Achievements

"Right, so back to what I was saying earlier — we approach the United States and the Soviet Union, tell them we'll join the war against Germany, and in exchange they stay out of the war between China and Japan."

Doing nothing just because you didn't intervene in the game was pure idiocy. You needed this acknowledged, locked in, beyond any doubt.

"If they're preparing for war, they won't refuse."

The Head Maid nodded, thoroughly convinced. She probably would have done it even without the persuasion — but problems could still crop up. She might start saying things like His Majesty desires one hundred million total suicides! and so on. Plenty of room for things to go sideways.

"Exactly. In a war between Germany and the US–Soviet bloc, Germany still has the better odds. They need a strong nation on their side. A powerhouse like our Korea."

Korea 2 had been complete garbage, but Korea 3 was different!

For the record, my plan for the war against Germany was to throw low-quality conscripts drafted from all of former China and Japan into the meat grinder. Wasteful, given that they were now our citizens — but the US and the Soviets needed to win, not Germany.

If Germany won, those two would ascend on the spot. Superhumans would pour out of them in numbers rivaling Korea 3, the nation that already boasted the world's strongest superhuman forces. And if the US and Soviets won? High probability their alliance collapsed and they turned on each other. Even if they held the alliance together at low odds, they'd still be weaker than an ascended Germany.

In the original game, I'd nudged the war slightly in the US and Soviets' favor, then stabbed both exhausted nations in the back the moment it was over. Here, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'd have to be more careful. Either way, the first order of business was swallowing China and Japan whole.

"But if the war drags on, supporting them will become difficult for us."

The Head Maid asked carefully. She seemed to be flagging the points the Americans and Soviets would most likely take issue with.

"Even if our war runs long, you can publicly pledge that the moment the American mainland is invaded, or the Soviets are pushed back to the Urals, we will declare war at once."

Because by that point, we'd genuinely have to jump in immediately. It would mean Germany was one step from wiping both of them out.

In truth, crushing China and Japan wouldn't take that long. But from the US and Soviet perspective, it wouldn't look that way. They knew Korea 3 officially fielded the world's largest superhuman force — they just had no idea how high the quality actually ran. Superhuman power was a state secret. Unless it had already been exposed in past wars or flaunted for show, you never revealed it.

Ah — maybe the Head Maid was worried about China's superhuman forces, thinking the war might drag on because of them. She had a rough sense of China's conventional military strength, but next to nothing on their superhumans. And yet her faith that we couldn't lose was still remarkable.

"Since Your Majesty has spoken so firmly, I will see this secret pact concluded without fail."

Bowing deeply, the Head Maid left the playroom with an expression full of mission and purpose.

Break time at last!

I lay across the Second Sister's thigh, worn out from talking so seriously.

"I'm done. Set me up for sleep."

Which meant asking the Second Sister for head pats!

"Heh. Your Majesty really is a spoiled child."

Her elegant hand stroked my hair a few times, then lightly covered my eyes.

"First and Third, too."

I added the request in a drowsy mumble.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Yes."

"Today I'm sleeping right next to you!"

The Third Sister brought a blanket, covered me, then lay down beside me and wrapped me in her arms. Soft, yielding warmth pressed close. …And she smelled wonderful.

"Ah~♪"

The First Sister sat by my head and began singing a gentle lullaby, perfect for drifting off.

Absolutely perfect. This was living. Being the Emperor of Korea was the best job in the world!

"Your Majesty, if you want… I can do more than this."

The Third Sister's soft whisper came with her hand wriggling toward a very improper place. I jolted and caught her wrist. There was no chance of overpowering her by force, but once she registered the refusal, she withdrew on her own.

Behold the power of authority! I could stop sexual harassment from a woman stronger than me!

"No, no. That's far enough."

"Ugh…"

I cracked an eye open and saw the Third Sister pouting cutely between the Second Sister's fingers — and held firm. If I gave in even once, I wasn't sure I could keep the desire in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠check. Until the world was conquered and the aliens were dealt with, I needed to stay rational. I was already living a life decadent enough. This was plenty.

"Your Majesty has remarkable self-restraint."

The Second Sister's voice was soft, but thick with regret — enough that even I could feel it.

"Not really."

I muttered it under my breath. Honestly, I wasn't satisfied at all. I wanted to put my hands on them right then and there.

