Weve arrived at the home planet of one of the lords that belongs to the Cleo Faction.

The lord of this planet is a Viscount that is at the very bottom of the hierarchy within our faction. He and his family members are kneeling before me inside their luxurious mansion as I stare down at them.

I see youve been quite brazen.

The Viscount trembles.

M-my apologies!

Dont think an apology will be enough.

Hiii?!

We decided to visit here on our search for our Master, and we were told that a swordsman from the School of One-Flash was acting as the sword instructor here.

However, the man in question, that claimed to know the True One-Flash, turned out to be someone that was using a tool to replicate our secret art.

It was so bad it couldnt even pass as a magic trick. When we went out of our way to meet him, he looked at us and said, Are you one of those knock-offs? Scram!

Rinho and Fuuka were ticked off by his attitude, and went on a rampage in the Viscounts mansion.

Honestly, I was pretty impressed by the Viscount in the beginning.

Theres a huge wealth gap between the rich and the poor, with the aristocrats living luxurious lives at the expense of the common people.

This is what an evil lord should be like! I thought to myself.

We also belonged to the same faction, so I was going to give him a light warning, and tell him that hed hired a fake instructor.

And yet!

Your soldiers and knights pointed their weapons at me. Do you understand what that means? You pointed your weapons at me, the head of the Cleo Faction!

Please forgive me! Please forgive me, Count Banfield!

He probably joined the faction thinking of getting a slice of the huge pie.

I dont blame him for that.

If hed shown even a sliver of cooperativeness, I wouldnt have minded joining hands with him.

But when the Viscount saw us, he shouted, Theres no way the Count is here. Hes a fake!

Not only did he lend his hand to an imposter posing as Master Yasushis disciple, he tried to kill me.

What hes done is unforgivable.

The imposter who claimed to be Masters disciple is being kicked around by Rinho and Fuuka inside the mansions audience hall.

Masters disciple, you say? I havent heard of you.

Rinho kicks the fake in his stomach, making him suffer and apologize.

F-forgive me.

Fuuka stomps on the head of the fake disciple begging for forgiveness, and looks down at him with murderous eyes.

A fake dares to call us fakes? Not only have ya stained our names, but also Masters name. A street performer like ya shouldnt have pushed yer luck!

As she puts more strength in her legs, unpleasant cracking sounds start to be heard from the head of the fake disciple.

From tomorrow on, you will have no place inside the faction, I tell the Viscount in disdain.

T-that cant be! Please, please forgive us!

Why dont you head over to Calvin for help then? Its your fault for pointing your weapons at me.

I wasnt told that Count Banfield would be traveling incognito! If I had known, this wouldnt have happened!

So what? I dont intend to forgive you. If you dont like this outcome, we can always go to war you know?

Im so laid back because Ive already finished investigating the Viscount.

The result is whether its in terms of financial, or military power, hes trash.

No wonder he joined the Cleo Faction.

Its such a hopeless household that other factions wont even deign to look at them.

If we fight, Ill definitely win.

In fact, just the fleet that I brought with me would be enough to obtain victory.

The fleet led by Marie is currently floating above the planet, ready to obliterate the Viscounts household at a moments notice.

The Viscount crouches down with tears in his eyes, not having the energy to go against my words.

I want to quickly move on without having to deal with all these troublesome matters, so lets leave it at that.

If I had the time, I wouldve crushed him thoroughly.

What a pity I couldnt.

I wont be so kind next time I see you getting carried away, so you better remember your lesson.

I put pressure on the Viscounts family members, and they nod rapidly in terror.

As I thought, it feels nice to oppress others with my authority!

In the Empires Capital, the Prime Minister was receiving a report from a spy that had snuck into the Banfield Family.

Said spy was Serena, the mansions head maid.

They were communicating via call, but the Prime Minster couldnt mask his confusion.

What is the Count thinking?

Now that his aristocratic training was over, the Prime Minister thought Liam would quickly hold a wedding and become a Duke.

