Prologue
MORE THAN TEN THOUSAND enormous battleships cruised through space,
bearing the crest of House Banfield. Traveling in formation, they headed straight
for the enemy. Count Banfield's flotilla—my flotilla—was fearsome in both
form and number, a force any thrill-seeking boy would dream of commanding.
This is my army, I thought proudly. I've attained such power in this
world!
On the gaudily decorated bridge of my battleship, I leaned back in my
especially gaudy seat and crossed my legs. Our targets, a group of cowardly
space pirates, had already turned tail and were trying to flee from us.
My name is Liam Sera Banfield. I may have looked like a thirteen-year-
old kid on the outside, but I'd already lived another life before I was
reincarnated here, so I had the mind of an adult. The thirty or so years of my past
life hardly meant a thing in this world, where people lived for hundreds of years.
That previous life had been...rather unfortunate. It pained me to even
think back on it. My memories were those of a foolish man who fell for a
woman's tricks and lost everything. What had I done wrong? Had it all been her
fault? No, it'd been my fault for being so ignorant. The man I was back then
naively believed goodness was a virtue and never doubted those around him.
He'd died because of that, and what a humiliating death it was.
At the very least, I learned one important thing from my past life: Living a
good and earnest life earned you nothing but self-satisfaction. In any world, the
strong ruled the weak. So now that I'd been granted a second life, I would
become one of the strong and relish in trampling the weak underfoot. In my past
life, I'd endured all sorts of misery and injustice, but now it was my turn to make
others suffer.
At last, my wish had been granted. Or was it still a work in progress? I
hadn't yet achieved the true power I desired, but I was getting there slowly but
surely. The proof was in how I was chasing these pirates right now.
I was currently a count in the Intergalactic Algrand Empire. To be honest,
I was basically just a low-ranking noble who ruled over a planet out in the
boonies. Even so, I could call an entire world my own, and I had my eyes on
other planets in the vicinity that I might use to expand my domain.
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This was a bizarre world, far more scientifically advanced than the one I'd
known, and magic existed here too. For some reason, the feudal system was still
intact, and the nobles of the Empire were able to do whatever they liked with
their domains. It was a real mismatch. I couldn't get over the fact that there was
still a rigid class system in place in a universe with such advanced science and
magic, but I intended to exploit this situation to the best of my abilities.
I would use my status as a noble to become a villain. No, I already was a
villain—an evil lord. I'd already committed the kinds of wrongs that would
never have been permitted in my previous world.
Once I reached the age of five here, I recalled the memories of my past
life. Since then, I'd been developing my domain however I pleased.
"Developing" might make it sound positive, but what I'd been doing was pretty
subversive. I'd basically just forced a new life onto my people in order to realize
my own goals.
As for my goals... Well, first of all, a villain had to be strong. Only the
strong could persecute the weak, after all. To that end, I had to shape my domain
into the perfect territory for an evil lord to rule over.
The planet I'd inherited from my father at age five had already been
exploited by a villain. In other words, my wish was granted before I could even
act. But I couldn't let that stand! I could acknowledge my own failings, but I
would never again allow myself to suffer because of someone else's mistakes.
Therefore, I developed my domain to make it more affluent.
At a glance, that might seem like a strange thing to do for someone aiming
to become an evil lord, but it was necessary in order to achieve my goals in the
long run. I wasn't satisfied with just being handed an exploited populace; I
needed to do the exploiting myself. Thus, I had to begin by making my people
wealthier. And just as I'd planned, my domain grew affluent. My ignorant
subjects were enjoying their plentiful lives, blissfully unaware that I would one
day plunge them into hell.
Currently, I was damning a different group: the bandits known as space
pirates. In the process of revitalizing my territory, I'd reorganized my military,
and I'd sent my newly strengthened army out for some pirate-hunting.
These guys were trash, and if left alone, they'd wreak serious havoc in my
domain. They reminded me of the scary-looking debt collectors who'd harassed
me in my past life, so I was having a lot of fun crushing them. Call it vengeance,
or just venting pent-up anger, if you'd like. Enjoyable as it was to defeat them, I
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was starting to get tired of this little game.
While the boring fight with the pirates continued, I raised my hand to
stifle a yawn. I observed the enemy ships as they fled from my own.
As their name implied, these people carried out piracy in space. Not
belonging to any nation, these rogues roved through space attacking and
plundering planets or traveling ships. Some of them were particularly dangerous,
and there were even a handful of fearless outlaws who went up against the
personal armies of nobles. Plenty of rulers and armies underestimated the space
pirates and suffered an unexpected defeat. But even the most formidable pirates
were no match for me now.
