You might look at a military ignoring the Next Emperor's commands and think they're a bunch of idiots.
But that’s the reality for any country where the military is an arm of the administration—a place with a highly sophisticated political system.
They can’t move an inch without the proper paperwork.
As long as they have a legal foundation or at least a precedent to point to, they’re fine.
What does that mean? It means we’re all essentially civil servants.
If it were a request for facility usage, they could be flexible. But this is the kind of job where people die in droves if you make the wrong call.
Because of that, the authority of individual soldiers to make decisions is extremely limited.
If a superior says black is white, then it’s white. If a formal document with a clearly identified person in charge is sent, they have no option but to "follow" it.
If they refuse, they’re disciplined.
Disobeying the Emperor leads to death, sure, but only a super-competent boss can make that judgment call on the fly.
Even in a situation where one might say, "The Next Emperor spoke; based on the circumstances, it must be her," if the higher-ups say she’s a "fake," then that’s what she is.
If you try to argue for DNA Testing, they’ll just tell you it takes too long, you moron.
To prevent this, the Taikyoku Nation has dedicated Eunuchs. In Latarnia, a Secretary and a Heraldry Officer—who judges by family crests—guarantee authenticity... but I was told that Shiyun’s dedicated Eunuch is already dead.
In our Galactic Empire, we use Biometric Authentication so we can prove our identities, and clones are all assigned serial numbers.
So, from our perspective, we can see they’re just a group of idiots making a massive blunder, but as a fellow civil servant, I can’t help but feel a little sorry for them.
"Lord Groom, destroy them."
Oops. A direct order from the top boss.
But I didn't want to kill them.
So, I did what I had to do.
Silence.
"Ah—test, test. Is my sound driver down? Oh well, engaging!"
While muttering that blatantly fake monologue to myself, I closed the distance.
They fired their beam rifles, but I dodged them easily.
It’s no big deal as long as you don't get hit.
"Wh-Wh-Wh-What?! He dodged the rifle..."
I crushed the unit's leg joint.
I just hoped this farce was getting through to the opponent.
"I am grateful."
It got through.
I continued to incapacitate the others through close-quarters combat.
The guys and Claire understood the vibe and joined in.
These were people who could catch bullets, after all.
Half-hearted gunfire wasn't going to hit them.
If we had gone in for the kill, their resistance would have been much fiercer, but fortunately, we were only focused on the "destruction" of the machines.
Wifey understood that too, which was likely why she didn't say "kill."
Using the word "destroy" felt intentional.
That sort of thing is just the unspoken language between a husband and wife.
Claire punched through a camera, destroying it.
Eddie was smoothly slicing his targets apart.
"Leo, I want to go home soon and flirt with Minerva."
"Got it."
He wanted to be lovey-dovey with his fiancée. I totally got it.
Everyone pulled their punches to ensure the pilots survived.
Or rather, we had more than enough strength to spare.
You might think we’d struggle a bit more, even if they lacked motivation, since they were technically Local Army Ace Class.
"Everyone! Surrender! It is our loss!!!"
A machine that was clearly the commander's arrived on the scene.
"I am Second Lieutenant Liang of the Taikyoku Nation Latarnia Area Army."
"I am Brigadier General Leo Kamishiro of the Galactic Empire."
"I request a duel."
Ugh, seriously? He basically wanted me to take his head as a sacrifice so the others could be spared. I hate that kind of thing!
"Fine, fine! Come and get it!"
As I spoke, I retracted my blade and pulled out a net launcher.
It was a special-spec weapon that deployed Adhesive Gel to tangle the target.
"What?!"
The more he struggled, the more he got tangled up.
Technically, he could have just cut his way out with a knife.
But I knew he understood the message.
"Right, you're captured. You're a prisoner now, and you'll be under Shiyun's custody. No complaints allowed."
"N-Ngh! ...I am grateful."
With that, we rounded up the prisoners. First, we isolated them for Ghoul testing.
I didn't think the low-ranking soldiers were infected, but we had to be sure.
"Leo, it's okay."
Kevin spoke to me.
Today, the VIP Trio of Girls were helping out at the clinic.
Actually, I had set up the shifts specifically so they could meet the prisoners.
That being said, I couldn't have them meet while wearing nurse's work clothes.
"Shiyun, please get changed. Claire and the female knights of House Kamishiro will help you."
So, I had her change into those Imperial formal clothes.
By the way, we had those clothes remade on our end.
Shiyun had grown so much that she couldn’t fit into her old ones anymore. So, we gathered a team of history experts, folklore experts, and costume art experts from both the Empire and Latarnia to recreate them from scratch.
We even recorded the entire disassembly process. We reproduced her makeup from Latarnian records.
We made them with enough quality that even if we got something wrong, we’d be forgiven because we clearly "tried our best."
Latarnia was visibly put off, muttering, "Th-This is too persistent..." but then a mysterious "affinity-up" event occurred where they were impressed, saying, "So that's why the Empire is so trustworthy."
No, it's just that the Galactic Empire is really good at this kind of thing.
We worked hard on every detail.
Even though it was a rush job, the fabric and dyeing were the work of Living National Treasures.
The crown and ornaments were also the craftsmanship of a Living National Treasure.
However, one master craftsman, apparently unsatisfied with the result, pleaded with us.
"Please, let me make something I can truly be satisfied with."
So, I was letting him keep working. It was the kind of project where the value couldn't be calculated in money.
Claire came back to me.
"Shiyun was frozen stiff. She said the quality must be National Treasure class."
"It is."
I gave her a thumbs up.
Except, in this case, the person who made it was the Living National Treasure.
Shiyun arrived soon after.
She was riding on a cart meant for transporting luggage.
I spoke to the female knight who had brought her.
"Couldn't you find a slightly more dignified way to move her?"
"Negative!"
I guess not. I'll have to think of something later.
Wifey would probably end up using it eventually, too.
I placed an expensive-looking chair in the meeting room behind the glass partition.
Apparently, this was also the work of a Living National Treasure.
This was the one Wifey was planning to use for her Victory Declaration. Since Shiyun ended up using it, they were just going to remake it for the Empress. I didn't even understand the logic anymore.
Liang was already prostrating himself on the floor.
I stood behind Shiyun in the at ease position.
"Raise your head."
At Shiyun's command, Liang looked up.
Formal protocol usually required the face to be hidden, but we skipped that this time. It wouldn't mean anything if he couldn't see it was really her.
"You have done well this day. From now on, you shall serve me."
"By your command!"
Shiyun’s role ended there.
Next, Claire stepped forward to explain the logistics.
"Once the quarantine is complete, you will all be assigned to Shiyun-sama's personal guard. Furthermore, at her own request, Shiyun-sama will continue to reside in her triple room..."
And just like that, a Freeloader Squad was born.