At Ren's command, the Beast Squad arrived in droves.
"At your service! We have come in haste at Great King Ren’s command!"
"Um... Ren?"
I turned to Ren, seeking an explanation.
She responded with a serene smile.
"I am having them serve as police officers. Their first task is to conduct a search and seizure of the media outlets on suspicion of cooperating with enemy forces."
"Um... Ren? Don't they have other jobs to attend to?"
"There are not many stable occupations prepared for the Beast Race."
She hit where it hurt.
It was true; I hadn't seen many of them in the Imperial Capital.
Wifey had forbidden racial discrimination, but prejudice against the Beast Race remained deeply rooted.
To begin with, even among the nobility, the only ones were Lady Marma and Ren. Without the backing of a noble house, securing a good job in the Imperial Capital was a steep mountain to climb.
The military was the only exception, boasting significant numbers, but finding work within the capital itself was rare. Even for Ren, entering the military academy would have been difficult if she hadn't been the daughter of a Duke-type family.
Of course, we had... well, probably... no prejudice ourselves.
While the top and bottom rungs of the country had grown younger, the middle management remained stubborn, leaving some areas where the air felt stagnant and old-fashioned. Private companies were likely the same.
The Kamishiro Group, which actively recruited the Beast Race, was a rare outlier. Our average employee age was young, after all, and we had many retired soldiers who were already accustomed to modified humans like those of the Beast Race.
It seemed I had misread the situation entirely.
And so, Beast Race police officers were dispatched throughout Magellan. Since their appearance wasn't as drastically different as Zork, the people of Proone, or the Ghouls, they were accepted without much fuss. We aimed to restore order by establishing police boxes in various locations.
In Magellan, looters of the ‘Hiyah-hah!’ variety were still a common sight.
In the midst of that chaos, Claire and Ren launched a simultaneous raid on the media.
And man, did the skeletons come tumbling out of the closets. It was a literal mountain of treason.
Now, a moderate amount of traitors is fine. There are diplomatic techniques for using such people as mutual spies. In fact, we were utilizing several individuals like that in Chronos and Magellan. They were petty crooks whom we would never fully trust and would discard the moment they became a liability, but they served a purpose.
But I never expected them to be conducting opinion manipulation at the behest of the Ozen Alliance. Were they actually stupid?
It was almost laughable because the media outlets truly believed they were acting in the name of justice. They were so incompetent that they were beyond saving.
Ren and the Beast Squad began their sweep of the media offices.
"D-Do you have any idea who I am?!"
"Media King O'Neill, I presume? What of it?"
Ren and the Beast Squad officers apprehended O'Neill.
"If you arrest me, the people of Magellan won't stand for it! Justice is on our side!"
"Is that so? Personally, I think you're a villain who sacrificed hundreds of millions of lives to terrorism. Citizens, care to weigh in?"
Ren waved at the camera.
You see, she had been broadcasting the entire thing live from the start. A crowd consisting of Chronos mass media, general citizens, and even armed rioters had already swarmed the front of the headquarters.
"Hello, everyone. You are welcome to kill them, but if we don't put them on trial first, the truth will stay buried forever," Ren appealed to them through the microphone.
The rioters paused, hands hovering over their Molotov cocktails.
I was standing right beside Ren.
"Now that it is quiet, please listen to the words of His Majesty Leo Kamishiro Chronos."
Ren handed me the mic.
"Why was Magellan targeted by the Locust Terrorist Attack? Who devised this plan? Who were the traitors? We will hold a trial and bring the truth to light."
When I said that, voices drifted from the crowd: "Well, if the Grand Duke says so, I guess we have no choice."
I seemed to be surprisingly well-trusted.
Then, I handed the microphone to Claire.
"Citizens, rest assured. If they are truly traitors, they will face judgment. We cannot be bought with money or power. No matter how influential the individual, there will be no exceptions."
"W-What if the courthouse betrays us?!"
"In that case, feel free to do as you please with them."
She had effectively issued a permit for lynching.
As I thought... Claire—Lady Claire—was a natural dictator.
"Now, everyone, let us move forward with Magellan's reconstruction. Let's Earn Today as Well!"
With that, the rioters dispersed. A few were still grumbling, but they were arrested separately.
Thus, the "bright dictatorship" marched on.
It was unavoidable to an extent. Reconstruction had to come first. Also, "Let's Earn Today as Well" had apparently become our official catchphrase without me even knowing.
We made hundreds of arrests. Most were for drugs, gambling, and prostitution rings. I didn't care if they were A-list actors or ultra-popular idols; the police ignored the social atmosphere and arrested them in waves.
They raided entertainment agencies as well. The drug contamination was staggering. The level of corruption was enough to make me recoil. Most of the talent was hand in glove with the Ozen Alliance.
Just arrest them all!
I had no intention of suppressing free speech, yet for some reason, it looked more like a crackdown every second.
Leaving only the decent agencies standing, it was arrest after arrest. In Chronos, the elderly had been the first to die off, but in Magellan, the old guard had survived. This level of rot was only possible because they were so deeply entrenched. The people in power had essentially sold out the youth and the children.
"...What a miserable society,"
I muttered, and Claire offered a small smile.
"Even in the Galactic Empire, the Duke Association was selling out the country."
She had me there. I see... the reason this irritated me so much was because it reminded me of the old Empire. No wonder it rubbed me the wrong way. If Wifey hadn't become the Emperor, those traitors would have been obstructing us for eternity.
"Claire, what's the plan?"
"I'm discussing it with the courthouse. We believe it's appropriate to confiscate their entire fortunes and send them to a Frontier Planet."
Right on cue, Ren brought us some tea.
"Tea time~"
"Ren, perfect timing. About those companies belonging to the arrested..."
"It seems the buildings that have already been searched are being set on fire."
"They were... set on fire?"
"Yes. It's more like we're 'protecting' the suspects so they won't be murdered by the mob."
"Can't we stop the fires?"
"And have the mob's anger turn toward us instead?"
Yeah, that's a no-go.
In this way, Lady Claire's name would be etched into history as the dictator of Magellan.
I think I'll roast some potatoes.
I turned to cooking as a way to escape the stress.
Potato Potato Potato Potato O-Potato-san♪
"I smell O-Potato-san, de-ari-masu!"
As I danced and roasted the potatoes, everyone swarmed in and started swiping them. But this time, I made sure there was enough for my share too!
Potatoes are delicious.