We enjoyed our meal at a leisurely pace.
Laughter drifted from the room where Edge and Suematsu-san were staying.
I had served alcohol as well... but with Edge and the others there, it shouldn't be a problem.
We were stuck here for half a day anyway.
Quarantine procedures had been tightened. Or rather, the Ogre God Nation's protocols had been lax, so the Galactic Empire had requested a strengthening of the quarantine. It wasn't just the Ghoul problem. There were agricultural pests that didn't exist in the Ogre God Nation, as well as invasive species that might slip in by chance.
If it were just that, it might be manageable, but there was also the risk of total extinction caused by microorganisms attached to imported food. Having weathered numerous failures in the past, the Empire's sterilization technology was highly advanced—one might even say obsessive.
As Leo had noted, the Galactic Empire's technology specialized in the biomedical field. To be precise, the technology surrounding food—something the Japanese-descended population was strangely fixated on—was incredibly sophisticated.
While we voluntarily tried to avoid bringing anything in, double-checking was essential.
As such, I was free for half a day. After passing through the sterilization and insecticidal device once more, I headed out for some sightseeing.
I had guards trailing behind me, of course.
I enjoyed the resort facilities around the spaceport with Minerva. However, such a culture didn't traditionally exist in the Ogre God Nation; their only real entertainment used to be the arenas. In other words, most of these places had been established by the Galactic Empire’s trading companies.
Even so, multiple Ogre God Nation tenants had moved in. By steadily investigating local stalls and small diners in the city, the companies had successfully convinced them to open shops here.
How should I put it... after interacting with other nations, I realized just how abnormal the Galactic Empire's obsession with food really was. Additionally, they had opened workshops for traditional attire that had been on the verge of dying out; for some reason, the Empire was spearheading cultural protection—something the Ogre God Nation hadn't been particularly keen on.
There was even a select shop curated by employees from the antenna shop of Claire's family home, who had scoured the countryside for unique finds. The people of the Ogre God Nation were genuinely surprised, wondering, "Wait, did our country really have this much cultural depth?"
The shops that imported these goods were popular within the Empire as well, generating new demand.
How did I know all this? Because I was one of the earliest investors and a board member. Since I had no use for my savings, I’d entrusted them to Claire-chan, and they’d somehow blossomed into a small fortune. It actually became a bit frightening, so I made sure not to touch the principal and was now gratefully receiving only the dividends.
I reinvested those distributions into a fund recommended by Veronica-chan. When you're on the front lines, you hardly spend any money; even my military salary ended up sitting untouched. That was why I used it for dates.
"Oh, this is cute! I think I'll buy it."
Minerva seemed interested in the clothes of the Ogre God Nation.
"Let me get that for you—"
I wanted to show off my reliability as a provider!
"Hehe, I'm paying with my own wallet! Eddie, do you even know where I work part-time?"
"Isn't it for the military?"
The military was constantly recruiting retirees for part-time work. From paperwork to secretarial duties, they were chronically short-staffed. In the first place, the fact that Leo didn't even have a full-time secretary spoke volumes about how dire the manpower shortage was. As it stood, Claire was forced to handle everything.
Naturally, I didn't have a secretary either. Therefore, I had assumed that Minerva, who was capable of both administrative and secretarial work, was working for the military.
"I work for Leo-kun's Company."
That was the company where I served as a board member.
"I appreciate your hard work in that regard..."
"Stop it! But the pay is actually great. That's why I can afford things like this. Fufufu, this is the power of a capable university student."
My fiancée was quite level-headed. My chance to show off as a provider just wouldn't come... maybe when we got sushi? But I could just charge that to the territory's expenses. Is acting like a mature adult really this difficult?
I pondered with a furrowed brow, but no answer was forthcoming.
"What's wrong?"
Having finished her purchase, Minerva peeked into my face.
"No, it's nothing. Oh, look, that cafe over there. Apparently, they have Latarnian sweets. Want to try it?"
And so, we took a break at the cafe. We didn't have a particular goal; we were just killing time. We had been far too busy until now, so this wasn't bad.
I ordered a colorful, cinnamon-scented rice cake drizzled with sweet sauce and a fruit platter, including some for the guards. I’d seen these during the Cultural Mutual Understanding Week in the dining hall, so I generally knew the flavor. This and the rice cake donuts were quite delicious even by our standards. The donuts arrived served alongside rare fruits from the Ogre God Nation. The drink was a sort of coconut milk filled with cut fruit.
"Heh, how unusual! Let me take a photo..."
"Are you sending it somewhere?"
"Yeah, to my part-time job. When I told them I was going to outer space, they told me to send photos and reports. They said they'd treat it as a business trip!"
I had a premonition that this might turn into something significant, but Minerva was oblivious. She popped an orange-like fruit into her mouth.
"Oh, this is delicious! Eddie, why doesn't the company handle this?"
"I think they're still applying for a permit. We don't know enough about the agricultural pests over there yet."
"I see... Ah, this melon-like one is delicious too."
"Apparently, that's not a gourd but a relative of the eggplant. It can be harvested about three months after planting."
Ah, what bliss. This kind of everyday life was the greatest treasure. Yes... a treasure. And I would not let anyone who tried to destroy it live.
The moment I reaffirmed that thought, an alarm blared throughout the shopping center.
[An enemy vessel is approaching this planet. All guests, please evacuate under the guidance of our staff.]
...Yes, I’d known this since the day I became Leo's subordinate. This was my fate.
Looking at my face, Minerva laughed.
"It's just like when I first met you, Eddie."
"I have to go to work."
"Yeah. Don't get hurt."
I assigned half of the guards to Minerva and headed toward the spaceport. When I stepped outside, military vehicles were already arriving.
"Colonel, we request that you take command in accordance with our treaty with the Ogre God Nation."
"Ah, perfect timing. Because right now, I am extremely irritated. Leave the tactical command to someone who's good at it... I'm heading to the front."
I would never forgive the Ghouls.
"We get to see the Devil of the Snowfield fight up close!"
"Amazing! He's the right hand of Leo Kamishiro himself!"
"Yahoo! It's as good as won already!!"
The Knights among my guards were getting fired up. Regrettably, my way of fighting was plain compared to Leo's. It wasn't particularly interesting to watch.
When I reached the spaceport, my Knights had already changed into their combat suits and were standing by.
"What about the alcohol?"
At my question, they all answered in unison.
"Already purged via nanomachines, sir!!!"
"Very well. Everyone, the enemy today is a devil who ruined a date with a long-distance fiancée on a long-awaited day off."
Hahaha. To think they could irritate me this much...
"You understand, don't you? Annihilate them with everything you've got."
"Sir!"
I climbed into my humanoid fighter. It was a good thing my personal machine had been loaded onto the ship with Edge and the others.
"Edge, this is combat practical training! You will follow us as captain!"
"Sir!"
I would never, ever forgive the Ghouls. I was angrier than I had ever been in my life.