Chapter 530.1
Chapter 530.1
The Imperial Guards under the direct command of the Emperor had captured Alveiro Verbaan, thinking that this may be a bad idea, and had been watching the situation closely, preparing for the next operation based on the information coming from the intelligence organization.
“–You are all here. We will now begin the briefing for the [Garbage to the Trash] operation.” (Helger)
The meeting was led by Helger Landros, the deputy commander of the First Order, who was directly in charge of all the Imperial Guards.
Just as he was about to begin, one of the members of the Order raised his hand and asked, “…Commander, um, may I ask you one question first?”
Commander Helger answered, “Go ahead, say it.”
“Well… isn’t that His Majesty the Demon Emperor there, right?” (Imperial Guard 1)
I answered that question personally, not Helger, “No, I am just the mysterious helper, the masked Epsilon.”
“That’s right. The one here is mysterious… what did you say?” (Helger)
“Well, I am Epsilon, the mysterious masked helper. And this is my equipment, an anti-personnel net [fishing net]. In addition, I have a trash can to put garbage in.”
“–I can see that… wait, your Majesty, can you stop using the fishing nets and garbage cans…” (Imperial Guard 1)
“As I have mentioned earlier, he is not His Majesty.” (Helger)
“Well, I am just showing this as a joke. I usually use a big sword, but it makes it harder to control my strength with that kind of weapon, and more importantly, I don’t want my child to be exposed to the blood of scum, so this time I’ll be using my bare hands. I will leave the clean-up to you guys.”
“Oh, thank you, Lord Epsilon. –You guys now understand what you have to do. This man here will simply be there to assist us in our work. Please keep that in mind.” (Helger)
His words brought a look of silent approval from the Imperial Guards, who understood what he was asking for.
If at all possible, it would be more convenient for me to say that I had no hand in the matter and that it would be resolved solely by the people of this country.
However, since today’s objective was to go after the enemy’s [limbs], not the Imperial family, I did not intend to hide myself so seriously.
In short, as long as the situation could be built on the premise that “I’m not involved,” that’s all that matters.
That’s why I was wearing the mask I had in my item box today for the first time in a long time.
As for the Imperial Guards, it’s fine as long as they deny seeing me.
After seeing that his subordinates understood his intentions, Helger changed his voice to a more serious tone and continued.
“Let me continue. Our enemies have already used demons twice in their acts of terror. In other words, we don’t know what they will do if cornered. Depending on the situation, they will most likely do whatever it takes to cause as much problem as possible. Therefore, we have asked the most powerful man in the country to lend us his strength.” (Helger)
As for my forces, I’m going to have Enne stand by in the item box, but I’ve decided not to bring any of Rir’s pet army with me.
After all, if the pet army joined the operation, the enemy would instantly realize that I was involved, even if I was wearing a mask.
However, as Helger just said, there was a possibility that the enemy would summon demons again, so I brought Enne just in case.
There were still monsters that remained in this country that had been prepared using DPs during the reign of the previous emperor. They were now under my control through the cooperation of this country’s monster-user squad, but there was a possibility that our target might have done something to them using unknown dungeon items.
I think it was best to be cautious.
Also, if I didn’t take proper precautions during this operation, my wives might get angry when I return home.
“Remember, our enemies this time are the kind of people who don’t care about anything else other than their own interests. To them, the death of a few citizens is unimportant. So be sure to secure the area quickly.” (Helger)
From there, the details of the operation were given to everyone.
Starting with the target, the operation to capture this guy and bring him in alive.
As Helger said earlier, there was a good chance that the enemy would make a move without hesitation, so concerns were raised one by one in the planning of the operation.
Well, technically, this was not the job of the Imperial Guards, but when looking for an appropriate unit from the viewpoint of “strong soldiers who were not under the enemy’s control,” they were the best choice.
The Second Order was established after the war, so to speak, and was prepared as a convenient pawn for us, and the First Order was originally headed by the former emperor Shendra. In other words, both the First and Second Order were the best we could possibly have in this country.
After the briefing, Helger finally addressed me.
“Epsilon-dono – no, Your Majesty. Is there something I can help you with?” (Helger)
…Now that he’s deliberately calling me [Your Majesty], I guess that means he wanted me to say something as an emperor.
After thinking for a moment, I took off my mask and started to speak.
“What they have done is a betrayal of what you…no, we…are trying to accomplish. I don’t like their actions, so I’m going to crush them. –I won’t let them get away with this.”