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nBrian, who was a butler for the Banfield family, lamented in his heart as he looked over the mansion.

nThe mansion that the former Banfield Earl renovated was quite unique and wacky, conservatively speaking.

nUnreservedly speaking, it was in bad taste.

nWhenever visitors arrived, their faces would wince and they’d avoid topics that had to do with the mansion.

nThere were many of them who had a hard time holding in their laughter.

nThe hallways winded around inefficiently, almost akin to a maze.

nIt wasn’t uncommon for newcomers to lose their way.

nAs Brian walked down the corridor, he could overhear some servants chatting in hushed voices.

nThey came from a young man and women, respectively.

nThe young man was actually the gardener, but it seems he left his work to a machine today.

nHe was talking to an unconventional maid whose uniform included a mini-skirt rather than a normal one.

n“Isn’t it fine?”

n“But if we’re found out, we’ll get into a lot of trouble.”

n“Its okay, there are some rooms that aren’t in use anymore we can go to.”

nThe man grabbed the maid’s shoulders and pulled her away somewhere.

nEven if Brian did run into them, he wouldn’t even greet them.

nWhile hiring these employees, their appearance had taken precedent over the necessary skills and character needed for their jobs.

nBrian lamented.

n“For things to fall this far…”

nThings were different in the past.

nWhen Brian first started serving the Banfield family, the house was orderly and the servants were serious.

nAll of this is because Liam’s grandfather had destroyed the territory.

nHe had oppressed the people, and the house’s finances were poorly allocated.

nWhen the debt swelled, he pushed it all off onto his son Cliff and ran away to the Star Capital.

nThese thoughts depressed Brian as he thought about the Earl house’s former glory. Shaking it off, he straightened his spine and approached the office door.

nHe tentatively touched the electronic device mounted on the wall.

n“Lord Liam? It’s Brian.”

nA voice came out of the device in response.

n“–You may enter.”

nIt was an irritated voice that didn’t match its young inflection.

nAs the door opened and Brian entered the office, he could see Liam, who had Amagi by his side as he worked.

nThe desk was made for a fully grown man, but the chair was built for a child.

nLiam’s countenance showcased one of a child who was doing their best to hold in their complaints.

nNext to Liam, Amagi was acting as his secretary as she supported him.

n“Lord Liam, can I get you anything?”

nWhen Liam stood up from his chair, he joined his hands behind his back.

nDespite being a child still, it looks like he was doing a splendid job.

n“…Brian, I have never left the house before, did you know that?”

n“Ah, yes. Even the rehabilitation exercises we had you do a few days were done inside the mansion.”

nThere was no need to go outside.

nHe was hoping that Liam wouldn’t notice.

n-What would he think once he realizes that house he lives in was built in such bad taste?

n“Don’t you think that this house is too terrible?”

nBrian wanted to agree, but as a butler who served the family he couldn’t bad mouth the predecessor’s tastes.

n“I think it’s a very creative build.”

n“Don’t patronize me!”

nLiam exclaimed furiously as he stomped the ground with his small body.

nHe sent a look towards Amagi, where she nodded before bringing up a projection on the various renovations and buildings created by both Cliff’s generation and his grandfather.

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nHouses, villas and many buildings were projected around Brian.

nIrrefutably, it was a horrendous sight.

n“Are they stupid? Are they STUPID?! Why would they build all these in such strange shapes?! They’re only making the buildings harder to live in!”

nAll of them were bad houses.

nSome of the houses were given to relatives.

nHowever, there weren’t any relatives who knew about the Banfield house’s financial situation because all of them have already fled to the Star Capital.

nThe fact that Liam was only five-years-old, yet was already the lord of the territory was no problem either, as none of his relatives opposed it.

n–because there were no such relatives living in the territory in the first place.

nAs for the knights, many of their successors left to serve other houses, or have completely abandoned the territory all together with the last generation.

nIt’s the people who’re left that manage the territory now.

nThe military is a more of a militia run by the populace too.

