Patrice, leading a fleet of merchant ships, was meeting with an official from the Rustoir Unified Government at the spaceport.

The two shook hands.

"You must be Patrice-sama of the Newlands Company. We've been expecting you."

"The pleasure is all mine."

The Unified Government is a collection of numerous democratic nations.

They don't practice aristocratic politics like the Empire.

They rely more heavily on artificial intelligence than the Empire, and while their military has humanoid weapons, they have no knights.

From the Unified Government's perspective, the Empire's political system is an anachronism.

An official from this very Unified Government had been eagerly awaiting Patrice's arrival.

Guided by the official, he headed to the room where the transaction would take place.

Waiting there were not only officials from the Unified Government, but also politicians and military personnel.

"Quite an illustrious gathering."

When Patrice said this, the military men made bitter faces.

Accompanying Patrice as his guard was Marie.

(Are general-class officers present at a business transaction? Are they that desperate?)

As Patrice took his seat, Marie stood diagonally behind him.

The official who had guided them took charge of the meeting.

"We are in a hurry as well, so let's confirm the details of the transaction at once. And, we hope to continue doing business with you in the future—"

"I can't guarantee that."

When Patrice refused to commit to future dealings, the members of the Unified Government in the room grew hostile.

He knew they were quite anxious, but they seemed to be in a very tight spot.

"—May I ask why?"

"The one who prepared these goods is Count Banfield. The Count dislikes aiding a faction without a just cause."

Hearing this, one of the military men slammed his fist down.

"How dare you say that so brazenly!"

"Please wait! —My apologies. It seems you don't yet understand the situation."

The others restrained the military man who was showing his anger.

The official began to explain the circumstances of the current civil war.

"Among the nations affiliated with the Unified Government, there has been a movement to declare independence and establish a new interstellar nation."

This in itself was not unusual; similar movements occasionally occurred in the Empire as well.

They were usually suppressed quickly, but the situation with the Unified Government was different.

"If a dictator had emerged and declared independence, we would have suppressed them immediately. However, when independence is decided through democratic means, we cannot easily intervene."

If it were an opponent they could force into submission with their army, the Unified Government would crush them at once.

But they were in a bind when a democratically elected leader declared independence.

Because that was the result chosen by democracy.

Patrice listened to the story with amusement.

"The circumstances are different from the Empire's, I see."

"—Yes. And now, the nations advocating for independence have gathered and declared war on the Unified Government."

Listening from behind, Marie felt the pieces of the puzzle falling into place.

(Did the Empire support them? No—someone from the Empire, perhaps?)

"The weapons they're using are disguised, but our investigation has confirmed they are from the Empire."

Looking at the image projected in the air, Marie immediately identified which weapons factory had built the ships.

(Is this—the First Arms Factory? The Second Arms Factory is involved too. And isn't that a new model?)

They were ships from the arms factories that had sided with the Berkley family.

It seemed that after the Berkley family was destroyed, their ships had found their way to the Unified Government.

(To pull something like this off, someone in a very high position within the Empire must be involved.)

Patrice watched the footage with great interest.

"So you're saying the Empire is supporting these newly independent nations? That explains why you're all so angry. However, it's a problem for me if you take that out on me. I am a merchant. Besides, my patron, Count Banfield, is not supporting your enemies."

The official seemed to understand.

"Yes. But the problem is that the momentum for independence is growing in various regions. The Unified Government's military cannot move carelessly and is tied up monitoring these areas, so we can't gather our forces as we'd like."

But the enemy was equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and was suppressing the surrounding areas by force.

Patrice asked.

"—The name of the person supporting the enemy?"

The official, looking slightly troubled, replied, saying, "The most likely possibility is..."

"We believe it to be His Highness Linus of the Empire. To be precise, we have information that his associates are the ones making the moves."

Hearing this, Marie's eyes widened and gleamed brightly.

(So this is what Lady Rosetta was worried about. In any case, things are getting interesting.)

Patrice let out a small sigh.

"—His Highness Linus, you say. Well then, shall we begin the transaction for the goods I've brought?"

◇

The Henfrey Company's spaceship arrived in the Oxis United Kingdom.

