Well, now I was surrounded by folks from the Chronos Religion, Shinto, and even an old monk from Buddhism, all grilling me for details.
The theory that Zashiki-warashi is the Sun God, huh?
Like I'd know!
It was nothing more than an unverified tall tale.
If anything, I shifted the burden onto them, telling them they ought to uncover the truth themselves.
However, she was under the protection and veneration of myself and Wifey, so I made it clear that I wouldn't tolerate any disrespect.
I warned them that if I caught anyone stepping out of line, I'd beat them to death.
They'd already gone and made clones of me without asking.
I doubted they'd do that to Wifey or Tatiana... but I honestly felt like they'd probably made unauthorized clones of Eddy, Isono, and Saijo-kun by now.
It just hadn't come to light yet.
Regardless, there was precedent.
And if I said I'd beat someone to death, I meant it.
A merciless, ruthless personality—or so goes my reputation in the world.
Well, I did wipe out the Corpse Eaters and Pruon Nation, after all.
Magellan and Ozen were practically colonies, and Repsitore had been annexed.
Some media outlets were even claiming Taikyoku Nation was effectively a colony too.
Well, yeah, looking from the outside, I couldn't really blame them for saying that.
My reputation as a womanizer was also thanks to my repeated marriage diplomacy.
Naturally, the people who actually knew me understood that wasn't the case.
At the same time, though, they knew I wasn't a dictator and that I was the type to listen to my close aides and retainers.
In other words, if my retainers started clamoring to kill someone, I wouldn't stop them.
If they consulted me about an assassination beforehand, I'd put a stop to it, but if they came to me after the fact saying, "Oopsie, we went ahead and killed them, tee-hee," my hands would be tied.
I wasn't a god; if nobody told me, there was nothing I could do.
The likely culprits would be the Ninja Corps, the Imperial Guard, the Chronos military...
And since this involved religion, there'd probably be bloody infighting within their own ranks, too.
The "We want to dissect a god and pursue absolute truth" faction and the "God is god, you bastards! What the hell do you think you're pulling?!" faction would definitely start slaughtering each other.
Karen-san and Shi-yun would probably dispatch their own personal assassins, too.
Even within the Pirate Guild, there was a faction that worshipped Zashiki-warashi.
I mean, come on, she was a deity discovered aboard a ship.
What's more, that battleship traversed hellish battlefields with zero casualties.
From a sailor's perspective, how could you not worship her?
Those guys would definitely come looking for blood, too.
Wifey would gladly initiate purges and start a war.
If that happened, I'd have no choice but to outlaw the religion entirely.
I wouldn't have any other option.
The scariest one, though, was Fairy-san.
If she settled for mere planetary-scale annihilation, we'd have to consider ourselves lucky...
At that point, I'd have no choice but to eradicate the religion, line up the severed heads of everyone involved, and prostrate myself on the floor begging for forgiveness.
I'd rather destroy a religion than fight Fairy-san any day!
I didn't owe them that kind of loyalty!
I'd even abdicate as the King of Chronos that very day!
There was also the possibility that the Star God or the Zen Divine Race might agitate people into attacking Zashiki-warashi.
They'd surely planted operatives, right?
Honestly, it'd be weirder if they hadn't.
The only reason I hadn't sent operatives into the Zen Divine Race was simply because I didn't know where they were.
While pondering that messy brawl, I read through the digital edition of Monthly Maa.
Huh.
What do you know... This is actually the easiest to understand.
It was an occult magazine, so it had plenty of nonsense articles, but the scientific information in here was totally legit.
Plus, it was genuinely entertaining to read.
The Maa editorial department is a force to be reckoned with...
Jokes aside, maybe I should buy some of their stock.
Let's see... I'll put a full-power buy order through the brokerage firm's AI...
And because I messed up the number of digits I entered, I ended up acquiring controlling interest in the company.
The brokerage firm didn't interpret my move as a simple typo.
"A massive amount of funds has moved from the King of Chronos's personal account! This is an order from the King of Chronos! Execute a full-scale buyout!"
"Contact the founding family immediately!"
"A takeover bid! Launch a TOB right now!"
Because I'd ignored the news, I completely missed the drama as it unfolded.
To begin with, once it hit the news, there was no way for me to stop it.
Given my position, I couldn't just come out and say, "It was just a clumsy blunder..."
Before I knew it, the entire company had rolled right into my lap.
Guess there's no helping it. I'll publish Galactic Empire and Chronos editions.
I'll sign a contract with a publishing company under the Kamishiro Group.
Why not just fold it into the Kamishiro Group, you ask?
Because I bought it with my own personal assets!
It's fine. I won't tie them down.
I want Maa to stay just the way it is.
In fact, you could say all I really need is the Maa editorial department itself.
I-It's fine!
It's not uncommon for royalty to become patrons of artists, after all!
Y-Yeah!
This was a calculated, far-sighted move!
"Lord Leo, this is glaringly an accident, isn't it?"
Tragic news: Karen-san saw through it in seconds.
"Y-Yeah... I messed up the digits when typing it in..."
If Claire found out, she'd be furious.
Or rather, she probably already knew.
There was no way she didn't.
My only option was to turn into Babumi Sentai Ogyarion again after all this time to play dumb...
"All right, let's just own it and do this on a grand scale. Karen-san, please handle a Repsitore PR magazine covering travel, art, and culture for the Galactic Empire, as well as science information magazines—both a hardcore technical one and one for the general public. If you lack manpower or know-how, go ahead and buy up specialized companies."
"Your knack for turning a crisis into an opportunity remains as brilliant as ever. I shall carry this out with all my might. On the name of Mike & Hammer!"
"Using funds from my account is fine, but..."
"Leave it to Mike & Hammer. We shall surely conquer the realm for you."
"N-No, I'm not really aiming for world conquest, though..."
"Publishing an informational magazine for the Galactic Empire means Galactic Empire culture will flow in as well! To think you would use a blunder to bring in basketball coverage and coaches—what terrifying inspiration!"
"Huh? What's that? I never even thought of that..."
"Heh, hehahahaha! O gods! Witness the sheer tenacity of us Repsitore!"
What do I do...?
I don't think Karen-san is listening to a word I say anymore.
Before I realized what was happening, we'd bought up an entire basketball league.
Not just a team—we bought the league's operating company.
On top of that, we started recruiting coaches and players.
It escalated into a massive uproar, with not only existing Galactic Empire coaches but also retired players and university students swarming in by the droves.
You see, in the Galactic Empire, basketball was a bit on the smaller side compared to baseball or soccer.
Even though plenty of people aspired to play.
Ultimately, you were considered a success just by becoming a coach or manager for a university sports team.
So when we put out a call saying, "You can go pro," applications flooded in at several times the expected volume.
Naturally, with my eyes darting around nervously, I made excuses to Claire and Wifey, saying, "I-It's part of strengthening our cheering squad, you know?"
Right at the moment when nothing could be undone anymore.
"You have a completely untrustworthy look on your face!"
"Why is Lord Groom so skilled at psychological warfare, yet so pitifully weak at times like this?!"
I ended up getting thoroughly chewed out by both Claire and Wifey.
On top of that, Ren's children came clambering all over me, crying, "Papa~!"
Um... Excuse me, I can't move like this.
Ah, stay kneeling upright in formal seiza. Yes, ma'am.