The same day the tournament ended, I issued a formal protest and a Statement of Condemnation to Parcion.
I managed to pull it off so quickly because I’d prepared multiple templates in advance. Once I attached the video evidence and signed the documents, they were ready to go.
The civil officials were stunned. "Wait, we don't have to stay up all night?" they asked.
Apparently, in Chronos’s democratic era, pulling all-nighters was standard in their "black" work environment. Having nearly died from paperwork multiple times myself, I refused to allow that. Efficiency was the priority—mostly to reduce the amount of documents that ended up on my own desk!
Still, I kept a night shift on duty, and some high-ranking officials might still get woken up in the middle of the night. I suppose we’ll be on a Three-shift System for a while. Forgive me, guys.
As for me, I couldn't sleep. I was stuck in meetings with Parcion and the neighboring countries the entire time. And my body was screaming! I coped by downing protein, painkillers, and stomach medicine. When you don't need immediate relief, oral medication is safer.
Isono handled the incoming calls from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Parcion. Hahaha! Can I take a nap now? My hands are literally trembling.
After the match, Kyoko-chan, the General Manager of the Engineering Department, made me sit in seiza while she chewed me out. "I can accept Massacre Night being trashed... but what were you thinking, wrecking the New Model Butterfly's Dream too, you moron?!"
Or words to that effect. Honestly, I don't think I'm the one at fault this time. I couldn't have beaten Katori-sensei if I’d held back.
Speaking of Katori-sensei, he was hospitalized overnight. His bones and organs were fine, but he was covered in bruises. Since his machine was a total loss, they kept him in for observation. Ha! Look who ended up in the hospital!
I was covered in bruises too, but thanks to the military’s excellent Nanomachines, I could recover with just some rest and decent nutrition. It seemed like safety devices didn't mean much for people like me and Katori-sensei... our movements were just too intense.
Even so, this girl must fight on... Soldiers are such tragic creatures...
Isono spent the entire night being badgered by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Parcion. "Give me a break..." he muttered, his voice dripping with sorrow. Yes, truly a tale of Manhood.
"Leo! You need to work too!" "Hard pass!"
Jokes aside, I did have things to do. I submitted documents to various departments and turned over the cockpit footage and logs from both my machine and Katori-sensei’s to the Chronos Army. I also had to approve the analysis results of the enemy warship’s logs. I didn't actually read them myself, of course; I just signed off on the results provided by the Analysts. This also went smoothly thanks to the night-shift teams I’d organized beforehand.
From Parcion’s perspective, they had no choice but to claim things like "the state broadcaster's crew operated the ship incorrectly" or "this was the work of terrorists unknown to us." They might even try The 'I'll Just Declare War Now' Technique.
That was why we kept protesting, saying things like, "Isn't that your warship?" and "Look at the logs. The military issued formal orders." We could have just gone the "You're the culprit, so die!" route and declared war immediately, but then I’d be stuck answering to parliament. I didn't have the energy or the temperament to be a dictator, so I figured it was better to build a rock-solid case and fight it out in the legislature.
To be honest, this was too direct to be called a mere military provocation; they were picking a fight. I could have authorized an invasion, but I didn't actually want Parcion. Besides, I’d already completely demolished their honor. "They tried to crash an international tournament to commit an assassination, only to get their asses kicked! Hahaha!"
That was the narrative now. Plus, there was the simple fact that if we didn't retaliate somehow, we’d look weak. Now then, how should I cook them? For starters, I planned to thoroughly grind their reputation into the dirt.
Meanwhile, over in the Ogre God Nation, a mysterious event called the Big Brother Leo Festival had spontaneously broken out. People were diving into rivers, and festival floats were careening through the streets. The life-or-death duel between the Sword Saint and his disciple seemed to have struck a chord with the Ogre God Nation's spirit. A young man from the nation shouted during an interview: "Next year, I'm definitely going to challenge Big Brother Leo!"
"Don't you dare, you moron! Get lost!" I yelled at the screen. There was no one to play the straight man. Truly, a world without a straight man.
Time for some cat-huffing. "Kinako-chan!" "Meow~♪" "Who’s a cute girl? You are!♪" I buried my face in her fur. Snuuuuuuuuuff...
Daifuku rubbed against me too, wanting attention. This pathetic display was the reality of the Archduke of Chronos.
Lou-chan’s Mama and her team were fast. They’d been running emergency specials constantly since the incident. Parcion was already being held up to public ridicule. After all that effort, they were wiped out by just two machines, and they’d even lost their ship. If they were Samurai, they’d be at the point of writing their death poems. Messages of praise for me were pouring in from various countries, accompanied by a wave of Statements of Condemnation against Parcion.
Yeah, they were idiots. Setting the bar at "killing me and Katori-sensei" as a minimum requirement was a fundamental flaw in their planning. Lou-chan was being looked after by Tatiana, One-oh-one, and Shiyun. I really needed to set up a nursery and an After-school Children's Club in the Palace. I’ll have to put in a request for that.
Once I finished my cat-huffing, I headed to the Dining Hall. Sleep was out of the question anyway, given the possibility that they might actually declare war. I went to the Dining Hall to whip up a midnight snack. Not the main hall with the professional chefs, but the one we were allowed to use freely. We’d ended up keeping them separate.
Everyone was still hard at work. "Yo."
I gave a cheerful, athletic-style greeting. "Good work," Nakajima replied before taking a long swig of a nutritional drink. Claire and Ren were working too. Since Ren was now the Palace Grand Chamberlain, she was naturally buried in tasks.
"I'm making a midnight snack, guys. Any requests?"
"Hmm... Ramen," Claire answered. "Coming right up."
Ramen it was. I boiled the dashi packs and mixed them with a commercial soup base. I’d start with a soy sauce base... "Any specific flavors?"
"Soy sauce," Claire said. Then Nakajima chimed in. "Miso."
Ah, here we go again. The eternal debate. "Just so you know, the Tonkotsu is just the standard commercial soup. I'm not customizing it tonight."
"Urgh!" The Tonkotsu and Soy Sauce Tonkotsu factions looked devastated. Think about the effort, people!
"I'd like salt!" Ren said, apparently in the mood for something lighter. "With a heap of Charshiu."
"Got it." I had plenty of Charshiu in stock. Soy sauce, miso, salt...
"Soy sauce, sir!" One-oh-one was already at the table, her eyes sparkling. "Yes, yes, I hear you."
"Lord Groom... I am hungry..." Wifey arrived next.
"Ah, so this is where you were! How does One-oh-one always know when there’s food? Oh, miso for me, please!" Tatiana arrived, carrying Lou-chan. "Lord Leo, salt for me as well," Shiyun added tentatively. Never change, Shiyun.
And so, the Late-night Ramen Party began... Wait. I thought we were supposed to be talking about work? Oh well, whatever.