More so than the individual, his family, the Petack family, is truly remarkable.
Without lifting a finger, everything was moving smoothly to bring down Liam.
"Pirates, the House of Petack, and the House of Reiselâeveryone is working together to bring down Liam. This is truly wonderful!"
He had been watching the situation, but decided to use his power at this opportunity.
The space before him distorted, and he reached into it.
Then, the guide's power interfered.
"This time, I will make Liam miserable."
However, the guide's power had already weakened, and he could not interfere significantly.
He could only play a minor prank.
Still, the thought of hindering Liam gave him the strength to try.
"Eventually, I will regain my power, and this time, I will bring down Liamâhahaha!"
The white light that had been watching the guide left again.
â
The training period is coming to an end.
Though called training, it was just staying at someone else's house and being taken care of.
There was no special treatment, but it was enjoyable enough.
Still, the extreme sexual diseases and the overly serious policies of the Reisel family were quite frustrating.
I wanted to have more fun, but there were too few places to do so here.
When I return to my territory, I'll invest in that area.
"Hurry up! This party will have many important guests!"
I was setting up the party venue while talking to Kurt.
"You seem quite enthusiastic."
"It seems there will be many guests this time. With Peter from the Petack family, there will be not only merchants but also military personnel from the weapons factory and others."
When I held a coming-of-age party, many people gathered.
But with a real nobleâsomeone with connections and powerâmany more would gather.
I envy that.
Someday, I want to hold parties every day and enjoy a life of luxury.
"Still, setting up the party venueâalmost like a complete renovation?"
"It's proof of how much effort they're putting in."
The floor of the venue was being stripped, and a fountain was being set up in the center.
There will also be an announcement of Peter and Catarina's engagement at the party, so the preparations are almost a complete interior overhaul.
There are craftsmen, but we are also being mobilized to help.
The venue is incredibly large.
I wonder how many people will come?
As I was thinking this, I noticed a ring had been set up in the venue.
"Are you going to fight there?"
"I think so. Isn't Liam not participating?"
"Yeah, even if it's a fixed match, it would be bad for me, a master of the Ippan-ryu, to lose."
It's a small event to showcase the results of the training.
Kurt is participating and will lose at an appropriate point.
He must be having a tough time.
"Our time here is almost over."
Kurt looked sad.
"Don't be down. You'll be going to the young school soon. It's going to get busy."
"Yeah."
Kurt, who was smiling wryly, was approached by a knight who was supervising the work.
"Kurt, you have a message from home."
"Okay, I'll be right there!"
Kurt left the venue.
As I was working alone, I saw an animal among the tables and chairs.
âA tail.
"Did it sneak in? Should I chase it out?"
As I was looking for it to chase it out, the animal, which looked like a dog, fled to the back.
Before I knew it, I had reached a passage leading out of the venue.
"Huh? Where did it go? Maybe it was fine to leave it alone?"
If it left the venue, there was no problem.
As I was about to return, I heard Kurt's voice.
"âPirates have appeared, so you can't come here? Yeah, I understand. âIt's okay."
He seemed to be talking to a relative from home.
Listening closely, it seemed that pirates had entered the territory, and they couldn't send a carriage for a while.
Kurt looked worried.
When the call ended, he seemed troubled to see me.
"Did you hear?"
"Sorry. I was chasing a dog and overheard."
"O-oh, that's it. âMy family is in trouble. I can't go home for a while, so I'm going to ask the viscount for help."
He seemed concerned about his family.
As a future corrupt lord, I should do him a favor.
"If you're that worried, I can take you back when I return."
"Is that okay? No, but, it's not possible now. The piratesâ"
"Kurt, let me tell you. âPirates are my wallet."
"Huh?"
"I'll help clean them up. I'll take 70%, and your family will get 30%."
"N-no, can you really decide that so easily!? Normally, you would consult with the vassals in the territory andâ"
"It's fine. The entire territory is mine. My orders are absolute. Rememberâbeing a lord is fun. If I say black, it becomes white. If I order them to fight, they can't refuse."
Kurt looked at me in shock.
You're still naive.
Well, I should contact Amakusa.
â
The Banfield House.
In the study, Amakusa was talking to Liam.
Liam, floating in the air, seemed to be in a good mood.
"âSend a fleet, you say? That's fine, but I don't think the viscount's house can accommodate our fleet?"
'I'll stop by my friend's house on the way back. We'll do some pirate hunting there.'
"Ah, I see. You'll be helping your friend."
'He's a fellow corrupt lord. I value this connection.'
"That's good to hear."
Amakusa, with a loving expression, thought Liam was misunderstanding again.
"Then, how large a fleet do you require?"
'How much can you provide?'
The Banfield family had suffered from the Gorez pirate group in the past, so they had been strengthening their fleet.
"We can provide 12,000 ships."
'Then, that's fine. Oh, bring my Avyd too.'
Avyd is Liam's mobile knight, larger than a standard one and more difficult to handle.
"Why don't you calm down? You've already earned enough personal glory."
'Fighting in a robot is a boy's dream. Don't worryâI'll make some money this time too.'
"Then, I'll handle the negotiations with the Exner baron."
'Thanks.'
After Liam ended the call, Amakusa immediately contacted the relevant parties.
