Chapter 33 - The Emperor as an Actor and Raising the Mercenary Guild Rank
～The former Free Democratic Alliance-controlled star region that completely lost its function as a nation due to the invasion of mineral lifeforms～
Sangou, along with the captain who had started calling himself 'Shin' and Kichou, had continued navigating in a wandering manner, searching for bandits.
This was a scheme proposed by Sangou to fulfill the captain's wishes in his position as 'Jin' and to allow him to live peacefully going forward with his wife and children, headed by Rouju, in the Gialpha Galaxy Empire.
As a result of that scheme, which was established with full cooperation from the Emperor, Laura, and Betasia Count Orega, Shin succeeded in name laundering, but lost his title at the Mercenary Guild.
Therefore, Sangou's current situation was simply that of tirelessly engaging in bandit hunting to recover that title.
That aside, the existence that could be called the 'remnants of the Free Democratic Alliance' had been completely snuffed out by the invasion of the mineral lifeforms.
Hence, several star systems where both the ruling class and inhabitants had vanished like a void were created, and all of them met the conclusion of being incorporated into the territory of the Gialpha Galaxy Empire.
Among the robe-wearing nobles of the Empire, there were many who thought, 'I want to become a territory holder,' and the star region where Sangou was currently conducting a search-and-destroy navigation was one where, by imperial command, the resettlement and reconstruction of inhabitants had begun, with some star systems and planets currently in the midst of selecting a ruling lord.
However, because the relevant star region was a fairly wide area encompassing several star systems, the selection process was stalling over matters including 'whether the newly established ruling lord's noble house should be a duke, a margrave, or perhaps multiple counts.'
What does that mean? In short, it was 'a place where bandits can easily work, and the most suitable star region for Shin's activities to raise his mercenary guild rank.'
Well, that's fine as it stands.
But how did things come to this, after the Emperor's statement at the rewards ceremony for the deceased (or rather, made to be deceased) Jin?
Let's rewind the timeline a bit, and trace the progression of events from the part where, after Laura and the Emperor finished their discussions upon returning incognito from the Asada Marquis's residence, and after coordination with relevant parties was completed, the reward for Jin was decided.
After finishing a private meeting with Laura, who had returned bearing a proposal from Jin, the Emperor first summoned the Prime Minister.
This was because, in a situation where there were multiple parties he needed to hash things out with, it was the most efficient method.
The Emperor wanted to offload a certain amount of preliminary arrangements and adjustments to the Prime Minister.
Needless to say, that was a necessary step to do so.
Given these circumstances, for the Prime Minister, who had been summoned urgently at a late hour, it was certainly a personally quite troublesome affair.
But, since that was part of his job, perhaps the difficult part was that the Prime Minister himself had no right to complain.
Thus, the top civilian official of the Gialpha Galaxy Empire found himself in a private discussion with only the Emperor.
"Consort Laura has finished preliminary negotiations with Marquis Asada. All of our proposals were rejected! Based on that, what do you think is best? I permit you to answer as Prime Minister, including your position as a representative of the nobility."
The Emperor's opening salvo was straight to the point.
Speaking with a displeased expression, the Emperor was quite the actor.
At the very least, he did not let the battle-hardened Prime Minister realize it was an act.
"(Marquis Asada rejected the offer of 'becoming the Emperor of the Gialpha Galaxy Empire'? How stupid can you be)"
Upon receiving the Emperor's concise explanation of the situation and the question, the first thing that crossed the Prime Minister's mind was the above.
Based on the typical ambitious noble's way of thinking, Jin's response was nothing short of shocking.
The Prime Minister's thoughts briefly stopped from surprise, but his recovery was swift.
In a few seconds of silence, he considered, 'So, what should be done?'
If he couldn't manage that much, it would be impossible to remain in the position of Prime Minister of a powerful galactic empire.
"(First, I need to sort out the situation and obtain information that can serve as material to think of some countermeasure. Without that, offering easy advice in this case would only be harmful.)"
The Prime Minister's thinking at this time was nothing but perfectly sound.
"Your Majesty, if I may speak, I would first like to share and reconfirm our understanding of the situation."