The powerful military I'd assembled, a honed weapon of my own
brutality, equaled the Empire's regular army in quality, skill, and numbers. "I'll
take down any pirate I come across!" I'd proclaimed. However, my adversary
had proved a poor challenge. They'd intruded into my domain with a measly few
thousand ships, and when I'd gone out to meet them with the army I was so
proud of, they'd ended up being total wimps. It wasn't even worth dealing with
them. The only thing they could do was run.
"This is boring. I don't even need to deploy the Avid."
In this world, there were massive humanoid weapons called mobile
knights. Launched from battleships, these fifteen-meter giants carried out
dramatic battles in space. I possessed my own personal craft called the Avid. I'd
poured plenty of money into the thing to give it monstrous specs. The pirate
crew was so weak, however, that I didn't feel like going out in the Avid to fight
them. They weren't even putting up a fight, so our pursuit of them was purely
businesslike—no fun at all.
"I shouldn't even have come out here," I muttered, clenching my fist as if
I were crushing the pirate ship on the screen in front of me. Pointless, sure, but I
was just so bored. "Wipe them out."
How uncanny it must've seemed, this child in his fancy seat giving orders
and all the important adults hurrying to fulfill his command with a respectful
salute. My army's high-ranking officers, dressed in their crisp uniforms, ordered
their men to thoroughly destroy our pirate adversaries.
"Annihilate the enemy pirates."
"They want to surrender? Pirates don't deserve mercy. Lord Liam wants
them wiped out."
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"Don't let a single ship escape. Turn them all to scrap!"
The soldiers obeyed my will and ruthlessly obliterated the pirate ships.
They didn't even show clemency to the ones who surrendered. I'd ordered them
not to, after all. My men were a truly capable bunch, and yet here they were,
following the orders of someone who looked like a child. An elite group who
commanded a fleet of twelve thousand ships had to obey my every order because
I was nobility. That was the class system at work. No matter how skilled they
might be, a commoner could never defy a noble. The nobility held absolute
power here in the Empire.
Per my orders, the soldiers fought and the space pirates were destroyed
before my eyes. I smiled as I watched, despite the fact that I was at war. I was
wholly aware that I'd truly become irredeemable scum. Here I was enjoying the
most unproductive and unforgivable acts in the world. There was no question
about it: I was a villain.
"I love to watch pirates meet their doom. Makes for a great show."
A soldier stood next to me. This wasn't one of my men, but a soldier
dispatched from the Imperial Army. Her military uniform had a tight skirt and
displayed the insignia of a lieutenant. Her name was Eulisia Morisille, and she
belonged to the Algrand Empire's Third Weapons Factory, but she wasn't an
engineer—just a regular soldier. However, she looked more like a model or
actress to me. Her hair fell to her back and had a bit of curl to it, but it looked
glossy and well taken care of. Her modest makeup perfectly accentuated her
facial features. She must have paid attention to her figure as well because her
body was slim but shapely. She appeared more like someone's beautiful
secretary than a soldier.
Her job was to peddle the products of the Third Weapons Factory, so she
was basically a salesperson. The Third Weapons Factory sure knew their stuff if
they were sending such a pretty lady out there. I appreciated the gesture for sure.
They were a lot different from the Seventh Weapons Factory...
"Well, what do you think of the Third Weapons Factory's main product?"
"From what I heard, you only made minor improvements, but it seems to
me like the specs are a lot higher."
"Yes, we made sure to take previous feedback into account and improved
as many aspects as we could. We pay a lot of attention to design as well, so I
think our ships would fit right in with your army, my lord."
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I had a good grasp of the precise differences in specs thanks to data,
images, and video, and the ships felt good to use in an actual battle, as this test
run proved. More than anything else, the soldiers manning the ships had a good
reputation.
"I like 'em. I'll take 'em."
"Thank you so much. As a representative of the Third Weapons Factory,
I'm very pleased to hear that."
A portion of my army on this pirate hunt was on loan from the Third
Weapons Factory. I was trying out some of their ships, weapons, and mobile
knights. The ships had a stunning look to them, but their specs were a little bit
lower than the ones I typically bought from the Seventh Weapons Factory. Even
so, I thought they were worth the price. For the price of two ships from the
Seventh Weapons Factory, I could get three ships from the Third, with slightly
lower specs but a much more appealing design. If you considered more than just
their performance, they were well worth the expense.
