We returned to Chronos to hold my wedding ceremonies with Claire and Ren.
Though I say wedding, it was more like a public reception for the citizens... a victory celebration combined with a ceremony, I suppose?
It turned out to be quite the spectacle.
The venue was supposed to be restricted to invited guests, but the crowd managed to break through security. Even with the Imperial Guard, the female Zork Knights, and even Hattori’s ninja group on duty... they were simply overwhelmed.
There were just too many people.
The Chronos Army couldn't exactly open fire on the citizens, so they had no choice but to scream, "You can't come in!" to the top of their lungs. The police and Amada Security tried to hold the line as well, but they were simply shoved aside.
Crowd psychology was truly terrifying.
Since the ceremony was held outdoors, we avoided a disaster where people were crushed to death in a bottleneck at the entrance. Miraculously, there wasn't even a domino effect. At most, a few high-ranking officials were knocked over by the surging wave of people.
The cancellation was announced shortly before the breach. By then, we had already been whisked away in a transport aircraft.
"See ya!"
My wife, the children, and I managed to escape safely.
Hahaha! Now, time to go get scolded by Claire.
As it turned out, Claire wasn't even angry.
"There's no point in being upset. You're a popular man, Leo. This time, it was purely an accident."
I was forgiven!
"Let's just have a party together in the dining hall," she suggested.
"Sounds good to me!"
Just then, Wifey arrived.
"I am truly sorry..."
A large number of citizens had been injured in the chaos. Security was being held responsible, but... we had told them over and over they weren't allowed inside! We explicitly told them not to gather! The police had even set up vehicle barricades and issued repeated warnings to disperse! They even used warning flares!
Despite all that, the ones who forced their way through were the ones at fault. They should be grateful they weren't shot. No, I’m not joking. Seriously. In any other country, they would have been. Because this was Chronos, it ended with nothing more than a few arrests.
I was bombarded during the meeting with claims that security had been insufficient... and to be fair, it was. I apologized honestly. Even though Wifey and I were the victims here, I was the one getting lectured.
...Why?
The military was also busy bowing their heads to everyone. I was starting to get a little annoyed.
"Listen... the one who cheaped out on the security budget was the finance officer, right? National events like this get massive corporate donations, making them essentially free... I’ve said this before, haven't I? And who was it that rejected my order to hold a military parade?"
"T-That is...!"
Naturally, their voices suddenly grew small.
A military parade was practically a free event once you factored in the donations from the Kamishiro Group, Latania Heavy Industries, and Repsitore Industry. It was basically a trade fair!
"Budgeting appropriately is fine, but this wasn't exactly a Tax Eater event. If anything, it was a chance to show off our weaponry and authority to the entire galaxy. Who’s the one who caused this failure and embarrassment just to pinch pennies?"
I wasn't saying austerity was always bad. There were certainly situations where it was necessary—like in Repsitore, which had suffered an economic collapse and was drowning in bad debt. When a primary balance gets too out of whack, the economy suffers because government offices start cutting even the most essential expenses. That was a fact.
Wasteful spending should be restrained, provided it was actually wasteful. But if you cut necessary things—like adequate staffing or even worker wages—then I’d have no choice but to kill you, right?
For instance, if an obachan in the dining hall gave out food that was destined for the trash as a meal for the staff, I had no intention of cracking down on that. A society that would is unhealthy. It’s insane to get enraged over something so trivial. If the tax office tries to find a way to tax that as income, then the government is the one that's crazy. If food poisoning happens because of it, resolve it internally. Cover it up with everything you've got. No one was at fault there.
"This time, something even worse happened. It can't be helped now. Next time, double the security. That’s all. Meeting adjourned."
And that was that. Were they idiots?
I put an end to that idiotic meeting, which had devolved into a Zen riddle with no exit. The budget officer who cut the funds would just start blaming the economic officer who proposed the venue, who would then blame the education officer for the citizens' lack of discipline... it was just a cycle of shifting blame. In the end, the police or the military, who never complained, would be forced to take the fall. I wasn't about to allow that.
So, I ended it by deciding "society was at fault." Everyone messed up a little, so we were done.
This time, even after investigating the background, there wasn't even a hint of terrorism. It was a complete accident. However, one thing that couldn't be ignored was that the citizens seemed to have some kind of pent-up dissatisfaction. There was likely some underlying stress factor.
It couldn't be helped that we were at war. All I could tell them was to bear with it because we were going to win. Still, I felt like this might become a weakness.
It wasn't as if the place was riddled with corruption. It wasn't a perfectly pure society, but it was an easy one to live in. It wasn't a society where civil servants or the police demanded bribes from ordinary people. I had strictly forbidden that. I had made it so people could earn a living without resorting to that.
I was careful to ensure the Kamishiro Group didn't hold too much power. It wasn't as if entering the market was an impossible game. If you asked me if it was a society where hard work was rewarded, honestly, I didn't know. But there was hope.
Sure, it was hard to become an actor, a musician, or an athlete, but there were plenty of job openings for normal professions. It was a society where craftsmen and creators could just focus on their work. There were no officials trying to crush new technology. I was fairly certain we weren't demanding excessive abilities from our workers. I’d never even heard of a state-run pyramid scheme. There was no tipping culture, and no culture where academic background determined a person's entire value.
I didn't know. I didn't understand it at all. Even people who failed once still had a chance. I couldn't comprehend why the citizens were trying to push themselves to the point of burnout. Being in lukewarm water is best. Unnecessary harshness wasn't needed. Having a shitty reality right in front of you was more than enough.
Because reality was the shittiest thing of all!
I was still racking my brain over it when Karen-san walked in.
"Are you having another one of your solo reflection meetings?"
"Yeah. I just don't understand it at all."
"Wasn't it just an accident?"
"It was, but... Amada Security handles event security all the time, so they should have had complete manuals. Even so, they were overrun."
"It would probably be best to wait for the report from the verification team."
"I suppose so."
"More importantly, everyone is waiting for you in the dining hall."
Right, I nearly forgot. Party time. This was the relaxed kind of party where we only invited friends.
Hattori was acting as the DJ this time. Dammit, someone better than me had finally appeared! This, too, was surely due to my complete lack of musical talent...
When I entered the room, the music was turned down for a showcase of everyone's children. We all showed off our kids to one another.
"Go on, say hello."
Mizoguchi-san from the female Zork units had brought her children along. Two girls. Both were female Zork who had apparently been abandoned by their biological parents. This sort of thing... humans are animals too, so I suppose it must have been instinctively difficult.
They were wearing cute clothes, and their hair was semi-long and tied back. I wondered if their "Mama" had just been lazy about it, or if they weren't at the age to care about style yet...
I crouched down to meet their eyes.
"Hey, don't you two want to become even cuter?"
Their eyes instantly sparkled. My lady-in-waiting immediately contacted a palace hair stylist—or rather, a beautician. She certainly knew how to read the room!
"M-Mama!"
The two girls looked back at Mizoguchi-san. Well now, Mizoguchi-san... so you're being called "Mama." That’s a heartwarming story.
"O-Osu. I don't mind, but... Your Majesty, are you sure?"
"Think of it as employee benefits. People would doubt my character if the daughters of a hero weren't looking their best."
I had awarded medals to the Repsitore Army and Mizoguchi-san’s female Zork units. They were heroes who had helped us recover from a desperate situation. I was truly grateful to them.
I had the lady-in-waiting lead the two girls away.
"Mizoguchi-san, feel free to have a drink while you wait."
"Osu! Thank you very much!"
Well, that pretty much settled things. The official ceremony had been a bit of a disaster, but this made up for it.