As an interstellar nation, it was similar to the Empire, a collection of kingdoms practicing republican politics.

Thomas had done business in the United Kingdom before and was using his connections to meet with a certain noble.

The noble, smoking a pipe, exposed the internal affairs of the United Kingdom to Thomas.

After Thomas paid a large sum of money, of course.

"Prince Linus of the Empire is providing support to several nations that make up the United Kingdom. There's a backroom deal that when Prince Linus becomes emperor, he will cede the disputed territories to the United Kingdom."

"A backroom deal, you say!?"

He acted surprised, but it wasn't strange for such a story to exist.

In the first place, the Empire's territory was vast.

Losing a small piece of it wouldn't hurt Linus in the slightest.

Besides, the territory to be ceded belonged to nobles; it wasn't land that Linus could dispose of freely in the first place.

"The ones who made the backroom deal within the United Kingdom are gaining momentum. Skirmishes within the country are increasing, so they're scrambling to gather necessary supplies. You should come do business with us, too. You'll give us a good price, won't you?"

To the noble who demanded a discount as if it were a matter of course, Thomas accepted it, considering it part of the fee for the information.

"Do you know which countries are siding with Prince Linus?"

"My boy, the country and the nobles are separate. The country I serve is cooperating with Prince Linus, but I personally am not."

Thomas didn't trust him.

"—So His Highness Linus is making his move proactively."

"For the United Kingdom, we get support and the disputed territories. If His Highness Linus ascends to the throne in the Empire, the benefits will be significant."

He said it as if it were someone else's problem.

However, the noble also tilted his head.

"But, until now, even with the Empire's interference, things have never gotten this chaotic. The timing might be a factor, but it looks like these skirmishes will drag on for a while."

And so, Thomas was further extorted by the noble who claimed his finances were tight because of it.

◇

The Imperial University.

As I attended my lecture, I glanced sideways at Wallace, who was looking more haggard by the day.

"—Drinking until morning every night is bad for you."

That said, this world has excellent medicine.

There are even drugs that can cure a hangover instantly, so it's fine to drink like a fish every night.

Besides, our bodies are enhanced, so it's not a problem.

The reason Wallace looked so worn out was a mental issue.

"Leave me alone. I'm going to be killed soon anyway. Assassins will be sent after me, I'll be disposed of and my death will be ruled as from an illness—heheh, this is the fate of the rest of the imperial family."

He was so pessimistic it was getting annoying.

"I've assigned guards to you too, so don't worry."

"The imperial family has a long and sordid history. Over that long history, numerous special assassination groups have been born. Liam, you're strong, but you should realize there are opponents you can't beat with strength alone."

What a nasty reason for an assassination group to be born.

Hmm, I suppose I should spend more money on my own guards.

As I was consoling the pessimistic Wallace, an urgent report came in.

I checked it immediately. It was from Thomas and Patrice, who were operating in foreign countries.

There was also a report from Marie.

According to Thomas's report, there were movements in the Oxis United Kingdom that Linus was involved in.

That guy is a real villain.

More importantly, the United Kingdom.

A noble who sells out his own allies... I like it!

I'll instruct Thomas to maintain his connection with that noble who sells out his allies.

However, since Linus is my enemy, I'll add instructions to support the countries that are hostile to the ones Linus is cooperating with.

Patrice's report was—the momentum for independence was growing in the Rustoir Unified Government, and it seemed Linus was the one supporting it.

This guy's name pops up everywhere.

From the Empire's perspective, we'd want to support the countries on the verge of independence, but in my personal opinion, Linus is the enemy, so I'll lend my strength to the Unified Government.

Making such a selfish decision without any consideration for the Empire... I'm starting to scare myself.

It seems I'm starting to develop some self-awareness as an evil lord.

I read Marie's report.

It was filled with unimportant things.

"What's with her? Who told her to report on occult nonsense?"

Marie's report stated that it was hard to believe the conflicts in neighboring countries were happening simply because of the Empire's intervention.

There's a history of both interfering with and being interfered with by other nations.

It's something that has happened normally up until now.

But this time, something felt off, and she wrote that she felt something was moving behind the scenes.