nIf Liam doesn’t have any vassals around him, then he can’t rely or delegate duties to them.

n(We have a lot of hard work ahead of us. Fleeing to the city, and forcing all their problems onto a child… If this was still Lord Alistair’s era, there’s no way things like this would happen.)

nLiam made a declaration before Brian.

n“Take them all down, this mansion as well. I’ll prepare a residence suitable for myself.”

nBrian started to panic.

n“W-wait, where do you plan to live in the meantime then?”

nLiam looked a little sad.

n“It doesn’t matter, anywhere will do.”

nAmagi followed up perfectly just when I was feeling troubled.

n“Master, please be patient and wait for us to set up a new residence first.”

n“Why should I?”

n“If we really are going to demolish them all, we should do it bit by bit to reduce maintenance costs, and in the meantime we’ll prepare a suitable house for you, Master. Until then, why don’t we first build a small house with the bare minimum of required utilities. How about that?”

nPrepare a house for a minimalist before building a luxurious residence.

nBrian couldn’t help but relax at the proposal.

n(Is this better than shouldering another new debt? No, wouldn’t there still be deficits from the dismantling costs?)

nLiam stopped to think for a little, before accepting Amagi’s plan.

n“True, I should take the time to build my house carefully. Taking that into consideration, do we have enough money to spare?”

nAmagi then started to talk about their upcoming plans.

n“We’re a bit under, so I recommend that we reorganise the military forces at the main base-”

n“Reorganise the military?”

nLords and nobles are allowed to have their own personal armies.

nLiam had only just started working recently and wasn’t familiar with the territory.

nAmagi then presented the data to Liam’s admiration.

n“We have 30,000 space battleships?”

nAmagi looked up from the data,

n“We do, but the occupancy rate for them is less than 20%.”

nOut of the 30,000 ships, there were no more than 6000 in active duty.

nIn addition, they were all old outdated models. They were no more than 30,000 paper-mache tigers, they looked scary but that was it.

n“You can leave it as it is, but we only need a minimum of 3000 ships, so let’s cut military funding. Our upkeep expenses will be reduced by several magnitudes if we do.”

n“Is that enough for the territory? I am the ruler of an entire galaxy, you know?”

nWhen you think about things on a galactic scale, would even the full force of 30,000 be enough?

nBrian knew the answer to that question and in truth-

n…its difficult to say,

n“Lord Liam, we certainly have the administrative rights to an entire galaxy, but we can barely manage this one planet and its resources alone. We simply don’t have enough personnel.”

n“Understood, then we’ll take a disarmament policy for the time being.”

nAlthough the territory under his dominion was wide, there were only a few locations that were actually managed by him.

n“Now, let’s being the restructuring right away, it looks like we have some hope in securing a budget.”

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n“Stop making that face.”

nAfter being told that, Brian couldn’t help but panic a little.

nIt was quite concerning that Liam seemed to easily take to the opinions of an artificial intelligence.

n“Please wait one moment! Lord Liam, its customary in the Empire to at least have a force equivalent to 10,000 ships! If we break down the military that much we might get invaded by our neighboring lords! This is a very dangerous venture!”

nLiam looked troubled, so Amagi gave her opinion as well,

n“Their militaries are quite old fashioned as well, so the neighboring lords only have their fleets for the sake of showmanship. Well, I imagine they

ngo on the attack if we started reinforcing ourselves with new arms from the Empire.”

nOne-tenth of our current forces was enough.

nBut it’s still true that the neighboring lords are dangerous, this is a gamble.

nThis opinion needed to be heard.

nEven without the lords, there were still many dangerous individuals in the universe.

nSuch as space pirates.

n“Lord Liam, it’s important to have a fleet! Please reconsider!”

nBut Liam rejected the plea.

n“I don’t need paper-mache tigers, what I need is an army that can actually fight. Amagi, we’re proceeding with the reorganization.”

nAmagi then describes the future plans in detail.

