Finally, "I Am the Wicked Lord of the Interstellar Nation!" has reached 100 episodes.
I started writing this work to promote it, but I hope for your continued support in the future.
Also, I receive comments like "Don't promote it!" but if I stop promoting, the updates for this work will stop.
--- And here are the releases for January and February!
"Harsh World for Side Characters in a Dating Sim Game, Vol. 5"
"Seventh, Vol. 9"
"Island School Labyrinth"
*In order of release date
Your support through purchases will boost the author's motivation.
The posting pace might speed up? -- Just kidding.
Thank you for your continued support.
"Sir, I'm sorry."
Tenchou was prepared to be destroyed.
Then, the decorations on the dress she was wearing began to shine, forming a shield.
But the Guide was not flustered.
"Hahaha! I know those are disposable! If I keep attacking, they will--- they will?"
No matter how many attacks he launched, he couldn't penetrate Tenchou's shield.
And the energy in the pistol the Guide held ran out first.
The sound of the trigger clicking in vain was all that remained.
Tenchou looked at the Guide.
"---Weren't you going to destroy me?"
She had a somewhat exasperated look on her face.
It was understandable.
He had boasted about destroying her, but the only thing he brought was a pistol that couldn't penetrate the shield.
She had expected more thorough preparation, but there was none.
It was too shabby.
"Don't look at me like that!"
The Guide threw the pistol and fled.
"Damn it! I still don't have enough negative emotions! I'll gather more and hit Liam with them! I won't do anything complicated anymore! I'll kill Liam with all my might!"
Tenchou watched the Guide leave, and when she could move again, she tilted her head.
"Who was that being?"
Had she encountered an incredibly dangerous existence?
And that being had mentioned Liam's name.
Tenchou felt uneasy and looked down.
"---Does Sir have secrets after all?"
She felt that something strange was happening from time to time.
If such an existence was behind it all---it seemed too far-fetched, but Tenchou was worried about Liam.
"Is Sir really that lucky?"
Tenchou was worried about Liam, who was being targeted by such an existence.
"I should act sooner than planned."
The Guide's existence had led her to a certain resolution.
◇
Liam cut through a battleship.
Such an absurd story would be hard to believe under normal circumstances.
But---it happened in the sky above the capital planet.
There were many witnesses, and the fact spread widely.
It wasn't just in the capital planet.
It spread throughout the empire.
Everyone had to admit that the skills of the Ippan-ryu were genuine.
Calvin placed his elbow on the desk in his room and steepled his fingers in front of his mouth.
"Bringing a battleship into the capital planet and causing a commotion was truly a foolish act."
It was the result of some nobles going rogue.
Calvin had never expected such foolish actions, and this was a significant mistake.
He hadn't thought they would be this foolish.
Even though they had left his faction, they were originally Calvin's nobles.
Calvin's current reputation was that of a coward who pushed the blame onto his brother to escape the interstellar nation war.
And now, he was also seen as a fool who failed to assassinate Liam.
Calvin looked at the box on his desk.
Inside were the broken cores of the ninjas---the remains of those who had turned their bodies into flames and became versatile ninjas.
They were placed on his desk when he woke up in the morning.
"Is this a message that you can kill me anytime?"
He had underestimated Liam's dark side.
Calvin was in a pinch, pulled down by the foolish nobles of his faction.
"Did I think I was cornering him, but ended up being cornered myself?"
This couldn't end like this.
Calvin decided to gather the nobles.
"There's a democratization movement in Liam's territory. Let's use that as a reason to make him take responsibility."
If he couldn't win on the battlefield, he would win in his own domain.
Calvin decided to target Liam's weakness.
It was the democratization movement happening in his territory.
"The empire dislikes democratization movements. If the military is dispatched, Liam's territory will be flattened."
That way, Liam would lose a lot of power.
◇
An emergency inquiry session was held in the empire.
It was due to the foolish nobles who brought a battleship into the capital planet.
And I was---called as an important witness.
Yet, I was being grilled as if I were the criminal.
"---I will never forget this humiliation."
I clenched my teeth.
I was filled with intense anger.
Calvin was also present at the inquiry session.
He had a cool look on his face, and I didn't like the way he seemed to be looking far away.
He looked indifferent, but it was you who pushed me to this point.
You humiliated me and made me a laughingstock.
I will definitely kill you with my own hands.
I will take revenge on the man who brought me here and humiliated me.
I will never forgive you.
The prime minister, seated in a high position, looked down at me with a disapproving gaze.
I didn't like his eyes.
"Let's come to a conclusion soon."
The surrounding nobles echoed the same sentiment.
"Truly, Lord Liam is a problem."
"He needs to be more aware of his duties as a noble."
"He is the future duke, after all. He must consider his position."
Men and women in their thirties looked down at me with mocking smiles.
This inquiry session was all Calvin's fault.
He questioned my governance.
The nobles who brought the battleship into the capital planet were from his faction, yet he blamed me on the spot.
Calvin's allies also caused a commotion and criticized me at the inquiry session.
Now, they all looked away from me with cool expressions.
I remembered their faces.
I will never forgive you!
The nobles who were on my side at the inquiry session looked somewhat apologetic.
Baron Exner tried to console me.
"Earl---I'm sorry."
If you're going to apologize, help me! Help me!
Damn it! You're the first to push me this far, Calvin!
The prime minister hammered the gavel to quiet the restless assembly and spoke to me.
"Then, Earl---"
"Damn it."
I looked down and clenched my hands.
This shouldn't have happened.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
I---had underestimated Calvin too much.