Eulisia bowed her head, a graceful smile on her face. She didn't seem
particularly nervous to be interacting with a noble. She was probably used to
these conversations.
I decided to tell Eulisia I was considering buying a superdreadnought from
her factory.
"I'm sure you're aware of this, but the Empire has permitted House
Banfield to purchase a superdreadnought. I wasn't sure who I wanted to buy it
from, but maybe I'll pick you."
"We'd be delighted if you chose us. Do you have any special requests?"
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"Well, let's see..."
The Third Weapons Factory did lag behind the Seventh a bit when it came
to technological prowess, but it was hard to discount them entirely for that. This
would be House Banfield's first superdreadnought, and I wanted the incredibly
huge battleship to look good and perform spectacularly. I was willing to put up
with the slightly lower specs if the design was that much better. Ostentation was
important, after all. If I acquired it from the Seventh Weapons Factory, I was
sure they'd hand over a gigantic ship with great specs that looked downright
awful.
While I was considering my future plans, Engineering Captain Nias
Carlin, dressed in coveralls, rushed to my side and raised her voice in alarm.
"What are you doing, Lord Liam? You told me you were going to buy
your superdreadnought from the Seventh!"
I looked up and rolled my eyes, and Eulisia didn't seem to know what to
say. I didn't remember making any such promise to Nias. In fact, I knew I
hadn't.
"I said no such thing—don't just make stuff up. If this outburst were
coming from anyone else, I'd have them thrown in jail for spreading
falsehoods."
The military personnel nearby were under the impression I liked Nias, so
they weren't sure what to do about her. A few of them seemed to be hesitating
over whether they should subdue her.
Meanwhile, surrounded by those imposing soldiers, Nias was becoming
teary-eyed. "You're terrible! I thought for sure you'd order it from us!"
She sank to the floor, and the men on the bridge cast all sorts of complex
looks her way.
Nias had cropped black hair and could clearly care less about her makeup.
Still, with the addition of glasses, she managed to pull off an "intellectual
beauty" look, since her natural features were just that good.
I had to admit I was rather fond of Nias, who was a scientist and engineer
of the Seventh Weapons Factory. She was also in charge of the maintenance of
the Avid. Capable as she was at her job, Nias was regrettably an eccentric.
Eulisia let out a quiet sigh. They must have been previously acquainted
because there was no formality between them.
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"You again, Engineering Lieutenant Carlin?"
"I've been promoted to captain! En-gi-neer-ing cap-tain! Show some
respect for a superior officer!"
"What in the world was the Seventh thinking, sending you to the count? I
just can't comprehend it."
Being that Nias was an engineer, I'd always found it odd that she handled
sales for the Seventh. It seemed Eulisia agreed. In fact, Nias was a rather poor
example of a salesperson. When it came to explaining the tech side of things, she
was great, but she just wasn't skilled at the selling part. She was also quite an
awkward person who sometimes used her sex appeal to push her products
(to very limited effect).
"What, do you two know each other? You seem awfully close," I asked
Eulisia, and she gave a reluctant nod.
"We do know each other, but we aren't close. We've just run into each
other a few times on sales calls. I'll admit she's a brilliant engineer, but as for
her sales abilities, well..."
Nias bristled at the implication. "What's that supposed to mean? I sell
plenty of the Seventh's products. In fact, I was ranked first in sales this year!"
"No way! You were first?"
This lady really sold that much stuff? I was honestly surprised. But while
I was wondering if she had more talent than I'd given her credit for, Eulisia
revealed the truth of the matter.
"That's just because of your sales to House Banfield, isn't it? I know you
haven't sold anything to any other nobles."
I shot a look at Nias, and she averted her eyes. So she was only first
because of the weapons I'd bought from her; she wouldn't have sold a thing if
not for me. It really was a pity... Now I knew why she'd been so desperate to
please me. In any case, the Seventh Weapons Factory must have profited quite a
bit from my enthusiastic military expansion.
"By the way, umm..." Nias piped up, perhaps unable to bear the
uncomfortable air any longer. "The Avid's maintenance is complete. Would you
like to take a test run?"
While Nias tried to change the subject, I turned toward the bow of the
ship. The monitors and holographic displays all showed the pirates being
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surrounded by my fleet and thoroughly crushed. The battle was nearly over.
"I'm not going out today," I said. "These guys are too weak."
"O-oh. That's too bad; it's all tuned up. Well, I suppose they wouldn't
make the best opponents."
Eulisia had come with me on this little excursion to sell me the Third
Weapons Factory's products, while I'd brought Nias along just to perform
maintenance on the Avid.
