Friday is time for some promotion.

"Otome Game Sekai wa Mob ni Kibishii Sekai desu" (A World Where Mob Characters Are Harsh in an Otome Game) is available as a comic on ComicWalker and Niconico Seiga. Chapters 1 and 3 are currently available [as of the 1st of the month].

Since Chapter 3's availability is limited, I hope you'll enjoy it soon.

Also, please check out the book version, which includes extra content.

Randolph was trembling as he read the report that had arrived.

What was written there was the exact opposite of the initial report.

"You mistook the Pietak family for the Banfield family—you say?"

The report, which seemed to have swapped everything but the faces and names of Liam and Peter, sent shivers down his spine.

Unbelievable.

This shouldn't be happening.

How could such a mistake occur?

He pondered this, then shook his head.

"I must immediately contact the pirates and tell them to cancel the plan."

The battle must have already begun.

In this situation, he had no choice but to abandon the pirates and offer aid with the Razel Viscountcy's fleet to earn their favor.

Just as he made this decision—.

"Lord Randolph!"

The panicked report from his subordinate stated that the pirates had been soundly defeated.

The Pietak family had also lost most of their fleet and had fled to the Viscountcy for help.

"N-No! Send them away immediately!"

"B-But, Lord Randolph, the Pietak family is related to us by marriage and has a military alliance, so we cannot refuse them."

It turned out that signing various treaties in a hurry along with the engagement was a bad move.

Randolph clutched his head.

"I-It can't be. Something like this—"

The next report was from his daughter, Katerina.

"Father!"

He thought he didn't have time to deal with his daughter right now, but his legs trembled when he heard the content.

"I came to the Pietak family's territory, but something's wrong here! It hasn't developed at all, and it's completely different from the information I had. Also, debt collectors are asking the Razel Viscountcy to repay some of the Pietak family's debts! Peter's parents are on the Empire's capital planet, but when I contacted them, they just told me to pay it, and the conversation was useless."

It was a cruel request to ask the Viscountcy to cover even a portion of such an enormous debt.

Even for the Razel Viscountcy, which earned a decent amount, it was difficult.

"And then—"

"Is there something else?!"

Randolph didn't want to hear any more, but Katerina insisted it was important to tell him.

"Peter, you see... he caught a venereal disease."

Upon hearing that, Randolph's vision went dark.

◇

I returned to my family's estate three months after leaving the Razel Viscountcy.

During that time, all I did was hunt pirates in the Exner Barony.

The Baron's territory was something else.

It was a territory that exuded a strong will to squeeze every last drop out of its people.

It wasn't as bad as the former Banfield family's territory, but it felt like a textbook example of a wicked lord.

After staying there for a while and playing with Kurt, my fleet annihilated the pirates.

Baron Exner also had a daughter, and he asked me to take care of her when she reached a suitable age.

This, in other words, meant he recognized me as a fellow wicked lord.

His daughter was still young, so it would be a while before she came to my mansion for training.

—But, that's neither here nor there.

"Nice to meet you, Lord Liam."

An elderly woman with a straight posture greeted me.

"A new head maid, perhaps?"

She came to greet me immediately upon my return; she certainly has proper manners.

As I changed, she showed no signs of displeasure.

I had heard she was strict about etiquette, but she clearly understood who her superior was.

"Do you need something from me?"

"I wanted to ask a few things about your training. Lord Liam, what kind of house did you find the Razel Viscountcy to be?"

There should be no problem telling the truth to the head maid who will be taking care of me.

"There was nothing worth noting. It was a good house to use as a cautionary tale."

Diligent, kind—a house the complete opposite of me.

While there were some good aspects, overall, it's a house I have no need to associate with.

No, a house I cannot associate with.

We just don't get along.

Compared to them, what about Baron Exner?

He was an ideal wicked lord.

It's a house I want to continue associating with.

"—You're quite harsh, aren't you?"

The head maid looked surprised.

"There's no need to associate with them anymore. They probably wouldn't want to either."

"You're not considering retaliation?"

—Retaliation? Ah, you mean because of their poor treatment?

