future Emperor! I should whip you for speaking without permission!!!"

  Precisely...

  "Calm down, Marquis Buck! There's no need to lash out at the Captain! He's only saying what his role dictates, and I'd appreciate it if that were respected! Anyway... What do I owe the visit to?"

  I'd like to shake the Emperor's hand, but I must restrain myself. In my heart, I thank him for stealing the words right out of my mouth.

  "Maybe, but for me it's a waste that he represents you, Your Majesty..."

  The Marquis commented, before stepping back and letting the Prince speak.

  "Exactly, Father! But coming to us, I'm here to ask your permission to go with the soldiers of the Third Division."

  Gareth had expected it. There had been an increase in bandit attacks on merchants lately. The Guild had already taken action, and the sovereign had also decided to help, sending one of the four divisions of the imperial army to support the Guild's mercenaries.

  Prince Bilius was a skilled swordsman, the most skilled of the Emperor's sons, but not even on Finn's level. He also seemed brave, up to a point; on the outside, he looked like a burly, blond-goateed man who would take on a basilisk barehanded, but in reality, he would flee the first opponent he couldn't defeat with a few blows.

  However, I am surprised that the Marquis is supporting him. I understand that, since his daughter is the Prince's wife, he wants to see the latter on the throne and that a victory against the bandits would strengthen the image of the "strong and fearless leader" that the Prince has built around himself.

  Gareth was skeptical. Allowing the Prince to enter the field risked his death or serious injury. It must also be said that the aforementioned Prince's cowardice and presumption had been reinforced by the Marquis's constant interference, who had merely inflated the ego of the potential future ruler. without letting him gain experience.

  "I will consider the option, my son..."

  The Emperor replied coldly.

  "Father, I beg you!"

  "I said I'll consider it! Now leave me alone with the Captain! We need to discuss some important matters."

  True, we still have to decide what to do with the Theocracy agents who have been located in the North of the Empire, a sensitive subject.

  "Okay, see you later then..."

  The Prince replied, leaving the room with his tail between his legs, followed closely by the Marquis Buck.

  "I find myself a truly foolish son..."

  His Majesty commented. Gareth simply shrugged, not being able to disagree with him, but not even openly confirming that he was still his son, after all.

  "But... I love him too much to send him to his death."

  Even then, Gareth simply remained passive, unable to blame His Majesty.

  If I had a son of my own I would do anything for him.

  "Look, Gareth, before we talk about the Theocracy issue, let's get back to the bandits for a moment..."

  "Sure, is there anything you want to discuss?"

  "Do you think Dark Calling is behind it?"

  Hearing that name, he frowned. It brought back memories of many failures and battles without real winners.

  Dark Calling, the most powerful criminal organization in the Empire. Besides funding brothels and the slave trade, they also finance prodigies! I would have no problem admitting that this organization's fighting power is equal, if not superior, to that of the Empire.

  "I can't say exactly, Your Majesty, but it's highly probable..."

  “Do you think He could be involved too?"

  When the Emperor said He in that calm, confident tone, he was referring to only one person, and Gareth knew exactly who His Majesty was referring to.

  "Possibly. I know he became a mercenary after our fight. Unfortunately, I can't give you any certainties about this either, only suppositions..."

  "I imagined... It's a real shame. A prodigy like him blinded by the desolation of a single defeat."

  "Really..."

  Yes, he is referring to him. My old rival, the man whose name is as famous as mine…El Kaiser.