I was having a meal in the dining hall.
I was eating a dish resembling lu rou fan and some potstickers for the Taikyoku Nation Fair.
Mr. Liang tilted his head.
Ah, I knew it—he’s part of the "gyoza is a staple, not a side dish" faction!
Man, the vast majority of Imperial citizens consider gyoza a side dish...
Then, Mr. Liang asked a question while furrowing his brow.
"His Excellency the Grand Duke... why was Highness Shiyun cleaning the women's restroom?"
Ah, he finally noticed.
It seemed my Gender Toki-soba Technique had been compromised.
Allow me to explain!
The Gender Toki-soba Technique is a maneuver where, the moment someone is about to catch on to the subject of Shiyun's gender, you hit them with a scenario so riddled with things to nitpick that the gender issue gets lost in the shuffle.
Meanwhile, the female crew members were looking at me with expressions that said, What is this guy even talking about...?
Apparently, the female crew members had recognized Shiyun as a woman from the very beginning.
It was a classic case of "only the father doesn't know."
Just your typical puberty trope!
Wifey answered with a perfectly composed face.
"Because she is a woman."
Oh, Mr. Liang's brain just glitched.
"Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-what!?"
"Silence! I, Veronica, Emperor of the Galactic Empire, am a woman! Latarnia does not forbid Queens either! Do you have a complaint!?"
For the record, while the Great King of the Ogre God Nation is simply "the strongest person in a fight" and thus isn't technically forbidden from being female, it’s practically impossible for a woman to actually take the throne there.
"N-No..."
"Leave the choice to Shiyun. If Shiyun desires it, I shall not stop her."
"I-I see."
I suppose it's hard for an old man to change his values overnight.
My plan was to keep things moving with a vague "if it's Shiyun, it's fine" vibe, win the war against the Ghouls, and then just report her ascension as a fait accompli.
After that, we'd just drip-feed information to the public while reading the room.
If people absolutely insisted that the Emperor had to be male, Shiyun could just hand-pick a successor herself.
If she had the track record of defeating the Ghouls, things would remain stable even if she chose her own heir.
A track record of winning a war is a powerful thing.
If it all went south, she could just flee to the Galactic Empire.
That was, of course, assuming Shiyun even wanted to live as a woman.
I had several other scenarios prepared as well.
One involved forcing the Ghouls to occupy a territory far beyond their capacity to manage.
We’d drive them to planets currently used for housing violent criminals—places with the lowest populations and the widest expanses—and make them rule there.
Since their governance capability was lower than even the Proone, I'd considered just leaving them alone until they collapsed, then simply managing their numbers.
In short, I had multiple strategies in mind.
Among them, Shiyun becoming Emperor just happened to be the one that resulted in the least amount of damage.
To be honest, I prioritized Shiyun's happiness over a bunch of people in the Taikyoku Nation I'd never even met.
"Either way, Mr. Liang, you don't really have a choice. You need Shiyun to take back your homeland. Without her, the Resistance members shouting 'Revere the Emperor' will just become an anti-government insurgent force after the war. Can you take responsibility for that, Mr. Liang?"
"Urgh..."
"Either way, let's deal with the Ghouls first. That's the top priority."
Once we’d discussed that much, Shiyun and the others arrived.
They had finished their shift for the meal service.
"Brigadier General, sir! We've finished!"
Tatiana gave a sharp salute.
"Yes, good work. Here are some sweets as a reward."
I handed treats to the three of them.
Mr. Liang watched us.
"His Excellency the Grand Duke... you are a strange man."
"You think so? ...Ah, please overlook my eccentricities as the follies of youth."
"It is not that... What does the Galactic Empire intend for my country? Do you plan to make us a vassal state?"
"There's no benefit in making you a vassal. You're too far away, and the Galactic Empire is short on manpower because of the Zork War. We don't have the luxury of pursuing expansionist policies."
"Then, an economic colony?"
Wifey was the one to answer that.
"I have no desire to be greedy. This is not an era where we must fight over resources. We merely wish for long-term trade."
"Then why go so far as to save our nation?"
"For the security of my own empire. Pirates, the Proone, and Ghouls are dangerous, so we eliminate them. It is not out of sympathy or some misguided sense of justice."
"I see..."
The female crew members also had expressions that said, We can't completely trust them, but...
Well, that was fair. It's hard to trust someone just because they tell you to.
"I trust them,"
Shiyun said.
"Now look... if you're going to be a head of state, you need to be prepared to trust no one,"
Wifey said with a sigh of exasperation.
But Shiyun didn't back down.
"Even so, I choose to trust them. At that moment, there must have been an option to abandon me. Yet, you chose to save me."
Wifey turned her head away, her face flushing bright red.
Oh my, that was rare. She was actually blushing.
"Liang, I know you likely have grievances with me. But please, lend me your strength until we take back our country. I am begging you."
Shiyun bowed her head.
Mr. Liang immediately went into a total panic.
"Y-You must not bow your head to the likes of us!!! Highness Shiyun is a member of the Imperial Family!!! O-O-O-Of course, if my meager strength is of any use, I shall lend it to you gladly!"
Well, that’s that settled.
This was for the best.
Now then, it was about time to begin the actual conquest.
"S-So this is... the Galactic Empire. So this is the man known as Leo Kamishiro..."
Somehow, Mr. Liang seemed to be reaching his own conclusions.
Wifey is the one in charge here, so please, give her the credit.
"Lord Groom, it seems the Resistance has recaptured the territories toward Latarnia."
The Arbitrary Treatment Operation was yielding massive results.
After all, the only ones who actually hated being cured were the Ghouls and the conspiracy theorists.
The Resistance had grown into a major power with the support of the populace.
Many civilians were fleeing to planets controlled by the Resistance.
Even corporations from the Taikyoku Nation were migrating there.
I suppose they’re trading with Latarnia, us, and the Battle Dome, so they're trying to stake a claim while the getting's good.
"Is it almost our turn?"
"Indeed. There is a logistics hub for trade nearby. The Taikyoku Nation will surely want to defend it at all costs."
"Got it."
I let my expression go slack before the battle.
There was no point in overthinking the fight.
Whatever happens, happens.
More importantly, I had a problem that needed an immediate solution.
"Ah, that reminds me. Mr. Liang, Shiyun, can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Is gyoza a staple food? Or a side dish?"
Both of them looked at me with faces that said, You're asking that now!?