Once I defeated President Ozen, the remaining enemies fled into the unknown.
Now that the President was out of the picture... occupying this territory was going to be such a massive pain!
I didn't want this kind of land anyway!
We began searching for Ozenian survivors, as well as those in the former Magellan Provisional Government Territory.
We rescued the people who had fled into the sewers to conduct resistance movements. Those who had fought to the bitter end were the only ones I could really trust.
Sure, some of them complained after we pulled them out, but it usually ended with a simple, "It was President Ozen's fault," and that was that.
Hardly any of President Ozen's clan members remained. Even so, it seemed they were still being purged by their own people.
I decided to leave Ozen's affairs to the Ozenians. I could have played the hero and helped them, but... there was absolutely no merit in it. It was just bad luck for the President’s family.
"The President’s relatives are asking to see you~" Fairy-san reported.
"What's their citizenship?"
If they held Chronos Citizenship, I would help them. I’d even provide guards. That was a promise I made to protect our citizens, and it was a domestic matter.
"They’re from the Magellan Provisional Government. They don't qualify for refugee status either."
"Then hand them over."
If they were foreigners, I didn't care. I had no obligation to them. As long as there were no legal issues, it wasn't my problem. In the first place, this judgment wasn't part of my job description; it was something that should have been handled automatically. The fact that she had gone out of her way to ask me meant they were probably hoping for special treatment.
"They say they’ll surrender all their assets if you help them, though?"
"I don't need them. Just seize the assets and hand the inventory over to the Ozen Person in Charge."
That said, Ozen was essentially a militia organization now. Even a council of experts couldn't reach a conclusion on whether it was a legally legitimate organization. For the time being, we decided to treat them as a provisional government, despite the fact that there were only ten thousand of them left.
I held no responsibility for the future of the Ozenians, nor for those from the Magellan Provisional Government. The survivors from both nations combined only totaled about thirty thousand. They were the ones who had been mechanized, and medical treatment was impossible. In order to turn a brain into a computer, the part containing the ego had been removed... well, let's just leave it at that.
Even my or Tatiana's ESP couldn't restore them. Even if we built them new bodies, their souls were already gone. President Ozen, who had retained his ego despite being mechanized, must have indeed received special treatment. Though, it was probably just because he was a fool and easy to control.
Post-war processing proceeded in this manner. In exchange for providing a certain amount of aid, we received permission to use their Spaceport and secured transit rights. Conversely, we wouldn't rule them, nor would we treat them as allies. It would likely take a long time before they were even viable business partners.
With that settled, I took a holiday. I spent my time relaxing with Wifey and my pets. The movements of the Zen God Race were still concerning, but we only had circumstantial evidence. For now, we had to wait and see.
Oh right, on a trivial note, that bastard Amada went and got married. His partner was Selene-chan. Since she was a lower-ranking member of the Imperial Family, it was a standard wedding—an event held by the private sector. ...Or so I thought.
I presented them with a mansion in a tourist spot in Chronos as a gift!
It was a prank, of course. The place was in the middle of reconstruction and had absolutely nothing, and you needed special permission just to enter Chronos.
Uke-ke-ke-ke-ke! How about that? The perfect harassment!
"Leo, that was a brilliant idea! Having the Galactic Empire Space Marines, the Chronos Army, and the Kamishiro Group lease the property to generate living expenses for the Imperial Family!"
Claire-san was beaming at me.
Wait, what?
"Um... wasn't it supposed to be a nuisance? I gifted them unusable land that would just rack up Property Tax?"
"Eh? You mean you weren't trying to provide a livelihood for a member of the Imperial Family who married a commoner?"
What a disaster... What was intended as a prank had turned into a genuinely helpful gift. How boring... but well, whatever.
And then came Amada's wedding. It was strictly a private event. I want to emphasize that: private.
...The venue was a Soccer Stadium in the Imperial Capital. The Imperial Capital Governor had personally prepared the location.
"I heard they're even performing a Shinto Wedding Ceremony during the outfit change."
"...Why?"
"Well, he is Leo's friend. Everyone is going to want to go all out, right?"
good grief...
"Then, what's going to happen with our wedding?" I asked, suddenly worried. I knew they were constructing a massive building, but...
"The meetings are currently in total turmoil over the scale. They haven't even finalized the plans yet. The venue is still under construction, too. It looks like they're planning to hold ceremonies in both the Galactic Empire Imperial Capital and the Grand Duchy of Chronos capital."
It was a bigger nightmare than I had imagined. I turned my attention back to Amada's wedding on the screen. A famous imperial singer was currently beltng out the national anthem. The whole thing was a festival. He was being made a public spectacle on a galactic scale.
Amada had a look on his face that clearly said, "How did it come to this?"
"This is supposed to be a private event..." Claire muttered, her own face twitching.
Major companies, starting with the Kamishiro Group, were listed as sponsors on the banners. It had grown into an event so massive it was spinning out of control.
"They're broadcasting until tonight. Apparently, twenty different musical acts are performing in the intervals."
"That's just a music festival..."
"It sounds like a cutthroat struggle broke out among the nobility just to get tickets."
A message from Wifey was read aloud to the crowd. Then, my message was read. While messages from Kamishiro Clan Members who couldn't attend were being announced, a male idol group took the stage to sing. Well, I suppose nobody wanted to listen to anyone's message but Wifey's anyway.
But man... it was the height of chaos. Just thinking about how Amada felt gave me enough secondhand embarrassment to kill me. In fact, Amada's eyes were practically rolling in his head.
The wedding had fully transformed into a festival. The broadcast showed crowds in front of the Soccer Stadium that rivaled a famous shrine on New Year's Day. In the gaps between the main broadcast, other singers and idols were performing live sets on-site. They were all big names, too.
And this was a private event! Believe me!
"Claire... our wedding can just be a simple, low-key affair, right?"
"Leo... give it up already."
The citizens of the Galactic Empire were rejoicing, celebrating the end of the Duke Association's tyranny. They believed a new era had arrived. The marriage between Selene-chan and Amada had become a symbol of their liberation.
I guess we're next...
No, the wedding itself is fine. I'm just horrified by how flashy it's become.
I watched as that bastard Amada was paraded around in an Open-top Car, waving his hands while looking completely dizzy. In front of him, a famous band was rocking out. The situation was so surreal that Amada likely thought he was in a dream.
I had witnessed something truly terrible...
"Hey, Leo..."
"What is it, Claire? I have a really bad feeling about this."
"Could we have a pro-wrestling event at ours?"
"If you can get Wifey's permission."
"Okaaay!"
Watching Amada being paraded around like a prize pony, I braced myself, knowing that soon enough, it would be my turn.