"--This can't be happening."

Standing frozen on the Banfield family's home planet was the Guide.

This time, the Guide had only driven Liam to another planet and slightly stimulated the desires of those left behind.

However, the Banfield family's territory had fallen into great chaos.

The revelation that Liam had been summoned and was now missing had thrown the populace into confusion.

Not just the mansion, but even the knights and soldiers were in disarray.

Tia and Marie had taken advantage of the chaos to rise up, and some knights and soldiers had followed them.

"I just gave them a little push."

He had stimulated their desires a little and given them a push.

He never imagined it would become such a huge mess just from that.

Both Tia and Marie had committed the outrageous act of rising up in Liam's absence.

As for Chensy--for some reason, she was trying to kill Liam's junior disciples, so the Guide didn't care about her.

Furthermore, Isaac had stormed into Liam's mansion, and Baron Norden was acting as he pleased.

Isaac was an arrogant child, easily manipulated by Baron Norden.

Moreover, Baron Norden was working on the Cleo faction, which Liam led.

--Corrupt nobles were gathering to devour Liam's territory.

To put it simply, the situation was like a line of falling dominoes.

The Banfield family, without Liam, was in more chaos than the Guide had ever imagined.

"It's coming! My time has come!"

He never thought the territory would be pushed this far just by Liam's absence.

The Guide clenched his fists, trembling with joy.

"Alright! I'll steal Liam's treasures, and when he returns, I'll make him taste despair. --Now, where is that alchemy box?"

The alchemy box Liam possessed--it was a dream-like tool that could create gold even from garbage.

Because he possessed the alchemy box, Liam was free from financial constraints.

It was Liam's most important source of wealth.

If he stole it, Liam's actions would be restricted from now on.

And by the time he returned, his territory would be ravaged, and it would take decades--or even centuries--to regain his former power.

The Guide skipped as he headed towards the location of the alchemy box.

"I can't wait to see the look of despair on your face."

The mansion's basement.

There, a dedicated hangar for Avid had been prepared.

Avid was equipped with a rare item called a Machine Heart, allowing it to move on its own now.

However, it rarely moved without a command from Liam.

Recognizing Liam as its master, it didn't allow anyone other than maintenance personnel to board it.

Approaching Avid's cockpit was Ellen, who had come while hugging Liam's katana.

She was sniffling and crying.

"Master--he's gone."

Liam was absent, and her fellow disciples, Rinho and Fuuka, were fighting to the death with Chensy day after day.

No one was teaching her the One-Flash Style, and on top of that, her beloved master was gone, so she seemed to have grown lonely.

She had likely come to Avid's cockpit in search of a place where she could feel Liam's presence.

Avid's eyes moved, watching Ellen.

Normally, it wouldn't let even Ellen on board, but perhaps thinking she wouldn't cause any trouble, it opened the cockpit.

When Ellen climbed in, she sat in the seat and hugged the katana.

Avid closed the hatch, but then a suspicious presence approached.

--It was the Guide.

"My, my, I never thought you'd hide the alchemy box in a place like this. You must not be able to trust anyone, I suppose. But that has nothing to do with me!"

As the Guide approached, Avid activated its defense systems.

Guns and other weapons emerged from the walls and attacked the Guide--but none of them reached him.

Live rounds, lasers, beams--none of them reached him.

"It's useless! Did you really think you could get me with something like this?!"

The Guide had been beaten by Liam up until now, but he wasn't a weak being.

When the Guide arrived in front of the cockpit, Avid moved its hands to protect it.

However, when the Guide spread his arms--Avid was overpowered.

"As if I'd lose to a piece of scrap metal without Liam in it!! --Now then, once I've taken the alchemy box, I'll destroy you too."

Avid's cockpit hatch opened--and there, a small golden knife was floating.

"--Huh?"

The Guide's thoughts came to a halt.

Sleeping inside the cockpit was Ellen, preciously hugging Liam's katana.

"--Master."

As she mumbled in her sleep, more small knives appeared one after another.

They all pointed their tips at the Guide.

"St-stop. Y-y-y-you little girl, stop it."

The Guide began to panic, but the sleeping Ellen couldn't hear a thing.

