The Minister Always Has Clear Skies After the Clouds
The moment I showed up for work, Riel hit me with that deliberately needling tone of hers.
Treatment Complete
The traits Full-Body Fractures and Internal Organ Rupture have been removed from Minister Arto Virtorius Seveli.
"Did you have a fun month, Minister?"
"…"
Without a second's hesitation I pulled the Etiquette Injection Rod from my coat and brought it down hard.
Clang!
"Kyaa!"
"Thanks to you, I spent an entire month locked up in the Imperial exclusive hospital, unable to do a scrap of work, all because of Artraia."
"Must've been pure bliss, yeah? Having Her Majesty the Empress herself nursing you and everything."
She was practically begging for it, so I swung the rod again and raised a nice fat lump on Riel's head.
A short while later—
"Uuuugh…"
Watching her rub the enormous bump, I spoke in a tone thick with disbelief.
"So what the hell was that giant body of yours supposed to be?"
"Ugh, that? The 4th Fleet gave it to me as a gift—an powered exosuit—after they said my quick intervention made cleaning up the civil war a breeze."
"…"
Hearing that, I still couldn't wrap my head around why I'd looked at Riel back then and muttered something about a "growth spurt."
Apparently Riel felt the same way.
"I seriously don't get it. Wasn't that the kind of situation where anyone could tell I was just messing around?"
She was radiating pure injustice with every fiber of her being, as if she never saw any of this coming.
"Riel."
"Aww, come on… Yes?"
"Get down and hold a push-up position."
"Yes."
Of course she had every right to complain. From her perspective it really was an unfair mess.
But that was not something you said to the guy who'd been carted off with full-body fractures and ruptured organs because of her.
Still, once I left her parked in the corner of the office and tried to get some work done, a certain thought kept nagging at me.
…She's doing this on purpose, isn't she?
That was the first thing that hit me.
Riel's not the type to lack even basic common sense. Why would she deliberately aggro me when I'm already pissed?
A contradictory thought floated up right after.
She's still mad I sent her there, so she went and did something stupid, and even that wasn't enough for her.
But the more I thought about it, the less it made sense. I hadn't provoked her nearly hard enough to push her into that level of violence.
We've lived and worked together for ten years for a reason… Wait a second. Could it be…?
The idea flashed through my mind. While I kept working on the terminal I casually flicked my eyes forward—
Whoosh!
"…"
Riel had been watching me with a faint, almost-smile that was hard to read. The second our eyes met she whipped her head away.
And the moment I saw that—
Her Apology
Riel intended to treat what she did to you as even for everything that had happened before.
But after seeing how thoroughly wrecked you looked, she decided she had gone way past "even" and into full-on overkill.
So once you were discharged, she deliberately started teasing you—planning to let you take it out on her until your anger finally cooled.
Reading the event message that popped up so naturally, I almost barked out a hollow laugh from sheer absurdity.
I managed to keep my face straight, then blanked the terminal screen for a moment.
"Riel, let's wrap up the games already."
"…"
"I know you're doing it on purpose, so get over here and help with the work."
"…I'm not, though."
"You think I don't know you? My anger's gone, and the work is way more exhausting, so hurry up."
When I shoved the truth right in her face, Riel tried to keep denying it at first…
"Nngh… Fine, whatever. It's only 'cause you let me off the hook, Minister."
In the end the humanoid actually blushed like she was embarrassed, stood up, and walked straight over to my side.
"You're not allowed to take it back later, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. Just process this first."
"Got it."
The way she kept being so ridiculously clingy right to the end was almost impressive. For a second I considered telling her it had all been a lie…
No. If I say that now, actual catastrophe will break out.
I had no idea what kind of disaster would follow if I pulled something like that.
So I simply watched Riel head back to her seat humming a little tune, then thought—
…What's the point of bullying a kid?
I decided to throw away any leftover sadistic urges and started rummaging through the mountain of remaining work data for the next task.
The second my hand touched the terminal again—
Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep!!
Oh.
A sudden assault on my eardrums, and event messages started flooding my vision in a chaotic swarm, completely different from usual.
Unidentified Ancient Ruins
An exploration team belonging to the Holy Sevelian Empire has discovered unidentified ancient ruins on a planet while surveying uncharted territory on the galactic fringe.
The exterior, long exposed to the elements, has crumbled under the weight of ages, yet the explorers who entered found the interior preserved to a startling degree.
Upon receiving the news, officials of the Colonial Development Ministry immediately prepared to dispatch personnel for excavation and preservation…
Unfortunately, the uncharted region happens to lie near another nation's border, creating a serious problem.
📍 Choice 1: This is a diplomatic matter—we must handle it ourselves! (Linked event proceeds)
📍 Choice 2: No need to go looking for trouble.
It started with a classic ruins event straight out of my previous life's game.
A Toast to Technological Progress!
The Ministry of Technology and Science of the Holy Sevelian Empire has recently developed a new warp method that does not rely on existing hyperspace jump lanes.
It involves constructing massive, semi-permanent gates through which ships can travel.
While the capital and resource costs far exceed those of traditional hyperspace routes, once built the system allows travel from one end of the Empire to the other in a single leap—a truly revolutionary approach.
To promote this breakthrough, the Ministry has sent invitations to notable figures of the Empire, including yourself.
📍 Choice 1: Accept the invitation. (Linked event proceeds)
📍 Choice 2: Do your live experiments on slaves. (Event ends)
…?
It looked like an event about the development of Warp Gate technology… yet the closing line came out weirdly off.
Warning from the Galactic Federation
Reports of unusual pirate activity have been flooding into the Galactic Federation from the frontier colonies of the eastern galaxy.
Rumors also claim that numerous mercenary fleets from across the galaxy are converging on the same region.
Some mercenaries are even breaking contracts with their employers just to head there.
The Galactic Federation, recognizing the gravity of the situation, plans to form an investigation team and dispatch it to the area in the near future.
No choices this time, but judging by the description it looked like something seriously ominous was brewing.
The Ruthless World of Smuggling
A large-scale illegal smuggling operation has recently been uncovered along the border between the Holy Sevelian Empire and Kar-Du.
Worse, state-owned enterprises of the Empire, along with related workers and civil servants, appear to be involved.
Those caught, however, insist they have done nothing wrong and keep repeating how unfairly they are being treated.
📍 Choice 1: Criminal scum's excuses aren't worth listening to. (Event ends)
📍 Choice 2: Let's hear what the hell they're trying to say. (Linked event proceeds)
And then an event that reeked of criminal organizations from a mile away.
Wait… almost every single one of these is a linked event?
Aside from one, every event was a linked chain. I immediately hit pause and just sat there staring into space.
> PAUSED
What… the hell is going on all of a sudden?
Everything had slammed into me at once, and my brain refused to sort it out cleanly.
But that was exactly why the pause function existed.
Alright. Let's get my thoughts in order… cool down, then check them again.
I started shoving the event messages—so many they were practically blotting out my vision—into the notification tray when another realization hit.
Wait… this isn't even all of them?
There were clearly more than four messages. A blank, empty feeling washed over me for a second.
What do I do?
The sheer volume made my mind start flailing in every direction.
But it didn't take long to remember I was still in pause mode.
Time is the one thing I have in abundance. Might as well settle in and think this through properly.
Along with a strong urge to just goof off instead, I sank into deep, prolonged contemplation about how to handle the events.