"âThe timing is good, so let's get the girls to work too."
â
The Third Weapons Factory.
Tia and the others were standing before the mobile knightsâhumanoid weapons.
They were about to graduate from university.
They had already earned the necessary credits and were just waiting to graduate.
After graduation, they would undergo training to become officials, but Liam was returning to the territory first.
As knights-in-training, they would participate in welcoming Liam back.
âAnd also in the pirate hunt.
Yurisha, who worked at the Third Weapons Factory, was explaining the latest model of the mobile knight.
"This is a model used by the regular army's special forces."
It had a design that looked like a giant knight's armor, but the one in front of Tia and the others had more decorations.
It was slender and focused on appearance.
"The specs aren't bad."
Tia's comment made Yurisha smile.
"I have confidence in the internals too. Still, it's generous of the earl to buy so many mobile knights. Few nobles do that."
Hundreds of new modelsâ
Tia, who received them, placed an order with Yurisha.
"I'm allowed to have a personal color. I want it in white and purple."
"A personal color for a knight-in-training? You must be trusted."
Tia smiled.
"No, I'll earn it."
As the Banfield knights and knight-in-training got into their mobile knights and started the engines, the twin eyes of the mobile knights lit up.
Tia addressed everyone.
"Everyone, rejoice. Lord Liam has given us the best opportunity. âIt's time for the pirate hunt."
â
The days of training were coming to an end.
The day before leaving the Reisel viscount's house, a martial arts competition was held as entertainment for the children.
The specially treated children were winning one after another, and the venue was buzzing with excitement.
Now, Kurt and Peter were in the ring.
"Ugh!"
"Hmm? What's wrong? As a fellow user of the Arren style, I'm disappointed."
Peter was dominating the match, but Kurt was struggling.
The poor performance was confusing.
They needed to make the match look fair enough to avoid being seen as a fix.
But Peter's performance was so poor that it looked like a fix no matter what.
Kurt was naturally confused.
"That's terrible."
Kurt, who had a serious side, gave up and deliberately dropped his sword.
To begin with, their stances were completely different.
No, the stance was a messâdoes this guy really inherit a well-governed territory?
Is it that pattern where a great parent has a poor child?
As he watched, Kurt, who had dropped his sword, knelt down.
"âI surrender."
The atmosphere in the venue was awkward, but still lively.
Peter, excited by the atmosphere, stepped on Kurt.
"Did you understand my skill?"
"âYes."
Seeing Kurt enduring, I felt sorry for him.
Still, Peter seems to have the makings of a good corrupt lord.
Then, Peter pointed the mock sword at me.
"This is boring. Next, I'll fight you. Get in the ring, you poor user of a minor style."
As Peter said this, the viscount, who was watching, instructed me to get in the ring, despite being exasperated.
The supervising knight looked apologetic.
"Sorry. He's important to our house. It would help if you could participate."
"Minor style, huh? Hey, old manâcan I go all out?"
The supervising knight, about to say something, smiled at me.
"Of course, you'll do it anyway. I've never liked this charade. Go all out. âJust don't kill him."
The part about not killing him was said with a serious face.
Of course, I won't kill him.
"Leave it to me. I couldn't practice holding back, but Kurt and I found a solution."
"Really?"
To the skeptical knight, I prepared a folding toy hammer.
A hammer that makes a "piko piko" sound, which exists in the futureâwell, in another world too.
It doesn't hurt much when you hit with it.
"Hey, that's a bit too much, isn't it?"
"If I use anything else, I might kill him. This is just right."
With the toy hammer, I got into the ring, and Peter laughed at my appearance.
The Reisel viscount frowned at me.
Peter taunted me.
"Hahaha! A poor man can't even afford a sword. Shall I buy you a mock sword for the match?"
As I listened to his taunts, I waited for the start signal.
The referee, who was glancing at the Reisel viscount, got the go-ahead and announced the start.
"Begin!"
Immediately after that.
The hammer I swung at Peter's head made a "dagon" sound instead of "piko."
Closing the distance instantly and just swinging it downâPeter was on the floor, sprawled out.
He was rolling his eyes.
"âThat wasn't much."
I checked the hammer to see if it was broken, but it wasn't.
It's surprisingly durable for a toy.
As I stood in the ring, the specially treated children started complaining.
"Hey, that's cheating!"
"If you have a complaint, get in the ring."
I'll teach these earnest and good-natured kids the harshness of the world.
The world isn't about the strong being right.
The right are the strong.
I'll teach you the reality, you future good lords!
"Get in the ring, all of you. I'll take you on."
"Minor style, huh? Don't get too cockyâAh!"
As soon as they got in the ring, I blew the one who mocked the Ippan-ryu out of the ring.
"It's not a minor style. It's the Ippan-ryu. I'll engrave the memory of defeat on your body so you never forget. Come at me!"
The victors, who were acting smug, got in the ring and surrounded me.
I blew them all out of the ring with the toy hammer and laughed.
Standing in the center of the ring, I announced the truth to the audience, which was in shock.
"Don't get cocky just because you won a fixed match, you scum!"
Not only the gathered guests but also the Reisel viscount was red with anger.
I might have gone too far, but it's not like I'll have anything to do with them anymore.