The ones permitted to immigrate to the planet with the World Tree were the goblins and orcs.

The Banfield family had chosen them, the ugly ones, over the elves for their territory.

Hearing this, the Elven Queen trembled with rage aboard her returning immigrant ship.

Her brow was furrowed, and she was crushing the armrest of her throne in her grip.

“—Why would they not choose us! Why choose that hideous race!”

The number of immigrant ships led by the Elven Queen was small, but tens of thousands of her kin still lived on them.

Her people had been relieved, thinking they could finally settle in a new land.

But the negotiations had failed.

Learning that goblins and orcs had been chosen instead, they were in an uproar.

The elves by her side were also bewildered.

The Elven Queen's anger did not subside, and she screamed at the ceiling.

“Mere humans! If it has come to this, then let the World Tree wither! If it cannot be ours, then it is of no use! With this, I shall use the Cursed Star Poison to—”

At the enraged queen's words, the surrounding elves rushed to stop her, saying, "That would be a terrible idea."

The Cursed Star Poison was a dangerous substance, a materialization of the grudges and resentments from a destroyed planet.

If scattered, it could easily curse an entire planet. If used as a poison, anyone who drank it would surely meet a miserable end, dying in agony.

The weak-hearted would die instantly, their corpses becoming a breeding ground that spreads misfortune.

It was a poison that would cause great disaster if used.

Then—a top hat fell from the ceiling into their midst.

The elves didn't notice the top hat.

They couldn't see it.

And then, small arms and legs sprouted from the top hat.

“Ah, what arrogant and ugly rage. Since it’s related to Liam, I should be able to absorb it efficiently.”

The elves' anger, their hatred toward Liam—the Guide absorbed it all.

He even absorbed the Cursed Star Poison the elves possessed. The Guide had replenished a massive amount of negative energy for the first time in a while.

Power surged through his body.

Then, the Guide's body grew out from the hat.

Having regained his lost body, the Guide raised both hands.

“Resur-rection!”

The Guide savored the sensation of his restored body while pondering his next move.

“Hmm, I may have revived, but this isn't enough to defeat Liam. Besides, if I get close to him now, I'll be easily crushed. It would be great if I could scheme behind the scenes while Liam is away—ah, I've got it!”

What the Guide came up with was summoning magic.

He would send Liam to a distant planet that the Empire hadn't discovered yet.

However, the current Guide didn't have that much power.

So, what to do?

“Let's send him to a planet in this world that is performing an otherworld summoning to buy some time. In the meantime, if I incite rabble like these elves—Liam's territory will be in tatters. And if I steal his Alchemy Box and other things, he'll surely have a hard time.”

The Guide's plan was to get the troublesome Liam out of the way and weaken the Banfield family's power in his absence.

He would steal the Alchemy Box and the planetary development devices that were the source of Liam's wealth.

To do that, he just needed to send the meddlesome Liam to some other planet.

However, this was a world where magic also existed.

Countermeasures against kidnapping via summoning magic had been developed, and Liam, a Count, was protected by multiple layers of such measures.

“Another world might be impossible, but an undeveloped planet within this universe... right, sending him to a planet with a Demon Lord-like entity to have him defeated... well, that's probably impossible.”

If a Demon Lord could defeat Liam, he wouldn't have been cornered this badly in the first place.

Besides, if Liam disappeared, the Count's house would naturally search for him.

As long as it bought him time, it would be fine. The Guide searched for a suitable location.

And he found one—a planet suffering under a Demon Lord, about to perform an otherworld summoning.

A single hero was about to be summoned.

“This is it! As long as Liam is gone, I can do as I please in his territory! Alright, I'll get him caught up in the summoning ritual and kick him out!”

When the Guide left the room, the Elven Queen was sitting limply in her chair.

“Your Majesty!?”

As the surrounding elves worried, the queen wore a look as if all her ambition had vanished.

