The Kingdom of Aarl underwent a massive change after Liam departed.
“Amagi-sama…”
Queen Enora was wearing a costume that closely resembled Amagi’s maid outfit, and there was a statue of Amagi in front of her.
The people next to her were wearing maid uniforms as well, regardless of whether they were male or female. They were all praying to the aforementioned statue.
The reason behind their behavior was simple.
Even the almighty Liam could not go against Amagi, so they concluded that she was a transcendental being.
As such, they prepared a statue of her and ordered for her outfit to be made.
From their perspective, Amagi’s maid outfit was the clothing of God.
With that in mind, they decided to have the priests wear maid outfits while worshiping Amagi.
Enora offered her fervent prayers.
“We have signed a peace treaty with the beastmen and agreed not to interfere with each other. Was this the right course of action?”
The reason why Amagi left supplies behind for Enora was because of Liam’s actions.
He had declared the beastmen his private property. Which meant they had to provide for them, however little that may be.
If they had left without doing anything, a war would’ve surely erupted over resources such as food.
To prevent this from happening, Amagi left some resources behind for the inhabitants.
Enora treated her gesture as a blessing.
“Goddess Amagi, thank you for saving us.”
Men and women of all ages prayed to the statue of Amagi while wearing their maid uniforms.
◇
Glauss, the chief of the wolf-tribe-turned-dog-tribe, had built a wooden statue of Liam at the center of the village.
“My daughter has married Lord Liam! Our dog tribe is now a part of God’s family!”
Taking advantage of the fact that Chino had become Liam’s pet, he was trying to increase his tribe’s presence and authority among the beastmen.
To this end, he had erected a wooden statue of what was meantto be Liam and decorated it.
Unfortunately, his fellow tribesmen didn’t share his enthusiasm.
“Dogs? That’s going a bit too far.”
“We’re wolves, you know?”
“Does that bastard Glauss have no pride?”
From the other beastmen tribes’ perspective, the dog tribe had managed to marry off one of their daughters to Liam. Thus, elevating their status to something that cannot be ignored.
However, the response within the tribe wasn’t so good.
Glauss furiously rebuked his tribesmen, as if he was ready to kick their ass and send them flying.
“None of you were able to do anything in that situation either. So, I don’t want to hear any complaints! If we hadn’t given up our pride, we would’ve been wiped out. Would you be fine with that?”
They would’ve gladly laid down their lives if they could die fighting like warriors, but going against Liam couldn’t be considered “fighting”.
Liam would trample them unilaterally.
None of their warriors could possibly challenge him.
Liam was already considered a War God among the members of the dog tribe.
Glauss’ son raised his hand to speak.
“Father, will Chino ever come back?”
“That child has become the cornerstone of our tribe’s rise. See—”
(t/l’s note: In the first place, they said something about the universe and whatnot—but I understood none of it.
Editor’s note: It’s okay, Glauss didn’t understand either.)
Glauss came up with some reasonable explanation for his tribesmen, but in reality, he had no idea what he was talking about.
Intergalactic nations, universes, and planets… he didn’t have the knowledge to understand what these terms meant, and he had no clue how Chino was being treated either.
(She should be safe and healthy. That said… she might be going through some difficult times. Chino… it’s thanks to you that we’re all alive. I’ll make sure that your tale lives on.)
As a chief, he didn’t regret offering his daughter to appease Liam. But as a father, he felt sorry for her.
“Let’s also worship Chino. It’s thanks to her that we’re all here.”
Another wooden statue was added to the village, a statue that was meantto resemble Chino.
◇
Inside the Banfield Family’s mansion, newly assigned maids were standing before Serena the head maid.
“I’m Christina!”
“I’m Marie!”
The girls were in their maid uniforms and trying to strike a cute pose; the smiles on their faces looked awfully unnatural.
They knew that this didn’t fit their image at all. But they had received orders from Liam, and Liam’s orders were absolute.
Hence, the girls treated this as a matter of life and death, which was also why they were desperately striking cute poses in their maid uniforms.
Serena sighed.
“Your smiles are too awkward. Try again.”
Hearing Serena’s instruction to start over, Tia and Marie protested furiously.
“I’m clearly not the one at fault here! It’s the fossil woman over there that can’t do things properly!”
“What’d you just say? Huh? Minced meat! Your terrible pose is what’s dragging us down right now!”
Serena stared at them coldly as they swore at one another.
“Lord Liam’s given this old woman a troublesome task. Why can’t you both learn from the newcomer over there?”
