It was when I was being bothered by that unfortunate girl.

Suddenly, the guide appeared, clutching his chest as if in pain.

Did he rush over?

"Liam—you're awake? You realized that I was gathering your enemies!"

"Huh?"

I thought the Barkley family's fleet was too numerous, and that some of the military were hindering me, but it seems it was the guide's doing.

"You, did you perhaps gather my enemies for me!?"

"Didn't I tell you that! And yet you didn't notice, and on top of that—cough!"

Seeing his frustrated expression, I understood.

"—Sorry. I didn't realize."

"Well, it's fine. But, you should have realized by now."

"Realized what?"

"Realize it! Who your true enemy is!"

My true enemy?

The guide was trying to tell me who my true enemy was.

In other words—was there an entity manipulating the Barkley family?

Perhaps, to protect me from such an entity, this guy was—.

"You, no way!"

"Finally understood, huh!"

"Ah, I understand. Thank you, really."

"—Huh?"

It was natural for the guide, who looked exhausted, to be angry.

He was protecting me from my true enemy, so it's natural he'd be angry if I didn't notice.

He must have gone through a lot of trouble.

Looking closely, his clothes were also tattered.

And, he gathered my enemies for me.

Sensing my reluctance, he arranged things so that everything would be over in one battle.

"I thought something was strange. For the Barkley family, there were too many, and some of the military were hostile to me."

Well, they were just a collection of numbers.

Honestly, I was surprised at how weak they were.

The only surprise was the secret weapon that appeared at the end.

"No, I mean!"

Before the guide could say anything, I decided to express my gratitude for everything up to this point.

"Regarding Avid, and many other things. I've really been indebted to you. I'll have you investigate the matter of the true enemy as well. For now—thanks!"

It felt a bit awkward.

There are few people to whom I can express my sincere gratitude.

Then, the guide began to tremble.

"N-no, stop it."

"Hey, don't be embarrassed. You're a cute one, too."

"Stop ittttttt!"

◇

What the guide saw were the golden matchlock guns lined up behind Liam.

Several very old guns were lined up, their muzzles pointed at the guide.

Liam's gratitude, amplified by the appreciation of the crowd, was being loaded as bullets and fired at the guide.

Liam didn't seem to notice.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Hii!"

The guide couldn't directly harm Liam.

If he attacked in his weakened state, he would be counterattacked.

Liam had gained that much power.

(What is this guy!? How much have I tried to make you unhappy!? And yet, you always thank me—this guy, he'd probably be grateful even if I fell clumsily!)

Liam, who thanked him for everything, scared the guide.

It was to the point where he suspected Liam was doing it on purpose.

(Did he know I hate gratitude? N-no, that's not possible—it shouldn't be.)

As Liam took a step closer to the guide, bullets were fired one after another from the matchlock guns.

The bullets pierced the guide, and then returned to black smoke.

"Noooooo!"

The golden bullets, imbued with gratitude, pierced the guide's body.

Unable to bear the pain, the guide fled the scene as black smoke.

"Oh, hey, where are you going! I still haven't properly thanked you—he's gone."

As the guide disappeared, Nias and Yurishia began to move.

"Liam-sama, please give me a budget!"

"I'll never leave you!"

Liam, who was being hugged by the unfortunate girls, thought about whether he could do anything to thank the guide.

A dog, peeking from the corner of the room, watched the scene with a disappointed expression.

◇

Four years had passed since his official assignment.

His final rank, considering his future peerage, was decided as a reserve officer with the rank of General.

Although he achieved an unprecedented promotion due to various merits—the bribes were incredibly effective.

He became a General in just four years.

Military ranks are only this much in front of nobility.

By the way, Tia had been promoted to Brigadier General.

Marie was a Major.

Yurishia was promoted to Colonel as the Vice-Adjutant to the General.

And—Nias was promoted to Technical Major with my support.

For some reason, I'm listed as his backer—I can't quite accept it. But it's too much trouble to refuse, and since he's in the "unfortunate" category, I'll just accept it.

And the truly unfortunate one is Wallace.

"Wallace, you're a Captain in the reserves? What were you doing?"

If he had just followed me, Major would have been guaranteed, but he only reached Captain, one rank below.

He looked embarrassed.