It's certainly frustrating, but if I were to lay hands on the 'serious' ones, the Empire might make a fuss.

"I don't have time to get involved with every little thing."

The head maid seemed like she wanted to say something, but she didn't press further.

◇

After the head maid returned to her room, she made contact with—the Imperial Chancellor.

In an Empire where anti-aging technology had advanced considerably, the fact that both the head maid and the Chancellor appeared elderly meant they were quite old.

"It's been a while, Chancellor."

"I've been looking forward to your report. So, what do you think of the Banfield family from your perspective?"

The head maid, who originally worked in the Imperial palace, had a deep relationship with the Chancellor.

They had known each other since they were young.

"They are a house that exemplifies the pure and righteous Imperial nobility."

"You expect me to believe that?"

The Chancellor probably couldn't believe that a mere good-natured person could improve a debt-ridden territory to this extent.

The head maid agreed, but she couldn't say anything else.

"Some people in the world just have it. It reminds me of you in your younger days."

She felt like she was looking at the Chancellor in his youth, climbing the ranks in the palace.

When she said this, the Chancellor smiled.

"Is that so? Someone who has it, huh?"

There are people with unbelievable luck at times.

Beings who seem chosen—as the population increased, several such individuals began to appear in each era.

"However, it's not just luck. He's quite composed for his age. He said the Razel Viscountcy was good enough as a cautionary tale. He doesn't seem to need to retrain."

"—Hmm, that house. I heard many bad rumors. I also heard the Count was attacked?"

"It's being processed as an attack by pirates calling themselves the Pietak family."

"He has courage for such a young man."

The Chancellor understood that he had repelled the pirates, knowing they were the Pietak family.

"What do you intend to do?"

"Those who foolishly teach young nobles the wrong ways of the world need a bit of a harsh punishment. We will conduct a full investigation into this matter in the Empire."

A thorough investigation into the pirate attacks and other related matters was decided.

"However, is the Viscount foolish? What was the reason for choosing the Pietak family over the Banfield family?"

The marriage between the Razel and Pietak families.

The Chancellor could only scratch his head at this.

It made no sense to ally with that particular family.

He decided to investigate whether they had some leverage over him.

The Chancellor said to the head maid.

"Watch him for a while. He is a noble who will support the future of the Empire."

"Oh, you have high expectations, don't you?"

"Everyone else is foolish. Oh, and one more thing. I have an interesting piece of news. Convey it to your current master."

After the communication ended, the head maid decided to relay the information she received from the Chancellor to Liam.

◇

"Lord Liam! I, Brian, was so worried I couldn't sleep at night!"

"No, you're old, you should sleep."

When I returned to the mansion, Brian was crying tears of joy, which was troublesome.

Looking at Amagi,

"It's a lie. My sleep has decreased, but there are no health problems."

—You rascal, did you really worry about me?

Brian asked me.

"B-By the way, Lord Liam—I heard you learned a lot at the Viscount's house, but did you gain anything?"

I did gain something, but—not anything significant.

"No. I made a friend, but that's it?"

"Oh, Lord Liam finally has a friend! I, Brian, am so moved! Why don't we invite him over sometime?"

He's happy just because I made a friend?

This guy, does he think I had no friends—ah, I didn't.

Come to think of it, I didn't have any friends.

Is this the right way to be a wicked lord?

But, bad guys tend to form groups, so this feels wrong.

As expected, the classic image of bad guys is them having subordinates.

"Master, regarding our future plans."

When Amagi asked, I announced what I had been thinking about.

"About that, I've decided to create an entertainment district."

"Oh, is that so?"

To Amagi's unenthusiastic reaction, I passionately explained.

"Stress relief is important. But venereal diseases are not good. They are too dangerous. We will provide a safe environment to have fun while maintaining thorough management. The budget will come from my pocket money."

Since the budget for this fiscal year had already been finalized, I could only use my personal funds.

—It should be enough, right? My sense of money has been getting a bit skewed lately.

"Understood. However, before that—may I ask why you purchased an aircraft carrier? And why did you buy a warship like a fortress-class, which would be difficult even for our house to handle?"

