Ch.139Sometimes a frontal assault isn’t the only answer.

# Chapter 139: Sometimes a Frontal Attack Isn’t the Answer

Meanwhile, at the exact moment the Pope was having a pleasant self-congratulatory session with his cronies.

“Riel… I need a ‘victory spell.'”

“Why are you suddenly saying such strange things again?”

Perhaps it was because of that damned royal uncle holed up in the Papal Office.

[Event: Negative Trait Manifested!]

[Traits ‘Nervousness,’ ‘Stress-induced Gastritis,’ and ‘Stress-induced Hair Loss’ have been added to Arto Virtorius Sebel.]

‘Oh, for fuck’s sake.’

Just as the system UI message indicated.

I was currently suffering from nervousness, gastritis, and hair loss while being consumed by thoughts of how to capture and deal with the Pope inside the Papal Office.

And for good reason—unlike those Zeltech bastards, the Papal Office had a foundation that was solid and far too extensive.

Those damn corporate types were outsiders from the start, with no real foundation.

Simply cutting off their loosely formed appendages, which were created through bribes and corruption, was enough to render them incapable of action.

And on top of that, we launched a surprise attack on their leadership and blew their brains out.

What remained was just a shell that looked intact from the outside, but inside was no different from a vegetative state that we controlled.

Of course, Zeltech’s abundant overseas capital—essentially their “main force” of Jewish-like capital—wouldn’t just sit back and watch…

“Have you all heard? These Zeltech bastards did such and such in our country!”

“Wow, really?”

But I had already spread information to diplomats from various countries in Ka’zan through the hotline installed in the Diplomatic Enforcement Agency long ago.

“So don’t trust those Zeltech bastards, and if necessary, you might need to teach them a lesson.”

“Agreed.”

“Agreed.”

By now, they should be too busy fending off the offensive from each country’s wolf-like finance departments to pay attention to us.

That’s why we needed to use this golden opportunity to concentrate all our available forces to utterly destroy the Papal Office.

Unlike the lower-body-deficient Zeltech forces.

The lower body of the Papal forces was truly like a normal birth… no, more like a tank-type bulldozer, and that’s no exaggeration.

“Mr. Small Flesh, may I speak frankly?”

“…Mm.”

“The Papal Office has far too many forces to deal with by cutting off their appendages like we did with Zeltech.”

And for good reason—the Papal Office literally shares its foundation with the “Holy Sebel Empire” as a country.

Trying to “uproot” the Papal Office like we did with Zeltech wasn’t appropriate either.

If we did that, we’d likely end up crucified by extremely angry uncles from all social strata.

But simply trying to push them back with force wasn’t an option either, as the military means remaining with the Papal Office were overwhelmingly powerful.

They seemed to have completely adapted to underground life in the Diplomatic Enforcement Agency.

They had even set up housekeeping using furniture they’d acquired from who knows where.

“Does the Diplomatic Enforcement Agency intend to starve us to death?!”

“We’re not asking for much, yet how can you claim to serve the Empire when you can’t even provide proper meals?”

“But you’re each consuming five regular people’s worth of food in one sitting.”

Even excluding the Templar Knights who depleted the Diplomatic Enforcement Agency’s food budget at every meal…

“Minister, I heard the Pope’s direct Judgment Fleet is returning.”

“What? They’re coming already?”

Setting aside that they were somewhat inferior to the regular fleet.

The ‘Judgment Fleet’ that moved strictly according to the Pope’s will, not the Emperor’s.

“The Sanctuary Guardian Knights who were training at Ka’zan’s large military training ground, and the Toscana Legion are gathering at the Papal Office.”

“As if the Celestial Guardian Corps and Fortress Knights weren’t enough…”

With the Papal Office’s direct military units located in Ka’zan that my secretarial staff just mentioned.

As those forces proved, they had incomparably greater military power than Zeltech.

That’s why, despite suffering from gastritis and hair loss, I still couldn’t carelessly make a move against the Pope.

If there was one consolation, it was that the Pope was surely suffering from gastritis and hair loss just like me.

