We continued toward our destination aboard the Battleship Kamishiro.
Since nothing of note was likely to happen within our own territory, I found myself with far too much time on my hands. I ended up spending my days in the hydroponic cultivation facility, harvesting tomatoes.
It was yet another new variety.
Specifically, it was part of that "Infinitely Increasing Vegetable Series," though its use in hydroponic facilities had actually been banned recently. It was simply too effective.
Still, it was the ultimate solution for solving the food shortage in Chronos. Within three months of building the facility, we had an absurd amount of produce.
Back when we truly had nothing, we lived on nothing but tomatoes, strawberries, and potatoes. I honestly thought I was going to starve to death back then.
Then there were the lotuses and burdock roots... they were our "delicacies."
It’s actually quite difficult to hit your required calorie count on vegetables alone. Plus, you get tired of eating the same thing every single day!
I’d reached a point where I’d practically break into a dance whenever we harvested a daikon radish or a turnip.
"Tomato... Me... make food..."
I was in the middle of whipping up a tomato and egg stir-fry with my personal frying pan when my wives arrived.
"Want some?" I asked.
"Yes, I’ll help," Claire replied.
I was happily cooking with Claire’s assistance until the head of the ship's galley staff showed up and told me, "I'll take it from here, sir," effectively kicking me out of my own kitchen.
How tragic...
"Me... like... cooking..."
"Leo-kun... the Chief Cabinet Secretary was grumbling that your food expenses are way lower than they were during your time at the Presidential Office," Ren mentioned.
"I don’t recall living particularly frugally."
I didn't drink alcohol, after all. My only real expenses were snacks from my own company and basic ingredients for cooking. I was perfectly happy with the standard grades available at any local shop.
Sure, I had dinner parties with cabinet members, but on those occasions, I was with Wifey and we had the palace chefs prepare the meals. And since I couldn't drink anyway...
Just a few more months of patience... My liver! The main event is drawing near!
"Potato... eating..."
I munched on a potato. Even though I was the captain, there wasn't much work for me to do on a battleship of this scale. While I was spaced out, I received a communication from Wifey.
Wifey was staying in the rear this time, along with Edge and Alyssa. I figured leaving Jester on his own would be fine.
When she appeared on the screen, she was smiling.
"Lord Groom, are you bored?"
"Extremely bored, sir."
"Ho ho, is that so? Well, Katori-sensei just boarded your ship."
"What... did you say... A stowaway! We have a stowaway! Fairy! Catch the intruder!"
"Leo-kun... it’s too late. He’s already heading your way."
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! I’m out of here!"
I yanked open a maintenance hatch and dove into the wiring trench for the telecommunications system. I planned to hole up in either the server room or the engine room.
...Actually, I’d been caught in the server room before, so the engine room it was. I scrambled through the walls...
Alright, the engine room! I’ll just stay here in my work clothes and pretend to be an engineer—
"Yo! Leo, you doing well?"
With a wide grin, Katori-sensei suddenly raised a hand in greeting.
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
He’d cut me off! This was definitely one of those horror-movie entities you could never escape!
"Alright, let’s head to the training room~"
"I don’t wanna-nya!"
"Hahahaha!"
As I was dragged away to the training room, my subordinates followed behind. To the people of the Ogre God Nation, Katori-sensei was basically a legendary idol. If I could, I wanted to dump him on them.
...Or so I thought, but he sent them flying in seconds. How tragic...
"Leo, you need to raise your disciples properly."
"They aren’t my disciples."
"Nurture the next generation! You’re an Imperial Swordsmanship Master now!"
"This is the first I’ve heard of being a Master!"
"You won a complete victory over me, so calling you a Master is perfectly fine. No one’s going to complain!"
I had been promoted to Master without even realizing it.
"Here, your Imperial Swordsmanship Master Certificate."
Sensei handed me a small booklet. What on earth was this?
"And here’s your Master Patch. Sew it onto your martial arts uniform."
"Wait... you’re not joking? I'm a Master?"
"Yeah. The qualification will be added to your military app later."
Katori-sensei was dead serious. Uh... disciples!? I had enough trouble just taking care of myself. There was no way I could handle disciples.
"Well, do your best!"
"Right. Since I have to look after my disciples now, I shall take my leave—"
My back teeth glinted in the light!
"That’s a separate matter."
I was captured-de-gozaru.
In the end, I wasn't released until I’d been subjected to an exhausting amount of sparring. Potato... I need... a potato...
Two days later, we arrived at the front lines. The situation was currently at a stalemate.
I held a briefing with the Major, the general manager on site.
"Major, what’s the damage report?"
The Major was a former Second Lieutenant and a graduate of the Chronos Officer Academy. Since he was a survivor, he had been promoted all the way to Major.
You might think it strange for a Major to be the general manager on site, but we were desperately short-staffed. We had an overwhelming lack of field officers. It was like having section chiefs and group leaders acting as department heads because there simply weren't any department heads left!
Almost all the retired veterans had been killed. Our beloved Grand Duchy of Chronos was truly in a terminal state.
Despite the circumstances, the Major had proven his worth as an academy grad by adapting to our new tactics and organizational structure. He was impressive.
He was nearly thirty years old. He’d been married and visiting his wife’s hometown when the locust terrorist attack hit. Fortunately, he and his family had managed to escape into the basement of a Latarnia Bank. However, his parents were still missing. He was one of many burning for revenge.
"We have two pilots hospitalized. One humanoid fighter was heavily damaged. As for infantry, we have about twenty serious injuries, though that includes accidents sustained during maintenance. We are virtually unscathed. Aside from that, three destroyers have been rendered unnavigable."
"And enemy losses?"
The Major switched the feed to the battleship’s external cameras.
"One large warship captured. We are currently in the process of transporting the prisoners."
...The Grand Duchy of Chronos Army was way too strong.
"It appears the effects of the simulators are manifesting clearly."
It turns out I was the cause-de-gozaru.
Currently, we had simulators for everyone, right down to the warship crews. Naturally, they were set to the highest difficulty—the "kill-you-no-matter-what" mode.
Scenarios for the warships ranged from being surrounded by Zorks to being swarmed by humanoid fighters. I’d created everything from modules for field commanders to the high-level commander roles I personally struggled with.
By the way, I was currently being absolutely decimated at the tactical level. Am I an Ogre or something?
Ren brought me some tea.
I see. There was no need to rush. We had infinite time, but the Zen God Race was running out of theirs. Soon, the intervention by Latarnia and the Taikyoku Nation regarding the destruction of Magellan would begin.
"Major, maintain the status quo. However, keep a close watch on the situation in Magellan."
"Understood, Your Highness."
Now then, I wonder how they’ll move next. I should get some practice in, too. Even if they tell me not to deploy, I’m going out there regardless!
I feel bad for Magellan, but we can't afford to take losses on our end either.
Ah, I just had a great idea.
I patched into the speakers in the dining hall.
"Tatiana. Prepare the Barrier Cannon. We’re going to go harass the Zen God Race."
"Huh? Wait, Big Bro! You owe me dessert later!"
"Hey-yo~"
One order of Hell, coming right up!
Hahahaha! I’ll make them regret ever picking a fight with us!