"Well, uh, that's...

"Why aren't you getting promoted! I even gave you bribes!"

No, that was wrong. It was seasonal greetings and donations.

Besides, I've been quite considerate of the military.

I used the military's money to curry favor with the regular fleet as I pleased, and requested additional supplies for logistics while playing the real-life internal affairs game in my territory, but I also contributed to the military's equipment upgrades by purchasing old vessels.

I even asked for Wallace's promotion!

"Aren't you embarrassing me, your patron!"

"No, well! I didn't have any opportunities to be active, did I! I was just supervising construction sites on the ground, right?"

"Even so, you should get promoted, that's nobility!"

"I'm royalty, you know."

Honestly—his brother Cedric has been promoted to Major General.

Wallace clasped his hands behind his head.

"Besides, once you enter the reserves, military ranks are meaningless. You just get a little money every year, I guess."

I don't receive it because I'm the head of the family.

And I don't need it anyway.

"Also, I'd rather not stand out too much."

"Aren't you just saying something that sounds good, and you just couldn't get promoted?"

Wallace averted his gaze from me, so he probably just couldn't get promoted.

However, I was the one who made him do things unrelated to his job.

I'll turn a blind eye this time.

"Well, it's fine. Starting next year, I'll be entering Imperial University. Military ranks will become meaningless then."

"That's right! Ahh, the campus life I've always dreamed of! I'll go on blind dates every day and have fun!"

—Is this appropriate for royalty?

And, since I already have a fiancée, won't I be unable to participate in blind dates?

I feel like I need to think more seriously about life.

Looking at Yurishia, I feel that way.

"Liam-sama! You've rented out a famous hotel in the capital star, haven't you? Please rent a room for me too!"

Seeing the unfortunate girl ask with sparkling eyes, I shook my head.

"Do as you please."

"Yay! I'm one step closer to the life I've always dreamed of!"

Wallace looked at Yurishia with a dumbfounded expression.

"I thought you were a serious soldier, but you're just a normal woman. You look good, though."

She's actually quite capable, you know.

It's not a problem to keep her by my side.

However—.

"Ah, I'll swim in the hotel pool, and go shopping for lunch. Enjoy a leisurely time at a cafe~

—Looking at her enjoying her fantasies, I still feel disappointed.

Wallace called out to me.

"More importantly, don't you need to inform Rosetta about your副官 (fukukan - adjutant/aide)?"

"—Ah."

I had to inform my fiancée about keeping a concubine.

—What is it? I feel a sense of dread.

"More importantly, Liam, are you really okay with this?"

"With what? Concubine? Consort? I originally intended to build a harem, so it's not a problem."

"Eh, really? No, that's not what I'm talking about now. It's about the problem of the Barkley family's territory."

"Ah, that."

Thanks to defeating the Barkley family, I was able to seize all of their assets.

That's fine, but they controlled too many planets.

When I tried to manage them, Amagi from my territory said, "—There are too many planets that are too far from the main planet."

It's like I acquired only scattered territories.

Although it might seem like just a warp jump, distance is surprisingly important.

Also, many of the planets are in poor condition.

Those guys were mass-producing death planets for Elixir.

It was good to acquire them, but if I was asked if I actually wanted them, they were all planets that made me go "Hmm."

So, I sold them to the Empire.

I kept a few for myself, but sold the rest.

And, I recovered what I wanted to recover.

Planet development devices—the Barkley family had many, so I intend to utilize them effectively from now on.

I'll load them onto fortress-class ships and use them to develop desolate planets.

Because I have Elixir to sell.

When I sold rare metals to merchants, they sold like hotcakes and Elixir circulated, so I bought most of it.

—And, there are the guide's intriguing words.

My true enemy.

There must be an existence that is incomparable to the Barkley family.

If I have to fight such an existence, I will need to obtain even greater power than I have now.

Also, defending scattered territories is troublesome.

It's better not to have them in the first place.

"It's a waste. You could have given them to me."

"If you want a desolate planet, I'll give it to you right away, though?"

"I don't want that. Please, give me a somewhat developed planet. If it's as developed as the planets you maintained with one hand, I won't complain."

—The planet where I played the real-life internal affairs game in my territory developed incredibly well, perhaps due to its location.

