And so, as an old man, I got dragged off to the Development Department to get chewed out.
Wifey went to the obstetrics and gynecology ward.
I just wanted to make a pun about harvesting and getting chewed out!
Wifey's primary physician was Kevin.
Of course, having some young hack who'd only been a doctor for a few years perform a solo delivery for the next Galactic Empire Emperor was out of the question.
She was strictly just one of the assistants.
The main team consisted of the Imperial Court Physician and a joint squad of university Ace Class members.
Kevin had more stamina than your average guy, was the very embodiment of military cooperation, and was competent enough to have served as a Medic with a Nursing Qualification on the front lines.
It seemed she was well-liked.
Politically, this was a strong declaration: "She is the doctor I trust most! I won't let anyone assassinate her!"
There were still folks out there gunning for her life, after all.
The fact that they tried to kill me was reality.
I'll admit the special treatment is warranted.
What's wrong with giving special treatment to a comrade who ate from the same pot and stood by you through the hardest times?!
So, Kevin was safe.
I, on the other hand, got summoned with a "come to the Development Department for a bit."
I was hooked up to a machine by Kyoko.
It was a slightly erotic scene.
Without showing a hint of my indecent thoughts, I kept a straight face.
"The problem was that there was no device to feed Your Majesty's ESP back into the machine."
"But our abilities can't be measured as physical phenomena, right?"
Leonidas-kun was the same.
Even Tatiana's mimicry couldn't be measured.
Big Brother Sam's ability, which might or might not be Jester's, couldn't be measured either.
Charlotte from Rosaria was excluded because she wouldn't tell us about her ability.
Well, normally that would be classified.
"Yes, which is exactly why we'll develop a new device."
"What do you mean?"
"We'll install a detection system into the combat suit and connect it to the World Tree and the Altar."
"For the love of God, don't mess with technology we don't understaaaaaaaand!"
I was begging from the bottom of my heart.
But my screams didn't reach Kyoko.
"Please take a look at this."
She showed a slide.
A blueprint.
It was so advanced I couldn't understand it at a glance.
But I could tell there was a connector.
"We discovered the complete blueprint for the Ancient Machine."
"Was it safe?"
"Fortunately, there was no data corruption, and we could read it in its entirety. The problem was that the file format was incompatible with Galactic Empire software, so Lady Luna handled that."
There was something that looked like a humanoid.
Connected to it via a wired connector...
Wait, isn't that connector way too thick?
It was like twice the size of a banana plug used for instruments.
"For the love of God, not the Spinal Connector!"
Even the current connection gave me a little zap.
If they jammed a connector this thick in, the pain alone would kill me!
This is the kind of technology that treats soldiers as disposable!
Learn from the fate of the Full-Body Cyborg Soldiers with an average survival time of less than ten years!
I'm begging you!
"We are more technologically advanced in this area, so we can replace it with a wireless one."
"Phew..."
Safe!
Safe from the pain!
Thank god the chip they implanted was excellent...
"Accordingly, a chip replacement is required."
"Goddammit!"
Well, it wasn't in my brain, so I guess it's fine!
Surgery, really?!
"We've shrunk the chip size to smaller than nanoscale and improved its performance by hundreds of times. The surgery is just an extraction. Even then, it'll be over quickly with a robot endoscope."
"Competent!"
And so, the surgery.
The chip that was embedded in my neck.
Though it was quite small, and expelled by a robot.
It didn't even need human hands.
Nanomachines handled the disinfection and wound repair.
The technological prowess of the Chronos faction—which included the Galactic Empire and its allies—was advancing at a terrifying rate.
Fairy-san had stopped hoarding technology once she got serious, and technology from Latania and Repsitore had been integrated.
On top of that, geniuses like Kyoko were doing whatever they wanted with ample funding.
The conversion of bikes into Monster Machines was just one example; it was a situation where tech evolved by several generations in just a few years.
Even the universities, which were at the forefront of research, could be heard lamenting, "Phew... we can't keep up with the technology..."
The technology had stagnated for so long... and it was completely the fault of Maro and the Duke Association, wasn't it...
I mean, take the Anti-Ship Rifle from the other day!
It's already an old-generation model.
What do you mean it fell out of date in a week?!
Falling out of date while still a prototype.
Because it was used on the battlefield, it was a beta version!
It fell out of date even after reaching the beta version!
It makes no sense.
"We've expanded this size of integrated circuit across the entire suit. This allows us to predict any phenomenon and..."
"Sorry, I didn't understand what you just said."
"Please rest assured. I don't understand the parts outside my expertise either."
"I figured!"
Anyway, it seemed a system capable of detecting gods and Jester's Ability was built in.
Yep, I don't get it!
"From here on, it's completely outside my expertise... Berger-sensei, please."
Berger-san entered the operating room.
"I'd like you to look at this."
It was a diagram and illustrations of ancient characters.
A tree was drawn in the center.
"The World Tree... a description of Himorogi-chan?"
"Yes, and regarding the entity you call Zashiki-warashi."
"The Sun God?"
It was a shining god.
Amaterasu Omikami?
But Zashiki-warashi wasn't that kind of character.
"No, a god from much later than those. It's believed to be a god referring to the universe itself... no, the world itself, which the Ancient People worshipped."
"Why does that look like a child?"
"Perhaps because it's a forgotten entity. It once met its death as a god, and was newly reborn... along with the World Tree. Your Majesty, you are the same. An entity forgotten at some point and then revived. A hero king returning from the Outer World. It truly is the realm of myth."
"Even though I'm just a Great Ape stir-frying Yakisoba?"
An Shinto ritual where we offer potatoes—seriously, stop that!
"That too shall become myth, I suppose. Hahaha!"
Give me a break.
Now, maybe it was just my imagination, but the pressure on my neck seemed to have vanished.
It was absolutely just my imagination.
As for the chip surgery, I got a intramuscular injection somewhere else.
It seemed the Nanomachines would carry it to just the right spot.
Things were getting easier and easier.
The transfer of my Citizen Registration for the Galactic Empire completed automatically.
The Citizen Registration for Chronos, too.
Occupation: King.
Hmm... my stomach rumbled.
"I'm starving..."
"As expected of His Majesty the King! You're quite the big shot!"
Berger-san gave me a nutrition bar.
The kind used for wounded and sick soldiers in the military.
With dried fruits mixed in.
Pineapple flavor...
It wasn't bad, but chewing it tasted like pineapple...
Was this a dud?
It stole the moisture right out of my mouth.
"Here's some water."
"Thanks."
I drank the mineral water and took a breather.
Well, things will turn out how they turn out.
And so, the prototype of the new combat suit was completed two days later.
Wait, that doesn't mean it was just finished; it means it was already done, right?
I won't get mad, so just be honest with me!