I had a feeling it was being requested for some reason, so I went ahead and installed a basketball court in the shrine's room.
Apparently, the Guardian Deity of this ship was a sports fan.
Well, it was a warship, after all.
Everyone from the older crewmen to the Officer Academy cadets spent their downtime playing ball games or lifting weights.
I made sure to stock the Toy Box with plenty of balls, too.
Did she want shoes?
Were there even any for kids?
I did a quick search, and some actually popped up.
They were the kind of thing that could be... outputted via a Shaping Printer. That worked.
What about the color?
A collaboration model with a candy manufacturer?
Ah, these cute ones?
Candy-colored, I see.
Basketball shoes were surprisingly expensive.
Well, my salary as a Major was pretty decent, so it wasn't really an issue.
Alright, alright—order placed.
What about soccer equipment?
You've already got a ball, so you're good?
Got it.
And a bamboo sword for children?
She said she wanted to join in on Katori-sensei's training.
"Don't go getting hurt now."
"Okaaaay♪"
I thought I heard a faint reply.
Shortly after, reports started coming in about a ball bouncing around inside the empty shrine, but I officially certified it as normal behavior. A few of the crew members who were terrified of ghosts made a fuss, but I just ignored them.
Meanwhile, the shocking news that Count Sakamoto—the captain of the rescue team—had been arrested on suspicion of an assassination attempt on the Emperor (high treason, in other words) rippled across the galaxy.
The actual perpetrator of the attempt was Viscount Ryu.
It appeared he had been egged on by an organization that the Zork had infiltrated.
His exact relationship with Count Sakamoto remained unclear.
There was no point in giving the old man a hard time, so the plan was to release him at an appropriate time. After all, he didn't seem smart enough to actually formulate an assassination plot.
Viscount House Ryu was abolished.
Following Wifey's policy, there was no collective punishment for the rest of the family.
Both House Nagare and House Sakamoto had main branches, however. It was decided that the Next Head of House Candidates from each main house would undergo re-education under the guise of being "hostages."
The judgment was that staying with their current families would only lead to the collapse of their houses. While the policy was not to abolish House Sakamoto entirely, it looked like the headship would be returned to the main house.
As expected, an attempted assassination of the Emperor was no laughing matter.
Both Wifey and the nobles expected a strict condemnation, but they didn't want it to reach the level of executing Old Man Sakamoto and punishing his entire clan. Finding the right balance was proving difficult.
Because of that, Wifey was spending every day in meetings with scholars and Raymond.
According to past precedents, the crime warranted the execution of the whole clan, but it was obvious Old Man Sakamoto had just been caught up in it. However, since he had served as the captain, a heavy sentence was almost a certainty.
The mood among the Lords was that such a punishment might be a bit too harsh. Wifey’s honest impression was that charging him with high treason was a bit much. The meetings were being held to figure out a way around that.
...Well, what would be, would be.
I offered a prayer at the shrine.
"I hope this ends in a way that benefits Wifey."
While I was at it, I took a shot on the basketball court. It went in perfectly.
Even so... the Zork spies were becoming increasingly insignificant. It was likely a sign that they were in their final stages.
The Zork Network Visualization Device was scheduled for completion next month. With that, we should be able to identify humanoid Zorks with a high degree of probability. After that, we just had to watch out for people like Ryu.
Oops, it was lunchtime. Time for my regular check-in.
[Wifey, where are you eating lunch?]
[Going to the dining hall.]
[Roger.]
I headed to the dining hall.
Since I had forced the tomatoes on everyone, the Tomato Fair had finally ended. Today's daily special was stir-fried water spinach and yakiniku... yet more things that looked like they would increase infinitely...
Please, I begged silently, don't do any selective breeding on these.
By default, water spinach grows roots so aggressively they can clog hydroponic pipes.
I ordered for Wifey as well and waited. Piggett had her own specific tastes, so she’d get annoyed if I ordered for her without asking. I supposed that as people got older, they started preferring fish over meat—though she’d definitely get mad if I said that out loud.
While I was waiting, Wifey arrived. She was wearing her usual tracksuit. However, unlike our green Officer Academy Tracksuits, hers had a hood and a much cuter design.
"Did you wait long?"
"Not at all. I already ordered for you."
"You have my thanks. Also, Katori was looking for you. She complained that you haven't played with her lately."
"Tell her Leo died on the battlefield."
"In the Lord Groom's case, it would be more realistic to say you died by tripping over a curb or hitting your head on a block of tofu."
"Stop! I feel like that might actually happen!"
The food was ready, so I went to pick it up and we started our meal. Just as I was about to take my first bite, Claire and Melissa arrived.
"Hey there."
"Yo. Are you guys having the daily special, Captain?"
"Yeah. Chinese-style stir-fried water spinach and yakiniku."
"We should probably just go with that too. Right, Claire?"
"Yeah, I'll go order it."
And so, everyone sat down for the daily special. Just when I thought I could finally eat, Tatiana and One-oh-one showed up. Then Ren, carrying a mountain of meat, joined the group. It made me a little uneasy that Edie, Isono, and Nakajima weren't around.
"Come to think of it, there was something I needed to tell everyone," Wifey said. "It's about the Republic's planets. We are moving to capture the other one."
That made sense.
"The Zork are running out of both options and supplies. We will settle this all at once. Once we rescue the citizens of the Republic, we will reclaim Planet Sanctuary, where Mother is located."
"Hey, can I ask something?" I said.
"What is it, Lord Groom?"
"What's actually on Planet Sanctuary to begin with?"
"Nothing. It is just a national park. There are historical sites, but it is too far from the Imperial Capital to attract any tourists. That is why it serves as the destination for the Officer Academy students' navigation training."
"Wait, why?"
"Because it does not matter if you break it! It is chosen specifically so that it is okay for students to make mistakes during landing!"
Well, that was blunt. They probably crashed there countless times in the past...
...Wait a minute.
Even though we were in the middle of a training exercise, we were fighting off enemies like crazy... weren't we actually quite exceptional, even without ESP? That was why the Zork had their eyes on us.
Even people at the bottom of the Duke Association, the Civil Officials, or the Grand Chamberlain Group could get a hold of our grades. If they were sending data for Officer Academy students from all over the empire in bulk...
Ah, I see!
They were extracting data from our grades to calculate the probability of a Jester being enrolled! There was no way to avoid something like that!
Leo-kun can't live like this anymore!
Wait... in that case, how did they find Alyssa? Hmm, I don't know.
For now, I'll just focus on the tasks in front of me. I’d aim to skip Katori-sensei's training, at the very least.
"Oh, Leo! There you are! You're playing with me this afternoon!"
And there it was. Flag triggered.