Chapter 1:
The World Tree
ONE MORNING, two maids were tasked with tidying the mansion's
garden. Their cute, frilly uniforms differed from those worn by the
mansion's other maids. The unique garb indicated the different status these
two maids held.
One of the pair suddenly started swinging around the broom in her
hands. "Aaargh! Cleaning a place this huge by hand makes no sense!
There are robots that could do this. Why do we have to do it instead?"
The girl's long, navy-blue hair swung behind her as she took her
anger out on the surrounding vegetation. Her name was Riho Satsuki, and
she scowled as if deeply offended to be working as a mere maid.
The other girl, Fuka Shishigami, watched Riho with an exasperated
look. With her voluminous red hair tied back behind her head, she set her
broom against her shoulder and sighed. "You made that mess," she said,
pointing at the debris Riho had created, "so you'd better clean it up."
The pair were far too crude to be maids at the mansion, but the other
servants never cautioned them about their behavior, even when they
wreaked havoc. After all, they were special, since they were students of
the Way of the Flash—the sword school the master of the mansion, Liam
Sera Banfield, belonged to. In fact, the girls shared the same teacher as
Liam. They may have been clad in cutesy maid outfits and had girlish
faces and figures, but they were still Way of the Flash swordspeople, like
their master. Nevertheless, there was a reason they were dressed as maids
and working in the mansion.
"Don't act like a goody two-shoes," Riho snapped at Fuka. "That
attitude suits you even less than those clothes."
Fuka's face turned red, and she held out her broom like a sword.
"Wh-what was that? I-I'm not wearing these 'cause I want to, you know!"
Riho held up her broom in much the same way, cackling. "You
wanna go? I'll take you on!"
The air seemed to crackle between the two, the plants around them
swaying even though there was no wind. They glared at each other for
some time, and just when they seemed about to swing their brooms at one
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another, the last person they wanted to see appeared.
"I can't believe you two. How many times do I have to tell you
something to get it through your heads?"
Riho and Fuka jumped, glancing at the newcomer. It was the head
maid, Serena.
"I told you to clean, didn't I? But here you are, making a mess
instead." Serena shook her head in disapproval.
Her attitude irritated Riho and Fuka. The short-tempered girls would
normally cut down anyone who disrespected them in an instant, but this
was the mansion of their Swordmaster's senior pupil, who had once beaten
the stuffing out of the two without breaking a sweat. If they attacked
Serena, they would surely incur Liam's wrath. After all, he'd specifically
ordered them to learn etiquette from the head maid.
Face twitching, Fuka began making excuses. "I was cleaning,
Serena! Riho just picked a fight with me!"
Riho glared at Fuka. "You're selling me out? Serena, it's all her
fault! She aimed her broom at me first!"
As the two began arguing, Serena raised her voice. "It's not a matter
of which of you is at fault! You both are!" The two problem children had
needled the head maid into abandoning her usual polite tone. "And how
dare you disrespectfully address me by name when Master Liam himself
entrusted me with you?" She couldn't resist quietly adding, "Honestly,
what a burden I've been saddled with."
When Serena brought up Liam's name, neither Fuka nor Riho could
argue further. They respected him as one of their teacher's senior students,
but more to the point, they knew he had the strength to treat them like the
children they still were. Their instincts prevented them from rebelling
against him.
Another lecture, huh? Fuka thought. A commotion had started
around them, though, cutting Serena's admonishments short.
"Kinda noisy today, isn't it, Ms. Head Maid?" Fuka had corrected
the way she addressed Serena, but made no efforts at a more polite tone.
Serena sighed in resignation. "The hubbub is only natural," she
explained. "It's a very auspicious day for this house, after all."
Riho tilted her head. "Auspicious? Did something good happen?"
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"A world tree was discovered on a planet that's come into House
Banfield's possession," Serena told them, looking pleased.
Riho and Fuka just tilted their heads again, not understanding the
tree's significance. When she saw their confused looks, Serena heaved a
sigh once more and instructed them to resume tidying.
