Ch.52The spectacle is always cloudy before clearing up.

# Chapter 52: The Minister Always Has Clear Skies After Cloudy Days

[Event: Treatment Complete]

[The characteristics ‘Full Body Fracture’ and ‘Ruptured Internal Organs’ have been removed from Minister Arto Virtorius Sevelli.]

“Did ya have a pleasant month, Minister?”

“…”

As soon as I arrived at work, Riel spoke with a deliberately taunting tone.

The moment I saw this, I didn’t hesitate to pull out the Etiquette Injection Rod from my pocket and bring it down.

*Clang!*

“Kyaah!”

“Thanks to you, I was stuck in the Imperial Hospital for a month, unable to work because of Artlaia.”

“Must’ve been nice, havin’ the Emperor himself nursin’ ya back to health.”

Seeing her asking for another beating, I swung the Etiquette Injection Rod again, creating a large bump on Riel’s head.

A moment later…

“Uuugh…”

Watching Riel rubbing the large bump on her head, I spoke with an exasperated tone.

“So, what exactly was that enormous body of yours?”

“Ugh, that? It’s an enhancement suit I received as a gift from the 4th Fleet, sayin’ it could help handle civil wars easily with quick intervention.”

“…”

Hearing Riel’s explanation, I couldn’t understand why I had thought she was in a “growth phase” when I saw her back then.

But perhaps Riel felt the same way.

“I really don’t get it. Wasn’t it obvious I was just messin’ around?”

She was expressing with her whole body that she hadn’t expected things to turn out that way and that she felt wronged.

“Riel.”

“Oh, come on… yes?”

“Get down and do push-ups.”

“Yes.”

Of course, she could say such things all she wanted.

From Riel’s perspective, it was indeed an unfair situation, to say the least.

But that wasn’t something she should be saying to me, who had been carried away with a full body fracture and ruptured internal organs.

However, as I tried to work with Riel placed in a corner of the office, I couldn’t help but think:

‘…She seems to be acting like this on purpose.’

That was my first thought.

‘Riel isn’t someone who lacks such basic judgment. Would she really try to aggravate me when I’m genuinely upset?’

Of course, a contradictory thought also crossed my mind:

‘She’s probably angry that I sent her there, so she did this, and even that wasn’t enough for her.’

But thinking about it more carefully, I hadn’t provoked her enough to display such violent tendencies.

‘We haven’t lived together for 10 years for nothing… wait, could it be…?’

A thought suddenly crossed my mind, and while I was working on my terminal, I glanced forward.

*Swoosh!*

“…”

I caught Riel looking at me with a subtle smile—or rather, an ambiguous expression—before she quickly turned away when our eyes met.

And the moment I saw that:

[Event: Her Apology]

[Riel tried to consider what she did to you as getting even for what happened before.]

[However, seeing how terribly you were affected, Riel judged that she had gone too far beyond just getting even.]

[Therefore, after your discharge from the hospital, she deliberately pretended to tease you, plotting to let you torment her until your anger subsided.]

Seeing the event message that naturally appeared, I almost burst into laughter from the absurdity.

But somehow managing to control my expression, I turned off the terminal screen I was working on.

“Riel, let’s end this charade now.”

“…”

“I know you’re doing this on purpose, so come help me with work already.”

“…That’s not true.”

“You think you can fool me about yourself? I’m not angry anymore, and there’s too much work, so hurry up.”

When I pushed directly, Riel initially pretended otherwise, but…

“Nnngh… fine, I’ll admit the Minister’s bein’ nice to me.”

Finally, Riel, despite being a humanoid, blushed as if embarrassed, got up, and came straight to my side.

“You won’t say otherwise later, right?”

“Yes, I get it. Now hurry up and handle this first.”

“Understood.”

Her persistent whining was so impressive that I momentarily considered telling her it was all a lie, but…

‘No, if I said that now, it would be a real disaster.’

Since I couldn’t predict what catastrophe might unfold if I did such a thing.