"Very well. It would be necessary to know the Prime Minister's current understanding."
The Emperor magnanimously gave permission.
In truth, no matter what the Prime Minister said or did, the Emperor's conclusion had been mostly decided from the start.
This magnanimity at this stage came from that psychological leeway.
"I am grateful. Then, Marquis Asada's battle report states: 'Engaged with space beasts considered to be seven invasion forces totaling seventy million vessels, along with a bio-ship acting in concert with them; destroyed the equivalent of sixty-six million vessels and one bio-ship. The equivalent of two million vessels escaped.'"
The first thing the Prime Minister did was confirm the content reported by Jin as 'destroyed' and the 'portion that was not completely annihilated and escaped.'
"The Imperial military forces other than Sangou, which Marquis Asada commands, committed the maximum number of troops that could be mobilized. The estimated battle results of those Imperial forces are the equivalent of two million vessels. 'How to properly evaluate the bio-ship?' is a point where opinions may differ. But since it's only one vessel in number, let's exclude it from consideration for now. Even based on that, Marquis Asada, in single-ship combat, produced at least thirty-three times the battle results of the Imperial forces."
While reconfirming the content of the report he had received, the Prime Minister also felt a doubt.
"(Wait? What exactly was the Imperial Guard Fleet's free raiding vessel Sangou in the first place? Wasn't it given special privileges because 'it is treated as the combat strength equivalent to one army in the Imperial Space Forces'? Looking at this record, it's far from being merely equivalent to one army!)"
It was only now that the Prime Minister thought this.
But this wasn't the time to complain about that.
After all, if he were to say so, he should have noticed it at the point when Sangou performed its unique work against the space locust incident and the super-massive fortress brought out by the Free Democratic Alliance.
Ultimately, people are creatures that see what they want to see.
At the root of the Prime Minister's thinking was, 'A single space vessel cannot possibly have that much combat ability.'
That aside.
To the Prime Minister's words, which were merely a reconfirmation of past reports, the Emperor nodded silently.
With no objection from the top, the Prime Minister proceeded further with his discussion.
"However, the report from the Imperial military differs. 'No matter how thoroughly we scrutinize the combat records submitted by Sangou, the battle results are far fewer than those in Marquis Asada's report.' Even regarding the destruction of the bio-ship, conclusive confirmation cannot be obtained. Furthermore, although he should have fought against seven invasion forces, the fact that only combat records for five exist is also a problem."
Naturally, the combat records Sangou could submit were limited to what could be observed in the star region where Sangou was present.
That is, only the cleanup annihilation battles against the remaining enemies from the second to the sixth forces, in which Jin, Kichou, and Sangou fought together, and a brief bombardment against the first force.
Due to Sangou's strategy, the actual fighting had the strongest combatant, the Hero Jin, acting ahead and single-handedly annihilating about eighty percent of the enemy.
But Sangou, which did not accompany him, could not have records of that part.
Of the groups at the enemy's rear, the one that remained after Jin attacked retreated in its entirety, escaping completely without even an opportunity to confront Sangou.
Therefore, there are no combat records for the one army fought by Jin alone; only records of fighting against six groups can be submitted.
Moreover, for one of those, only a token bombardment was made, and the results cannot be confirmed.
Leaving aside such facts, there is a considerable discrepancy between the battle report including Jin's actual combat actions and the records that can be called 'material evidence' submitted by Sangou.
The Hero Jin has no ability to prove his own battles or results.
That was the reality.
Incidentally, the bio-ship imitation that fell into a star and was destroyed, excluded from the battle result assessment, appeared from Sangou's video records to be nothing more than self-destruction.
Therefore, it was ultimately not considered 'destroyed by Sangou's attack.'
There is no way that the application of paralysis magic would be visibly and understandably recorded on video for others to see.
From the perspective of the Imperial military and the Prime Minister, this aspect is perhaps unavoidable.
However, the Emperor and Laura's views differ.
"The reward proposal previously prepared for the rewards ceremony was based on Marquis Asada's battle report. But judging by the Imperial military's findings, a different conclusion would be reached."