"Your fleet is really something, my lord," Eulisia said, obviously
impressed. "You've taken hardly any damage against quite a large pirate gang.
Your troops could pass for the Empire's regular army."
"I'm not satisfied with them yet."
I wouldn't rest until I had even more. Plus, it wasn't just numbers that
were important—I had to make sure my troops were well-trained and well-
equipped. My current forces were far from my ideal army.
"I've been thinking I should bolster their numbers soon, and I'm tired of
getting hand-me-downs from the Imperial Army. Anyway, Eulisia, let's see
some of your new products."
Eulisia beamed at my interest in purchasing other wares. "I'll send them
over right away."
Nias, meanwhile, looked like she was losing all hope as she listened to our
discussion. "Lord Liam? Actually, I...erm... My boss wanted me to get a new
contract signed, so if possible, I'd really like it if you could purchase some
things from us as well. It doesn't have to be a superdreadnought, but if you could
buy some battleships... Ah, even just some cruisers would be wonderful..."
As she pleaded with me, Nias looked even more pitiful than usual beside
Eulisia. The lieutenant, for her part, just looked away and sighed. It was a sorry
display to witness from her colleague—or rather, her rival. But, this was
someone capable of performing maintenance on my personal craft. I didn't want
to think about what might happen if I was too cruel to Nias, so I figured it was
best to treat her with some degree of kindness. And, honestly, I found her
pitiable side almost endearing.
"Just a hundred ships."
At my words, Nias raised her head and grinned.
Eulisia, on the other hand, blurted, "Huh?" Her face clearly conveyed
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"You're buying ships to please her?"
"You really are wonderful, Lord Liam!"
I wasn't happy about Nias's effusive compliments. I liked people who
flattered me, but if someone overdid it, their praise came off as mockery.
"Such a shame about you, really," I told her.
"Just because I complimented you?!"
Normally, such pleading wouldn't be enough to persuade me, but I didn't
think of this as a huge expense. After all, I had a little something that made the
cost of a hundred ships look like chump change. Well, maybe "chump change"
was pushing it.
Seeing our conversation had reached a suitable conclusion, a commander
stepped up to report to me. "Lord Liam, the enemy pirates have been wiped out."
"Good. Make sure you collect all the debris; I don't want any space trash
polluting the neighborhood."
"Yes, sir."
With the battle won, I left the cleanup to my fleet and prepared to turn my
vessel toward home.
***
Our fleet returned to a fortress that had been installed in space. It had been
created using an asteroid that had already been mined for resources. At a glance,
it looked like nothing more than a rock, but it had been hollowed out and
equipped with all the necessary facilities of a permanent base. In addition to
hosting accommodations for soldiers, it was also equipped for the resupply,
maintenance, and even limited production of weapons. It was a true space
fortress.
House Banfield had gained fortresses like this each time it had expanded
its military. How many did it have now?
Waiting for me at that space fortress was my most trusted aide, Amagi.
Her long, glossy black hair maintained its style even in the zero-gravity
spaceport. The white lace headpiece and red ribbon tying up her ponytail looked
perfect. Amagi stood at the head of a group of maids who'd come to welcome
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me. She was my ideal woman, her red eyes glittering beautifully.
I kicked off the ramp and glided through the weightless space to Amagi.
The strange sensation was somewhere between flying and swimming. I shifted
my body and pointed the soles of my feet at the floor. They were sucked down
toward it, and I landed in front of Amagi. My feet were now magnetically rooted
to the floor.
"Welcome back, Master." Amagi bowed, and all the identical-looking
maids behind her bowed as well.
"You don't need to come out to greet me every time. I can come to you," I
told her, but Amagi disagreed.
"Please understand your position, Master."
"I got it, I got it. You don't have to get mad."
"I am not angry."
All the maids apart from Amagi had the same face, but no one in this
world would find that strange. The shoulders of Amagi's classic maid outfit
were bare to display the label indicating that she wasn't human. It was a bit of an
odd design, since the traditional uniform didn't show much skin but purposely
bared the shoulders. The maids behind her all wore the same thing. The entire
group was composed of maid robots—in other words, androids.
Amagi, the group's leader, was more advanced. The rest of them were
mass-produced units, and they were all based off the same model, hence their
identical appearance. The only thing that set them apart was their hairstyles—
presumably a way for me to distinguish them. A few accessories bedecked the
maids here and there.