However, he had remained quiet ever since he returned to his territory.

The Prime Minister thought he was focusing on the territorys internal affairs, but he couldnt help, but sweat after hearing what was really going on.

Serena continued her report.

Last I heard, he was visiting the territories of fellow aristocrats in the same faction, and inspecting the situation there. If he deemed them unsatisfactory, he would kick the aristocrats out of the faction.

Hes just finished his aristocratic training, yet hes now on a swordsmanship journey, and reforming others? Is the Count serious?

The Cleo Faction had a violent clash with the Calvin Faction, and emerged with the upper hand.

However, Liam, who had organized the Cleo Faction, had since disappeared from the central stage of the Empire. The Calvin Faction was starting to regain momentum now that no one was there to keep it in check.

Serena, on the other hand, didnt see this as being all bad.

By inspecting the territories of the aristocrats in the Cleo Faction, he must be trying to strengthen their cohesion. It seems many of the lords have heard about Lord Liams inspections, and have gotten a grip on themselves.

Knowing the Count, I dont blame them for being afraid. But it wouldnt do to have him wander around forever. Hows the Banfield Familys home planet faring?

Klaus-dono is holding down the fort, and working hard to develop the territory further.

Hearing Klaus name, the Prime Minister regained his composure.

Right, I heard he was summoned back from our border with the Kingdom of Dominion. Since Christina was sent to replace him, it should be fine, but I wouldve preferred Klaus stayed at the border.

It seems the Prime Minister also holds him in high regard.

Hes the Counts right-hand man after all. To think such a talent was out there undiscovered. The universe really is big. Id even go so far as to say that I want him to become a direct vassal of the Empire, and place him in an important post.

The Prime Minster appreciated Klaus value, and wanted him to become the Empires direct vassal.

I envy the Count for having so many talented people under him. At the same time, its a problem that he has so many Serena, is it possible to take Klaus away from him?

Ill casually bring up to topic, and check with him.

The Prime Minister was planning on extracting Klaus from the Banfields.

Strange. Somethings strange.

Klaus, the Head Knight of the Banfield Family, was holding his head while inside his office.

He had just been invited to become a direct vassal of the Empire.

Not only that, he had been promised an important post.

The Empire was willing to provide adequate compensation to the Banfield Family such that Klauss extraction wouldnt sour their relationship.

Klaus, who was barely holding on to the vital position that Liam had given him, couldnt believe what was happening.

Until a while ago, I was struggling to find a master who I can serve, and yet a direct vassal of the Empire? Me? Moreover, Ill be treated favorably? No way. Definitely impossible.

Even now, Klaus was feeling burdened by his responsibilities.

He refused to be put in a position where his responsibilities would become even heavier.

I guess Ill have to politely refuse.

Klaus wondered why all this was happening to him.

A knight entered Klauss office.

She barged into the room without asking for permission.

Again?Klaus sighed in defeat.

Chengshi, do I have to tell you every time that you should ask for permission before entering?

Chengshi, who was in a foul mood, ignored what he said and made a demand.

Im feeling pent up. I want to fight. Arrange an enemy for me.

Having defeated her, Liam lost interest in Chengshi, making Rinho and Fuuka her primary opponents.

However, Liam had taken them away on his journey, and her frustration was beginning to pile up.

Again? Just a while ago, didnt you forcibly participate in the subjugation of pirates?

They fled the moment they saw the Banfields family crest. They werent enough to relieve my stress.

Seeing Chengshis bloodthirsty eyes, Klaus contemplated for a moment.

(If I leave her alone, shell probably start fighting with our own frustrated men. Itll be problematic to have them cause havoc here, so I should send then away.)

Thus, Klaus came up with an idea.

One of the petitions sent to Lord Liam was a request for the subjugation of some pirates.

Pirates? Again?

Be quiet and listen. I want you to take part in the subjugation as a mercenary, not a member of the Banfield Family.

Why?

