We pulled back from the front lines and retreated far to the rear.
The Zork didn't pursue us.
Their ships were clearly defensive; as long as we didn't get too close, they didn't pose a threat.
...Which begged the question: how were we supposed to approach Planet Sanctuary?
I had plenty of questions, but I wasn't going to find the answers here.
I decided to focus on what I could do now.
First, I confirmed the area was safe.
The place was swarming with remnants of the Duke Association who had fled the battle, but I just ignored that risk.
It was fine.
They were all on the verge of death anyway.
Besides, even if they managed to kill me, they’d still have to deal with my wife, Thomas, or Cyrus—who was currently posing as Baron Shiramber.
Next, we began recovering the wounded.
The only reason we bothered doing it out here was because the Duke Army's ships were at their limit.
Most of them looked ready to explode at any second.
So, we called a halt.
First, we had the injured transferred to ships that were still intact.
As for the fighters and battleships that were on the brink of blowing up, we gathered them in one spot and moored them with anchors to ensure they wouldn't become space debris.
I also took the opportunity to plant some mines.
If the Zork came near, they’d get a face full of "boom."
That work alone took half a day.
Just moving people around required that much effort.
The members of the Duke Association were an even bigger headache.
I had been wrong to think they had enough integrity to share the same fate as their ambitions.
The moment Hashimoto died, they surrendered and came crawling to join us.
And what was happening now?
A bunch of old farts who looked like orcs were busy sucking up to me.
I personally thought it was a bit too late for that.
"Marquis Leo Kamishiro! Words cannot express our gratitude for liberating us from the clutches of the traitor Hashimoto..."
Unbelievable.
They were already acting as if they had been Duke Hashimoto’s prisoners the entire time, despite having been part of Thomas’s Great Expedition.
I was witnessing the very essence of the corrupt nobility.
Was this how they had maintained their houses for centuries? By mastering the art of the sudden about-face?
"Let us return to the Capital Planet immediately and crush the remnants of that villainous Duke Hashimoto! Why, with the power of House Motoki, placing Lady Veronica on the throne would be a simple matter..."
"I see. Get out."
My wife didn't sound interested in the slightest.
Duke Motoki bowed and hurried out of the room.
"Execution," my wife declared coldly the moment he was gone.
"Can't we use them for something?" I asked.
"I have no use for incompetent traitors."
I suppose she was right.
Goodbye, you worthless Dukes...
A Great Purge was definitely on the horizon.
Meanwhile, Alyssa and Edge were both bedridden.
Apparently, my Jester-exclusive machine drew on ESP power.
It had completely drained them.
...Claire always seemed fine, though.
"What do you want to do, Lord Groom? Do you wish to take the Dukes under your wing?"
"No thanks. They’d just do something unnecessary out of 'goodwill' and make things worse."
I didn't think I could control trash of that caliber.
"Hii-yah! Cyrus-chi and Thomas-pon have arrived~"
The Fairy cut into our conversation.
"Hey."
The three blood relatives sat down in the meeting room chairs.
I waited beside my wife at "At ease."
"Leo, you should sit, too," Thomas said, offering me a chair.
"No, I’m not exactly royalty."
"I consider you my younger brother, though."
Aww. Big Brother Thomas really was a good guy.
His talent for leadership might have been hit-or-miss, but his heart was in the right place.
I took a seat.
Thomas began the discussion.
"Let's start with what's already been decided. There are going to be a lot of vacancies for Dukes. Leo, from here on out, you are Duke Kamishiro."
"Right."
Even if it sounded disrespectful, "Right" was the only way I could respond.
Because I really didn't want to be a Duke.
Becoming one was fine, technically.
The problem was whether I was actually capable of being one.
I was overwhelmingly lacking in the necessary knowledge.
But since I couldn't refuse, I just stuck with "Right."
"It wouldn't look good for a Duke to hold the rank of Captain. You’re promoted to Major."
"That part is absolutely impossible!"
It was out of the question.
That was the one thing I couldn't do.
I would refuse to the bitter end!
"Even now as a captain, I’m barely scraping by. The AI handles more than half the load, and I'm still at my limit... The duties of a major are impossible for someone who hasn't even finished university!"
To be honest, I was just barely hanging on with the Fairy's support.
"I could provide a secretary, but..."
"Big Brother Thomas, that’s not the issue... I don't understand a thing... I’m so out of my depth that I don't even know what the sentences in the documents mean. Every time I have to write something, I have to look up introductory textbooks just to grasp the basics..."
Just to fill out professional paperwork, I was being forced to read academic texts with a circulation of less than three thousand copies.
It was impossible.
And even then, there was so much I didn't get.
"O-Oh, I see... So that's how it is..."
Being a good fighter didn't qualify someone for high-level military administration.
Once you reached the rank of major, screwing up the paperwork meant people died.
There was no way they should let me do that.
"It seems the Lord Groom understands his own position quite well. We have no choice but to put that on hold for now."
"My wife... You’re an angel!"
"That’s strange... Hashimoto and the others were delighted to be given titles, even for jobs they knew nothing about..."
Thomas still didn't look entirely convinced.
"Brother, Hashimoto and his ilk simply dumped all their work on others," my wife said, clutching her head.
The sheer level of their stupidity was clearly giving her a migraine.
That was when Big Brother Cyrus, who had been silent until now, spoke up quietly.
"I believe I can assist with the Duke's affairs. Planet Shiramber is going to be closed off anyway, isn't it? We can simply transfer the colony with the spaceport over to Ohno."
"Big Brother Cyrus!"
Having an educated brother-in-law was a godsend.
With that, I successfully evaded the promotion to Major.
A Duke, huh...
To be honest, I had no idea just how important that made me.
I mean, even a Marquis was basically just a village headman in my eyes...
The 'Introduction to Governance' manual said 'A Lord is the King of their planet,' but my gut feeling told me I wasn't a king. I was a village headman.
"My brother-in-law. I look forward to working with you."
With that, the practical business of the Imperial Supreme Council concluded.
I spoke with my wife about our next steps.
"I honestly don't feel like we can get anywhere near Planet Sanctuary like this."
"Do we need a new weapon...?"
"If we get one, it'll probably be the death of me."
I truly believed my talent for drawing defective equipment was second to none.
In any case, we had to transport the soldiers.
The most immediate issue was food...
We had lost several battleships that housed internal production facilities.
We needed to get back quickly.
I parted ways with my wife and headed to the cafeteria.
There were plenty of strangers there—soldiers from the Duke Army.
I managed to spot Kevin and Melissa.
"'Sup."
"Oh, Captain. Is the meeting over?"
"Yeah. For now, we're heading back to Melissa's place."
"Roger that. I'll let my old man know."
"By the way, Leo, is it true you're being promoted to Major?" Kevin asked in a carefree voice.
I gave him a dark look.
"...It’s simply not happening. If I get promoted, I’m a dead man."
"Ah, right. Yeah... Sorry."
Seriously, it was just impossible.