As expected, the Corpse Eaters vanished into the empty darkness.
I held a series of meetings with Wifey and Charlotte while poring over the maps provided by Rosaria, who had made the crossing to join us. Behind Wifey, the Imperial Court Physician and a line of Ladies-in-waiting stood ready. Since Charlotte was also pregnant, everyone was being extra considerate of her as well.
The two had become quite close, even worrying over each other with comments like, "Veronica, are you alright?"
Wifey... your husband is all for you making more friends.
After reviewing the Incident Report, Charlotte spoke up. "I investigated multiple times, but that area was completely empty." She wore a troubled expression. Apparently, she had been scouting the surrounding space on her way here.
"Right... what about the gates we used to get here?" I asked.
"They have not been found."
"And the drones?"
"Kevin is busy with the upcoming deliveries for both me and Claire," Wifey answered. "I am having AI exploration ships conduct the search."
Even though they were called AIs, they weren't the kind that possessed personalities like the copies of the Fairy. They were conventional AIs manufactured by the Repsitore Nation. We were operating dozens of them. The Repsitore Nation, with its cyberpunk society, was truly adept at this sort of thing; their tech boasted higher performance than anything made by the Galactic Empire. They should have been patrolling the area like robot vacuum cleaners.
If one were shot down, we would know the enemy was close. But so far, nothing. Not a single drone had been intercepted. Not even a single machine had crashed into debris... Wait.
They haven't crashed into any debris?
...Huuuuuuuuh?
"Wifey, look at the data regarding the debris."
"What of it? I purposefully left the shields off for tracking purposes," she replied. "Colliding with debris or rocks should be a daily occurrence... and yet, not a single one has been destroyed...?"
Exactly. In fact, it was bizarre.
"I mean, I suppose it could happen since it's empty space... but isn't it weird? This was an old battlefield. I'd think it wouldn't be strange for a wreck or two from a battleship to be floating around. The Zen Divine Race doesn't seem like the type to have a culture of cleaning up trash after a battle like we do..."
"Lord Groom... as always, you are remarkably skilled at bringing things down to the level of daily life."
"Eh, what's that supposed to mean?"
"I was too distracted by the preliminary information to notice the abnormality of the lack of wear and tear. It is only natural you would see it, given how fond the Lord Groom is of cleaning."
"Does King Leo clean despite being a king?" Charlotte asked, sounding surprised.
"Indeed," Wifey said. "At the military academy in our country, everyone has cleaning duties regardless of rank. The Lord Groom, in particular, seems to have a fixation even on the brand of detergent... Tatiana is often scolded by him."
That was because Tatiana and her lot kept eating snacks in their rooms. Lately, she had started cleaning up her crumbs properly, but still...
Wash that long-pile carpet properly! The crumbs get stuck deep inside!
Grrrrrrr!
"That is wonderful... I would like to follow that example in my own country," Charlotte noted.
"Mhm."
I couldn't say it... I could never let the truth slip that we only did it ourselves because the Duke Association and the chamberlains siphoned off so much of the budget that we couldn't afford to hire professional cleaning staff. We even handled the dorm pest control ourselves, using industrial-strength fumigants.
There was always some idiot who insisted on eating snacks in their private room. I told them repeatedly that it wasn't just about tidying up afterward. Plus, the Dining Hall and warehouses were doomed by fate anyway. I had no mercy for pests.
And then there was that one absolute idiot who watched a video and used hydrochloric acid toilet cleaner for some other purpose, forcing it to be pulled from the market for a while. Even though I didn't know your face, I would never forgive you. I didn't care if people said you were hospitalized after breathing in gas because you mixed it with a chlorine-based cleaner despite being told a thousand times not to mix them. Without that stuff, the stains wouldn't come out! It was a matter of life and death for us!
Grrrrrrr!
"As you can see, the Lord Groom is overflowing with a sense of everyday living..."
"Indeed... he has a rare personality for a king... far too fond of cleanliness..."
Trash, dirt, and Kawagons—I would forgive none of them.
"Perhaps I should include it in the training program for the soldiers in Rosaria as well," Charlotte mused. "So, King of Chronos, where do you find suspicious?"
"Around here." I marked a point on the diagram. "Right here. Where the records of intense combat were found."
This was based on the result of Berger-san's analysis of the data found in the ruins—a location slightly away from the Planet-class Fortress. It seemed a fierce battle had taken place there.
"If the Lord Groom says so, then it must be so."
"Where is all this trust coming from?"
"Because the King of Chronos is the ultimate Jester, after all."
Everyone's trust was a heavy burden. I honestly felt I was the one who trusted myself the least.
Wifey's expression turned serious. "Lord Groom. Take Leonidas with you. He is a genius who has mastered the new machine."
"Roger... but are you sure? I was holding back from contacting him as much as possible."
"Since we have officially become relatives, you should go ahead and get on good terms with him."
"Understood."
Was this a strategy to ensure we'd be forgiven through the human relationships we'd built, even if the truth eventually came out? I felt that was a bit dishonest in its own way. I hadn't known about the cloning because the military brass made him on their own, but that didn't make it excusable.
If I were Leonidas-kun, I would have dismantled the military from the inside. Then, I'd have killed the original me and Wifey in what looked like an accident and taken the throne for myself.
...No, that would be difficult. With the Jester involved, life and death were constantly on the line. One would need the resolve to take the other down with them. But considering the suicide rate of clones, I couldn't say such an outcome was "impossible."
I wanted those people in the military to understand exactly how much of a sin this was! Don't give me that smug "the military raised him" crap! Seriously, reflect on your actions! The only reason only those directly in charge were punished was because it was a war where extinction was on the line! I heard that the people who knew and did nothing were resentful about being sidelined, but under normal circumstances, you lot would have been executed!
I was a soldier, so I followed the decisions of the higher-ups, but truth be told, I was furious. I was fine—I wasn't the one suffering. But I knew the agony of being the one created as a clone from watching Tatiana. Even though she smiled, there were nights she couldn't sleep. She hated contacting her parents or siblings, saying, "Because they're the Original's family!"
I couldn't tell you how many times I truly thought about storming military headquarters. I was seriously, perfectly, going to kill them! Apologize to Leonidas! Besides, there were probably more of my clones out there, just hidden away!
Was there... some kind of better solution? Maybe I could make my father out to be a villain and say, "Actually, my old man had this many brothers!" Then I could divide up the vast territories and give them to the guys with identical faces.
...No, maybe it was better for them not to be near the truth. I'd put that aside for now. I decided I would respect Leonidas-kun as a younger brother.
And so, while secretly agonizing over these thoughts, I was assigned to a scouting mission with my "cousin."