***
The Intergalactic Algrand Empire's aristocracy revolved around a
ruling emperor. In the past, I'd wondered whether such a vast nation could
really support such a backward system. I'd had it all wrong, though. When
a nation grew to a massive size, governing it was practically impossible. It
was more practical to divide it into individual territories and assign their
governance to feudal lords. Ruling directly over each and every planet,
fortress, and colony would've been a huge pain for the emperor.
Well, I was sure plenty of factors had led to the introduction of the
feudal system, but those details weren't important. The important thing
was that I, Liam Sera Banfield, held the rank of count and ruled over
several planets within the immense empire.
A little after noon, I was lounging self-importantly on a couch in a
reception room. "Everything within my territory belongs to me, no
exceptions," I said. "That even goes for the lives of the people who live
there. Do you disagree?"
I was currently in the middle of a lengthy period of training to
become a proper ruler. I'd been away from my territory for too long,
though, and had recently returned home. I was supposed to serve four
more years as a government official, but I'd decided to pause my training
and get back to it after a few years taking care of things in my own
domain.
Having returned home, I'd recently received word that a world tree
had been discovered on one of my planets. Thus, I was now meeting with
the beautiful woman who sat across from me in the reception room, a low
table between us.
"That's a very aristocratic way of thinking," she said.
The woman's name was Anushree, and she was a high elf. The
queen of the elves, in fact—a "high elf" being essentially elven nobility.
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She had pale skin, blue eyes, long and wavy blonde hair, and long, pointed
ears. Her sharp, symmetrical features gave her a face that seemed close to
ideal, even to a human like me. She wore a traditional white dress that did
nothing to hide her figure—nor her underwear, which I could see through
the thin, gold-embroidered dress. Despite seeming aware of this, she
showed no shame. She must have had absolute confidence in her
appearance.
She looked like a goddess, smiling at me that way, but I knew that
inky-black emotions roiled beneath the surface. Did she disdain humans? I
had the same hunch about the male elf standing guard behind Anushree,
who I assumed was one of her knights. I'd allowed his presence, since a
mere guard was meaningless before my strength. Yet he was clearly
looking down on me from where he stood behind her, disgust in his eyes.
Anushree brought the conversation back on topic. "Will you not
return our homeland to us, my lord?"
"You want it back as soon as a world tree shows up, eh? How
shameless."
Anushree was meeting with me because the world tree had been
discovered on a planet I'd acquired from her, and she now wanted that
planet returned.
Elves had an extremely low standing in this universe. Some had
integrated with human society, but those who lived in groups of elves
alone, like Anushree, were different.
In fiction, elves were often a long-lived race. In this universe,
however, human beings routinely lived to be five hundred years old, while
elves normally only reached three hundred or so. Even a high elf like
Anushree would only live to four or five hundred. Frankly, elves were
considered short-lived here.
Elves also lacked the political power humans possessed.
Considering all this, it was impressive that they still looked down on
humans. They apparently felt they were a chosen race simply thanks to
their beauty. Many humans found them irresistibly attractive; it was
generally assumed that something magical was at work in addition to their
physical beauty. In other words, even in this universe, elves were quite
popular—and mysterious.
I didn't care about any of that, though. Thus my haughty attitude in
front of these two.
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Anushree repeated her shameless request, looking disconcerted by
my attitude. "The planet you now own is our ancient homeland. Does it
not make sense for us to return to it?"
Sure, it would have made sense if the elves had been born there and
still lived there. But no one had dwelt on the planet with the world tree
when I acquired it.
"That wasteland is your homeland? I finally managed to restore the
environment, so now you want it back, huh? That'd be way too convenient
for you. Elves sure are brazen."
As I provoked her, her knight scowled down at me, but Anushree
just joined her hands together as if begging. "Our planet's restoration must
be a sign from the universe for us to return to our homeland. There's even
a world tree there now. You know caring for a world tree is difficult, do
you not, my lord?"
