My super-dreadnought battleship is finally complete!

I never thought it would come to pick me up.

But—I think this situation is just awful.

We've long since left the planet I was summoned to, but now I'm being berated by everyone in my room.

The reason I'm being scolded is Chino.

The one sleeping on my bed with her belly exposed is—Chino, of the dog-kin.

Even though Ellen is curiously touching her ears and tail, she shows no sign of waking up.

She stuffed herself with the food I had prepared for her and is now sleeping soundly, snoring without a care in the world.

This completely unguarded girl being a wolf has to be a lie.

She's a cute pet dog.

"Lord Liam, even I, Brian, am taken aback this time. What were you thinking, bringing back a local human just because she's a 'pet'?"

As I averted my gaze from Brian, Amagi came into view, her voice filled with exasperation.

"Master—we're going back to return her to where you found her."

"What's the big deal?! Everyone does it! If a noble finds a rare creature, they keep it as a pet, right?!"

"Beastmen may be few in number, but they are not that rare."

"It's my freedom!"

My personal image of a noble is someone who, even on a forbidden planet, would bring back a rare animal if they found one.

To have your selfish whims indulged—that's what it means to be a noble.

Though Amagi's face was expressionless, her attitude was like that of a mother scolding her child for bringing home a stray animal.

Ugh! D-don't look at me like that.

"Come on! I promise I'll take good care of her!"

Both Amagi and Brian turned their gazes to Ellen, who was completely engrossed with Chino.

"You said the same thing when you took in Lady Ellen, and this time you neglected her and made her sad."

"I, Brian, believe you should get a more ordinary dog. Is my opinion wrong, Lord Liam?"

These guys don't understand a thing.

Besides, I'll never own a real dog again.

It's too sad when they die.

If she's as close to human as Chino, I probably won't be that sad when she dies.

"Enough about me! —Now then, shall we head out to subjugate those idiots?"

I'll give those utter fools who can't even watch the house a taste of my iron fist.

Brian was wiping his tears with a handkerchief.

"It is because you neglected the succession issue, Lord Liam, that things have become so complicated."

"It's not my fault."

"A portion of the responsibility lies with you, Lord Liam!"

—I don't want to hear it.

◇

A fleet was advancing through the Banfield family's territory.

The reason this grand fleet of thirty thousand ships had assembled was to plunder the Banfield domain.

Nobles disguised themselves as space pirates, and among them were actual pirates.

Leading three thousand ships was a noble belonging to Cleo's faction.

They were all people who had joined the rapidly growing Cleo faction.

They were the type to jump on the winning bandwagon.

"This is what happens when a young upstart gets too cocky. He gets swept off his feet."

Sipping wine from a glass, he was relaxing in a room within his battleship that was built to resemble a palace.

He was a typical corrupt noble, the very image Liam should have been aiming for.

"However, to be allowed to plunder the Banfield territory freely, that man is quite generous. He must be desperate to oust Liam."

With a powerful backer, the nobles entered Liam's territory with confidence.

Information from within the domain had already reached them.

Starting with the division of the vassals, relatives had gathered on the capital planet to vie for succession.

Now was the perfect opportunity to plunder.

Besides them, other imperial nobles and pirates were also marching toward the Banfield family's territory.

Those who joined forces with pirates, aiming to steal the Banfield family's wealth, were surging forward.

"But still, they're too fragile. A house that rose to prominence in a single generation is, after all, only this much—Guh?!"

Just as he took an elegant sip of wine—the battleship shook violently.

◇

Facing the pirate fleet of thirty thousand ships we found along the way, I couldn't feel any sense of tension.

I sat arrogantly on my chair on the battleship's bridge, with my disciple, Ellen, by my side.

Like a proper master, I was acting all high and mighty, teaching Ellen various things.

"Ellen, I'm about to teach you my way of doing things."

"Yes, Master!"

Seeing the energetic Ellen made me want to tease her.

Chino, who was beside her, seemed to have no interest and wasn't even listening to our conversation.

She was holding a pillow, looking sleepy, her head bobbing as if she were on a boat.

Well, she's in the 'pet' category, so I guess this is fine.

If Ellen had this attitude, I would have put her through some rigorous training.

"Any pirate that enters my territory—will be utterly destroyed. There are no exceptions."

"Yes, Master!"

