For some reason, a flood of apologies from various temples and shrines came rushing in to me and Wifey.
Wifey held Momo-chan while conducting her meetings.
Apparently, a giant Pome had appeared in some people's dreams. All's well that ends well...
"Momo-chan, come to Papa..."
She just turned her nose up at me.
She ran off to Helga instead.
"Momo says she's going to protect Lady Veronica," Helga informed me.
How tragic...
At least a walk... if I could just take her for a walk...
"I've already taken her out," Helga said.
Truly tragic.
The only one who can heal Papa's heart is Kinako-chan...
"Meow."
Oh, are you guarding Ren's children?
Is that it?
I'm counting on you, then.
I stepped outside to find the hawk. It still didn't have a name. It was semi-wild—a guest of sorts that received food and a place to sleep.
"Gua!" it screeched, perched on the railing of the balcony outside Ark's room.
Yeah, it clearly considered itself my son's bodyguard.
As for our Daifuku...
"Kyu!"
Momo-chan was the gatekeeper outside, and Daifuku guarded the interior.
I entered Wifey's room to greet my child, my wife, and Daifuku-chan.
I had to make sure they didn't forget who I was...
Being a papa is a heavy cross to bear.
"What is it, Lord Groom?"
"Oh, it just seems our little ones are all busy protecting the babies."
"Umu, they are loyal subjects indeed... unlike those temples and shrines!"
She flew into a fresh rage at the memory.
My son, however, was quite thick-skinned. Even though Wifey's face was flushed with anger, he just looked happy to see her.
"The apologies are flooding in," I noted.
"To begin with... why do they even have warrior monks?! Those idiots!"
"Tell me about it."
Historically, temples and shrines acted as repositories for important documents. That was why we allowed them minimal security, but I never expected them to blow a fortune on building up private armies of warrior monks.
Seriously!
Well, they're all being rounded up now. Good luck, Amada! You're the man for the job!
"I just got a message from Amada," I said. "He's asking, 'Is it okay if I assassinate the Emperor's husband?'"
"We can talk with our fists if he likes! Once he finishes his work!"
Kukkukku, oh Amada. You won't know a moment's freedom until you retire. In fact, I'll probably have your retirement automatically extended! That's the price of being an Imperial Family spouse!
Personally, I planned to retire once I hit forty-five, claiming I didn't want to become some old fossil. Then I'd use my savings to achieve FIRE status! I'd open a little cafe and just take it easy.
"And that's why, Wifey, I'm thinking of training as a ramen chef."
"You've leaped so far ahead in your logic that I have no idea what you're talking about!"
Oops, my internal monologue was leaking.
"Oh, it's nothing. Heheh."
"I'm warning you, Lord Groom... you aren't planning to retire and run a ramen shop, are you?"
So close! I wanted a cafe where ramen was the star of the show.
"If you're serious, submit a proposal to the Kamishiro Group," she said. "However, do not even think about standing in the kitchen yourself."
"Ehh..."
With no other choice, I whipped my delusions into a formal proposal and fired it off to the Kamishiro Group.
"What?! You actually had a proposal ready?!"
"Well, it's more like a passion project."
My soup ratios and everything were pretty haphazard. By which I mean, I just went with my gut.
Anyway... with that settled, I left Wifey's side and headed to my office to get some work done.
...Oh, would you look at that? A reply from the Kamishiro Group was already waiting.
"Acquisition of cafe franchise company complete. Proceeding as per the proposal."
Wait, what? Isn't that a little too fast?
There must have already been a plan to acquire a failing cafe franchise, and my proposal gave the pro-acquisition faction the excuse they needed to ram it through. They were ready and waiting. The power of a founder, even after the company goes public, is truly terrifying!
I'll make sure the menu is packed with those massive portions soldiers love... Oh, I know, I should expand into military facilities. We can set them up in the zones open to civilians. I sent that suggestion in as well.
Immediately, I heard back from the Galactic Empire Navy and the Chronos Army.
Whoa! They've already approved locations near the Gate used to enter this galaxy.
Chronos is also putting several shops in the spaceport connecting to Rosaria.
Isn't this all happening a bit too fast? It's only been two hours since I let my daydreams slip.
If I had to guess, they'd been trying to attract businesses to those areas without much luck. Since both spots were potential targets for attack, regular companies were hesitant to set up shop. They'd been stuck with nothing but frozen food vending machines and shops run by black companies that didn't care about the risks.
And then, at the perfect moment, along comes a proposal for a shop offering both light snacks and heavy meals designed specifically for military personnel. To top it off, the proposal came from the King of Chronos himself.
"Don't you dare refuse! This is a direct order from the King!"
I could practically hear the conversation happening.
Good grief... power is a terrifying thing! I mean, I hate to say it, but I am a man of influence. I'm Wifey's groom, after all. My net worth is skyrocketing, but that's only because I'm investing like a madman...
If a recession hits, those investments will all turn into bad debt, and the money will vanish as quickly as it came. The only funds I actually can't afford to lose are the military's payroll. I can maintain my lifestyle almost entirely on that alone, anyway.
If I ever get kicked out of the palace, I'll just go live in a Nagaya. It's not like all this wealth actually makes me happy.
If even one percent of these "so-called assets" remains in the end, I'll count myself lucky.
While I was lost in thought, the first shop opened with frightening speed. A commercial food company provided full cooperation, supplying ham, hamburger steaks, charshiu, and more.
And here's the truly scary part. We started providing food. Naturally, the same company took over the worker dining halls. The previous frozen fare was upgraded instantly. They'd use the manual laborers as a test audience, monitoring their reactions and reflecting that in the public-facing menus.
Plus, it allowed them to hedge their financial risks. The workers were overjoyed by the leap in food quality... and that was all it took.
Work efficiency shot up to a blatant degree. The people who had been laboring away on the spaceports and colonies on the Rosaria side received a massive morale boost.
Muscles, meals, victory!
That was the secret. And just like that, the second shop at the spaceport was finished. As the food improved, productivity skyrocketed.
Then came the turning point. A fleet of bio-components launched from the forward base of the Zen Divine Race—or more accurately, the Corpse Eaters.
They must have decided that killing us was their only remaining option. Calling it a massive fleet would be an understatement. Every single ship was a grotesque construction of bio-components.
We all felt it: the final battle with the Corpse Eaters was upon us.
Perhaps that base really was the Mainland. Since we couldn't communicate with the enemy, we had no way to be sure, but it felt right.
And on top of that, even if we did defeat the Corpse Eaters, the Zen Divine Race would still be waiting in the wings!