It seems I had a misunderstanding about what an interstellar nation is.
But there's no time to correct it, so I'll update it as is!
--- I'm really busy right now.
Some kind of atmospheric old man has come.
In the garden of the peculiar mansion, the old man—Master Yasushi—is sitting seiza in front of me.
He has a scruffy beard and is wearing a tattered kimono.
He looks like a ronin, but there's something different about him.
This must be a man who has mastered real martial arts.
"--- Lord Liam"
Master called my name slowly and quietly.
"Y-Yes!"
When I shrink back, Master smiles at me.
"There's no need to be nervous. First, I will explain my school."
Master shows me a sword.
Swords exist in this world too, so I chose this one, thinking it would be better to learn it if I had to learn anything.
There wasn't much meaning to it, but from Master's aura, I think he's a master. If I can learn from someone like this, I'm glad I chose it.
"Lord Liam, the secret technique of my school is a fatal secret art. It shouldn't be shown recklessly. However, you probably want to see my skills. So, I will show you the secret technique specially. But, only you, Lord Liam, should see it. No one else should."
I'm delighted to hear that.
I didn't expect him to teach me the secret technique right away.
Tenchou, who is behind me, is looking at Master with a suspicious gaze.
"Due to safety concerns, that is not acceptable."
Master's expression didn't change.
"Then, I cannot accept this request."
I immediately gave an order to Tenchou.
"Tenchou, I give you permission."
Tenchou hesitated for a moment and then—
"--- If anything happens, please call for help immediately."
He said and moved away.
When we were alone, Master had prepared a log.
He told me to touch it.
"Are you going to cut this?"
"Yes, that's right. Then, let's place it where Lord Liam likes. Around me—then, in a place where the sword can't reach, okay?"
When I designated where to place the log, Master stuck it into the ground.
Then, he stood in a place where the sword couldn't reach.
The sword is in its sheath.
"Lord Liam, the secret technique of the Ippan school is the pinnacle of martial arts and also a technique that uses magic. One technique is enough. I only focus on the basics for the rest."
I hold my breath at Master's aura.
"The secret technique should not be shown recklessly. But—once mastered, it doesn't matter if it's seen. This is the essence—the secret technique of Ippan."
Saying that, Master pressed the tsuba of the sword with his left thumb once and then returned it, making a satisfying sound.
His right hand didn't move.
Just by showing that natural movement—
"Are you kidding me?"
--- The logs were all cut and fell to the ground.
The cuts were clean, and each log was cut with a different blade path.
It's not within the range of the sword, so is it a technique like iaijutsu?
I was confused, not understanding it, and Master was taking a deep breath.
"This is the secret technique of the Ippan school."
"When did you cut them?"
Surprised, I asked, and Master made the sword click once again.
Again, a log was cut, but that log was right behind Master.
"You will understand this as you learn the Ippan school. Finding the answer yourself is also a form of training. Now, shall I ask you? Do you want to learn the Ippan school?"
I nodded vigorously.
"Yes!"
Amazing, the fantasy world! I never thought there would be such an incredible technique!
◇
Years have passed since that day.
Liam is now ten years old.
He has been repeating the basics that Yasushi taught him every day.
Yasushi watches from a distance.
"Kids learn so quickly, it's enviable. Well, what should I teach next?"
The basics are not just swords, but also spears, unarmed, small knives, and various things.
In the first place, there are fewer things Yasushi can teach.
While teaching Liam, he also teaches things like the basics of martial arts he saw in videos.
Yasushi, resting in the shade, saw a new mansion.
The previous peculiar mansion had been demolished, and in its place was a rather—plain mansion.
"The Banfield family, a house with many bad rumors, but that kid is living a rather plain life."
The treatment of Yasushi is not particularly bad.
But compared to the nobles he has seen so far, Liam is living rather plainly.
Today, he is desperately repeating the basics.
In just three years, there is almost nothing left for Yasushi to teach.
So, he is just watching now.
"It's easy to just watch, but that doll sometimes monitors. Besides, why does he have such a doll by his side?"
Nobles generally don't want to have dolls by their side.
Because of that, Yasushi saw Liam as a bit of an oddball.
"--- Giving a title and land to a child who knows nothing, nobles are really beyond comprehension."
A desolate territory.
But it has become a bit better than a few years ago.
Former soldiers and citizens who have received vocational training are working on infrastructure development.
Territorial development, which had been delayed, has started, and the territory is becoming more vibrant as taxes are being used more within the territory.
But Yasushi also knows the situation of the Banfield family.
It's not as if a huge debt will disappear just because things have gotten a bit better.
Even if it develops, it will only be squeezed out accordingly.
"Thinking about it, that kid might be pitiful too."
Yasushi felt a little sympathy for Liam.
But, that's all.
He has no intention of telling him he's being deceived and plans to continue enjoying the sweet life.
However, there is one thing he is concerned about.
"But that kid—hates corruption, so if it's found out, will I be eliminated too?"
◇
It was a while after I started learning martial arts.
The new mansion was completed, but—
"Isn't this enough already?"
My impression was that the temporary mansion we built was sufficient.
Frankly, it's spacious.
The ceilings are high, and the shape is something like a mansion!
It's a safe and unremarkable mansion, which is not inconvenient for living.
While signing documents in the office, Tenchou spoke to me.
"Sir, when should we enter the next capsule?"
"Is it that time already?"
There is a time to enter the education capsule.
Rather, it's not possible to enter for years and complete education in one go.
