Ch.9Janiradiah Rebellion (3)

# Chapter 9: The Janiradean Rebellion

“How delightful it is to see you again in person. I cannot express how pleased I am.”

“Hmm… indeed.”

As soon as we entered my room, Admiral Zeidler, our crustacean admiral, expressed his pleasure using his characteristic historical drama speech pattern.

*Twitch twitch wiggle.*

Seeing his third eye (I’m not sure which one is considered the third) and two antennae moving about, he seems to like the atmosphere of the room.

But regardless of whether he likes it or not, he’s examining the structure of the room quite carefully… I wonder why.

“Is there a problem?”

“…No, I just had something to think about momentarily.”

“I see.”

Hearing my question, he seemed to realize his behavior and finally took a seat.

“So, what exactly is the matter… that you wanted to meet like this?”

Between people who already know what they need to know, there’s no need for excessive rhetoric or probing.

When I got straight to the point, I noticed Admiral Zeidler’s antennae trembling slightly.

“Well, I see the Minister is still as direct as ever.”

“There’s no need to drag things out, is there?”

At my words, Admiral Zeidler nodded in agreement.

But his subsequent action left me with no choice but to express my bewilderment.

“You’re right, Minister. Then I shall directly state the reason for my personal visit.”

Immediately after saying that.

He suddenly stood up from his seat, and then knelt before me, firmly planting one knee on the floor.

The admiral knelt with such determination that I worried about his knee.

While it was a textbook-perfect posture, I was wondering what this was all about when.

From his incredibly complex crustacean mouth, the admiral’s solemn voice flowed out with even greater dignity.

“I, a loyal subject of the Empire, Arto Virtorius Sebeli, hereby command from this moment forward in the name of the current Emperor, Artraia Beliard Penashu Khan Sebeli.”

What I didn’t expect was that he would be relaying an order on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor.

The various formalities that followed only increased the likelihood that this was an official order.

Of course, there was an extremely slim chance that this could be complete nonsense… but statistically, it wasn’t worth considering.

Moreover, something hammered the final nail into my thoughts:

[Event: The Emperor’s Secret Order]

[The Emperor of the Empire, sensing something strange about this matter, wants to delegate full authority to you!]

[The Emperor wishes to reward you even more for responding to his trust!]

[Upon acceptance, you will proceed to the next event.]

…Why does this keep happening to me, placing such extreme pressure on me?

Is this some new form of harassment?

Why ignore all the experts who have been doing this for decades and pass it to a novice like me?

Does it feel like I’m in a black company where they give impossible tasks to newcomers and then say “I knew you couldn’t do it” when they fail? Am I the only one who feels this way?

The official declaration and order filled with all sorts of rhetoric was barely registering in my ears, but…

“Therefore, from this moment forward, the 3rd Expedition Fleet under Admiral Zeidler Feivertz has been secretly assigned under Duke Arto Virtorius Sebeli’s command until the completion of this mission, as I have been ordered.”

“…I, Duke Arto Virtorius Sebeli, shall devote myself wholeheartedly to the objective in accordance with the command of His Majesty the Emperor.”

Since I couldn’t remain in panic forever, I managed my expression and decided to accept the order and the event.

“Then I shall return to the flagship to continue commanding the fleet.”

His manner of speech changed to addressing a superior as soon as I accepted.

Seeing his sincere commitment to the chain of command, I could only nod calmly.

A little while later.

“What on earth is going on?”

Riel was equally surprised by this sudden turn of events.

Looking at Riel, I opened the event window and began explaining with another peek at the information.

“Hmm… to summarize.”

*Glance.*

[Event: The Emperor’s Consideration]

[Acquisition of command authority over the 3rd Expedition Fleet]

[The Emperor has noted that the riots or rebellion on planet Janus are not systematic.]

[While the damage is immense, the ‘head’ leading such a massive rebellion has not been identified.]