She no longer bothered speaking formally and directed the bickering girls’ gaze to the third newly appointed maid.
Chino, who had triangular dog ears and a fluffy tail, was also dressed in maid uniform.
“I’m Chino, a proud member of the wolf tribe! I was told to become a maid, and so I shall! Now, who’s my enemy!”
It was clear as day that she had no clue what being a maid entailed.
Serena felt dizzy just thinking about it, but it was fine to leave Chino alone as Liam had allowed it.
Tia looked at Chino and snorted.
“Serena-dono, you want us to learn from this little pup? I may not look the part, but I’m top-notch even as a maid. There’s nothing for me to learn from this beastman.”
Seeing how triumphant Tia was behaving, Serena pointed out the facts.
“You two aren’t even worth comparing in the first place.”
Marie was delighted to hear that and pointed her finger at Tia while laughing.
“Heard that, minced woman? You’re worth even less than a primitive beast like her!”
Hearing Marie bad mouthing the others, Serena opened her mouth once again.
“You should do something about the way you speak. Without that façade of yours that you normally trot around with, people would think that you’rethe one who’s less than a beast.”
“Say what!?”
Marie flinched at her words.
Tia, in the meantime, brought her face close to Chino’s.
“I refuse to believe that I’m worse than this mutt. I’m more cultured than her, know more about etiquette, and I’m stronger as well. I’m better than her in all regards.”
Intimidated by Tia’s words, Chino began to tremble, and her tail curled up as well.
Her dog ears drooped down.
“I-I’m the proud daughter of the wolf tribe’s hero!”
Her voice cracked from fear.
Marie also brought her face close to Chino’s.
“As if Lord Liam would favor a beast like her.”
Chino’s body quaked in fear, and tears started to form in her eyes.
After evaluating the situation, Serena touched on an important subject.
“At least she’s a better person that the two of you.”
“Haaaah? I’m a first-class knight who’s also regarded as Lord Liam’s sword. You’re saying that I’ll lose to a beastman like her?”
The girls kept calling Chino a “beastman” because they thought Liam was interested in her due to her animal ears and tail.
To be blunt, they were just jealous.
Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t discriminate against others.
But when Liam was involved, they had the tendency to lose control of themselves.
Serena came up with a ‘hypothetical’ scenario.
“I see… then let me ask the two of you a question. Let’s say that there’s this woman who likes a certain man. The thing is, their social status is vastly different. So much so that for the woman, the man is as unattainable as the stars. The woman wanted to feel connected to the man, so she became pregnant with his child without first seeking his permission. What do you think about this situation?”
It was clear to anyone watching that she was referring to Tia and Marie wanting to bear Liam’s child.
The girls seemed absolutely disgusted by the story.
“That’s a bit creepy, you know? You should send that woman to the hospital.”
“Agreed, and not any hospital. She should be sent to a mental hospital or an asylum. Having a child without the man’s approval…as a fellow human being, that’s a bit too much.”
(Are they really not aware that I’m talking about them? They are excellent in many regards, but they’re a pain to deal with whenever something’s about Lord Liam.)
Serena straightened her back and proceeded to hit the girls with the cruel facts.
“That’s exactly Lord Liam’s impression of you two right now.”
Tia and Marie looked each other in the eyes and laughed.
“Serena-dono, I didn’t think you were so good at joking.”
“Yeah.”
Why would they think they’re any different from the woman in the story?
Serena did not have to wait long to hear the answer.
The light in the girls’ eyes faded.
With a smile on her face, Tia spread her arms and said; “The phrase ‘unattainable as the stars’ does not do him justice. To me, Lord Liam’s literally God Incarnate. To bear his child is like doing God’s bidding.”
Marie prayed with her hands held tightly together.
“Don’t compare me with that crazy woman over there. Even if it’s a taboo, I’m willing to break it if that means I can bear Lord Liam’s child. That’s the extent of my loyalty.”
Serena looked up at the sky.
“Telling me to take care of these two…Lord Liam’s given me a harsh order.”
Chino was taken aback by the two’s behavior.
“I don’t really know what this is about, but I think it’s important for both sides to agree for this kind of thing…”
Chino gave a valid opinion, to which Serena muttered; “I would be much better off educating this child than those two”.
Liam entered the scene where all this was taking place.
“Chino! You’ve never had pancakes before, right? I’ve ordered a pâtissier to make them, so let’s eat them together.”
Liam arrived sounding very jubilant.
Chino’s tail was also swinging back and forth in delight.
