Once work was finished, Nina-san handed me some cookies she’d baked.
Munch, munch.
At the moment, we had a massive surplus of food inventory that had been earmarked for Chronos. We were selling it off at a discount during the "Customer Appreciation Sale" at Cervantes, but we couldn't move it fast enough.
In fact, the trading companies and wholesalers in Latarnia and the Taikyoku Nation were in the exact same boat. They were buying up stock at Cervantes and processing it at their local factories. Since it was all frozen, canned, or freeze-dried, it would keep for a long time...
I stepped in to take over the inventory when they were in a bind. I didn't lowball them too much; while the profit was meager, that was fine. It was a bargain considering I was effectively buying credit for the Galactic Empire.
Even if we bled red ink here, it was all part of a mysterious system where we’d be compensated through some obscure national project. This was the true essence of Ninja Art: Nearly State-owned Enterprise Disguised as a Private Company!
The state benefited immensely too. It was far easier to earn trust this way than by simply throwing money at people as aid. Of course, you’d be forgotten in the blink of an eye if you didn't maintain a continuous trade relationship. Plus, our business doubled as an intelligence-gathering operation.
Because of all that, we were free to cook to our hearts' content without being scolded for using too many ingredients. For example, take this: a soft-serve machine.
It was a unit intended for a new Count One-Two-Three location in Chronos. Since that shop couldn't possibly open now, it was slated for disposal. And no, this wasn't embezzlement. I used my own allowance to buy the unit we’d taken in for sale at Cervantes! I didn't even use the shareholder or management discount!
I brought over a deep dish and pulled the lever. With a heavy clunk, the machine whirred to life. Creamy soft-serve swirled out onto the plate... (The cones weren't scheduled for delivery until a later date.)
"Thanks."
Melissa snatched it up. I watched as she handed it over to Wifey. How admirable of her; I hadn't even had the mental energy to think that far ahead.
I made portions for Melissa, Claire, and Ren. Finally, as I started on my own...
Swish!
"...Wait for us three, okay?"
"Understood, sir!"
Tatiana, One-oh-one, and Shiyun arrived. The three of them had just finished attending a meeting on the Taikyoku Nation side. As I finished making soft-serve for them, Ren carried the plates over.
"It’s huge, sir!"
"I knew it. Big brother, aren't you better suited for the food industry?"
"As expected of Leo-sama..."
All three of them looked delighted, so I marked that down as a success.
"Hey, Leo! What should we do about the yakitori?"
Kevin returned from the freezer. That was the other thing: the warehouses were overflowing with yakitori, karaage, and Chicken Skin Gyoza that were meant for Count One-Two-Three. Not to mention the plain chicken meat.
It was all frozen, so it wouldn't rot, but it was several months' worth of stock for ten different locations within Chronos. In fact, we even had the inventory that was supposed to be sold at the Galactic Empire Festival planned for various parts of Chronos. Even if we tried to sell it at a discount in Latarnia or the Ogre God Nation... well, they were just too far away. It would usually just be discarded.
It seemed such a waste that the fleet had taken it all in, which meant every single day was now a yakitori party. No matter how rich we became, we were destined never to escape the mindset of "waste not, want not."
"What about the heavy drinkers?"
"They're eating it every day, but the pile isn't getting any smaller~"
I figured as much.
Just as I was relaxing and chatting about food, Rikochi arrived in her full armor. Since Rikochi was Military Police, her shifts were slightly different from ours.
"Leo-kun! What’s the deal with this arrest list? They told me I needed to authorize it!"
Wifey walked over to Rikochi and whispered something in her ear. Rikochi responded by giving me a thumbs-up.
"Got it! Did Luna-chan give her permission?"
As she asked that, the Fairy—who had been insisting she was undergoing maintenance—suddenly appeared.
"It’s fine~. The consensus among the Fairy copies across the Empire has already brought the Supreme Court and the prosecutors to heel. Also, according to Amada-kun’s report, the plan was already in motion; they were on the verge of starting production on Tatiana-chan’s clones. By the way, the masterminds are the remnants of the same group that created Leo-kun's Clone~"
Terrifying.
The inhumane use of clones was strictly illegal. I’d made that clear beforehand and even ramped up the penalties. Besides, the success rate was low to begin with. And honestly, the Empire was currently experiencing a baby boom. If you screened for ESP users, they’d show up in droves. Now that we had actual samples, our detection accuracy was higher than ever.
It was a pointless project that lacked any shred of ethics. It was only natural they’d get caught.
"Blow the facility up."
Wifey turned her thumb down, her face twisted in genuine disgust.
"It’s in a residential area, so that’s a no-go~. I’ll just have it dismantled for now."
Tatiana continued eating her soft-serve, oblivious. She didn't need to know any of this.
Now then. Our coalition had successfully liberated about ten planets. However, because a Latarnian planet had been destroyed, the Taikyoku Nation and Latarnia were at each other's throats. Both governments had officially agreed that "the Ghouls are to blame," but the emotional friction remained intense.
The official who held overall responsibility for blowing up the planet was dead, but that wasn't enough to settle the score. They were bickering almost every day.
If I were a rank-and-file Latarnia Soldier who had been there, I’d probably be saying, "Let's just go find someone from the Taikyoku Nation and deck 'em!" Conversely, if I were a Taikyoku soldier and a Latarnian punched me, I’d think, "The Ghouls did it! I don't know anything about that, you idiot!"
Demanding that "the Taikyoku Nation people must apologize to Latarnians for all eternity" wasn't the answer. That was as good as telling them to die. It would only lead to people arguing that "it would be more cost-effective to just wipe out Latarnia."
They needed to keep their grievances within reasonable bounds. A little bickering was fine.
Of course, Rikochi couldn't stay uninvolved as a member of the Military Police. If people started a brawl right in front of her, she had to stop it. It would be a nightmare if knives or guns were drawn. She’d secured a guarantee that if she caught them fighting, she was allowed to beat them senseless on the spot.
That was why Rikochi was always in full armor. However, if she used a blade like an Urumi, her opponents would definitely die. So, she carried a rod instead—the kind people called a Long Stick or a Quarterstaff. She swung that thing with her full strength... I’m honestly surprised no one has died yet.
Whenever she did that, her following seemed to grow.
"Boss Riko! We’ve suppressed the situation over here!"
For some reason, her underlings were multiplying. It was just like my situation. At first, she was incredibly popular with the Ogre God Nation people, but now she had subordinates among the Latarnians and the Taikyoku Nation people as well.
Though, apparently, they all said, "We just can't see the Boss as a woman!"
Keep at it, Rikochi.
"So, what are we going to do about this?"
This was the biggest bombshell of the day. Chronos had expressed a desire to "come under the umbrella of the Galactic Empire."
They hadn't even reached the level of a provisional government yet, but the survivors on each planet were the ones pushing for it. Everyone at the table wore a grim expression. After all, we didn't want them.
"Personally, I’d like to dump them onto Latarnia or the Taikyoku Nation..."
Shiyun immediately looked away.
I thought as much.