The furrow in her brow was gone, replaced by a calm—no, a somewhat detached expression.

“I suppose I don't have the poison after all.”

“O-of course! Even if we were to make the World Tree wither, we'd have to squeeze out the Elixir first.”

The Elven Queen shook her head at her relieved attendants.

“That's too much trouble, too.”

“Too much trouble!? Y-Your Majesty, what has come over you?”

“I think I'll just look for a peaceful place to live. A wandering journey is fine, but I want to settle down and relax soon. Also, I want to get married.”

The elves looked at each other, their expressions suggesting that might be a good idea.

After all, while Her Majesty was beautiful—her age was her age.

The honest opinion of those around her was that they wanted her to settle down soon.

But there was one young elf who couldn't read the room.

“That might be for the best. Her Majesty is already two hundred years old—”

“Hmph!”

“Gah!”

The queen stood up and slammed her fist into the stomach of the young elf who had let his tongue slip.

“Alright, for now, let's find a planet where we can all live.”

Because the Guide had absorbed too much of the elves' wicked feelings for his revival—the conversation took a strange turn.

◇

The Imperial Capital Planet.

There, a man named Calvin, the Crown Prince, was present.

He was the man engaged in a succession dispute with the Third Prince, Cleo, whom Liam had backed.

Thanks to Liam backing Cleo, who had been in an overwhelmingly disadvantageous position, Crown Prince Calvin, whose position was once said to be unshakable, had been pushed into a corner.

Many of the nobles who had been part of his faction had left, and only his closest associates remained.

His influence within the Empire had waned, and it was now rumored that Cleo would be the next emperor.

—All because of one man, Liam, Calvin was on the verge of losing his position as Crown Prince.

But Calvin had a secret plan.

The conference room.

Facing the assembled nobles, Calvin wore a confident smile.

“The larger a faction becomes, the harder it is to control.”

Having once led the largest faction, Calvin understood this well.

Foolish nobles had gathered in Calvin's faction as well, often holding him back.

The bigger the faction, the more problems arise.

And now, a great number of fools, eager to back the winning horse, were flocking to Cleo's faction.

The one who had guided them there was—Calvin.

“I doubt Liam can keep a faction together.”

“Even we struggled with it.”

“There are plenty of idiots who will act on their own and drag him down.”

The foolish nobles would drag Liam down without him having to do a thing.

Eventually, he would lose control of the faction.

Calvin and his men, who had experience managing a faction, had foreseen this.

“We will make our move when Liam-kun can no longer act freely. Until then, let us bide our time and build our strength.”

For that time, now was the time to lie low.

Calvin and his followers were in agreement: for now, they would not interfere, but simply watch from the sidelines.

◇

Lately, Brian has been a pain.

He keeps barging in while I'm relaxing and bringing up the issue of an heir.

Since I'm relaxing, my attire is casual.

“Lord Liam, how long do you intend to shelve this issue!?”

“Shut up! Don't you dare intrude on my private life so casually!”

“This is not a private matter! This is a crisis for our House!”

Brian was worried about the future of the Banfield family.

If you ask me, I couldn't care less about the next generation.

What's this about an heir problem?

I—hate children.

“Stay out of my business below the belt. I've decided to do as I please.”

“In that case, artificial insemination would be fine. How about we use a capsule to prepare an heir?”

A capsule—a device that nurtures a child from artificial insemination until it becomes a baby.

With this, the burden on women is greatly reduced.

I, too, was reincarnated into this world through this method.

Thinking about it now, it's a pretty incredible story.

Children can be made without love, and with little burden.

For the sake of an heir, one can easily procure a child.

It's so frivolous it makes me want to puke.

“I hate capsules.”

Hearing my reply, Brian looked somewhat apologetic.

He probably thought I was bothered by the fact that I was born from a capsule.

I don't care at all, but clearing up the misunderstanding would be a pain, so I'll keep quiet.

