Latarnia originated from an underground organization of Latarnian slaves.
These slaves supported one another, eventually rising up to establish their own nation. It was a country founded for the sole purpose of liberating all Latarnians. While it might sound like a beautiful tale at first glance, the reality was a history of ultra-violence where blood was washed with more blood. They spent centuries locked in a cycle of slaughter, making enemies of every neighboring nation.
Because of that history, their internal structure had evolved into a totalitarian society that felt like social contract theory leveled up to 999. One for the nation, and the nation for the individual. They were a dangerous people because they actually lived by those words.
Naturally, they wouldn’t lift a finger over a minor incident involving a Latarnian in a foreign land. Such things happened all the time. However, once an incident reached the level of murder, they would demand documentation with terrifyingly grim expressions, claiming it was "for the sake of the future." If there was any hint of foul play, it became a massive international problem.
Despite being such a fearsome nation, some fools in Parcion had gone and burned down one of their settlements.
"They weren't Latarnians; they were Latarnian-descended Parcionians, right?"
There was no way the Latarnians would accept such sleep-talking excuses. To them, anyone of Latarnian descent was a Latarnian, period.
Conversely, from our perspective, Latarnia was a very easy civilization to deal with. They disclosed their rules in advance, and the logic behind those rules was easy to follow. They had no strange "Village of Evil Customs" rules, and there was always room for negotiation. They understood the concept of favors and debts, and they could read the room to some extent.
However, they were never an opponent to be underestimated. While it was true they had suffered a setback in their war against the Taikyoku Nation due to a poor tactical matchup, the reality was that they were a Super-Mass-Productive Strategic Nation that would rain down an endless torrent of missiles. You simply couldn't afford to fight them. No matter what, massive casualties were unavoidable. In that case, it was far better to negotiate patiently.
Some might argue that negotiating with Latarnians was costly, but since we were also a troublesome nation governed by the Rule of Law, our civil official costs were actually on the lower end. This allowed us to join hands and engage in "cooperative play" even with nations that held vastly different ideologies. In the end, you couldn't survive this galaxy without cooperative play. The world really was quite well put together, in its own way.
Latarnia's first request was the recovery of the bodies. They were the kind of nation that would pay a ransom even for hostages who had already become corpses.
Naturally, we promised to facilitate the entry of the Latarnia Religion and the deployment of Saint Tatiana. At this point, my stomach was constantly in knots. I submitted the plans for the recovery of the remains to the Latarnia Religion so they could judge if the process was doctrinally correct. Fortunately, there were no clauses stating that "heathens are defiled and must not touch the bodies."
I hired a company specializing in the excavation and restoration of ruins. I ensured the workforce was primarily Latarnian, and even the site foreman was one of their own. That was the only way I felt comfortable letting the work proceed.
The bodies were found almost immediately. There was a wall in the forest that surrounded an area with unnatural precision. It turned out they had simply buried the settlement haphazardly. Dirt had been tossed over the site so carelessly that building foundations and rubble were still visible on the surface.
Apparently, the area had been strictly off-limits. When the Governor was young, there had been a string of illegal trespasses by youths performing "tests of courage," which led to the construction of the wall. Even the Governor, who was now seventy, only had those vague memories of the place.
We conducted interviews with the village elders, but once people reached that age... they viewed Latarnians as nothing more than livestock that happened to speak.
"What’s so wrong with killing Latarnians?"
One of them asked me that with a completely straight face. It made me realize the Governor’s generation was actually the reasonable one.
"The people in the government these days are useless. They didn't limit the number of Latarnians, and look! They went and built a whole country!" the old man huffed with indignation.
I lost any desire to continue the conversation. Latarnia had been a nation for hundreds of years. It had existed longer than this old geezer had been alive. It seemed there was a profound darkness in this galaxy that we were only just beginning to uncover.
"So, are we actually going to arrest this half-senile old man?" I asked the official in charge of the local Latarnian investigation.
"If there is irrefutable evidence, we will have no choice..."
"Right. But even if we put him in prison, I doubt he’d last a year."
At that point, it wouldn't be a prison; it would just be a care facility. That wasn't something that should be funded by the blood-tax of the Latarnian people.
"I intend to seek the judgment of the King of Latarnia," the official added.
"Fair enough."
Man, this was difficult. But ultimately, it was a decision for the Latarnians to make. My concern was that if we imprisoned the local elders, the Parcionian forces might rise up in revolt. I wanted to avoid a situation where the Latarnian army moved in to slaughter them all, leaving Chronos looking like the villain. That definitely wasn't the kind of image strategy we were going for.
Living on nothing but short naps for days, my brain was starting to glitch.
I want potatoes... Potatoes... Potatoes... Give me carbs...
"What happened to you, Captain? You haven't even shaved."
It was 2:00 AM when I ran into Melissa in the dining hall. She was scavenging for food.
"I... want... potatoes... Need... carbohydrates..."
"Oh, when you're craving sweets or carbs like that, it's usually a protein deficiency. Check your sensor."
I checked my Status Sensor. Sure enough, a protein deficiency warning was flashing. Conversely, it showed an excess of carbohydrates. Come to think of it, I had eaten a mountain of fries a few hours ago.
"Here, have a protein bar."
Melissa handed me one. Banana milk flavor. The good kind. I chewed on it morosely. Slowly, the fog in my head began to clear.
"Melissa, want me to whip something up?"
"I want hotcakes!"
Heh... late-night hotcakes. How sinful.
As the smell filled the air, the "Hungry Brigade" began to materialize.
"That is a wonderful aroma, indeed..." Wifey remarked, appearing out of nowhere.
"Hmm, a midnight snack?" Claire asked, drifting in.
"I'll help!" Ren added.
One-oh-one was already seated, waiting expectantly. Then Kevin shuffled in.
"Surgery's finally over... I'll help..."
Apparently, a piece of heavy machinery had tipped over, and a worker had been seriously injured. She had been acting as an assistant during the emergency operation. Being a doctor really was a brutal gig.
By the time the rest of the guys arrived, Nina-san had joined in to help, though she had a beauty face sheet plastered over her skin. Apparently, she couldn't take it off for another five minutes.
Once the hotcakes were fried, they weren't enough to satisfy the ravenous crowd, so I started handing out cup noodles fortified with protein. One-oh-one looked at me with sparkling eyes.
"Do you want whipped cream on yours?"
"I would very much like some, sir!"
I obliged, topping her plate with whipped cream and strawberry jam.
Finally, Shiyun and her brother arrived, accompanied by Tatiana, who had just finished the Latarnia Religion’s memorial ritual. Out of all of us, Tatiana was having the hardest time. She had been chanting until the middle of the night—or rather, in the Latarnia Religion, singing songs dedicated to the dead.
They weren't the kind of songs that required the physical power of an opera singer; they were more like rhythmic sutras. Tatiana had already mastered the songs of the Chronos and Ogre God Nation religions, and now she was tackling the Taikyoku Nation’s repertoire. Apparently, the Taikyoku melodies were unique and incredibly difficult. One-oh-one was learning them alongside her, and it seemed their hard work was paying off.
Tatiana looked completely spent.
"I'm... so... tired..."
"Good work. Did you get any dinner?"
"I had a bento... but I can't trust the local Parcion ingredients, so it was a frozen one."
Ah, right. Probably a Shokado bento that prioritized aesthetics over substance.
"Want some cup noodles?"
"I do!"
I set her up.
And so, despite the fact that we weren't technically in combat, we were all being slowly ground down.
We definitely needed more laughter in our lives.