It seemed that filming was a requirement.
I headed to the designated site accompanied by a group that included Former Professional Racers who had served in the army and Illegal Casino Athletes. Our primary goal was to scout the terrain.
We started with a bit of touring.
While the administration could have designated the route themselves, they lacked the necessary expertise. Promoters tended to prioritize profitability over all else, and the official Athletes' Association was so riddled with corruption that the illegal casinos actually looked better by comparison.
It was one thing to talk about purging corruption, but quite another to execute it within a private organization. The most an administration can really do is cut off subsidies or dissolve the entity if a fatal accident occurs. Even within Veronica's own faction, there were nobles feasting on the sweet nectar of graft, which meant that a certain amount of court maneuvering was an absolute necessity.
I called it "sweet nectar," but the reality was that these nobles were essentially being domesticated like livestock by their own greed. A simple Clan Rooting Out wouldn’t be enough to clear them all away.
As a result, Wifey decided to legalize the Illegal Casinos—at least the ones that showed some modicum of concern for their players' safety. We completely ignored the official organization that had been running rampant under the protection of the Duke Association.
Naturally, the former pros who had become Volunteers were now on our side. They were trustworthy men. I tracked them down and folded them into the New Organization. Many of them had ruined their lives through debt or illicit drugs, of course, but we would make them see reason through the army’s discipline.
When the army gets serious, it can even enforce Forced Savings and an Account Lock... I’d better watch my own step. Still, the Volunteers were a group that still possessed the will to fight, so there shouldn't be any major issues.
With that settled, we began selecting the course while touring. Since we were still in the early stages, we rode Military Reconnaissance Bikes and took photos as we went. We weren't pushing for speed yet. I wanted to start with a simple course to avoid any fatalities—just a standard, wide-looping route.
"Hey, look at this—a suspension bridge crossing the sea!"
Chronos had repaired this massive bridge, making it sturdy enough for large Trailers to pass. The view of the ocean was absolutely magnificent. Only a fool would build a slum next to a place like this. It was a prime tourism resource!
I decided right then to build a hotel there. We had already finished cleaning up the sea as well. Just by collecting the trash and converting it into resources, we could make an absurd amount of money using that Accounting Alchemy... We could even distribute the labor to the former slum residents.
The one good thing about Parcion was that the people obeyed whenever the administration issued a command. They did so while wearing expressions of absolute misery, grumbling the entire time and performing the work with half-assed effort, but they did it.
When we ordered work from Chronos or Latarnia, we had to put the contracts out to bid for various companies and ensure that workers' wage levels and safety requirements were met. It took forever for any actual work to begin. In Parcion, however, it started and ended with a simple "Do it."
The administration decided the wages. The trade-off was that the quality of work was abysmal. They just dawdled around.
"I’ll kill you, you bastards! Stop slacking off!" Those words frequently rose to my throat, but I always managed to swallow them. This was simply their culture. The Galactic Empire followed a Japanese-style work ethic, making the two cultures fundamentally incompatible. Even the Ozen had a more sophisticated culture than this...
I had made it this far by letting them work sluggishly while I remained smiling and furious. The only thing I refused to tolerate was their lack of a culture regarding waste management. Anyone caught throwing a bottle into the river was slapped with a fine. Honestly, they should have considered me kind for not hitting them.
I once imposed a punishment where I made an obvious slacker dig a hole for no reason and then fill it back in. To my shock, productivity increased and the happiness level of the Parcionian workers visibly shot up. I had expected them to be angry. It was actually an accident—I had said it as a joke, but a site foreman lost his temper and actually carried it out.
Apparently, in their eyes, giving idiots a proper punishment was proof that the ruler had not abandoned the people. The cultures were so different that I found it impossible to understand.
Me... I couldn't wrap my head around the mindset of a Parcionian in the slightest.
Anyway, when the slum residents refused to move, I mobilized the army to evict them and demolished their shacks with bulldozers. I was met with thunderous applause. When I threw the residents into temporary housing, they were delighted. When I made them perform forced labor, they were delighted. And when I treated the idiots roughly as punishment, they were delighted.
The stress I felt seemed to dissipate, purified by the glow of the setting sun.
In the distance, I saw the laborers working cheerfully at Lady Claire's Collective Farm. When they realized I was with Chronos, they waved. They seemed genuinely happy from the bottom of their hearts. I waved back.
The group I really couldn't understand, however, was the Parcion Army. Apparently, the ones who had pointed tanks at us were those who opposed our plan to raise their wages to the level of the Chronos Army. It made no sense! I was telling them that we were going to integrate their Military Pension System with the one in Chronos and grow their assets through investment, yet they flew into a blind rage.
I wasn't the villain here, right?!
I got so annoyed that I decided to halt the introduction of capitalism for them. Fine then—for the time being, you people can live on rations and a salary system based on Job Grade Levels!
I finished crossing the bridge with the sun at my back and took a photo of the straightaway.
"Fairy, I'm requesting a PV Production order using the footage from my helmet camera."
"Roger that. I’ll pass it along to Rikochi."
Rikochi’s circle—or rather, her company—would create the storyboards and then hand them off to the Pro-wrestling Video Production Company. The finished footage would be bought by Chronos National Broadcasting and aired across the entire universe. Everyone would get paid and everyone would be happy.
The Parcionians didn't understand a single millimeter of how this worked!
...By the way. Even though there was a Filming Crew and professional cameramen present, why was the footage from an amateur like me being used so heavily? The filming process itself was being reported as a documentary on the national broadcast. They even showed the parts where I was being harsh with the Parcionians, but since the locals were happy about it, the viewers just let it slide.
This would probably be seen as a "dark history" in a few decades, but when that time came, I planned to release all the Minutes of our meetings. You know, the ones where we were all sitting around going, "Why!?" in total confusion.
"Alright, that’s a wrap. Good work, everyone!"
The filming ended at the direction of Lou-chan's Mama. The course was perhaps a bit too simple, but that was fine. It was better than having someone wipe out and slam into a wall like a missile. And they were definitely capable of doing that! Especially those Ogre God Nation People!
"Hey, hey, Wifey. Want to go touring in a sidecar?"
Everyone had come along for the trip. It was partly a vacation, after all!
"Sure thing—let's do one more lap while there's still daylight."
And so, the married couple’s touring was also filmed. This, too, would be broadcast throughout my entire domain. When I thought about it calmly, this was a form of entertainment that was neither difficult nor expensive, even for Parcionians. Perhaps this was actually a very good thing.
With those thoughts in mind, I started the BBQ I'd been prepping since the other day. The local ingredients in Parcion were a bit questionable, so I had brought everything in myself, right down to the water. Planet Kamishiro had some Mexican Culture mixed into its roots, so we even had sausages!
The beef was incredibly tender and succulent. It was the best kind, slow-cooked over a wood fire. Hehehe! The sauce was that top-tier stuff from the Galactic Empire.
When I eventually became a father, I wanted to hear my kids say, "Daddy, you're so cool!"
I began carving the meat with tongs in one hand.
"Lord Groom... this is delicious..." Veronica said, looking absolutely entranced.
"How’s that, you bastards! Behold the glory of BBQ!"
"This takes way too much time," Isono grumbled. "Wouldn't Yakiniku be faster?"
"Why you, Isono..."
"Don't point that knife at me! That’s terrifying!"
"Isono! Don't you want your unborn child to say, 'Daddy, you're so cool!' to you too!?"
Isono looked at his wife for a long moment. Then he turned back to me.
"Leo... teach me the ways of the BBQ..."
See? "Daddy, you're so cool!" is the pinnacle of Manhood. It was a true Achievement Unlocked.