My training assignment is in a logistics department on the capital planet.

I graduated from the academy with excellent grades and started as a Lieutenant, but frankly, it's not a glamorous department.

It's not a department where elites typically train, but I was satisfied.

Why?

Because if I do paperwork here, I'm scheduled for promotion to Captain after one year.

By the end of my second year, I'll likely be promoted to Major.

Nobles get promoted just by doing safe desk work in the rear.

It's truly wonderful.

And once I'm officially assigned, I'll spend four years idly with the patrol fleet that Tia prepared for me.

The training has passed its major hurdles, and now only university life and administrative chores remain.

Nobles get promoted without working hard in the elite courses, and they enjoy watching those who struggle from a safe distance.

It's truly the mark of a corrupt lord.

During the training period, living in the barracks is mandatory, and I'll be spending my time at the hotel I'm staying at in the capital on my days off.

I finish work at the regular time every day, return to the barracks, and then enjoy my after-hours.

It's a wonderful position to be in, mocking the elites who are working hard in busy departments.

While I was working, Wallace approached me.

"Hey Liam, it seems we have a customer yelling at us."

"Yelling? Did someone make a mistake?"

I wonder who made a mistake?

Artificial intelligence shouldn't make many mistakes.

There are still some parts that require human intervention, so I'm sure the mistake happened then.

"No, they have a complaint about the supply materials you arranged, Liam."

"--What?"

◇

Logistics departments tend to be looked down upon because they don't go to the front lines.

The fact that work is light due to the use of artificial intelligence is also a reason for being looked down upon.

However, if the work were done solely by humans, the operational efficiency would drop significantly.

Considering the need to maintain the empire's front lines, we have no choice but to rely on it.

"How dare you, who rely on artificial intelligence like yourselves, reject my application!"

A Colonel with a rather large belly stormed in around noon.

The Brigadier General is dealing with him, but the Colonel, being of noble birth, is being aggressive.

"I-I'm truly sorry. Colonel, we'll prepare the additional items immediately, so please be lenient--"

Because artificial intelligence is used so much in their work, the military personnel involved in logistics management have a sense of inferiority.

The empire considers over-reliance on artificial intelligence to be a bad thing, and the department is not on the fast track for promotion.

"Bring me the idiot who prepared the supply materials for my ship! I will personally educate him!"

The Brigadier General hastily tries to stop the Colonel, who is grinning with a whip in his hand.

"Colonel, that won't do. If you do that--"

"I'm saying I'll train a coward who doesn't even go to the front lines. Shouldn't you be crying with joy?"

The Colonel seemed to enjoy tormenting the weak.

The Brigadier General sighs.

"I warned you."

When the Brigadier General says, "Please call the Lieutenant," the Colonel snaps his whip against his hand.

"Hmph. Is that rank for a rookie or a trainee kid? I need to teach you what an Imperial soldier is."

The Brigadier General averts his gaze from the Colonel, who is muttering about how young people these days are.

"--If you can teach me, I wish you would."

"Did you say something?"

"No, nothing."

Then, a knock is heard at the door, and the Colonel raises his voice.

"Enter!"

Opening the door and entering the room is--Liam.

"Are you the one in charge of the supply materials for my ship? Do you know what you've done!"

Liam, with his audacious demeanor, looks at the Colonel and scoffs.

"Who are you?"

"W-What? You can't even recognize a rank insignia!"

"Don't talk down to me, a mere patrol fleet Colonel. Brigadier General, I'm busy too. I wish you wouldn't summon me for something like this."

When Liam says that, the Brigadier General replies, "I wanted to, but the Colonel insisted on educating you."

Upon hearing that, Liam's eyes change.

"--Educate who?"

"You! Honestly, what did you learn at the academy? You're not going home today!"

As the Colonel was thinking about how to torment Liam--the Colonel was blown away.

"Bugh!?"

As he hit the wall, unable to comprehend what had happened, Liam's voice could be heard.

"Brigadier General, could you call this man's superior?"

"N-No, but--"

"His application requests expensive liquor and snacks. I want to discuss that properly. Who exactly is a military man in a sinecure like a patrol fleet complaining to?"

With a smile, Liam asks the Brigadier General, "O-Okay," and calls the Colonel's superior.

The other party was a Major General in charge of the patrol fleet guarding the capital planet.

When summoned via communication, he had a displeased expression.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Hello, Major General. One of your subordinates picked a fight with me. As his superior, I expect you to take responsibility."

"--Ah, Count!"

The Major General was also of noble birth, but he was inferior to Liam, who was the current head of his house.

Furthermore, Liam is a famous figure in conflict with the Barkley family.

The Major General on the other side falters.

"M-My subordinate was extremely rude. Please tell him to return immediately."

"Tell him? You come here and take him back. Are you trying to order me around? Aren't you being quite arrogant? Do you think you can look down on me just because of your military rank?"

"I-I apologize. I will come to pick him up immediately. No, I will come to pick him up."

"Hurry up. Also, your department's applications have too much nonsense. Listen, don't make requests that cut into my time. I want to go home at the regular hour. Do you understand what that means?"

"I-I, that's--"

"--If you have any complaints, I'll listen. Come on, say it."

"N-No."

Normally, in addition to his regular work, special arrangements require extra effort.

Liam disliked that.

"I love smart people. Also, hurry up and come pick up your incompetent subordinate."

"--Understood."

After the Major General cut off the communication, the Colonel, realizing that Liam was a powerful active Count, trembled.

"Well then, it seems you were going to educate me. My body was getting stiff from all the desk work. Will this be good exercise?"

The Colonel hastily stood up and saluted.

"I-I am terribly sorry!"

He admitted that the other party was his superior, but it was a little too late.