After watching Riel humming as she went to her seat:

‘…What’s the point in bullying a child?’

Abandoning any unnecessary sadistic impulses, I tried to sort through the remaining pile of work data to find my next task.

But the moment I touched the terminal containing the work data again:

*Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding!*

‘Oh.’

With a sudden assault on my eardrums, event messages began popping up wildly before my eyes, unlike usual.

[Event: Ancient Ruins of Unknown Origin]

[An exploration team belonging to the Holy Sevelli Empire has discovered ancient ruins of unknown origin on a planet while exploring an uncharted area on the galaxy’s outskirts.]

[The exposed outer parts have crumbled due to weathering over time, but the exploration team that entered found remarkably well-preserved ruins inside.]

[Upon hearing this news, officials from the Development Ministry immediately tried to dispatch personnel to excavate and preserve the ruins, but…]

[Unfortunately, the location of the uncharted area happens to be near another country’s border, which has become an issue.]

[Option 1: This is a diplomatic matter, so we should handle it! (Continue to linked event)]

[Option 2: There’s no need to create problems where none exist.]

Starting with a ruins event commonly seen in games from my previous life.

[Event: A Toast to Technological Progress!]

[Recently, the Science and Technology Ministry of the Holy Sevelli Empire has developed a new warping method that doesn’t use the existing hyperspatial jump routes.]

[This method involves creating massive, semi-permanent gates through which travel is possible.]

[Although it consumes far more capital and resources compared to existing hyperspatial jump routes, it’s a revolutionary method that allows instant travel from one end of the Empire to the other once established.]

[The Science and Technology Ministry has sent invitations to notable figures of the Empire, including you, to promote this revolutionary method.]

[Option 1: Accept the invitation. (Continue to linked event)]

[Option 2: Do your biological experiments on slaves (End event)]

‘…?’

This event seems to be about developing warp gate technology.

But for some reason, the ending phrase is strangely worded.

[Event: Warning from the Galactic Federation]

[Reports from colonial outposts in the eastern galaxy about unusual pirate activities have been continuously submitted to the Galactic Federation.]

[Besides pirates, rumors suggest that numerous mercenary fleets from across the galaxy are converging on that area.]

[Some mercenaries are even breaking contracts with their employers to head to that region.]

[The Galactic Federation plans to form an investigation team to assess the severity of the situation and dispatch them to the area.]

There’s also an event that seems ominous according to its description, though it doesn’t offer choices.

[Event: The Cold World of Smuggling]

[Recently, a large-scale illegal smuggling operation was uncovered in the border area between the Holy Sevelli Empire and Kar-Du.]

[Moreover, it’s reported that the Empire’s state-owned enterprises, related workers, and civil servants are involved in this smuggling.]

[However, those who were caught maintain that they’ve done nothing wrong and are being wrongfully accused.]

[Option 1: The excuses of criminal scum aren’t worth listening to (End event)]

[Option 2: Let’s hear what they have to say (Continue to linked event)]

Even an event that clearly seems to involve criminal organizations.

‘And I just noticed that most of these are linked events?’

Seeing that almost all events except one were linked events, I immediately paused and started to blank out.

[Pause]

‘What on earth is going on all of a sudden?’

Maybe because they all came at once, I couldn’t organize my thoughts properly.

But this is exactly why the pause function is necessary.

‘Alright, I need to organize my thoughts more… and check again after I’ve calmed down.’

As I was trying to put the event messages that were popping up randomly and almost blocking my view into the notification box:

‘Wait… this isn’t the end of what’s appearing?’

Seeing that there were clearly more than four messages, I felt momentarily dazed.

‘What should I do?’

With so many appearing at once, I felt my mind starting to panic.

But after a short while, I remembered that I was in a paused state:

‘Since I have all the time in the world, I might as well take the time to think this through thoroughly.’

With a strong desire to procrastinate, I continued my deep contemplation on resolving these events for quite some time.