For now, I will admit my defeat.
Yes, for now!
◇
After the inquiry session, the Calvin faction was in despair.
They had caused a commotion at the inquiry session to question Liam's governance.
They obstructed the proceedings and insisted on discussing this issue, refusing to end the session.
A democratization movement was happening in Liam's territory.
They brought up topics that the empire was sensitive about, trying to grill Liam at the inquiry session.
"---Can someone explain this to me?"
Near the venue where the inquiry session was held.
In the break room, Calvin looked around at the gathered members of his faction.
Everyone avoided his gaze.
Calvin was laughing pleasantly.
"The prime minister told me as he left that continuing this unsightly behavior would not be in my best interest."
He was laughing, but he couldn't really be happy.
One of them made a painful excuse.
"Your Highness, the agents we sent to Liam's territory were led by a viscount who had defected. When we received the data, it was indeed a democratization demonstration."
"Did it look like a democratization demonstration to you?"
A video was shown at the inquiry session as evidence of the democratization demonstration in Liam's territory.
It showed Liam's citizens holding placards.
" Fulfill your duties as a noble! "
"Treasure Lady Rosetta! Don't forget about Yurisha! "
"Hey, remember me!!"
At the end, Yurisha was also shown participating in the demonstration.
What they thought was a democratization demonstration turned out to be a baby-making demonstration.
Calvin covered his face with his hand and laughed.
"What about my position, standing there and seriously saying there were problems with Liam's governance?"
Calvin and his faction had been in denial.
They never expected the video to contain such content.
"Why didn't anyone verify the content?"
Everyone assumed there was evidence.
It was a human error.
I remember the tense atmosphere at the inquiry session easing up.
The nobles, who were on edge due to the battleship incident, were considering severe warnings and penalties for Liam's provocative actions.
But when they saw the embarrassed Liam at the demonstration, they said things like "Try harder with your noble duties" and "Earl, you're so innocent" and "Be more careful in the future."
They looked at him as if he were a cute grandchild.
They teased him in a playful manner.
And they sympathized with him.
Liam's punishment was reduced.
In practice, he was only told to behave for a while, and that was it.
On the other hand, the impression of Calvin and his faction at the inquiry session was the worst.
Interrupting the session was seen as a distraction.
In a favorable position, Calvin had lost to Liam.
Before they knew it, the small faction led by Cleo was closing in on them.
"We no longer have the luxury to care about appearances."
When Calvin said this, the faction's nobles also steeled their resolve.
◇
There was a fool who brought a battleship into the capital planet.
The world is full of fools.
After being attacked at the party venue, I was told to stay low for a while by the court, so I'm spending my days in luxury at a hotel.
I'm avoiding parties for now, given the commotion.
There was a few weeks of investigation---and the inquiry session.
The period of seclusion is a few months.
"Now, the only problem left is the people claiming to be Ippan-ryu."
Rumors say there are two of them.
Is this a tax on fame?
If they are fake Ippan-ryu, I will definitely kill them.
However, this is an interstellar nation.
Finding one person is not as easy as it seems.
The trail of the people claiming to be Ippan-ryu has not been found.
Tia, who is preparing tea in my room like a wagging tail, has returned from the expeditionary force.
She came to me saying "Praise me," so I replied, "You must be happy to work for me," and she shuddered and nodded vigorously.
Learn a little from Kukuri, who is good at her job.
"Lord Liam, there's still the issue of the large-scale demonstration in your territory, right?"
"---I'll suppress the demonstrators once everything is over. How dare they make a fuss over my personal life."
What I can't forgive is that the citizens protested for me to get my hands on Rosetta quickly.
You have no right to say that!
Damn it! I'll suppress them properly when I return.
My army has returned from the expedition and is now resting.
I take care of my army to make myself look great and more powerful than I am.
I push them when necessary, but if I do it all the time, they might betray me.
I let them rest when they need it.
So, I can't move them immediately.
Once the army is ready, I'll suppress them right away!
Tia laughed off my words.
---I think of myself as evil, but this girl is pretty dangerous too.
"Well, it's fortunate that the democratization movement didn't spread in Lord Liam's territory. Seriously, if we hadn't suppressed and silenced it, the empire's regular army would have been dispatched to quell it."
"I would have been better off being suppressed."
The Calvin faction tried to recover their losses by attacking me at the inquiry session.
I was questioned in the session where they were supposed to investigate them.
Calvin is clearly better at court politics than me.
He made a fuss about a democratization movement in my territory.
The empire dislikes democratization movements, and the issue was brought up at the inquiry session.
However, when the empire's investigators looked into it, it turned out to be about my succession problem.
Can you imagine how I felt seeing my citizens protesting about my succession problem at the inquiry session?
The video even showed Yurisha participating in the demonstration, and I was speechless.
That guy does nothing good if left alone.
I was shown such a video, and it was incredibly embarrassing.
I still remember the indescribable gazes directed at me.
Laughter, exasperation, and sympathy.
I still remember the prime minister's warm, indifferent eyes!
Tia smiled, but it was a meaningful smile.
"But, this has put the Calvin faction in a difficult position. Cleo's faction has gained significant power, and they are now cornered. Everything went according to Lord Liam's plan."
"I was winning from the start. My luck is terrifying."
But my luck is thanks to the Guide.
Even if it looks like a crisis, everything leads to victory.
Life on easy mode.
That's what it means to be a wicked lord.
"Well, I'm getting tired of staying low. Let's go out and have some fun. Get the car ready."
"Yes, sir."
Tia gave orders to her subordinates to prepare the car.