Ch.51Seban Civil War (3)

# Chapter 51: The Seban Civil War (3)

Several months had passed since I sent Riel on a business trip to the Seban Administration Bureau after giving her a pat on the head.

‘I think Riel should have handled something by now.’

While thinking this and concentrating on my work as usual…

-Ding♪

Seeing an unexpected notification pop up, I couldn’t hide my confusion.

‘What’s this?’

I don’t think there had been any special quests or events recently.

With this sudden notification appearing, I looked around briefly.

[Pause]

I immediately paused the game to check what the notification was about.

And the moment I saw the alert, I realized that Riel had handled what I requested more thoroughly than I had expected.

[Event: End of the Seban Civil War!]

[The civil war in the Seban Administration Bureau, led by the Seban People’s Sovereignty Alliance, has come to an end today.]

[Although there were many twists and turns, including the Alliance’s fleet threatening the Administration Bureau’s capital…]

[Contrary to analysts’ predictions, the regular fleet of the Holy Sebeli Empire intervened in the civil war very quickly.]

[As a result, the Alliance’s fleet was completely annihilated in less than a week.]

[Upon hearing this news, the Seban People’s Sovereignty Alliance signed the surrender document presented by the Administration Bureau, bringing a swift end to the devastating civil war.]

[Loyalty of the Seban Administration Bureau toward the Holy Sebeli Empire +100 for 10 years]

[Public opinion in the Seban Administration Bureau shifts to be friendly toward aliens.]

[Loyalty of nations subordinate to the Holy Sebeli Empire increases slightly.]

‘Wow…’

Seeing such a sweet loyalty gain, I nodded to myself, thinking I had made the right decision to send Riel.

But suddenly, I realized something.

‘Wait… did it say today?’

[Unpause]

I immediately unpaused and operated the large terminal on the table to check today’s date.

After confirming when Riel had left and calculating the time needed for a one-way trip from here, the Holy Mother Ka’Zan, to the Seban Administration Bureau in the third quadrant…

“…Incredible.”

I was amazed to realize that Riel had effectively ended the Seban civil war in less than a week.

Of course, this was still just an event message—something I could only understand through the “status window,” so I couldn’t be completely happy about it yet.

But that didn’t mean I had to just sit there doing nothing.

‘This kind of news won’t take long to spread, so an official document should arrive soon, right?’

Most likely, Riel, who had achieved such overwhelming military success, would receive an official document along with rewards from the Imperial Palace.

So, to at least congratulate her, I started drafting a certificate of commendation for Riel.

This caused some minor delays in handling inquiries and other work, but…

‘Our Riel did it! She really did it!’

Somehow feeling like a doting uncle had possessed my soul, I threw myself into writing the certificate for Riel with unstoppable momentum.

————————————-

Three months later…

“Ahem, let’s see… I, the Minister, in recognition of your hard work… hard work?”

“Minister, if you could lower your voice tone a bit more there, it would be perfect.”

“Hmm, I see.”

The Diplomatic Enforcement Ministry and I had decided to hold a small welcome ceremony combined with a certificate presentation for Riel’s return.

“Our boss seems happy that Deputy Boss Riel is coming back.”

“Of course, the amount of administrative work that Deputy Commander Riel handled is beyond imagination.”

Some Purge Unit members who had time to spare were even giving up their precious leisure time to attend this modest ceremony.

However, since neither Riel nor I liked too much commotion…

We decided to hold both events only in the reception room within the Diplomatic Enforcement Ministry.

In that reception room, I placed the certificate I had diligently typed on the table.

“How far has Riel gotten?”

“The shuttle just entered orbit, so I think she’ll arrive soon.”

I was passing time talking about Riel with Meteorun, the most senior member present and one of the commanders of the Purge Unit.

“By the way, it’s been quite a while since Assistant Riel has moved independently.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, if my memory serves me correctly… for the past five years, she’s been practically inseparable from you, Minister.”

“…Hmm.”

“Sometimes I wonder if you and Assistant Riel might actually be siblings.”

“If that were true, we’d probably be fighting and bickering all the time.”

Hearing my response, Meteorun let out a hearty laugh and agreed with me.

“Indeed, your words seem correct, Minister.”

After chatting like this for a while…

-Whoosh… Vroom!

Hearing a sound from outside the reception room, Meteorun listened carefully…

Then turned to me and carefully spoke.

“Oh, it seems Assistant Riel has arrived.”

“Really?”

Though it took longer than expected, I was glad to hear she had arrived without any major issues, so I decided to get up and welcome Riel.

