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"The Labyrinth of the Solitary Island Academy"

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Sometimes, my own good fortune scares me.

"I have no choice but to be grateful to him."

Thomas and Patrice are perplexed by my muttering.

"Grateful, my lord?"

Facing the confused Thomas, I urge him on, "It's nothing. Continue with your report."

Still, it's always like this whenever I'm in a bind.

A solution appears out of nowhere.

No, miracles don't exist in this world, so the Guide must be pulling strings behind the scenes.

There's no other explanation.

Patrice resumes his earlier explanation.

"It's about accepting asylum seekers from the Lustour Unified Government and the Oxis United Kingdom. With the downfall of Prince Linus, who was their backer, the rebellious factions have been significantly weakened."

I drink the tea prepared by Amagi.

I would have preferred alcohol, to be more like a villain, but Amagi gave me a reproachful look, as if to say, "Drinking in the middle of the day?" so I refrained.

I snort.

"I'd normally refuse a bunch of traitors, but I need the manpower right now."

Thomas is wiping his sweat with a handkerchief.

"No, the ringleaders will be punished in their respective countries. The problem is those who were caught up in it. There are knights and soldiers who couldn't defy their master's house, and both nations are struggling with how to handle those with weaker connections."

So the rebels will be punished, but they're in a bind because too many people were involved.

To put it simply, they're like the rank-and-file employees of a bankrupt company.

They're not responsible, but I guess they're a pain to deal with going forward.

And they can't exactly give them a warm welcome either.

They are traitors, after all.

It would be better if they just disappeared, but they're hesitant to give harsh punishments to those who were just dragged along. Is that it?

"I'll take them. I've got plenty of territory to spare."

Amagi cautions me against my statement.

"Lord Liam, accepting subjects from a different political environment will not be easy, you know?"

"—The Unified Government ones seem like they'll be trouble."

The Unified Government employs democracy.

In the Empire, with its aristocracy, the political systems are just too different.

Patrice was also worried about that.

"The people were involved in politics, you see. There might be some who try to bring democracy into Lord Liam's domain."

"Democracy, huh... I hate it."

"I would imagine so. I've only ever met a few nobles who liked it."

"—They exist? Nobles who like democracy?"

In a country that practices feudal politics, there are actually nobles who admire democracy?!

The world is full of idiots.

"There were some who were in favor of it if it meant an easier life. Others proclaimed that democracy is a wonderful political system."

"That guy's an idiot."

I hate democracy.

No, I just hate having someone above me.

My current status as the absolute ruler of my domain is one reason I hate it, but the political system isn't the real issue.

In the end, any system is flawed the moment humans are involved.

No matter how wonderful the system, people will ruin it.

The political system isn't the problem; it's always a problem of people.

I don't trust people. That's why I understand that no political system is perfect. In that case, the current situation where I can reign as a king is the best.

I turn my gaze to Amagi.

"Master, is something wrong?"

"No... it's nothing."

In the past, the people of this world failed because they entrusted everything to artificial intelligence.

But if the people of the past, who had seen the ugliness of humanity, sought perfection from AI out of desperation—could you really call them incorrigible?

Well, AI is also imperfect from the moment it's created by humans.

Because it's made by imperfect beings.

"Amagi—you're as cute as ever today."

I was thinking about all sorts of things, but looking at Amagi—the beautiful woman who embodies my ideals—none of it seemed to matter anymore.

To me, Amagi is perfect.

"Thank you very much. However—our two guests are looking rather bewildered, so perhaps you should choose a better time and place."

Facing the two men who came to request asylum, I clear my throat.

"It'll be a pain if they're all in one place, so I'll scatter them around. Is that fine?"

Thomas nodded.

"The people from the United Kingdom shouldn't be a problem. I believe their political systems are similar."

Patrice has a troubled expression.

"This will put the Unified Government in our debt, which is good, but are you sure about this? If a pro-democracy movement starts, it could cause trouble within the domain."

These guys don't understand me at all.

If I were a benevolent ruler, I'd probably worry and be cautious about accepting them.

But I'm a villain.

"Principles and assertions are all well and good. But if they cause a ruckus in my territory—I'll just crush them."

Both Thomas and Patrice gasp.

By the way, there was something I was curious about.

"By the way, Thomas, what happened to that traitorous noble you're connected to? It wouldn't be very interesting for me if he's been crushed."

Thomas gives a wry smile.

"He blamed it on his lord and managed to escape responsibility, protecting his position."

"That's perfect! I'll continue to support him."

It seems the evil lord in the foreign country is doing his best.

I should do my best too.

◇

It's been a while since I was in my domain.

I decided to take a walk through my territory in disguise.

