The Interstellar Nation, the Algrand Empire.

Could a nation with a system of nobility, headed by an emperor, even establish an interstellar state?

One might harbor such doubts, but the reality is the opposite.

A territory the size of an interstellar nation is simply too vast for the ruling class to manage completely.

Considering the cost of governance, it's cheaper to entrust it to someone else.

For that reason, the system of nobility was revived.

There might have been a lot more to it before that, but—such minor details are irrelevant.

What's important is that I, [Liam Sera Banfield], hold the rank of Count in this massive empire and rule over numerous planets.

"Everything within my domain belongs to me. Even human lives are no exception. Don't you agree?"

Having returned to my own territory, I am now in the reception room of my mansion, facing a beautiful woman.

A tall elf with characteristically long ears, wearing a traditional ethnic dress, sat before me.

The thin, beautiful white dress clearly revealed the lines of her body.

It was embroidered, and the design was quite unique.

The female elf had beautiful white skin and blue eyes.

A beauty so perfect it seemed artificial. It makes me want to puke.

Flanking her stood two more elves, also tall.

Acting as her guards, perhaps, they looked down on me as I sat on the sofa.

Ostensibly, they're acting deferential, but I know that in their hearts, they're looking down on me.

Elves—they were a long-lived race, but this is a world where humans can live for over five hundred years.

Elves, who only live for about three hundred years, are treated as a short-lived species.

Furthermore, they don't possess a major power base like humans do, making their position extremely weak.

Despite this, the reason they look down on humans is likely due to their arrogance, believing themselves to be beautiful—and sought after.

Many humans are still captivated by elves.

The established theory is that it's not just their physical beauty, but also a magical charm that people perceive.

So, even in this world, elves are considered mystical beings.

I have absolutely no interest in them.

The reason I'm acting so brazenly in front of these elves is, for one, because this is my territory.

And for another, it's because they've had the gall to demand that I 'return' one of the planets I own.

The female elf was a High Elf, a special race among elves, and was treated as royalty by her people.

As such, her attitude was also somewhat condescending.

"A very noble way of thinking. However, the planet the Count possesses is our ancient homeland."

"Your homeland is a ruined, dried-up planet? Demanding it back the moment I finally succeed in terraforming it is far too convenient. Elves are a shameless bunch, aren't they?"

When I provoked them, the two guards narrowed their eyes slightly.

However, the elven queen didn't panic.

"The revival of our homeland is surely the will of the universe, telling us to return and prosper. On the revived planet, a World Tree exists. It must be difficult for you, Lord Count, to manage a World Tree. Am I wrong?"

The World Tree—a sacred plant that produces Elixirs.

However, it is said that humans cannot manage it.

Securing a supply of Elixirs would be extremely beneficial for my territory, but that's irrelevant to me right now.

If I want Elixirs, I just have to hunt pirates.

Defeating them adds to my list of achievements.

The resulting wreckage is turned into resources by the alchemy box I possess.

And their souls are collected by the planetary development device and turned into Elixirs.

There's a saying about 'sucking someone dry to the bone,' but I'm an evil lord who sucks them dry down to their very souls.

Pirates are my wallet.

They are beings who rampage across the galaxy, gather treasure, and then offer up their very lives just to make me rich.

As long as there are pirates, I won't have any trouble at all.

However.

Securing a World Tree is a kind of status symbol for a lord.

When talking with other nobles, I can assert dominance by saying, 'My territory has a World Tree, you know!'

To maintain that kind of prestige, I think keeping these elves around wouldn't be a bad idea.

"Well, fine. I'll give it some thought. If you work for me, I might just acknowledge your existence."

As I showed my arrogant attitude, the elves directed killing intent at me, all while smiling.

—Well, it'll take more than that to kill me, though.

Amagi, who had been listening to the conversation, announced the next guest.

"Master, it is almost time for your meeting with the next guest."

"I have a lot of guests today."

I've been repeating conversations like this dozens of times since this morning.

Whenever I return to the mansion, guests always flock to me like this.

The elves leave the room.

◇

The elven queen, having left the room, furrowed her brow.

"That filthy human brat."

Despite being younger than her, he never once dropped his insolent attitude.

Because he hadn't been swayed by her beauty, the queen disliked Liam.

All the humans she had dealt with until now, even nobles, had been delighted to be in her presence.

But that didn't work on Liam.

One of the guards spoke to her.

"However, a planet with a World Tree is precious. We must obtain it at all costs."

"That's right. If we do, we can use the Elixirs to bring prosperity to our clan. Even if we drain the World Tree until it withers, we'll be secure for several hundred years."

Elves are indeed a race that can manage World Trees, but they cause trees that should live for tens of thousands of years to wither in just a few centuries.

They are a race that has prospered by draining Elixirs and destroying planets.

There are not a few elves like this.

For the elves who try to manage World Trees properly, it is an outrageous matter.

However, with humans having established an interstellar nation, the once-revered elves are now treated as a minority race.

There were also elves who could not forgive this.

As they walked down a massive corridor, the next guests arrived.

A small man and a large man.

The difference in their sizes was extreme.

The small man was about 120 centimeters tall, while the large man was two and a half meters.