“Pancakes!? That sounds delicious indeed… Nonono… D-don’t think for a moment that Chino would fall for that kind of thing!”
She had faltered in the middle, and it was quite obvious that she wanted to try it out.
Liam was going to take her along regardless of what she said.
“Serena, I’ll borrow Chino for a moment.”
“Sure, but what about these two?”
Serena gestured towards Tia and Marie who were glaring at Chino with cold eyes.
Flames of jealousy could be seen burning violently behind them.
Chino was so scared that she hid behind Liam.
“Hiii!”
Liam looked absolutely appalled by Tia and Marie.
“I’ll cut the both of you down if you lay your hands on my Chino. Make sure you learn what it means to be more ladylike from Serena—let’s go, Chino.”
“U-umu! I’ll follow you for now.”
Liam left with Chino in tow.
Chino decided to follow along so that she could escape from the two girls.
Terrified of Tia and Marie, she even held onto Liam’s hand.
Tia and Marie saw this and fell to their knees.
“Liam-samaaaaa!!”
“Why would you favor a girl like herrrrr!”
Serena watched as they cried, and her head began to ache.
“It’s my first time dealing with such troublesome girls. You two will be undergoing rigorous education from now on, so make sure you’re ready.”
(They’re more durable than your average knight anyway. It should be fine to be a little strict with them.)
This was how Tia and Marie ended up receiving Serena’s draconian training.
◇
Rosetta, Eulisia, and Ciel were gathered inside a room and discussing what to do about Rosetta’s personal guards.
Eulisia was slightly shocked when she first heard Rosetta’s decision, but she soon nodded.
“You want to help those in need? I mean… sure, it’s not a bad idea… but it’ll cost more time and money than before.”
“I don’t mind the extra expense. I’ve finally remembered what I’ve always wanted to do.”
After being told by Liam to come up with her own decision, Rosetta had recalled her past.
“I used to struggle a lot as a member of a ducal household that had nothing to their name aside from its title. I was fortunate enough to be saved by Darling, but there are others out there that needs saving. I want to lend those people a helping hand.”
Rosetta made up her mind to gather those in need of help to serve as her personal guards.
More specifically, she was thinking of gathering people that were suffering from poverty, debt, and other problems of that nature.
After listening to her plan, Eulisia brought up a very realistic point.
“There are many cases where people lose money and go into debt due to their own foolishness. Are you thinking of saving everyone?”
Rosetta shook her head.
“I don’t think Darling would approve of that. I’ll be choosing those that are struggling because of their parents or ancestors, as well as those that are in hopeless positions.”
“Then it should be fine, but it’ll cost more than I originally anticipated. If you want your guards to be the cream of the crop, we’ll only be able to have around 300 ships considering all the time and money we’d have to invest.”
“I’m fine with that. They don’t have to be elites either. I’m okay with them having mediocre abilities. I just want to give them a chance and save people that need help.”
Eulisia did some rough calculations to see how much a fleet that meets all of Rosetta’s requirements would cost.
“What do you think of 3000 ships?”
“That would do, thank you.”
Ciel was listening in on this conversation. Though it wasn’t what she originally had in mind, she decided to let it go.
(Lady Rosetta’s kind and gentle after all. I’m sure that she’ll establish a wonderful fleet to serve as her personal guards.)
She hoped that it would one day become strong enough to confront Liam.
Rosetta was feeling really motivated.
“Since it’s decided, it’s time to put our plan into action! We won’t be able to gather that many people from Darling’s territory alone. Let’s go scout other territories governed by the Empire and its aristocrats.”
Eulisia’s response wasn’t the most enthusiastic, as this was a big hassle, but she was still happy that she had something to do.
“Alright! I’ll do it, but this has become quite a daunting task.”
With that, they set out to establish Rosetta’s personal guards.
◇
“Are they all dumb!?”
I’m looking at the monitor in front of me with Amagi, while grinding my teeth in frustration.
Amagi had brought out the results of the poll.
“Most of the people are in favor of the tax increase as they’ll be the ones to benefit with better social welfare.”
“The officials have put in too much work.”
Since ancient times, officials are known to do unnecessary things when they’re handed something.
They’re the type of people that become corrupt when left alone.
That’s why I left them to their own devices, hoping that they’d do something shady. I’m pretty sure that they have by now.
I mean, I’d certainly do it if I was in their shoes!
Everything was good up until now, and we had “promised” the people to enhance social welfare in exchange for the tax increase.
The problem is, the officials came up with such an intricate plan to hide their evil intentions that the people of the territory actually think we’ll be going through with the promise.
