To be blunt, stories that start on colony planets are usually a matter of production convenience.
It allows everything to be explained through the eyes of a protagonist who knows absolutely nothing about the world. If I were that protagonist, for instance, the story would have kicked off with a pathetic explanation of a planet whose only notable feature was its Agricultural Cooperative.
...No thanks.
Back in my room, I held a solitary reflection session. I slumped onto the sofa and let my mind wander.
Hold on...
I’d managed to move in time to counter his thrust even after he’d committed to the strike.
As I tilted my head in confusion, the door opened.
"I'm home—"
My bride had arrived. Her quarters were the finest on the ship, yet she only retreated there when it was actually time to sleep.
She opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of juice. Then she sat down right next to me and started drinking.
"Mmh."
Yeah, yeah. Potato chips.
I casually handed them over. She took a pinch and munched on them.
"...That was quite something."
"Doesn't it feel like I've been getting a bit inhuman lately?"
"You were already quite the monster when we first met, weren't you?"
"Hey now..."
"Lord Groom, about that VR fighting game... it’s been officially adopted into the Imperial Recruit Education Program."
"Huh?"
"The grades of the students aboard this ship have been shockingly high. The military accepted the report Claire and I drafted. Naturally, your own god-like performance was a deciding factor. Well, all of this hinges on the success of the Imperial Capital Reconstruction, of course."
Apparently, my combat data had been transmitted to the Imperial Capital. Even if they were students of the Imperial Officer Academy, they were still part of the military, so I suppose it was a mandatory requirement. If anything, it meant there were some highly capable people trying to make use of that data even in the middle of a crisis.
The Empire didn't collapse even if the Emperor was a fool, largely thanks to its stable training systems and high educational standards... during peacetime, anyway. In this empire, idiots weren't allowed to hold political power, regardless of their noble rank.
Having finished her juice, my bride rolled over and used my knees as a pillow.
"I cannot think of a strategy for the Imperial Capital Recapture Operation."
"Is it no good to just do what we've been doing?"
"The scale of the city is too vast. The Imperial Capital is a continent-class city. Your machine would not last."
"I see. What about the ground forces?"
"There is not enough ammunition."
"Then what will you do?"
"Normally, it would be a VIP Rescue Operation."
"I thought so."
Rescue only the VIPs and leave the rest to their fate. Once things were stabilized, they’d try to recapture the capital later.
...But.
"If the Emperor isn't struck down now, the Empire will perish."
"I thought so."
"We’ll take him out and make it look like an accident!"
"Ah, right, right. So his survival is the lowest priority, then."
If left alone, the Emperor Death Event would occur. In the game, the Zork kill him. Because of that, a bloody civil war among humans would break out over the right of succession. You could even play as a strategist serving one of the Imperial Successors.
I’d always longed to be the strategist type. The best part was not getting injured. The problem was that my head wasn't nearly good enough for the role. I could absolutely never become like Ya●. The real issue was that I’d become far too adapted to being a soldier on the front lines.
Now then, if that was the case, I had to prioritize Veronica’s survival above all else. Setting aside the right of succession, it was better to prevent the civil war that followed the Emperor's death. There was a chance Veronica could die in that conflict.
I figured we’d be fine even if a civil war happened as long as Edge didn't betray us, but... no, I should choose the safest route. It was true that the Emperor was total scum, but his death would cause too much trouble. That was the agonizing part.
I wouldn't be able to go on living if my bride hated me. I’d probably die from the sheer mental damage. On the other hand, if she were to die... it was too terrifying to even contemplate.
Well, whatever. If it didn't work out, I’d just have to give up. The Emperor's death was a forced event, after all.
"What sort of amusing face are you making?"
"No, I was just thinking that if the Emperor dies, a civil war seems likely to break out. That’s a scary thought."
"It will break out. And the one who will emerge victorious is me."
"Even though we're in the middle of a war with the Zork!?"
"It is precisely because we are at war that a leader must be decided. With the current Emperor, the extinction of humanity cannot be avoided."
"You were prepared for that!?"
"No. Without your exploits, Lord Groom, the very idea of me becoming Emperor wouldn't have even crossed my mind. But now, many nobles are convinced that I will be the next Emperor, and they are acting accordingly. If I betray those expectations, only death awaits."
"Umm... what about reconciling with your siblings?"
"It is possible if my siblings serve under me. I cannot do anything from my side. The nobles would not allow it. Once the influential Duke Mistral was joined by Marma of the Beast Race, and Ren joined my side, there was no longer any room for choice. It is be the Emperor, or die."
No way, how scary!!!
"Rest easy. I do not have much intention of changing the status quo. Though I draw the line at incest. That’s a death sentence."
"Oh, right. Good luck with that."
"What are you saying, you idiot—!!!"
My bride skillfully spun around, pointed her feet at me, and started kicking. Slap, slap, slap. I grabbed her feet and started tickling them.
"Take that, and that—!"
"Nyahahahahaha—!!! Stop it—!!!"
I suppose families need this kind of pointless downtime. After frolicking for a while, my bride's stamina finally gave out.
"Uhihihi. Hee... I am exhausted..."
"Want some juice?"
"Juice makes one fat. Get me some water."
"Yessir."
I took a bottle of mineral water from the refrigerator and tossed it. She caught it and took a long drink. Throughout this entire interaction, the number of times I felt any erotic libido was exactly zero. It was perfectly wholesome.
"Hey, Lord Groom."
"What's up?"
"You know... I am glad I could marry you."
"Stop saying things that sound like death flags!"
"Kahahahaha! Indeed. Death flags are no good. I shall be counting on you from here on out."
"Yessir."
The day after that conversation, the briefing began.
"We’ve notified the Imperial Capital of our arrival. The air defense system won't fire on us. We'll rendezvous with the ground forces at the landing site."
There was a shocking lack of anything resembling an actual plan.
"The military is currently locked in a stalemate. The cause is a total depletion of weapons and ammunition. Because the penetration rate of cutting-edge weaponry was so high, they had almost no old-model ballistic weaponry in reserve. Even with the shaping printers running at full capacity, they can't keep up. Apparently, they are barely scraping by using weapons taken from museums, but..."
"What about the Humanoid Heavy Machinery units?"
"Only the truly deranged can manage to fight in those things."
"Eh, then what about the standard machines?"
"They sent them out armed with construction girders... but as for the results... Lord Groom, you need to realize that you are an anomaly! No one else can fight like that!"
Whoa. We were heading into a real meat grinder this time...
However, the word "despair" did not exist for us. The fact that we had been victorious until now had forged a deep sense of confidence.