n“We’ll do our best to re-educate and re-train our current forces. After that, I recommend that we slowly build up and expand the military in accordance to our financial situation.”

nLiam seemed satisfied with that plan.

n“Finish up quickly.”

n—Brian couldn’t help but think,

n(This child’s determination… it reminds me of the Earl I once admired.)

nLiam’s great grandfather Alistair, was a fine nobleman.

nBrian couldn’t help but superimpose that image onto Liam.

nHis only downside was how he seemed to have a sweet spot for his android.

n◇ ◇ ◇

n…this, sucks.

nAfter I stepped out of the capsule I had to go through some physical therapy and tutoring for a while, but when I got to work I was stunned by the territory’s current situation.

n“There’s nothing for me to squeeze out of them! They’ve already been squeezed dry!”

nThis is a universe where science and magic should’ve developed equally.

nYet the lives of the people living in my territory looked worse than those living in modern Japan from my previous life.

nThis was an intergalactic state.

nEven though we were living in an era where space battleships went to war by firing epic lasers at each other and such, it looks like my territory has been left behind by the times.

nIf things are like this, it’d be impossible for me to oppress the populace any more than they already have been.

nIn the first place, this was the Banfield House’s territory, so why is it so desolate?

n“How come nobody tried to develop the territory?”

nAmagi swiftly provides an answer to my complaints.

n“Even if you didn’t do anything, it’ll develop. As the noble who rules over them, the easiest path would be to just let them grow the way they want to. Trying to develop the area yourself is a very difficult thing to do and manage.”

n“Employ artificial intelligences to manage the projects!”

n“You’re the only one who would accept such conditions. At the very least, I’ll be here to assist you whenever possible.”

nThey wrung them out to dry and took everything they could without leaving the populace enough resources to sustain and grow the territory themselves.

nIt seems like they thought it’d be fine as long as they just threw some of them into learning capsules if they wanted knowledge, while throwing manpower to those who were silent.

nThe oppressed people were just forcibly taught a multitude of things, the majority of which being knowledge that they couldn’t even put into practical use.

nThere was nowhere for me to mess around with.

nAs an Evil Lord, I’m already in a crisis!

n“This… did my parents just force onto me the ruined territory that they couldn’t save themselves?”

nDid the guide lie to me?

nThat can’t be. I shook my head in denial as Amagi spoke to me softly,

n“Master, the Banfield family’s territory is definitely in a bad situation, but there’s nowhere we can go but up from here. If you manage the tax and territory correctly, we can probably rebound in ten to twenty years.”

nPeople have long life expectancy in this era.

nIn this universe you become an adult once you turn fifty years old.

nBut even at the age of fifty, what was terrifying is that they could still have the appearance of someone from my previous life in their teenage years.

nWith that said, twenty years wasn’t actually a long time in comparison to my lifespan.

n“…it’ll only take twenty years?”

n“Yes, in twenty years the territory will recover.”

nIf Amagi says so then it has to be true.

nEven if I want to oppress them, there’s no point if the people have nothing for me to take in the first place.

nBesides, my body is still young.

nI have plenty of time to learn the ropes and make some investments.

nThere’s no problem as long as I can collect the profits later.

n“If we don’t have the necessary budget at the moment, then let’s just invest it all. I’ll reap the profits from them eventually. In any case, Amagi, I want power.”

n“You want to increase your forces? If it’s about weapo-”

n“No, I’m talking about individual power. My own personal power.”

n“You want to train your body?”

n“Yes, I want to be strong. Martial arts or anything is fine.”

nI’ve already suffered quite a bit from simple violence.

nWhenever the repo men came to collect on the debts, I couldn’t help but quake in fear.

nEven though I believed that violence is meaningless, I had to acknowledge that power is something necessary in certain situations.

nTo be able to step on others, I need strength.

nI want to have the power to not be afraid of others.

nI want to be ready in case things get violent.

nI want to be strong for that reason.