Is she thinking up conspiracy theories? How ridiculous.

This is a world where they're fighting year-round.

It's probably just a coincidence of timing.

Something moving behind the scenes—no, wait.

Here, I arrived at a certain possibility.

Just as I'm about to fight the princes, there are movements in the neighboring countries.

"N-No way!"

I almost shouted, and I covered my mouth with my hand.

I almost broke into a grin.

The timing is too convenient for me—he must be behind this.

Yes, the Guide!

"What's wrong, Liam?"

Wallace looked at me with a tired face, so I gave him my biggest smile.

"Rejoice, Wallace. It seems my victory is now guaranteed."

"Are you sleep-talking?"

I smacked Wallace on the head since he didn't understand at all that I was serious.

◇

"Cheeeers!"

It was a dimly lit, high-class bar.

Well-dressed women flocked around Liam, pouring him drinks.

Near Liam was the figure of Wallace, drinking and crying.

"Dammit!"

He was drowning his sorrows.

"Wallace, we're in a high-class place, you should enjoy it more."

"I can't enjoy it! I can't enjoy it at all!"

Terrified by the threat of assassination, Wallace was using alcohol to distract himself.

Having been born into the imperial family, he knew just how sophisticated assassination had become.

Now, let's recall.

Where is the group that operated in the shadows of the Empire during its most radical era?

Two thousand years ago, there was an era of long, bloody conflict caused by the over-proliferated imperial family.

The shadow group active in that era was—in the end, betrayed by their employer, the Emperor, and turned to stone.

From the table where Liam and his group were making a ruckus, a woman headed for the restroom.

Once alone in the restroom, the woman took a needle out of her small bag.

"—Foolish man. Does he think he can survive on swordsmanship alone? You don't need strength to kill a man."

As she said that and was about to return to Liam, a large wall stood in her way.

The black wall was laughing.

"I agree with that opinion. Howeeever, a needle like that is nowhere near enough to kill that man~"

The large man laughing cheerfully wore a mask and a robe.

The robe swayed, and just as the woman was about to scream, a hand covered her mouth from behind.

Behind her was another woman wearing a similar mask.

When the masked woman peeled off the first woman's face, a different face was underneath.

The masked man—Kukri—brought his face close to the woman's.

"Your disguise is quite crude. It seems many techniques have been lost. A skill level unthinkable in our era."

The woman tried to escape by dislocating her joints and making her body pliable, but she couldn't break free from the masked woman holding her in a full nelson.

The masked woman's skin seemed to stick to her body, refusing to let go.

And then, the three of them slowly began to sink into the floor.

"Mmph!"

Watching the struggling woman, Kukri looked on with interest.

"We could assume you've grown weaker, but it's also possible you've acquired different techniques. Hmm, we'll have to ask you many things. After all, we have a two-thousand-year blank period to catch up on."

Just as the woman was about to do something, the masked woman knocked her unconscious.

"—Is this the shadow unit that serves the current emperor?"

To the masked woman's simple question, Kukri answered with a troubled look.

"Has the quality dropped? Well, perhaps they've just evolved in a different direction from us. Let's investigate that slowly. Oh, you, take her place and entertain Lord Liam."

"Yes."

The masked woman stopped sinking and, changing her physical form, transformed into the woman from before.

Then, she grabbed the woman's head and used magic.

The woman began to tremble violently and then started foaming at the mouth.

"—It seems she's just a grunt. She has no decent knowledge or skills."

At his subordinate's answer after reading the woman's memories, Kukri slumped his shoulders in disappointment.

"To think they'd send such a low-ranking operative to assassinate Lord Liam... that was unexpected. Well, no matter. I'll leave the rest to you."

As the woman and Kukri disappeared, the now-unmasked woman changed her clothes in an instant.

Then, she heard footsteps.

A male staff member.

"Catherine, hurry back~. I don't want to anger today's customer~"

The woman replied with slight irritation to the wheedling male staff member.

(I've replaced a strong-willed woman, so my response here should be—)

"I know! Now, go away!"

"Geez, you're always so prickly~"

As the male staff member left, the woman also headed back to Liam.

Brian ( ・ω・): "Catheriiiine~"