During the preparation period for the Sports Festival, I suddenly found myself with a lot of free time.
I had worked myself to the bone preparing the fields and had imported livestock in massive quantities. While my debt had grown, the repayment plan was proceeding smoothly.
Factories were being erected everywhere, churning out vehicles and civilian heavy machinery. On the software side, we were receiving a high volume of orders for embedded systems.
"I don't even know what I'm making," some workers grumbled, but in the ruined state of Chronos, the wages were actually quite good.
We were also manufacturing parts that weren't profitable in the Empire or Latarnia. Thread-cutting, for instance, was essential.
I had to purchase Imperial-made lathes, CAD, and CAM systems... I mean, Chronos has its own manufacturers, but you see...
The veteran engineers had passed away, leaving the country unable to produce new equipment. Because of that, we focused entirely on churning out parts.
As for the software... dreaming of a day we could make a full comeback, we began training technicians at universities, industrial high schools, and within the army. In fact, I went ahead and gave the army the additional role of a Vocational Training School.
This... was very Galactic Empire Style, wasn't it?
Now then... that brought up the issue of our relationship with Latarnia, which controlled the banks. There had been arrests for breach of contract, and I wondered if Latarnia was fuming.
As it turned out, relations with the Grand Duchy of Chronos were actually good. Latarnia had its own reasons for wanting a strong Chronos to serve as a buffer zone against the Zen God Race and other powers. Besides, Latarnia didn't have the strength to spare for annexing Chronosian territory. Their King was at the point of abdication, after all.
I, for one, would happily take any aid offered! I'd even prostrate myself! Consequently, while the bank kept a close eye on me, they allowed me to act freely.
Our other neighbor, the Taikyoku Nation, was in the midst of its own reconstruction and lacked the resources to conquer us. They treated us as a Friendly Nation and sent work our way to keep our factories running.
The Ogre God Nation partnered with us in the textile industry. We were receiving massive orders from the Galactic Empire, which had recently transformed into a holy land of fashion.
Just as things were settling down, the Futures Market finally opened. At last... the economy could finally begin to circulate. Without Financial Derivatives, an economy is practically dead! While they're a death trap for amateurs, they are indispensable for Trading Companies and wholesalers—especially in the food industry, where agricultural production is at the mercy of the weather. Without them, you simply can't establish a revenue plan.
The Stock Market was restored on the same day. This made it much easier to invest in large corporations. I'd worked so hard to get this far! Finally, it was the Restoration of Capitalism!
Wifey and I both attended the opening ceremony. I’ll admit, I actually cried. We made our system compatible with the one used by the Galactic Empire while still supporting Chronos's unique transactions. The meetings alone were enough to make me think I'd die. Neither the Empire nor Chronos would budge an inch.
And then, just as the discussions were winding down, some incompetents crawled out of the woodwork to complain. They were idiots who just wanted to argue for the sake of arguing. Some of them were even fools trying to spark a Revolution.
Listen, if you guys wanted a revolution, you should have voted me out during the National Referendum! Even that former military man failed to gain any public support. We didn't have anyone else but His Excellency the General, the former Colonel, so it's not like we had a choice! There was simply no one else capable of handling high-level management.
In the first place, the General himself said: "Since I survived, I intend to fulfill my responsibilities."
Honestly, I wished the General would just kick me out already.
"Hahaha! Kick you out? How? I can't even begin to imagine myself winning against you."
...I see.
In any case, I figured being free was a good sign. I wanted to believe things were stabilizing.
However, at the border, frequent skirmishes were occurring with Unaffiliated Machines believed to belong to the Zen God Race. Hmm, I felt like I'd seen this board state before... it was the smell of a nation unable to escape its own Expansionist Policy.
Indeed, they had attacked us—who held no initial hostility—and turned several countries into enemies. They went even further, using Proone as a pawn for an Oppressive Policy against smaller nations. Even the Pirate Guild might be counted among their victims. The late Old Man Eyens was a victim as well.
Every time I remembered Old Man Eyens's face, the veins in my temples throbbed violently. I could never win against him, not once, until the very end. No, we were allies... we were allies, but still!
He went and died on us, dumping all the cleanup work on our shoulders. That old man’s shrewdness was certainly helping with our current diplomacy, though. Dammit! It was so frustrating!
Despite his talk of revenge, that old man did nothing but altruistic acts. He completely cast aside his own self-interest. He truly mourned the deaths of his men, and he offered up his life for the sake of the Taikyoku Nation. That was why his subordinates had been so willing to die for him.
I believed that if one was to be a leader, they had to go that far. My own capacity for endurance was modeled after that old man. In a way, he was my political mentor.
And so, I started shaking things up through diplomacy. I would paint the Zen God Race as the villains. Even here, I didn't put myself at the forefront. I wouldn't say things like "Make them the bad guys." I just needed to let the citizens enjoy themselves.
I would never preach. What was necessary was not to expect too much from others. I kept the information open—the Zen God Race was welcome to use it. Come at me, you bastards!
"Voices of condemnation against terrorism are rising."
This was perfect. I didn't need to specify "who" was condemning them; that would be tactless. The idiots behind it were being investigated to uncover their connections. I'd asked Amada to incorporate the Galactic Empire's policing methods as well. After that, I just had to wait for the Zen God Race—having turned the whole world against them—to self-destruct.
So, I played. I took a stroll along the palace moat and enjoyed some fishing. I caught a fish I didn't recognize. Was it a Goby?
I took it back and looked it up in an encyclopedia. It was more or less a Goby. Since this was a different planet, it wasn't the exact same species, but it was close enough. Apparently, it was edible.
Hearing that I was out fishing, One-oh-one, Tatiana, and Shiyun came to join me. The Fairy must have tipped them off.
"I caught a Goby."
"Huh, I used to catch those all the time back home~,"
Tatiana, being from the colonies, sounded impressed. The colonies were entirely artificial environments, so they were often modified however the inhabitants liked.
"We couldn't keep the Saltwater Fish Farming Facility running, you see~. So we switched to freshwater fish and released them into the agricultural irrigation channels~. When I was hungry, I'd go out and catch some for food~."
It was a colony with pretty poor public order. They likely couldn't even maintain the Saltwater Fish Farming Facility. Now, the Imperial Army had moved in to handle peacekeeping, so the situation should have improved significantly.
"In our case, we had a river built right into the palace. When I was small, I used to catch little fish and keep them in a tank,"
Shiyun seemed to have fond memories of it too.
"What are you going to do with that one, sir?"
One-oh-one asked. Keeping it would be difficult given my schedule.
"I'll probably just observe it for a bit and put it back in the moat. If I caught food poisoning from eating a fish I caught myself, I'd never hear the end of it..."
...How tragic. For now, I'd just submit a report—a "this is what I found" sort of thing.
"By the way... Leo-sama. What are those animals?"
A Giant Hawk was currently perched on my head. Behind me, a Fox-like Creature was sprawled out, napping. The Imperial Guard Knights were so used to this that they didn't even blink.
"I honestly have no idea!"
"Kua!"
The hawk chirped back at me. I sent the photos and videos Tatiana had taken to everyone. Almost immediately, a message arrived from Wifey.
"I've sent these to the media."
I sensed another conspiracy brewing!
The hawk cried "Kua!" once more.