"Let's just go ahead and treat them without permission."
I sat my completely livid Wifey down in the dining hall and calmed her with a sweet chocolate drink.
Isono, watching us, chimed in.
"Huh?"
"I'm saying, why not just launch a military intervention for medical purposes? We could even use Kevin's drones to fire the extermination drug."
"Are you a genius?"
He was right. Instead of messing around at the border, we could just start the treatment ourselves.
It might be labeled a biological weapon attack... but then again, we hadn't actually signed any treaties with that country.
...Was it really okay?
"It should be fine as long as Shiyun gives the green light. Just make sure you scatter some leaflets first."
Damn... Isono was actually being reliable.
"Isono... you aren't a Ghoul, are you?"
"I'll punch you, moron."
Suddenly, the Fairy appeared with a look of pure mischief.
"I've hacked them~!"
"Hacking? But the systems aren't even compatible."
"I worked hard~! Information always has to be converted into some kind of waveform eventually... well, never mind the technical details. The point is, I've finished the analysis."
"O-Oh. Which means?"
"At my signal, footage of Shiyun asking for help will spread across every media outlet in the Taikyoku Nation. This should reach the capital and major cities that have been under information control until now. Let's just tear that country down already."
I checked with the girl herself, just in case.
"Shiyun, we're going to broadcast the footage we filmed the other day... is that okay?"
"Yes. Otherwise, the sacrifice of the Eyens Clan will have been for nothing! I have already made my peace with this."
"All right."
Destruction and rebirth.
Sometimes you have to break something to rebuild it.
There was no other choice.
Thinking back, the Ghouls leaking the information about the Emperor's death to secure Shiyun might have been their biggest mistake.
Or perhaps it was the only move they had left.
It's the same in martial arts and war.
It's like a card game.
If you can stop your opponent from playing their hand and force your own specialty tactics, you win.
That's the game.
Keep the deck lean.
But make it resilient to outside interference.
That's the ideal.
By putting Shiyun forward, we nullified the Taikyoku Emperor's 'subjugation' card.
This was about parasites, after all. There was no reason for humans to kill each other.
Next, we blocked the card demanding Shiyun's return through her own public denial. Now, using the 'Shiyun Card,' we would declare the eradication of the parasites in the name of the next Emperor.
I wouldn't let them complain.
Diplomatically, it was checkmate.
For us in the Galactic Empire, we'd simply recoup our expenses through trade later.
Strictly as an equal transaction.
Once that was finished, I could finally go home. To my own house.
Man, it had been a long road!
I'd wondered what would happen for a while there, but it was finally time for the Domestic Administration Part!!!
Hahaha!
...Or so I thought.
On the day of the operation, we were all restless.
The War Correspondent Big Sister filmed our preparations.
This was a major announcement.
"Ten minutes until the press conference."
Dressed in the formal attire of the Taikyoku Nation, Shiyun was a bundle of nerves.
Behind her stood officials like the Director-General of the Science and Technology Agency from Latarnia and various university experts.
We were framing this issue strictly as a parasite problem.
This wasn't a war.
This was aid for a nation hijacked by man-controlling parasites.
I reached out and took Shiyun's hand.
"It's okay. Just take a deep breath."
"Y-Yes."
Shiyun breathed deeply, and the conference began.
"Here we go! FIREEEEEEE!!!"
The Fairy gave the signal.
Accompanied by a 'kaboom' explosion effect, the entire network fell under the Fairy's control.
First up was Shiyun.
"My beloved people, please listen. I am the Third Prince, Ming Shiyun."
She seemed to have intentionally dropped the 'Chan' of the General House.
"Our nation is currently under invasion by Ghouls. His Majesty the Emperor, Her Majesty the Empress, and my elder brothers have all passed away... assassinated by Ghouls. Ghouls kill humans and seize their bodies. With the help of Latarnia and the Galactic Empire, I have found a way to exterminate them. My beloved people! Now is the time to rise! Reclaim our country from the Ghouls! We already have the cure! Do not be afraid!"
I didn't know how much impact a speech like that would have.
In a movie, the people would be inspired to fight.
In reality, they might not even have the energy left for that.
From there, she passed the baton.
A University Professor from Latarnia provided the technical details.
The Taikyoku Nation eventually regained control of their network.
To be precise, we aired our special broadcast for four solid hours until they physically severed the connections and destroyed their own servers.
On that day, every citizen in the Taikyoku Nation learned the truth about the Ghoul invasion.
Latarnia immediately dispatched medical teams.
They massively reinforced the units providing medical aid on the planets occupied by the Revolution Army.
As for us in the Imperial Army, we stopped being polite.
We landed on planets and began treatments without asking.
If attacked, we fired back.
I'd expected to beat them to a pulp... but we were still only at the border.
Apparently, rumors had already started to circulate.
Regardless, we just kept treating everyone we found.
Honestly, this wasn't the best way to do things.
Especially regarding their right to autonomy.
But there was no choice.
The Ghouls tried to stop us by any means necessary.
But it was too late.
We combatants—who had zero medical knowledge—simply kicked the Ghouls aside.
We advised the regular Taikyoku military to accept treatment.
Even so, many still came at us.
"This is the Taikyoku Border Guard! This is an invasion! Withdraw immediately!"
"This is a formal request from Prince Min!"
"Even if that's true, we have orders from above to engage!"
I was a fellow military drudge myself.
I understood that orders were absolute.
"You're really going to fight?"
"Of course!"
Figures.
They didn't really have any other choice, did they?
Just knowing how the guys on the other side felt made my motivation plummet.
If I were in their shoes, I'd have to do the same thing if ordered...
But I tried one more time.
"Any interest in defecting to Latarnia?"
"None."
Thought so.
"I don't want to fight you guys."
"Neither do we. But this is our job."
"Understood."
Still piloting my humanoid fighter, Massacre Night, I stepped forward.
"Come at me all at once, then. Right, Isono?"
"Eh? Me? Don't just dump this on me!"
"Fine, Eddie."
"Yeah. Let's go."
And so, we ended up in a fight.