A world tree was a sacred plant that produced elixirs. Its benefits
weren't limited to elixirs, either. They apparently did all sorts of other
things, such as enveloping the entire planet in high-quality mana. Thus, the
trees were incredibly beneficial.
However, it wasn't possible to plant more of them. Only a single
world tree could exist on any given planet, and the conditions required for
them to take root were largely unknown. Since the plants were extremely
rare, there were few world trees within the Algrand Empire. Despite the
Empire's vastness, it contained fewer than a hundred.
The one found in my territory was still a sapling, but once it grew to
full height, it would be enormous. Yet it was said that humans couldn't
care for a world tree, with nonhuman races like elves apparently being
better suited to it.
"You just want me to hand it over to you?" I retorted.
"If you allow us to care for the world tree, we will provide you with
elixirs at regular intervals. That is not a bad proposal, is it?"
"Elixirs, eh?" I put my hand to my chin thoughtfully.
The mouths of Anushree and her guard quirked into self-assured
smiles. They were seemingly trying to hide their confidence, but it was
obvious to me.
However, they had the wrong idea if they thought I was considering
their proposal. Sure, it would be beneficial to acquire more elixirs within
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my own domain, but I had no shortage of those at the moment, thanks to
the planetary development device I'd obtained upon defeating the
Berkeley Family. As its name implied, the mysterious device allowed one
to terraform planets, making them viable for human life. If a planet nearby
could be developed, you merely had to hit a few buttons to activate the
artifact. With that device, humanity could continue to expand its influence.
Its one flaw was that its ancient technology surpassed our current
capabilities, so it couldn't be mass-produced.
There was another, more frightening way to put the device to use,
however. In addition to fostering life, it could also do the opposite. When
the device's influence was directed toward a planet that already supported
life, it absorbed all the planet's vitality, transforming it into elixirs. If the
device was used that way, the planet in question would be sucked dry and
destroyed.
I'd used the planetary development device while taking down space
pirates. If activated right after winning a battle, it sucked up the vitality the
dead pirates released and transformed it into elixirs. You couldn't get as
many elixirs that way as you would from destroying a planet, but space
never ran out of pirates. Thus, if I wanted elixirs, all I had to do was go
pirate-hunting. Not to mention, taking pirates down boosted my reputation.
In addition, I could transform physical wreckage from those battles into
resources using my alchemy box, another powerful artifact that had come
into my possession.
Making use of my enemies' very souls for my purposes was a brutal
—arguably ruthless—tactic, making me a true villain if there ever was
one. Space pirates were the ultimate piggy bank for me. During their
exploits, they wrought chaos and collected treasure that I, in turn, took
from them. They gave their very lives for the sake of my profit. As long as
there were pirates, I would never have any shortage of resources.
However, having a rare world tree in my territory would afford me a
certain status as a noble. But if I could still brag about the tree to other
nobles and demonstrate superiority, maybe keeping a few elves as pets
wouldn't be so bad.
"I'll consider it, I suppose," I told Anushree. "If you're willing to
work for me, I could allow you to set yourselves up near the world tree."
At this arrogant proclamation, the elves smiled, though there was
still murder in their eyes. Anushree stood and curtsied. "Thank you, my
lord."
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She bowed her head, but I was certain that she was stewing.
I was so amused by the elves' poorly concealed rage that I decided
to pretend I hadn't noticed it. "I said I'd consider it. I haven't made an
official decision yet."
Anushree seemed to consider the matter settled, however. "I can't
imagine you have better options for its care than us."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that."
Judging the conversation finished, my personal maid, Amagi, spoke
up to remind me of the next item on today's schedule. "Master, you have
another meeting coming up shortly."
"Got it. So many visitors today..."
I'd had dozens of conversations like this just since morning. The
only problem with coming back to my mansion for a time was that I
always found myself bombarded with petitioners.
The elves took their leave.
