I let the conspiracy mature for about a month.
Word reached me that large-scale riots had broken out on the Proone's Imperial Capital Planet.
Well, it made sense. There was no point in staying in a community that rejected technology capable of curing a terminal disease.
A faction of conspiracy theorists was now advocating for a total war of resistance against the Empire.
Their claim? That the Galactic Empire was the one who created the disease in the first place.
Come on, guys... You were suffering from that long before you ever met us.
Ignoring the actual timeline, they branded us as demons.
Then, they swore an oath to their God to bring about the destruction of the Galactic Empire.
Naturally, the greatest supporter of these conspiracy theorists was none other than the Galactic Empire itself.
Unaware of our backing, they intensified their internal strife.
At a terrifying pace, a political system of the idiots, by the idiots, and for the idiots was beginning to take shape.
They united the populace with slogans that, at a glance, seemed to favor the citizens.
It was the kind of platform where anyone with a shred of knowledge about politics or economics would look at it and think, "That’s not how any of this works."
In reality, they were excellent pawns.
They began purging anyone who resisted them, labeling them as Heretics.
I thought this process might take a few years, but it seemed the Proone Faith had never actually experienced a sectarian conflict before.
Under the weight of foreign intervention, they skipped straight past simple panic and dove headfirst into a full-blown witch hunt.
It seemed their society had already been a suffocating, stagnant place—ruled by religion, locked into rigid social castes, rejecting new technology, and crippled by a spreading plague.
When a group appeared claiming to stand for the common people, they must have looked like saviors to the masses.
In truth, they were Messengers from Hell, a collection of hand-picked Home Run Kings of Idiots.
Furthermore, I had set up multiple groups just in case one failed.
I figured the time would be ripe once they started massacring each other over minor personal differences.
For now, they were talking a big game, but they lacked the actual resources to mobilize.
I raised a glass to the elimination of the talented and the rise of idiots to the top of the nation. Cheers!
Now that the Proone were pinned down and unable to act, my next target was the Pirate Guild.
I had suspected the Pirate Guild might be a privateer fleet for some high-tier power, but that didn't seem to be the case.
While the Pirate Guild had many trading partners, it didn't seem like anyone would actually be inconvenienced if they disappeared.
They had very few farmers, and they didn't manufacture their own industrial goods.
They didn't even own planets capable of sustaining a resource industry.
They weren't so much a nation as they were a disorganized collective.
Because their "box" wasn't properly built, they were the perfect target for my diplomacy practice.
First, I moved to secure the trade routes of the Low-tier Nations that the Proone had been exploiting.
"This is the Turtle People's Territory!"
Patrol Ships from the Empire and the Ogre God Nation intercepted pirates who had set up unauthorized checkpoints in the Turtle People's Territory.
"Shut up! Do you have any idea how many tens of thousands of nations are backing me?!"
"Fire."
"Wait, ju—!"
We showered them with beams without further argument.
I had told the Ogre God Nation, "If you want to take prisoners, feel free."
However, in the Empire, piracy generally carried the death penalty.
That said, before the Zork invasion, many planets were in such a state of decay that people turned to piracy out of sheer poverty.
Now, thanks to the rapid economic recovery led by Wifey, the number of people resorting to piracy had plummeted.
"Personally, I can get where those pirate guys are coming from, though,"
I had called in Warrant Officer Tatiana as a subject matter expert.
Sheltered kids like us wouldn't understand the mindset of a pirate.
Nina-san and Lily-san were also participating as observers.
I even called Kevin to represent the colonies, just in case.
"Just so we're clear, I don't have any actual experience as a pirate," Tatiana said, sounding annoyed.
"Now, now. But you have pirate acquaintances, right?"
"...Well, yeah. I grew up in a colony. You pick things up."
"Why do they do it? They can't actually make that much money, right?"
"It's 'cause they're stupid, sir. They don't get stuff like 'risk' or 'getting caught.' If they aren't just dumb, then they're wanted criminals like Uncle Huma."
Huma-san was essentially Tatiana's mentor.
He had hammered the essentials of being an Imperial soldier into her.
In all likelihood, Tatiana’s skills were top-tier for her age, even without her ESP.
Despite being only fifteen, she never held the other soldiers back, and she even contributed with household chores (though her cooking still needed work).
She lacked physical strength, but she was useful.
She could even handle security details for ceremonies.
As far as I was concerned, she was doing an excellent job.
"You see, Leo-kun. In the Pirate Territory, there are a lot of cases like... girls whose families wouldn't hand them over to the lord, or women who refused to marry the lord, or people the lord tried to sell into human trafficking."
Nina-san... your tone is so gentle, but your stories are hardcore.
"There's also the fact that if you can't get an education, piracy is one of the few things left," Lily added in agreement.
"In the Imperial Capital, you can't get a decent job unless you've graduated from high school... I mean, you cannot. That is why people join Criminal Organizations. My home is a gathering place for people like that."
She still wasn't quite used to the noble way of speaking.
"I see..."
"It's probably the same situation here, isn't it?" Tatiana asked.
In short, the guild was a treasure trove of unwanted talent.
I got the impression that there were a few elite dropouts mixed in here and there as well.
"Lily-san, what's the one thing they'd hate most?"
"That would be having their ability to do business cut off. Piracy isn't just about taking things; there is always a trade phase involved."
"What should I do?"
"Well, if legitimate goods started circulating... Master Leo. You're thinking of something wicked, aren't you?"
"Not at all."
And so, we began the extermination of the pirates.
Wifey sank them one after another, using the task to blow off some stress.
Then, strangely enough, the Proone's economy took a turn for the worse.
How mysterious!
You morons!
Furthermore, it seemed the Ghouls could no longer turn a profit either.
They launched an attack on a ship belonging to the Ogre God Nation.
Hahahaha!
I was the one who leaked that false information to the Proone! You idiots!
They tried to flee when they realized Thomas's fleet was lying in wait for them, but it was already too late.
Waiting in their path of retreat was Wifey's ship, its Main Cannon already charged and ready.
Game over.
While the Ghouls were reportedly capable of communication, neither the Empire nor the Ogre God Nation recognized them as a sovereign state.
They were nothing more than a criminal organization.
And there was one race here that was absolutely livid with the Ghouls.
Intellectual lifeforms with rabbit ears that leaned heavily toward the beastly side: the Rabbit People.
For some reason, they were all carrying pestles.
"Please, let us avenge our fallen kin who were eaten."
By all means, be my guest.
I could practically hear the screams of resentment from those who had been oppressed for so long.
This was the chaos I had sown.
And so, I continued the systematic destruction of the supply chains connecting the Proone, the pirates, and the Ghouls.