Ch.195Don’t use plans that are too complicated.

# Chapter 195: Don’t Use Overly Complicated Plans

Even in a world frozen by pause, the event messages continued to flow.

[Event Chain in Progress…]

[Event: 20 Years of Revenge (2)]

[But no matter how powerful a governor ruling over a planetary system might be.]

[He could not stand against the Emperor of a vast interstellar empire controlling dozens or hundreds of planetary systems.]

[And against you, who commands the galaxy’s most powerful counterintelligence agency.]

[As time passed, Goliath fell deeper into self-loathing, frustrated by his inability to achieve anything despite his burning desire for revenge.]

[But then one day.]

[While Goliath was living in despair at the Governor’s Office on Avar, a secret piece of information was delivered.]

[It was that Pope Alexander I at the time.]

[That is, Alexander, the legitimate eldest son of the late Emperor, was planning to overthrow the current Emperor Artraia from the throne.]

[…Naturally, Governor Goliath endorsed Alexander’s plan and spared no support for it.]

[As a result, for the Papal faction, which was relatively weaker than the Zeltech faction at the time, Governor Goliath’s support was like rain on parched land.]

After reading this far.

[Event Chain Paused]

I felt my head buzzing.

‘What? That bastard Alexander shows up here?’

But thinking about it again, it was entirely plausible.

‘Given that he had already seized control of government departments and wielded influence, it makes sense that some planetary governors would be drawn to his side.’

Besides, as the event message stated, Alexander was the legitimate eldest son of the deceased former Emperor.

For Goliath, who idolized the former Emperor, it would be natural to support Alexander rather than Artraia, who had massacred his comrades.

Having organized my thoughts, I continued checking the event messages.

But…

[Event Chain Resumed]

[Moreover, Governor Goliath’s support didn’t end there.]

[Although we don’t have a way to confirm the details as the investigation is still ongoing.]

[According to the Executors’ investigation, surprisingly, it was Governor Goliath who delivered the Covard vaccine sample from Prosnack to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which was under the Pope’s influence at that time.]

[Event Chain Paused]

Upon seeing those words, I had to pause the event again.

‘Damn, so the source of that cursed vaccine appears here.’

I had been wondering where the Ministry of Health and Welfare got that conspiracy-laden Verichip.

Learning that Governor Goliath was the root of it made me want to jump out of my seat.

[Paused.]

‘Damn it!’

Unfortunately, since the event chain was in progress, I couldn’t move as the pause couldn’t be released.

‘Fine, I’ll have to listen to everything first.’

So despite my frustration, I had no choice but to resume the event chain.

[Event Chain Resumed]

[…Also, while this is merely speculation from the monitors within the Diplomatic Enforcement Ministry, regarding the Verichip in the Covard vaccine.]

[That is, there are suspicions that Governor Goliath might have known about the ability to be controlled by Prosnack’s leadership.]

Hearing this, I could only think that birds of a feather flock together.

‘One is obsessed with power and selling the Empire to a corporate state, while the other is obsessed with revenge and trying to turn the Empire into a slave of an enemy state.’

[But after continued tracking of the vaccine sample, it appears that Governor Goliath did not originally possess the sample.]

‘What.’

[Although they haven’t been able to identify the source yet…]

[The internal consensus at the Diplomatic Enforcement Ministry is that the sample was likely passed to Governor Goliath from ‘someone’ in Prosnack.]

[However, considering that this information was urgently sent from a negotiation team that was being raided by the planetary governor’s forces, the internal conclusion is that it’s sufficiently credible information.]

[Event Chain Ended.]

‘Holy shit.’

This situation seemed to be growing exponentially worse.

According to the event message, Governor Goliath had knowingly given the vaccine sample to the Ministry of Health and Welfare—no, to Alexander—with full awareness of its effects, intending for it to spread throughout the Empire.

And that idiot Alexander had handed it over to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, causing the damned vaccine to spread across the Empire.

‘Damn it.’

My mouth—no, my brain—couldn’t help but spew profanities.

But fortunately, with the end of that long event story chain, I could now freely release the pause.

‘This story should be discussed with the party most closely involved.’

[Pause Released]

I immediately released the pause.

After clearing away the pile of documents, I spoke to Riel, who hadn’t been standing for long due to the pause.

“Riel, contact the Prosnack Embassy right away and summon Ambassador Samiya.”

“What reason should I give?”

“Tell them there’s a critical issue regarding the vaccine… Actually, instead of ‘summoning,’ make it sound smoother, like we’re requesting assistance.”

“Ah, I understand.”

————————————-

Of course, while I said we were requesting assistance.

In reality, I was calling in Ambassador Samiya for a kind of interrogation.

And naturally, that interrogation was about…

‘Did Prosnack’s home country plan to spread mental control chips disguised as vaccines throughout the Holy Sebelli Empire to weaken its internal defenses?’

But when I demanded an explanation for this suspicion…

“As I’ve mentioned before, we haven’t received any separate instructions from our home country recently.”

“…”

Ambassador Samiya wasn’t displaying the typical diplomatic “poker face while denying everything.”

Instead, she seemed genuinely indignant.

“To be frank, I’m starting to wonder if you’ve been reading some conspiracy theory or fiction, Minister.”

“Hmm…”

With those words, Ambassador Samiya leaned back on the sofa with her characteristic arms-crossed posture, giving me a languid look.

“…That’s what I would have said before, but.”

“Hmm?”

“As you’ve guessed, we’re already in a community of fate, wouldn’t you say?”

“…”

“So I can tell you that, as far as I know, our country has never implemented the kind of ‘strategy’ you’re thinking of.”

I was inwardly perplexed by her unexpectedly friendly attitude.

[Pause]

‘Perhaps, like during the Kerzin annihilation operation, Prosnack didn’t inform their diplomats about this.’

Even without being naive enough to believe Ambassador Samiya’s words.

By now, I was aware of the strange disconnect between Prosnack’s home country and its diplomats.

And thinking about it, I realized one important fact:

‘Come to think of it, Ambassador Samiya was the one who supported this vaccine removal operation in the first place.’

The moment I realized there was no possibility that Ambassador Samiya could be complicit in this matter.

[Pause Released]

I immediately released the pause, stood up, and promptly offered a handshake to Ambassador Samiya.

“Of course, I also believe in your innocence, Ambassador Samiya.”

“…”

[Pause]

But since I hadn’t thought about what to say next.

After activating pause again.

And agonizing for a full four hours, I was finally able to come up with a plausible response and release the pause.

[Pause Released]

“…However, there are inevitably suspicious glances directed at you from within our ranks.”

“Ah, so you’re saying that you’re doing this to deflect those suspicious glances aimed at me, the embassy, and the marines?”

‘…Is that right?’

I desperately managed my expression.

But every time I faced situations like this, I felt intensely irritated.

While I had to spend 4-5 hours thinking just to come up with one response.

The other party could respond in real-time, or at most within 2-3 minutes.

For the first time in a long while, I felt a surge of resentment toward a world that had incarnated me into a game without giving me a single cheat key.