“—My deepest apologies. However, this is a crucial matter for the Banfield family. Lord Liam's vassals have sworn their loyalty to you personally. Should anything happen to you, Lord Liam, there's no telling what would become of the Banfield family.”

“Don't worry about what happens after I die. It has nothing to do with me.”

“There you go again! It is because of that attitude that I am begging you to at least produce an heir! If you do not name a successor, Lord Liam, it will be too late when something happens!”

“Are you saying I'm going to die!?”

“Haven't you been through a series of events where you could have died at any moment!?”

As Brian and I argued, Amagi was preparing tea right beside us.

I took the cup, drained it in one gulp, and set it on the table.

Amagi immediately prepared a refill while interjecting into our conversation.

“I believe Lord Brian's concerns are quite reasonable, don't you?”

“Listen, Amagi. I'm not even a hundred years old yet. Isn't it too early to name a successor?”

From my previous life's perspective, a hundred years old sounds like a long life, but in this world, I'm treated like a kid who isn't even twenty.

I'm an adult, but I'm not recognized as a respectable member of society.

To explain it in terms from my past life, it's the strange situation of a nineteen-year-old kid naming his own successor.

Brian corrected my perception.

“A noble never knows when they might lose their life. It is essential to be prepared for anything.”

“Agh, fine. I'll name one someday.”

“That is why the vassals will not be satisfied unless it is Lord Liam's biological child!”

Tia, Marie, and the rest of my vassals have sworn their loyalty to me personally.

The point is, their loyalty is to me, not the House—not the Banfield family.

If I were to disappear and a relative took my place, they would never accept it.

My biological child is the bare minimum requirement.

But I won't die that easily.

After all, I have a goddess of fortune called the Guide—a goddess? No, that's not right. Well, a lucky entity is watching over me.

I've overcome every crisis.

In fact, there have been no crises so far.

There can be no obstacles in my life.

Until now, I've broken through everything without a problem.

I have no worries.

“Stay out of my business below the belt. By the way, don't you think the peasants who held that baby-making demonstration deserve to be punished?”

A little while ago, no, even now.

Demonstrations have been continuing within the territory.

There was a pro-democracy movement a while back, but the bigger problem is the "baby-making demonstration."

Because of this, I was laughed at during the inquiry committee hearing.

I will absolutely avenge this humiliation.

Amagi tilted her head. —Stop it, that's too cute.

“Master, the issue with the demonstrations will also be resolved once an heir is born, will it not?”

“It's punishment for defying me! For mere peasants to defy me is a grave sin, isn't it!?”

Brian brought his face close to mine.

“Lord Liam!”

“Wh-what is it!?”

“Since we're on the topic, I will be blunt. How long do you intend to refrain from laying a hand on Lady Rosetta!?”

The woman with a spirit of steel—Rosetta.

She was a lady who was truly my type, but the moment we got engaged, she became an easy woman who called me 'Darling.'

That's not the kind of woman I was looking for.

I want a woman with a strong spirit who hates me from the bottom of her heart and resists me.

Getting involved with an easy woman like that isn't any fun.

“When will I lay a hand on her? That's my decision to make, isn't it?”

“Lady Rosetta has already prepared herself, yet the problem is getting complicated because you, Lord Liam, are being a coward and can't make a move! You must produce an heir before returning to the Capital Planet!”

“Don't talk like I'm a coward!”

I gave Brian a light shove to create some distance and stood up, indignant.

Me, a coward?

That makes it sound like I'm afraid of Rosetta.

“I decide when and with whom I get involved! Rosetta is just one woman among many.”

That's right, I'm a man who will build a harem in the future.

A harem—that has the ring of an evil lord.

I will become an evil lord, surrounded by beautiful women, drinking wine, and committing evil deeds!

Faced with my resolve, Brian straightened his posture.

“Lord Liam—the number is zero.”

“Huh?”