Because I came up with a little game: find someone who disrespects me, reveal my identity, and execute them.

I went out in a state of giddy excitement.

I can finally act like a true evil lord.

Or so I thought—

"—What's the deal? There isn't a single idiot trying to pick a fight with me."

Sitting on a bench with an ice cream in hand, I had come to a place that was said to have a bad public order.

It's certainly a bit disorderly, but the surrounding area is a picture of peace.

I was imagining a place more like a slum—but families are just walking around normally.

"I asked where the bad part of town was, so why did he tell me to come here? That cop must have lied to me."

I'll have him demoted later.

Still, the food stalls are lined up and smell delicious.

Watching the families—it reminds me of my past life.

Going out on a holiday, the three of us with our child—it was a relatively happy time when I knew nothing.

"Remembering it just pisses me off."

Watching the families is starting to irritate me.

I stand up to leave, and as I'm eating my ice cream, I hear a voice.

"Hey, you! Watch where you're going!"

It seems like some kind of trouble.

Driven by a rubbernecker's curiosity, I go to see what's happening, and there I find a group of clearly unsavory characters.

Black leather jackets.

Spiky accessories.

Their hair is blond and spiked up.

These guys, who look like trouble, are getting angry at a mother and child.

The child must have bumped into one of them; there's ice cream on his tight pants.

The mother is hugging her child, protecting them.

"I-I'm so sorry. We'll pay for the cleaning—"

"Cleaning?! Do you have any idea who this is? He's the heir to the House of Clover, a baronetcy that serves the House of Noden, one of the twelve families that support the House of Banfield!"

Hearing this, the mother and child—the mother's face turned pale, and the crowd was also surprised.

"The twelve families?"
"This is bad. What's going to happen to that mother and child?"
"Bumping into a noble... that kid has no luck."

I was speechless.

What the hell are the 'twelve families'?

The House of Noden supports me? A lot of nobles have come to sponge off me, and I think Baron Noden was among them.

In fact, they're not supporting me at all.

I'm the one supporting them.

And you guys—all of you in the crowd talking about 'his lordship' this and that!

Why are you groveling before some lackey's lackey?!

The one you should be groveling to is me!

The real me is right here, so what's with you all cowering before some other guy?!

Rage begins to boil up inside me.

I'm pissed off at my stupid subjects, but—

"Playing the villain in my territory... you've got some nerve, you small-fry noble."

To begin with, a baronetcy isn't an official noble house; it's more like a knightly house that lasts for a single generation.

It's a pain for the Empire to appoint and dispatch knights to territories one by one, so they tacitly allow for hereditary succession.

A knight with a fief—and the size of those fiefs varies.

Sometimes you have a hundred lords crammed onto a single planet, but other times a single knightly house might rule an entire planet.

In those cases, the territory is usually desolate with a total population of less than a million, that sort of level.

In other words—a lot of them are useless.

I don't understand why he's swaggering around in my domain.

I got angry, so I threw my half-eaten ice cream at the so-called heir.

The ice cream hit him square in the face and splattered everywhere, and the place instantly fell silent.

Everyone was looking at me, so I stepped forward with a grin.

"Hey, what happens when you get hit with ice cream? Tell me, too."

As I stepped forward, the trio of men glared at me.

—Huh?

"Don't you underestimate a noble. Hey, get rid of this guy."

The man's subordinates took weapons in hand.

They took out just the hilts of their swords, and blades emerged.

I was surprised.

"Hey, wait. Y-You guys—you don't know who I am?"

The man wiped the ice cream from his face with his hand and shouted, spitting.

"It's too late to get scared now! You guys, do it! The police can't say a word even if one commoner disappears."

—This practiced attitude... could it be they've done this many times before?

Are my subordinates cleaning up their messes?

I can't allow that.

The ones who covered up their crimes—I'll punish them as soon as I get back.

The only one who gets to act high and mighty in my domain—the only one who gets to bully my subjects—is the one and only person in this world.

—Me.

I dodged the swords of the two men coming at me, grabbed their heads, and slammed them into the ground.

They're trained knights, so they probably won't die from something like this.

The backs of their heads are buried in the ground, and they're twitching, but I ignore them.

It's no problem if they die, either.

The man was staring at me in shock.

"Y-You're a knight too? What house are you from?! The House of Noden is a pillar of the Banfield family. Don't you know the Count's right-hand man is my patron?"

This is so irritating.

"You don't even know your own master's face? A small-fry like you has no right to do whatever you want in my territory. You can die."

The man took out a gun and aimed it at me, but a thrown knife knocked it away.

It seems Kukuri's subordinates are watching.

A katana was thrown in front of me, so I caught it and glared at the man.