Liam placed his hand on the Colonel's shoulder.

"I don't dislike people who change their tune. However, I'm not a magnanimous man enough to forgive you. Do you understand what that means?"

As the Colonel trembled, Liam grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out of the room.

The Brigadier General watched him go--.

"Fuh--It was the right decision to bring him here."

He rejoiced that Liam's arrival had made the department's work smoother.

There were many military personnel who looked down on the logistics department and made various demands.

Therefore, they wanted to bring in a powerful noble.

If it were a troublesome noble like the Barkley family, they would likely be displeased and cause further trouble.

However, they believed that a serious noble like Liam would surely not tolerate injustice.

"I hope this reduces the number of strange requests."

The Brigadier General felt good about bringing Liam in, but he also wondered why such a person would come to a department like theirs.

◇

The front lines.

It was Marie who was undergoing training as an infantry soldier there.

"Damn you, mincemeat woman!"

Muttering curses at Tia, she donned her powered suit and jumped out of the transport.

There was no parachute, but just before landing, a barrier was formed around her, absorbing the impact and shattering.

In the dense jungle, Marie scanned her surroundings.

"Marie, are you alright?"

"No problem."

"I see. Then, infiltrate the enemy facility and rescue the hostages promptly. It's a difficult mission, but I believe you can accomplish it."

Marie, sent alone into enemy territory to rescue hostages with an unreasonable request, muttered to herself.

(I will definitely return and take that mincemeat woman's head.)

She had been assigned to a special forces unit, and the reason for that was Tia's behind-the-scenes maneuvering.

Tia had said, "There is no place for you by Lord Liam's side."

She moved quickly through the jungle, and when she found a guard, she killed him with a knife.

Her superior, watching her skillful movements, spoke over the communication.

"You have excellent skills. It reminds me of a former subordinate."

"Was there someone as skilled as me? Who was it?"

She became interested upon hearing that there was someone as strong as herself.

"She used a different name before. Unlike you, she was active as a spy. She was undoubtedly strong in combat, but she accomplished any mission."

"I'm interested."

"I cannot tell you due to military regulations, but she was also an excellent subordinate."

As the enemy base came into view, Marie cut off communication and infiltrated.

"Well, I want to return to Lord Liam, so I'll finish this job quickly."

That day, one criminal organization disappeared.

◇

Moderate exercise feels good.

"I managed to finish work at the regular hour."

As I thought I had accomplished my work for the day, Wallace, with a tired face, approached me.

"Liam, you're so fixated on the regular hour. Is that okay? There are still people working overtime."

There are seniors who can't leave at the regular hour.

But that has nothing to do with me.

Because I've finished my work.

"Overtime has no value."

"Aren't you going to help them?"

There was an idiot who said something like they wanted my help, but I told them to do it themselves and pushed them away.

"What value is there in that?"

In my previous life, I worked hard for the company, for my subordinates, for my juniors--but that effort didn't benefit me.

Work should be finished at the regular hour, and then you should go home quickly.

As long as you do the work you're paid for, there's no problem.

Society and companies will ask for more than that, but they don't understand your goodwill at all, so it's meaningless.

They'll say "thank you" with their mouths, but few will repay your efforts.

That's why I only work for my salary.

As I left the building where my office was, a large limousine was waiting in front of us.

"That's quite luxurious. Is some important person coming?"

It was a remarkably luxurious limousine.

Since the logistics department isn't popular, I thought there would be few nobles, so it must be a guest.

As I thought that, Wallace noticed something.

"Huh? Didn't they come to pick up Liam?"

"--What?"

As I approached, the door opened, and Rosetta, dressed in casual clothes, jumped out.

"Darling!"

"Rosetta!?"

I thought about running away, but if I dodged her carelessly, Rosetta might fall, so I caught her.

"W-Why are you here?"

"Today is a day to spend at the hotel, right? My training is also finished, so I'm staying at the hotel now. I came to pick you up because I wanted to go home together."

Upon hearing that, Wallace immediately got into the limousine.

"Oh, how thoughtful. Then I'll ride along. --Liam! It's amazing inside too! They have liquor and snacks! All of them are top-notch!"

Seeing Wallace get in and reach for the liquor, I decided to stop him.

"Hey! We had plans to go drinking today!"

"It's fine to just go to the hotel. Besides, I don't have much money before payday, so I prefer something that doesn't cost much."

This girl!

Rosetta moved away from me and looked up at me.

"Darling, are you going out now? O-Of course. You have work acquaintances too, right?"

Seeing Rosetta looking a little sad made me feel guilty.

Besides, it was just a plan to go bar-hopping with Wallace, not a work acquaintance.

"N-No, today I'm just going drinking with Wallace."

"Is that so? Then let's go to the hotel. They have a wide variety of restaurants, so you won't get bored. It seems they've prepared a lot of drinks for you, Darling."

"I-Is that so?"

I used to think of her as an iron woman—a cold woman with an unbreakable spirit—but the moment she became my fiancée, it changed.

She calls me Darling and acts spoiled.

I was expecting her to be more resistant, but if it's like this, I can't have fun.

"--Rosetta, what are you doing at the hotel?"

"I'm taking lessons in the capital now. I'm learning about the culture of the capital with the daughters of the families who came with me. It's fun."

Is it like young wives attending a cooking class?

That sounds really fun. —Though I have no interest in it at all.

Rosetta's expression turned serious.

"And Darling, --actually, you have a visitor."

"A visitor?"

Another visitor. I hope it's not a visitor like the Colonel from earlier.

Brian (´；ω；｀) "Even though no one would complain if he didn't work, Lord Liam works until the regular hour -- it's painful. It's painful to think of Lord Liam being happy about this."