[Perhaps this is not simply an expression of discontent by the Janiradians, but the possibility of infiltration or instigation of discord by a third force must be considered.]

“…It’s a long story, you see.”

“Just give me a summary, Minister. You’re capable of that, aren’t you?”

When I tried to buy time by subtly extending the explanation, Riel shut it down completely.

Faced with such mercilessness, I had to swallow my tears inwardly.

“Alright, *sigh*… simply put, His Majesty has informed me of the true objective of this Janus expedition.”

“…Huh?”

However, Riel seemed momentarily unable to comprehend what I had said.

But thinking about it, I would probably have the same reaction if I were in Riel’s position.

“Didn’t you feel that there was something strange about this whole affair from the beginning?”

“Strange… hmm…”

After pondering for a moment, Riel spun those distinctive antenna-feelers around and around before stopping and continuing.

“Now that you mention it, there definitely is something off about it.”

“Hmm.”

“Logically, this expedition is based ‘solely’ on the planetary governor’s request for assistance, and aside from that peculiarity… it does seem odd.”

Then, reaching almost the same conclusion as the message I was seeing in my status window, I could only nod quietly.

“As expected of Riel, that’s excellent reasoning.”

“Thank you. Then… could Admiral Zeidler’s involvement be His Majesty’s consideration?”

To think she’d reach that conclusion.

I was just looking at my status window going “hmm, hmm” without even knowing what was happening, while this super AI was figuring everything out on her own.

“That’s right.”

“Ohh.”

Indeed, seeing this, I’m clearly just an ordinary person.

—————————

Two weeks later, in the orbital zone of planet Janus in the Diles-Zannir system.

After casual conversations and observing routine training situations.

Following a long journey with a tight and efficient schedule, we were finally entering the orbit of our destination, Janus.

Of course, given the era we live in, we were enjoying the comfort of a spaceship that easily ignored the shock and heat of atmospheric entry.

One surprising fact was that the planetary government had unexpectedly maintained a significant level of control…

“Hmm, I thought we’d be having a fireworks show with the orbital defense network during our descent.”

“Fortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

Just two weeks ago, it seemed like the planetary government was effectively surrounded, holding only key government facilities.

But now that we’re here, it’s like…

“It seems the planetary government was more competent than the Empire expected.”

“I agree.”

When we received the contact, it felt like we were heading into an apocalyptic scenario.

*Beep!*

“Minister, the planetary government just sent us mapping information for the fleet’s landing area.”

“Oh, I see.”

They’re even providing a separate landing zone for the arriving fleet.

“Welcome, leader of the Imperial support forces.”

“Uh… yes, pleased to meet you.”

Unlike the urgent feeling before, they’re even holding a grand welcoming ceremony.

“We didn’t expect the Empire to respond so quickly to our request for assistance.”

“It’s a planetary crisis, isn’t it? With tens of billions of lives at risk… thanks to His Majesty’s decisive action.”

“Hahaha! As expected of His Majesty the Emperor!”

They’ve brought the expedition’s command staff, including myself, to a lavishly decorated hotel for yet another welcome event.

A party venue with all manner of gourmet delicacies and classical music flowing through the air.

It’s nice after being confined to a ship for two weeks, but something… something feels off.

‘Is this really the place that requested support troops?’

Moreover, they’ve selected only representative members from the command staff, and they don’t even seem to know who the actual commander is.

Or perhaps they’re not interested… or pretending not to know.

Anyway, I was lost in these random thoughts while gulping down the prepared drinks when.

“Excuse me, officer? May I ask you something?”

A man in typical Sebelian aristocratic style—elegant but seemingly restrained—approached me.

Calling me an officer, he must be judging by my appearance, as I had borrowed a military uniform for convenience.

“Yes, what is it?”

“Do you happen to know who the commander of the expedition force is?”

Upon hearing this.

I saw Riel desperately trying to hold back laughter behind the man, and decided to show some com-passion to this poor victim of a prank.

“…That would be me.”

“Oh.”