It was a frontier planet.

In a desolate town, a man in a kimono with an unshaven beard walked down the middle of the street, a sword at his hip.

Following behind him were men who appeared to be his disciples.

The people feared them and made way.

One of the disciples spoke to the unshaven man—Yasushi.

"Master Swordsman, how about that shop over there? I hear their poster girl is quite cute."

"Oh? Then we must go have a taste."

The restaurant, which a certain couple had finally managed to open, had a reputation for serving home-style cooking.

Although it had just opened, their daughter was helping out at the shop and had become quite popular.

When the men entered the shop, a girl who still looked like a student was helping out, wearing an apron over her school uniform.

The men gave her lecherous looks.

The girl was just as the rumors said. No, she was even more beautiful.

"Welco—me."

The girl, who was helping out at her family's shop after school, saw Yasushi and his men, and her smile stiffened as she began to tremble.

Her parents, who were behind the counter, noticed her reaction and rushed out, standing in front of Yasushi as if to shield their daughter.

"M-Master Swordsman! Welcome, we're honored by your visit!"

Seeing the shopkeeper bow his head deeply, Yasushi replied in a good mood.

"Prepare some food. And sake. That girl over there will serve us drinks."

The regular customers looked like they wanted to say something, but when Yasushi's disciples glared at them, they all averted their gazes.

No one could defy them.

The shopkeeper, on the verge of tears, turned and spoke to his daughter.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. I-If it's just pouring drinks, then..."

Yasushi and his men sat at a table and began to make a loud ruckus.

They pulled the still-student-aged girl's shoulder close and began to enjoy their food and drink.

The other customers fled, leaving only the shopkeeper, his wife, their daughter, and Yasushi's group in the restaurant.

After eating and drinking as if to wreck the place for two hours, Yasushi and his men prepared to leave.

"That was a feast. Well then, we'll be taking our leave."

As Yasushi said this, his disciples also stood up to leave.

No one made any move to pay, but the shopkeeper hurriedly called out to them.

"Master Swordsman, p-please return my daughter!"

The shopkeeper tried to rescue his daughter, who was being carried by one of Yasushi's disciples.

But Yasushi wore a vulgar smile.

"I've taken a liking to her, so I'm taking her with me. I'll return her when I get bored. Or do you have some complaint for me, the Master Swordsman Yasushi?"

Yasushi brought his face close to the shopkeeper's.

The daughter, being carried away, looked at him pleadingly, but the shopkeeper just trembled and looked down.

"N-No, sir."

The shopkeeper collapsed to his knees, clenching his fists in frustration.

But he couldn't defy him.

After all, his opponent was the Master Swordsman Yasushi.

"Hmph. A wise decision. If you were to defy me, my number one disciple, Count Banfield, would not stay silent."

"Gahahaha," Yasushi laughed, and in high spirits, his group started to leave the shop.

The number one disciple of Master Swordsman Yasushi was none other than Count Banfield.

He was a nobleman renowned as a wise lord, excellent in both literary and military arts.

He was a celebrity whose name was known throughout the Empire.

He was now a young man of power who led a massive faction, not someone the people of a frontier planet could oppose.

The shopkeeper could not possibly resist the sword master of such a man as Count Banfield.

As he shed tears of frustration, Yasushi, who had just left the shop, bumped into someone.

"Watch where you're going."

A young man glared at Yasushi, then entered the shop, sniffed the air, and muttered.

"This is definitely the place with the smell of mackerel simmered in miso!"

The young man, dressed in a kimono, had a sword at his hip.

Beside him, a red-haired girl with a youthful air, also in a kimono, held a sword that seemed too large for her body and was holding the man's hand.

"Master, the inside of the shop is a mess."

"Too bad, my stomach is set on mackerel in miso, so I can't change my mind. Hey, shopkeeper. Clean this up, quickly."

The young man ordered him around arrogantly.

Under normal circumstances, the shopkeeper would have felt apologetic, but he didn't have the luxury for that right now.

As the young man barged into the shop, two girls pushed past the other men and followed him in.

"Senior Brother, I'll have a large serving for now."

"I'll have the same."

When the two girls said that, the young man acted generously.

"So, three orders of mackerel in miso? What about you?"

"I'd like the same as you, Master."

The group of four, who entered as if nothing was wrong, sat down and began to look at the menu.

However, Yasushi and his disciples had been enraged, their faces red with anger.

"Tourists? It seems you don't know the ways of this planet."

