Amada-kyun's situation was going to take quite a bit of time.
Things were different now compared to the era of Maro, when everyone just did whatever they wanted. Wifey followed the proper procedures.
She involved her superiors—or rather, everyone all the way to the top.
He needed to receive the guardianship of a noble house. Either a Marquis or a Duke.
The only reason I was able to marry Wifey while bypassing the usual red tape was likely because my family home was a Marquis House.
Since I was backing Amada, the Grand Ducal House Kamishiro took up his guardianship. When that happened, the heads of the military and the police scrambled to join in as guardians as well.
Even though having a Major General like me would have been enough, Lieutenant Generals, His Excellency the General, and various civil officials I didn’t even recognize joined the list of guardians.
As for the police, everyone ranked higher than Amada became a guardian. On top of that, people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs swarmed in to declare themselves guardians, shouting, "We’re late to the party!"
You see, those Lieutenant Generals and His Excellency the General had acted as my guardians back in the day, too. Even the previous General, who has since retired. They did it strictly out of goodwill.
At the time, my only title was the "incompetent" third son of House Kamishiro, and Wifey was low in the line of imperial succession. Even for a marriage into the Imperial Family, it wasn't that big of a deal back then.
But then I rose in rank, and now look at the commotion. It’s like a story where a stock you bought just to be polite suddenly reached an astronomical value before you knew it.
Amada-kun was the next big IPO, apparently. The whole thing was being treated as a major national event, with the media reporting on it day after day.
The narrative was: "The Imperial Princess who had never seen the light of day until now was actually Amada's secretary." It wasn't entirely wrong. Public opinion was in a celebratory mood. Even Wifey could no longer control the situation.
Not my problem anymore.
Now then, onto Experimental Subject-chan. We were still verifying if she was stable. We were adjusting things while repeatedly counseling her and confirming her will. I mean, there were so many things we didn't know, like her gender and such. For the time being, she had to make do with taking walks in a luggage cart.
Meanwhile, winter arrived in the Chronos Capital.
Wifey was constantly hanging out at my house in the Palace. I wondered if it was really okay for the Emperor of the Galactic Empire to be over here all the time. Well, we’re a married couple... so I guess it’s fine.
Now, about winter. Back in the summer, I think, I happened to mutter: "It’d be nice to go skiing when winter comes."
Someone must have overheard me. It was probably a civil official in the Palace. That official likely mentioned what I said during some idle chatter with a representative from a private company. Then it reached the ears of a CEO, and it developed into a massive joint project between several major land development firms.
Claire scolded me... but I don't think I’m the one at fault.
The culture of the Galactic Empire had already been transmitted through books and videos. They didn't have a "ski culture" before, but they learned through competition footage and the Documentary for Latarnia. They even have skiing simulators now.
And so, a Large-scale Ski Resort was born on the capital planet, which had been full of vacant land. I thought it might be a hard sell if they only offered skiing, but they said they would attract crowds with the ocean in the summer.
Apparently, I had been investing in it without even knowing, and I was a major shareholder. My personal assets have reached a level where I can no longer keep track of them. I have no idea.
...I should come and support them in the summer, too.
Word spread that it was a "Leo Kamishiro-related Large-scale Project," and tourists from Latarnia and the Taikyoku Nation flocked there in droves. It's fully booked.
Even so, I was invited before the grand opening. Hahaha.
And so, we all went skiing. Berger-san and Kachiya skipped out; they seemed busy researching those ruins.
We traveled by bus. Public order in Chronos is currently very good. There’s plenty of work, and the idea that life gets better if you work hard is spreading throughout society. Therefore, we weren't attacked.
I thought at least one person poisoned by conspiracy theories would come to kill me, but so far, no luck. At most, there are only people from the Ogre God Nation trying to test their strength.
As for those Ogre God Nation people, I beat them to a pulp regardless of whether the cameras are rolling. Seeing that, the citizens of Chronos somehow misinterpreted it as, "We must be like that, too!"
Because of that, dojos run by Katori-sensei's disciples are popping up all over the place. By now, Katori-sensei is a famous businessman throughout Chronos and the Ogre God Nation. However, he doesn't care for money.
"As long as I have my sword, I won't go hungry," he says, as he casually donates massive amounts to the Galactic Empire and support groups for disaster victims in various nations.
Because the amounts were so large, the various nations even established foundations in his name. I feel like I caught a glimpse of why this utterly audacious old man is hailed as the Sword Saint.
"Listen, Leo, if you're a warrior, just think about martial arts."
"Master, I don’t even know what my main job is anymore."
I’m a soldier, a king, the groom of the Galactic Empire Emperor, and the Space Kaiju Kawagon. See? Totally lost.
"In your case, that might be for the best," he said. After that ridiculous conversation, we hit the slopes.
Since the railway lines haven't been restored yet, we traveled by plane and bus. The older guys, like Katori-sensei and Suematsu-san, skipped the skiing for a drinking party.
They had a chef from a high-end restaurant... okay, that’s a lie. It was former high-end restaurant staff who are now in the military, with some help from local Chronos shops.
You guys, take it easy on your livers!
We headed for the slopes. Lou-chan—Experimental Subject-chan—watched from her incubator.
Wait a minute.
"One-oh-one, stop trying to put Lou-chan on a snowmobile!"
She’ll fall! An accident will happen, so stop it!
"Is that not allowed, de arimasu ka?"
She looked up at me with those eyes... S-stop that! You’re making me look like the bad guy!
"I’ll bring a vehicle for her..."
And so, I took Lou-chan for a ride. Zashiki-warashi-chan hopped in, too. It was a continuous track snow vehicle—basically a tank without the gun.
Heh. This humble self can operate almost any military vehicle, de gozaru.
"Amazing! Fast!"
Both Lou-chan and Zashiki-warashi-chan were delighted. Man, these are the kind of days I wanted. I just want to play with Wifey and the gang without dealing with those idiots from the Zen God Race.
When we finished a lap, I found Wifey snowboarding. She was actually quite good. As soon as she spotted me, she glided over.
"Fufufu, I practiced quite a bit on the simulator!"
"You're incredible, Wifey! Truly the Best Woman in the Universe!"
"Nuhahaha! Praise me more!"
Unlike Wifey, there was one pitiful soul. Kevin was wiping out spectacularly.
"I used to be able to do this—!"
I’m pretty sure it’s because your chest is too heavy now.
Overlap official information has been released: https://over-lap.co.jp/Form/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?shop=0&pid=9784824014399&vid=&cat=BNK&swrd=
On sale December 25th. Additionally, a "Melon Limited Edition with Specially Illustrated Acrylic Stand Figure" will be released at Melonbooks! Hyah-hoo!