One of the small knives stabbed into the Guide's temple, and he fell backward.

One by one, the small knives pierced the Guide's body, reducing him once again to just a hat.

"I-I just revived! Y-you'll pay for this!"

The Guide, in the form of a hat with arms and legs, fled.

And Avid thought.

--It had to become stronger.

On Avid's surface, something like blood vessels emerged, changing its internal structure.

"Malice! I'll gather single-minded malice in this territory!"

Having been reduced to just a hat, the Guide began gathering the malice within Liam's territory.

Then, he decided to inform the entire Empire of Liam's absence and gather malicious nobles--and pirates.

"I'll destroy everything you've built! Fuhahaha! By the time you get back, your territory will be a burnt-out wasteland!!"

Having had his body destroyed by Ellen, he was acting out of irritation and desperation.

The Guide had an idea.

"That's it, Calvin! I'll support him too. Knowing him, he won't miss this opportunity. I'll help him gather allies and let him run rampant."

To bring misfortune to Liam's territory, the Guide decided to support Calvin.

"I'm a lucky guy."

As I muttered this on my bed, Kunai, who was waiting by my side, nodded.

"I believe so. But what's come over you so suddenly?"

She's a member of the black ops who usually guards me with few words, but since I'm bored this time, I'm making her talk to me.

Because I have no one to talk to.

"No, I just had a feeling that some good luck had come my way."

"You have such feelings?"

"Of course. I have a god of luck on my side. Anyway, how are things looking?"

Looking out the window, it was bright outside despite it being night.

Torches were lined up on the city's defensive walls, where a battle was raging.

"The beastmen have the upper hand. This country's soldiers are too weak."

"It's not so bad to watch a country fall with my own eyes."

In a way, this is a luxury too.

Outside, the army of the Aarl Kingdom is fighting desperately, but I'm just relaxing on my bed.

I was watching from a safe distance.

"So? How's Kanami doing?"

"--That woman, brazenly stating her displeasure with Lord Liam's attitude, ended up boasting that she would drive back the enemy herself. She'll probably die soon."

I heard she gained incredible power as a Hero, but it seems that's still not enough to push back the enemy.

"The Aarl Kingdom was too slow to act. If they had summoned a Hero while they still had some leeway, they could have trained her properly."

It's probably useless to just throw someone with only power onto a battlefield.

That queen... she's hopeless.

"Lord Liam, I believe it's about time."

"Then let's go."

I stood up, stretched, and left the room with Kunai.

Night.

Woken up by Enora, Kanami was putting on her armor in a dark room, relying on the light of a single candle.

The maids around her were helping, but they were all frightened.

"They're attacking at this time of night?"

Kanami was surprised too.

Enora was also surprised, but she entrusted the kingdom to Kanami.

"It's quite unusual. Friendly fire increases at night, you see. But I suppose that doesn't matter much to the beastmen."

Facing a real battle, Kanami's hands were trembling.

(I'm scared. I'm supposed to be stronger, but I'm so scared.)

Enora grasped Kanami's hand, entrusting her with her wish.

"Lady Kanami, please protect us. Please protect our innocent people from the cruel beastmen."

Kanami looked at Enora, thinking she was different from the queen she had imagined.

"Leave it to me."

(She's always thinking of her people. I see, so this is what royalty is like.)

On the walls of the Aarl Kingdom, a fierce battle was taking place.

Having been attacked at night, the kingdom's side was fighting against the beastmen.

The ones attacking were beastmen who scaled the walls with ease.

Sturdy warriors climbed the wall and were surrounded by soldiers.

One of the beastmen crushed a soldier's head with his hand.

"Weak, so weak! As if we would lose to the likes of you humans!"

The soldiers were falling one after another.

Appearing on such a battlefield was Kanami, holding a sword.

Seeing the corpses of soldiers strewn about, anger welled up inside Kanami.

"--I won't forgive you."

The beastmen were laughing boisterously.

"A woman has come out! This means there are only a few soldiers left. This war is ours-- huh, what?"

A deep wound had appeared on the beastman's abdomen, and blood was gushing out.

He crouched, pressing his hand against it.

Kanami stood there trembling, holding her sword.

