Right then, while Katori-sensei was tied up with refereeing, I’d just slip awa—
A firm grip suddenly clamped onto my shoulder.
"I’ve got high expectations for the 2nd Humanoid Fighter Piloting Tournament."
Yikes, terrifying!
I’m going to put this off as long as humanly possible!
While I was trying to convince myself of that plan, the soldiers from the Rosaria Empire looked on with eyes full of wonder.
"Speaking of which, Your Majesty, word has reached us that you are the strongest pilot in Chronos! Please, we would be honored if you would give us a lesson!"
Oh, dear.
"L-look, I’ve been told not to break them. They’re expensive. Besides, I’m the sort of person who truly treasures his machines."
"Word is they set up a production line right here in Chronos just because you wreck them so frequently," Katori-sensei added with a beaming smile. "I heard the price of our own parts has dropped significantly thanks to that too."
Goddamn it!
Even though it’s an exclusive machine, they’ve made it so it can be built on a mass-production line?!
"U-um... I’ll check with the person in charge."
That person would be Kyoko-chan.
"What is it? Slurp. I’m in the middle of some ramen here. Slurp."
"Keep it to one bowl a day, all right? More importantly, we’ve had a request from the Rosaria Empire for a mock battle with the Humanoid Fighters."
"It’s fine by me. Slurp. I wanted to check the durability and precision of the mass-produced parts anyway."
"Hey, don't say that!"
"You’re going to break them regardless, Leo-kun, so you should really look at this in a positive light."
"I don't want to!"
I resisted as hard as I could, but the General Manager of Humanoid Fighters had already given her blessing.
"So, are we doing this?" Katori-sensei asked. He and the citizens of the Rosaria Empire were all grinning at me.
Fine then! I’ll make sure the Ogre God Nation people enter too!
And so, through a series of unfortunate events, the Goodwill Piloting Tournament with the Rosaria Empire was officially set in motion.
Naturally, when it comes to Humanoid Fighters, just turning the things on costs a fortune. I could have dipped into the diplomacy budget, but we had just held that battle royale with Katori-sensei a little while ago. If I didn’t find a sponsor for the Goodwill Tournament, I was going to get a lecture.
I sat in my office, groaning in frustration.
...Just then, I saw Lou-chan's Mama passing by in the hallway.
This was it!
"Lou-chan's Mama! Help me!"
"M-my goodness, whatever is the matter?!"
"I want to hold a Humanoid Fighter goodwill tournament, so I was hoping to find a sponsor."
"Listen well, Your Majesty. Consulting me was the right choice. Yes, I shall hunt for one with everything I have."
Wait... she was surprisingly eager about this.
"Your Majesty... if I may, perhaps you should hold a proper sports tournament as well?"
"Didn't we just do that recently?"
"We shall label it a 'goodwill exchange' for the sake of appearances."
Wait... the scale of the event suddenly tripled what I had initially imagined.
"I have heard that many civilians reside aboard the Planet-class Fortress. Why not take the time to hold sports trial sessions for baseball, soccer, and basketball? Conversely, you could host a Rosaria Empire Culture Experience and Exhibition, featuring displays and sales of folk crafts, books, and other goods."
"U-um, well... Fairy, can we actually pull that off?"
"Hullo, hullo! It’s the Fairy, Leo-kun’s one and only partner! The venues where we held the sports and culture festivals recently are currently vacant~."
"They’re vacant?!"
"Well, we built separate baseball stadiums and such, remember? Each nation has its own league now, so we don't host many matches in Chronos itself. Plus, the Chronos league is currently in the off-season. And look, the students' National Tournament isn't until the end of summer, so we’ve still got plenty of time."
Dun-dun-duuuun!
"Then I shall inform the main office immediately," Lou-chan's Mama said. "Please rest assured. We will not allow a single state-run broadcaster to monopolize this event. I believe it is best to share the profits with commercial broadcasters as well."
Dun-dun-duuuun!