***
After her conversation with Liam, Anushree wore a severe
expression. "How dare that filthy human brat talk down to me?"
He was younger than she, yet he hadn't dropped his impudent tone
the whole time they spoke. Worse, her looks hadn't swayed him in the
least. Every other human she'd met lit up at the sight of her, even nobles.
Anushree considered her beauty to be her greatest strength, but it had been
useless today.
"This is all to obtain the world tree, Your Majesty," her knight
reminded her. "We must be patient for now." His tone betrayed his own
disdain for Liam.
Anushree sighed, and her tense expression relaxed. "You're right. If
we obtain a world tree, we can use its elixirs to help our tribe flourish.
Even if we bleed it dry, it will provide stability for a few centuries."
Elves could indeed care for a world tree, but Anushree's people took
world trees that should have lasted tens of thousands of years and bled
them dry in a few hundred. Their current prosperity had resulted from
squeezing as many elixirs as they could out of such trees, destroying entire
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planets in the process.
Her knight smiled faintly. "We can attain vast wealth by selling the
elixirs, and our long journey through space can finally come to an end."
It was true that the planet with the world tree was their original
homeland, but it was a ruined wasteland because of the elves who'd lived
there several generations ago. They had forced the world tree to convert
the planet's vitality into elixirs, sucking it dry.
"I hope our prosperity will last at least until my grandchildren's
generation," Anushree said. "We'll squeeze all we can out of that little
whelp of a count, too."
They planned both to control the world tree and to extort riches from
Liam in the form of aid. It was rare for anyone to exploit world trees like
Anushree's people; normally, elves tended world trees with care. The very
existence of Anushree's group, however, showed that there were indeed
elves who took that route. On the other hand, there were those who found
their behavior despicable.
As they made their way through the mansion's excessively wide
hallways, Liam's next visitors—a small man and a large man—came
walking toward them. It wasn't just the men's builds that differed. They
were also different races. The small man was only about a hundred and
twenty centimeters tall, while the large one was almost two meters. Both
wore suits, but the outfits looked so awkward on them that Anushree
couldn't resist mocking them.
"How repulsive," she said. "And they're having their meeting right
after ours... What bad luck."
The small man was a goblin, and the large man was an orc. Both
were rather unattractive by human standards. Their faces twisted with
frustration as they passed the elves.
Elves, goblins, and orcs shared a common ancestor in this universe.
All three races could care for world trees, and all three were considered
minorities in this reality. However, elves had evolved to be beautiful,
while goblins and orcs had become ugly.
Anushree guessed that the goblin and orc were meeting Liam for the
same reason she had: to ask that he allow them to care for the world tree.
"I'm sure you're after the world tree," she told them, "but you are a
little late. The count is going to choose us. Your ugly faces will have to
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stay in space where they belong."
Though goblins and orcs were just as capable as elves of caring for a
world tree, their appearance often caused humans to chase them from their
homelands. The humans figured they would rather have beautiful elves
tending the trees than ugly goblins or orcs—even if the elves ultimately let
the world tree wither, like Anushree's people. Humans didn't know about
those elves' terrible practices, and didn't suspect any elves would willingly
destroy a world tree, because of the elves who did take their duties
seriously.
As a matter of fact, the ancestors of the goblin and orc visiting Liam
had only become space nomads because a human noble, spurred on by
elves, had driven them from their homeland. They had traveled through
space since then, searching for a planet with a world tree where they could
settle. As forest inhabitants, they had difficulty living anywhere other than
a planet with a world tree.
The goblin and orc had caught on to Anushree's aims.
"You shouldn't be killing world trees and destroying planets, gob,"
the goblin retorted. "That planet is the goblins' and orcs' homeland too,
gob."
The planet Liam had obtained was also the one where the goblins'
and orcs' ancestors originated. One of the mightiest world trees in all the
universe had once existed there...and Anushree's ancestors were the ones
who'd destroyed it.