The largest and most intimidating disciple approached the four, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

He approached the group of four, breathing heavily, but the young man and women didn't seem to care.

However, the young man looked at Yasushi and gave him a provocative gaze.

He paid no attention to the disciples.

Yasushi noticed this and approached the young man.

"It seems you don't know who I am, the Master Swordsman Yasushi. Or are you a swordsman proud of your skills?"

The disciples drew their swords inside the shop.

They weren't underestimating them for being women and children; they intended to cut them down right there.

The reason Yasushi and his men were feared wasn't just because of the Issen-ryu school or the backing of the Banfield family.

It was due to their ferocity—killing anyone who defied them instantly—and the fact that he was the sword instructor for the lord of this frontier planet.

On this planet, few could oppose Yasushi.

Yasushi said.

"If you're going to apologize, now's the time, boy. I am on good terms with the lord of this planet. Do you think you can pick a fight with me and get away with it?"

The young man replied instantly.

"Are you an idiot? I've been picking a fight with you from the start. No, I went out of my way to accept the fight you started. You should be grateful."

As he finished saying "be grateful," everyone except Yasushi and the disciple carrying the girl was sent flying.

The shop's door and walls were blown away, and the disciples were thrown outside.

Yasushi, the remaining disciple, and the shopkeeper's family were all stunned by the sudden event.

The young man stood up and said to the shopkeeper.

"Four mackerel in miso set meals. Make them large."

The shopkeeper thought.

(What's a mackerel in miso set meal?)

◇

There was an idiot impersonating my Master.

The man, who had even gotten plastic surgery to look like my Master, seemed to have some skill, but he was a third-rate swordsman.

Even standing before me, he didn't understand who he was talking to.

I'd sent his disciples flying just for fun, yet he had a look on his face like he didn't understand what had happened.

"Hey, what's wrong? Don't be surprised by something like this, Master of the Issen-ryu. Even if you're an impostor, you should at least have some decent skill, don't you think?"

When I approached them with a grin, the men's faces twitched.

But one of the disciples threw aside the girl he was carrying and started to flee.

It seemed the disciple was the more skilled of the two.

In an instant, Fuuka leaped onto that disciple's back and tackled him to the ground.

She had drawn her sword and placed it against his neck.

"Don't you run! It's not right for someone from the Issen-ryu to flee, is it? When you fight, it's either kill or be killed!"

"You're wrong! I-I was just hired, I'm an impostor!"

Once he admitted to being an impostor, Fuuka sheathed her sword.

She looked down at the fake with cold eyes.

"A wasted trip. This makes it the fifth time."

The disciple, thinking he was free, raised his head, only to be kicked and sent flying by Fuuka.

The impostor who had called himself Master seemed to have a faint idea of who we were.

"Uh, um, could you be..."

"Nice to meet you, you damn impostor. Liam Sera Banfield has come all this way just for you."

The impostor's face turned pale.

As he trembled and collapsed to his knees, I told the impostor to summon the lord.

"Call that shitty lord who hired you."

"Huh? N-No, he's a very busy person..."

"A mere minor lord from the countryside can't answer a summons from me, a Count? It seems he wants to be destroyed."

"Hiii! I-I'll inform him right away!"

Status and power are meaningless unless you use them.

I'm the type to suck up to the strong and thoroughly oppress the weak.

What should I do with this minor frontier lord who not only let an impostor run free but also hired him, tarnishing the name of the Issen-ryu?

I returned to my seat and looked at the troubled shopkeeper.

"What about the mackerel in miso set meal?"

"Um, well... what is a mackerel in miso set meal?"

Apparently, the smell I thought was mackerel in miso was from a different dish.

◇

Fifteen minutes later.

As I ate the dish that was brought to me, I was finally able to have a mackerel in miso set meal for the first time since I was reincarnated.

"This is it!"

I remember the wonderful smell that would waft from a shop every time I passed by during the terrible times before my reincarnation.

I couldn't even afford to eat it back then, struggling for my daily meals, and yet, despite this being an interstellar nation, the mackerel in miso set meal didn't exist.

There were things that were similar, but something was always off.

I even considered making it myself, but I was too busy with training to have the time to recreate it.

Even when I explained it to my chefs, what they made was always something subtly wrong.

And it was annoying because it was still delicious in its own way.

But, coming to this frontier planet, I had finally found my mackerel in miso set meal.

I felt like I'd discovered a treasure.

