I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!

V8 Chapter 6. Evil Deputy

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Augur, the planet where I was sent to, is quite worn down.

An aristocrat used to rule over it, but I can only say that I don’t see them in the best light.

“That lord must have been some sh*tty guy who’s not even third-rate. Trash like him fails even as a villain.”

Looking at all the data around me, I can’t help but get frustrated over what the previous lord had done.

Even villains don’t thoughtlessly squeeze their citizens dry.

A true villainous lord doesn’t let their citizens realize that they’re being oppresssed.

Yes, someone like me would be the perfect example.

Just a while ago, I raised the tax rate as punishment for those that participated in the child-making demo, but the citizens failed to recognize what was going on.

No, but for real.

Why aren’t they getting angry!?

You know what… let’s put that aside for now.

See, even in my territory, the citizens don’t realize that they’re being exploited and require further education.

In Augur, where people live like those from the middle ages, the use of educational capsules was previously banned.

Wallace, who’s next to me, takes in the data while looking extremely reluctant.

Even someone like him can tell at a glance that the situation is terrible.

“Liam, are we really going to turn this planet into a military base? Even if we try to educate everyone simultaneously, wouldn’t it require quite some time?”

Under normal circumstances, the natives will be put to work in turning the planet into a military base.

However, with the Gudwar Kingdom of Dominion right on our doorstep, we don’t have the time to slowly convert it into a base.

Why would I be pressed for time, you may ask.

Well, if I was Calvin, I’d lure the enemy towards my political rival who’s waiting in the rear. Have the enemy crush said rival, and then pretend I had nothing to do with what happened.

From how nervously he’s behaving, Wallace must have come to the same conclusion

“What if the Kingdom of Dominion directs its attacks here?”

“I’ll crush them.”

“Thank you for your oh-so-encouraging words. Liam, you can be really obstinate at times, you know that right?”

Wallace doesn’t seem to trust me.

Well, from a normal person’s standpoint, it would seem as if we’ve drawn the short end of the stick.

Nobody would be willing to take on this task.

However, I’m different, and I can see how we can win.

My target this time isn’t Calvin who’s fighting in the front lines, but rather the people in the Capital that are loitering around.

I’ve come to Augur to make some preparations, preparations that will bear fruit in the future.

I stand up from my seat.

“We’ve recruited some migrants from the Banfield’s Family, so our men will be doing all the work.”

“Eh, you sure about that? This territory’s under the Empire’s management, right? Even if things become stable here, someone else will be dispatched to be its lord.”

Once the crisis with the Kingdom of Dominion is resolved, the Empire wouldn’t bother itself with Augur anymore and either gift it, or sell it, to an aristocrat who wants to rise in rank or become independent.

No matter how much time and effort I pour in, it would all be wasted in the end.

But villains aren’t ones to let things go to waste.

“It doesn’t matter. For the time being, I’ll build a spectacular military base for the Empire. We’ve brought all the necessary materials with us, so let’s get to building a spaceport immediately. — Now, Wallace.”

I was jealous of Wallace, who was leisurely playing around in the Capital, and that’s why I had him come along.

It was meant to be a form of harassment, but let’s have him do some work as well.

“You’ll be heading to the surface.”

“Eh!? Y-you’re kidding, right!? Liam!?”

With a snap of my fingers, Wallace is dragged away from the bridge by my subordiantes.

“We need to start construction on a community building on the ground. You’ve done it before, haven’t you? You’re just the person for the job. Rest assured– Once you’re done with this, I’ll make sure to put it down as your contribution and let you move up the ladder as a civil officer.”

Wallace wants to be independent in the future, so becoming a successful civil officer makes no sense. I, of course, am aware of this.

“W-wait a second! Living like a primitive man is impossible for me! Unless I’m guaranteed food, clothing, and shelter, I can’t sleep in peace—-!”

Look at this guy comparing the middle ages to primitive times.

Hmm, but this might be how the Empire sees things.

From my perspective, Augur’s civilization seems to be in the middle ages, but from Wallace’s perspective, its civilization might seem primitive.

The bridge becomes silent after Wallace leaves, and I address the knight who’s by my side.

“You have work to do as well, Klaus.”

“…Understood.”

Having said his piece, he doesn’t say anything else.

