Milich Oppenheimer

Milich Oppenheimer (ミルイヒ・オッペンハイマー, Miruihi Oppenhaimā) is a supporting character in Suikoden who makes a cameo appearance in Gensosuikogaiden Volume 1. Milich is one of the Five Great Generals of the Scarlet Moon Empire, who is also known for being the series' original narcissist.

Biography
"How do you do. I am the most renowned of the Five Great Imperial Generals, Milich Oppenheimer, the Flower General."

- Milich Oppenheimer

Milich is a talented swordsman who was one of the Five Great Generals of the Scarlet Moon Empire. Milich became well known for his creative tastes, redesigning Scarleticia Castle. Whether he was in battle or in ceremony, there was never a time when Milich was seen without an elaborate outfit. He felt it was his duty as the "Flower General" to live up to that ideal.

In the past, he had a faint love for Claudia, and even breed the White Amour for her grave on her passing. His true loyalty, however, was to Emperor Barbarosa who he had served since the War of Succession.

In the early stages of the Gate Rune War, Milich Oppenheimer was given command of the Kunan region. Windy also gave him a Conqueror Rune. Under the influence of the Conqueror Rune, Milich began to make many changes: changing the names of the towns in the area to ones he found more suitable, cracking down on remnants of the Toran Liberation Army, and creating biological weapons such as the highly poisonous rose, Antoinette.

Milich remained one step ahead of the Liberation Army as they attempted to gain control of Kunan, using Antoinette to rout the rebel forces during the First Battle at Scarleticia Castle, then kidnapping Liukan, the only man capable of creating an antidote. When the leader of the Liberation Army sneaked into Soniere Prison to free Liukan, Milich unleashed a rare vial of the Spores of Agony, a man-eating spore, on his party; despite suffering casualties, the Toran Liberation Army rescued Liukan.

Without his poisonous flowers, Milich lost the Second Battle at Scarleticia Castle. Milich's Conqueror Rune melted and he returned to normal, no longer remembering events when he was under the Conqueror Rune's influence. Though many members of the Toran Liberation Army wanted to kill Milich in order to avenge Gremio, McDohl realized that Milich was not at fault for Gremio's death.

Milich became a member of the Toran Liberation Army, in order to warn Emperor Barbarosa of Windy's evil intentions. He would often be found taking tea with like-minded comrades such as Esmeralda and Vincent de Boule. Later, he helped to convince his former colleague, Kasim Hazil, to join the Liberation Army by arguing it was Kasim's duty to help Emperor Barbarosa realize the errors of his ways.

Following the formation of the Toran Republic, Milich retired from the military and spent his days protecting the memorial of Barbarosa and Claudia. Milich continued to reside in Gregminster with his two cats, Mille Feuille and Ruth Du Mongeoux.

The retired Milich devoted himself to his passions; botany and making cosmetics. He also continued to take tea with his like-minded friends; Nash would accidentally end up at one such gathering due to a Viki-related mishap. Milich also became a writer; his famous work, For the Love of the Empire, became a best-seller and was adapted into a play, although the historical accuracy of this work, dealing with the Gate Rune War, is highly questionable.

Music
Milich Oppenheimer's theme is "Theme of Narcissism". He shares this song with both Vincent de Boule and Esmeralda. It first plays at Liukan's Hermitage when Milich arrives to take Liukan away and reprises when Milich appears in Soniere Prison to block the resulting escape attempt.

Following recruitment, the song will play whenever the player speaks to Milich at Toran Castle and will continue playing until the player either returns to the center of the castle or speaks with Kasios. It is song 28 on disc 1 of the official Gensosuikoden Original Game Soundtrack.

Trivia

 * When Milich changes the names of towns under his command, he renames Antei as Bier Blanche, Rikon as Premier L'Amour and Teien as Lac Viriginite. Milich's love of renaming thing to be more elegant extends to people, including his servants Pierre and Andre.
 * If Milich is brought to the bath with a party of all men (no women), he will bathe in the women's section instead of the men's.
 * In true tribute to his nickname, "the Flower General", all three of Milich's weapon names - Rose, Marguerite, and Orchid are that of flowers.
 * Milich is a skilled botanist. Besides the monstrous Antoinette, Milich also bred the beautiful White Amour rose.
 * If you pay close attention to Milich's battle stance, you will see that he is left handed. He stands with his right hand slightly behind his back, with his left hand and sword pointing forward.
 * The surname Oppenheimer merely means "one from Oppenheim". One of the most famous bearers of the Oppenheimer surname is J. Robert Oppenheimer, a physicist who helped to create the first atomic bomb.