Why... just why?
The Super-dreadnought Mobile Fortress Kamishiro.
I had been ignoring it, never imagining it was actually my own battleship.
It was exactly the kind of oversized vessel the Duke Association would drool over.
No, I had told them so many times: if they were going to build something that absurd, they should have focused on numbers instead...
It was supposed to be my own private project, yet the costs were being footed by Chronos and the Galactic Empire.
Back in the Empire, the public was buzzing: "Wait, is that for the Hero Leo Kamishiro!?"
Major heavy industry corporations all declared their participation in the project.
Even in Chronos, major firms—I mean, it was a planetary-scale effort, so obviously construction companies were involved, but even brands I had never heard of... Why did a pachinko company sign on?
Oh, they were putting a pachinko parlor inside? I see.
By the time I realized what was happening, the economic impact was so massive that I couldn't just say, "Wait, no! I wanted a small one!" anymore.
People had swarmed the planets surrounding the spaceports where it was being built—not just from the Empire, but from this galaxy as well.
Actually, it started with the construction of the spaceports themselves.
It was a super-ultra-mega project that caused the unemployment rate to plummet.
Well, naturally...
The construction industry got a massive boost.
Worker housing was built on neighboring planets.
The population surge led to regular shuttle flights being established between the ports and the royal capital planet, Chronos.
More flights meant better logistics, which attracted distribution companies.
With more kids around, general hospitals, schools, and private academies were built.
Pediatricians and dental clinics were popping up like mushrooms.
Anticipating further growth, logistics warehouses and factories opened, providing local employment.
Licensing requirements led to the opening of driving schools and vocational centers.
The "mild yankees" who previously had no choice but to leave were now staying in their hometowns to raise children...
Even Imperial universities were setting up branch campuses...
The ensuing baby boom just accelerated the whole cycle...
There was no way I could stop this project now!
And so, a national project—one that was utterly unsuitable for a secret getaway—plowed ahead.
In the meantime, I was given a used battleship to use.
...It was a cadet training ship from the military academy.
The one we had used back in the day had exploded, so it wasn't the exact same vessel, but it was still nostalgic.
I figured I would consult everyone about it.
It was so nostalgic I almost wanted to laugh.
"Was the bath always this small?"
Claire let out a sigh.
"Looking back, they really didn't design these with girls in mind, did they?"
Melissa looked equally sour.
"At this rate, the quality of my fur will deteriorate."
Ren looked downright disgusted.
Ah, right.
I’ll pour some money into the living quarters. Got it.
"Running in the hallways is fine and all, but this training room is tiny," Isono complained.
True.
I’ll add more facilities for the muscle-heads...
"Hey, Leo. We’re fine with bunking together. Why don't we shrink the officer quarters and install the latest hydroponic facilities? The old ones are a pain to clean!"
Good point.
Those were made old-fashioned on purpose just to make cleaning duty a form of penance.
I’ll swap them for fully automated systems.
"I need a CT, an MRI, and an ultrasound machine," Kevin insisted.
You couldn't catch everything with just a full-body scanner.
"Whoa, those machines are ancient tech, yet they're so expensive!"
"People will die."
"Excuse me?"
"If we miss something like internal bleeding, people will die."
"I'll have them installed immediately, muscle!"
Faced with a surgeon’s intensity, I authorized the most expensive models on the spot.
They were surprisingly compact!
If you look at it as the price of a life, it's a steal!
I thought... this was just going to be... normal daily life.
But you see, I hadn't considered how Parcion would react.
I found out a month after construction on the Kamishiro began.
After finishing a mountain of paperwork, I was taking a nap.
I was snoozing away with Kinako-chan snuggled up beside me.
"Wake up!"
Ren was shaking me.
"Sweet potato...!"
"What are you dreaming about?! This is an emergency! The executives are waiting for you in the dining hall!"
"W-w-w-what happened!?"
"It's Parcion!"
"Them again? Those idiots!"
I gave Kinako-chan a quick kiss on the head and rushed to the dining hall.
A countermeasure meeting was already in full swing.
Wait, it wasn't just the higher-ups.
Even the civil officials were there. This was the real deal.
As I took my seat, Claire handed me some documents.
"Parcion’s main fleet has departed for the planet Chronos seized the other day."
"Hmph. Won't they just retreat after poking us a few times?"
Parcion was always indecisive.
I figured it would just be another empty provocation.
Next, Isono spoke up.
"This is a report from the Diplomatic Intelligence Department. Parcion is in a total frenzy from top to bottom over the construction of the Super-dreadnought Mobile Fortress Kamishiro. The prevailing theory over there is that Parcion will be wiped out in one year."
There's no way you can build a ship like that in a year!
"But that was supposed to be a getaway ship! Where did they even get that information?"
"It’s not just them. Every country is saying it."
"...Good grief."
It was seen as a massive military provocation.
"Hey! Hey! We're gonna come kill you all in a year!"
That’s basically what we had announced.
"Why did the construction plan even get approved!?"
If it was a military provocation, someone should have said something!
I only found out about it after it was too late to stop!
"Wait, isn't destroying Parcion the plan anyway?"
"Noooooo! My plan was to seize their entire supply chain through Chronos and neutralize them!"
Without Lepsitol, they were just a culturally isolationist nation.
All we had to do was steal their economy and leave them to rot.
In the process, we could dump the burden of caring for them onto the Zen God Race to slow them down.
I didn't want to destroy them; I wanted them to keep existing while being vaguely miserable!
Without Lepsitol, they were just a country stuck with a mountain of excess inventory!
"They would have blown up eventually. Whatever, focus on what’s next!"
"Pigyaaaaaaaa!"
Suddenly, a civil official from the diplomatic department shrieked.
"Parcion has declared total war!"
"They say that every time!"
"It looks like they’re serious this time. A plan to deploy every available unit against Chronos has been approved."
"Whyyyyyyyyy!?"
"Give it up, Conquering King."
"Also, we’ve received notice from Latarnia that they’re sending reinforcements."
I had a terrible feeling about this.
"An elite officer from the Latarnia Army has been selected. Oh, look, she's a young woman!"
"Gyaaaaaaaaa! Latarnia sent someone at the absolute worst possible time!"
And so, entirely without my consent, the final battle with Parcion was fast approaching.
No, seriously. How did it come to this?