The first battle was an easy win.
But that was likely because the Proone were only used to fighting enemies who played fair. I expected them to come up with a real strategy after a while. It was just like our war with the Zork; you start out bewildered, but eventually, you adapt.
That was the reason I hadn't allowed any of them to escape. I didn't want information reaching their home world.
We were providing our captives with synthetic meat. It wasn't as if we were abusing prisoners. If the Wolf People or Turtle People requested an interrogation, I might hand the prisoners over to them. What happened after that was none of my business. We were simply fulfilling the terms of our extradition treaties with total sincerity.
Besides, we hadn't signed any treaties with the Proone, nor did we recognize them as a sovereign nation! It wasn't like they were covered by the Battle Dome regulations, either.
We, the Empire, were a law-abiding nation.
It wasn't like we were fighting a war every single day; the Ogre God Nation was the one doing the heavy lifting. We only needed to participate when a request was made. We still handled the intelligence work, though.
And so, the fine-tuned operations continued.
We scattered spider drones from orbit using small deployment craft. I left the rest to Kevin.
"Hmm, I found a document I can't read," Kevin reported.
Well, of course she couldn't; nobody could read slug-script. When it came to translation, we could manage the spoken word through Battle Dome technology, but for reading, we had to rely on local experts. It was only natural. Even if they were an ally, there was no way the Ogre God Nation would hand that kind of technology over to us. From their perspective, it was better to keep as many cards in their hand as possible to prevent betrayal. This kind of meta-cognition was vital.
"Send a photo of it," I said.
"Roger."
I just needed to ask Saria to translate it. If the document contained descriptions of the Ogre God Nation performing inhumane experiments on the slugs, they would probably delete those parts before showing us, but I didn't mind. If it was out of sight, it was out of mind. In the absolutely impossible event that some plot twist revealed the Proone were actually the victims, I wouldn't care. Currently, the only ones we could actually talk to were the Ogre God Nation and the Battle Dome member states.
Neither Wifey nor I gave a damn about the rest. The Empire was the one paying our salaries. There was nothing wrong with prioritizing the Empire's interests!
"This document... is it not an account ledger, no ja?" Veronica asked.
"You can tell, Wifey?"
"The format simply looks the part."
I had a bad feeling about this. I quickly forwarded the image to Saria.
A contact came back from him almost immediately.
"...Please come here."
Saria sounded more furious than I had ever heard him.
"O-Okay, calm down. We're on our way."
"Understood..."
When Wifey and I arrived, the heads of the various nations were already gathered for a remote meeting. The Former Great King and Saria were participating in person, as usual. The atmosphere was incredibly prickly. Every person on the screen had veins bulging in their forehead. It was terrifying.
What was going on?
"Uh, Saria? We're the only ones who don't know what's happening, and it's a bit confusing."
"I suppose it is. Well now... ha ha ha. Lady Veronica... it was a Shipping List."
Ah! The one thing I didn't want to hear!
"It is evidence that people were abducted and processed into meat."
"Oh... that is, how should I put it..."
Even Wifey was completely repulsed.
"I thought they hadn't hidden the fact that they were cannibals?"
"They never admitted to abducting and eating other sentient races."
It was the height of sophistry. I was surprised those slugs had been tolerated for so long.
"What are you going to do?"
"Is there any option other than retaliation? If we do not strike back, we will be ousted from power."
"Fair point."
The Wolf People and Turtle People were trembling with rage. The air in the room was stifling, and while I understood their feelings, it was a lot to take in.
"Therefore, we are commencing a territory reclamation operation. Next, we shall retake the Turtle People's lands."
"Roger that."
"We are grateful for the Imperial Government's immense assistance," the Turtle person said, bowing their head. "But this time, we must do it ourselves."
They looked like they were ready to go on a rampage.
"Even if we face extinction, we must send those bastards to hell with our own hands!"
The Wolf person chimed in as well. "The Silver Wolf People shall fight too! We cannot forgive them! If we run now, we won't be able to face our ancestors!"
Even if they were weak now, they had once been a mid-sized nation. They claimed their technological capabilities hadn't been lost.
"The Empire will participate through intelligence. Their heads belong to you, no ja," Wifey declared.
Then Saria spoke.
"The Ogre God Nation cannot let this stand."
While the Former Great King was radiating bloodlust through his sheer anger, Saria was smiling. However, it was a smile backed by the pure joy of finally being able to slaughter his enemies.
I guess it was bound to happen... We returned to our quarters, the depth of their grudge weighing heavily on us.
"Let us go to the Dining Hall, no ja..."
Come to think of it, we hadn't eaten yet. When we got there, the Officer Academy Bunch was already hard at work. Since coordination was essential, the Dining Hall had become the most convenient hub for them. Because they were working with deathly expressions right in front of the General Soldiers, nobody complained that being an officer looked easy. If anything, the soldiers were starting to say things like, 'It's rough on them, especially since they should still be students.'
They even received quite a few snacks and refreshments from the troops. It felt like everyone was being surprisingly considerate.
"What was that document about?" Isono asked. He was wearing a [Ministry of Foreign Affairs] armband and chugging an energy drink.
"Ah... a Human Meat Processing List."
Isono spat his drink across the table. The other students started booing me immediately.
"Damn it, Leo! I was eating!"
"You monster!"
"Hey, I just wanted to share the misery."
"You bastard!"
I didn't care; I'd already lost two kilograms since the war with the Proone started. I barely had any body fat to begin with. It really killed the appetite.
"Don't say that. You all know that Lord Groom is the one having the hardest time of all, don't you, no ja?" Veronica said.
When Wifey spoke up, the group—mostly the girls—rallied to my defense, saying things like, 'That's right, Leo-kun is doing his best.'
How's that, Isono? That's what you call credibility.
"Anyway, Kevin. Sorry, but I'm counting on you again."
"Yeah, roger."
When all was said and done, it came down to assassination. I knew I was making Kevin do something unpleasant. But currently, Kevin was the only one who could manage that many spider drones at once. She claimed she didn't mind since it reduced human casualties, but I still felt bad.
"It's strange," Kevin added. "When it comes to the Proone, I don't feel a shred of guilt."
Everyone in the room had a look on their face that said they completely understood. I felt the same way.