"Eh? You’re quitting the military because of a conflict of interest?"
I consulted with my wifey via correspondence while she was on her warship.
Exactly. It was a conflict of interest.
Imperial Army or Grand Duchy—the time to choose between them was bound to come.
"Yeah. If I’m the head of Chronos and a Brigadier General in the Imperial Army, everyone will wonder whose side I’ll take in an emergency. Personally, I’m with the Empire, but if I say that, the people here won't follow me."
To be blunt about it, if the Empire hit a recession, they could just colonize and sacrifice Chronos.
I could talk my way through a minor economic slump, but in a war? I’d have to make a choice.
Chronos knew that, which meant they couldn't fully trust me.
"Ah... I see. As expected of the Lord Groom... your dream of becoming a lawyer wasn't just for show, was it?"
"It's not a dishonorable discharge, so I’ll get retirement pay. I’m already looking forward to it..."
With that money as a down payment, I’d open a cafe.
As a Brigadier General, the payout should be decent.
"Do you really think they’ll let you quit?"
"Huh? What?"
"Never mind. I’ll speak with the military. Hanging up now."
"Thanks!"
Ah, my dream mega-serving cafe.
Sugar! Fat! Protein!
A pudding à la mode buried under a mountain of whipped cream!
Now I was hungry.
I headed to the kitchen car to see about some food.
Volunteers and the Auntie Squad were busy with the soup kitchen.
"Good evening."
The aunties beamed at me as I approached.
"Oh my, Grand Duke! Are you here for a bite?"
"Yeah, I'm starving."
The grandmother leading the Auntie Squad handed me a large gyoza and some soup.
They were technically gyoza, but the filling was wrapped and deep-fried to make them more shelf-stable.
"Need a hand, Auntie?"
"Nonsense! The Grand Duke has his own work to do! Keep at it!"
No cooking for me today, then.
"Alright! The houses should be up by next week. I’ve ordered the air conditioners too."
"We’re counting on you!"
While I sat on a bench eating, my phone rang.
A rare call from Raymond-san.
"Hello?"
"Long time no see, Leo-kun!"
"Did something happen?"
"Well, the military brass is in a total panic right now."
"About what?"
"Because you said you were quitting, Leo-kun."
"Huh? But the conflict of interest was obvious."
"Yes, we knew, but nobody thought you had noticed it. They were planning to just steamroll ahead with the momentum."
"Seriously...?"
"So they hit a snag because of the law."
"Exactly. I'm waiting on that retirement pay."
"About that... an Extraordinary Session of the Imperial Diet has been convened."
"What?"
"They decided to change the law itself. You know, since Shiyun-chan is involved too."
"Wait, what!?"
"Congratulations! You're staying in the military!"
"B-But the Grand Duke of Chronos position...?"
"You’re keeping that too."
"But I’m supposed to transition to a democracy in a year!"
My cafe dream was crumbling!
"Sure, if you can actually make the transition happen. Oh, and one more thing. You’ve been promoted, Leo-kun."
"Excuse me?"
"You’re a foreign dignitary now; we can’t have you sitting at Brigadier General. For starters, you’re now a Major General."
"Wait! No! Stop!"
"Don't worry. Your assignment is still the reconstruction of Chronos."
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Cruel.
After everything I’d done for the Empire...
I told them I didn't want to climb the ladder!
I went crying to my wifey immediately.
"Waaaah! The military is talking crazy about promotions!"
"I figured."
"Uwaaaa! I can't be a Major General! I don't want to be the Minister of Foreign Affairs either! No, no, no, no!"
"Now, Lord Groom, I need you to listen calmly."
"What?"
"In all your time in outer space... you have never once made the wrong choice."
"Huh? But Proone was destroyed by Latarnia, and Chronos is a wreck. Not even a blade of grass grows in my wake!"
Most of my endeavors were half-failures!
Nothing ever went as planned.
Chronos was practically extinct.
The only reason we were being left alone was because our neighbors were too busy with their own rebuilding to invade.
In the Ogre God Nation, they treated me like some 'friendly devil'!
"Listen, Lord Groom... think carefully. You sided with the Battle Dome instead of Proone at the start. Then you established trade with Latarnia, the very ones who destroyed Proone. These were... abnormal choices."
"What do you mean?"
I thought those were the most logical moves. Was I glitched?
"Initially, Proone was overwhelmingly superior. Because you didn't side with the stronger party, the nobles gave me a lot of grief. After all, we owed Proone nothing."
"Really? But neither Proone nor those ghouls would listen to reason. And you were the one who said to go to war with Proone, wifey."
If you can't talk, the relationship will eventually break.
It all comes down to trust.
'They’re annoying, but they’re a business partner' or 'I don't get their morals, but they keep their word'—that's what matters.
"Even so, many thought we should have sucked it up and joined Proone. But you used diplomacy to weaken them before I could even waver. Then came Latarnia. Why join hands with them after such a terrible first impression?"
"Because their logic and actions were consistent. Their methods were extreme, but Proone was the one trying to dodge their debts. Besides, our plan to save Proone and dismantle them from within was just for our own convenience. That didn't concern Latarnia."
Our interests and theirs had clashed, so we talked it out. Obviously.
"In the Diet, everyone said Latarnia couldn't be trusted! Same for the Taikyoku Nation. Most officials wanted us to let them fight Latarnia so they'd both be destroyed."
"Why? As long as we handle the ghoul problem, there's no reason to destroy them."
The more business partners, the better. You don't have to be best friends, but you need them.
That was the goal. My 'annoying but a business partner' philosophy.
Unless they started out hostile, I’d talk until the very last second.
"Even with Chronos, people kept saying to leave them to rot! But I rejected all of that and chose to believe in the Lord Groom. And this is the result! Everything has turned out for the best—though Chronos still has a hard road ahead."
"O-Oh..."
Wifey looked at me with a dead-serious expression.
"Grand Duke of Chronos! My husband! Become the Galactic Overlord!"
"Eh... I'm not the type. You know that, wifey."
Galactic Overlord? Not a chance.
"Just do it!"
"Pien!"
She was serious about the Galactic Overlord thing!?
And so, a being whose titles defied all logic was born: Major General of the Galactic Empire Space Marines, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Chronos, and Space Kaiju Kawagon.
If things got truly hopeless, I decided I’d just run away in the middle of the night.