The hospital on the Planet Kamishiro Main House.
I was admitted to a suite that had been prepared specifically for me and my family. The interior design was absolutely wild—psychedelic and draped in gold. Apparently, the decorations were solid gold, accented by some mysterious West Asian-style rugs hanging on the walls.
Everything was so glittery with gold thread that it was actually hard to relax. It felt like one of those rooms built by someone who simply had too much money and didn't know what to do with it. For some reason, there was even a karaoke set tucked into the corner.
Gathered in this room of ultimate bad taste were my wifey, Melissa, Ren, and Claire. Tatiana and One-oh-one were there as well. The usual crowd was all present.
"Waaaaah! Wifey, it hurts! It hurts so baaaaad!"
My hands were wrapped thick in resin casts. While the brain chemicals had been flooding my system during the fight, I hadn't felt a thing, but once I calmed down, the pain became enough to make me weep. I had legitimate fractures. Since both hands were out of commission, I couldn't even manage basic daily life. I only managed to handle the 'cleanup' after using the toilet thanks to a plasma-based solution. Technology truly is a blessing!
"Here, have some apple. Say 'ahhh.'"
My wifey fed me a slice. I should note that Kevin was the one who actually peeled it.
"Babu-babu!"
Having fully transformed into a member of the Babumi Sentai Ogyarion, I shamelessly acted like a spoiled infant for my wifey. The entire scene looked like the work of some degenerate lolicon criminal.
"Waaaah! The Zork was way too hard!"
Seriously, it was. Even though my combat suit gloves had knuckle guards, my bones still snapped. I suppose I'm a hard puncher, but come on! They shouldn't have broken like that!
"That would be Garuma," Melissa noted. "Apparently, her exoskeleton was cracked. It supposedly had the structural integrity of a warship's outer hull... and yet..."
Garuma-pon was, surprisingly, still alive. The Death Blaster hadn't scored a direct hit, and the snow and mud had acted as a cushion, allowing her to narrowly escape death. She was still unconscious, though. Honestly, the fact that she was alive at all was absurd.
As for the female-type Zork we captured, she was sent to a research institute. Since it was a facility under my wifey’s faction, there wouldn't be any live dissections, but she was definitely a high-priority research subject. I'd imagine it’s like being in a slightly more intense prison.
The hostages who had been quarantined were all safely released, and those who had been feminized were currently undergoing medical evaluations at the hospital. Negotiations for reparations were being mediated by the military... which basically meant the whole mess was dumped on Major Raymond. I doubted it would turn out poorly for the victims, though. The payments would likely be drawn from the Sato Ducal House assets that had already been seized by the state.
The hospital, the planet itself, and the Duke's estate were treated as Imperial property, so they hadn't been seized. Since they weren't technically my personal property, the bureaucracy would likely process the payments swiftly. Beyond that, I didn't really care. My hands just hurt.
"Kawagon is sad. My hands are all owie."
"Honestly, Leo, you're way too reckless!" Kevin scolded me.
Melissa watched us and burst out laughing. "Telling the Captain not to be reckless is like telling a fish not to swim."
Ren nodded in agreement. "My Lord is a creature that thrives on recklessness, after all." She seemed caught somewhere between genuine worry and total exasperation.
Kawagon was very sad.
"Here, my Lord. It's time for your Nanomachine-infused Protein~."
"Kyaha! Da-da! Babu!"
It was strawberry chocolate flavor. Honestly... it was delicious. Babu.
Tatiana was staring at me with a look of pure, unadulterated disgust.
"...Tatiana. Sometimes a man has to let go of his dignity and just enjoy the moment."
"In your case, being a moron is the default setting."
"Oh, like you're one to talk. You were wailing like a baby to One-oh-one yesterday."
As soon as we had returned, Tatiana had practically tackled One-oh-one and cried her eyes out. I had thought she was a kitten, but it turned out she was a puppy—no, a wolf cub—who really cherished her pack.
"So what?! You got a problem with that?!" she barked.
"Not at all. You were a good girl for sleeping beside her."
The two of them had apparently shared a bed. They had become quite close, but the moment I pointed it out, Tatiana turned bright red.
"Don't treat me like a kid!!" She hissed at me, looking very much like a cat again.
One-oh-one simply smiled. "Tatiana is very kind!"
"One-oh-one is such a good girl. I'm moved to tears."
"Ehehe."
I wanted to pat her head, but the casts made it impossible. Life was a struggle, but I suppose I should be grateful I hadn't broken my neck.
Since our return, One-oh-one had been able to sleep soundly. It seemed she had finally been disconnected from the Zork Network. We had confirmed that the transmission lines we exposed during the fight were officially severed. Humanity is making progress every day. Even if we can't fully weaponize Zork technology yet, we're getting better at spotting their sabotage. The bones in my hands were a fair price to pay for that. It still hurt, though.
Meanwhile, the reaction from the other students at the Officer Academy was a simple, "Well, it's Leo," and that was the end of it. How heartless.
However, even the students from planets that hadn't been reclaimed yet weren't complaining. Instead, they were scrambling to consolidate their power as Counts. They were gathering intel from relatives, holding remote strategy meetings with the high-ranking nobles their families served, and forging connections with neighboring territories and military officials. They were even prioritizing military factions for their marriage hunting.
Watching me nearly die every time we fought seemed to have lit a fire under them, making them realize they had to do everything in their power as well. In fact, a few of them had already managed to reclaim their territories through their own efforts.
I’d learned at the Academy that the true essence of war is logistics, and it turned out to be true. This was a victory achieved through rear support—the very thing I'm worst at. The students joked that they were starting their lives as Counts with a mountain of debt from all the favors they'd called in, but they were laughing. The others were scrambling to keep up; even if they weren't on the front lines, there was still so much that had to be done.
My wifey was supporting them with everything she had. And so was I.
The world was moving in a positive direction. More than the raw statistics, the fact that people finally had emotional hope was the biggest change of all.
As for the Kamishiro Main House, we were conducting a thorough investigation into the Sato clan. They had been far too defiant, so we decided it was time they understood exactly where they stood. I didn't want to be petty, but they had gotten way too cocky. I at least wanted them to realize that the rules of the game had changed.
Oh, and one more thing. While it might look like my wifey was the one coddling me, the person who actually pampered me the most was Claire.
"Leo, are you cold?" she asked softly, draping a blanket over me.
"Babu! Mommy!"
And so, for the few days it took for my body to fully recover, I was thoroughly, shamelessly spoiled.
Babu!