Apparently, they were expressing some degree of individuality, though I
hadn't ordered them to do so. I wondered if all androids did this. Sometimes they
even swapped hairstyles and accessories. Was it their idea of a game? If the
maid robots enjoy fashion so much, maybe I should gift them some more
accessories at some point. Wonder what they'd like?
I passed by Amagi, and the maids all followed me. As Amagi trailed
behind at my side, I grumbled to her about my pirate hunting.
"There wasn't anything for me to do this time either. I was expecting more
from this group, since I'd heard there were so many of them, but they were just
more small fry."
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When I complained that the pirates we'd fought today had bored me,
Amagi manifested a number of small screens in the air. They were holographic
monitors, displaying data on the pirates.
"Though you call them 'small fry,' they were a dangerous group with
bounties on their heads," she informed me.
"Those weaklings?"
"If you report their defeat to the Empire, you should be able to earn a
reward and another medal."
The Empire liked it when you defeated pirates. They'd tell you "good job"
and give you a meager reward and a medal, but I'd only appreciated that the first
few times it happened. The more you do something, the less it appeals. At first I
was proud of my accomplishments, but once you had a whole collection of
medals, they didn't seem all that impressive anymore. Plus, I'd just been having
them shipped to me, since going all the way to the Capital Planet to receive them
was just too much to go through.
"I don't feel proud of squashing small fry. I hope the next ones provide a
little more of a challenge."
"I believe that will be unlikely."
I stopped and studied Amagi's face. It was expressionless as always; maid
robots didn't normally show emotion. Something about her made it seem as
though she were worried about me, however.
"Why? They're pirates, so they'll show up and attack whether we like it or
not, right?"
"You have defeated many pirates, so the gangs that still remain have
started to avoid House Banfield territory."
I was taken aback by those words. "They'll stop coming? Why?"
"Because you are strong, and you show pirates no mercy."
Pirates were a major source of income. If they stopped coming, that'd be a
real problem for me. I was a noble, so I was the ruling lord of my domain, but I
couldn't act like I owned the place in other nobles' territories. In other words,
the only area where I could hunt pirates to my heart's content was my own
domain.
"In the area surrounding House Banfield's domain, you are feared as
'Liam the Pirate Hunter,' Master."
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"This is a problem." Now that I'd happily hunted so many of them down,
the pirates were actively avoiding me.
"Normally, this would be something about which to rejoice."
"Pirates are my wallet. I'm in trouble if they stop coming."
"The domain's economy has greatly improved. House Banfield will suffer
no financial difficulties even if we do not defeat pirates."
Until fairly recently, House Banfield's finances had been in dire straits,
since the previous lord and the lord before him—those absolutely useless
slimeballs—had run their domain straight into ruin with their asinine policies.
There'd already been evil lords here before I even reincarnated with the aim of
becoming an evil lord myself.
I didn't want to be an evil lord ruling over an already ruined territory; I
wanted to enjoy the process of ruining it myself. Thus, I'd brought my planet
and my subjects to prosperity. Maybe that was putting the cart before the horse,
but what I wanted to do was exploit people, not rule over people who had
already been exploited. There was nothing fun about being handed a domain that
had already had all its vitality sucked out of it.
I arrived at a special section of the space fortress with Amagi and the other
maids in tow. The only ones allowed to enter this area were me and whomever I
personally granted permission. We passed through several security measures,
then came to a place where the space junk—debris from our battles—was
collected and stored. It was a huge chamber that had been filled with garbage,
basically just a mountain of trash, yet I smiled before this debris.
"Another great haul today."
From a pocket in my suit, I withdrew a device called the alchemy box, and
I held it up. When I opened its lid, several holographic windows appeared
around me.
"Well, what should I do with it all today?"
"I have a list prepared here."
Amagi displayed the list for me, and I consulted it as I manipulated the
alchemy box. With this device, I transformed matter into resources that my
domain currently held in limited supply. If we needed more iron, I could just use
the alchemy box to convert all this refuse into iron. With nothing more than this
little box, I could make up for whatever my domain lacked.
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I went through the list of resources we needed, and all the trash in the
gratuitously large room was reduced to particles before my eyes. Then, they
reformed, converted into different matter.
"All right, that should do it for this room."
Confirming that I'd finished converting everything, I headed for the next
room. After a battle, there was just too much space junk. When you tried to
collect it all, you ended up with an almost unmanageable amount. If I made
efficient use of it, however, I could obtain all the resources I required. If I ended
up with an excess of resources, I could sell them off. In fact, I'd been doing this
a lot lately, raking in hefty profits for House Banfield.