Of course, even though 'changing the criteria significantly reduces the battle results,' the number of kills achieved by Sangou remains a tremendous feat.
To put it simply, the Imperial forces excluding Sangou only destroyed one enemy army of two million using all available troops.
And they lost a fleet strength equivalent to a full army in that annihilation battle.
However, Jin, who fought with Sangou, destroyed at least five times that, ten million, and returned unscathed, so naturally there were no losses.
Furthermore, Sangou was entirely self-sufficient, not relying on the Imperial military's logistics for weapons, ammunition, fuel, water, or even food.
If one thinks of the soldiers who died in battle, the Prime Minister, who was safely in the rear, might not be in a position to speak lightly of 'cost-effectiveness.'
But, nonetheless.
If evaluating a soldier's battlefield performance, this point is unavoidable in reality.
Even knowing that, why did the Prime Minister mention the discrepancy to the Emperor?
It was to undervalue Jin's achievements as much as possible, compress what the Gialpha Galaxy Empire would give as a reward, and bring it down to a level that would satisfy those who witnessed Jin receiving the reward.
"Your Majesty, please permit a question. 'All of our proposals were rejected' — does that include 'the promises Your Majesty made initially'? If so, what is the reason?"
"Reason? In short, it's that 'I don't need anything too great that I can't handle.' The flow was that Marquis Asada first confirmed, 'Do you intend to keep the prior promises?' The Consort handling the negotiations fully affirmed that. Marquis Asada expressed no dissatisfaction with the confirmed result. So far, so good?"
"Yes."
"But Marquis Asada himself knew that if those prior promises were fulfilled, there was a high possibility the Empire would be thrown into chaos. Of course, the Consort also broached the subject. Marquis Asada does not wish for the Empire's order to be disturbed or its ruling system to collapse. However, he refuses to manage the country or a territory, or to become Emperor and bear full responsibility for the Empire. To Marquis Asada, that would be a 'penalty game,' and 'such a thing is neither a reward nor anything else.' In essence, it's about 'don't force obligations and responsibilities on me under the guise of a reward.'"
The Prime Minister could only be dumbfounded.
If one seizes power, it's natural that obligations and responsibilities come with it to some extent.
Imperial nobles seek increased power precisely because that brings greater satisfaction.
Indeed, holding great power fulfills many things.
But, nonetheless.
Marquis Asada's underlying values were far too different.
Of course, not all imperial nobles are ambitious.
But such people are merely eccentrics and oddballs, a minority, and if the target is limited to robe-wearing nobles residing in the capital, they are simply unthinkable — unlike frontier territory-holding nobles who hole up in their domains.
"(I see. So Marquis Asada is a person with such values. However, it would be problematic to create a precedent of voluntarily declining rewards without a valid reason. It would also be bad if others saw it as 'the Empire forced this,' and if a value like 'doing so is virtuous!' spreads, it would be no joke.)"
While understanding the Emperor's explanation, the Prime Minister sank deep into his thoughts.
Regardless of the reason, having an openly established precedent where one receives a reward not commensurate with their battlefield performance is unacceptable, even from the principle of strict reward and punishment in the military.
If such a thing becomes common, it would inevitably lead to a future where people think, 'Can I risk my life with no reward? Screw that!'
This, in turn, would lead to the collapse of the nobility's position as protectors of the people, a path to the nation's ruin.
Understanding this, the Prime Minister quickly set his mind to work and spoke.
"Then, granting territory, making him a founding king, or making him Emperor — all of those are out of the question. However, no noble would follow the head of a state that does not compensate achievements. History has proven that since ancient times."
The Prime Minister paused once to organize his thoughts.
"In this case, even if we offer a large sum of money, it could give the impression of 'a state that does not compensate achievements.' Even adding military promotions and decorations would be difficult."
"Indeed. So what do we do?"
"It is truly humbling for me, a vassal, to say this. But since there was originally a willingness to hand over the nation itself, how about 'ceding a portion of Your Majesty's prerogatives'?"