"No, wait, actually there is. If there's a beauty who catches my eye, I might show some leniency."

"Yes, Master!"

Seeing Ellen's sparkling eyes, I regretted the joke I had just made.

What am I saying in front of a child?

I've been too lax lately; I should reflect on my behavior.

After all, the gazes from Amagi and Brian were ice-cold.

"Master, please choose the time and place for your jokes more carefully."

"I, Brian, wish for Lady Ellen to grow up to be an upstanding person."

I decided to laugh it off.

"Hahaha! Anyway, if you find pirates, annihilate them! They are the ones who bring me fame and fortune! Welcome them with due courtesy."

Outside, the fleet that had come to rescue me was launching a surprise attack on the enemy fleet we had encountered.

They vastly outnumbered us, but my elite fleet was tearing through the enemy.

Pirates are nothing but a disorderly mob.

Once things turn slightly against them, they'll flee, and then it's just a hunt.

The commander in charge of dealing with my opponent reported an incoming communication from the enemy.

"Lord Liam, a communication from the pirates. They say they wish to surrender."

—See?

"Denied. It's their fault for entering my territory. More importantly, summon a fortress-class ship from nearby. Have it clean up this mess."

However, it seems there's a troublesome one this time.

Apparently, some fools took advantage of my absence to sneak in.

"Furthermore, a communication has arrived from a man claiming to be an ally from the same faction. He identifies himself as Lord Barnes. He requests that we cease our attack. —He doesn't appear to be a captive."

Barnes? I know dozens of people with that name, so I have no idea who he is.

Yes, the name sounds like that of a noble who's been trying to cozy up to Cleo's faction, but it must be my imagination.

There's no way he's here.

—And even if he is, it doesn't matter!

"Commander, do you really think a noble would side with pirates? That's disrespectful, you know."

When I gave him a smiling warning, the fleet commander, who understood everything, shrugged his shoulders.

Of course, I won't punish him for something like this.

I am tolerant of those who follow me.

"My sincerest apologies. It is unthinkable that proud nobles would align themselves with pirates. I will accept any punishment."

"Then don't let a single enemy here escape alive."

Well, I know for a fact that there are nobles mixed in with the enemy.

Nobles who lend a hand to pirates are not uncommon.

In the first place, the two are very similar.

The nobles of the Interstellar Nation are just well-behaved space pirates.

Their essence is the same, so it's not surprising.

"This is the debut of my new battleship. Make it a flashy one."

The commander issued orders to his subordinates.

"Move the flagship to the front. Prepare to charge!"

◇

The nobles who were acting alongside the pirates were being attacked by a fleet less than a third of their size.

"Why can't we defeat them?!"

"The enemy is the Banfield family's elite! A-and besides, there's one strange vessel among them."

It was the size of a flagship, but its performance was on a completely different level compared to other ships of similar size.

No attacks could reach it.

But that battleship's attacks had the power to pierce through dozens of ships with a single shot.

It was rampaging, displaying abnormal performance.

"Call out to them and offer our surrender!"

"We've been trying to tell them that for a while! B-but, their only reply is—'We will destroy the insolent pirates who dare to impersonate nobles right here,' and they refuse to negotiate."

The noble slammed his fist on the armrest.

"Liam's dogs! Do they really intend to bury us?! I am a noble! Keep calling them!"

Along with the pirate ships, allied vessels were being sunk one after another.

The one-sided battle, which could hardly be called a war, changed when Liam came forward to negotiate.

Liam, displayed on the monitor, had an audacious look on his face.

The noble, his hair disheveled with anxiety, forced a smile at Liam.

"Lord Liam, it's been a while."

(Why is Liam here?! Could it be that I was deceived by His Highness Calvin?!)

The noble was panicking at Liam's appearance but managed to keep up his pretense.

However, Liam's attitude was as cold as ever.

"I have no acquaintances among pirates. To enter my territory without permission means you cannot possibly be a noble. Therefore, you will all perish here."

"If you kill me, there will be dire consequences."

He dropped his smile and glared, but it had no effect on Liam.

"So what? I'll just destroy your house as well."

As the communication was cut, the battleship the noble was on shook violently.

An operator shouted.

"A fortress-class has appeared! One fortress-class, and we've confirmed six thousand other vessels! They appear to be the Banfield family's fleet! Th-they're warping in one after another!"