Of course, this wasn’t confirmed information.

How could we insert spies into a place where fanatical belief and loyalty to the Pope were the baseline?

Since hypnotic brainwashing wasn’t omnipotent, even my vaunted spy network couldn’t infiltrate the Papal Office, so I couldn’t know what was happening inside…

But since he was essentially in the same position as me.

He must surely be experiencing the same pain as I was.

He must be lying awake at night, weeping every morning at the sight of the hair piled on his pillow due to chronic gastritis and hair loss caused by stress.

No, he absolutely had to be.

‘If not, I’ll personally pluck out all his hair before I crack his skull.’

And while I was lost in thought, fueling my hatred toward the Pope.

“The briefing is over, Minister.”

Riel reported to me that the final briefing had ended.

Of course, since I had been lost in thought, there was no way I had properly listened to the briefing…

-Ding♬

[Time Pause]

Our system UI immediately sent a summary for people like me.

[Event: The Pope’s Desperate Struggle]

[The Pope, who had joined hands with Zeltech capital to aim for the Emperor’s position…]

[When his running mate, Zeltech capital, collapsed pathetically, the Pope had been holed up in the fortified Papal Office headquarters with his close associates.]

[However, even in the midst of this, he seems to be mobilizing all the forces at his disposal, intending to carry out his usurpation plan by force if necessary.]

[If this continues, there’s a high possibility of a massive political scandal that will shake the entire Empire!]

[Option 1: Talk with the Pope to calm the current situation (Random chance of additional events, linked event progression)]

[Option 2: The Pope has clearly crossed the line, eliminate him (Random chance of additional events, linked event progression)]

‘Another shitty event.’

As soon as I saw the event message that was supposed to be a summary of the briefing content, I inwardly cursed.

‘If we make a mistake, it could lead to civil war throughout the Empire… no, more precisely, we could be purged.’

Judging by the event content that just appeared, the future linked events were predictable.

‘This isn’t something I should think about alone.’

With that thought, I deactivated the time pause.

[Time Pause Deactivated]

I decided to talk with the staff around me again.

——————————

And after about 69 minutes of marathon meeting… no, that’s not right.

Of course, there was no point in telling these people about quests or event messages, as for some reason nobody would understand them.

So without mentioning that part, I threw out the agenda of how we should deal with the Papal Office, aiming to determine our course of action.

And after pretending to have a meeting by quietly listening to what these people, who were much smarter than me, had to say.

“Minister, if we leave the Papal Office’s actions unchecked, the probability of a civil war engulfing the entire Empire is… far too high.”

“So wouldn’t it be better to negotiate with the Papal Office immediately and resolve this matter?”

“That’s nonsense! They’re essentially traitors who tried to sell out the Empire!”

Initially, opinions about the Papal Office were split evenly, just as the event message suggested.

However, unlike how I’d always just chosen and pushed through whenever such options appeared.

When I asked for their opinions, they were divided more clearly than I expected… how should I put it.

‘Ah, so this is why the status window gives me choices.’

That thought naturally came to mind.

And additionally, the thought that I didn’t need to listen to others’ opinions when choice events appeared completely filled my mind.

So I activated time pause again.

[Time Pause]

With the thought that this damn problem would ultimately have to be resolved through my own agonizing.

Using the overflowing time as material, I pondered and pondered…

After what felt like a month had passed.

I finally reached my own conclusion and immediately deactivated the time pause.

[Time Pause Deactivated]

But perhaps because I had been thinking for so long.

I forgot to select an option from the event message and instead blurted out my approach to dealing with the Papal Office.

“Wouldn’t it be good to try talking with the Pope?”

But perhaps because I said this without selecting an option from the event message.

“No, Minister, there’s no way he would talk with you or His Imperial Majesty!”

“That’s right! Because…”

I couldn’t hide my bewilderment as I watched these geniuses, who were smarter than me, seize the opportunity to offer all sorts of rebuttals.

‘Why are they so articulate only at times like this?’