On the day of the Sports Festival, I waved to the crowd while riding atop a White Cat.
The other executives were also riding cats in the parade.
Since it was unstable without saddles, we had manufactured some in a hurry.
Apparently, there were records of Chronosians riding cats into battle in the past.
Come to think of it, I hadn't given my mount a name.
Well, when I spoke to them, they did introduce themselves, but their names were impossible for humans to pronounce as a language.
Since they already had their own names, I felt that giving them human ones for our convenience would be a form of sacrilege.
My subordinates marched along, carrying spears and singing an Ogre God Nation Folk Song.
Saria's Papa... I didn't even invite him, but he showed up anyway with a baseball team.
You guys! Don't you dare start a brawl! I mean it!
The White Cat wore a smug expression, as if to say, "I'm the cutest one here!"
Leading up to the parade, we had conducted simultaneous house searches targeting anti-social and anti-government organizations.
Had I become a dictator?
No! It was because the citizens were throwing Molotov cocktails at them!
I ordered the searches to protect the anti-social and anti-government groups from the public!
Even I found the situation absurd!
I thought there would be a backlash, but even the anti-government groups were sympathetic toward me.
Why are you guys so soft on me?
I took my seat in the VIP Seats alongside my Wifey, who I was currently living apart from due to my solo assignment.
"Wifey... I missed you!"
"We just saw each other yesterday, did we not?"
Even though we lived separately, Wifey went in and out of the Palace, so we met frequently.
Claire and the others had moved out of the Girls' Dormitory and were now living in the Palace.
Edie, Isono, Nakajima, and finally, Edge had all purchased houses in Chronos.
They were quite large mansions.
Actually, I heard that when they first tried to buy an apartment building, people stopped them with everything they had.
Something about it not being prestigious enough for their status.
"Ugh, but a big house is such a pain to clean," Isono said, stating the obvious.
"Then hire someone! Your Excellency Marquis Isono!"
He got scolded from every direction.
Edie, Isono, and Nakajima were now Galactic Empire Senior Marquises and Marquises of Chronos.
Naturally, we left the actual Minister roles to the local people, but they were treated as their superiors.
Reluctantly, all three of them hired Chronosian maids and personal secretaries.
They also hired lawyers and tax accountants... and in the end, their estates, which also served as their offices, became quite luxurious.
The three wives seemed satisfied with the arrangement in their own way.
Minerva-chan was still a university student, but she sent reports back to her school every week.
They were datasets regarding Edie's and our work—the kind that was safe to make public.
She even included detailed notes on our thought processes.
The university was absolutely ecstatic to receive raw data on the governance of the Chronos Nation.
As a top student, her tuition was waived, and her name kept appearing as a co-author alongside her professors.
"You're going to graduate school, right? I won't take no for an answer! Even we scholars want to go to outer space, damn it!"
That was the general mood.
She was being treated as the leading authority on Outer Space Politics.
Thanks to that, those of us on solo assignments would consult the professors whenever we ran into political issues we didn't understand.
Since the professors were former Civil Officials unrelated to the Grand Chamberlain, they always responded with a smile.
Honestly, we wouldn't have been able to get any work done without those professors.
I just didn't understand the fine details!
...I decided to put those hardships aside and enjoy myself.
I gave a greeting at the opening ceremony.
I had been forbidden from trying to get a laugh, so I'll skip that part.
After the opening ceremony, there was soccer, followed by women's baseball and softball...
With so few teams, we could finish even with a relaxed schedule.
The women were dead serious about both hardball baseball and softball.
They were determined not to let baseball hog the spotlight.
Softball had been slow to spread... and no, I didn't get in the way.
It was just that that bastard Isono was abnormally fast.
The promotion for it lagged behind because it was chasing after Isono... I'll say it again: it was only because that bastard Isono was freakishly fast!
Softball and women's hardball were simply following the trail Isono had blazed.
Currently, only the Galactic Empire, the Ogre God Nation, and Chronos had teams. They were being held as exhibition matches.
Many of the players on the Chronos team had only been playing the sport for a year.
They hadn't even reached the level of sandlot baseball yet.
They were quickly defeated by the Ogre God Nation, and their run ended there.
Tomorrow, the final match between the Galactic Empire and the Ogre God Nation would take place.
Next came the women's hardball baseball.
For the hardball category, only the Ogre God Nation and the Galactic Empire had entered.
The Ogre God Nation boasted a Women's Macho Warrior Squad.
In contrast, the Galactic Empire had a makeshift team composed of the Chlorella-treated Group and members of the Beast Race.
And there, one singularity existed.
"Why am I in the starting lineup!?"
It was Rikochi.
She wasn't wearing her armor today.
It was shocking, really... Rikochi... was an unmodified human...
Ren had also been forced to participate due to everyone's strong insistence.
She was even being coerced into participating in the shooting competition in a few days.
"Riko-chan! Even I do not know why I am here!"
"Waaaaah! My marriage prospects are ruined!"
Rikochi, the self-proclaimed mob eye-hidden girl, was standing out immensely with movements that transcended human limits.
Even more than the design of her character art, you could see how cool she was once she started moving.
She was a true hero-type girl.
She would catch the ball and return it in an instant.
Man, she was cool...
Ren, for her part, produced a string of home runs using the most powerful kinetic vision in our entire unit.
In this way, they secured a victory over the Ogre God Nation with overwhelming power.
It wasn't that the Ogre God Nation was weak.
They had gained enough experience to make it a proper game.
It was just... that the physical abilities of Rikochi and Ren were abnormal.
With Ren hitting and Rikochi defending, I didn't think even the men's team could win.
By the way, Melissa was cut from the team because she couldn't remember the rules.
I've called them abnormal many times, but I wanted to make that much clear.
I should also add that the Brass Band Club, who provided the cheers, stood out immensely and were very satisfied.
Once the matches were over, everyone did the laundry regardless of gender.
We washed and hung up the mud-caked uniforms we brought back to the Palace.
There were things like particle washing machines, but in the end, the cheapest option was a standard washing machine.
A twin-tub machine that can handle ten kilograms is the ultimate!
The detergent had to be powder! As expected, it had to be powder with bleach in it.
I joined the laundry duty myself.
Once the uniforms were done, I changed clothes and headed to the food stalls.
I was told to stay in the Palace courtyard and cook.
How sad... Here I am... frying yakisoba.
As I was cooking the yakisoba, the Palace animals gathered around.
"Yes, yes, it's mealtime."
I gave food to the cats.
I even fed the hawks and other birds.
Since I was surrounded by cats and hawks, the herbivores got their food from Claire and Wifey.
After a while, the others returned.
For some reason, they had bought a massive amount of gyoza.
We held a dinner party right there.
Everyone spent their time exactly as they pleased.
When it grew dark... was it about time?
Fireworks began to launch into the sky.
On the broadcast, the Announcer spoke through her tears.
"Citizens, we have finally made it! Everyone! Chronos has been restored! Let us continue to do our best, together!"
We had worked pretty hard too.
We had fought in a different field, one entirely separate from the Zork War.
We all exchanged high-fives.
I lifted Wifey up in my arms.
"Wifey, let's make this festival a success!"
"Yeah! I'm counting on you, Lord Groom!"
People hooted and cheered at us, but I didn't care.
I was happy.