“Currently, Lord Liam's harem consists of zero people. More than half a century has passed since you declared you would build a harem, yet the result is zero! This Brian has grave doubts as to whether you are truly serious about building one.”

“Zero!? Amagi is here! A-and Rosetta is here too!”

I glanced at Amagi, but she just shook her head.

“As I have stated many times, I do not count. Furthermore, in the case of Lady Rosetta alone, you would simply have one woman by your side, which cannot be called a harem. Also, didn't you previously state that you had no intention of including Lady Rosetta?”

Even with Rosetta, it's just one.

Still just one?

Nearly a hundred years have passed since my reincarnation, and I still haven't managed to build a harem.

“I-I'll treat beautiful women like they're disposable—th-that's right! I'll embrace a new beauty every day and then cast her aside! I'm going to go find the beauties in my domain right now!”

To escape their exasperated gazes, I declared I would go gather the beauties of my territory, and Brian's eyes widened.

“What! Does that mean you will lay your hands on a different woman every day!?”

“O-of course! I'll gather them at once. I have the money!”

By simple calculation, that's three hundred and sixty-five people a year.

To embrace them once and then cast them aside, what a villain I am.

As I was thinking that, Amagi and Brian nodded to each other.

“It is a small number, but this should solve the problem.”

“Indeed. One per day is far too few, but we already have over thirty thousand candidates for concubines. If we put out a call for applicants and hold a selection, we could easily gather several hundred thousand.”

—Huh?

Brian was smiling.

“Even at one a day, that's just over a thousand in three years. It feels a bit low, but there's no problem at all!”

Amagi agreed.

“For now, if we recruit a thousand each year starting next year, we can secure the numbers.”

“With such a limited number of slots, we'll surely gather the cream of the crop! This Brian can finally rest easy. If I were to be greedy, I'd say three a day would be even better.”

“Even with that, we'd likely be flooded with applications. We might even see applicants in the billions.”

—Crap.

I'm a Count who rules over multiple planets; in other words, I'm the king of hundreds of millions of subjects.

If I wanted to gather people, this number would be easy to assemble.

In fact, the atmosphere is more like, 'Eh, is that all?'

Brian wiped his forehead.

“To think I was worried you'd ask me to fill an entire planet with beautiful women. How foolish of me.”

Amagi was also talking about something absurd.

“According to records, there was once a noble who prepared a harem of ten billion. It's said he turned an entire planet into his personal harem.”

“I think going that far is a bit much, but around three hundred a year is no problem at all! If anything, the problem is that people might complain the quota is too small.”

I feel like I made the wrong choice.

I broke out in a cold sweat, regretting that I had underestimated this world.

“L-let's forget what I just said.”

“What!?”

Brian froze with a shocked expression, so I recalled my own aesthetic.

“My harem is to be composed only of the hand-picked beauties I have chosen. Yes, I just remembered. So, forget what I just said!”

Brian protested.

“But you've been saying that and haven't laid a hand on anyone until now!”

“Sh-shut up! Anyway, I'm going to build my own harem!”

“But that's why your results so far have been zero—Lord Liam!?”

Just as I was thinking about how to escape this situation, a magic circle appeared right beneath me.

From my installed knowledge, I instantly understood it was a summoning-type magic.

“Why—”

I should have had countermeasures against this kind of magic, but I was being sucked into the magic circle.

Brian rushed toward me, but he wouldn't make it in time.

Amagi also reached out for me, but she was too late—I was forcibly summoned.

But my state of mind at that moment wasn't one of surprise.

—Hell yeah, I escaped that situation.

Sapling-chan ( ゜∀゜): "Eh, what's this! So many comments saying you're lonely without me! Man, it's tough being popular~. ...But you know."

Sapling-chan ( ゜言゜): "I will never forgive any other plant-based idols. I'll make that World Tree wither and die."

Brian (´；ω；｀): "What an evil plant. More importantly, I'm devastated that Lord Liam has been taken away."