With Liam's return, the Banfield family's fleet was beginning to assemble.

The noble stared at the monitor.

The fleet of thirty thousand ships was being easily crushed by the formidable Banfield fleet.

And then, the enemy fleet charged.

Approaching them was a battleship with monstrous performance.

"S-so this is—Liam, the Pirate Hunter."

As the noble muttered this, he was enveloped in light and vaporized.

◇

Around that time.

The fleet led by Tia and the fleet led by Marie were facing each other.

Both armies, though bewildered, had completed their battle preparations.

On the bridge, the commander was pressing Marie.

"Are you ordering us to fight our allies?!"

Marie was tending to her nails, showing no hesitation about fighting her own side.

"That's right. I won't be able to sleep soundly unless I destroy that minced-meat woman, will I? You just need to follow my orders."

Marie's goal was to kill Tia.

(I will unite the Banfield family and prepare a knightly order worthy of Lord Liam. To do that, that minced-meat woman is an absolute obstacle.)

She intended to pin all the blame on Tia and eliminate her during Liam's absence.

Tia felt the same way.

Tia's face appeared on the monitor.

"Fossil woman, the time has finally come. The thought of seeing you cry and beg for forgiveness truly makes me happy."

Marie stood up, a smile on her face, her eyes bloodshot.

One eye was wide open, making it look anything but a smile.

"A woman like you is best suited as a toy for pirates. I'll capture you and sell you to them. The breeding room, was it? I'll send you right back there."

Tia's expression vanished.

"—I'll kill you."

Marie's expression also disappeared.

"Die."

Both of them hated each other with a passion.

At the same time, both recognized the other as a formidable enemy.

With Liam absent, the territory was on the verge of entering a warring states period, with various factions rising to power.

Tia's group, a collective of Liam absolutists.

Marie's group, centered around Rosetta, whom she had acquired.

There were others, too: those who didn't hide their ambitions, and those who joined in for the fun of it.

Normally, they would want to crush the weaker factions first—but ironically, both recognized the other as their greatest enemy.

They acknowledged each other's strength.

But they would never say it out loud.

And their killing intent was real.

It was only because of Liam that they hadn't killed each other yet.

Just as both were about to seriously start killing each other—to begin a civil war involving their allies.

At the very moment they raised their right hands to give the order to attack.

Liam's face appeared on the monitor.

"You utter fools."

Liam, speaking in a low voice, was sitting with his sword.

His head was bowed, so his expression was hidden, but he was definitely angry.

Tension ran through the bridge, and at the same time, sighs of relief could be heard from the surrounding military personnel.

However, the two women, whose misdeeds had been exposed at the worst possible moment, were not at peace.

Marie straightened her back and saluted, but she couldn't stop the cold sweat.

Tia, on the monitor, looked just as pale.

"Lord Liam, you're safe! I, Marie, was so worried—"

"Worried, yet you take my fleet and start a fight?"

"N-no, well, that is, um—th-that's right! A young man named Isaac stormed in and occupied the capital planet, citing his bloodline! That's why I escaped the capital with Lady Rosetta, but that woman there framed me as a criminal and attacked!"

As she hastily pushed all the blame onto Isaac and Tia, the woman on the other side of the monitor had the face of a demon.

"You fossil woman! I'll turn you to stone again!"

However, when Liam raised his face, his eyes were incredibly cold.

"Hmph, so you two can't even watch the house."

They had failed to protect Liam's capital planet.

In other words, it signified their failure.

Marie was trembling uncontrollably.

"M-my sincerest apologies."

"Your punishment will come later. First, we will annihilate the enemy that has infiltrated our territory. Take the fleets you've gathered and go subjugate them immediately. Don't let a single one escape alive."

When the communication ended, the gazes of the crew on the bridge were fixed on Marie.

However, Marie's reaction was apparently unexpected to them.

Clasping her hands, Marie was swooning over the sight of Liam after so long.

"Ahhh! Lord Liam is so gallant today! —Now then, it's time for work. We have to annihilate the pirates faster than that minced-meat woman. I expect all of you to fight with valor."

The military personnel reacted as if to say, 'It's a bit late to try and smooth things over now.'

◇

Liam's mansion on the Banfield family's capital planet.

Numerous spaceships floated in the sky above it.

