It defied all logic, but Magellan had collapsed of its own accord, and the entire territory had officially become Children of Chronos. Even so, I had a hunch that if we annexed them immediately, Magellan would go right back to their old, troublesome antics. Therefore, I established a transition period for the time being. By "for the time being," I meant the transition period could last forever as far as I was concerned.
Specifically, it would last until their education was complete! No lying! Engage in actual discussion! Obey the law! I intended to make them strictly adhere to these tenets. First, I would increase the penalties for fraud and intimidation. Then, I would transform the region into a nation of agriculture and industry. To start, we would implement a bright dictatorship under Lady Claire. And listen up—you put "Lady" before Claire's name.
Industry would be directly linked to the military. I planned to give the surviving Tax Eater capitalists a taste of hell. Besides, the battle with Ozen was just around the corner. It was far too late for them to regret their choices now. In the first place, they didn't even need to become Children of Chronos. I had intended to provide aid as long as they didn't pick a fight with us. I also ordered the Academia, which preached nothing but idiotic theories, to close its doors.
Electricity, civil engineering, agriculture, and a Correspondence Course! I would focus on those first. I would beat the importance of Infrastructure Development and management systems into them even if I had to use force. We’d start with basic trash collection and making fertilizer! Let me be clear: even if I turned you lot into a colony, there’s nothing worth stealing!
First, Lady Claire, wearing a smile, arrested the Anti-establishment Faction... not the ones capable of discussion, but the group who just wanted to stir up trouble. She sent them straight to the Frontier Settlement. It wasn't that she disliked ideologies like communism; it was because they were a force that just wanted to roll the Revolution Gacha—waiting for a government convenient for them to appear by simply toppling the current regime.
That is beyond inefficient! Though, to be fair, people like that have existed in every country since ancient times. However, those kinds of people are nothing but a nuisance in an emergency. I used their interference in the Mayor elections on planets with vacancies as an excuse. "You lot are the most unnecessary faction in the current Magellan. Go start your lives over at the Frontier Settlement."
Lady Claire began increasing production at a terrifying pace. She cleared land for rice paddies and ramped up the harvest. It turned out we had completely misread Lady Claire's true intentions. Based on her appearance, Lady Claire was a Class President-type Japanese-descended Person. Apparently, her biological parents were unknown, but she clearly displayed the physical traits of a Japanese-descended Person. And her favorite thing was Japanese Food.
Yes... the thing Lady Claire truly desired: Rice.
She was already sick of Gyoza and noodles. All she had was a small amount of rice produced inside the battleships and some Upland Rice imported from the Taikyoku Nation that wasn't quite right. It was crumbly and dry. For someone like me, born on a wasteland planet, it was hard to grasp, but a level of stress I couldn't comprehend must have been building up inside her. After all, the staple foods on Planet Kamishiro were potatoes and corn. Rice was a high-end luxury. Every day was either tacos or potatoes.
There was no way I could completely understand Lady Claire's drive. But then, a culture where rice was the staple food became part of the Children of Chronos. We had failed to grasp the weight of that fact. Lady Claire went on a rampage, increasing rice paddy production like a woman possessed. This was on a completely different level than the previous garbage collection incident. She began producing rice with such momentum that she might as well have shifted our financial policy to a Rice Standard System.
She grew varieties imported directly from the Galactic Empire using their specific cultivation methods. She also prepared fields at a frightening speed. For livestock, she procured animals from Latarnia and the Taikyoku Nation. "Eggs... eggs are... important..." My heart ached a little every time I saw Lady Claire, who had essentially ceased to be human due to hunger. It seemed I had made her endure the lack of proper food for far too long.
She also increased the production of miscellaneous grains like buckwheat. I thought it might be feed for the livestock, but it turned out she was a buckwheat fanatic as well. "Magellan's soba... it's wrong..." Ah, yeah. Understood. Conversely, Melissa, who came from a prestigious Japanese-descended family, was relaxed. "Flour is fine," she said. "More importantly, make some udon. And pizza."
I was just glad that the industrial planets were separate. Or so I thought. Since arguments were bound to break out over the udon broth, I decided to make pizza instead. But when I tried to prepare the dough, Nina-san grabbed my arm. "Leo-kun... that won't do." She made me start over from the blending—or rather, Nina-san, a Western-style Food fanatic, took over the pizza making entirely.
So, I went back to making udon. But the broth was going to cause a fight. I knew it would... "Miso Flavor! I mean, give me some melty, dissolved Houtou!" Nakajima roared. This is why I hate this! While I was treading on the dough inside a plastic bag to knead it, fights broke out all over the place.
"Broth turned black with soy sauce is supreme!" "I will only acknowledge transparent broth!"
They were literally coming to blows. "Fine, this time it's transparent broth!" I shouted, making the soup. By the way, Planet Kamishiro was a region for Musashino Udon—specifically Meat-juice Udon, not the mushroom kind. It was a luxury item that we could rarely eat. I was on the side that was suffering too! Ah... udon broth drenched in soy sauce... I love it. I want it so bad.
Kevin helped out by making Potato Tempura, pumpkin, and River Shrimp kakiage... though only using things we could get in Chronos. We added some wakame and green onions too. When I served the udon, conflict erupted exactly as expected.
"Hand over the broth turned black with soy sauce!" "Shut up! I'm on that side too!"
The Potato Tempura was delicious. I kind of wanted soba too... or maybe a Japanese-style Curry with dashi. Or a Katsudon. There were still so many things I couldn't make yet. The appetites of the Barbarians went wild at the taste of Japanese Food after such a long absence. Even Raven-kun had ceased to be human. Nakajima was actually crying, "I want to eat Houtou!"
"Quiet! I'm enduring the lack of Musashino Udon too!"
Then, the Imperial Capital Natives started making a scene. "We want to eat Tsukudani and white rice..." Here too? So they were Tsukudani fanatics... Nori Tsukudani was a luxury item here. "We pledge our loyalty to Lady Claire!"
Ah, crap. It felt like a Coup d'etat was about to be launched against me. "Give us white rice!" "Just make do with the udon!"
However, Claire barked at them, silencing the crowd. "Both the rice and buckwheat are already in production. Heh heh heh... white rice."
Rice... it was the soul of the Japanese-descended. Why did we always come close to collapsing over trivial reasons like food? Even though we could overcome true crises by cooperating, in this way, Lady Claire reigned supreme as our superior. If we defied her, the supply of Rice would vanish! We had to protect Lady Claire at all costs!
Thus, Magellan ended up in the precarious position of being "a region the nation doesn't really need, but is personally indispensable." We could even harvest Nori there. It makes no sense at all! Furthermore, my Wifey was a bread partisan. She had only one thing to say: "The bread I had them make in Latarnia is delicious." It seemed Wifey was busy multiplying the number of Side Dish Bread Shops.