I was watching from the sidelines.
It really is wonderful not having to fight.
The world truly is about love and peace. With the occasional dash of violence, of course.
The guys in the underground organization didn’t have the guts to fight to the death. After all, they had no reason to risk their lives.
“The Imperial Family is to blame!” one shouted.
That much was true.
But they were too weak to overthrow the monarchy and start a revolution. Besides, my next-emperor wifey had never lost to a Zork.
If it were Thomas, they could force him to abdicate on the grounds of being a terrible commander, and Walter could be taken down as an accomplice to Maro.
But wifey was a natural at war, and she had no intention of continuing Maro’s creepy policies.
On the other hand, she wasn't about to go around slaughtering civil officials, and she didn't plan to hold dukes from houses with weak ties to the Zork accountable for their predecessors' crimes.
She intended to offer apologies and reparations to victims after her coronation, and she was even considering granting citizenship to illegal clones who weren't terrorists.
The news was already reporting that she planned to hold a conference to support Jesters and other specialized espers. As for the female-type Zorks, she was looking into restoring their citizenship once they were disconnected from the network.
She was also reviewing the oppressive policies used to suppress rebellions under marquis-rank lords and below, offering them management advice and loans instead.
In short, it was a systematic dismantling of injustice.
She’d even begun tackling human rights issues for the Beast Race and those with body modifications, who had been targets of discrimination until now. Well, technically, it involved Ren and me, so she had to resolve it at top speed.
No one was going to lose out.
Instead, she had declared that she would crush any traitors on the Zork side. If they were brainwashed like the female-types, it couldn't be helped, but she wouldn't forgive those who rebelled of their own free will.
Given the circumstances, wifey’s popularity was soaring. A lenient dictatorship was on the horizon, but it was a hell of a lot better than the Maro era.
A few media outlets had gotten cocky and started printing nonsense, but they were promptly attacked and set on fire by the citizens that same day.
Yikes. Scary.
Consequently, an atmosphere prevailed where no one would pay attention even if the terrorists protested. The police were also beating the crap out of them without hesitation.
The terrorists were firing off plasma rifles—who knows where they'd gotten them—but the police countermeasures were perfect.
They defended themselves with personal shields and folding shields while closing the distance. They bashed the terrorists with their shields, and once they were down, several officers would surround them and go to town with shock batons.
They didn't hold back at all the moment guns were involved. Normally, you'd expect at least one person to show some restraint while pummeling someone, but not here. The police, a group of martial arts black belts, were beating them up in earnest.
I mean, of course they were. The police didn’t want to get hurt, either.
Moreover, if anyone got too rowdy, several officers would grab their limbs and hurl them away.
I like the energy!
“I’ll fucking kill you all!”
Some idiot, who really should have known when to quit, decided to pull out a Molotov cocktail.
Snap. A sharp crack rang out, and the bottle shattered.
That was Ren’s sniping.
What happens when a lit Molotov cocktail shatters in your hand?
The idiot was instantly transformed into a human torch. The police hurriedly scrambled to extinguish the fire.
“You bastards! You’re trying to kill us!”
“You’re the ones who brought out the Molotov cocktails! That’s enough! I authorize the use of firearms!” Amada roared through a loudspeaker.
The terrorists finally seemed to grasp that the police were playing for keeps. What a bunch of morons.
The police produced plasma shotguns. When assault rifle fire hit their shields, they simply fired right back.
People dying is never a good thing. But if you bring an assault rifle to a fight, you can’t really complain if you end up dead.
They were suppressed without further argument.
Most were old men. They, along with middle-aged men who looked like they’d failed at life, were knocked down one after another.
We dragged the fallen toward the ambulances. The military was basically performing emergency medical services now.
Was I commanding? Nope. I was up to my neck in manual labor. Giving first aid, injecting nanomachines into the ones who looked like they were on death's door...
“It hurts...”
“Shut it, I’m putting a hemostatic pad on!”
I slapped a pad on and handed them over to the paramedics. Kevin was also playing the role of a nurse.
“Head injury! You got a stapler?!”
“Catch!”
I tossed the medical stapler to Kevin.
Melissa... well, almost everyone from the Officer Academy had obtained an emergency skill qualification, so they were working hard as medics. I mean, you never knew when you might get a life-threatening injury in our line of work.
If you get the advanced military emergency skill, you can qualify for a nursing license with just a two-month course! (Though the fee is 360,000 credits, and there’s no government subsidy.)
It’s a handy skill to have to ensure you can survive even if you get kicked out of the military!
Kevin vigorously drove staples into the idiot’s head to close the wound. He was being pretty bold, but the nanomachines would take care of the bleeding!
Apparently, the idiot had been tossed off the second floor by the police while trying to throw a pulse grenade.
What a moron.
“This is police brutality!” the idiot screamed.
“Ahahaha. If we, the military, had been the ones to breach, we would have shot you dead without a second thought,” Kevin replied with a cold smile.
Even if they were humanoid Zorks, they were just ordinary Imperial citizens once the brainwashing was undone. The residents were understandably pissed that someone was trying to wreck the Imperial Capital just as things were finally calming down.
This mission was going to be a total victory with zero casualties!
Just as I thought that, a police officer screamed.
“It’s a clone!”
How could they tell?
I looked over and understood immediately. He had the exact same face as the wanted posters.
It was the Grand Chamberlain.
The Grand Chamberlain held out his hand toward us.
Oh, crap!
“He’s an esper!”
The moment I shouted, the area exploded.
The blast sent several police officers flying. They would have been dead if they hadn't been wearing personal shields.
Gunfire erupted.
Ren had taken the shot, hitting him square in the head.
The Grand Chamberlain’s head burst open.
However, the Grand Chamberlain simply stood back up. With a smile, he thrust a finger into the hole in his own skull.
“Fools! Do not think you can kill me so easily!”
The next moment, his wound sealed shut.
This wasn't just some auto-recovery. It was on a completely different level. It reminded me of that flesh-monster I'd encountered at Melissa’s family estate...
“Grand Chamberlain! You... were you a Zork all along?!”
“A clone is destined to be a different creature from its original. Even if one carries the Zork factor, they do not always awaken to the Zork Network's will. That is the difference between myself and the original.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
The Grand Chamberlain chuckled.
In the next instant, the police opened fire simultaneously. He should have been shredded by the pulse shotguns.
But the Grand Chamberlain was a Zork. I didn't know how far his awakening had progressed, but he was prepared for the Empire’s technology.
A hard shell encased his body, and the pulse rounds bounced off harmlessly. He tilted his head slightly to dodge a ballistic round from Ren.
“Leo Kamishiro! I shall tell you the truth of that day! The one who ordered me to kill the original was Mitsusada, the Crown Prince at the time!”
We all froze at Maro's sudden entrance into the conversation.
Seriously, that guy! Just what has he been up to?!
Wait, wait, wait... does this mean Maro was the source of every single bit of misery we've dealt with?!