[Late night, Ryugu Kingdom, Minister of the Left's Residence]
"You lost the people, and then blame me?", Holp's face was gloomy as he stared coldly at the man in front of him.
The man in front was dressed in the World Government's white suit, anyone who could wear such clothes was basically CP0.
CP0's Qope glanced at Holp, his eyes also showing displeasure, "The person you found was too stupid. You actually brought that Highness and Otohime back to your base? If I don't come looking for you, who else should I find?"
Holp really screwed this up.
Inside the World Government, they were well aware of the incident of Queen Otohime going missing.
Because of this, many Celestial Dragons had thoughts, wanting to catch a few more mermaid slaves.
After all, even Queen Otohime could disappear on Fish-Man Island. Then if other female mermaids went missing, that would be completely normal.
Qope belonged to the Roswald family's CP0, but among the nineteen families, Roswald ranked low. Even Roswald couldn't speak before Rosse, let alone him, just a mere CP0.
But not daring to find Rosse didn't mean he couldn't look for Holp.
After all, they were just female mermaids. If Nia and the other girls ran off, they could always get new ones.
"I don't have any right now," Holp said angrily.
He had been in a pretty good mood these past two days. With his hidden piece in motion, they'd already fooled Marco and got into the palace. It's said they even got close to Neptune.
The person he selected was a proper 10-meter-tall female mermaid, she could even do tail play with Neptune. Definitely not something Otohime could compare to.
"If you don't find a way, then I'll be in trouble," Qope snorted coldly.
"In trouble? Are you going to make a move on me?", Holp looked at Qope warily and abruptly took a few steps back.
CP0, said to be the shield of the Celestial Dragons, wasn't just a title made up for nothing.
He was very self-aware, absolutely couldn't resist the person before him.
"I won't do anything extra, but whether that Highness will or not, I can't say," Qope grinned, "You know, those three mermaids are Queen Otohime's maids. Considering how much he dotes on Otohime..."
"You've received some news?", Holp's heart tightened, and he quickly asked.
Rosse had been in the spotlight lately, even Redfield fell to him. He didn't want to be targeted by such a monster.
"Five mermaid slaves," Qope opened his hand expressionlessly.
If Holp weren't such a special case, someone he could exploit long-term, he wouldn't bother getting involved this deeply.
"Deal!", His life on the line, Holp agreed without hesitation.
Seeing Holp agree, Qope nodded in satisfaction and began to speak, "You'd better be careful. Those three mermaids split into two, went to Sabaody Archipelago's CP9 base. At the same time, all of CP9 is gathering there."
This kind of thing might be kept from others, but not from the World Government.
And since Qope had been keeping an eye on the matter, naturally he also noticed CP9's movements.
Inside the World Government, it was widely known that Spandine, due to his family's connections, had become a loyal dog of Rosse.
"CP9?", Holp didn't understand, "Isn't CP only numbered from 0 to 8?"
"CP9 is a secret organization, considered the training camp for CP0," Qope kindly explained.
He had risen from CP9 himself before being selected into CP0, so he understood CP9's strength.
"They definitely can't take down a Yonko or an Admiral, but crushing you? That's about the same as squashing an ant," Qope added thoughtfully.
"Damn it!", Holp cursed, his face turning dark.
It wasn't like he himself wanted to catch Nia, wasn't it because the Celestial Dragons wanted someone with a high status?
Now that something went wrong, he was the one taking the fall. Is there even any justice?
"I'm working for you, and you're not helping me?", Holp said with a grim face.
"Us get involved? Do you believe that if we get involved, you'll die even faster?", Qope sneered and looked at Holp like he was an idiot.
'What kind of brain does he have? Doesn't he know his own level?'
'If this really touched the Roswald family, you'd be the first one they threw out as a scapegoat.'
'What are you even thinking?'
"Also, I'm warning you, don't even think about dragging us in, or your whole family will die."
Holp obviously understood what Qope meant. His face was already twisted, so he simply gave up and said, "If I'm going to die, you're not getting any mermaids either. You figure it out yourselves."
Holp completely gave up.
'You're not going to help, and still expect me to take the heat alone?'
'Who the hell am I? I'm just the Minister of the Left of the Ryugu Kingdom, and you think I can fight Rosse?'
'Also, what kind of Celestial Dragons are you? Pathetic!'
'Look at Rosse, even just his name makes you all scared to move.'
'Even among Celestial Dragons there are differences.'
Somehow, that line just popped into Holp's mind.
"You can redirect the blame. Drag Ammo Knights into this," Qope's eyes showed some displeasure, but he still gave Holp an idea.
If he had a choice, he also didn't want Holp to be in trouble.
Fortunately, it looked like Rosse wasn't coming personally. Otherwise, he would have ditched Holp long ago.
'Just a few little mermaids with CP9, what's the worst that can happen?'cl
"Neptune?", Holp fell into thought.
If he remembered correctly, when he captured those people, he used the Ammo Knights.
Those Neptune soldiers had already been bought off by him. During the day they acted as proper royal guards, and at night they became his accomplices.
And Holp also knew that within the Ammo Knights, there were quite a few degenerates like that.
These seemed like the perfect group to push blame onto.
Especially now that his people had been sent into the palace, this actually created even more room to operate.
If Neptune took the fall, then this matter wouldn't be tied to him at all.
The more Holp thought, the more viable it seemed.
Maybe… he could play the role of a guide one more time.
'Damn it! I don't even know which family Qope is from.'
If he did, maybe he could climb his way up to the heavens.
'Not bad, this might actually work!'
"Interested in making a big deal?", Holp looked up, eyes blazing as he stared at Qope.
"What are you trying to do?", Qope frowned, "I'm warning you, don't even think about touching someone under Saint Rosse."
'Pah! Look at how gutless you people are!'
'You're not even worthy of licking Rosse's feet."
Holp cursed inwardly but kept a calm face on the surface, "You want mermaids. I want to live. Since we're redirecting blame, why not go big, drag Neptune into the pit."
"Go on," Qope became interested.
"Here's the plan… like this… like this…"
Holp's face carried a gloomy smile as he continued laying out his plan.
He had barely finished explaining it, and Qope already looked excited, clearly very satisfied with the plan.
How precious.
If this plan succeeded, they could obtain thousands or even tens of thousands of female mermaid slaves. Of course he'd be thrilled.
'Just you wait. All of you… will become my stepping stones!'
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.
https://discord.gg/bYAfGyp98y