I wanted to eat yakisoba... so badly...
Grumble, grumble, grumble.
I stepped out before the public clad in the formal attire of the Grand Duchy of Chronos.
I couldn’t afford to let myself get soft. I was a soldier, after all.
To that end, I had been throwing myself into muscle training even more intensely than back on the warship. I’d started looking like a boxer in the middle of a weight cut.
As a result, I’d had to have my formal wear refitted. My movements felt sharp, at least.
Chronos National Broadcasting was constantly running reports expressing concern for my health as I continued to lose weight. But really, we were in the middle of a food shortage; it couldn’t be helped. We were barely scraping by on aid from Latarnia and the Taikyoku Nation.
Sure, it would be bad if the Grand Duke collapsed, but I was living on a commoner's diet to show solidarity—not quite to the point of keeling over, but enough that I felt the pinch. It wouldn’t look right if I were the only one with a full stomach.
The soup kitchen days were great... I could eat my fill under the pretense of "taste-testing."
But! Finally! It was harvest season!
Meat was... well, out of the question this year. But if I synthesized it from beans, I could make "Meat-like Something"!
Perfectly replicating meat was no easy feat, of course. Even if I increased the precision to make it more realistic, the human tongue tended to "level up" alongside the technology, eventually spotting the difference.
However, if I just turned that "Meat-like Something" into deep-fried food, no one could tell!
Strong flavors—yes, that was the key! And rice! We had plenty of that, at least. I’d ordered a batch from Claire’s home planet. I had the seasonings ready, too.
Gwahahahahaha! Just you wait, Harvest Festival!
Rice! Meat! Vegetables! Victory!
And so, the Harvest Festival began.
It was me, Wifey, and Tatiana riding together in an open-top car. Shiyun followed in a separate vehicle as the representative of the Taikyoku Nation.
The festival was a massive affair, combining sports tournaments, international trade fairs, and global conferences. We had land to spare, so we’d been cranking out buildings left and right. It was a good thing; providing jobs for the citizens was our most urgent priority.
There were trade fairs for automobiles and heavy machinery, a computer show... even a doujinshi convention. We even had a section for industrial machinery. While shaping printers were nice, machines and laborers were much more efficient when you had the physical space to work with.
For the sports side, various countries had sent representative teams for baseball and soccer. I’d assumed Chronos wouldn’t be able to field a team, but apparently, the corporate team Isono was backing was going to participate.
I’d spoken to him about it two days ago.
"Isono... you’re surprisingly good at managing money."
"Kukuku... I’m not like you, who’s on the verge of starving despite being a King!"
Wh-What?! You were the one who got put on a doctor stop!
As for Kevin, whenever he had a spare moment, he’d head over from the girls' dormitory to the palace where the unaccompanied workers lived, bringing Minerva-chan, Lady Hanazawa, and Nakajima’s wife along.
"Honestly! You boys are such idiots! Here, eat!"
They brought food and cooked for us. We were all actually quite good at cooking, but we couldn't very well leave leftovers when someone had gone to the trouble of making a meal.
Leaving leftovers was strictly forbidden. That was the Space Marine Iron Rule.
...Unless the cooking was a total failure, of course. Otherwise, if it was edible, we ate it.
"Here, have some eggs!"
She’d boiled a mountain of eggs for us. Protein was exactly what we were missing. With enough protein, I should be able to keep my weight stable.
Wifey was acting as the overall commander for the Galactic Empire’s side of the event. Claire and Nina-san were busy managing the stalls and event prep, while Melissa and Rikochi handled security.
Ren was in charge of staff training and management. She was surprisingly good at it. I’d noticed she’d been busy lately, and it turned out she’d earned her Advanced Chamberlain Qualification! She’d been handling maid duties—including acting as a secretary for both me and Wifey—so she’d decided to take the exam.
This opened up a career path for her in management, even within the Inner Palace. It looked like she was slated to become the head of the Chronos Palace court ladies once the festival ended. She said she was using this event to learn the ropes of administration.
Incredible!
I mean, she was the top of the civil officials!
We’d certainly come a long way.
Or so we’d been saying just two days ago.
Now, we had arrived at the venue and were taking a break in the VIP seats. The schedule was so packed it was agonizing. Wifey and Tatiana were with me.
The booths were split up between several groups: One-oh-one (representing the Zorks) and Kevin; Shiyun and her brother; the King of Latarnia, who had shown up for some reason; and Saria, whom I’d invited as a prank.
...Suddenly, I got a bad feeling. Like I shouldn't be here.
"Lord Groom, your face is pale," Wifey noted.
"I... I feel like I need to get out of here..."
"M-Me too..." Tatiana stammered.
With both Jesters turning white as sheets, Wifey panicked.
"Raise the security alert level! The Jesters are sensing something!"
But it was too late.
"Yo. You’ve gotten smaller, haven't you?"
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
The person who had approached without letting me detect so much as a hint of their presence was... Katori-sensei!
"Well, well. I was bored, so I figured I’d drop by!"
"Wh-What happened to your guards?!" I yelped.
"Seriously, what kind of training are you giving the Chronos Army? They're way too weak."
It seemed they’d already been neutralized.
"What about my Imperial Guard? What about Rikochi?!"
"I’ve got a face pass, obviously."
"Of... course... you... do!"
Damn it, if Katori-sensei had been an assassin, I’d be dead. Then again, if he were an assassin, I probably would have sensed the danger sooner.
"Anyway, perfect timing. We’re going to do some sparring at the venue."
"Your words are so insane I can't even process the meaning!"
"Don't worry about it. Your friends from the Ogre God Nation are here, too."
No! I don’t want to!
Tatiana just laughed. "I’ve got nothing to do with this," she said.
Wifey had a look of resignation. "We can't stop him anyway."
And so, I was hauled away by Katori-sensei.
At the venue, Isono, Nakajima, and Edy had already been rounded up. The ones holding them were the elite unit from the Ogre God Nation.
How did I know their faces? Because I’d personally beaten every last one of them to a pulp before!
The Ogre God Nation guys looked delighted to see me.
"Big Brother Leo! We’ve been training under Katori-sensei!"
"Why does that old man always have to do unnecessary things?!" I wailed.
I was already starving, and now I was being told to fight? This was brutal!
"Alright, Leo. First, give them a good brawl!"
I stood up, swaying slightly.
"You guys... if I win... go buy me some food from the stalls..."
I couldn't think about anything but eating anymore.
"Y-Yes, sir! Alright, boys! Let's do this!"
Yakisoba, yakisoba, yakisobaaa!
My stomach gave a sharp, agonizing growl.
As I stepped onto the stage, the crowd erupted in cheers.
"With a partial change to the scheduled program, we will now hold an exhibition match featuring the Grand Duke of Chronos, Leo Kamishiro Chronos!"
The venue buzzed at the announcement.
"The King is going to fight?"
"His opponents are from the Ogre God Nation, right? Is he going to be okay?"
"I heard the King is the Empire's Strongest."
"Is he really stronger than the Ogres?"
"I heard the Ogre God Nation practically worships him!"
About half of that was a lie. I’d mostly just messed around with the Ogre God Nation folks. This time would be no different.
Alright, come at me!
And someone better buy me some yakisoba!