Anyway, I guided the members of the Space Raiders toward the lecture room.
Too many of them had triglyceride and cholesterol levels in the danger zone. It seemed they had been living a life of nothing but booze and snacks.
"But, but...!" "Silence!" "Don't you eat a ton of food too, though?!" "I don't drink alcohol! I also keep my juice intake to a reasonable amount. Usually, I just drink tea or water. I only have juice once in a while!"
While having such a heartwarming exchange, we headed to the basement. Not to the morgue, but toward a conference room. The Repsitore Ninja Corps, who had finished their examinations earlier, were waiting there. By the way, they were getting a lecture for excessive salt intake. They might live in a sham-Japan cyberpunk civilization, but they were apparently willing to die on the hill of high sodium intake.
I wasn't moved or inspired by that in the least. Stop it, or you’ll get high blood pressure.
The captain of the Galactic Empire Public Security was also there.
"My Lord, preparations are complete." "Right, right."
From here on, it was a serious conversation. A truly grave matter.
"All right, as explained beforehand, we are beginning the top-secret mission."
At those words, everyone’s expressions tightened. It was time for the briefing.
"Okay, Fairy-san, give us the rundown." "Certainly. A self-destruct device is embedded within Leonidas-kun's brain. It is different from the one we removed during a previous examination; it utilizes Zork Technology and is a technique unknown even to the Galactic Empire. No wonder it went undetected..."
Only those who were trustworthy and aware of Leonidas-kun's circumstances were present here. The members of this group were under strict orders never to leave a written record of Leonidas-kun's birth or mention it outside of this mission. Even personal journals were forbidden.
"Continuing, the perpetrators have been almost certainly identified as a rogue hawkish faction within the military. The bomb in his brain was likely intended to destroy evidence. While we suspect the goal was to assassinate Leo-kun and take his place... we will never know for sure now. The responsible doctors and scientists are already dead. Most were shot during the Space Raiders' breach operation, and the leader committed suicide. Please rest assured. This was handled appropriately, and there are no traitors among us."
Just because people belonged to the same faction didn't mean they were all friends. Even within my own faction, there were a certain number of forces who wanted to eliminate me. There were too many reasons for them to hold a grudge for me to even keep track of. My treatment of One-O-One, my marriage to Ren—who was from the Beast Race. The fact that I didn't slaughter every last person in the Duke Association's territories. There were even claims that the Kamishiro Group was monopolizing profits and making the world a worse place.
Even if I said, "We’ve properly split the businesses into subsidiaries, created a holding company, and listed each of them on the exchange..." those who didn't want to understand wouldn't. I made it so the company didn't belong to me, but to society as a whole... Economics is so difficult.
Furthermore, there was no need to worry about traitors. The only ones here right now were my accomplices and the Ninjas who had sworn their loyalty to me. In short, it was just family and co-conspirators. As for there being no survivors, the story was that they refused to surrender and engaged in a gunfight, so everyone carrying a weapon was shot dead. That couldn't be helped. We gave them a proper warning, yet they fought back. We didn't have the finesse to keep only the technical staff alive in a situation like that. Therefore, we didn't need to worry about turncoats.
"Lady Luna. Will our role be limited to security?" "Most likely. There are no remnants of the Duke Association left. However, please strictly adhere to the cover story. By informing the unpredictable Leonidas-kun just a moment ago, we have prevented his abilities from going berserk. It is perfect."
This was exactly what my bad feeling was about! They had excluded me from the plan beforehand! Because they didn't know what I might do! Yeah, I can accept that.
"To confirm once more, the cover story is: 'A metal fragment was discovered during a brain scan. It was removed via emergency surgery.' House Tachibana's Public Security has been notified in advance. Melissa-chan's father is currently on his way here, operating under the setting that he only just found out."
So they had notified House Tachibana beforehand. They must be incredibly worried. Now, it was my turn to ask a question.
"What about Big Sister-in-Law Uta?" "She looked like she was about to lose it, so we're informing her now."
She wasn't trusted at all. That was simply how it was. This health check itself was a farce. The real objective was the removal of Leonidas-kun's self-destruct device.
"What, so Big Sister-in-Law Uta's marriage is a farce too? Hahaha!"
So there wasn't a "disappointing creature" after all. It was just my imagination.
"That part is for real."
Oh boy!
"What is the success rate of the surgery?"
A Public Security officer asked with a serious face. He seemed genuinely worried. From the perspective of Public Security, Big Sister-in-Law Uta was one of their own. Leonidas-kun's problem was not someone else's business to them. From a political standpoint, this involved ties between the Galactic Imperial Family, the Chronos Royal House, and the Kamishiro Clan Members.
"It is quite difficult. Essentially, it can only be removed through surgery using manual, microscopic drones. Fortunately, however, this hospital has a master of drone operation." "Kevin!?" "Yes. Kevin-kun will be in charge of the surgery." "...Is she going to be okay?" "Kevin-kun has already performed many difficult surgeries. The assisting doctors are also master physicians."
Kevin... before I knew it, she had climbed to such incredible heights.
"So... what is the probability of the surgery succeeding?" "According to the schedule, there is said to be almost no chance of failure."
...Hmm.
"Contact Suematsu-san and the Shrine. Tell them to set up an altar for Zashiki-warashi and a planter for Himorogi-chan in the hospital and perform a ritual."
Yes, I was turning to the gods. But this would definitely provide buffs. It was the ultimate setup.
"What shall we tell the Chronos Religion?"
If I called the Shrine and left the Chronos Religion out, they'd clearly start a fight—something like, "You called the Shrine but ignored the Chronos Religion? Oh, you think you’re tough, you punk?!" So I called them. This was a matter of political consideration. Attentiveness is important.
"Have them dispatch a priest for the cover story. He's my cousin, so they won't refuse. Where's Tatiana?" "She is undergoing her checkup." "Once she's done, have her on standby as the Saint."
With me and Tatiana there, even if an accident happened, we should be fine. We could perform healing with ESP, though he might lose some memories. Right, let's do our best for the surgery.
Just as I thought that...
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Big Sister-in-Law Uta's decidedly unsexy scream echoed all the way here. Did they just tell her...?
"Sis, calm down!"
Melissa was also shouting at the top of her lungs. The House Tachibana household must be really lively...
"How can I be calm?! C-Captain...!"
I had a bad feeling. Then, Melissa came into the room.
"Sorry. Sis started rampaging, so I choked her out. Can someone call for help?"
An irregularity occurred immediately.
"See? Wasn't it a good idea to tell her last?"
Yeah, I guess so! Well now, Big Sister-in-Law Uta. You really do like Leonidas-kun, don't you?