Seriously, though.
It was one thing for them to flaunt their authority and try to pressure me, but still. I was the King, for crying out loud. Why did I have to be treated so condescendingly by a religion I didn’t owe a single thing to?
I wasn't going to tell the locals to give up their faith. I just intended to bind the organization by law. If they wanted to run an anti-me campaign, they were more than welcome to. But if they committed a crime under Chronos Law, I would simply arrest them.
Besides, they didn't even have a Private Property System! So why! Did those! Priests! Have so much money?!
When I looked into it, it turned out they had been arbitrarily collecting taxes under the guise of "charitable donations." Within reason, that was fine. Managing graves costs money, after all. Even in Chronos, the expenses for the Royal Capital National Cemetery were covered by tax revenue.
Wait... they weren't even managing the graves? The bodies were just sent to a garbage disposal plant for incineration?
And what about weddings? They were charging a First Night Tax? We put a stop to that as soon as Parcion was annexed into Chronos. We were already in the process of renovating wedding halls and cemeteries.
Seriously, why did the Parcion Religion even exist? I was being completely honest.
What? There had already been a succession of people converting to the Chronos Religion, Gaming Buddhism, and Zashiki-warashi-chan's Shrine?
Parcion Religion-chan... you really bought yourself a lot of grudges, didn't you!
Just as I was thinking something felt off, a series of raids on Parcion Religion Temples broke out. If this had been the Mohawk Hyahhaa Legion, I would have sent in the military and suppressed them without mercy.
However, the reality was that these were attacks driven by the long-standing resentment of the residents—people whose family's remains were treated like trash or whose wives were killed because they couldn't pay the First Night Tax.
The military and police could only ask them to file a damage report and please go home. That was the situation in the capital. Furthermore, the riots spread to the rural planets. Today, yet again, there were successive raids on temples.
We were so short on manpower that even I, the King, was called out to the field. The leader of the citizens was a man in his fifties.
"Those guys aren't human! Thirty years ago, they killed my—my wife right in front of me and burned her! I'll kill them!"
I mean, how was I supposed to stop that? Honestly, I kind of wanted to join them. "Hey everyone, let's go kill some monks!"—that was how I felt personally out of sympathy, but as a King, I couldn't exactly do that. It was being broadcast on the media, after all.
I took a megaphone and shouted at the top of my lungs.
"Alright, stop! I understand how you feel. The Chronos Police will investigate, so stand down for now. If the police can't arrest them, or if the Courthouse gives them a half-hearted sentence, you can go ahead and kill them then. That's right, isn't it, everyone in the Chronos Police? ♪"
I said it with a smile. It was basically a death sentence, though. But this was fair. It meant that the young priests who hadn't done anything yet should be spared. If they had already committed a crime, however, I'd throw them in prison. Or I could just send them to a Frontier Settlement for priests only. Regardless, I’d make sure those criminals saw hell. Got it?!
"A-As you command! A-Arrest them!"
The monks were hauled away. I didn't care anymore.
The entirety of Parcion was in a state of chaos. There were riots against authority and looting of temples. Instead of suppressing the surrounding residents, we spent our time pleading with them to stay calm. Of course, if they killed someone, they’d be arrested.
I was starting to suspect this might be a delay tactic by the Zen God Race. If I got impatient, I'd lose. Once the main body of the police arrived, I temporarily returned to Chronos.
The familiar Chronos Palace! Home sweet home!
Being a King involved a lot of moving around, but home was definitely the best. The Chronos Nagaya wasn't bad either, but since Wifey was here, this place was number one! Or maybe the Galactic Empire Apartment Building!
Just as I was thinking about making some food, a banquet was held at the Chronos Palace. This wasn't like the recent one at the Parcion General Secretary Palace. I hated that place; I wanted to tear it down and rebuild it. This was a banquet at my headquarters.
It would be odd to call it a victory celebration since we hadn't actually fought a war, so it was officially the Lepsitol and Parcion Annexation Celebration Party. Governors from all over Chronos, diplomats from other countries, and business leaders were invited.
There was no penalty for skipping, but since it was a venue for business deals, the unspoken rule was that you should bring your local specialties. Booths for agricultural products from various regions were set up... wait, was this really a banquet? It was basically a Trade Fair.
Well, whatever. The food served was also made from local specialties. On each table, there were cards that said "Produced on Planet X" along with contact information for the person in charge. There was plenty of alcohol, too—large quantities of spirits from various regions had been purchased and provided.
...This was definitely a Trade Fair, wasn't it?
In another large hall, there were industrial machines and robots... yep, totally a Trade Fair. In the event space near the Palace, there was even an Automobile Trade Fair. Employees from Chronos and Galactic Empire companies were busily scurrying back and forth.
Despite the name "banquet," it was a full-on business negotiation space. Since a King or politicians didn't have much to do with the actual deals, I ate with my wives at our table.
While snacking on meat patties at the buffet-style party, we were having a pointless conversation about what to make for dinner once we got home.
"Umu, I have decided, Lord Groom."
"What's up? Decided on your midnight snack?"
"No! I was waiting for the right timing!"
"Timing for what?"
"A baby. The Zen God Race won't be able to move for a while anyway."
"That is a very good thing. I am happy! Extremely happy!"
And then, a hug. Hell yeah!
Alright, this would be my delay tactic too. I would make it look like the pacification of Parcion was taking forever to put the Zen God Race at ease. They could say whatever they wanted—my family came first.
I would delay things with everything I had. The same went for Rosaria. I wouldn't actually stall the Spaceport construction; I’d just make it look to the outside world like it was taking an unexpectedly long time. It was fine! That was enough! As long as I kept paying the workers' wages!
Heh heh heh... you underestimated me, you Zen God Race bastards... I’ll show you my true power! I’ll show you a serious delay tactic!
"That's right. I've been wanting a child soon myself," Claire added while I was plotting.
"I don't really get it. Just do whatever," Melissa said, acting as if it didn't concern her.
"Hey, can I also ask you to hurry up and make a child?"
"What is it, Isono? This has nothing to do with you."
"You've got it all wrong. I want you to have a child quickly so people stop saying I'm plotting a rebellion! I don't want my own kids to be involved in some blood-soaked political struggle!"
Ah, right. I guess from the public's perspective, he looked like a candidate for usurping the throne, even though we were such good friends. There was no need for the Isono family to rush, though, since their descendants would eventually marry into the royal line anyway. Same with Eddy's family.
If the Isono family ever tried to take over, it would only be because the King at the time was an idiot or tried to carry out a Great Purge of loyal retainers. If a King was an idiot, it couldn't be helped if they were killed, just like Maro.
Of course, it would be sad for my lineage to die out, but if they were at Maro's level of incompetence, it was inevitable. Even in a commoner's family, if a descendant like Maro appeared, that was the end of the line.
Hmm, alright, let's make a baby!
With that firm resolution in my heart, I continued to snack on my prosciutto.