The results of the investigation into the strategic simulator problem finally came in.
It appeared the system was designed to reproduce history by dictating how the enemy moved.
However, it was also rigged; to prevent the match-fixing from being exposed, the enemy AI was programmed to go for the kill with everything it had unless the player utilized a historically accurate, pathetic command style.
I couldn't win something like that!
It turned out the fault didn't lie with the Isono or Nakajima families at all, but rather with some house within the Duke Association.
Consequently, Wifey and the Mother AI ordered a full verification of all the simulator's data.
Hooray! That meant the graduate students' workload was about to increase!
Excellent strategic officers were bound to be born from this in great numbers.
Then there was another concern.
I was starting to get scared of returning Shiyun to the Taikyoku Nation.
A First Consort who resorts to poison is just too dangerous.
Wifey was also busy hunting for loopholes, holding meetings with lawyers and political scientists.
Meanwhile, I thought it was finally time for a heart-to-heart with Big Brother.
I went to find Big Brother Finn.
He was usually by Shiyun’s side.
Sure enough, I found him in the dining hall. The usual members were there too.
When I approached Shiyun, I found Mr. Liang and the other guards alongside Big Brother Finn. Shiyun joined us as well.
Big Brother Finn’s transplant surgery for his cultured eyeballs had been a success.
He was still wearing an eye patch, though.
He was scheduled to begin visual training in three days.
I imagined it would be quite bright and painful for him.
Once his sight was restored, the next step would be a skin graft.
During that procedure, he would also undergo ear reconstruction surgery.
I knew he’d be in pain for a while.
But this was the norm.
Actually, by the standards of the Taikyoku Nation, Latarnia, or the Ogre God Nation, this would be considered highly advanced medical technology.
It was only the Empire's military nanomachines that were abnormal.
"Lord Leo, do you have business with us?"
"Yeah, it's about Shiyun..."
"If possible, I would like you to protect her until the Ghoul problem is resolved..."
He clearly thought I was about to send her back.
"I'm currently looking for a way to avoid sending her back. More importantly, what do you think about the poisoning?"
Shiyun looked troubled.
Big Brother explained it in her stead.
"That was the reason my family took Shiyun-sama into our care."
"That makes sense. I suspect there are probably people under General Rao's influence among your subordinates, Big Brother."
"What!"
"Hey now, don't look so surprised. Furthermore, you don't even need to go looking for them. Since they aren't making a move to assassinate her now, it means General Rao and the First Consort have no intention of killing Shiyun, right? At least for the time being."
"T-That is true... Shiyun-sama is the only direct descendant left."
They had already taken many from the collateral branches into protection.
The only ones left on the First Consort's side were fakes who had been overtaken by Ghouls.
"So, she's safe until Shiyun has a child?"
No matter how high her rank, it would be difficult for the First Consort to become the Empress herself.
She was in a position where she had to protect Shiyun with everything she had.
Once Shiyun had a child, she would snatch the infant away.
Would the plan then be to kill Shiyun and install herself as the Regent?
No, it might be easier to simply hold onto power as the Emperor's step-grandmother.
"Wouldn't it be better to just kill the First Consort now?"
She’d only be a hindrance to the Taikyoku Nation that Shiyun would eventually rule.
"In that case, General Rao would likely become our enemy."
Well, things were certainly getting complicated.
"What am I supposed to do then!"
"Isn't it your job to figure that out?" Isono remarked irresponsibly.
"Um... Senior Isono. Why is it Lord Leo who has to think about it?"
Shiyun asked timidly. The fact that she used the word "Senior" made me realize just how much she had acclimated to the Imperial style.
Then, that bastard Isono spoke with a look that said the answer was obvious.
"This guy, he's definitely bad at the tactical simulators where he leads a unit. He's maybe in the middle of the class?"
"Yeah, I'm bad at them."
It's the fault of anyone who expects intellectual labor from a meathead.
They're the ones who are guilty.
"However, when it comes to the strategic simulator, he’s a monster. If you give him free rein in a strategist or leader position, he immediately forces a stalemate or a deadlock. Then he uses diplomacy and trade to shake things up and shave down your resources. He’s so subtle about it that you don't even realize your resources are being depleted. He systematically crushes every political option you have. Then, by the time you realize it one day, his army comes crashing down on you like an avalanche, and it’s all over."
Big Brother looked at me.
Please stop looking at me like I'm a monstrosity.
"That's why he was the valedictorian among our military academy classmates. It seems even the tactics instructors didn't know how to handle him. Honestly, if Leo didn't have such high pilot aptitude, I think he would have been funneled into the Strategic Analysis Course. Though I doubt the Strategic Analysis Department could have handled him anyway. His enemies were all ruined, after all. That's why thinking is his job."
"So he's the type of monstrosity that spells the end for you the moment you encounter him!"
How rude!
"Exactly. We should be glad he's an ally. Everyone thinks that destroying the Proone and cornering the Ghouls was all thanks to his Jester ability, but I believe it's Leo's raw talent."
That bastard Nakajima agreed.
"Right. I’d honestly feel sorry for any country that turned Leo into an enemy... seriously..."
Even Claire chimed in.
"Look... even during Zork's first raid, Leo... he kept inciting the citizens and even exposed the weakness to everyone. From Zork's perspective, I think that was a devastating blow. The Strategic Analysis Department concluded that Zork's only real options were to kill Leo first or make him lose his position internally before engaging in open war..."
To think I’d be abandoned by Claire too—and then came even more trials!
Melissa and Ren joined the betrayal.
"Ahahaha! 'The monstrosity that spells the end once you encounter him' is a masterpiece! After all, the Captain is the kind of poison that will destroy even us if used incorrectly."
How cruel!
Ren, save me!!!
"Lord Groom is the type who scatters death and poison to his surroundings... he is, so to speak, an existence like a Calamity God."
The worst one yet had spoken!!!
"...In other words, the Galactic Empire Emperor is living in symbiosis with a Calamity God."
Big Brother... can I write that comment in my Mental Revenge Notebook?
Finally, Wifey delivered the finishing blow.
"You should all be grateful to me for being able to control the Lord Groom."
After that idiotic exchange, I retired to my room.
As I was sleeping with Wifey, a communication came through.
It was an unknown party.
Though, I already knew exactly who it was.
"Hello, General Rao. Nice to meet you."
He didn't seem to be parasitized by a Ghoul.
He might very well be the last conscience left in the Taikyoku Nation.
"Archduke... Please, save the Taikyoku Nation."
A Calamity God's work begins at night.
A traitor?
There was no way I would ever betray Wifey. (As for the country, I couldn't care less.)