As I walked along, Amagi cautioned me, "The next room contains
hazardous materials, so please do not forget to wear protective clothing."
"Ahh, just by rounding up garbage nobody else wants to deal with, I make
a tidy little profit. This alchemy box is really something else."
We collected a fee for disposing of dangerous waste. We earned money
just for taking care of trash, and then earned even more from selling off that
reconfigured trash. I couldn't help snickering every time I thought about it.
Of course, I wasn't completely without worries.
"Incidentally, Amagi, I have a question."
"What would that be?"
"I could easily repay House Banfield's debts at this point, couldn't I? I'd
like to be free of my obligations at some point."
Ever since I'd obtained the alchemy box, House Banfield's profits were
about thirty times higher than they'd been before. I could pay off the debts my
parents and grandparents—House Banfield's previous nobles—had amassed
whenever I wanted to, but Amagi had never suggested doing so. In fact, she'd
stopped me from doing so before.
"If you repay such a massive debt all at once, it will be obvious that you
have obtained a vast fortune. I believe it would not be beneficial for people to
learn of the existence of the alchemy box."
"So I can't do it yet, eh? Feels pretty bad to still be in debt..."
"Please endure."
The alchemy box was a tool developed by an intergalactic nation that had
existed long ago, before the establishment of the Empire. Since an ancient
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society had created it, its method of manufacturing had been lost, and thus it was
very valuable. In other words, if the existence of this box became widely known,
people might covet it so badly that they'd try to kill me for it.
I was stronger now than I had been in my past life. I'd learned an amazing
sword style called the Way of the Flash, and pirates posed no danger to me
anymore, yet I was still far from invincible.
"Yeah, guess I'll deal with it for now."
I'd gone to the trouble of setting up a dummy corporation to help disguise
the profits I made from the alchemy box, and I was doing a lot of mining,
passing off the material I converted with the device as resources obtained in the
mines. Really, I was almost going through too much trouble to mask things.
"It would be best for the alchemy box to remain a secret. Besides, there is
something else you should be prioritizing, Master, is there not?"
"Oh...that."
Right now, I was supposed to prioritize my education. It was a process all
Imperial noble children had to go through to be acknowledged as adults
involving a long period of training. If I only lived as long as I had in my
previous life, I'd have spent half of my lifetime on this pursuit.
"What a bother," I griped.
"It is an unavoidable step on your journey if you are to be acknowledged
as a proper Imperial noble."
"I understand that, but why does it have to start in some other guy's
territory? I don't get the logic there."
The first stage of my coming-of-age training involved staying with
another noble family. I didn't know what good that would do me, but it was just
how things were done here, so there wasn't any point in making a fuss about it. I
didn't have the sort of standing that would allow me to refuse, and I didn't want
the trouble refusing would generate, anyway.
But there was one big problem with this.
"By the way, has the house I'll be studying at been decided? The last time
I asked, you said you hadn't found one yet."
Usually, Amagi responded to my questions instantly, but this time, she
paused for a moment before speaking. She was probably doing some
sophisticated processing with that android brain of hers.
Page 15
"Coordination is ongoing."
So she hadn't found a house that would take me in yet. I supposed that this
was thanks to my parents' shoddy legacy. Because of their bad reputation, there
weren't any houses that wanted to take me in. If I could just go anywhere, I'd
already be on my way, but the stain on House Banfield had isolated us from
noble society. In addition to learning the ins and outs of being a lord, I'd want to
build relationships with other houses while in another noble's domain.
Well, at least Amagi and my butler Brian still seemed passionate about it.
"Just find some random house. There's no point making a big deal about
it."
"Brian is handling this right now. It should not take much longer."
Will I really receive the training I need? Well, I don't care where I go,
so I guess I'll just try to be optimistic. If I had a choice, though, I'd like to
learn some things from an evil lord... That'd be best for me, since I plan on
becoming one myself. A good lord would hardly be a valuable example for me.
"I know—maybe I'll pray to that guy. Or just ask him, I guess," I
muttered.
Amagi cocked her head. "Is something the matter, Master?"
"It's nothing."
"I see. By the way..." Amagi changed the subject, much to my chagrin.
"Master, you intend to make more weapons purchases? I received notices from
the Third and Seventh Weapons Factories."
I hastily averted my eyes from Amagi. "Th-that's fine, isn't it?"
In truth, I had ordered battleships and mobile knights without telling her. I
felt like a boy being scolded by his mother for buying toys without permission.
"I could not forbid you from doing so, but we already have a plan for
military expansion. Unscheduled purchases of state-of-the-art weapons disrupt
that plan."