The surrounding beastmen's eyes changed, and they rushed at Kanami.

But Kanami deflected all of their attacks.

She slashed at their arms and legs, and the beastmen fell.

"Hah-- hah--"

Kanami was frightened by the sensation of having cut someone.

Then, the surrounding soldiers brought their spears and began stabbing the beastmen.

"Die, die!"
"For my son!"
"All hail the Hero!"

The soldiers praised Kanami.

When she came to her senses, most of the enemy beastmen who had climbed the wall were dead.

A few managed to escape, but it was a victory for the Aarl Kingdom.

"We won! It's our victory!"

Seeing this scene, Kanami couldn't believe it.

(I didn't have any strength left to fight.)

With deep cuts on their limbs, the beastmen had lost their ability to resist.

The soldiers who unhesitatingly delivered the finishing blows were terrifying.

As Kanami collapsed on the spot, the dawn broke.

Facing the beastmen who had fled, the Lion King Nogo was about to swing down his great battle-axe.

"W-wait. The Hero--"

After cutting down the failed beastman in front of everyone, Nogo raised his face, splattered with blood.

"I don't care if it's a Hero. At this point, we'll break through the castle gate and enter the city. Everyone, devour everything!"

When he raised his battle-axe, the beastmen all cheered at once.

Watching this, Glass clicked his tongue softly.

"Brute force, huh. A lot more of our comrades will die because of this."

Nogo was certainly strong, but because of that, he favored brute force.

He was intoxicated with the idea of crushing the enemy before him.

Glass's daughter, Chino, ran up to him.

"Father! The battle is finally beginning!"

Seeing his daughter's sparkling eyes, Glass placed a hand on her head.

Her perked-up ears drooped happily.

"Survive, no matter what. Strong warriors are the ones who survive."

"I will defeat the enemy and make everyone acknowledge that I'm strong, just like you, Father."

"Just you--"

It was at that moment.

The clamoring beastmen fell silent all at once.

Faced with the intimidating presence emanating from within the castle gate, no one could speak.

Chino tucked her tail between her legs.

"F-Father, this feeling--c-could it be the Demon Lord from the rumors?"

When Glass glanced at Nogo, it seemed that wasn't the case.

Nogo was on guard as well.

"All troops, take your positions!"

At Nogo's command, each tribe moved at once, forming up and taking their stances.

Faced with the intimidating presence from the gate, the easy-victory mood the beastmen had earlier was gone.

Nogo gestured with his head to a nearby tribe, ordering them to go.

The beastmen charged.

No arrows were fired from the castle walls.

And the moment the beastmen neared the wall--the castle gate opened, inviting them in.

"What the-!?"

Glass's eyes widened in astonishment at the enemy's impossible action.

What he could see was the cityscape of the Aarl Kingdom--and a single man standing there.

He had a thin sword slung over his shoulder and was looking this way with a smirk.

And he was making a "come at me" gesture with his hand.

Thinking he'd been provoked, Nogo commanded his entire army.

"Unforgivable. You dare provoke me, Nogo? --All troops, charge!"

As the beastmen charged, Glass's intuition alone told him that entering the city would be a bad idea.

No, many of the beastmen probably realized it.

But they followed Nogo's order and charged anyway.

Glass's command was delayed, and Chino's group ended up falling behind the other tribes.

"Father, the order to charge has been given! Let's charge quickly!"

Glass was terrified of the man he could see beyond the castle gate.

But the order was absolute.

If they disobeyed, their entire tribe would be destroyed.

"--We will charge as well."

The wolf tribe let out a howl and followed the flow of their charging allies.

However, Glass couldn't stop the cold sweat from pouring.

Brian (´；ω；｀): "The Guide got what he deserved, he did."

Wakagi-chan ( ゜∀゜): "The manga version of 'The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs' volumes 1 and 2 have gotten another reprint! This must be thanks to my popularity!"

Brian (； ・`ω・´): (She doesn't even appear in volumes 1 or 2, yet she insists it's thanks to her? What an audacious plant.)

Brian (´；ω；｀): (But if I say anything, she'll get angry, so I have no choice but to stay silent--it's painful.)