I underwent the coronation ceremony.
A crown glittered atop my head, shimmering with jewels.
Why?!
In situations like this, isn't democracy supposed to win by default? That’s how it usually goes!
Are you people out of your minds?! I’m a foreigner!
Hey! Someone say something, dammit!
"Present arms! Salute His Excellency the Grand Duke!"
My reflexes, hammered into me by years of military service, kicked in instantly. I snapped a salute.
The Galactic Empire Space Marines Style Salute!
The soldiers fired their Pulse Rifles into the air.
"We stand at a historic turning point! The Grand Duchy of Chronos has officially been established!"
Inside, I kept ruminating on a single question: How did it even come to this?
There was a military drum and fife corps... but since they weren't enough, I’d invited a student marching band to participate as well.
I paid them a fair daily wage, after all!
I even wrote them handwritten Letters of Appreciation to give them a leg up on their college applications!
I climbed into an open-top car.
I moved along with the parade, waving to the crowds.
The building we approached was far too rugged to be called a palace.
It was a military base.
I was supposed to live here starting today... I don't want to, I tell thee!
I’d much rather live in the downtown Nagaya, I tell thee!
Waaaaah!
Wifey was waiting for me at the palace.
I knelt before her.
"Eternal loyalty to Her Imperial Majesty!"
Wifey gave a smug smirk.
"And eternal love to my spouse!"
The ceremony concluded with her tapping my back with the flat of a sword.
I’d wanted to use a Katana, but apparently, the Chronos-style demanded this.
Wifey made her declaration in a booming voice.
"People of Chronos! From this day forth, you are the Family of the Galactic Empire! I, Galactic Empire Emperor Veronica, so declare! I formally recognize the Grand Duchy of Chronos! Use my husband well... The strongest warrior of the Empire and a genius of diplomacy, my husband is the Galactic Empire's Trump Card that even Zork feared! He is the greatest gift my country has to offer!"
Wait, what?
Technically, the way she phrased it wasn't wrong.
...But it felt strange.
In my own estimation, I’d spent my entire career barely scraping past the finish line by the skin of my teeth.
"However, I shall not hand him over as a husband!"
A roar of laughter erupted.
No. It wasn't a joke. She was dead serious.
Wifey’s eyes weren't laughing at all.
It was enough to make my stomach drop.
Once I’d been acknowledged as Wifey's knight, it was my turn to proceed.
Normally, there was supposed to be a Ritual of the Oracle from the God of Chronos.
Since it had been centuries since the royal family perished, the finer details were a bit fuzzy.
Well, since my personal beliefs were a messy mix of Shinto and Buddhism, I decided to keep it simple.
A Statue of the Chronos God was brought out from the temple.
The planet where the temple resided was in a remote location with zero strategic value.
The religion wasn't exactly a state church, and they were indifferent to politics.
They only had a skeleton crew of guards. That was likely how they’d been overlooked.
I knelt before the statue transported from the temple and offered a prayer.
The Chronos religion was polytheistic, and I was praying to the statue of the main deity.
The main deity was a goddess.
Legend says that a Saint born of the goddess and a King led Chronos to prosperity, or so the story went.
...They definitely tacked on the "King" part later, didn't they?
They wedged a king in there once the world moved toward the Divine Right of Kings, right?
C'mon, just be honest with me—the biggest victim in all this.
I won't get mad.
I glared at the Old Man High Priest.
I was just venting my frustration, honestly.
But as I was feeling my half-hearted irritation, the statue suddenly began to glow.
Did they put LEDs in it?
Is it one of those things where the shell becomes translucent when you shine a light on it?
The Old Man High Priest froze, his mouth hanging wide open.
Hm?
"W-What?! The statue! It glowed!"
The people around us erupted into a frenzy.
The High Priest, his deputy, and everyone else looked genuinely shocked.
...No way! Was it Jester?!
That's it! She's the Saint! It's Jester!
Stop it! Stop reacting to Jester!
That bloodline isn't that of a legendary Hero!
It’s just the bloodline of a gag-reel performer!