The silence is golden, it’s as if he already knows what he has to do.

As I thought, it’s nice to have a talented knight with me.

Those two idiots are talented, sure, but their personalities…

Klaus, who’s not only capable but has a sound personality, is the number one among my knights.

Now… it’s time to lay some poison on Augur.

◇

The spaceships carrying the migrants split off from the Banfield Family’s fleet and descended to the ground.

The local representatives who were royals-in-name watched anxiously as the spaceship descended carrying various equipment and materials.

Although the royals were representatives of their countries, they never went against the lord of the planet who owned spaceships and was deemed a superior being.

The previous lord had brainwashed the royals into worshipping him as their God, which led to them believing that the spaceships carried His messengers.

A beautiful princess stood worriedly next to a king who had splendid, white beard.

“Your Majesty, did something important happen? For so many of His messengers to come at once…”
“We do not know, but you are the offering this time. Make sure to fulfill your duties well.”

“Yes.”

The previous lord of Augur often made the kings provide offerings in the form of handsome princes, beautiful princesses, and treasures that they greatly cherished.

He had a hobby of trampling them before the royals’ very eyes.

A small boat descended from a luxurious-looking spaceship.

From within, a tall knight with noble bearing stepped out to face the royal families.

The royals knelt at the appearance of the knight who seemed fit to protect God.

When the knight’s subordinates saw this, they were bewildered.

“Klaus-sama, who are these?”

“Are they the representatives?”

The knight named Klaus explained to his confused subordinates.

“It appears that the former lord of this planet had himself worshipped as ‘God’. They must have suppressed the spread of information and technology as well.”

“What a horrible thing to do,” his men said in indignation.

The royals were also confused at the men’s interactions.

“I beg your forgiveness, but if I may have your permission to speak.”

The white-bearded king spoke up on behalf of the royals.

Klaus assented.

“You may speak, but before that, have everyone stand. You do not have to address us in that manner.”

There were whispers among the royals as they had never been treated this way before.

Klaus continued upon seeing the royals hesitate.

“From today onwards, Count Liam Sera Banfield will be in charge of this land and ruling as a deputy. Your former lord, who made you worship him as God, is no more.”

Hearing that their God was no more made them even more worried.

They raised their head to ask for clarification.

“A-and what does that mean!?”

Klaus gave a calm response.

“Simply put, someone higher in rank than the one you revered as God will be ruling over this land.”

The chaos only got worse as the royals learned that there was someone with a higher status than the God that they had worshipped until now.

Klaus cleared his throat.

“Oh, and a message from Lord Liam: he wishes to speak with the representatives. As such, you are all invited to his mothership.”

They would be taken to heaven.

Some royals were interested while others became dreadfully pale.

◇

“What an idiot.”

To pose as God and demand others to worship him. It’s in such bad taste that it’s not even funny.

I’m aware that I always claim myself to be a villain, but even I’m not audacious enough to say that I’m God.

For me, God would be… Well, that’s not what’s important here.

After listening to Klaus’s report, I stop processing the paperwork.

I’ve come to the decision that I should make some adjustments to our policies moving forward.

“So, you told them that I’m an existence above their God and that the migrant workers are my messengers? I like being respected, but being worshipped? I’m not so keen on that idea.”

Klaus appears somewhat relieved by that.

“It’s not that surprising apparently. I’ve heard rumors that there are some lords that go about posing as God in their territories.”

“That’s low.”

Calling yourself God is an unforgivable sin.

It’s such a vile act that even I wouldn’t do it.

“I’m relieved to hear that Lord Liam thinks that way. Unfortunately, the news came as a bigger shock than what we had imagined. The royals, Augur’s royals, are discussing whether they should make this public to the citizens.”

Sounds reasonable enough.

After all, they’ve just been told that the existence they had always believed to be God was in fact something entirely different.

Some would refuse to believe it.

“Separate the living areas of the migrants and the living areas of the locals for now. Some idiots might let the worshipping go to their heads.”

“Understood, and what about the support for the locals?”

I originally planned on providing the residents of Augur with a generous amount of support.

Your previous lord was a cruel d*uche! I, on the other hand, will support you guys, even if it’s only for a little while!

I was thinking of restructuring the planet into a military base while showing them kindness, after which we’d leave.

