The aforementioned shrine now featured benches, courtesy of the woodworking specialists.
With a vending machine installed outside as well, it had become a bustling date spot day after day.
Until now, the dining hall had been the only real social area.
It turned out that a place to relax was exactly what our ship had been missing.
Subsequent inspections revealed a shrine on Thomas’s battleship as well.
For the time being, an entrance was secured, and the woodworking specialists handled the repairs.
The actual mechanism by which the mere presence of a shrine provided a power boost remained a mystery.
I’m sure everyone has forgotten by now, but I finally returned the candy ball that had smacked me in the face to the shrine.
Since everyone had been making offerings for good luck, the area was crowded with food boxes and toy boxes.
I placed the ball in the toy box.
When I went to drop it off, I saw Isono and Nakajima offering baseball gear.
A child-sized resin bat, a glove, and a rubber ball—all made using the shaping printer.
While they might have annoyed the girls, the reason they weren't hated by the boys was likely due to gestures like this.
Eddie offered an Imperial swordsmanship bamboo sword.
I expected Melissa to offer armor, but she went with a transformation hero set.
She’s not a boy, you know.
The girls, including Kevin, were filling the food box with sweets. Melissa, really...?
Disappointed that Melissa had already claimed the "funny action" niche, I offered a Uesama transformation set.
Midway through, I started to worry I was leaning too hard into the joke, so I added a portable net terminal.
Grow up to be a fine internet addict, little one...
...Feeling a twinge of actual guilt, I also included a sparkly, glowing transformation stick that a young girl would probably love.
The old men had just haphazardly left booze.
A kid isn't going to drink that.
I figured I'd better add some child-friendly champagne juice.
Whether it was the "God effect" or not, several days passed without a single enemy encounter.
Since I wasn't dead yet, I returned to my room for the time being.
First, I aired the place out.
Then I stowed Wifey's luggage, pulled out the vacuum, and cleaned the floors.
Finished it off with a mop.
I stripped the sheets, tossed them in the basket, and swapped them for fresh ones.
Right, time to take these to the laundry.
I dropped the sheets off at the laundry room.
Since it was an irregular time, I had to write the reason at the reception desk.
"Hospitalized for testing at the Research Institute."
With that done, I headed to the dining hall to slack off.
Nina-san was already there.
"Leo-kun!"
"Where’s everyone else?"
"At work."
Right, of course! I’m the only one with nothing to do!
"Anyway, here’s your quota."
Tomatoes...
Were there still some left?
I ordered the daily special: stir-fried tomato and eggs.
Down the hatch!
Once I finished the meal, an additional mountain of raw tomatoes arrived.
Nina-san applied the pressure with a bright smile.
I mean, I can eat them, but still.
Just as I finished the mountain of tomatoes and was settling in for a post-meal rest, an announcement came over the speakers.
It was Wifey’s voice.
"Members of the expedition! Reinforcements have arrived! We are saved!"
Contrary to Wifey’s high spirits, the rest of us weren't exactly cheering.
We weren't really struggling at the moment, after all. Food was even starting to run into surplus. Especially the tomatoes.
Even if we tried to foist them onto other ships, they were likely dealing with their own surpluses over there as well.
Leaving food unfinished was strictly forbidden.
That was the Space Marine Iron Rule.
Jokes aside, I suppose the weaponry and ammunition departments were the ones truly rejoicing.
Production simply couldn't keep up with demand in those sectors. Our stock of humanoid fighter parts was also looking pretty grim.
Conducting a large-scale battle would have been difficult.
Hmm, I felt like I was starting to understand why the Empire had pivoted so hard toward beam weaponry.
As soon as Wifey’s broadcast ended, I was summoned to the bridge.
Yeah, I saw that coming.
It was time for a strategy meeting.
"We are scheduled to rendezvous in three days," Wifey told me the moment I arrived at the bridge.
"A rescue?"
"No. Well... I suppose it counts as one. Factions that were content to wait and see have finally decided to join the fray now that they see it as a winning battle."
"What a bunch of scumbags."
"Heh, indeed. They are scumbags—as individuals, at least."
"As individuals? What do you mean?"
The Empire was in such a sorry state, and they were only joining now? They were total trash.
"The reasons are many. No soldiers. No funds. No expertise. Public opposition. Viewing it as someone else's problem. Being too dim-witted to grasp the Zork threat. Even rulers of planets can be powerless. It is no different from how I was when I first met the Lord Groom. Not everyone is as strong as you, Lord Groom. Do you understand?"
"But there have to be penalties, right?"
"Oh, if there weren't, the other Lords' frustrations would surely explode! For the time being, as long as I draw breath, they shall be denied an audience, and their taxes will be raised. I could burn their worlds or demand the heads of their clans, but... frankly, it is a chore. There are too many of them. I have no choice but to wither them politically. Do you see, Lord Groom? The post-war settlement has already begun, despite victory not yet being assured. They are a foolish lot."
"What are you actually going to do? You've already got a plan, haven't you?"
"I will demand their party leader candidates as hostages."
Is this the Sengoku period?!
"Once they are in my hands, I shall throw them into the military academy for a thorough education. There is plenty of time before they reach graduate school. I will cram the latest political science, governance theory, law, military science, and technology into their heads before installing them as lords! I will not allow any more incompetents to be born! Not a single one shall fall behind!!"
That was surprisingly more rational than I expected.
The real issue was their competence as rulers. Instead of just doling out punishment, it was cheaper to thoroughly educate the next generation.
"And if they are so slow-witted that nothing can be done, I will keep cybernetic remodeling on the table."
It seemed they had no human rights in that scenario. Still, this was a relatively moderate and kind approach. In Maro’s era, the inhabitants of those planets would have been slaughtered without hesitation. Wifey was choosing to let them live.
How that would play out, I couldn't say. Would they feel they’d been spared at the cost of political isolation and the loss of their children? Or would they think they were bitten by the hand they bothered to "save," even though they were only "saving" the Emperor after the fact?
(Realistically, they hadn't saved anyone, but if they were stupid enough to wait this long, they were stupid enough to misunderstand that.)
Whether this would be hailed as a brilliant move or condemned as naive, only time would tell. Well, I figured Wifey should just do what she wanted. As long as I protected her, it wouldn't be a problem.
And so, three days later, the rescue arrived.