"Well, just switch the new stuff for used ones, then."
"That will also take some effort. Please refrain next time."
"I got it. I can at least buy what I said I was gonna, though, right? Right?
It won't look good if I go back and tell them I changed my mind."
Amagi still wore no expression on her face, but she emanated an aura of
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"What am I going to do with you?"
"Yes, but again, please do not make further purchases outside of the
bounds of our plans, Master." Clearly, I'd convinced her.
"I'll be careful from now on."
Yes! Now I don't have to back down from what I promised earlier. That
would have been real pathetic. I have to protect my dignity as an evil lord.
Well, perhaps it was a little pathetic that Amagi was managing my
weapons purchases in the first place.
***
On House Banfield's home planet, there was a mansion so large that it
could've contained a whole city. The mansion was practically a city in itself, in
fact, and belonged to the count—me.
After squashing those space pirates, I returned to this mansion, where I set
about doing some work in my office with Amagi by my side. Seated at my desk,
I pored over electronic documents. I might have looked like a teenager, but as
the reigning lord, I always had plenty of work to do.
When I'd completed the matters at hand and stretched, Amagi addressed
me.
"Well done, Master. That is all your work for this morning."
"I got done quicker than I expected."
"You finished twenty-four minutes ahead of schedule. It is a clear
indication of your improvement in productivity."
"Well, I'm definitely getting better at this kind of stuff."
It wasn't my past life as a pencil-pusher that enabled me to tackle these
responsibilities; in fact, my past-life knowledge was practically useless here. No,
it was thanks to what I'd learned in my education capsule.
In this world, such devices would install knowledge directly into your
brain, the amount depending on whether you spent a few months or years inside
them. Education capsules even strengthened your body as well.
Once you exited the capsule, you had to be careful. Not only did you need
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some physical rehabilitation, but if you didn't utilize the knowledge you'd
acquired, you'd lose it. It was important to reinforce the knowledge through use.
It would be like carrying around a dictionary: if you didn't open it, it would be
useless.
Still, it was a lot more efficient than education in my past life, and it took
far less time. With all the knowledge I'd "downloaded," I could do my work as
lord; it wasn't due to some special talent or anything.
"Your improvement is due to your diligent work every day," Amagi
encouraged me. Maybe she was concerned because I was feeling a little pathetic.
"Never mind that. Anyone could do this much if they used an education
capsule."
"According to available data, it is my judgment that your current
capabilities are far above average."
"Well, if your data says so, that makes me feel a little better."
After all this effort, I could only claim to be "above average." I'd spent
money and used an education capsule several times, and I worked every day, but
I still wasn't any better than that. I'd no doubt be achieving more if I were an
actual genius.
Just when I was about to take an early break, someone requested entrance
to my office. I granted permission, and my butler, Brian Beaumont, entered. He
was slender, dressed in a handsome tailcoat, with swept-back gray hair. He
looked as if he were only approaching his golden years, but with the anti-aging
technology available in this world, that meant he was actually of a rather
incredible age. Brian had been working for House Banfield since before I was
born. He stood before me now with a kind smile on his face.
"Great news, Master Liam! We've made the arrangements for your noble
training!"
It seemed that Brian had finally found a house that would take me in.
From how happy he looked, it must have been a good house too.
"I see. So where is it?" I asked as I spun my still-childlike body around in
my chair.
I could see Brian's shoulders sag with disappointment at my attitude.
"You don't appear very interested."
Of course I'm not going to be interested in studying at some other
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noble's house. "I have to say, it doesn't sound very appealing. What do I have to
train for? I mean, it's just going over to someone else's house and living there in
luxury, right? It's basically a vacation."
All you needed was to be able to say you had gone to train with someone.
It just seemed like a custom for strengthening the bonds between different
houses.
Brian tried to deepen my understanding of the convention. "That's not
true. The house you'll be staying with for your training is quite a popular one,
Master Liam. From what I hear, you will be able to receive proper instruction
there."
"It doesn't make a difference where I go. Pay them enough money, and
they'll happily take me in and entertain me. Well, it won't be very comfortable
living in someone else's domain, but I'll bear with it for three years."
This training in name only had to be endured for at least three years, so I
would be at the mercy of another house for that time period. The only question
was what kind of place this other planet would be.
"So? What sort of house will I be staying with?"
Brian presented me with some files. "You'll be staying in the domain of
House Razel. It is a very popular location for young nobles to study, and they
accept dozens of students each year. The viscount owns a number of planets and
asteroids with plentiful resources, and his domain produces a vast amount of
processed metals for export."