Many merchants wanted to open shops, so I left it to Thomas and the others, and gradually people started to increase—yes, it developed.

After all, it's an Imperial direct territory, so it's close to the city.

The development speed is on a different level.

"Don't be unreasonable. Well, I'll tidy it up a bit."

"I can look forward to that."

—Even someone like this is my subordinate.

I need to increase my allies in the future.

The guide, who disappeared without telling me about my true enemy—knowing him, he probably has some plan.

For now, I'll focus on accumulating power.

"Oh, by the way, what are you going to do now? Are you returning to the capital star right away?"

Wallace asked, and I answered honestly.

"I'm returning to my territory once. I have work to do."

"Oh, then I'll be in the capital star—"

"You're coming too!"

I decided to return to my family home with Wallace.

◇

"Ah, my nostalgic homeland!"

Brian, wiping away tears, watched me with my arms spread wide.

"Liam-sama, you have become so magnificent. This Brian cannot see through his tears."

"Can you see me being magnificent in that state?"

This guy is always crying.

Looking at Amagi, she was expressionless as usual.

"Amagi, was there any trouble?"

"Yes. There were some damages from military actions, so there was some commotion with compensation, and that's about it."

It seems there were damages after all.

"I see. Treat the soldiers preferentially. They are my important fighting force."

"Yes."

Brian, who wiped his tears, asked me about Rosetta.

"More importantly, Liam-sama, you've finally acquired candidates for consort, but where are Rosetta-sama and she herself?"

"—I left them behind."

"Why! I was so happy to think that Liam-sama was finally interested in women!"

It was insulting to think I wasn't interested in women.

From Brian's perspective, he probably wanted Rosetta and Yurishia to come back with me, but both are currently enjoying their hotel stays.

As for Rosetta—I find it difficult to face her, so I'm leaving her be.

Besides, Yurishia was just recruited as an adjutant, not a consort candidate.

She's in the "unfortunate" category.

But if I say that, Brian will be annoying, so I decided to change the subject.

"Ah, by the way, Brian, what do you think of this?"

I showed him a machine that looked like a heart.

Looking at it, Brian examined it with interest.

"Ho, this is rare. "Machine Heart"—it's said to breathe life into lifeless machines, an Oopart."

"What!?"

Looking at Amagi, I placed the Machine Heart against her large chest.

It sank as much as I pressed, but it was firm and a nice chest.

However, Amagi looked at me with cold eyes.

"Something?"

"No, because you said it gives life."

"—It's a fake. Ooparts aren't found that easily."

"R-really? I would have been happy if you had gained life."

"—It's impossible."

Amagi said so, but she looked a little sad.

Brian looked at me.

"More importantly, Liam-sama, I heard you purchased multiple fortress-class ships. Don't buy battleships like they're toys."

"It's fine. I'll use them as temporary bases for pioneer planets."

"What! You really intend to develop them?"

"Of course."

I'll load the acquired planet development devices and develop my territory using them correctly.

I need to prepare for the true enemy that will eventually come.

For now, I need to accumulate power.

"For now, I've decided to build up my strength. Amagi, I will develop my territory further. Prepare a new plan."

However, Amagi's response was different from usual.

"Regarding that, I think I'll stop managing it soon."

"Eh?"

"Talent has already been cultivated. Even if I don't do it, the territory can be sufficiently developed using support artificial intelligence."

"R-really?"

"—From now on, I will be supporting the Master."

Brian told me Amagi's future plans.

"Once the handover is complete, Amagi will be in the capital star to take care of Liam-sama. If all goes well, she should be able to head to the capital star with Liam-sama."

I was relieved to hear that.

"What? Is that so! Alright, if Amagi is coming, I'll have a grand welcome prepared!"

"No, that's fine."

I felt a sense of loneliness from Amagi's refusal.

"—R-really? Then, I'll just have a normal welcome—are you sure?"

"Yes. Besides, if I'm too visible, the Empire won't look favorably upon it."

Amagi said that a flashy welcome wouldn't be good for me, and I felt lonely again.

Brian (´・ω・｀) "—Rosetta-sama is my fiancée. Yurishia-sama was recruited as an adjutant, a consort or lover candidate—it's painful. The current situation where a harem is being built but not quite—it's painful."