Kochugunshikan Boukensha ni Naru

Translator: SFBaka

Editor: Thor’s Stone

“Selena, Sharon. Can you change into your uniforms and wait inside your room for me? I have something to discuss with you both.”

The expressions of the two of them turned serious and answered in the affirmative. I’m sure they’re expecting it to be a continuation of last night’s discussion. Well, it was in a certain sense.

I went back to my own room and changed into my own uniform.

Iris appeared in full uniform within the room after I contacted her. Her appearance was created by Nanom by feeding visual information directly into my optic nerves.

“Have the two of them already been informed about what we discussed?”

『No, I have not informed them yet.』

“I see. I’ll explain everything to them then. Come with me.”

I went out of my room and knocked on the door to Selena and Sharon’s room.

“Please enter.”

When I entered the room, the two of them noticed I was in full uniform and hurriedly made crisp salutes. Iris seems to be playing as my adjutant.

“At ease, you two.”

Selena then rummaged through her luggage in a fluster and brought something out.

“Forgive me, Your Excellency. I have forgotten to hand this over to you.”

It was the insignia indicating my rank as a commodore. The commodore rank insignia displayed a single comet streak. Man, this looks so cool! Lemme put it on right away.

“Thank you, Warrant Officer Conrad.”

I replaced my previous insignia with the commodore insignia.

But I just can’t get in the mood by being in this sort of room.

(Iris, can you make this look like a galactic navy briefing room?)

The appearance of the room changed after that. The size of the room remained unchanged, but its overall appearance and atmosphere underwent a complete transformation. The wall behind me became a large display screen, and the table became a console. Man, I sure missed this scenery.

The two girls seemed restless for some reason.

“The reason I had you change into your uniforms is due to one reason alone. As we discussed last night, I have now come to a decision regarding our next course of action as soldiers serving in the imperial military. I received various critical pieces of information from Iris last night. As such, I have decided on a definite direction for our subsequent activities.”

I first told them about all the information I managed to receive.

First, I told them that it would take approximately 1200 years for the empire to discover the sector the planet we are currently stranded on was located.

Then I told them that within those 1200 years, there was an 88% chance of the Bugs appearing in this system.

“In other words, the humans of this planet are facing an unprecedented crisis.

The humans of this planet are not citizens of the empire. However, every human-inhabited planet discovered by the empire has been taken under the empire’s wing without fail. I am sure this planet, Ares, will also be incorporated into the empire once it is discovered.

That said, I hereby declare the humans of Planet Ares as quasi-imperial citizens.

That being the case, I have decided to take steps in order to ensure the safety and survival of the citizens inhabiting this planet.

However, Iris has suffered critical damage, and we have lost most of our equipment. There is not much we can do.

After discussing with Iris, I have come to the conclusion that there is no other way to save the citizens of this planet other than increasing the overall technological level of Ares to the point where they are capable of helping us build a new reactor and launching said reactor into space, where our ship awaits.

I’m sure you’re wondering just how I plan to increase the technological level of this planet. There is no time to gradually persuade the inhabitants of this planet to cooperate.

In light of the emergency situation we are in, I have decided on a certain means.

We, as members of the imperial military, will proceed to occupy this planet in the glorious name of the Human Galactic Empire and claim it as imperial territory.”

“”Oooh!””

Man. That’s a great reaction, you two. I wish Iris would take a page from these two.

“By making this planet a part of the imperial territory, the local humans living here will be recognized as proper imperial subjects. As such we would be beholden by the oaths we swore at the time of our enlistment and required to fulfill our due obligations as proud soldiers of the empire.”

Uh, but hold on. I did make an oath when I enlisted, but have Selena and Sharon already made the oath as well?

I turned an inquiring gaze toward Iris.

『The both of them have made their oaths as well.』

Great.

“Of course the first priority and main objective of this occupation is to rapidly raise the technological level of this planet. We must first build a base and establish an orderly system.

As soon as working governance and educational systems are in place, we will proceed to expand our reach and influence throughout the world.