I averted my gaze from Amagi.

"You were aware of the military buildup plan, weren't you?"

When I remained silent, Amagi pressed me further.

"We cannot secure the crew. They will be idle for a while. Do you understand how much budget is needed for maintenance?"

"—Because I wanted it."

I couldn't tell him that I was aroused by Nias's sporty underwear.

"Please be careful in the future. Thanks to you, we are receiving continuous inquiries from other arms factories wanting to sell us vessels. We've also been contacted by the Imperial Army, who want us to consider purchasing decommissioned ships."

Arms factories are contacting me, wanting me to buy their products.

The military is contacting me, saying, "New models are good, but please buy our decommissioned ones too."

They seem to be flattering me, thinking, "Since you're buying fortress-class ships, you must have money, right?"

It's troublesome that refusing either of them easily will lead to complications later.

"Then, just buy them and distribute them. Baron Exner wanted one."

"There's nothing good about distributing them for free."

As Amagi was rejecting my idea, Brian came to my rescue.

"Hmm, in that case, wouldn't it be better to lend them to nearby minor lords? If they can build up their forces and defend themselves, our burden will be lighter."

Currently, the Banfield family was maintaining the surrounding security.

I see, that's a good idea.

I want to profit from rentals.

"Alright, contact the military immediately. We'll maintain the used ones and lend them to the surrounding lords. We'll use the new ones ourselves. That should solve the problem."

Amagi muttered.

"First of all, the problem isn't solved, and the handling of the fortress-class ship is still undecided."

As we were talking, the head maid approached me.

"Lord Liam, I have a report."

◇

—Peter's Peter exploded.

Upon receiving that news, I held my stomach and laughed.

The head maid had informed me about the internal strife within the Pietak family.

However, more than the important news, Peter's story, the cause of it all, was more amusing.

That scoundrel played around too much and caught a venereal disease.

"It's not something to laugh about."

As Amagi cradled my head on the bed in the bedroom, I gasped for breath, exhausted from laughing.

I coughed, and after calming down, I took a deep breath.

"Ah, that was funny."

"Master, what the head maid wanted to say was—"

"It's a family feud, isn't it? Still, I can't help but laugh."

The Pietak family, but their sole heir, Peter, could no longer produce an heir.

Did this disrupt their plans, or is there a family feud over the next head?

Even if you try to be serious, you end up in a family feud and the household splits—seriously, being serious doesn't lead to anything good.

"He probably got it from Katerina. As expected, even being serious doesn't help. I sympathize with Peter for being saddled with such a terrible woman."

"It's possible he got it from his fiancée, but it's not clear if they had a physical relationship."

Amagi said, "Katerina-san will have a difficult time getting married from now on."

Whether she breaks up with Peter or not, it's a hellish situation.

Because she'll be rumored to have had a venereal disease.

"More importantly, I heard the Henfrey Trading Company lent a large sum of money to the Pietak family. They apparently suffered a huge loss."

"—He's an idiot too."

Was he trying to get close to the Pietak family by deceiving them?

Well, it wouldn't be good if they went bankrupt, so I'll lend them a hand.

After all, they are my important Echigoya (a term for a trusted merchant).

As Amagi cradled my head and I gazed at her two large mounds,

"Oh, Master—what happened to that pendant?"

"This? I found it during mining operations."

Brian, who originally aimed to be an adventurer, said, "That's a souvenir item. In ancient times, there were mysterious necklaces that protected against various poisons~"

It seems to be a necklace to prevent poisoning, and replicas of it became popular as souvenirs, like good luck charms.

"Do you want it?"

"Please keep such items, Master. Even if it's a fake, be aware that you are in a position where you could be poisoned."

She's telling me to be aware.

"Nowadays, poison can be easily detected by tests, can't it?"

"You must not be careless."

Since it can be checked quickly, cases of nobles being poisoned are rare.

However, if it's a lucky charm, I'll just keep wearing it around my neck.

It's made of gold, and it's my favorite.

Brian (´ω｀): "Even though I did nothing, my enemies are disappearing on their own. This is probably because of Lord Liam's good deeds every day."