We returned to the Imperial Capital.
For some reason, despite the fact that we’d simply saved Prince Thomas from a total rout, the news was reporting it as a spectacular victory.
Honestly, it was a little terrifying.
According to the reports, I had charged into a place of certain death to thwart House Hashimoto’s conspiracy to assassinate Prince Thomas in league with the Zork, successfully annihilating the Hashimoto Faction in the process.
In other words: a total victory!
Sure, half of the Expeditionary Force was wiped out, but since most of the casualties belonged to the Hashimoto Faction, it apparently counted as a win!
I suppose this was what happened when you spun the facts in the most convenient way possible... I felt like I was witnessing the ultimate essence of war propaganda.
I even saw people throwing trash at the vehicles transporting the captured dukes of the Hashimoto Faction.
Meanwhile, they were calling us the "Heroic Squad of National Defense, Hellhounds."
Ha ha ha. You’ve got to be joking.
They were saying whatever they wanted—calling us things like the "Hellhounds" or the "Strongest Squad from Hell." Every news agency was just making up their own catchy names for us.
That was when the issue of my rewards came up.
Prince Thomas and Wifey proposed to grant me a dukedom, the House Hashimoto territory, a promotion to Major, the Imperial Army Golden Lion Medal, and all the supplementary prizes that came with it.
The one who fiercely opposed this was Prince Walter.
Go for it, Walter! Block my promotion!
If I actually became a Major, the responsibility would kill me!!!
Thanks to Walter, my promotion to Major was put on hold. As for the House Hashimoto territory, thirty percent went to Wifey and me, another thirty percent to Melissa’s home, and another thirty percent to Ren’s home.
The remaining portion was divided between Big Brother Cyrus—also known as Baron Shiramber—Lily, and Old Man Ohno. When they asked Piggett if he wanted a share, he apparently turned them down.
Since the House Hashimoto territory consisted of about twenty planets, that meant I was now the owner of five worlds... wait, what? I have to take the leftovers too?! Seven total?!
Even Ren’s family only got one planet!
Including my own home planet, this was the birth of a Grand Duke with eight worlds under his thumb.
No, that was impossible. There was no way I could govern them. I had no connections and no vassals I could trust.
I had no choice but to go crying for help!
Ah... wait, was this his strategy? To bury our faction in more work than we could handle to keep us from moving? And then, under the guise of sending in "support personnel," he would slowly dismantle our faction from the inside.
Walter... why don't you use that competence against the Zork?! Is he so smart he's looped back around to being an idiot?! The Empire is going to perish at this rate!
For now, I decided to go cry to Wifey.
"Wifeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey!"
"Oh, Lord Groom. You’ve come at a good time."
She was in the same hotel we’d stayed at before. I charged straight into the suite.
"Walter is being mean—!!!"
"I know. I shall not let him carry out any undermining operations."
"How?"
"The Mother AI. Our resident Fairy has agreed to lend a hand."
"...How?"
"Well, while she was amusing herself by identifying people using cheats in competitive games, a large number of current civil officials, nobles, and their children were caught in her net. When she investigated them, evidence of other scandals apparently came out one after another like potatoes on a vine."
"Whoa."
"It would be troublesome for me if the civil officials disappeared entirely. So, instead of prosecuting them, I simply asked for favors to the extent that they would not betray Walter, but would otherwise assist us."
That was blackmail. Pure and simple. I felt like I was going to pee myself.
"And so, we are no longer short on governors. Since the Mother AI will be monitoring them, if they betray us, we can simply cut them loose immediately."
With that settled, we spent our time idly until the ceremony.
The restoration of the Imperial Capital was progressing at an extraordinary speed. This was likely due in large part to the fact that there were few human casualties among the civilians. Based on a crude analysis, it seemed the Zork believed they could win simply by crushing the military and the central bureaucrats. Did they think of the civilians as nothing more than worker ants?
Because the city was in the middle of a full-scale restoration, there weren't many places to have fun. A lot of bars and shops with sexy ladies for the construction workers had cropped up, but there was nowhere for students to hang out.
Therefore, our entertainment was limited. And to top it off, we were hit with a Confinement Order.
The members of the Officer Academy group were now so famous that our personal information was circulating everywhere. It had become impossible to even step outside.
While I was exercising in the hotel's sports gym, the other boys showed up.
"It's another relative I've never even met! They say they're 'checking in' on me! Seriously, they keep asking, 'How about my daughter?' Give me a break!"
Visitors were flooding in to see the Officer Academy students. Relatives were multiplying at an alarming rate, including my own. The boys, who had initially been thrilled, thinking they’d finally hit their "popular phase," were now fuming.
They had realized that a political marriage—specifically one referred by Wifey—would come with much better conditions. After all, we boys were just the leftover second and third sons... nothing more than spares for the eldest.
Furthermore, many of the noble boys came from branch families. A good number of them had effectively been slaves to the princesses of their main houses. Listening to their stories, I caught glimpses of abuse that bordered on criminal.
Their excessive longing for women was likely because they knew exactly how demonic some could be. Few would be happy to be told to marry a woman who reminded them of the very demons who caused their trauma. In fact, several boys were showing signs of PTSD.
Because they were guys, people just ignored it. As the boys shouted about wanting girlfriends, I felt like I finally understood why they were all slightly wary of women.
You guys... are surprisingly delicate, aren't you?
"Ah, Captain! Please listen to this!"
Kyoko, Old Man Ohno’s daughter, arrived with a group of girls.
"What's wrong?"
"Some relatives I've never even met showed up and told me to 'become Leo Kamishiro’s mistress'! Right, everyone?!"
Another girl was also fuming with rage. "Exactly! Leo-kun! I was told the same thing!"
"Me too!"
"Geez! What are we supposed to do?!"
It was a problem even if they asked me.
"I'll let Wifey know."
Secret technique: The Art of Dumping Everything on Wifey.
Setting aside the talk of mistresses, relatives meddling unnecessarily were a nuisance. It would be fine if they were just saying random things on a whim, but there was always the risk that they could unknowingly become agents for the Zork. If they had any connection to the Duke Association, they were to be eliminated immediately.
As I was finishing my workout, Wifey stopped me.
"Lord Groom, so you were here. Let us go."
"Eh? Where?"
"To the banquet hosted by Prince Walter. An invitation arrived just a moment ago."
"Aren't those things usually sent out with more notice?"
"He likely intends to make a mockery of us, showing us off in our bedraggled and exhausted state right after coming home from a war, does he not?"
H-His personality is awful!!!
In my mind, the theory that Walter was "the kid in class everyone hates who drops out right before summer vacation" became much more plausible.
Leo-chan knows! That kind of thing is exactly what you call counter-productive.