The buzz about Onee’s makeup skills swept through the girls in an instant.
I mean, it wasn’t surprising—they’d seen the transformations of Wifey, Claire, Ren, and Melissa. Once they saw Kyoko-chan’s final form, the girls practically let out a collective, high-pitched squeal.
Among the girls in the backyard, Kyoko-chan had always been seen as the plainest of the plain. While they’d been furious at the guys for their Ugly Contest, the hierarchy battle among the girls themselves was several times more intense than any of us men could have imagined.
And the culprit stirring that pot, for better or worse, was me. Take Melissa; she’d climbed from the lowest possible rank all the way to S-rank. There was even a theory being trumpeted that simply associating with me would make a woman beautiful.
But my Wifey was the Emperor. On top of that, Ren was the sister of a Duke, Melissa’s dad was a Public Security executive, and Claire’s family company basically controlled our distribution network. It was thanks to Claire’s house entering the wholesale market that we’d been able to start our lives as lords without a shred of debt. If they hadn't, there was a real chance we would have ended up as slaves to some bank or trading company under a Duke's thumb...
Capitalism is terrifying!
Thanks to Claire-san—no, Lady Claire—kicking all those problems aside before Wifey even noticed, we were able to live in peace. She’d even introduced us to neutral banks and trading firms. I truly couldn't thank her enough.
As a result, my wives were treated as a class apart from the other girls. Well, they were already well-liked to begin with, but the girls were smart enough to read the room. Instead of trying to hit on me or attacking my wives, they came forward with a direct request: "Please introduce us to Onee!"
Wifey had no reason to say no, so she gave her blessing. And so, Onee’s workload grew. Wifey paid the fees with a generous bonus and words of praise, so the Gibsons' company was more than happy to oblige.
Having the authority of the Emperor really makes a difference in everything, doesn't it? We still haven't quite figured out how to wield that kind of power yet. We’ll have to keep at it.
A week or so later, we moved to the Imperial Capital. From here, preparations for Wifey’s ritual would begin. My job was mostly just to stand there, smile, and wave. However, my own schedule was starting to fill up. First up...
"Leo Kamishiro! I hereby appoint you as a Major!"
"Sir!"
I was summoned to the military’s general headquarters for that. Even the media was there. Back when I became a Captain, they’d skipped the ceremony entirely. A department director in a massive organization like the military, and I’m still in my teens... This really is a gag manga world.
After a flurry of photos, my next stop was the Palace.
"Leo Kamishiro! You are hereby ranked as a Grand Duke!"
The declaration was made while I knelt before Wifey and Thomas. "Ranked," they said. Meaning I was now officially part of the Imperial Family's circle. Basically, House Kamishiro was now a relative of the royals.
That produced a terrifying effect. According to Big Brother Sam, land prices on my home planet had shot up a hundredfold. They’d been dirt cheap before, but now my family's assets had multiplied by a hundred in an instant. It made so little sense it was scary.
The same thing was happening at the Kamishiro Main House. There were so many immigration applicants that it was causing a minor panic. I mean, look at the list—it was nothing but highly skilled professionals!!! University professors, businessmen, bureaucrats... well, there weren't many of those left since I’d wiped them out, but still, it was a lot of important people and their families.
This was getting intense. Yeah, I’m just not going to think about it. A village filled with nothing but rich people? There's no way that ends well.
In the Imperial Capital, we stayed at the same hotel as before. Wifey was staying in the Inner Palace. It felt a bit irreverent, but everyone was in the mood for a school trip. After all, we hadn't been able to do any real sightseeing last time. A tropical resort like the Kamishiro Main House is great, but the big city is its own kind of fun.
To backtrack a bit... the second we arrived at the spaceport, the snacking began. Mediocre cookies with mysterious flavors, mediocre chocolates, mediocre rice crackers... One-oh-one was looking at the stalls with sparkling eyes. Tatiana was right beside her, wearing a mischievous grin.
"You guys want some?"
"We do, sir!"
"Alright, make sure you share."
"Yay!"
I bought the mediocre-tasting snacks for the two of them. Naturally, they both kept following me after that. They spotted some soft-serve ice cream of unknown origin...
Sparkle, sparkle!
"You want that too?"
"We do, sir!"
"Good grief, I can't say no to you guys."
As I was feeding them, Claire-san grabbed me by the collar.
"Hey! Stop spoiling them! That’s enough, you two!"
"Aww..."
I finished up by buying them some taiyaki, and that was that. I picked up some street food for Claire to snack on while we walked and grabbed value packs for the other wives. I also bought Tatiana and One-oh-one those Wooden Swords that students on school trips always seem to love.
"A Wooden Sword, sir!"
"Ooh!"
"If you start swinging those around here, I’m taking them away."
"We won't, sir!"
We moved to the hotel by bus. Wifey went off on her own to the Inner Palace. The rest of us were doing whatever we wanted. The girls spread out sightseeing guides in a chain cafe, debating heatedly over their plans. For some reason, Tatiana and One-oh-one were sticking to me like glue.
I wonder what’s up with them.
"What's the matter? You guys don't want to go with the others?"
"Um, sir! I... I would really like to try going to an amusement park, sir!"
"Is it even open?"
"Look at this, sir!"
Tatiana and One-oh-one showed me a news clip. Huh. It reopened last month. The location was... pretty close. We could get there by train.
"Alright, hold on. Let me check with Wifey."
I sent a message to Wifey.
"What is it?"
"Tatiana and One-oh-one want to go to the amusement park."
"Hmm. I've never been to one myself... Very well."
A few dozen minutes later, I received word that the entire park had been rented out...
Turns out Wifey was in the school trip mood, too. She probably didn't know much about the Imperial Capital outside of the Inner Palace. Who could blame her?
And so, our vacation—which had completely devolved into a school trip—began. I guess this was the backlash from doing nothing but work at the tropical resort...