"A-A monarch chosen by God..."
"Our King has returned..."
"Long live His Excellency the Grand Duke!"
Sto—p—it—!
It's definitely just your imagination, so sto—p—it—!
I was practically in Begging-for-life Mode.
Noooooooooooooooo!
...On this day, my approval rating reached a perfect 100%.
My living quarters were located in one corner of the palace.
I’d decided to build it in the Japanese Castle Style.
The Imperial Guard Guardhouse was right nearby, so security was ironclad.
The house itself was a normal home.
Complete with a bath and toilet!
It had a wide, horizontal layout.
Even including the palace itself, the grounds were only about half the size of the previous Presidential Residence.
I’d gone all-in on making the palace serve strictly as a military base and workplace.
I couldn't manage a formal garden even if I had one.
It was a reckless bit of architecture only possible because this place had no established history.
As for the leftover land, I let the state use it.
They planned to turn it into a Fire-prevention Park.
Like an Imperial Gift Park, I suppose.
"I’d love to visit an aquarium sometime," I murmured, and they immediately decided to build one inside the grounds.
No, stop, it's terrifying!
I can't let a single word slip out by accident!
Regarding the Space Locusts, the farmers had begun an all-out extermination operation.
Even with the barrier, there was a risk they might develop a resistance.
For some reason... well, it was to be expected, but volunteers from all over the Grand Duchy of Chronos joined in.
They hunted them down with such fervor it felt like they wouldn't allow a single locust to exist even in the deep soil.
That said, there were no sightings.
They were a biological weapon that killed on first contact, but with the barrier up, they weren't a threat.
Furthermore, we managed to synthesize a poison effective against them.
Specifically... it was a type of Natto bacteria.
Well, not exactly Natto bacteria, but a very similar strain.
It had always been effective against butterfly larvae, and such treatments had been used for ages.
Experiments in deep space had revealed that this specific strain worked on Space Locusts.
Apparently, it’s effective against the eggs, too!
They weren't natural creatures to begin with.
Maybe someone used butterfly genes in their creation?
At any rate, we sprayed it.
Since it was a bacterium cultivated from the soil of Chronos, they said it wouldn't affect the local ecosystem.
Wait... they found the sample in the soil of my garden?
O-Oh. Well, whatever.
I said my goodbyes to the people at the Nagaya and began moving out.
Since the guys on solo assignments would likely hang out at my place anyway, I planned to set up the bunk beds in the new residence just as they were.
"Listen up, boys! Carry the training benches yourselves!"
I called them "boys," but I was mostly talking to that bastard Isono.
"Leo! You carry the pull-up station too! And the sandbag!"
"Ha-ha! Fool! We have unlimited access to the soldiers' training room at the palace! We're giving these to the neighbors!"
"Ah, that's cheating! You knew that and didn't tell me, did you?!"
"I just forgot that I hadn't told you!"
"That's even worse!"
I loaded the luggage into the light truck.
I’ll do the driving... Oh, Mr. Grand Chamberlain.
Eh? You have a vehicle prepared?
Ah, yes.
I need to tidy up my appearance... Right, yes.
I changed into the Grand Duchy of Chronos military dress uniform.
The residents of the Nagaya and the neighborhood had all gathered.
The owners from the shopping district were there, too.
"Useless as I am, I, Leo Kamishiro Chronos, am moving to the official residence upon my inauguration as Grand Duke! You have all been a tremendous help to me!"
I bowed deeply.
Edy, Isono, and Nakajima bowed as well.
"We shall accompany him! Thank you all very much!"
To the sound of thunderous applause, we left the Nagaya in the official vehicle.
I waved back in response to the cheers of "Give 'em hell!"
Even the media had shown up to cover the move.
The level of public fervor was nothing short of extraordinary.
"Hey, Isono. Once upon a time, there was an emperor named Nero..."
"If you mention him one more time, I'm going to punch you until you're mute. It's not a joke when you say it!"
And so, with the enthusiastic support of the nation, I moved into the official residence.