「Are you Count Eddie Anheim?」
I took a regular liner from the Planet Kamishiro Main House to my own territory.
I was finally a Count. Hah, what a joke.
I still had no sense of reality. Yet, as soon as I stepped out of the spaceport's boarding gate, a woman was already addressing me by my title.
For a split second, I didn't even realize she was talking to me.
「I am Secretary Minerva Cali. I have been ordered to support the Count.」
The woman looked to be around my age, maybe a little older. She had medium-length brown hair and glasses, looking like the quiet, professional type.
She likely found me because of my military uniform.
「Who gave the order? Was it Her Majesty? Or the military?」
This was the crucial question. The Kamishiro Main House had plenty of enemies. We were upstarts, after all; there were bound to be plenty of people who weren't amused by our rise.
So far, we had crushed every faction that dared attack us openly. For now, there were no overt enemies—on the surface, at least.
But that just meant they had gone underground. If Leo Kamishiro and Empress Veronica were masters of the battlefield, their enemies would simply wait for a chance to tear us down from within. That was why we had to be more cautious than ever.
This inspection of my territory was no exception.
Leo probably wasn't thinking about any of this, but Empress Veronica was different. This trip was a test: I was to report any factions that tried to make contact and, if possible, crush them. Even I could figure that much out.
「The Imperial Army. Here is the letter of appointment.」
She handed over the documents. I forwarded the entire file to Lady Luna, the Empress, and Leo. A reply came back from Lady Luna immediately: [It is authentic.]
In that case, she was an ally.
「Thank you. Let us head to the lord's residence.」
Planet Anheim had been one of the worlds owned by the Duke Association. It was a frigid place; since it was currently winter, snow was falling. I had heard it didn't snow that much, though...
「It looks like it will turn into a blizzard by tonight. We should hurry. I have a vehicle prepared.」
「Thank you.」
I climbed into a vehicle equipped with continuous tracks instead of tires. It was slow, but in this much snow, a normal car wouldn't be any faster. This was superior simply because it wouldn't slip.
Driving was handled by an AI auto-pilot.
Assassination is possible via the AI, I noted in the report I was drafting mentally.
About thirty minutes later, we reached the city.
「That high-rise over there is the administrative center.」
I see. So it was separate from my actual home.
「I would like to drop off my luggage first. Do you know where this address is?」
「The lord's residence, then. Let us head there first.」
The lord's residence was a detached house overlooking the town. It was massive. My family back home were lords too, but the scale here was on another level.
「Apparently, it was originally a governor's residence. The records say it has hot spring water piped in.」
「Doing whatever they want, aren't they?」
As expected of a corrupt Duke's governor. The scale of the graft was impressive. When we parked in the lot and stepped outside, a middle-aged man in a suit bowed to me.
「I am Watanabe, the steward. It is an honor to meet you, Count Anheim.」
「Nice to meet you.」
Minerva spoke with Watanabe for a moment before coming back to me.
「I told him that I was the one who came to collect you.」
「I see. Is that why none of the other retainers came to the spaceport?」
「I was told that the Count dislikes such ostentatious displays.」
「Please, just call me Eddie. If you want to add a title, use 'Second Lieutenant' instead of 'Count.' We are fellow Imperial soldiers, after all.」
「Understood, Second Lieutenant Eddie. I look forward to working with you.」
「Likewise. I look forward to it.」
We entered the governor's residence. I pulled off my boots and stepped into the foyer. The interior was pure Japanese-style—exactly the kind of thing Leo would love. There was even an irori hearth.
A court lady immediately came to take my bags. I had mentally prepared for a shootout at the airport, but it seemed my worries were unfounded.
I sat down by the hearth.
「You seem quite comfortable here.」
「Our leader is a fan of this sort of style.」
Leo really did have a thing for traditional Japanese aesthetics. You could call it an obsession. That bastard... looking back, he was definitely playing the role of a harmless kitten before the Zork attack.
「First, I need the basic data for this territory. Not the sanitized versions I was given before, but the real numbers.」
The documents were sent to my terminal. I never thought the day would come when I would actually understand how to read these things.
My family were court nobles without any actual land. We were essentially from the lineage of the purged civil officials. Thanks to Leo and the Empress, we had escaped that fate. My father had retired, and I had become the head of the house and a Count.
I would probably be indebted to those two for the rest of my life.
「Planet Watanabe... well, Planet Anheim now. It was a Duke-owned world, but because of the constant snow, it was classified as Count-class. However...」
「Is there a problem?」
「No, it is just... an absurd amount of underground resources has been discovered. And...」
「And?」
「The majority of the planet's topsoil has been identified as Chernozem.」
「Which means... uh...」
「It is high-quality black soil, incredibly rich in humus.」
I should have brought Claire-chan! I don't know the first thing about farming!
「In simple terms?」
「The temperature is an issue, but the planet is exceptionally suited for agriculture. Taking that into account, it should rank among the top of the Duke-class worlds. Did you see through the classification when you chose this planet, Second Lieutenant?」
「It was purely luck. I just wanted to avoid anywhere hot and humid.」
Since none of us had any strong preferences, we had eventually gotten tired of thinking and just picked our territories by lottery. I had gone and pulled a monster of a planet...
I immediately messaged Leo and the Empress to report that the planet's projected revenue was vastly understated.
「Give me a break...」
I clutched my head. That familiar feeling—of things growing far beyond my control—was washing over me. It was just like the Ugly Contest all over again.
Suddenly, a middle-aged man in a military uniform burst into the room, gasping for air.
「M-My Lord!!!」
For a second, I wondered who he was talking to. Oh, right. Me.
「A d-dire emergency! The Duke Association Faction has begun a simultaneous uprising on the neighboring planets!」
「Say... what...?」
This happens the moment Leo isn't around?! Damn it! I knew Jester was powerful, but is a decisive-weapon-class ESP ability really that necessary to keep order?!
「L-Leo! Respond, damn it! A coup has broken out, and it's spreading to the surrounding planets!」
A reply came back instantly.
[This is Leo! Ren should be on the planet next to yours. Coordinate with her and suppress them!]
「You have to be kidding me! Coordinate?!」
[I am heading your way too! Hang in there!]
...You have to be joking. I'm not even married yet! I don't even have a girlfriend!
Damn it all to hell!
「Um, Second Lieutenant...?」
I was staring off into space with a blank expression. Unlike Leo, I am the type who doesn't show much emotion on the outside.
「Minerva-san, there is a world-class sniper on the neighboring planet. I am going to contact her. In the meantime, I will protect you. I promise.」
「Yes, sir!」
I pulled my military cap down low. I felt like my spirit was about to break. I was honestly on the verge of tears.
How the hell was I supposed to handle this?