My harassment campaign against the Chronos Nation was underway.
After all, we were once a completely corrupt nation ourselves!
Because of that, I could spot the rot instantly.
First, the entry into the Chronos Nation.
We expanded our corporate presence with a smile. On the surface—or rather, according to the legal registration—these were companies based in Latarnia.
While a person from the Galactic Empire sat at the top, the board of directors was filled with individuals from the Ogre God Nation, Latarnians, and Taikyoku Nation People.
Specifically, the operation was run by a former subordinate of Lord Eyens who once managed geisha houses—or, in the Empire's terms, pleasure districts.
Old Man Eyens was the type who strictly protected his girls, so even though he was a pirate, his presence was tolerated in the Taikyoku Nation and Latarnia.
When I’d met the Five Elders previously, I noticed some of them had overlapping businesses, but they told me it was fine as long as their territories didn't clash. The Pirate Code is tricky like that; it's never actually written down.
Regardless, when it came to those kinds of "tough guys," the authorities usually hesitate to crush a business that properly looks after its "merchandise." If you shut them down just because they're technically illegal, the fallout usually lands on the girls. Any responsible official would rather not touch the situation. Leaving it alone is the safest play.
Consequently, our companies didn't raise any red flags. It just looked like a standard multinational expansion.
The Chronos Nation was a capitalist democracy. A liberal state.
However, "liberal" in this context didn't mean a resilient nation with the grit to preserve freedom at any cost. It simply meant the government found management a hassle and had outsourced all authority to the private sector.
As a result, they basically never turned down a proposal that involved money. Politics there was a pure plutocracy.
Conversely, if you got a senator on your side and had them pull strings with a higher-ranking official, you could force through almost anything. This meant that even commoners had to rely on senators for things like university admissions, job hunting, marriage, or everyday legal disputes.
Naturally, the commoners were fed up. After all, it wasn't like only one side of a dispute could play a Senator Card.
The system was built on Senator Card Battles.
The ultra-rare cards, the SSRs and USRs, were monopolized by the wealthy capitalists. When a card battle was lost, the result was a twisted, unreasonable ruling that spat in the face of the law.
The laws of the Galactic Empire were actually better than this!
Naturally, the public's resentment was aimed squarely at the senators and the capitalists who pulled their strings. It was the kind of thing no one could ever truly forgive. Attacks on politicians and the wealthy were an everyday occurrence.
Even so, both were popular career paths because the payoff was massive if you struck it rich.
They were absolutely finished!
Due to a cocktail of anxiety and pathological stinginess, the capitalists tended to choke off the flow of money. They kept the wealth circulating only through hollow industries and investments, ensuring it never reached the common people.
They deserved to die for that alone, and yet they remained peerless in their Senator Card Battles.
In short, everyone wanted to kill them.
So, I started pouring money into various grassroots circles that criticized the wealthy. I also drafted rebellion manuals and distributed them en masse.
I threw money at incompetent groups. I didn't care if any of these circles actually bore fruit; it was enough that the chaos existed.
If I was ever caught, I’d just offer some half-baked excuse like, "I was just trying to handle some complaints..."
In Chronos, complaint handling was a task delegated to senators anyway. There was no way we, as outsiders without the local know-how, could have known any better. I picked my nose as I thought about it.
Now, here was where the real intrigue began.
I reached out to senators and candidates who tried to garner attention by shouting extreme opinions. They were usually low-level, Normal Card types, but that was fine for my purposes.
I funneled money to them. Ideally, I gave them the funds under the guise of providing for their henchmen. If they demanded a position, I gave them one. A subcontracting role for one of our entertainment firms was perfect. I’d let them survive on crumbs from those tiny, subdivided contracts.
I had no intention of actually fostering their careers. My only goal was to stir the pot.
"Oh, Leo..."
Claire let out a heavy sigh.
We were in our usual dining hall. As expected, the mess hall of a battleship was the most relaxing place in the world.
"The larger the board becomes, the more he reveals his nature as a monster..."
Melissa shook her head in exasperation.
"It is truly terrifying that he can do this intuitively, without any formal training," Ren added.
Even Ren was ganging up on me...
"Hey, Claire, I want to spark a scandal involving the capitalists. Any ideas?"
"Hmm... I suppose a sex scandal would be the most effective..."
"Right. I'll consult with the people from Old Man Eyens' organization. And the Five Elders."
"He's finally started using the pirates as his personal tools... Captain, what kind of freak are you going to be in ten years?" Melissa cackled.
"I would prefer not to imagine it," Ren said as she poured me some tea.
Mmm, delicious.
One-oh-one offered a smiling observation of the truth.
"Witnessing His Excellency the Brigadier General’s methods makes it perfectly clear why the Zork were defeated!"
As their big brother, that stung a bit. Can I go sulk in my room now?
"The methods of harassment are so sophisticated... This is the Galactic Empire," Shiyun said, looking impressed.
"No, that's just our Captain," Melissa corrected, nodding. "Aniki is frighteningly good at leveraging connections ranging from the slums to the high nobility. Usually, the upper class doesn't even acknowledge that people in the slums exist."
Wifey, who had been listening in silence, finally spoke up.
"I can only assume it is a chemical reaction between the education he received from his mother and his time at the military academy."
"Ah... yeah. Most mothers don't tell their sons to live valiantly like a man," Claire muttered, averting her eyes.
"Even so, he is our greatest strength."
Wifey’s eyes were warm. Stop looking at me like I’m an endangered species.
Predictably, the Chronos Nation was soon engulfed in a storm of rumors and misinformation. This is exactly what happens to a democracy when you fail to invest in and educate the populace.
As for whether anyone suspected us? Not a chance.
Our bowling alleys and discount stores were thriving. We were actually being praised for improving public safety by providing cheap, safe recreation for the youth.
We weren't stupid enough to push propaganda through those channels. Instead, we paid off various organizations that tried to shake us down, giving them exactly what they asked for.
Of course, we used senators to sweep away the mere scammers, but for the truly deranged groups that were dead serious, we paid them settlement fees.
We did everything through lawyers, keeping it all within the bounds of legal technicalities. It was expensive, but money wasn't an issue.
In the end, it was the Chronos Nation's own fault for being so foolish.
As a result of our payments, conspiracy theory groups and cult religions—people with several screws loose—now had the funds to arm themselves.
"Lord Groom is the one person I would never wish to have as an enemy..."
Wifey sipped her tea with a serene expression.
Since I couldn't be a Strategist, I figured I might as well handle these kinds of operations.