Things moved with torrential momentum from that point on.
Wifey and I sat in the conference room, letting out a heavy sigh. Then Leo’s mother brought the baby over.
"Here, hold him," she said.
He was so soothing to be around... though Wifey snatched him back almost immediately.
We still hadn't been able to settle on a name. Shrines and temples all across the Galactic Empire were deploying propaganda trucks, and the situation had escalated to the point where they were brawling with geba sticks in broad daylight under the public's watchful eye.
I was starting to get a little pissed off. Wifey was furious, too.
"Arrest every last one of them," she ordered. "If they're carrying Molotov cocktails, arrest them for possession on the spot!"
I understood her feelings, but I really just wanted them to decide on a name already.
Then there was the matter of the Galactic Empire’s infertility problem. We couldn't exactly announce the actual cause, because no matter how one looked at it, the whole thing was a strategy to prevent the Jesters from multiplying. I spoke with Rosaria about it, and it turned out they were in the same situation.
Still, it was something even I had noticed. There was no way the Empire's scholars hadn't realized it as well.
"This is the list of scholars who were erased," came the report.
They had been assassinated with thorough—no, obsessive—persistence. The perpetrators were the Duke Association and their private organizations. If Public Security had been the ones behind it, Melissa’s family home would have been in a very precarious position.
As it turned out, the solution was found immediately. It wasn't that the problem was difficult to solve; it was simply that research hadn't been allowed, and anyone who realized the truth had been eliminated. All we had to do was rewrite the genetic information using the Beast Race’s data as a reference.
And so, it was time for the turn of propaganda—the field where Wifey and I truly excelled.
First came the apology. Wifey participated remotely. We pinned all the responsibility on the idiots in the Duke Association and the assassinated previous administration—in other words, Maro. We held a memorial ceremony, inviting the families and descendants of the assassinated scholars. I didn't ask Wifey to attend, as she had only just given birth.
Instead, praise poured in for Wifey, who was credited with bringing the solution to the infertility problem from outer space. Of course, there were still plenty of factions who refused treatment due to their discriminatory feelings toward the Beast Race. That couldn't be helped.
Ren didn't pay them any mind. Since the supreme leader of the Beast Race ignored them, the various tribes followed suit. We investigated the backgrounds of anyone spreading conspiracy theories and put them under surveillance. It would be a problem if the Zen Divine Race was behind it; if I were in their shoes, I’d be doing a massive amount of sabotage right about now.
So far, however, there were no signs of that. It seemed the Zen Divine Race was good at launching grand plans, but they lacked the capacity for long-term project sustainability. Even with the Corpse Eaters, they just scattered them to defend key points and let them run wild elsewhere.
In short, they were a bad match for me, as I specialized in detailed planning and high project sustainability. Once I built a framework, I made sure everything ran automatically afterward. Of course, the trade-off for that efficiency was that I wasn't exactly pure and beyond reproach myself.
Which brought us to the dirty work.
First, we conducted human experimentation on the Officer Academy girls. Though I called it that, it was strictly on a voluntary basis. The one who applied immediately was Melissa, who was firmly in the "I want a baby" faction. Other married women applied one after another, and even some married men participated anonymously.
Why were they wearing masks and face covers, though? You idiot boys... why were they being so delicate about it? They really needed to take a lesson from the girls.
Regardless, the interest was incredible. We confirmed the safety, though we already knew it was safe beforehand, so the simple tests showed no issues. When we made the announcement, the response was massive.
After all, the Imperial Family had been spreading their seed and abandoning their flings for ages. Many people among the commoners carried Imperial blood. There were far more couples suffering from infertility than we had expected.
Between the atmosphere celebrating the birth of Wifey's child and the announcement of the infertility treatment, the Empire was boiling over with joy. And somehow, the assassination of the scholars was generally forgiven. We had apologized properly and paid compensation, after all. In civil matters, there really was no solution other than paying out money in the end.
Wifey herself wasn't a party to the crimes. If anything, she was framed as one of Maro's victims. So, while Wifey's detractors continued to attack her, the general mood was that the matter was settled. It really just came down to: "What more do you want us to do?"
If people started saying, "Kill the Prince to atone!" the victims' side would just end up looking like the villains. In fact, one media outlet said exactly that and got absolutely pummeled by public opinion. Why couldn't they read the room like even I could? Were they just contrarian middle schoolers?
As a byproduct of this uproar, discrimination against the Beast Race softened. To begin with, the reasons for it had been vague, like "they look different" or "my local lord hated them." Most lived in remote areas, so people simply didn't know much about them.
There was actually far more lingering resentment between the new and old residents of the Kamishiro Territory, which had become a luxury residential area. There were the apartment building residents who constantly complained to the farmers, and the new residents who moved into areas designated as quasi-industrial zones.
Don't build your house near a quarry, you morons!
Big Brother Sam was on the verge of snapping over petitions to move the communal cemetery further away. I told them not to make him angry. That guy was a monster; I didn't know if I could win a fight against him even now. He was likely the creature who had snatched the most victories from me in this entire universe. He was a living being with domestic administration ability and physical strength maxed out, but speed and academic ability at the absolute minimum.
I hated the idea of fighting Katori-sensei, but I could still bear it. The only thing I truly dreaded was fighting Big Brother Sam. I could only see a future where he flipped the match with an unreasonable burst of power despite me winning in technique and speed. He couldn't even memorize sword kata, yet he used to snap wooden swords during sparring. The reason I practiced my imitation Satsuma Martial Arts was precisely so I wouldn't lose in raw strength!
Anyway... setting that aside, the Beast Race had become recognized by society. A full-blown baby rush was likely close.
I eventually woke up with my exhaustion at its peak. My whole body ached. The cause wasn't a wild night, but pure work fatigue. Why did paperwork do more damage to the body than anything else? The human body was an absolute mystery.
Once I got up, I ate a nutrition bar to recharge my energy. Then I went for a run, carrying a full set of equipment and a rifle. I went for a light run outside with an Imperial Guard Knight who was similarly equipped. Legs and hips really were the foundation of everything.
Once we circled the palace, the Imperial Guard Knight was exhausted, so the morning warm-up exercises were over. I ate breakfast and headed to the gym for some weight training. Today was just a normal workout. I did the shrimp drill, the crocodile walk, jumping... then the low crawl. I did kettlebells and practiced tackles by myself. It was safe since I wouldn't hit my head.
"Hmm, I worked hard today, too."
With that, I did some pull-ups for good measure. From the perspective of an active athlete, they’d probably scoff, "What kind of soft training is that?!" but you shouldn't do things like carrying steel beams back and forth in a pool. Hahaha!
I grabbed a stick of appropriate thickness, set up a log, and just struck it repeatedly. I kept going until I was tired. When I was finished, I practiced striking with a running start.
Fuhahahahahahaha! Daddy's going to stay in his prime until everyone reaches adulthood!
...It really wasn't that I was trying to run away from paperwork.