Unlimited Ambition

“Mental illness,” I explained, then asked Yukari Yakumo, “Do you have any painkillers?”

"Oh... let me see." Yukari Yakumo reached into the gap and actually pulled out a bottle of painkillers. She then swallowed them with water.

"But do painkillers really work for mental illnesses?" Yukari Yakumo suddenly thought of this question.

"Of course, it's because of psychological effects." That's the explanation given with such certainty.

"...I really lost to you." Yukari Yakumo said helplessly, rubbing her forehead.

"Whatever... I'm more worried about that 'other voyeur' you mentioned." As I said this, I slumped weakly onto the table.

"Show her a little concern. She's your sister, after all." Yukari Yakumo was unusually serious for a moment. She snapped her fan open and then fanned me twice.

"Alright, I'll consider it after this is over..." I said, closing my eyes. "I'm so tired..."

The following day, the supreme council between the SOS Empire and Grand Duchy of Baldwin was held as scheduled. At the forefront of the battle line, hundreds of thousands of warships of various types stood ready, guns loaded and swords drawn, locked in a menacing standoff. When the appointed time arrived, a Royal-class battleship slowly sailed out from the red-painted SOS Empire fleet.

Meanwhile, in Grand Duke Baldwin's fleet, a Dragon-class battleship was approaching the other ship at the same speed.

It is loneliness and spring day.

"Can't we go any faster?!" On the Royal Battleship, Her Majesty the Empress was slightly dissatisfied and urged the captain of the battleship.

“But… this represents the dignity of the royal family, Your Majesty the Empress—” the captain retorted.

Of course, whether as royalty or as a woman, Kasuga never understood the meaning of restraint. The usually carefree Kasuga instantly took the captain's advice as an obstacle to her seeing her husband—and drew her pistol, ready to execute him. In the end, Mikuru persuaded her to stop, arguing that such a bloody act was inappropriate on such a joyous occasion.

"We're saved. As expected, Miss Shikuru is like an angel..." The captain was in tears.

In the end, even a colonel like the captain couldn't defy the highest authority in the empire. He had no choice but to accept the order to speed up.

The result was predictable: with the Royal-class battleships accelerating like that, the tension between the two sides instantly escalated. Baldwin's fleet naturally feared the Imperial forces might stage a surprise attack, turning the tables on them. The Imperial forces, on the other hand, worried that the enemy might have used some kind of computer virus to control their warships and attempt to capture their Empress.

This connection sparked a heated exchange between the soldiers on both sides, who already harbored a deep-seated hatred for each other. Some impulsive captains even issued a level-one warning, preparing for battle.

"Don't be impulsive, I'm fine." Seeing the strange behavior of the enemy warship, I, who knew Haruhi's personality perfectly, naturally knew what was going on. I also knew the consequences of her actions, and broke out in a cold sweat.

What if I were to die here because of such a "small mistake" in spring? Who would I cry to then?

Besides, who knows if you can return to this world after dying here? I don't want to try it.

With that thought in mind, Gu rolled his eyes and dialed Shikuru's phone again.

"Mikuru?!"

Unaware of the foolish thing she had done, Haruhi continued to live a simple and happy life, daydreaming about the blissful life she would have with Kojiro. Just then, Mikuru's phone rang, abruptly shattering her reverie.

Springtime's anger is understandable.

"Ah... um... it was Prince Kyon calling..." Mikuru hurriedly handed the phone over again. Kasuga's anger turned to joy.

"Kyū~"

Haruhi happily pressed the answer button, only to hear Gu's slightly helpless voice: "Haruhi, what are you doing... Quickly notify your troops to keep quiet, or things will get bad if a fight breaks out."

"Huh? Why did they start fighting?" Haruhi asked, puzzled.

"It's all because of you... Fine, just do as I say."

"Okay." Haruhi, who had been thoroughly tricked by Ibaraki earlier, obediently agreed. She then used the fleet's public network to stop the Imperial Fleet's rampage.

At least we're safe now. Hearing Yuki report to me that the high-energy reaction on the other side had disappeared, I finally breathed a sigh of relief. Damn it, that woman Haruhi is really… what am I supposed to say about her… sigh.

