The second day of the military parade.
Massive crowds had swarmed the area, eager for a glimpse of the galaxy's most powerful, undefeated pair: Her Majesty the Galactic Empire Emperor and Space Kaiju Kawagon.
Despite the declining birth rates, the populations of both the Galactic Empire and Chronos remained absurdly high. The venue was packed to the gills, teeming with spectators. Still, only those from the middle class or higher could likely afford to travel to such a remote region near the border.
...Since when was the middle class this massive?
I had half-expected someone to try and smuggle in a Molotov cocktail or something similar. There were citizens of the Galactic Empire who had lost everything in the Zork War, and citizens of Chronos who had lost everything to terrorism. Such people were even more numerous than I had anticipated.
Opposition to the peace treaty with the Zork was particularly deep-rooted within the Galactic Empire. Many organizations were still vocally advocating for the total extermination of the Zork race.
Following One-O-One’s command, the crab-types and other specialized Zork had been put into a state of hibernation, leaving only the female-type Zork active. These female-types were so integrated into society that it was impossible to tell who might carry the factor without testing.
Some argued we should go out of our way to test and execute them all. Anyone who thought that was a viable option was the height of idiocy. The high-ranking nobles who loved beauties would be the first ones wiped out! After all, the relatives of the entire Duke Association, down to the last distant cousin, carried the female-type factor. Even Wifey and her inner circle had grown terrified and halted the testing program right then and there.
"I... probably carry the Zork factor as well..." Wifey had even whispered once.
I specifically prepared a scapegoat in the form of the Duke Association, so the public should just use them as a sandbag! No one wins if we dig deeper! It would be better if everyone just became Zork without realizing it—everyone would be much happier that way.
Because of those tensions, security was tight, though it was impossible to protect every square inch. Since it was a military parade, Wifey and I stood atop a tank, waving to the throngs of people. I hadn't ridden on a standard tank very often, though I was quite familiar with transport vehicles, heavy machinery, armored vehicles, and bikes.
Anti-aircraft guns followed in the procession as well. I maintained a refined, composed expression and kept waving. Ha ha ha.
Now, let's address something I had been trying to ignore for a while. Currently, Himorogi-chan and the offsets grown from her cuttings were glowing with an intense, blinding light. It was a total "party-night" state. Near the main body, Zashiki-warashi had been dancing day after day.
What was going to happen? I didn't know. It was probably a waste of mental energy to even ponder it. That was just how gods did things.
Fighter jets roared through the sky, trailing colored smoke. Just as my arm was starting to tire from waving, a float-like contraption pulled by Humanoid Heavy Machinery arrived. Shinto priests from the shrine began tossing mochi toward the spectators.
"Wifey... look at that..."
"Lord Groom... even an Emperor cannot have everything go her way. That is one such thing."
I felt her pain. It made me a little sad, really. You know how it is—when an event that makes absolutely no sense gets pushed through anyway. It had cleared all the legal hurdles and administrative approvals, so I couldn't exactly tell them to stop, but in my heart, I really wished they would.
They were distributing individually wrapped mochi, rice crackers, walnut mochi, and various other sweets. The children were delighted, scrambling to catch them.
"Well, I guess it’s fine."
"Indeed."
With our eyes turning into the deadpan stare of Tibetan sand foxes, we decided to simply let it slide.
The terrifying nature of the shrine folk didn't stop there, however. They made sure to hand out sweets even to the little kids who weren't quick enough to catch any. If you caught one, you were lucky. If you didn't, you still got a treat. Was that really a sound way to run things?
"The sweets are all provided by the Kamishiro Group, in any case..."
Well, then it was fine. In the grand scheme of the national budget, it was just a minor line item for miscellaneous expenses. In fact, considering it went through the Kamishiro Group, it was practically free. It would return to the state through some other business venture eventually. Someone was footing the bill, but... if I thought about it too hard, I'd lose.