The orc protested vehemently, too. "How many world trees have
you destroyed, and whole planets with them? Just how many lives will you
snuff out before you're satisfied?"
Anushree had never spared a thought for a planet's vitality, and she
just mocked the pair's earnestness. "What does it matter? If they became
nourishment for elves, they're fortunate. World trees, planets—all lives are
just sustenance for us. No matter how you struggle, that planet is ours. No
human will ever understand the true worth of a world tree. That brat will
give the planet to us."
The goblin and orc also knew that humans didn't understand world
trees' true worth. They grimaced. All they could do was hope that Liam
would sense the tree's importance.
"Count Banfield is called a wise ruler, gob. He'll understand if we
explain things to him, gob."
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Recalling how Liam had behaved during their meeting, Anushree
burst out laughing in pity. "Him, a wise ruler? That brat is just a human,
same as all the others. And since he's human, he'll obviously choose us
beautiful elves over you ugly creatures. That's just the way of things."
Anushree walked away, supremely satisfied by the men's frustrated
expressions. There was one thing she didn't understand, though: Liam Sera
Banfield aimed to be an evil lord.
***
No sooner had the elves left me than I was visited by a goblin and
an orc. I'd known of the species' existence, of course, but this was my first
time seeing either in person. I was much more excited to meet with them
than those elves.
"My lord, I beg you to entrust your world tree to us. You see, world
trees are—"
The orc desperately pled his case. Producing elixirs was apparently
not the original function of a world tree, its presence being more important
to the planet it appeared on. It basically seemed to be a spiritual thing. I'd
heard more than enough about things like that in my previous life on Earth,
so I let his explanation go in one ear and out the other.
I was more interested in the goblin and orc themselves. If I wanted
allies as an evil lord, it made sense to hire these guys, didn't it? I hadn't
cared for that elf on her high horse, anyway.
I recalled hearing about goblins and orcs from Nitta, my old
coworker from my past life. He'd definitely told me they were evil. If I
allied myself with these creatures, it'd be proof of my villainy. Besides, if I
wanted beautiful women, I could easily obtain any number of them. These
guys, on the other hand, were much harder to find. Goblins and orcs were
both rare in this universe. If I only wanted a world tree in order to show off
to people, I'd much rather have these guys tend it.
As I nodded to myself, coming to my own conclusion, the goblin
tried desperately to impress some fact or another on me.
"My lord, we'll spare no effort to work with you, gob. I beg you,
please entrust the world tree to us, gob. Please save our people, gob!"
He was trying so hard to convince me, I figured they must be in
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some real trouble. That presented me with the opportunity to make them
indebted to me.
"Oh? You'll spare no effort, eh? I like the sound of that."
Both goblin and orc raised their head.
"Gob?!"
"Huh?!"
From their surprise, I guessed they hadn't been expecting much
from me. They must have thought I'd choose the elves over them, but I
could catch a few elves anytime. Then I could hand them over to these
guys, and let them do what they did in those books I'd heard about from
Nitta.
I recalled the sort of things that went on in those books, which
involved evil lords and elves. There were almost always goblins and orcs
in them too. Yeah, this is evil for sure. I'm gonna do it, Nitta! I just wish
you could see it!
"I'll leave the planet with the world tree on it to you," I proclaimed.
"You'll work for me from now on."
The goblin and orc exchanged disbelieving looks when I made this
declaration, finally breaking into smiles.
"Th-thank you so much!" the orc exclaimed, thrilled. "What sort of
work would you like us to do?"
Well, this isn't good. I only have a vague idea of the classic tropes. I
mean, most of the time, I ignored Nitta when he gushed about those books.
Sorry, Nitta.
"I'll call on you when I need you for something," I told him. "For
now, just tend that world tree. Make it nice and healthy, all right?"
"Y-yes, gob!"
I simply wanted to brag about my world tree, after all. If it grew
huge and impressive, I'd be more than happy. In the meantime, I'd call on
the goblins and orcs if I thought of something they could help me with.
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