We can proceed with that, but trouble might arise between the migrants and the locals which could hinder my plans.

“Proceed as planned, and gather the Augur royals. Ideally, if things have not gone south, I would’ve quickly converted myself into a district representative or something, but…”

If too many changes are introduced to people’s lives at once, there are bound to be some that cannot keep up.

There’s no choice but to take things slowly from here on out.

What a mess the previous lord has left behind.

I’m once again convinced that it’s a bad idea to limit societal development, especially if it’s done purely to entertain the aristocrats.

“This is more troublesome than I thought.”
I would’ve preferred to swiftly develop the base, but it’s a pity that the Empire’s aristocrats are so useless.

I’m also one of them though…

◇

The Augur royals’ minds were blown by the party venue that had been prepared for them. Many became speechless when they learned the fact their planet was spherical in shape.

Not only that, the outside world was dark all day long, and innumerable structures bigger than their castles were floating in the sky. [1]

The white-bearded king stood restlessly before Liam as the latter spoke to him in a friendly manner.

“You can relax… Is what I want to say, but you probably won’t listen. Just know that I won’t harm you in any way.”

“W-we are grateful for your magnanimity.”The king could not stop shaking as Liam appeared much more divine than the self-proclaimed God.

The former lord’s entourage used to look at them mockingly and laugh at them scornfully, but no one here was treating them like some spectacle.

Furthermore, the servants that they had to bow down to before were bowing at them instead.

Liam took a sip from the glass that he had in his right hand.

The royals also followed suit and drank the liquor that had been served to them, only to realize that it tasted better than any liquor that they had drunk before.

Liam opened his mouth to speak to the royals who were feeling deeply moved by the drinks served.

“I’ll explain in an easy-to-understand manner. I’m someone who’s two ranks above your former lord. In fact, I’ll be promoted soon, which means I’ll be four ranks higher.”

Someone with a higher status than the one they worshipped. It was a lot to take in for the royals.

However, Liam had shown them enough to convince them of his words.

“H-how will we be governed in the future?”

The white-bearded king once again acted as their representative, to which Liam let out a soft chuckle.

“I’ll only be staying here for a short amount of time. During that time period, I won’t take anything away from you all. Instead, I’ll bestow you various things.”

“Bestow us? Then… How much will we be taxed?”

“There’s no need for that. Take this chance to rest. Hmm, right… If there’s any young ones among the royalty, bring them forward. I’ll have them receive education under me.”

The princess stepped forth when the king glanced at her, and she was introduced to Liam.

“This is my daugther. I may be being biased, but she’s a very beautiful girl, so please accept her.”

The princess curtsied, but Liam appeared somewhat displeased by her.

The king panicked thinking he had done something wrong.

After finishing his drink, Liam once again spoke.

“Don’t get me wrong, she’ll be with me for less than a year. In other words, she’ll be returned to you very soon. You see, I don’t have any women troubles.”

The people around him had faces that said “Say what!?”, but quickly turned away when Liam glared at them.

Puzzeld, the kings cocked their heads, but Liam continued as if nothing had happpened.

“Just think of it as coming over to play. I’ll show her how wide the world truly is. Having said that, if you encounter any problems, make sure you consult with us.”

“T-thank you for your kindness.”

They had never received such treatment before.

The royals at the scene didn’t really understand what had transpired, but they were nevertheless relieved.

That was when Liam decided to make a declaration before the royals.

“I’ll be protecting you all from now on. There’s no need for anyone to worry.”

His words that overflowed with confidence left a deep impression on the royals who had been taught to worship the higher-beings as Gods.

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Wakagi-chan (゜∀゜): “Speaking of being worshiped, those in the Republic worship me as a sacred tree! Volume 6 of ‘The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs’ will be out soon, so make sure you grab one! I won’t mind if you worship it, you know~!”

Brian (・ω・｀): (It’s about time that the plant returns from whence it came.)

Brian (´・ω・｀): “Oh, and if you buy the e-books for ‘The World of Otome Games if Tough for Mobs’ on Book☆Walker, you can get additional benefits in the form of a voice drama. As a cherry on top, ‘The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs’ will be on sale until August 4th. Now’s your chance to start with Volume 1. That will be all from Brian.”

[1]: Outside world-> Space. Structures -> Probably the ships