Eventually, my symptoms worsened further.
I was hooked up to an EKG and a mess of other monitors, pumped full of nanomachines, and put on a twenty-four-hour nutrient drip.
Fortunately, the damage didn't extend below the neck.
Actually, with the Empire's technology, nerve repair is possible. Technically, replacing my entire body would only be slightly difficult.
The only problem left was the risk of sudden death.
The risk of my heart stopping because things that were supposed to stay in my bones were leaching out... wait, that happened before, didn't it?
I'm putting my faith in the nanomachines. Because I'm terrified!
The ripple effects of that gag development reached the people who’d stayed behind to defend the hospital, too.
Despite the desperate situation—injured patients forced into combat—there were zero casualties.
Aside from Ren, who’d been on the stretcher with me; the fracture in her hand had just gotten worse.
Tanks of the Imperial Army were lined up around the hospital.
Helicopters patrolled the skies.
Beyond the military cordons surrounding the grounds, armed citizens stood guard over me.
The citizenry's tether of patience had finally snapped.
The police weren't doing their jobs... or rather, they were actively arming the populace.
The citizens had turned into a mob.
Thanks to the Empire’s conscription system, these people knew their way around a weapon.
In coordinated strikes, they raided the homes of high-ranking civil officials and ducal mansions. The scale of the assaults made the earlier arson look like child’s play.
Apparently, "Mobile Suit Molotov"—the good old Molotov cocktail—was considered an outdated model.
They’d moved way past gasoline and were lobbing plasma grenades.
The media was also broadcasting it live the whole time.
Oh, right. The media had completely turned against the civil officials.
After all, their own colleagues had been killed. Small wonder they were furious.
You could see armed reporters tossing bombs during the Citizen Army’s skirmishes...
They’d effectively put us on leave—or rather, they’d tearfully ordered us not to lift a finger until we were healed.
Since I was being paid a full salary to sit around, I had no objections.
The guys came by to see me.
I couldn’t move.
"Hey, Leo. We just got out."
"Congrats."
"But they told us we have to stay on standby here."
"What do you mean?"
"Just a health checkup. Apparently, they want to investigate how special abilities affect the body."
"My ESP, huh?"
"Pretty much. Everyone’s staying at this hospital to watch over you and participate in the study."
"Gotcha. By the way... where even are we?"
Come to think of it, I hadn't asked. I'll ask now.
What hospital is this?
"National Imperial Capital University Hospital. It’s insane—we’ve got the entire place chartered."
"Ah, I see."
So it was the top-tier national university. Makes sense that the place is crawling with researchers.
The stable patients had been moved elsewhere.
Honestly, sorry for the inconvenience, everyone.
"Only His Highness is at the Imperial Family Hospital."
A hospital for the Imperial Family. Well, that makes sense.
"They actually planned to send you to the Imperial Family Hospital, too, but... well, you looked like you were about to kick the bucket."
"I see!"
My condition ended up worsening anyway, though. It's not like I did it on purpose!
"Anyway, Cap. Just focus on getting better. We’ve got your back. And if things get hairy, we’ll use the civilians as shields and leave you behind while we run!"
"Don't say such horrible things!"
"See ya!"
The boys left.
While they say things like that, they'll probably fight until the end. Those guys.
With this many people protecting me, I can’t exactly go moving around either. Yeah.
The media was having a field day raging about the attack on our hospital.
[Trying to kill students who risked their lives to protect the Capital is unforgivable!]
[Do not forgive the civil officials!]
[How dare they weaken the Empire during an extermination war against alien species! We'll kill you all!!!]
The pundits were all fired up.
They were also airing a deep dive into the internal structure of Walter’s faction and why Thomas’s expedition failed.
They claimed the civil officials and the Duke Association were in bed with each other!
...But honestly, isn't it basically a maso-game for civil officials and local lords not to have ties?
There would be petitions from the regions and requests from the military and all that...
Even the military isn't totally isolated from the Duke Association. It’s just that there was so little overlap in their interests that they never became "two peas in a pod."
The most brutal part was the reporting on Alexia’s true identity.
The fact that the "girl" was actually a sixty-year-old man named Hiroshi Sato—and the details of his physical relationship with Walter—was broadcast for all to see.
Isn't that, like, super illegal under Lèse-majesté?
[C'mon then! Go ahead and arrest us if you can, you morons!!! We’re taking you down with us!!!]
A spirit that was almost like desperation could be felt from the media.
Even if Walter's faction complained about the damage, the police wouldn't conduct a proper investigation.
The police had suffered damages just the same. In fact, I think they were a force that seriously wanted to kill Walter.
Public opinion was basically serving Walter his "Game Over" notice.
Not my problem anymore.
There was also a lot of criticism about how the defense against the Zork relied entirely on us students.
Wifey was included in that, too.
Seizing the opportunity, they even leaked the details of my Jester's ability. They went as far as revealing I was a product of the Empire’s Esper Soldier Project.
Mentioning that while I was a "disposable pawn" who wasn't supposed to breed, I’d survived and done exactly that.
Unsurprisingly, they kept the part about turning despair into a gag under wraps. As if I could go public with such idiotic information...
"Ah... man..."
Since I had nothing else to do, I kept watching the live streams until Walter’s headquarters appeared on screen.
Citizens had it surrounded, while police officers with zero motivation were just going through the motions of guarding it. They didn't even flinch when the mob started tossing Molotovs.
Man, this is getting ugly.
Eventually, the citizens broke out plasma rifles—the ones with police markings. After a volley of grenades, they stormed the place.
Strangely enough, the police joined the riot on the citizens' side.
Ah... man...
Soon, humanoid fighters arrived. Were the pilots from some civil official’s private army?
Naturally, the Police Humanoid Heavy Machinery absolutely wrecked them. There wasn't even an exchange of plasma rifle fire. It was a true one-sided beatdown.
The difference in skill was night and day!
The pilots were dragged from their cockpits and beaten to a pulp by the mob. The cameras caught them being pummeled with wooden beams. Nobody was pulling their punches.
The people were even venting their fury toward the Zork onto Walter.
A little later, the building was up in flames.
Whoa...
Even those of us involved in the succession struggle were a bit weirded out by the spectacle.
While I was feeling put off, an emergency transmission came in from Wifey. Unlike our usual calls, this was a high-encryption private-line military transmission. It was the type that wasn't usually used because there was a lag in decryption and the sound quality was poor.
I had a very bad feeling about this.
"Lord Groom, are you still among the living?"
"My heart and my neck are toast."
"I see you have enough leeway to joke. I shall be brief. Walter has surrendered to us. He is under arrest and being sheltered at the Palace."
"...O-Oh. There's nothing... I can do then."
"Lord Groom, just stay put and be a good boy. I’m heading into a meeting with Raymond now. Until later."
The world had moved on way too fast while I was stuck in a hospital bed.