"I have no attachment to what I was going to lose anyway. But forcing something that the recipient feels is a 'punishment' is 'wrong,' wouldn't you say?"
"Yes. So, what should be ceded are the right to grant titles and tax authority. And if he has no desire for it, after securing his informal consent in advance, let us carry out a farce of 'compressing battle results.' Fortunately, we have the materials to make that possible."
This statement by the Prime Minister overlapped in meaning with one of the proposals the Emperor had received from Jin via Laura.
However, this conversation had an important meaning.
It was the moment when the Emperor successfully guided the Prime Minister into thinking, 'The problem is that the battle results are too great? Then just make them disappear!' and elicited that thought.
Of course, the report data from Sangou to the Imperial military had been rigged from the start so that the Imperial military would notice the discrepancy and report it to the Prime Minister.
Needless to say, that was 'Sangou's doing.'
At any rate, with the direction decided in the initial meeting between the Emperor and the Prime Minister, the situation moved to the next stage.
The following morning, a preliminary meeting was held between the Emperor, the Prime Minister, and the Imperial military high command.
Incidentally, it was a secret that the Imperial military, not necessarily skilled at underhanded tactics, were played as clowns manipulated by the Prime Minister's guidance.
A new preliminary coordination meeting for the rewards ceremony.
The final conclusion presented there by the Imperial military was: 'Marquis Asada's battle results are at most equivalent to ten million vessels.'
Furthermore, the individual invasion forces were determined to be one-fifth of the initial estimate, equivalent to two million vessels each, and it was concluded that 'the report that each invasion force was equivalent to ten million vessels was a false report.'
The Imperial military's argument properly acknowledged the one undeniable fact: 'It is certain that Marquis Asada rushed to each battlefield and achieved results.'
But that was that.
They also argued that, given enough time, the Imperial military alone could have handled the matter.
And that since the evacuation was already complete, taking time to deal with it would not have drastically increased casualties.
These two points were asserted.
"Is that so? (What the hell are these guys saying?)"
The Emperor's statement, which seemed to confirm the Imperial military high command's argument, clearly contained thoughts he did not voice aloud.
The Emperor did not trust the Imperial military high command, which had, from the initial stages, continuously lost ships defending star systems to the point of annihilation, and had been unable to even propose a viable operational plan.
Considering their performance in the previous war against the Alliance, which side's combat capability should be trusted: Sangou or the rest of the Imperial military?
That was no longer even a question.
Nevertheless, the reason he affirmed that untrustworthy argument was simply because the military's view was useful in the current situation.
Separately from the Emperor's statement, the Prime Minister chuckled to himself, thinking, 'I managed to guide the military well.'
"I see. So, what level of reward would be appropriate in the Imperial military's view?"
The Prime Minister asked simply.
"Well, given the achievements, it would at least warrant promotion to General. But a double promotion is not allowed. Therefore, promotion to Lieutenant General. However, let us 'informally promise a promotion to General in the near future even for a minor achievement.' A so-called secret pact. By awarding multiple decorations, we can barely justify the insufficient promotion this time."
"(You've got to be kidding. 'Justify'? Even if you were in Marquis Asada's shoes, could you say that?)"
Even the Prime Minister had such a thought cross his mind.
But there was no need to say it.
In this regard, the same reason the Emperor remained silent applied; he simply kept quiet.
Next, the Prime Minister and the Emperor discussed the reward from the Gialpha Galaxy Empire itself, separate from the Imperial military.
That was merely a matter of presenting what had been decided in advance, and the Imperial military high command could only show passive opposition.
At the end of this coordination meeting, an urgent report arrived that the Emperor had been inwardly waiting for, which would shatter everything.
With the emergency report, the situation changed completely.
The urgent report that arrived at the preliminary coordination meeting was: 'Marquis Asada is critically ill.'
Knowing in advance that this report would arrive, the Emperor had been looking forward to it, and had been able to endure the farcical meeting.
Laura's existence, who had reported 'everything about the negotiation with Jin' to the Emperor.
The Emperor's consort had been informed during the negotiation that Jin's health was abnormal, and that had been properly conveyed to the Emperor.
