I made my way into the village.
It was ringed by a vermin-proof fence, so I simply scaled it to get inside. I snipped through the barbed wire with a pair of nippers; I could always repair it later.
The pirates didn't have enough men to keep the entire village under surveillance. Even if our crash had been an accident, it still irritated me to think that my transport ship had been shot down by losers like these.
Spotting a pirate lackey, I moved in and choked him out from behind. Once he went limp, I claimed his weapon—a Parcion Army rifle. It used live ammunition. Well, whatever.
I carried the unconscious man into a nearby house. Finding a rag in the closet, I stuffed it into his mouth and secured it with craft tape. I wrapped the tape around his eyes as well, then bound his arms and legs so he couldn't move.
Hahaha. What an idiot!
While still in the house, I spotted another one. I climbed onto the roof and dropped him with a Jumping Elbow from above. I dragged this one into a different house and searched for a gag. I couldn't find any suitable cloth, so I resorted to stuffing a pair of an old man's unwashed underwear into his mouth.
"Gu—Guh!"
He started to wake up, so I gave him a punch to send him back to sleep. I sealed his eyes and mouth and tied him up as well, using more of the old man’s unwashed laundry. My work was starting to get a bit sloppy.
I spotted another pair of pirates on patrol.
"Where the hell are those guys slacking off?" one asked. "Did they find some booze?"
I approached from behind and wrapped my arms around his waist.
"Wh—?!"
Before he could raise his voice, I seized him in a German Suplex. He didn’t even know how to take the fall, and the impact knocked him out cold. He was out with his tongue hanging out, so I tied him up in another house and left him there.
Perfect.
"...You are incredibly strong," Helga-san murmured, looking impressed.
But then, a shift occurred.
"Intruder!"
An alarm blared. I wondered what was happening until I saw Eddy and the others, already clad in their combat suits, tearing through the opposition. Rikochi was systematically pulverizing anyone in her path.
"They're my allies," I told Helga. "While they're making a scene, let's get the people in the square to safety. Helga-san, can you climb onto a roof and provide cover?"
"Yeah!"
I headed for the square. Two soldiers leveled their guns at me, but I didn't care. I dodged their fire and delivered a Spinning Back Kick, reaping their consciousness in a single blow. The second soldier tried to aim at me again, but a shot rang out and hit him first.
It was cover fire from Helga-san. To hit a target at this distance with such an old-fashioned rifle... her skill was magnificent.
Then, a blatantly vulgar voice rang out from above.
"You apostates! This will not be forgiven!"
I looked up to see a man on a roof wearing a wearable combat suit. It was essentially a powered suit used for manual labor inside small ships. Its output was lower than Humanoid Heavy Machinery, but it offered the maneuverability of a human. In the Galactic Empire Army, they were mostly used for loading and unloading ammunition.
"Take this!"
The suit had a pulse rifle attached to the shoulder. I suppose he thought it functioned like a shoulder cannon. He opened fire, but I dodged the bolts and scrambled up the roof to close the distance.
"S—Stop! Don't come any closer—!!"
I ignored his desperate fire. It was easy to weave through the shots; an auto-compensating sight like that was never going to hit me. Once I was within reach, I grappled the suit, hoisted it up, and leapt off the roof.
"Eh? No, no, no, no, stop! Anything but thaaaaat—!!"
In mid-air, I transitioned into a Piledriver and dove straight for the dirt. There was a dull thud as the idiot was driven head-first into the ground. I wasn't even going to let a moron like that introduce himself.
While I was playing around, Helga-san guided the villagers in the square to safety. However, two idiots from the Parcion Religion stood in her way.
"I—If you don't want these people killed, stay where you are!"
The two fools pointed pistols at the residents. That annoyed me, so I scooped up a stone from the ground and hurled it at one of their faces. There was a heavy crack as the man collapsed.
Ninja Art: Stone Throwing!
The other man, a fellow with a Little Mustache, turned his back to me and tried to bolt—only to be hoisted into the air by his collar by Rikochi.
"Nice, Rikochi."
"Leo, can I kill this guy?"
"I need to ask him why he came to this planet, so just keep his mouth functional."
"Fine, I guess!"
Rikochi delivered a brutal uppercut. The man bounced three times and blacked out with his eyes rolled back.
With that, Eddy, Rikochi, and the rest of the team finished rounding up the pirates.
"You apostates! Do you have any idea who I am?!" Little Mustache shrieked as he regained consciousness.
I crouched down in front of him.
"What are you smirking at?!"
Honestly, I couldn't help it. He was just too pathetic.
"Say my name," I challenged.
"Huh?"
Rikochi walked over. "Go on, try saying his name."
Eddy joined us. "Do you truly not recognize the face of your King?"
A tremor started in the man's limbs. "L-L-L-L-L..."
Little Mustache began to shake violently. "Leo Kamishiro Chronos—!!"
"Bingo. Now then, citizens! From this point forward, the Chronos Government takes full responsibility for managing this planet. Village Chief, please gather the residents' requests. We'll be prioritizing the construction of communications arrays, schools, graves, and temples immediately."
We borrowed the Village Chief's house for the interrogation. The Chief and the other villagers were of the Wolf Beast Race; the Chief himself had large dog ears.
Once inside, I introduced Helga-san to Eddy and Rikochi.
"This is Helga-san. She saved me when I was on the brink of being lost in the storm."
"A combat suit malfunctioning is a rare sight... Well, thank you for looking after our Leo-kun," Rikochi said.
"You really were a lifesaver," Eddy added. "He is the King, after all."
I had been in the mood for a ski resort, but all my gear was gone. My snowboard and camping equipment on the transport ship had likely been vaporized.
"Aw, man... My skis and my suit burned up too!" Rikochi lamented. "And I just bought them!"
"Mine too..." I sighed.
"What about the rest of the unit?" I asked.
"They're setting up camp," Eddy replied.
"Village Chief, would it be alright if the army stayed in the village?"
"Y—Yes! Of course! We can provide vacant houses!"
"Then let's call them in. Does anyone have a flare?"
"I'll take care of it," Eddy said, heading outside.
The blizzard had vanished as if it had never existed, leaving behind a sky of pitch-black darkness. A flare would be visible for miles.
"So, listen up, Little Mustache. What exactly did you come here for?"
The man remained stubbornly silent.
"He was asking if there was a temple earlier," Helga-san noted.
"A temple... Hmm. Hey, old man, when you say 'temple,' do you mean the ruins?"
Silence again. I sighed. I supposed I'd have to find a more physical way to get him talking.
"Rikochi, start with his joints—"
Just as I said that, Helga-san spoke up.
"I don't know about a temple, but I do know where the ruins are..."
That caught my attention. "So that really was the goal... Helga-san, could you guide us there?"
"Yeah, I can. The ruins are near the mountain's summit. We can head out at daybreak."
"Understood. Village Chief, you're free to do as you wish with these men... or so I'd like to say, but we need a trial to calculate damages. You can rough them up a bit, but please don't kill them."
"I understand. But... um... regarding you being the King...?"
"Ah, I'm Leo Kamishiro Chronos. I serve as the hired King of Chronos. Since we've recently annexed Parcion, I'm currently touring the territories."
Hahaha.
No wonder Zashiki-warashi-chan made an appearance. This planet definitely has something hidden on it.