It will be a long and hard fight. An unprecedented super long-term operation is upon us.

The planned occupation will most probably not be accomplished within our generation. We will need to entrust our will to the next generation of imperial elites.

I want us to lay the foundation and serve as role models for the next generation of elites.

How about it? Are you two willing to fight together with me?”

“Of course, sir! I will fight alongside you, Your Excellency!” Selena affirmed.

“I shall also aid you in your struggle! I can think of no better cause worth fighting for!” Sharon followed up.

“I see. I am grateful for your trust, you two. I truly thank you. Alright. We have decided on our next course of action, but we have yet to iron out any details. Feel free to raise questions if you have any doubts. Do you have any questions for me?”

“What is the estimated time frame for completion of the reactor?” Selena inquired.

“I and Iris estimate it to be completed within a period of five hundred years. This is not a definite number by all means, but a tentative goal instead. There may be changes that occur as the plan progresses. However, at the very least, there is no immediate danger of the Bugs appearing in this system for the time being. I want to move things as fast and as far as possible.”

“Are there plans to increase the number of imperial army operatives, sir?” Sharon asked.

“Of course we are considering bolstering our ranks as well. However, we must make sure the recruits are reliable and trustworthy. This is because, to the inhabitants of this planet, we are practically invaders. We will conduct a rigorous selection process before we welcome any addition to our ranks.”

“Are you planning to recruit Cleria and Elna, sir?” Selena inquired once more.

“Cleria and Elna certainly seem like trustworthy individuals. However, the two of them also have their own circumstances. I personally do not want the two of them to get involved.”

Selena and Sharon seemed relieved for some reason. Maybe the two of them felt the same as I did about this matter.

“How will we choose the next generation of imperial army elites?”

“Once the base has been completed, we plan on building an officer training school.

Once we’ve managed to select talented and trustworthy individuals from the graduates of the school, we plan to infuse them with nanoms in order to make them the core of the new generation of imperial army elites.

Personally, I would also like to enlist my children in the army once I have them.

I do feel guilty about deciding their path in life for them as a parent, but I have no other choice since I have already decided on going all out for this plan of ours.

I can’t really force you, but I would very much like to ask Selena and Sharon to do the same thing once you’ve had your own children if possible.

Our children will surely become cornerstones for this great undertaking, as well as great assets of the imperial forces.”

“Our and His Excellency’s sons and daughters…” Selena muttered.

Both of them fidgeted as their faces turned bright red. Oops. It may be a little early to talk about children to young women like them. They don’t even have boyfriends yet. That was a blunder.

Do they have any more questions? I turned my gaze toward Iris and got surprised to find a teasing smirk on her lips. When I blinked and looked at her again, she was back to her usual stoic expression. Yeah, that’s right. It wasn’t like Iris to smile like that, so I’m sure it was just my imagination.

“Do you two no longer have any questions? ……Alright then. The formal talks are now over. Oh yeah! I forgot something important. The initial period for military service is five years. Once five years is up, it’ll be up to you two to decide if you want to continue serving or retire altogether.”

“We also have the option to quit?”

“Of course. You need to sign a formal contract before enlistment, right? That is still valid. Oh, and if you want to quit, then please tell me in advance – preferably half a year before. Oh, and you’ll also be receiving salaries, of course. Uh, considering the special circumstances, I’ll give you both an amount of Guineas worth ten times the usual imperial military pay grade. You’ll also receive a bonus.”

“”Oooh!””

“Well, just think of it as hazard pay.”

“Um, Your Excellency. Your way of speaking seems more casual compared to earlier…” Selena pointed out.

“Right. Well, I just wanted to do the briefing formally earlier, so I talked like that. This matter is something that will decide both your futures after all. I felt the need to take it seriously. The ‘me’ right now is just your plain, old comrade, Alan. So cut it out with the ‘Your Excellency’ thing, okay?”

“…I see.”

“I’ll be counting on you both from now on.”

“”Understood, Alan!””