They were on standby over the mansion, and Isaac was furious at their disrespectful behavior.

"Who is the fool who would park a battleship over the mansion! Bring him to me at once! I, myself, will take his head."

As Isaac drew his sword, those around him took a step back.

However, his head knight and other companions were different.

"Lord Isaac, it seems Lord Liam has returned."

"Liam has? Hmph! Lucky bastard."

There was a reason he didn't seem flustered by Liam's return.

This family feud was, by all accounts, a problem caused by the failure to name a successor.

Isaac was planning to make Liam name him as his successor.

He would frame it as a temporary measure—that if Liam had a child, the succession rights could be lowered.

If he could do that, it would be much easier for him to make moves in the future.

Just by becoming a candidate for the head of the Banfield family, many would flock to his side.

"Prepare for a meeting at once. Good grief, having an unrefined brother is such a hassle. The blood relation alone is detestable. —More importantly, I don't see Noden anywhere?"

"He feared Liam and ran away."

Isaac had no interest in Noden, and hearing that he had fled, he only thought, "What a fool."

More important was Liam.

Isaac was dissatisfied with Liam, who didn't act like a proper noble.

He believed Liam was not befitting the Banfield family, which was becoming one of the most prominent noble houses in the Empire.

However, for now, he was willing to bow his head.

"I dislike him, but the territory he has developed is attractive."

That territory might become his.

For that, he would endure and put on a good face in front of Liam.

The head knights also wore meaningful smiles.

"Lord Liam's role was merely to be a placeholder until a worthy head for the Banfield family appeared, wasn't it?"

Such flattery put Isaac in a good mood.

"When I think of it that way, I almost feel grateful to Liam."

Just then, a message arrived for Isaac.

It was a summons from Liam.

◇

My home, after so long.

This was the hall that was supposed to be my harem, but since there were no beautiful women, I had it remodeled into an audience chamber.

Sitting on my throne, I yawned in front of my many subordinates—more than just civil and military officials.

Before me, a brother I had never met was chattering away with a smile on his face.

"Brother, I am relieved to see you have returned safely. However, in times like these, the lack of a successor becomes a seed of chaos. What do you say? Why not name me, your brother who is closely related by blood and befitting of the head of the house, as your successor? Of course, if you have a child, Brother, I have no problem with their succession rights taking precedence."

I looked at Isaac's face.

A handsome young man with blond hair and blue eyes.

But, just like me, his face oozed the scumminess of his character.

Thinking that, I felt a sense of brotherly kinship.

But, no. My fortune is my own, and I won't hand it over to anyone, not even my own flesh and blood.

"Why do I have to name you?"

"Well, as I was saying, it becomes necessary in situations like this."

"Besides, there are knights who abandoned the Banfield family. I hear they've returned shamelessly and acted quite high and mighty."

At my words, the knights Isaac had brought with him wore bitter expressions.

My own knights were glaring at them with sharp eyes.

They were the ones who fled when the main house was in decline.

Apparently, it's a big no-no from a chivalric standpoint.

Of course, I don't trust people, so I can understand how they feel.

However, I have no intention of keeping traitors.

"And on top of that, I hear there are fools who betrayed me and sided with Isaac."

The officials were terrified.

Cold glares, as if to say "You traitor," were being directed at them from all around.

One of the officials stepped forward to offer an explanation, so I decided to hear him out.

"Lord Liam, please permit me to speak!"

"Permission granted."

As I gave my permission, Klaus, who was standing beside me, looked startled.

"Lord Liam, are you sure?"

"If you can give me an interesting excuse, I'll consider forgiving you. Come on, let's hear it."

The official, who had been granted permission to speak, began his excuse with a pale face.

"This incident has brought our house's weakness to light. While Lord Liam was missing, the military was divided, and it affected our governance. This is due to the absence of a successor."

His opinion was correct.

Because I hadn't named a successor, my territory was thrown into chaos.

I applauded the official's excuse.

"A perfectly valid opinion. —But, it wasn't interesting, so it's rejected. You can try again in your next life."

"Wh-what?!"

Too bad for you.

A proper lord might have listened to your opinion—but I'm a corrupt lord.

I'm not looking for opinions like that.

Brian (ヽ´ω`): "Our knights are so awful, it's painful... I believe I've muttered this before."