That must be why there’s so little opposition.
“My perfect plan is going astray!”
“Master, have you ever had a perfect plan?”
“Amagi, contact the officials immediately!”
“I’ll display them on the monitor.”
An official, who’s sweating an awful lot, gets projected on the monitor that I’ve been using to watch the news.
“What’s the matter, Lord Liam?”
“It’s about the social welfare plan! Can’t you make things simpler to understand!?”
If I don’t make it clear enough that I’m just trying to exploit them, and squeeze out their money, the citizens won’t understand what’s going on.
I’m not interested in watching those idiot citizens of mine getting taxed without knowing what’s happening. I want to see them suffer.
This is revenge for the child-making demo!
“Make things simpler to understand? No… this is as far as we can possibly…”
“It’s you guys we’re talking about. You can do it!”
For the longest time, officials have been famous for their ability to do shady things by coming up with loopholes.
There’s no way that they can’t do such a simple thing as this.
“W-we’ll review the plan again!”
“Good. Make sure to do well this time. I expect a lot from you, alright?”
I apply the finishing touch by exerting pressure on them.
I’m doing that thing where a boss tells his employees “I have high hopes for you”.
Rather than an encouragement, it serves as a means to pressure them.
With this, I’m sure that the officials will get to work and make the social welfare system pretty much useless, thus triggering the residents of my territory.
“They’ll regret ever making me angry.”
Amagi directs an exasperated look towards me as I bring up the topic of the child-making demo again.
“You still haven’t given up?”
“Why of course not. I’ll make those sinful citizens of mine suffer for offending me.”
The day of my return to the Capital is drawing near.
I really want to see the faces of my citizens distort in pain.
◇
A few months later…
The government office announced that the plans for the social welfare program had been reevaluated, and this sparked excitement among the citizens of the territory.
“It’s easier to understand than before.”
“I heard Lord Liam ordered the office to make things easier to understand.”
“The officials were apparently really motivated because of Lord Liam’s words of encouragement.”
They were happy as things were, but it was now much more approachable and easier to understand.
The citizens welcomed this change.
“Lord Liam really doesn’t cut corners, does he? He could’ve just left things alone.”
“He’s so upright.”
“He’s headed towards the Capital, right?”
“His aristocratic training should be over soon. He should be back in a few years.”
“I hope he returns sooner.”
“Will things start to calm down after he finishes his training?”
Things were going in the opposite direction than Liam had expected, and his citizens were feeling more grateful than ever before.
◇
-At the Capital planet-
On the luxury hotel’s uppermost floor, I fall to my knees after hearing the report.
My reputation in the territory seems to be rising because of my order to have the new policies reviewed.
Amagi’s face remains expressionless, but I can tell that she’s feeling a bit happy as she’s reading the report.
“Everyone’s praising Lord Liam for making things easier for them to understand. The citizens are all thanking you.”
“BUT I’M TRYING TO MAKE THEM SUFFER!!!”
They’re so dumb that it’s kind of scary.
I stand up slowly and pass Amagi an order.
“Amagi, we must make some reforms to the territory’s education. The education level is too low at the moment.”
“The territory’s education? It’s already at a decent level, is it not?”
“They don’t even realize that I’m trying to make them suffer! Why the heck are they feeling grateful!? Shouldn’t it be the opposite!?”
Back in my previous world, the ruling party’s reputation would have plummeted by now.
And yet my citizens are feeling grateful!?
They must be retarded, or something.
Their stupidity is almost fearsome.
I’m actually starting to worry about the education level in my territory being too low.
“As of now, citizens receive 9 years of compulsory education.”
“Make it 12, and we should review the content of what they’re learning. Let them receive better education.”
It’s scary that they haven’t realized they’re being made to suffer.
It would’ve been fine if I was trying to be discreet about it, but the issue here is that I’m actively trying to make them suffer.
Being an evil lord is harder than I thought…
Brian (*´ω｀): “This Brian is finally getting an illustration…what a happy occasion.”
Brian (`・ω・´): “It’s time to say goodbye with everyone for a while again.”
Author’s Note: This marks the end of Volume 7. Down at the bottom, there’s a place where readers can use points and write comments. Points and comments serve as a source of motivation for the author, so please feel free to do so.
*However, please abide by the rules set by ‘I want to be a Syosetsuka’.
I haven’t decided on the release date for Volume 8 yet, but there are two volumes (of the author’s novel) waiting to be released in July, so I may post it then for promotional purposes. More details will be posted on the activity report section, so please check it out.
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