…These maids were superhumans. That meant they could be sent to war, and dying would not be strange. If I ordered it, they would never be deployed — but I couldn't lower Korea's odds of victory. Showing blatant, obvious favoritism was also a little delicate. I had to keep the war from turning desperate so they could stay alive.

I'd probably feel the same once I met the other generals and soldiers. Because they would, as a baseline, be beautiful women who liked me. Not a joke. Building relationships with devoted beauties, then watching them march off to the battlefield…

…I no longer wanted to leave the palace. Confirming them once had been enough. I'd already turned down the commanders who wanted to come pay their respects — but I'd have to see them at least once before the war.

Ugh. My head hurt. I'd only known these girls for a month, and I was already like this. My mind was full of what if they die. The future was starting to scare me.

I just wanted to dump biochemical weapons all over the enemy nations. Our casualties would plummet. The diplomatic isolation would be brutal, of course. It had been bad enough in the game; in this reality, the backlash would be even fiercer.

…But once only the final enemy nation remained — wouldn't that be fine?

The temptation pulled at me. No. Even so, biochemical weapons felt wrong. People would die in droves either way, but the feeling of it was different. It felt like something only a devil would do. And there already was an empire built by that very devil, standing proud. In practice, they were the final boss — the kind you had to form a hero party for and bring down with the righteous power of numbers.

"This is all your fault."

"Pardon?"

Fortunately, the muttered words came out too mangled for anyone to understand. Blaming others was pathetic. Stop it, me.

"I'm going to sleep, so do whatever's comfortable. You can bring pillows if you want."

They were superhumans, so it wouldn't really matter — but it still had to be uncomfortable. I offered it to the three sisters.

"Staying like this is my joy."

"I could stay like this forever."

"Is my singing that bad?"

Their answers made my heart pound hard. The goodwill in those words and gestures was almost crushing. Happy, and worried, and uneasy all at once. If I asked, these girls would do anything. More precisely — everyone in this country would. And I, in turn, found myself wanting to grant them anything they asked.

Was I… an easy man?

It couldn't just be me, right? Anyone in this situation would think the same. Yeah. Definitely.

I just wanted to skip the war and stay still. If it weren't for those damn aliens, I would have lived exactly like this. Though, thinking it through, even that was unrealistic. People had an innate drive to climb. Great powers kicked the ladder away to keep their place; the nations below clawed and scrambled to rise. To any state competing for hegemony, Korea was already enough of a threat. No matter how harmlessly we sat still, no matter how friendly their domestic opinion of Korea became — they would move. Until the day Korea shrugged off every check and seized the world's hegemony, the threat of war would never vanish. More precisely: until the day we conquered the world and made it all Korea. Aliens aside, of course.

…This ridiculous moe mode also set the lifespans of national leaders and superhumans to infinite. In the vanilla game, leaders and extremely old superhumans occasionally triggered death-by-old-age events. Those were gone. Meaning I might be immortal. The maids beside me, and Korea's other superhumans too. Given how long we were likely to live, conquering Earth now — while my knowledge was still a massive advantage — was the smart play. The alien problem, too.

Reasons to go to war just kept piling up. Before wiping China off the map, I should take additional measures and bulk up our weight class a little more.

Status window.

Ding!

Achievements.

An achievement that left a weird taste in my mouth every time I looked at it. I'd only activated a mode, and somehow Korea had fallen. Korea 3 was sitting right here, perfectly fine.

This bizarre status window needed regular checks. Who knew when something stranger would get added.

…What would happen if I turned the mode off? Could it even be switched off midstream?

"Your Majesty, are you asleep?"

A gentle voice quieted the question for the moment. If I tried something stupid and the mode actually shut off, these girls would disappear.

A hand slipped under my clothes. Eyes still closed, I spoke.

"Not yet."

"Tch."

"Hnn."

The Third Sister clicked her tongue softly and pulled her hand back. The Second Sister made a small, disappointed sound of her own.

"Don't disturb His Majesty's rest."

Thankfully, the First Sister put little bumps on both the Second and Third Sisters' heads.

As I drifted toward dreamland and my mind went hazy, the maids' small voices somehow lodged in my ears.

O Great One.

Receive our praise.

O Merciful One.

May you receive the reverence you are due.

…Sinking into sleep, I forgot the words.