As we were greedily eating, the lord of the frontier planet was prostrating himself beside us.

"I was not aware of your presence, Count Banfield, my deepest apologies for the disrespect! I never imagined that man was an impostor; it is my fault for hiring him as a sword instructor. I will have them executed immediately!"

Looking outside, I saw the impostors, captured by the minor lord's knights, bound and forced to sit in seiza, a formal Japanese sitting position.

Their faces were covered in bruises from being beaten.

I said to the minor lord.

"I'm eating. Be quiet."

"M-My apologies! However, rather than this filthy little shop, we are preparing a party at my estate. I would be honored if you, Count, would attend."

It was an offer to not eat in a place like this and come eat at his house instead.

Normally, I would accept his kindness, but the mackerel in miso set meal took priority.

Also, hiring and acknowledging an Issen-ryu impostor was something I could never personally forgive.

"Shut your mouth. The third time, I'll kill you."

When the minor lord fell silent, Rinho spoke to me while eating her mackerel in miso.

"Senior Brother, what are we doing now?"

"For now, we'll head to the next planet. We'll enjoy the trip while we're at it."

Since I was able to find a mackerel in miso set meal, there must be other treasures on other planets.

Rinho looked bored.

"We're just going around the countryside, right? It'd be nice if there were strong guys, but impostors are basically just weaklings, so it's boring."

"Then, let's find some strong guys and challenge them along the way. A warrior's pilgrimage."

Let's go on a rampage, crushing famous dojos as part of our little trip.

What a fitting act for an evil lord.

Fuuka finished her meal and stood up.

"I like that! I'll go first!"

"Huh? It should be me, right? I haven't been cutting anyone down lately, so my video views are down."

Was she the universe's most bloodthirsty underground idol? Rinho also had a side gig as a video streamer, so it seemed she wanted the spotlight.

"We'll take turns, one by one. Ellen, you're doing it too."

"Y-Yes."

I turned the conversation to Ellen, but she wasn't as energetic as usual.

As I thought, she seems to have a strong aversion to cutting people down.

I slightly regretted raising her too carefully.

When the meal was over, the shopkeeper and his family looked uncomfortable.

"Hey, the bill."

"Y-Yes, right away!"

I took out my card to pay electronically, and the shopkeeper's eyes widened in surprise.

"U-Um, is it really okay to accept this much?"

"It's an apology for wrecking your shop. More importantly, you and your family are coming to my territory."

"Huh?"

I gave the three of them an order. The petty villains from before only targeted the daughter, but I would target the whole family.

"I get an unbearable craving for it sometimes."

Because I couldn't eat it in my past life even when I wanted to, there are times I get a strange craving for it.

It's a pain to eat it when it's on a planet this far away, so I figured I should just bring them back to my territory.

A fitting act for an evil lord.

"Well, um, that is..."

The shopkeeper looked troubled, glancing at the prostrating minor lord.

I spoke to the prostrating minor lord.

"You have no complaints, right?"

"None at all!"

"There you have it. Pack your things immediately. This is an order. You have no right to refuse."

It's a sad thing for a family's life to be upended by my selfishness.

However, seeing the daughter helping at the shop made me want to talk to her.

"You, are you the daughter here?"

"Yes."

The simple-looking girl was a beautiful girl who seemed like she would shine if polished.

"Helping at the shop? Earning pocket money must be tough."

"No, I don't get paid. Um, this shop was my parents' dream, so I wanted to help too."

She said she helps out after school.

What a kind-hearted daughter.

Honestly, I felt bad about relocating this family to my territory on a whim. But canceling it would damage my dignity as an evil lord.

I wondered if there was something I could do and came up with an idea.

"It's admirable that you're helping out. I like you. When you get to my territory, give my name at the government office. I'll arrange for your tuition and a scholarship."

"Huh?"

Enjoying the evil-lord-like play of showering a beautiful girl with money and atoning for my sins a little, I felt better, and that's when the prostrating minor lord caught my eye.

I'd forgotten about this guy.

"You bastard, if you get cocky again, I'll wipe out your entire clan, so be prepared."

Hiring and officially recognizing a bunch of guys who impersonated the Issen-ryu was, from my perspective, infuriating.

I warned him, implying that I would destroy him if it happened again, and the minor lord replied.

"I will turn over a new leaf from now on!"

"Of course you will."

Well, I don't have time to stay in a place like this forever.

We hurried out of the shop to search for our Master.