Both were wearing suits, but they looked so clumsy that the queen couldn't help but laugh.

The small man was a goblin, and the large man was an orc.

Judged by human standards of beauty, their forms were quite ugly compared to elves.

The two approaching from the opposite direction showed vexed expressions upon seeing the queen.

In this world, if you trace their origins, elves, goblins, and orcs share a common ancestor.

The beautifully evolved elves, and the hideously evolved goblins and orcs.

Both are treated as minority races in this universe.

The queen could guess why the two had come to see Liam.

"It seems you want to acquire the planet with the World Tree, but you're a little too late. The Count will surely choose us. Wandering through space is what suits you ugly creatures."

Goblins and orcs are also races capable of managing World Trees.

However, because both are considered ugly, their homelands are often taken from them.

The reason is that elves use humans to drive out the other two races and seize their planets.

The lords, too, would rather have beautiful elves on their planets.

Even if it means the elves will cause the World Tree to wither.

Humans don't know that the elves are the ones causing them to wither, nor would they believe it.

This is, ironically, because there are elves who do manage World Trees conscientiously.

And so, the goblin and orc who came to see Liam had been driven from their homeland by elves in the past and had become wanderers in space.

On a planet without a World Tree, life is difficult for them as well.

They wander through space, searching for a planet with a World Tree.

The goblin seemed to have realized what the elven queen and her followers were plotting.

"Causing the sacred World Tree to wither and destroying a star is a bad thing, gob. Besides, that place is also the homeland of us goblins and orcs, gob."

One of the planets Liam had acquired happened to be the very homeland where their ancestors were born.

There, a magnificent World Tree once stood, a splendid sight even in this universe.

The ones who caused it to wither were—the elves.

The orc also protested strongly.

"Just how many World Trees have you withered? For every one you've killed, a star must have fallen into ruin. Just how many lives must you destroy before you're satisfied?"

The elven queen sneered at their earnestness.

"What of it? They became sustenance for us elves. The World Tree, the star, and all life are our sustenance. No matter how much you struggle, that planet will be ours. There's no way a human could understand the true value of a World Tree. That little brat will entrust its management to us, too."

Despite this, the goblin still seemed to hold out hope for Liam.

"—Count Banfield is known as a wise lord, gob. I'm sure he'll understand if we explain it to him, gob."

The elven queen gave a fearless smile.

"A wise lord? That brat is just a human. As long as he's human, he's bound to choose beautiful elves over ugly creatures like you."

Yes, that was this world.

But there was one thing they didn't understand.

—That Liam Sera Banfield was a man who aimed to be an evil lord.

◇

The goblin and the orc arrived.

I knew of their existence, but this was the first time I'd seen them in person.

I'm more excited now than I was with the elves earlier.

"Lord Count, please entrust the management of the World Tree to us. The World Tree is—"

The orc desperately tried to explain, but apparently, producing Elixirs isn't the World Tree's true purpose.

Something about its mere existence being important—well, it's that kind of thing.

A spiritual sort of talk?

I'm not interested.

What I was more interested in were the goblin and the orc.

—If I'm going to have allies as an evil lord, wouldn't these guys be better than the elves?

I dislike that haughty elf, and if I'm going to hire someone anyway, these guys are better.

They're companions who make me feel like I'm truly evil.

Besides, I can gather as many beautiful women as I want, but it's hard to find guys like these.

That's because only a small number of goblins and orcs exist.

They seem to be a rare existence in this world.

I thought there would be tons of goblins and orcs, but I was wrong.

Anyway, I only want to possess the World Tree for show, so it's better to entrust it to these guys.

The goblin was desperately explaining something.

"We will spare no effort to cooperate for your sake, Lord Count, gob. Please, save our people, gob."

"Oh? You'll spare no effort to cooperate with me, you say? —I like it."

The goblin and the orc looked up.

"Gob!?"

"Huh!?"

Seeing how surprised they both are, they probably weren't expecting much, were they? It seems they were convinced I would choose the elves.

I can capture elves whenever I feel like it.

If I do, it wouldn't be bad to have these guys capture them and create a scenario like something out of a doujinshi. (Translator's Note: Doujinshi, or 'usui hon' (thin books) as mentioned in the text, are self-published fan comics, often of an adult nature.)

It feels so... evil.

I remember a junior colleague of mine from my past life passionately talking about doujinshi.

Something about an evil lord doing this and that to elves.

And in those scenarios, goblins and orcs are apparently the standard.

"I'll give you the planet with the World Tree. From now on, you work for me."

"Y-Yes! —Um, what should we do?"

The orc replied, but he didn't seem to know what he was supposed to do.

This is a problem. I only have a vague knowledge myself, so I don't know what to make them do.

After all, I mostly tuned out those conversations about doujinshi.

Sorry, my junior.

"—I'll call you when I have a use for you. Until then, manage the World Tree. Raise it to be magnificent."

"Y-Yes, gob!"

Well, it's just because I want to brag, 'We have a magnificent World Tree!'

I'll call them when I think of something.

Brian (´；ω；｀): 'It's painful. The result is correct, but the process to get there is so awful... it's painful.'