"Let's speed things up a bit," I ordered.

Thus, the journey that should have taken half an hour was completed in just ten minutes. Through the spaceship docking module, Gu and Chunri finally met again in the vast galaxy.

Is it fate?

If that counts too.

Scratching his hair, I walked forward with a wry smile. Beside me, Yuki silently followed a step behind. Further back were the diplomats and politicians involved in the negotiations.

As I mentioned before, Haruhi is a girl who knows absolutely nothing about modesty. Seeing me smiling (perhaps she can't distinguish between a smile and a wry smile), she then threw herself into my arms.

"I miss you so much, Kyon..."

Then she burst into tears.

Then came an awkward silence.

"Clap..." I pouted at Yuki. Yuki, who could read lips, naturally understood what I meant and took the lead in clapping.

Then, thunderous applause erupted. It was as if this was something truly worth celebrating, something extraordinary.

Following this, I established three main principles for this meeting: First, all those who followed me would not be held accountable. Second, a figurehead monarchy would be implemented, limiting imperial power, with actual power residing in the hands of the Regent Prince, that is, myself. Third, and most importantly—peace was achieved. A reconciliation was reached between the Imperial Central Government and Baldwin's rebel army. Furthermore, Regent Prince Baldwin was responsible for reorganizing and restructuring the army to quell the escalating rebellion.

To be honest, these conditions were indeed a bit excessive. They made the central government seem like a defeated nation. But even their superior, Empress Kasuga, expressed her support. What could these lowly employees possibly say?

Next, the opposing fleets returned to their planetary bases, leaving only a small number of escort ships in place for security.

At this very moment, Haruhi had already gone aboard my ship to catch up with old friends. She was accompanied by Mikuru and Koizumi Itsuki, as well as Yuki.

Mikuru is one thing. She's a cute character, after all, and she's too silly to do anything right.

But before that, Koizumi Itsuki was a hawk.

Just like before. This time, the two sides are negotiating. Those hawks will be the first to suffer, and it's almost certain that they will be purged, persecuted, beaten, imprisoned, or killed afterward.

So ever since he learned of this news, Koizumi Itsuki has been restless, often having nightmares in the middle of the night and waking up covered in cold sweat.

"Absolutely, absolutely cannot go on like this!" Koizumi Itsuki, watching Kasuga and I, less than a meter apart, oblivious to everyone else, were locked in a passionate embrace, made a snap decision: kill the Empress, frame the Prince—then kill the Prince and the only person in the know, Mikuru. That way, everything would be fine—he might even be hailed as a hero (though the chances were extremely slim).

At this thought—Koizumi Ichiki's eyes flashed with ferocity as he shouted, "Even if I can't have your heart, I'll at least have your body!" Then he lunged at me. (Does anyone remember this guy who was gay?)

"How disgusting!"

Then Haruhi kicked him over. Immediately afterwards, I walked over, pulled out my gun, and bang, bang, blasted several holes in his head. Koizumi Ichiki was dead beyond any doubt.

It's a complete tragedy; their combat strength is only five.

"It's still moving! How disgusting!!" Haruhi screamed, then took a step back. She also drew her gun and added a few more holes to Koizumi Itsuki's body. Meanwhile, Mikuru had already passed out.

Just then, a violent wave of dizziness struck me again—and when I awoke, I found myself still in the clubroom. Haruhi was still talking non-stop. Mikuru was pouring me tea with a sweet smile. Yuki was quietly reading a book beside me—Koizumi Itsuki was gone!

Chapter Twenty-Six: Midsummer

"Dead?" I was slightly stunned, recalling how I had pierced Koizumi Ichiki's head with two holes, his body pulled out and his twisted face, and the gushing red and white blood and brain matter. For a moment, I found it hard to believe.

"Kyū, be serious..." Haruhi noticed I was daydreaming and called out, but her voice dropped considerably halfway through. She didn't sound like a majestic female tyrant, but rather like a wronged little wife.

No way...

"Hahaha... Haruhi, you really are very accommodating to Kyon." On the other side, a senior with long green hair patted Haruhi's back hard.