n“Master, I don’t believe that’s necessary, but if that’s your wish, then I can gather the minimum things needed.”

n“Rejected, gather for me the best teachers you can find.”

nIn order to not be robbed of anything ever again.

nI wanted the power- to steal everything from them first.

n◇ ◇ ◇

nThe guide was standing there in a black space.

nHe set his travel bag down and was grinning while watching a video.

nThe video shown was that of the woman that Liam used to be married to in his previous life. It had only been a few years, and yet she had grown so haggard.

n“You’ve been through quite a lot, haven’t you? You’re a complete mess, and your hair is filthy.”

nHe froze the video on the image of her together with both her original daughter and two new children.

nThe guide looked upon the image of the former wife with joy.

nAll around him were images of people who were just as miserable.

n“Oops, I’ve been distracted for too long, I can’t forget about him now. Let’s see, what’s the situation?”

nHe cocked his head.

nThere was the reincarnator- Liam, who was now seven years old1 and talking to a robot.

nHe was laughing.

n“It’s amazing how something that looks so alive is actually just some manufactured doll. In addition, he hasn’t even realized that by keeping it nearby he’s been compromising his social status. Now this has potential.”

nEven though he put him in such a terrible environment, his spirits are still high.

nIn the video, Liam suddenly declared that he wanted power.

nHuman who had been threatened with violence in the past, yet wanted that same power in their next lives- the guide loved humans like that.

n“I want the power to make sure I never lose anything important to me ever again! It might be a long and difficult path to change, but that’s fine!”

nThe guide reached out and touched the picture.

nBlack smoke started to emanate from his body and penetrated into the image.

n“I’ll give you this small gift. It’s my motto to always have a good after-sales service ready!”

nThe personnel needed were ready.

nHe searched for the man that was going to become Liam’s teacher and forcibly made a connection.

nThe man was going to be Liam’s master of martial arts anyway, so…

n“I hope you have fun, Liam. I’ll make sure I’m there to grab you once everything falls apart.”

nThe guide then continued to watch Liam with his crescent-like smile.

n◇ ◇ ◇

nThe Banfield House Port.

nA man had arrived there.

nWearing a kimono.

nHe was also wearing a hakama, so his appearance was similar to that of a samurai- no, a ronin.

nThere was a sword hanging on his waist.

n“It’s been awhile since I’ve been to the frontier.”

nThe man’s name was Yasushi.

nHe looked a bit vulgar, but he was the man that had come to teach Liam martial arts.

nOriginally, the master of martial arts Amagi requested for was another man.

nHowever, due to the bad reputation surrounding the Banfield family, the master declined the request.

nAnd passed it off to Yasushi instead.

n‘Take this request in my place, and bring me the reward.’

nYasushi was in the master’s debt, so he accepted- albeit reluctantly.

nThe master nominated Yasushi to go in his place, and in turn this decided who Liam’s teacher would be.

nHowever- Yasushi had a secret.

nWhile it is true that he had learned many martial arts, he couldn’t use them any of them without being hit by dizzy spells.

nHe was the kind of liar that would say he mastered martial arts, and then show off a couple tricks for an applause while earning a quick buck.

n“I’m told my client’s just a brat, so this should be easy enough. Even so, it’s a shame that he ended up with me as his teacher.”

nHe was going to teach him, he was going to teach him everything he could.

nHowever, secret techniques and such were impossible.

nIf he’s just some spoiled brat then he’ll get tired of things soon enough. Though it would be nice to have a more moderate kid to boss around.

n“Even so, for him to ask for a sword master… he’s probably a strange one.”

nSwords were used in this era, but they weren’t that prominent anymore.

nThey still had a certain popularity, sure, but even then most would choose a western sword to master instead.

nYasushi had also followed the way of the sword for a long time.

n“Now, I wonder how much money I’ll be able to squeeze out of this kid…”

nIn a nutshell, this man was a faker.

nThe man who scams others with tricks was chosen by the guide’s malice to become Liam’s master.

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