The general election kicked off first.
Since the majority of the National Diet had died, we were essentially building the government from the ground up. I heard it was common for former governors of various planets or mayors of major worlds to be elected.
As for the influential figures of the Capital Planet... almost all of them were dead.
The survival rate for anyone over forty-five was abysmal. Those who survived were the ones who happened to be near an evacuation shelter, were working underground, or were manual laborers with the physical stamina to endure. Many others had been at sea; statistics showed that sailors had a remarkably high survival rate. Residents of planets with low strategic value also fared better.
On the other hand, the military and the police force had been all but wiped out. Drafting the Ogre God Nation warriors into the police force turned out to be a stroke of genius. They didn't commit acts of violence against women, they didn't do drugs, and their grasp of math was so terrible that it was physically impossible to buy them off with bribes. They were perfect—aside from their tendency to start slacking off or picking fights at a moment's notice.
A victory for my intuition! A total home run.
I released the statistics before the general election. Despite the data, one idiot who couldn't read a graph to save his life insisted, "My hometown had few casualties because I am such an excellent leader."
That ticked me off, so I issued an official statement: "The military personnel sacrificed their own lives to protect the local citizens."
I’ll kill the bastard.
I mean, sure, it’s not great to over-glorify the military, and it’s true that there were things they simply couldn't handle. But the fact remained that they died in the line of duty. They deserved respect.
"It’s a fact that they died doing their jobs... so show some damn respect, okay?"
I actually lost my temper and snapped right in front of the media. Even we in the Empire showed respect to those who fought in the Zork War, especially the soldiers who died during the operation to retake the capital. We built a proper Hero Monument and everything. I refused to live in a country where people pointed fingers behind the backs of those who died for them.
as a result, several of those idiots were essentially ostracized by their own communities.
Following the general election was the national referendum to transition from a monarchy to a democracy. This was the moment that would decide my future. Naturally, I started my political maneuvering during the general election campaign. I made a massive donation to an organization called the Chronos Citizens Network, an anti-monarchy group. I had them flood the airwaves with conspiracy theories about how the parliament would be abolished or how conscription was coming.
Give me a break! As if the parliament would ever be abolished.
Chronos is a major power. There is no way I could handle the legislation and administration all by myself. I need a parliament precisely so I have someone to dump all the work on.
Furthermore, conscription was a foregone conclusion regardless of which party took power. There were no soldiers left, and that included the police. You can't run a country with nothing but foreigners; only locals will truly put their lives on the line for their home. The delinquent youths I’d drafted weren't enough to fill the ranks, so we had to recruit by offering perks like scholarships.
Honestly, if you're going to run for a seat in the Senate, at least understand that much. This also irritated me, so I went to the media again.
"Let us protect our home together!" I declared.
I figured that even as a foreigner, I felt a duty to protect the area around my tenement house. But then the complaints started rolling in: "Don't glorify the military!"
Shut up! If we don't protect our home together, the Ghouls will wipe us out! I couldn't even predict what the Zen God Race would do next.
That pushed me over the edge, so I said it plainly. I didn't name the Zen God Race specifically, but I issued a statement saying, "It is clear that there is a force controlling the Ghouls." I even added a joint statement from the King of Latarnia, Shiyun, Saria, and Wifey as a bonus. Political maneuvering aside, that was something the people needed to know.
I was seriously thinking, If the citizens don't stand up now, maybe I’ll just abandon them.
To my surprise, enlistment applicants flooded the military branch offices across the country. Most of them were unemployed, but that was fine by me.
Oh, you can drive a truck? Manned drivers are very welcome! You worked in a factory? Welcome to the military! Wait, you worked in food and beverage? You're more than welcome! Construction? Are you serious? Please be our liaison for the construction firms! You can read mechanical blueprints? Great, you're our new point of contact for the trading companies! Hyahha! Paperwork? Welcome to the military!
There were plenty of jobs to go around that didn't involve combat. I processed them one after another.
"Are there any building maintenance workers, licensed electricians, or former power plant employees among the citizens? We also need boiler technicians! Preferably elevator maintenance specialists! Freight elevators too! And we need managers for commercial cold storage warehouses!"
Finally, the day of the general election arrived. My name was being dragged through the mud on social media. I knew there was plenty of dissatisfaction. Come on, show me some backbone! Show me you can't stand the idea of a foreign king! Please!
I didn't want to be on a solo assignment anymore! I wanted to go back to the Kamishiro Main House and spend my days eating tropical fruit on a beach with Wifey!
Win, Chronos Citizens Network! Topple the Royal Party! Kick me out of Chronos!
As I prayed, the early results began to flash across the screen.
"Projected win for the Chronos Grand Duke Party."
Excuse me? The Chronos Grand Duke Party was, as the name implied, an organization dedicated to making me the official Grand Duke.
"Another projected win for the Chronos Grand Duke Party."
Wait, what? What about the Chronos Citizens Network? Where were they?
No matter how long I waited, their name never appeared. On the screen, a young announcer asked a scholar in his thirties for a comment. Since the senior academics had perished, even the experts were young now.
"The Chronos Citizens Network seems to have suffered a crushing defeat. What are your thoughts?"
"Well, they were shouting insults at His Highness the Grand Duke in such foul language," the scholar replied. "It seems they earned the ire of the citizens."
"But why?!" I screamed internally.
I had them spread all sorts of filth—that I stole potatoes from military fields, that I was a womanizer with dozens of fiancées, that I was in league with pirates and corrupt corporations. I had them throw everything at me.
And yet, the scholar continued to twist the knife.
"His Highness the Grand Duke has been running soup kitchens since the disaster began. He still lives in a tenement house with no bath and shared toilets. He eats the same food we do. He is protecting our children. There is simply no reason to speak ill of him."
Yes, there is! I'm a foreigner! A foreigner! A foreigner! No matter how you dress it up as being a foreign dignitary, this is an invasion! And I'm a soldier! I'm a foreign soldier! I'm still on the military rolls! Please, just listen to me! Don't make me the King!
Apparently, it was no use. My schemes had failed completely. The Chronos Grand Duke Party became the ruling party, while the Chronos Citizens Network was decimated, securing only a single seat.
"But... I still have one seat!"
I threw myself into a new conspiracy. I tried every trick in the book to debase myself. The national referendum was held in the parliament late that night on the day of the election. For an entire month, I had exhausted every resource to sabotage myself.
As a result...
"It’s a victory for Chronos! The continuation of the Grand Duchy of Chronos has been decided!" the announcer reported with a beaming smile.
...How?
Every single one of my plots had backfired.
"What do you mean, 'negotiated with the Pirate Guild to help them find honest work'...?"
Sure, I’d turned some of them into transporters and integrated others into the regular Chronos Space Navy, but that was just another way of saying I was in league with pirates!
But nothing went my way. I fell to my knees and stared up at the ceiling.
Fine! Do whatever you want! I don't care anymore!
And so, the villain—that is to say, me—was utterly defeated.