Both the Zork War and the Ghoul Subjugation were conflicts with zero economic merit. I had a nagging feeling I might end up in a situation like Hojo Tokimune later...
Ah, right—we confiscated the assets of the Duke Association and distributed them, so that solved the immediate problem. During the Ghoul War, we also seized the assets of corrupt officials from Magellan, Persion, and Ozen, and the Taikyoku Nation had done the same. The pirates had come under my command, too. Since the cities were destroyed, we simply shuffled the funds, circulated the economy like crazy to handle the repairs, and the balance ended up in the black.
The campaign against the Pruon Nation, which was effectively an invasion, was actually the least profitable of them all. Economics is a strange beast. Money keeps moving even when there’s no physical substance to the economy. And apparently, if people get too satisfied, the economy gets clogged like the arteries of a patient who ate too much ramen, and things turn sour. They say being just a little bit unsatisfied is the ideal state.
Economics... I didn't understand it at all. Wittle ol' me’s brain will never understand this, even in a hundred lifetimes...
"Wifey... I guess salt-flavored ramen really is the superior choice after all..."
"Lord Groom, what in the world are you talking about?"
Personally, I prefer Iekei-style soy sauce tonkotsu, but I digress.
With the revenue from the street stalls alone reaching astronomical figures, the second day came to a close. The official parade finished in just a few hours, but a festival was being held at the venue until late at night. Stalls were lined up everywhere, and the area was bustling with excitement.
We had our dinner at the hotel in the spaceport. I got scolded when I suggested roasting some corn.
The portions were quite generous. It seemed the staff was finally starting to grasp the scale of our appetites. For some reason, they also served me a bowl of salt ramen—or rather, tanmen. It seemed the Chamberlain Staff had become hyper-vigilant about my meals ever since I nearly starved to death the other day. It was topped with a truly excessive amount of vegetables.
It's not like I hate my greens, but I wondered why I was being treated like a toddler who needed to be coaxed into eating them.
Oh, speaking of which—the thinned-out corn. What ever happened to that baby corn? I didn't remember it being served!
"The thinned-out corn..."
"We served it as a meal for Lord Daifuku."
"Oh, I see... sorry, it slipped my mind..."
I had been so busy I'd forgotten all about it.
Well, even if we were high-ranking nobles, we were soldiers first. As long as the quantity was guaranteed by a buffet-style setup, no one was going to complain. It wasn't like we were a bunch of gourmets!
The most fastidious person regarding taste was probably Nina-san, mostly because she made everything herself. I was the second most particular, though only when it came to cheap food. Even so, I could at least tell that the tuna sashimi was phenomenal. Beyond that, my palate was pretty basic, though the squid was also excellent.
Hmm...
While nodding to myself in satisfaction, I moved on to the grilled eel kabayaki.
Delicious...
A deep sense of peace washed over me. I dug into the white rice as well.
Truly delicious...
I had already conquered the tanmen.
"Lord Groom... just how much do you intend to eat?"
I looked at Wifey with a perfectly calm expression.
"Once the children get a little older, I won't be able to eat as freely as I want. I intend to eat my fill until then!"
"We are the Royal Family. I hardly think that will be an issue..."
"But if we lose to the Zen Divine Race and have to flee, we won't be able to afford these luxuries!"
"Then just win! Or rather, Lord Groom... so you've already calculated your escape route..."
"Only if I'm serious about it! I've even bought a hideout in Repsitore!"
"Wait, you just said something I cannot ignore."
"I bought a planet under a pseudonym! Lepsitolians take in anyone, even criminals!"
"And what is the name of this planet?"
"I bought the naming rights—it's Planet Kawagon!"
"Isn't that a dead giveaway!?"
I had completely forgotten about that. It was, indeed, a dead giveaway.
Well, things were starting to look a bit grim now that I'd let that slip.
That night, the Imperial Police raided an extremist hideout. It was reported that more than twenty people were arrested.