T-this was bad... the scale of this tournament was becoming absolutely monstrous.
"T-to Claire. I have to go to Claire!"
Yes, she was the anchor of our government. If I asked the ultimate stopper to step in, surely she could fix this!
I burst into Claire’s office and began speaking as fast as my lungs would allow.
"Help me, Claire!"
"Impossible."
"Why?!"
"Because Isono-kun can't work at full capacity."
Currently, we were making sure Isono didn't work a single minute of overtime. We didn't want the foundation of his life to crumble because of work. Family comes first! We were a "white labor" nation! (Excluding the King, of course).
And so, unable to offer any further resistance, the scale of the tournament continued to swell.
First, the cultural side. I just dumped that on everyone else. The former Brass Band Club, who had now reached professional-level skill, would perform a parade. Meanwhile, the light music club—who had improved drastically thanks to hellish training from former pros in the army—would be holding a live concert.
I think you get the picture. If we were going to do it, we were doing it with everything we had.
There was no way the Lepsitol Enterprises, who claimed to be the most loyal subjects of the King of Chronos, were going to stay out of this festive uproar.
There were demonstrations by Ninjas and Armored Rikishi. I saw a little girl delightedly shouting, "Papa, a new kimoo-no!" while wearing a kimono that felt just a little bit "off" from a Japanese perspective.
The Armored Rikishi were scheduled for exhibition matches against our Sumo Club and former rikishi from the Imperial Army.
As for those damn Ninjas, they dumped everything on me, saying, "The King of Chronos is our head, after all!"
Wow, how low can you get? Your souls are absolutely filthy!
Fine, fine, just set up a Shuriken trial session! And throw in some acrobatic performances while you're at it!
And as for the Lepsitol Sushi booth... Health Center! Is it okay? Oh, it’s fine. Good. Just make sure to serve California rolls later.
In the end, Lepsitolians actually have quite high civic standards; it was just their national system that had been a disaster. They used all sorts of clever methods to make sure you couldn't actually complain about them. They appealed to both emotion and the rules of the system simultaneously.
I don't know how to put it... unlike Ozen, they perfectly identified that "just before I snap" point and pushed their way in right there. They aimed for that exact spot where I’d be annoyed, but ultimately decide I had no choice but to let it happen.
As for Shiyun, she was wearing the uniform of her favorite team from the Taikyoku Nation and having the time of her life as a vendor at the baseball booth. When I asked her "elder brother" if that was really okay for an Empress, he just gave me a look of pure resignation.
A massive line of civilians from the Rosaria Empire had formed just to catch a glimpse of the Taikyoku Nation Emperor. Shiyun herself was chatting excitedly with the Taikyoku Nation All-Star Players she had summoned on an emergency basis. Only at times like this did she stop acting like the usual mature older sister and become a girl her own age.
...Well, she looked like she was having fun, so I guess it was fine. Yeah. Baseball and Shiyun: a hazardous combination. I knew that already, but things never go quite the way I plan.
Parcion-kun didn't participate. You see... they're generally a bunch of introverts over there.
Claire was too busy with her pro-wrestling business to pay me any attention. I made the Isono couple sit quietly in the VIP seats.
There were way too many people!
"Is this the list of requested snacks? Yes, yes. Chamberlain, I'll leave it to you."
This was crazy! We were still in the pre-festival cultural stage, and yet look at these crowds!
I was also doing my best to keep Charlotte settled in the VIP seats.
"I want to eat the thing called Okonomiyaki!"
"Yes, yes! I'll have them bring some right away!"
"Where is the Saint?!"
"She's currently on a nursing shift at the first-aid station!"
"Chocolate-covered banana!"
"Yes, yes! I'll have one brought to you!"
"Also, I want to try those things called baseball, soccer, and basketball!"
"Later!"
I felt like I was supervising a primary school field trip. What on earth was going to happen when the actual sports events started?
No, seriously. I was genuinely worried.