So, it's necessary to enter several times until adulthood.
"When is good?"
"There's no problem with any time. This time, we plan to spend half a year."
"Then, I'll enter soon."
Basically, managing a planet is beyond human capacity.
After all, problems are always arising.
It's impossible for me to handle everything alone.
I can barely manage by gathering officials from the citizens and entrusting them with management.
Tenchou stopped working on a document.
"What's wrong?"
"--- Please look at this document."
It was a suspicious document, cleverly hidden.
Upon investigation, it seems that an official was doing various things to gain some benefit.
"Summon the person who issued this document."
"Understood."
After Tenchou contacted, a man in a high position among the officials came to the mansion a few hours later.
◇
The man, with a large belly, was dressed in an expensive suit.
He was talking to me with a smile.
"Lord, I understand you may not understand, but this is a necessary expense for the job. Nothing works smoothly with just the numbers on paper."
What he said had some truth to it.
But I listened to the report from Tenchou.
At such times, I thought AI was amazing.
"Embezzlement of funds has been confirmed. Other crimes have also been confirmed."
I received and confirmed the electronic document.
I was impressed that he could smile in front of me after doing all this.
From simple embezzlement to meddling with personnel and bribery—this guy is a model of a corrupt official.
But, one thing caught my eye.
It was that this guy had hit a man with a car. However, the man was at fault, so he wasn't punished.
He even eliminated the protesting family.
Moreover, he had played with and then discarded the man's wife.
The official was making excuses in front of me.
"Lord, you shouldn't believe what the dolls say. They are the ones who destroyed the previous civilization and are enemies of humanity. You are being deceived. Yes, I may have committed some minor crimes, but everyone does this. It's a necessary lubricant for the job."
In front of the official, who started lecturing me, I picked up the sword nearby.
Tenchou tried to stop me.
"Sir, you can't!"
When I drew the sword, the official panicked in front of me.
"Brat! Who do you think you are living and thriving because of! You can live like this because we support you—"
I drew the sword and cut the official vertically in two.
Blood spurted out, and the reception room was stained with blood.
"--- Shut your mouth."
Tenchou sprayed something at me.
The foam removed the blood stains.
"Sir, he's already dead."
Looking down at the official, I saw this man overlapping with the lover from my previous life.
The man who used his power to frame me.
The lawyer came and attacked me one-sidedly, saying it was all my fault.
After being fired from the company, a terrible life awaited me.
"Only I can use my power. You scum, die! I'm frustrated. Tenchou, investigate thoroughly. All corrupt officials will be executed!"
I can take care of subordinates who follow me, but I hate subordinates who try to make me a puppet.
Only I can oppress my territory and citizens.
"Sir, please let go of your hand."
Then, Tenchou held my hand, which was gripping the sword, with both hands.
I tried to let go, but my fingers wouldn't move.
"Huh?"
"I'll help you."
She carefully released each finger from the sword's hilt, one by one.
When I let go, I was sweating a lot.
--- Is this guilt for killing a person for the first time? Pathetic, trying to become a corrupt lord.
Tenchou took my sword, cleaned the blood, and put it back in the sheath.
"Regarding the earlier matter, I can't handle it alone. I won't say it's the same level, but I need appropriate dolls or a management-specific AI."
While looking down at the official, I thought.
These guys are less useful than AI.
But, there is also the public image.
As Brian said, using AI on a large scale is not interesting for the empire. But, it doesn't matter to me.
I don't care.
"How many do I need?"
Tenchou answered immediately.
"The mansion needs to be managed. From the financial situation—twelve maid robots like me. The rest, specialized for governing the territory and their subordinates will be fine."
"Do as you please."
"I'll arrange it immediately."
I spat at the official.
"--- The dolls are better."
◇
Brian was educating the new servants in the new mansion.
The servants, who looked frightened.
A short while ago, Liam had conducted a mass crackdown on corrupt officials.
And a mass purge had just taken place.
Various rumors about the still young Liam were circulating in the territory.
One of them was that he would immediately fly into a rage and cut down the servants.
In front of such rumors, Brian explained carefully.
"I understand you may be worried about Lord Liam, but he is lenient towards subordinates who do their job. There's no need to be overly afraid."
A maid raised her hand timidly, looking uneasy.
"Um, when—when Lord Liam orders intimacy, what—"
The master of the mansion touching the servants.
This is a common story in this world.
Some women even try to sell themselves.
But, the women seemed to be frightened, perhaps because they were worried about Liam's reputation.
"Lord Liam is still young, and only Tenchou serves by his side. There's no need for such worries."
Someone said.
"--- Keeping a doll by his side?"
At those words, Brian's eyes turned sharp.
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that, but there won't be a second time."
For Brian, Tenchou was also a problem.
But, after spending a few years, he noticed something.
Liam trusts Tenchou more than necessary.
It looked like a child clinging to someone.
Despite being young, he is fierce and decisive, but Brian thought he still wanted a mother.
(Lord Liam is a wise person. He must understand that he was abandoned. Mr. Clive, why didn't you raise him more carefully?)
"Tenchou is a special existence for Lord Liam. Never show a condescending attitude. If Lord Liam finds out, I can't protect you."
Despite being young, Liam was greatly feared in the territory.
(But, the territory is definitely improving. With Lord Liam, the Banfield family can regain its former glory.)
However, at the same time—by purging the corrupt officials, he also gained popularity among the citizens.
Brian believed in Liam and renewed his loyalty in his heart.