Colony Hojoki was one of the super-large colonies.
Colony names were often just arbitrary words.
They had probably run out of ideas and plucked this one from some ancient text.
The name itself held no meaning.
Colony Hojoki was originally built as a logistics hub.
As the population grew, additions were made, and it was still expanding to this day.
Its surface area rivaled that of a planet in a Baron’s territory.
Furthermore, illegal expansions were essentially overlooked; it was said that if those were factored in, it reached the scale of a Count’s territory.
Public security was abysmal.
The colony's inhabitants were mostly people who had been driven out of other planets.
The causes were usually crime or debt, and many lacked any technical skills as laborers.
Consequently, crime was rampant.
Even so, the colonies near the Imperial Capital were generally safe because the military maintained a constant presence.
The poor security here was specifically because it was a massive colony where the military didn't bother to stay.
Naturally, being a colony where law and order had gone to rot, there were a massive number of adult-oriented shops... I really wanted to go ashore.
So, I went to see my wifey.
"Wifey... I want to go down there."
"I'll kill you."
The boys standing behind me also started making a racket.
"Give us a vacation!"
"Please!"
"Your Highness, have mercy!"
"Shut up! We can't afford to cause trouble here! You guys are minors anyway!"
The adults from the university division watched us with lukewarm expressions.
They had looks on their faces that said, Hey now, this is the military. Obviously, it doesn't matter what you say.
"If you don't cut it out, I'll throw you in the brig! ...No, maybe I'll have you clean the Water Purification Unit."
"Alright, disperse!"
As if I’d ever clean the Water Purification Unit!
It wasn't that it was particularly smelly or dirty, but it was so vast that the work would never end.
The boys also scrambled to run away, each trying to be the first to escape.
It looked like we’d be waiting inside the ship.
And so, we come to the man we were waiting for: Baron Ohno.
In the Empire, those with family names written in kanji were considered distinguished people of Japanese descent.
Meanwhile, people like us with names in katakana were the ones of questionable lineage—the "nobodies."
For example, Melissa’s house was Tachibana. A prestigious family.
Then there was us: House Kamishiro. Fakes.
Though, for the past few centuries, Marquises and Dukes had been emerging even from the fakes, so it wasn't a reliable metric anymore.
The distinguished Baron Ohno was the lord who ruled this colony and a nearby planet.
Ohno's territory was a terraformed planet, and like ours, it was mostly wilderness.
It seemed he had occupied the colony during an old war and added it to his territory.
Nowadays, most of his income came from the colony.
As for the planet, it seemed they only had an Agricultural Cooperative, just like us.
I suddenly felt a sense of kinship with him.
...At the same time, I started to feel anxious.
I had left the family home in the hands of Big Brother Sam, but was he actually managing things properly?
I decided to give him a call.
"Yo, it's been a while. Leo, what's up?"
As always, Big Brother Sam was a total extrovert.
"Sup. I was just wondering how the family business was doing."
"Oh, that. See, I’m an idiot, so I figured I shouldn't try thinking for myself. I just did exactly what the people Her Highness sent over told me to do. Then, in the blink of an eye, we were in the black!"
Oof!
As expected of a Marquis-class planet, even if it had gone to seed.
The potential was there all along!
"And then, get this. The Empire told us to take in people fleeing from the Imperial Capital. I told 'em we've got land to spare, so sure. When they arrived, man, they were all college grads. I was shocked! There were veteran technicians too, so I kept tossing work their way, and that gave our profits a huge boost. Oh, and here's an article from 'Imperial Job Information.' We got featured in it. It says we're the ideal planet for an I-turn! We even started getting subsidies from the Empire! I even had a guy come by asking if we want to build a shopping mall!"
He sent over a featured article from a recruitment site.
Simply getting rid of my old man didn't explain this turnaround.
Could it be that Big Brother Sam was actually super competent?
I felt like I had pulled an SSR character.
"Y-Yeah. Good luck, Brother."
That was all I could say.
"Yeah! Alright, back to work! See ya!"
I went back to my wifey.
"What is it, Lord Groom?"
"My family home is becoming a normal Marquis territory at a terrifying speed!"
"...It was strange up until now. It is a suburban agricultural planet right next to the Imperial Capital! Why was it full of wilderness when it hadn't even been overdeveloped? Fortunately, your elder brother was someone who actually listens to other people's opinions. I dispatched some retired technical officials from construction, agriculture, and economics."
As expected, my wife was the catalyst.
"Is it okay? You aren't pushing those technical officials too hard, are you?"
"When I mentioned it was the family home of Leo Kamishiro, they agreed without a second thought."
"W-What about the funds...?"
W-We... don't have any money!
"The military. I’m having a military base built on Planet Kamishiro, so I had them provide a budget for it. We are also going to build a colony to serve as a military defense hub. For the record, it's not a scam. It was strange that there wasn't a military base in that sector to begin with. What was that nonsense about 'there's an Officer Academy in that area, so it's fine'? Absolute morons!"
It seemed the surplus land had worked in our favor.
It was true that there was absolutely nothing there.
The area around my house, I mean.
As I was processing this, an internal ship broadcast came in.
"Oh, it seems our guest has arrived."
[Baron Ohno’s battleship is approaching. Please prepare to receive him.]
The available personnel and I went to meet him at the docking station.
A few minutes later, we docked with Baron Ohno’s battleship.
Once the process was complete, Baron Ohno and his party boarded.
Baron Ohno was a man in his thirties with an eyepatch over one eye.
A rugged, handsome middle-aged man.
He was accompanied by a young girl who seemed to be his adjutant.
She looked exactly like him.
Father and daughter, or perhaps siblings?
"Yo, sorry to keep you waiting."
Yep, he was a total country guy.
"Are you Ohno?"
"Yeah, Ohno, Chairman of the Galactic Frontier Fishermen's Association—that’s me!"
I see, a man of the sea.
Or rather, was he a former pirate?
While I was staring blankly, Ohno walked right up to me.
"Ho, I’m surprised. There’s a monster here. Are you Leo Kamishiro?"
"Nice to meet you."
Formalities were already out the window.
"Hey now, what’s the deal with this ship? Every single one of you is no ordinary person!"
He seemed to be the type who could gauge strength at a glance.
It was true that our group was disproportionately high in combat experience.
"It just means we survived. You like that kind of thing, don't you?"
"Love it. Hey, how about it, Leo? Why don't you take my daughter? You're a fan of the ladies, aren't you?"
As he said that, he thrust his adjutant forward.
Stop!
Don't add any more to the pile!