The inhumane experiments involving the deployment and subsequent death of my clones were the talk of the town.
The mastermind, a Colonel with special job status in the Experimental Department, stated in his deposition: "I did it because I believed we would lose otherwise. I am not in the wrong."
There was no denying the cruelty of his actions.
Yet, among the citizens who had been stripped of their homes and livelihoods, a few voices whispered, "Well, wasn't it necessary?"
At almost the same time, another group surged forward in a fit of genuine rage, shouting: "What do you think you’re doing to our lord, you damn fools!?"
This fury wasn't limited to the Marquis Kamishiro Territory, which had been taking in refugees. Complaints poured in from the Duke Kamishiro Territory—a place I hadn’t even visited—as well as from Melissa’s and Ren’s families. I didn't recall ever officially claiming them as my subordinates, but they were effectively part of my faction, and along with every other house connected to me, they filed formal protests.
I had expected that much.
What I hadn’t expected was for counts, viscounts, and barons with no ties to me—along with the remaining dukes and marquises—to be just as livid.
In short, every decent noble in the Empire had sided with me, creating a massive uproar.
It made sense. If the Empire allowed my clones to be used like that, they would be next on the list.
If the government ever let it slip that "commoners and territorial subjects should just be cloned to bolster the front lines," the Empire itself would collapse.
The general public realized this a bit late and promptly lost their minds.
Turning into an angry mob, they set fire to the Military Research Institute in what had practically become a tradition of Imperial justice.
I chose to ignore the fact that Wifey and her friends were handing out food to the rioters.
Hahaha! Watching evil burn is truly a delight!
As an immediate measure, my clones were granted unconditional citizenship.
Then, there was the assassination attempt on me, which happened at the absolute worst possible time.
I had expected a crackdown on the populace, but the torching of the research institute seemed to serve as a sufficient vent for their frustrations.
The video of me catching a bullet was being broadcast on a loop, almost obsessively.
The weapon used was a military rifle stolen during the chaos of the raid on the Imperial Capital.
As the details came to light, the "Leo Kamishiro Inhuman Theory" became a hot topic of debate in the streets.
The military, in particular, took a keen interest in my bullet-catching stunt.
Their investigation—or rather, a bit of testing—revealed that it wasn't actually a Jester's ability.
The test happened because Melissa insisted she wanted to try it herself.
Since catching a round with bare hands would leave your skin in a disastrous state, we conducted the experiment wearing Combat Suits and Battle Gloves.
Melissa succeeded on her first try, looking incredibly smug about it.
Edge and Alyssa succeeded as well.
And of course, the rowdy boys couldn't resist trying it out. Five of them managed to pull it off.
The catch was that those five weren't wearing Combat Suits. Because they were idiots.
One of them got a little too cocky, missed the catch, and the deflected bullet pierced his own leg.
I told them over and over to wear their suits...
He was rushed to the hospital immediately.
He recovered quickly thanks to nanomachine first aid, but all the boys—myself included—were chewed out relentlessly by His Excellency the General.
Since he had only partially stopped the bullet, it didn't penetrate through; it just lodged itself deep in the muscle. His bone was shattered, too.
...Ouch.
Strangely, despite the severity of the wound, it was already starting to knit back together by the time he arrived at the hospital.
They still had to surgically extract the bullet, though.
This seemed to be the healing power I’d received from the Elder, but I couldn't be certain.
Actually, I didn't even know how to trigger it consciously.
I decided to put that mystery aside for now.
Later, I got another earful from the representative of the Military Mutual Aid Association.
Well, I was the squad leader. Taking the heat was part of the job description.
I felt like I was going to cry as I stared at the mountain of Written Apologies I had to process.
The bitter woes of a middle manager at seventeen... Sob.
In the end, the military reached the absurd conclusion that it was "all thanks to the simulator."
After all, every pilot who succeeded—including the injured idiot—had cleared Solo Mode in the Humanoid Fighter sims.
Consequently, an astronomical number of orders flooded into Kamishiro Industries.
And it wasn't just the military. Lord armies from various planets were clamoring for it.
As a result, the employee count at Kamishiro Industries skyrocketed.
We even had to add four more factories.
I wondered what we'd do if the demand suddenly dried up...
Getting cold feet, I suggested we also sell simulators for beginners and heavy machinery operation.
The orders for those were equally insane.
There was a chronic labor shortage everywhere, so the demand was naturally high.
Kamishiro Industries was expanding so fast it was beyond my control now.
The thought of it all crashing down was terrifying.
Alright, next, I’ll pitch the Humanoid Fighter design software to the military.
Kyoko-chan—Baron Ohno’s daughter—developed it alongside the Fairy.
Apparently, it can design frames with reinforced joints based on our actual combat data.
...Wait, isn't that data mostly from all the machines I’ve wrecked?
On top of that, they’re pitching a new Fighter OS!
Ahahaha... I couldn't even keep track anymore.
Even though she’d been sent to me as a mistress candidate, we’d had almost no interaction... I guess Kyoko-chan is perfectly happy as long as she can play with machines.
And so, my peace of mind was preserved—
Wait, what?
Go check on my own Duke territory?
Oh! I was actually thinking it was about time to do that!
"It’ll be a honeymoon!"
Wifey’s excitement shot through the roof.
She’d been buried under so many rituals lately that even she was starting to get dead eyes.
I sat down to read the documents regarding my territory.
The former Duke Association had ruled the Empire for ages, so the Duke territory was staggeringly vast.
It consisted of an absurd number of planets, basically a monopoly on all the prime real estate in the Empire.
Among them, the capital planet of the territory—renamed "Planet Kamishiro Main House"—was magnificent.
"A scenic Water Planet. Famous as a high-end resort, its premium seafood is highly sought after by the hotels in the Imperial Capital."
Whoa. Impressive.
I let my humble imagination wander, wondering if I’d finally get to eat all the o-toro I wanted.
"I’m taking everyone with us."
It was the only way. Everyone had become so famous that they couldn't even go out to grab a snack anymore.
The frustration was building up.
This trip would be the perfect way to let off some steam.
I decided to book hotels for the graduate students and the university division kids, too.
...Wait, I own the hotels? Seriously?
I’ll send an invitation to Piggett as well.
"May I invite my brothers as well?"
"Which ones?"
I knew she wouldn't invite Walter, but I certainly wanted to invite Thomas and Cyrus.
"Both of them."
Wifey was thinking the exact same thing.
"Sure thing."
I’ll book rooms for both of their Personal Guards as well.
Well, calling it "booking" was a stretch; it was more like sending a message to the steward saying, "I’m coming for a site visit, so clear out enough rooms for everyone."
...Authority is a terrifying thing.
When I applied for leave from the military, they told me, "Just treat it as an Official Duty."
Maybe it was an apology for the assassination attempt?
Whatever the reason, I was going to enjoy this."