I was Charlotte.
The ruler of a planet-class battleship.
That being said, I was supported by a multitude of excellent administrators, and my relationship with the King of Chronos was quite favorable. Consequently, I often found myself with a great deal of leisure time.
During such idle moments, I would frequent the Dining Hall with my guards. More often than not, I would run into someone there who had just finished their shift. The phrasing of it all felt a bit strange to me, but I had learned that in this place, if you let the little things bother you, you had already lost.
"Yo, Charlotte."
It was my friend, Tatiana. She was the girl worshipped as a Saint across the lands from the Ogre God Nation to the entirety of Chronos.
And yet...
"Charlotte! Let's go play!"
Despite her current noble status, she was apparently born a commoner. She meant no harm with her forwardness. Because I understood that, I truly considered her a friend. However, she was slated to become the wife of the King of Chronos—was it really alright for her to be like this?
"Yo, Charlotte."
The King of Chronos himself arrived. His greeting was just as casual as hers.
From what I had heard, the King of Chronos was originally born into a Marquis House of the Galactic Empire. That should have been a prestigious lineage, should it not?
And yet, what was the truth? They were supposedly made nobles for the sole purpose of being a collective laughingstock for the court. For hundreds of years, the Empire had watched them struggle through the hardships of governance just to have something to mock.
The people of the Galactic Empire were truly far too cruel.
I felt fear from the very depths of my soul. But then I recalled the rest of the story: those same people were utterly destroyed by the King of Chronos during the chaos of the Zork War. It made me wonder if the King of Chronos was actually a deeply dangerous individual—the type of man who would never allow those who shamed him to live.
Yet, in person, he was fundamentally kind. Was he truly? His track record and his actual persona simply did not align. Had he simply become this way over time? Or was this the Jester's Power at work?
If so, wasn't that power a bit too formidable? Even his family history was bizarre. They had maintained their Marquis House while enduring years of humiliation, essentially "chewing on sand" while acting the part of the fool. Didn't that mean the successive Heads of House were all monstrously competent? It wasn't the kind of thing a person with normal willpower could achieve.
Then again, the previous Head of House was supposedly just a regular incompetent man. I couldn't wrap my head around it.
"Hey, hey, Charlotte. Charlotte, do you like my big brother or something?"
Tatiana's voice sounded somewhat cold, perhaps by design.
"My fear of him far outweighs any admiration," I replied honestly.
"Is that so~♪"
No matter how I looked at him, he seemed like a demon out of mythology. Was he really that charming to them?
"Ah, Tatiana was here, for sure!"
One-oh-one, the Zork Queen, arrived. She was Tatiana’s best friend. Apparently, when Shiyun, the Taikyoku Nation Emperor, joined them, they became the "usual trio."
"I am exhausted..."
The third member arrived on cue. It was the rumored Shiyun.
"Good work—"
"Good work, for sure!"
As the other two greeted her, Shiyun pulled out a sports bag.
"Bassen... let's go."
"Bassen" was their abbreviation for a Batting Center. Emperor Shiyun had a singular obsession with baseball.
"Well, I guess the Bassen is fine. Sure, let's go. We can go to karaoke afterward, too."
"I'll go, for sure! I want to play games too, for sure!"
Their favorite Batting Center, Count One-Two-Three, also featured an arcade and a Bowling Alley. Karaoke was also part of the complex.
"Well then, I should get back to my duties..."
I started to excuse myself, but my friend Tatiana firmly grabbed my shoulder.
"Charlotte, you're coming too♪"
I was caught.
"I don't like karaoke."
"Don't be like that~♪"
In my country, there was no culture of singing in front of others. I looked toward my Imperial Guard for support. "Hey, you guys feel the same way, right?"
They all had looks on their faces that suggested they very much wanted to go.
"Do you actually want to go?" I asked.
"Ahem. We shall follow Lady Charlotte's wishes," their leader replied.
With them saying that, I could hardly refuse.
"No alcohol... or rather, those who aren't driving can have exactly one glass! Those who are driving, I'll buy you something later, so endure it for now!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
And so, the four of us headed out to play.
"By the way, what happened to King Leo?" I asked.
"He's busy with work for the bike race," Tatiana answered.
"Does he just keep increasing his own workload? He'll die of exhaustion one of these days."
"That's why we want him to take a break. But even on his days off, he's just out there grilling Yakisoba and things like that."
The man was a total workaholic.
"Come to think of it, His Majesty mentioned he ordered a new barbecue grill, for sure!" One-oh-one’s eyes sparkled at the thought.
"Lord Leo truly can make anything, can't he?" Shiyun added with a puzzled expression.
I didn't understand it either. Cooking was supposedly his hobby, but it seemed he could prepare absolutely anything. He had even mastered Chronos Cuisine. He had even joked that if he were ever fired from being King, he would just go into the food service industry. It was nonsensical. I felt that if I tried to point out the absurdity of it all, I would lose.
Even for a Jester's ESP, wasn't he overdoing it? With his territory expanded this far, a Revolution was unlikely to occur. Yet he had once told me with a perfectly straight face, "If you mess up your first job hunt after graduation, you can be easily killed even if you're a Hero of the Revolution." I suspected that was an example drawn from a small nation that had crossed a superpower.
Our group—composed of Tatiana's Personal Guard, Shiyun's Personal Guard, One-oh-one's lone Steward, and my own Imperial Guard—arrived at the Bowling Alley. We had a reservation, though the establishment was essentially treated as if it were Palace Personnel-exclusive.
The security was handled by Amada Security—the former Pirate Guild. The fact that he had turned a group of pirates into a legitimate profession was a feat that transcended my understanding. No one else could have done it. I couldn't even begin to imagine how he had achieved such a thing.
Once Shiyun authenticated her Membership Card, she made a beeline for the Batting Center. She was apparently a Diamond Member.
"ORAAA!"
She let out a shout that no daughter of a prestigious house should ever produce.
CRACK!
"...That ball seemed to be traveling at a terrifying speed."
I turned to Tatiana, who gave me an exasperated sigh.
"Ah, yeah. Shiyun has been trained in swordsmanship and archery, so her eyesight and reflexes are top-tier. Even at the machine's maximum speed, she's like that. Apparently, she's currently competing for the high score with Big Brother Isono."
"...Isn't that a bit much? Is she planning to become a professional player?"
"We've all been against that, obviously. She is the Taikyoku Nation Emperor, after all."
THWACK-CRACK!
"Ah, a home run."
"Yay!"
While she looked like a cute girl when she cheered, the ferocious sound of that hit... that wasn't the kind of power a girl should possess.
"Imperial Guard! Step up and compete!" I called out to my men, who were already working on their beers.
"OHHH YEAAAAAHHH!"
The Taikyoku Nation Bunch pumped themselves up in response.
"Lady Tatiana," a woman from the Ogre God Nation spoke up.
"Ah, yeah, yeah. Go ahead and compete. What should the prize be?"
Just then, a Facility Manager in a black suit approached from the back of the room.
"I believe tickets to the bike race would be appropriate. We would be happy to provide them."
"But we're already going there on official duty," Tatiana noted.
"Then please consider them gifts for your families or loved ones," the man in the black suit said with a polite smile.
"There you have it," Tatiana said.
"WOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The venue erupted with more excitement than I had anticipated. Even my Imperial Guard seemed to have caught the competitive spirit.
As the Batting Tournament began, I looked at Tatiana and thought of the King of Chronos. Everything about them was a far cry from the Jesters I knew.
I made a mental note to report that additional observation was strictly necessary.