"Senpai Tsuruya?" I tried calling out.

"What's wrong, Kyon? You look like you don't recognize me." Tsuruya-senpai looked at me with a slightly strange expression.

"Ah, no... how could that be..." I explained somewhat awkwardly.

...It seems that no one else seems to feel uncomfortable except for me. Am I the only one who feels this way?

As I was thinking this, I looked at Yuki. At the same time, Yuki seemed to notice my gaze, looked up, and our eyes met.

"...Um, are you alright?"

Yuki opened her mouth, but no sound came out. However, I still understood what she meant by her lip movements.

"Explain it to me in detail after school?"

Then we'll have to do it this way.

Although I haven't seen a calendar or anything yet, the indoor temperature doesn't lie. I'm sure it's definitely summer now.

It's been a little over a month since I entered that subspace... indeed, the timing matches up.

After that, Kasuga said, "Summer vacation starts tomorrow! Everyone get a good night's rest, and we'll meet at the usual place at 9:00 AM tomorrow morning. After that, we need to give it our all in this SOS Brigade training camp!"

This time, in response to Haruhi, besides Mikuru's cute, almost forced voice, there was also Tsuruya-senpai's energetic cheers.

Can anyone tell me what's going on?

After that, Chunri walked up to me very naturally and took my hand.

"Haruhi?"

"Ok?"

"No, it's nothing."

"Kyū, what's wrong? You seem a bit strange."

"No, it's nothing, I'm just a little tired."

And so, Haruhi and I walked home together. From what I observed, Haruhi had become much more docile, her aggression greatly reduced. And she would often show me a very affectionate side, like a well-trained little female dog (hey!).

After that, for some reason, Haru followed me into my house, greeted my mother casually, and then had dinner with our family. Although my sister occasionally gave her hateful looks, Haru seemed completely unconcerned.

After a simple dinner, Chunri surprisingly offered to help her mother wash the dishes. The sounds of a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conversation emanating from the back kitchen made me quite uneasy as I kept flipping through TV channels. My younger sister, sitting next to me, was flushed with anger and tried several times to run over, but I stopped her. Seriously, there's a kitchen knife in there. What if something serious happens?

Thankfully, Haruhi didn't insist on staying overnight after that, otherwise my dear little sister probably would have really lost her temper. After saying goodbye with a slightly reluctant farewell while holding my hand, Haruhi went back to her neighbor's house.

They finally left. I wiped the sweat from my brow and then spent another two hours comforting my sister. Only after she fell asleep did I drag my weary body back to my room—oh dear, I think I made a promise with Yuki that I would visit her again after this.

There was really no other way, even though I was already exhausted. But I couldn't just leave Yuki there unattended. As I thought this, I groaned as I got out of bed, snapped my fingers, and used dimensional jump to instantly appear in Yuki's house.

"Yuki." I greeted Yuki, who seemed completely unsurprised. Then I lay down next to her and used her legs as a lap pillow.

Yuki blushed slightly, but did not object.

"Alright, Yuki, tell me what happened." I said to her.

Yuki nodded almost imperceptibly: "We've escaped from the subspace created by Haruhi Suzumiya. But Haruhi Suzumiya, Mikuru Asahina, Tsuruya, and your sister's memories have all disappeared. Because the time flow in that subspace is the same as in the real world, it's already July. And in this world, human memories have also been distorted, making them think that we didn't go there."

I nodded: "Is it because of your information manipulation skills?"

“No.” Yuki shook her head: “It’s Haruhi Suzumiya.”

"I see..." Then I asked another question: "So, what exactly happened between Koizumi Itsuki and Tsuruya-senpai?"

"Koizumi Itsuki is dead. Completely vanished, his body, his soul, all traces of his existence have disappeared. His position in the SOS Brigade has also been completely replaced by Tsuruya."

"...So that's how it is." Hearing her say that, I felt a chill run down my spine. After all, in that subspace, I was just an ordinary person. If I made a slight mistake, I might end up like Koizumi Itsuki, dying without a trace.

“However, you don’t need to worry about this anymore,” Yuki suddenly comforted me.