According to Brian's explanation, the Razels were wealthy, but the
house's territory was surrounded by other families' domains, so it had no
potential for further expansion. Since expansion would be difficult, the lord
struggled with ascending beyond viscount status.
"A house that can't grow any further, eh? Meanwhile, we've just started
expanding our own territory." I shot a look at Amagi, who nodded. She seemed
to catch my meaning.
"Yes. House Banfield's territory is vast, with much potential for
expansion. We possess several habitable planets, but since they have been
untouched until now, they need to be developed."
Until recently I had only focused on developing my home planet, but now
that I had more funds, I was starting to look into other planets as well. I'd
already moved some settlers to one of them, who'd begun making it into a
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habitable colony. I was grateful for all the extra cash.
"We're going to keep working at developing my domain. As for Viscount
Razel... I'm looking forward to what sort of welcome he'll show me."
"You should make use of the education capsule once more before then,"
Amagi suggested.
"I have to sleep for a while again?"
"Only a short period this time. You may leave everything to me while you
sleep, Master."
Well, I didn't want to bring any more shame on my house during my
training, so I decided to go along with her suggestion. "All right, I'll entrust
operations to you, Amagi."
I was confident operations would be fine if Amagi handled them, but
Brian looked a little forlorn.
"You have something to say, Brian?"
"Master Liam, you could rely on me a little too, couldn't you?"
What's this geezer getting all emotional for?
"You can just be quiet and do your job."
Brian sulked. "So cold, Master Liam..."
***
In the next room, a man had been listening in on Liam's conversation with
his personal assistants. He wore a striped tailcoat and a top hat that concealed his
eyes, and he carried a traveling bag in one hand. This suspicious-looking man
called himself "the Guide."
This Guide was the supernatural entity who had reincarnated Liam into
this world. He was not a well-meaning creature, however, despite how he'd
presented himself. In fact, he was more like an incarnation of evil. He thrived on
negative emotions, and to that end, he sent people's lives spiraling into darkness
with a smile on his face.
Liam's suffering in his past life had all been the Guide's doing. The
Guide's string-pulling had culminated in Liam's betrayal and his lonely,
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miserable death. However, Liam knew nothing about any of that and in fact felt
grateful to the Guide, considering him a savior who'd made his second life
possible.
As for the Guide, he was tormented by Liam's feelings of gratitude. He
had been so weakened by them that he could no longer summon the full extent
of his powers. On top of that, he'd become so frightened by the boy that he was
forced to hide in the next room when eavesdropping, hoping to avoid detection.
Upon hearing that Liam was about to go study with another noble family,
however, the Guide came up with a brand-new scheme, and the corners of his
lips turned up in a crescent-moon smile.
"This is my chance."
Though he was smiling, he clutched his chest in agony. Liam's gratitude
rippled through him, making him physically ill. Headache, nausea, dizziness,
palpitations, shortness of breath... If negative emotions were a sumptuous feast
for the Guide, then positive feelings, like gratitude, were poison to him.
Previously, he would cross between worlds and do as he pleased. He got
his kicks from making numerous people unhappy. By now, though, he had lost
most of his power and could no longer move between worlds. All he could do
was wait for his chance to gain his power back—to enact revenge against Liam.
That revenge wouldn't be fulfilled until he had plunged Liam into despair and
consumed his negative emotions. Yet the Guide had a serious obstacle in moving
forward.
"I have this chance, but I still can't push myself right now. Damn it, Liam,
why do I have to feel so miserable, all because of you?"
With his strength so compromised, the Guide couldn't exert much energy
into making Liam suffer. He could pull off little more than pranks now. Still, the
Guide wouldn't give up.
"There must be a way. I will have my vengeance, Liam!"
The Guide put his ear back to the wall, again listening in on Liam's
conversation, his wicked hunger for revenge burning inside him. They were
discussing House Razel, where Liam would be going for his noble training.
"Hmm, so Liam will be leaving his domain. If I'm going to interfere,
perhaps I should do it there instead of his home turf." The Guide considered his
options, muttering to himself. "Yes! I'll head to Viscount Razel's before he even
gets there. I hope you're ready, Liam—I'll make you unhappy this time for
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sure!"
And hopefully finish you off there, the Guide thought as he floated
upward and passed through the ceiling.
From the shadows, a small white light observed the Guide as he departed.
This light hovered in the air, glaring up at the ceiling where the Guide had
passed through.
In its shape, it resembled a dog.
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