Ch.388Chapter 388 – The Emperor Requests Help

One morning, a letter from the imperial palace was suddenly delivered to me.

[Come to the palace immediately. Alone.]

The moment I saw the letter instructing me to come to the palace immediately, countless thoughts raced through my mind.

‘Why would my father-in-law send such a letter?’

He wasn’t someone who would summon me to the palace for trivial matters, yet he specifically asked me to come alone.

‘Has something serious happened?’

A problem serious enough to require my help? I couldn’t even begin to imagine what it could be.

‘Should I ask Karen what this is about?’

Besides Karen, hardly anyone in our household truly understands the internal affairs of the imperial palace.

How many people regularly converse with my father-in-law and mother-in-law? They’re the Emperor and Empress, after all.

So apart from Karen, there’s virtually no one who communicates regularly with the palace.

‘Hmm, but it feels awkward to ask her directly.’

Karen and the other two women had visibly protruding bellies. They became pregnant in August this year, so they’re already four months along.

Perhaps due to the unprecedented record of twins, triplets, and another set of twins, imperial doctors frequently visited our home every week.

Right now, they’re probably gathered together, sharing various stories for prenatal education.

If I were to join them and bring up something serious, it might disrupt their prenatal care.

‘I have no choice. I’ll have to go to the palace alone.’

Since my father-in-law instructed me to come alone, I should follow his wishes.

So I took a carriage to the imperial palace.

It seemed arrangements had been made in advance, as a servant was waiting for me. I followed the servant to the Emperor’s office.

When I opened the door and entered, I was greeted by my father-in-law, who looked as if he had aged five years.

“Your Majesty, what’s the matter? You summoned me so suddenly.”

“You’ve arrived. Please sit down. What I need to discuss with you is quite serious.”

A serious matter indeed. It seems my impression that he had aged five years wasn’t just my imagination.

I sat on a sofa placed in a corner of the office, and soon the Emperor rose from his seat and sat across from me.

“Sigh, I never imagined such a thing would happen during my reign.”

“So… what exactly has happened?”

“Do you know anything about anomalies?”

“Anomalies… you say?”

I’m not sure. Anomalies. Judging by the word alone, it seems to refer to strange occurrences.

Remember those escape games that were popular before, with things like “Exit 8” or “Platform 1”?

I recall that all kinds of phenomena appearing in those games were called anomalies.

“Yes. Anomalies refer to events that cannot be understood through common sense.”

Then my father-in-law, the Emperor, gave specific examples of what anomalies are.

“The sky and earth switching places. Rivers standing still while the land flows. Day continuing when it should be night, or night persisting when it should be day. But these are merely simple examples.”

What I’ve just heard is already bizarre and strange enough, but what more could there be?

“Animals growing like plants, or plants walking around like animals—these are commonplace. Magic communication completely failing during snowstorms or rainstorms. Living beings melting when passing through areas of sunlight.”

“Those are truly incomprehensible by any standard of common sense.”

“Indeed. And these anomalies mostly occur in the northern and southern regions of the continent where sunlight barely reaches.”

I found this puzzling.

If such events frequently occur in the northern and southern regions where sunlight barely reaches, why don’t people know about them?

“From your expression, it seems you don’t understand why people are unaware of this.”

“To be honest, I don’t.”

“That’s to be expected. With the emergence of demon gods and demonic cults, most people haven’t paid any attention to anomalies. It’s actually fortunate. Even if people knew about them, they would simply attribute them to the actions of demonic cults.”

Does that mean… this information was deliberately concealed?

“That’s right. The rulers of each nation, including myself, along with the highest leaders of the religious orders, agreed that the people should not be made aware of these anomalies.”

“Why is that?”

“Because compared to anomalies, demon gods and demonic cults are easier to deal with. Demon gods and demonic cults have clear causes and solutions. But not anomalies. We don’t know why they occur, nor do we know how to solve the root problem to prevent them entirely.”

“Doesn’t that create issues?”

The Emperor nodded at my question.

“Indeed it does. That’s why the rulers, including myself, and the highest leaders of the religious orders joined forces to develop magical tools that neutralize the effects of anomalies. We miniaturized and mass-produced these tools to counter the anomalies.”

“So neutralization is possible, then.”

“Yes. Many people have perished without even leaving their names behind for this cause. Therefore, it is the duty of rulers, including myself, to neutralize these anomalies and prevent them from harming the people.”

The Emperor’s eyes were filled with solemnity as he spoke these words.

Those were not the eyes of someone speaking falsehoods.

“Of course, until recently, we’ve been somewhat negligent in addressing anomalies due to issues with demonic cults and demon gods. That was my mistake.”

“It seems these anomalies grow stronger if left unchecked.”

“Exactly. That’s the problem. And over time, increasingly powerful anomalies have been appearing.”

Then the Emperor placed a gilded pocket watch on the table.

“Do you know what this is?”

“Isn’t it just a pocket watch?”

“This is a magical tool that reverses anomalies.”

“What?”

A pocket watch small enough to fit in an adult man’s hand is used to neutralize anomalies?

Considering that the smaller and more portable something becomes, the more expensive it gets, I can’t even imagine how much this thing is worth.

At least the value of several buildings, perhaps?

“Using this magical tool, we have continuously neutralized anomalies until now. However, recently, intelligence agents dispatched to the north were unable to send magical communications due to anomalies. So they attempted to escape, and only after all their pocket watches were broken were they finally able to return.”

“That’s certainly not a matter to be taken lightly.”

“That’s why I’ve called you. It seems you’ll need to step in for this situation.”

As the Emperor asked for my help, I fell into thought for a moment.

It was clear that if this situation were taken lightly, something terrible would happen.

There’s no guarantee that these bizarre events called anomalies won’t find their way into our homes.

“I hear Karen’s twins are growing well.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I can only apologize to you. As a father of seven children, you have many responsibilities, and as your father-in-law, I should be lightening your burden, not adding to it.”

My father-in-law sighed as he said this.

“But in this matter, I have no choice. We’ve begun developing new magical tools, and currently, larger and more powerful ones capable of neutralizing even stronger anomalies are being created, but we cannot simply sit and wait until they’re completed.”

“So, what should I do?”

In response to my question, the Emperor took out a map from a box and unfolded it.

It was a map showing the entire continent of this world.

One point on the map was marked.

“This mark indicates a location where strange forces believed to cause anomalies are gathering. Thanks to you defeating the demon god, it’s become easier to locate.”

The southern part of the Western Continent. The very place where I had defeated the demon god before. A point was marked further south from there.

“We’re certain something is there, but no matter how many people we send, we can’t confirm what it is. I’m not asking you to solve everything. As a ruler, I have my pride; how could I rely solely on you for everything?”

The Emperor pointed to the spot on the Western Continent.

“Go to this region. Investigate what’s happening there. For your safety, the empire’s finest mages and knights will accompany you.”

“Should I keep this secret from my wives?”

“For now. Finding out exactly what’s there is the priority. We can deal with it afterward.”

He told me not to worry about my wives. He would send the head maid and chamberlain, and the Empress herself would personally go to take care of them.

“I understand. I will go.”

This was the only conclusion I could reach.

And the next morning, I departed for the southern part of the continent with an investigation team of 500 people.