I was making yakisoba at the food court in Spaceport No. 3.
You really have to season an iron griddle, after all...
"Apprehend His Majesty."
"Yes, ma'am!"
I was promptly seized by Claire's Imperial Guard.
"You got me, meow."
"Why on earth did you start cooking yakisoba?"
Claire wore a smile that barely masked her simmering rage.
"W-Well, you know, I just wanted to leave my personal mark on the place."
"Stop marking your territory!"
The yakisoba was gratefully polished off by the staff.
And so, the inspection began.
I changed into the formal ceremonial attire of the King of Chronos... I would have preferred my military dress uniform, but I buckled under the pressure...
Draped in a cape of questionable necessity, I waved to the crowd as we cruised through the spaceport in an open-top car.
It was a full-scale colony spaceport.
Spacious enough to hold a race.
We could totally race here, right?
"If you enter a race, I will hit you."
...Claire.
Did she just read my mind...?!
"Don't give me that 'Did she just read my mind?!' look. We're married. I know your thought patterns by now!"
Guh, how... utterly humiliating...
Perhaps because Chronos runs official public gambling, underground gambling is fairly subdued here.
Repsitore is also in a better state than it used to be.
I don't intend to meddle with personal betting over casual mahjong games, but my stance is pretty clear: I won't let the mafia set up illicit gambling dens.
Besides, is there any frontline soldier who doesn't gamble?
Military operations are seventy percent waiting around with nothing to do.
Events like races and concerts only get organized because troops would practically wither away and die of sheer boredom otherwise.
So, I kept waving to the crowds.
Claire waved alongside me, holding Ark-chan in her arms.
Wifey was waiting for us at the venue in the VIP seats.
Chronos is not a colony of the Galactic Empire.
Its king might be the husband of the Galactic Empire Emperor, and though it is technically a formerly collapsed protectorate, the two realms stand as equal partners.
That is why Wifey treats me with formal dignity in public as a foreign head of state.
In our private life, we're just an ordinary couple where the husband is thoroughly henpecked.
Even if we were practically a colony of the Galactic Empire, I don't exploit the people. I invest heavily to generate employment across Chronos.
My personal assets are constantly donated to Ha-san's foundation and various universities.
The businesses prioritize hiring locals, and there are no Galactic Empire heavyweights perched at the top of corporations bleeding everyone dry.
I mean, sure, that notorious enterprise known as the Kamishiro Group often serves as the middleman for trade with the Galactic Empire, but it's not a barrier to entry.
We've never shut anyone out, and between Chronos and Latania, trading companies from both Repsitore and Latania operate freely.
At the very least, I don't recall getting in anyone's way, and the Pirate Guild commands a massive share of the logistics anyway.
Consequently, the Kamishiro Group isn't despised.
More and more kids are attending university through scholarships provided by the Kamishiro Foundation or the Chronos Army...
...Can I just be completely honest for a second?
The fundamental reason I support students so aggressively is pure, unadulterated spite over having had my own high school and university days stolen from me.
I hate it with every fiber of my being.
Even if I was destined to be forcibly drafted into the special forces the moment I graduated from the officer academy, that's entirely beside the point.
The fact remains that my youth was crushed by war.
That's why I'm going to pour endless resources into students and take my revenge on this world.
I want my citizens to experience the kind of golden youth you see in romantic comedies.
That is my revenge.
Huh?
STEM education?
Workforce development?
Cost-effectiveness?
Shut up, you idiot boys.
As long as they're having fun, who cares?
Making lifelong memories is more than enough.
Who cares if spending money on education is technically a waste?
The entire populace benefits in ways that can never be quantified on a balance sheet.
To hell with a bleak adolescence filled with nothing but blood, gunsmoke, shockwaves, and plasma!
Hence, the endless stream of events.
Athletic clubs make organizing events easier, so a certain degree of bias is inevitable.
There will always be low-key, introverted kids, but they can just pursue their own hobbies at their own pace.
That said, universities and graduate schools aren't for fooling around. Those need to be brutally strict.
Those are training grounds meant to forge semi-pros into true professionals.
Places designed to drench you in an overwhelming deluge of education.
We're also rolling out vocational schools in massive numbers.
Even if no one enrolls, the plan is to keep them running regardless.
This is my Grand Rom-Com Conquest Strategy!
I will have my vengeance for the life I never got to live!
Wash your necks and wait for me, you damn gods!
Ah... I want to go to the beach.
Is it already the season for swarms of jellyfish and biting sea lice in Chronos...?
During this time of year, getting nipped in the groin by Chronos's notoriously aggressive zoea larvae leads to absolute catastrophe (speaking from personal defeat).
Yeah, impossible.
Guh, is this another conspiracy orchestrated by the calamity gods?!
I will never forgive you, gods!
Let's stick to the pool.
A normal one where you don't have to dive to the bottom clutching a steel beam.
"You're indulging in another stupid delusion, aren't you?"
Claire sharply reined me in.
"Nah, I was just thinking how I want to wrap up this war quickly so the kids can enjoy a rom-com youth of their own. You know, since our own school days were cut short."
At that, a single tear traced down Claire's cheek.
"Ah, did I say something wrong? I'm sorry!"
"No... I was just thinking about how truly glad I am to be your wife. You're right. We have to do our best!"
I was bracing myself for her to yell at me for talking nonsense again...
I see... Yeah, she has a point.
What we're missing is a boyhood that can never be reclaimed.
Everyone carries scars in their hearts to some degree.
The citizens of Chronos are no different.
Countless people had their education abruptly halted.
That includes many of the civil servants working in the Chronos government.
Hmm... At the very least, maybe I should expand the quotas for state-funded study abroad programs to the Galactic Empire.
Apparently, that offhand remark was picked up by the microphone.
It hit the news immediately.
Claire was almost certainly the mastermind behind that.
I was showered with praise by Wifey, and Melissa, Rikochi, Polina-san, and Karen-san were all thoroughly impressed.
Receiving this much praise gave me an ominous feeling that a terrible punchline was waiting around the corner.
Sure enough, as the spaceport opening ceremony came to a close, Tatiana came sprinting over.
"Am I seriously heading to medical school?! If I study any more, I feel like my brain's gonna turn to mush! There's no way I can ever become like Big Sis Kevin!"
My expression softened into a look of gentle compassion.
"Give up..."
"You demon! Diable! There's no way I can handle college!"
I'm sorry, Tatiana... Your career path is the one thing completely out of my hands.
If you don't become a doctor, you'll be dragged off to a temple...
I might as well lay it out for her.
"Listen, Tatiana... Hear me out. If you don't enroll in the faculty of medicine, you're getting locked away in a temple."
"Huh?"
"There's no way the Chronos religion is letting you slip through their fingers... In fact, the other temples and shrines want you just as badly. Don't worry. You're exempt from the entrance exams. But you are expected to be on Kevin's level by the time you graduate."
"...NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Thank goodness. We got our punchline after all.