The Emperor had ostensibly granted permission via Laura for Silk to head to the Betasia star system on Sangou, in case of emergency.
Thus, the Emperor knew that Jin had fallen ill, but since he had already received treatment on Sangou and was expected to recover, he had kept it secret even from the Prime Minister.
This was the fabricated deception story.
"So Marquis Asada's condition has worsened after all."
The Emperor, who had to act as if receiving a sudden report, muttered softly.
"(His Majesty's manner of speaking... Could it be that he knew Marquis Asada's health was failing and that he might collapse at any time? And he kept it secret? No, before confirming that, there are things I must do.)"
The Prime Minister immediately proposed to the Emperor the dispatch of multiple doctors, including civilian ones, to the Asada Marquis's residence, along with thorough examinations including possible poison involvement.
The Emperor gave his permission on the spot, and the dispatch of a medical team was ordered.
The situation of suspected poisoning or murder of a vassal who had achieved great deeds.
Regardless of the truth, this would become a major problem.
Given his political instincts, this was a natural course of action for the Prime Minister.
The situation was moving exactly as Sangou had planned.
The discussion, left unresolved due to the emergency.
After a few days, Marquis Asada ultimately died of illness.
However, during those few days, the Emperor and the Prime Minister held detailed discussions and finalized the content of the rewards ceremony, including the pattern where the Marquis would die.
Needless to say, 'the future of the Asada Marquis house' was also included in those discussions.
All of that led to the Emperor's statement at the rewards ceremony in the previous chapter.
"(Well then, time for the final touch.)"
The Hero Shin, who had been silently listening to the content of the rewards ceremony announced by the Emperor as Jin's substitute.
The new Marquis Asada did not miss the timing when he needed to speak.
"Your Majesty, please permit this vassal to speak."
At Shin's words, the Emperor endured, careful not to let his 'I'm about to burst out laughing, this is painful' show.
And he gave Shin permission to speak.
"I have inherited my brother's title, and at this rewards ceremony, I have become the proxy to receive the reward for my brother's achievements. However, I myself cannot yet say that I have contributed to the Gialpha Galaxy Empire. Therefore, I wish to contribute to the Empire through 'aid' to the regions devastated by the space beasts, which can be called a 'disaster.' Specifically, I propose to receive the monetary portion over five hundred years at zero interest."
Declining the reward was not permitted.
However, even if one accepted it, there was a way to ease the burden on the Gialpha Galaxy Empire.
Additionally, the main point of Shin's statement was to provide a justification for choosing that method.
Even without Shin saying everything, everyone at the ceremony understood that the money would be allocated to reconstruction funds during the grace period before receipt.
The Emperor spoke to the Prime Minister, checking if 'there are any problems with Shin's proposal.'
Personally, the Emperor found it utterly amusing how everything was progressing exactly according to Sangou's script.
Still, he couldn't laugh out loud here.
It was a trivial detail that the man reigning at the apex of the Gialpha Galaxy Empire simply struggled to suppress his laughter.
Amidst this flow of events, receiving the Prime Minister's answer of 'no problem,' the Emperor praised the new Marquis Asada's contribution to the Empire and accepted the proposal.
Thus, the rewards ceremony came to a complete end.
Truly, dead men tell no tales.
They created a situation where the deceased Jin could not raise any objections, and then compressed his achievements.
Furthermore, they also compressed the reward commensurate with the achievements, skillfully bringing it to a reasonable line.
Sangou's plan was a perfect success.
Those who knew the whole truth were, excluding Sangou who proposed it, only Shin's family, Orega, Renju, the Emperor, and Laura.
Sangou's proposal merely fulfilled Shin's victory conditions, and was a terribly rough method with no scruples about the means.
Still, since no one was dissatisfied, this was fine as it was.
Looking to the future, after waiting a few years and passing the headship of the Asada Marquis household to an adult Nobunaga, Jin as Shin could be completely 'relieved of his duty.'
And when that time comes, Sangou's plan even includes Shin's retirement from the military.
At this point, there was no problem with that.
However, even with the thoroughly considered plan devised by the excellent Sangou, there was an oversight.
