Ch.189Emergency Quest (1)

# Chapter 189: Emergency Quest (1)

A catastrophe occurred when I, the second-highest in the imperial power hierarchy, froze with my lower body exposed during a communication with the Emperor, who ranks first.

After immediately pausing and spending dozens of hours in agonizing self-reflection…

“I’M SORRYYYYY!!!”

With an apology so intense that no one could match it, I explained as concisely and accurately as possible why I had no choice but to contact Artlaia via communication right now…

-“Is that so? If things are that serious, it can’t be helped.”

‘Ah, finally.’

I could breathe a sigh of relief as I received permission from Artlaia to proceed with this matter.

However, at this point, I noticed something strange…

For some reason, throughout our conversation just now, Artlaia had only discussed the vaccine removal work that I mentioned, and made absolutely no reference to the part I had apologized for.

‘No way, I trust our Artlaia.’

Of course, my trust in Artlaia remained unwavering.

As we continued our conversation, I was about to end the communication by promising Artlaia that I would complete this task perfectly as well.

But before ending the call.

-“Oh right, Arto, about that act at the beginning…”

At Artlaia’s words, I realized that she had simply avoided mentioning it earlier because it was a sensitive and unnecessary topic.

“I want to apologize for that again. No matter how close we are, there are lines that shouldn’t be crossed…”

I continued to express my apologies, hoping to move past the incident.

-“No, there’s no need for that. Just come to the Imperial Palace when this is over.”

“…What?”

-“I know you’re not the type to do such things without reason, so come prepared when you visit.”

-Beep.

-Communication terminated.

“…”

I felt my hands and feet trembling and a chill running down my spine at the sudden unilateral judgment from Artlaia.

Knowing I couldn’t remain in this state if I wanted to get anything done…

I sought advice from Riel, who could be considered my only confidant, on how to handle this situation.

“…Should I buy you some grilled eel when this is over, sir?”

“Riel, not you too…!”

Unfortunately, while Riel might help with other matters, she maintained strict neutrality when it came to Artlaia-related issues.

I had to tremble in fear as I contemplated the terrible future that would arrive within a year at most.

—————————————

Of course, putting such playful behavior aside.

Now that I had received the Emperor’s permission, I decided to take action to complete the emergency quest in earnest.

“What does the Ministry of Health and Welfare say?”

“After reviewing the materials we sent, they promised full cooperation and have already begun taking action.”

“The Internal Affairs Ministry’s Security Department is confirming with the governors of each planet, including the capital, about the investigation of the vaccine administration.”

And to state the obvious…

The fact that ‘I personally’ was openly taking command in the Holy Sebelli Empire meant this was by no means an ordinary situation.

It was essentially announcing an ’empire-wide crisis’ at the very least.

“Minister, have you seen the news?”

“I’m too busy to watch everything. Just bring a TV to the conference room and leave it on.”

Following my instructions, someone brought a TV to the conference room, which was now broadcasting all sorts of conspiracy theories and speculations about my direct involvement in the situation.

Just looking at the news program currently being broadcast on the TV screen…

-“We’ve received news that Duke Arto, the Saint himself, is personally leading the project being implemented by the imperial government… Professor, what are your thoughts on this?”

-“I find it both fascinating and concerning.”

-“What do you mean by that?”

-“The Saint’s original position is in the Diplomatic Enforcement Ministry, which handles all internal and external diplomatic and counterintelligence operations for the empire, correct?”

-“Yes, that’s right.”

-“For someone in his position to openly take direct command of this mysterious project suggests that this issue extends beyond just our Holy Sebelli Empire.”

-“Are you saying that what’s only being referred to as ‘Project V’ is connected to some grand conspiracy?”

They were beating their own drums and making all sorts of claims.

-“Project V, directly commanded by the Saint: Let’s uncover its true nature.”

-“What exactly is Project V?”

There were also many tabloid-like reports circulating.

Among them…

-“Project V: Actually a cover for large-scale counterintelligence operations protecting the Empire?”

“Oh, this one’s quite convincingly done.”

Some of these tabloids were coming remarkably close to the truth, even from our perspective as the parties involved.

The situation was developing in many complex and diverse ways.

But despite all this, there was one common and peculiar point…

The fact that ‘I’ was personally taking command in the current situation was being portrayed as an extremely positive factor.

“Hmm, during my time at the Enforcement Ministry, I was treated like a grim reaper whenever I appeared in the news, but now I’m treated like a hero.”

While I could easily control the media by combining Alina and the Master System Administrator if needed…

I wasn’t even using those two at the moment.

At most, the Propaganda Ministry was only spreading false information to prevent Prosnack from discovering our vaccine removal operation, which had been named the mysterious “Project V.”

It was truly a puzzling sight for me to behold.

But when I unconsciously voiced my confusion…

“Of course, it’s all thanks to that one photo of you, Minister.”

“…Photo?”

One of the Purge Unit members in the conference room showed me a terminal with what they claimed was the photo plastered all over the media.

The photo turned out to be a scene captured during the previous “Diplomatic Enforcement Ministry Attack” incident…

‘Why is that there?’

It showed me and the Purge Unit members in the exact same composition and pose as a certain president from a country in my previous life.

“Do you see this? Your current image is serving as a role model not just across the empire but throughout the entire galaxy!”

“Long live the Saint!”

“Long live the Saint!”

‘…’

Seeing these guys suddenly transform into fanatics after showing me the photo, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach.

Of course, I couldn’t openly show such discomfort.

“Urgh… let’s stop there for now and get back to what we need to do.”

“Understood, Minister!”

After quickly sending them out of the conference room…

I decided to focus once more on removing that damned BerryCHIP that seemed to have merged with conspiracy theories from my previous life.

However, one annoying point was…

‘Quest window.’

[Emergency Quest: Vaccine Removal Operation]

[Remove Prosnack’s Covard Type-C 19 vaccine and the ‘BerryCHIP’ from citizens who have received it.]

[Time Limit: 359 days]

[Available Operation Time: 180 days]

[Progress: 0%]

[Failure within time limit will result in -90% stability throughout the Holy Sebelli Empire and creation of large-scale rebel forces]

‘Why isn’t the operation progress increasing yet?’

Despite all our efforts to remove the cursed BerryCHIP…

The quest window’s progress bar refused to budge.

‘What exactly do I need to do for it to progress?’

In the original game, you just had to dispatch ships or research teams, and the progress would automatically update from that point.

The quest window provided no way to know exactly what needed to be done for this “project” to progress.

Well, not exactly none, but…

The normal approach would be to try everything possible and hope something works by chance.

‘Damn, how much trouble have I gone through because of this cursed instruction manual?’

Just as the situation was triggering my PTSD and my irritation was rising again…

“Minister, the examination and removal procedures for vaccine recipients are about to begin in the capital region and major planets.”

“Hmm.”

Thinking about it, we have a population exceeding hundreds of billions spread across numerous planetary systems.

Not to mention the scientific outposts and primitive civilization observation bases scattered throughout the star systems.

It would be more strange if the percentage increased rapidly when only a few days had passed.

‘I seem to be too impatient. I need to be more composed at times like this.’

So I was about to pause time to meditate and calm my mind when…

“Message from Saunia Prime. They’ve initiated the vaccine removal operation… and they just completed the first removal.”

The moment the operator in the conference room relayed this information…

-Beep!

[Progress: 0.01%]

Seeing the progress finally increase, I felt an inner joy at the realization that we had officially begun.