"—Now, a question. Are you really a noble?"

The man started to tremble.

"I-It's true! If you kill me, Count Banfield won't stay silent!"

The mother and child who had been harassed by the man were trembling.

Hearing that, the onlookers in the crowd must have thought this was bad. They started murmuring, "Lord Liam will...", "Lord Liam is a strict man...", "Th-This is bad, if we make a scene, who knows what will happen to this whole area—" They seem quite frightened.

Excellent.

"Count Banfield, you say? What about him?"

The man points at me.

"You don't know? That man shows no mercy to his enemies! You, your entire family will be killed. Are you okay with that? If you kill me, you'll be picking a fight with the House of Banfield—"

He was annoying, so I cut him down.

As the man's head fell, I stretched.

"Too much of a small-fry. I'm cutting off support to the House of Noden. They deserve to be punished for displeasing me."

As the crowd stood there, pale-faced, a patrol car finally arrived.

Police officers in a flying car—specifically, officers trained as knights—got out and began to surround me.

They were holding weapons, so Marie, who had apparently been guarding me, descended before me.

"You lot, if you point your weapons at this man—I'll cut off all your heads right here and now."

Holding a hatchet-like sword in each hand, Marie threatened them, and the police officers cowered.

One of the officers seemed to realize.

"D-Don't point your weapons! That is Lord Liam!"

Hearing that, the onlookers grew noisy.

"Lord Liam?"
"But he cut down a noble."
"So that's Lord Liam."

I wanted to stand out in a more villainous way, but I did just cut down a noble in front of everyone.

I'll probably be seen as a violent man.

Marie looked excitedly at the two knights whose heads were buried in the ground.

"Lord Liam, these are indeed the heir of the House of Clover and his cronies."

Apparently, they were staying at my mansion temporarily, but now they were living in my domain.

It seems they've been running wild in my territory.

I can forgive that. But I'm the only one who gets to bully my subjects.

I despise people who mess with other people's property.

"I see. Summon this guy's family and his patron, Baron Noden. I'll interrogate them myself. Running rampant as they please... 'Twelve families,' my ass. I'll crush them."

Marie flashes a ferocious smile.

"In that case, please allow me to lead the charge! Next time, I will surely be of use to you, Lord Liam—"

But Marie didn't finish her sentence.

I noticed the scabbard of my katana had been grabbed. Turning around, I saw a little girl being held by her frightened mother.

She had reached out and was holding onto my scabbard.

Marie, without a word, raised her sword to cut down the mother and child, so I stopped her by grabbing her hand.

"Marie, don't. I want to talk to her."

"—Yes, my lord."

Normally I would have snapped and cut them down, but I let my guard down since there was no killing intent.

When I crouched down to look at the girl's face, she was looking straight at me.

The cute, red-haired child wouldn't let go of my scabbard.

The mother was terrified.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! This child doesn't know any better!"

Marie was radiating anger at the mother.

"Doesn't know? Not knowing Lord Liam in this domain is a crime worthy of ten thousand deaths. Depending on your answer, don't think you'll get an easy death."

The commoners are terrified.

Yeah, she's useful once in a while.

I'll have the onlookers spread the word that I keep such a dangerous knight by my side.

Mmm, this feels very evil-lord-like! —Probably.

I mean, the only examples of evil lords I've ever seen were in historical dramas from my past life.

I think this is right—but is it?

I stop Marie. Because I want to continue the conversation.

"Marie, don't interrupt me."

"M-My apologies."

As Marie steps back, I once again look into the little girl's face.

"What is it? Do you want this katana?"

I'm rich, so I own a variety of katanas.

Among them, the one I used this time was a katana decorated all the way to the blade.

I bought it because it was a sword befitting a rich man, but it's surprisingly practical, so I've grown fond of it.

It's one of my favorites, but the girl shakes her head.

"Because it was beautiful."

"Beautiful?"

"Because the blade was beautiful."

Hearing that, I was surprised.

"—You, could you see it? The pattern on the blade?"

"It was gold—with a kitty."

It's a tiger, not a cat, but maybe she doesn't know that.

But she—she correctly identified the design on the blade.

The blade is inlaid with a golden image of a tiger.

She saw it when I drew it from the scabbard?!

"What's your name?"

"Ellen—I'm Ellen Tyler."

She's young, but she answers clearly.

So I asked her.

"Are you interested in being a knight? Can you dedicate your life to the sword? If you dedicate your life to the sword, I'll give you this katana."

The girl tilted her head, then—without really understanding—she nodded.

Brian (´・ω・`): "Lord Liam has brought home a cute little disciple, but this is a workplace full of knights who are a bad influence. I'm so worried her personality will become warped, it's painful."