Sangou lacked a perspective on things like the 'Hero Jin's constitution' or 'fate' — in any case, such matters.
Would peaceful times come so easily to someone bearing the title of Hero?
No!
Absolutely not!
But even a Hero should be allowed to obtain temporary peace, perhaps.
With this and that, the large-scale attack by mineral lifeforms was completely concluded, leading to the situation at the beginning where Sangou is navigating that star region.
After learning from an exchange with a receptionist at the Mercenary Guild that he had lost his mercenary rank, Shin returned home dejected.
However, while spending a recharging period of affectionate time at home, a communication came in from Masugiru, the guild master of the Mercenary Guild.
"It's a waste to use a high-performance ship like Sangou on jobs that can only be accepted at a low rank. So, using my authority as guild master, I'll treat you as having an 'intermediate low provisional license.' So please work accordingly."
The gist of Masugiru's communication was the cleanup of bandits infesting the entire final controlled star region of the Free Democratic Alliance, which had been destroyed by the mineral lifeforms.
This request, based on a favor, could also aid in the reconstruction and development of the Gialpha Galaxy Empire's territory, and since bandits kept pouring in, there was no shortage of targets to eliminate, making it easier to raise the Mercenary Guild rank.
Masugiru's special measure, considering Sangou's combat capability, was: 'While you can accept jobs only up to intermediate low rank limited to bandit hunting, your personal position starts as an apprentice.'
However, if the number of bandits to exterminate was large, accumulating achievements would be faster.
In Shin's current state with no combat record, he wouldn't receive favorable treatment for escort or transport jobs anyway due to trust issues.
Masugiru's proposal was very convenient for Shin as well.
"Please quickly hunt down bandits and build up your record."
It was a trivial detail that Masugiru's face on the monitor seemed to be written with the aforementioned words he didn't say aloud.
In short, it was a preferential treatment dripping with the Mercenary Guild's selfish calculations.
"Oh, something suspicious has popped up on Search Magic again. Sangou, how about you?"
"Yes. I believe I am detecting the same target. I am already heading that way."
"Master, I'm bored~"
"If Kichou does it, it won't count toward Sangou's kill score for the record. If the rank-up were done, I wouldn't mind leaving it to you as long as we have the spoils. But bear with it for a while, okay?"
Kichou's species evolution was supposed to stop at Divine Dragon.
Therefore, there was no need to greedily gain battle experience.
That should have been the case, but for some reason, Kichou felt the possibility of further evolution through heightened instincts.
This statement was made on that premise, but since it was easily dismissed, it wasn't something that needed to be rushed.
While Sangou was engaging in its seek-and-destroy operations, Kichou decided to receive magic power from Shin and behave, sleeping quietly.
Shin and Sangou continued bandit hunting like this for about three months.
They steadily accumulated kill scores and achieved enough results to move beyond the provisional license.
Since they cleaned up bandits as they came, the bandits had little wealth, so it didn't bring much money.
Well, even doing that, Shin's Heroic fate-pulling power would attract incidents, but perhaps that is a kind of heroic predetermined harmony.
"Captain. A faint communication wave-like signal is coming from a small, fast-moving object. However, the communication content is unknown."
Thus, the man who had become 'Hero Shin' (formerly Hero Jin) and Sangou succeeded in realizing 'the plan Sangou devised to fulfill the captain's wish' and managed to settle the situation.
Regarding the Mercenary Guild rank, thanks to the special measure by Guild Master Masugiru, motivation to focus on rank-up emerged urgently.
Following that flow, by remaining stationed in a star region near the galaxy's outer edges, they encountered a new situation.
What will the object moving at high speed while emitting constant communication waves bring to Shin and his group?
No one knows the future.
The Hero-sama, upon learning that the result of the rogue military officer incident that had caused Laura's surprise incognito visit was a fairly widespread 'guilt by association execution' by imperial decree, felt belated terror at the nation's character where power was concentrated in the Emperor.
Shin was astonished to find that even when he tried to confide this feeling, this sense of difference, to Rouju, Silk, and Sangou, he received no agreement at all.