“Ah, I’ll go greet her first!”

“Hmm, not a bad choice.”

At my movement, one of the Purge Unit members left the reception room with the eagerness of a new recruit.

“I apologize, Minister, for letting our subordinate steal the first meeting with Assistant Riel…”

“What’s with that strange talk? It sounds like I’m married to Riel or something.”

“I see, that would be strange indeed…”

“Exactly.”

Even so, the idea of marriage between Riel, who looked like she was barely in her early teens by my previous life’s human standards, and me, standing over 180cm tall, was absurd.

‘If I did something like that, Artraia would probably lock me up, claiming my pedophile tendencies were real and that she needed to correct my twisted preferences.’

While I was having these ridiculous thoughts, the area outside the reception room door began to get noisy.

“^$^@#$^@$#^@”

Since the voice belonged to the Purge Unit member who had just left, the remaining members in the reception room started to fidget uncomfortably.

“Tsk, making such a racket in front of the commander.”

“I apologize. I’ll call him in separately later for re-education.”

“Well, he might just be excited to see her after so long.”

Thinking that a little noise was acceptable on such a joyous day, I naturally dismissed their concerns.

“Minister? Are you in here?”

Without any particular noise, Riel’s voice came through the slightly opened door, and I stood up to welcome our little assistant back.

“Yes, come in quickly and receive your congratul—”

“Oh.”

But neither I nor anyone else in the reception room could finish our welcoming words.

-Thud.

“What? I told you not to do things like this.”

And for good reason—Riel’s appearance had changed so dramatically, so enormously from when she left.

‘What the hell.’

A height that must have exceeded 2 meters, with bulging veins all over a body packed with pure muscle containing less than 10% body fat.

A form reminiscent of a genetically modified super soldier.

Yet her head maintained its original appearance…

Honestly, it was an incredibly shocking visual.

“A-Assistant Riel?”

The sight was so shocking that even the Purge Unit members, who had seen all sorts of horrific things, could barely speak.

“What exactly… happened to you?”

Even the usually composed Meteorun was dumbfounded, and in an instant, the atmosphere in the reception room became incredibly strange.

“Well, a lot of things happened.”

Despite the commotion, Riel spoke with an incredibly calm expression, as if everything was perfectly normal.

‘Right, no matter how much her appearance has changed, Riel is still Riel…’

“Oh right, Minister? I’m back.”

“Umm… yes, you’ve… grown a lot.”

But when this muscular Riel approached me and greeted me, I unconsciously felt my body shrinking back.

Seeing this, the Purge Unit members gathered among themselves and started whispering while looking at Riel.

“Hasn’t Assistant Riel grown a bit too much?”

“Maybe she’s just going through a growth spurt.”

“But it’s only been half a year…”

“Could it be that this isn’t Assistant Riel but someone completely different?”

Of course, they were speaking as quietly as possible, thinking we couldn’t hear them…

‘Kids, I can hear everything.’

Unfortunately for them, I always had an earpiece connected to Meteorun in my ear to prepare for any possible incidents.

Thanks to this, I had to make an extreme effort to manage my expression while looking at Riel and hearing all those comments.

But…

“…”

‘Could it be that Riel is also hearing what they’re saying?’

Riel’s expression was becoming increasingly gloomy as the conversation progressed.

Seeing that expression, I suddenly realized what we were doing to someone who had just returned from a long six-month business trip.

“Riel, you really did well.”

“Minister?”

“Yes, what does it matter if you’ve grown taller? There are plenty of people in the world who like tall women.”

Saying this, I picked up the certificate from the table and handed it to Riel while continuing.

“Riel, this is the certificate prepared for you. Originally, I planned to hold an award ceremony as soon as you arrived… but because I hesitated, I’m giving it to you in this awkward situation.”

What does it matter if she looks a bit strange?

Come to think of it, this is a galaxy full of all sorts of bizarrely-shaped beings.

To hesitate over a tall, muscular woman was truly pathetic behavior.

Perhaps sensing my thoughts…

“Minister…!”

Riel called out to me with a face that seemed deeply moved, as if on the verge of tears…

“It’s really you, Minister!!”

And then she executed a vicious combo—first a body tackle with that violent physique, followed by a bear hug.

“…!!!!”

-Crack!

The result of such a terrible and cruel combo on my weak, ordinary body was utterly devastating.

The next day, I requested extended leave from Artraia, citing poor health.

The Imperial Guard, who came with Artraia’s order not to joke around, saw my condition.

I was then urgently transported to the Imperial exclusive hospital, where I had to spend a month recovering.