Because the request came from an aristocrat in the Calvin Faction. Joining hands with them would pose a problem for both sides. Thats why Im telling you to lead the hotheaded knights, and join the subjugation as mercenaries.

Okay. Im not interested in politics, but Id do anything for a chance to rampage.

Klaus was relieved to see Chengshi leave.

(I was originally going to turn down the request, but Lord Liam isnt here, so its better to send them away.)

Klaus planned on sending Chengshi and the rest of the warlike knights to the battlefield, away from the Banfield Familys territory.

Yasushi was in a pinch.

Inside his pre-fabricated dojo, Yasushi was sitting upright in a seiza, surrounded by his fierce-looking disciples.

He was somehow maintaining his calm image.

I didnt think the governor would visit a place like this.

Although Yasushi smiled, he was screaming inside.

(Why is such a bigshot at my dojo! Stay away from meee!)

Standing before him was the governor of the planet where Yasushi resided.

A tall, well-trained man in his mid-twenties looked at Yasushi, displaying a bold attitude.

Ive seen the techniques of your disciples. I was going to execute you if you were a fake, but it seems youre the real thing.

The fierce-looking disciples were closer to the governor than they were with Yasushi himself.

Lord Governor here is inviting you to be his sword instructor. Yasujirou, youll accept, right?

Yasujirou was Yasushis pseudonym.

His disciples werent using honorifics, but Yasushi didnt reprimand them.

Rather, he couldnt.

It seems Lord Governor thinks too highly of me.

I was convinced that you were the real deal after witnessing your disciples skills.

There were thirty disciples present, each capable of performing the One-Flash, and each one was stronger than Yasushi.

They were all formidable warriors that could easily subdue the average knights.

Moreover, they were all ill-bred ruffians.

(How could this have happened? It took decades for Liam and the other two to learn the One-Flash, but it only took them a couple of years!)

The governor looked at Yasushi, and brought up Liams name.

Liam Sera Banfield is said to have mastered the One-Flash. With it, he rebuilt his devastated territory, and eventually rose up to the position he is at right now. He conquered many planets with his might, and became the powerful man that he is today.

Indeed.

(I dont know about the details, but it must be true since hes saying it.)

While he agreed with the governors words, at the back of his mind, he was thinking, Is that so?

He sensed that disagreeing would make the Governor unhappy, so he chose to remain silent.

I hail from a Count family that owns this planet, but I have dozens of older brothers above me. Thats why Im just a governor of this rundown planet.

The governor was young and ambitious, he wanted to imitate Liam, and master the One-Flash.

Young aristocrats admired Liams success story.

The reason why there were so many One-Flash imposters was because the number of people who yearned to imitate Liam was increasing.

Yasushi looked back at the governor.

So, Lord Governor wishes to learn the One-Flash?

Yes. Im a man destined for greater things than this shoddy planet.

(You call it a shoddy planet, but the only reason why its not developing is because youre squeezing the people dry. That kid Liam was much better in comparison.)

The governor himself was the one hindering the planets development.

His name was [Chester].

While he was born into a Counts family, this ambitious man was now just a governor of a remote planet.

Unfortunately, Yasushi had no right to turn him down.

After all, he was facing the governor who controlled the planet he lived on.

It may not amount to much, but please allow me to assist Lord Governor in your endeavor.

You have my thanks. From today on, you are appointed as my sword instructor, and your disciples will act as my knights.

The ruffians heard that, and rejoiced.

Were knights from today on!

Lord Chester, let us rise up together!

With the techniques of One-Flash, we have nothin to fear!

Yasushi watched on as his disciples celebrated.

(How did this happen?)

Brian (): Its painful. Everyone seems to be holding their head in their hands. But when it comes to Yasushi-dono serves him right!

Brian (): Theres only five days left until Volume 2 of Im the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire goes on sale, so please look forward to that! Volume 2, where Lord Liam will be even more powerful than he is in the web novel, is schedules to release on December 25th.