The First Gift (3)

To be honest, 'watching a guy bawl his eyes out is pretty damn disgusting.'

The moment the perspective shifted, there was Kailen, sniveling away. It stirred up a level of revulsion I couldn't even put into words.

'But is bawling his eyes out supposed to be his new arc?'

Kailen could no longer use mana. In a fantasy world, losing access to mana was as good as a death sentence. He was barely clinging to life, you could say. Sure, there might be some special method I didn't know about, but for now, everything was over for him. It wouldn't be strange at all.

'If it's an arc... does that mean after I shatter his dantian, he'll harbor revenge against me? A revenge storyline?'

But honestly, that was laughable too. Who was avenging whom? He'd treated the empire's resources like his own personal piggy bank, sold off everything down to the furniture, let the eastern coalition nobles run rampant with corruption until the territory's people were starving from malnutrition—and he hadn't batted an eye. But now that it was him on the receiving end, he was thinking revenge? That made him no ordinary lunatic.

As all these predictions swirled in my head,

"Sob... hic... ugh...."

Kailen finally dragged himself up from his crying fit in his altered storyline. The room he was in had an interior I'd never seen before. No way was this the Bellos Empire.

'Maselin, then?'

Just as that thought crossed my mind—like some kind of answer bell—

"Duke Kailen, Your Grace!"

Princess Mirne of Maselin Kingdom burst into the room in a panic.

"...Haha, I'm not a duke anymore, not Your Grace either... Just call me Kailen."

"N-No... How did this happen... What on earth happened to you?!"

"I lost everything... and ended up here. The empire sent me. I wanted to come too, in a way."

Clearly shell-shocked, Kailen could barely string words together even looking at Mirne. His face was a mess—stubbly, unkempt, broken. But you could tell he was a romance fantasy male lead; even in that state, he was trying to hold onto his good looks. It wasn't intentional direction, but what could you call it? A focus on the 'pathetic, abandoned me' vibe.

"Lost everything? Come to think of it... Your Grace, your mana... I can't sense it at all...?"

"...It's the price for selling out my country. His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince... punished me."

"You sold out your country? What are you talking about? When did you ever do something like that...? I've never seen you act that way!"

"Mirne, hearing you say that warms my heart."

As this nauseatingly sappy conversation dragged on, Mirne shed a single tear and threw her arms around Kailen.

'So this is what's gonna happen next?'

In reality, Kailen was out cold. But if I shipped him off to Maselin after he woke up, this is what would unfold. The thought shifted my disgust to curiosity.

'Mirne, how are you gonna handle the fallen eastern duke?'

As that question lingered,

"Your Grace, I'll do everything I can to help you regain your strength."

"Haha, yeah, you have to. Of course you do."

"Right now, Maselin is dealing with so many issues... we can't offer much help. But once the academy's complete... there'll definitely be ways I can assist."

Mirne and Kailen kept chatting away. I watched the scene and let out a hollow chuckle.

"Ha."

Did she really like Kailen that much when she was crying? Was he the main male lead? But Mirne's face as she hugged him was something else—nothing but spectacle.

"Crying, but it doesn't feel genuine. Are you worried about the future? It's deviated so much ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from the original story?"

Honestly, the situation was hilarious right now.

The protagonist of 'Jupiter's Pack' was a 21st-century modern soul who'd read the original and possessed the body. And here I was, a real modern guy who'd possessed into the story.

'So it's this setup: a character who thinks she's modern vs. the actual modern transmigrator me.'

In that sense, the current situation was hugely in my favor. Mirne must be freaking out because the story wasn't following the original script. I'd only read the early parts anyway, so from here on, I could do whatever I wanted.

For me, preventing the empire's doom came first—that meant surviving.

'Plus... in romance fantasies, saving the world is just a side gig. The core is hooking up with the male lead.'

And it was a reverse harem to boot. So Mirne was basically playing an otome game for women.

'An academy, huh.'

Building one must give some kind of bonus, right? Like erecting a monument in a civ game for stat boosts.

As I pondered what to tackle next,

Mirne and Kailen were still clinging to each other. Were they gonna stay glued all day? Then,

Tap tap.

Mirne lightly patted Kailen's back and stood up.

"Then I'll take my leave."

"You're leaving already?"

"Yes, I've got a lot to do... For now, Your Grace should focus on recovering."

"I'll do anything if it helps."

"Hehe, but first, focus on recovery!"

With that, she left.

"...What the hell."

I stared blankly at the system messages filling my vision. What were pitiful and wounded supposed to mean? I got the rest, but those two were a mystery.

Anyway.

With the final message, I snapped back to reality. A bit disorienting, but I'd gained something huge.

'The #Incompetent tag is music to my ears.'

Sure, it came with growth to balance it, but honestly, Kailen growing from his current state seemed damn near impossible.

The reason Kailen had been strong was because he was the eastern grand duke of the empire. That massive backing let him play the male lead in Jupiter's Pack. Without it, how much could he really grow? Especially now that imperial support was drying up, scraping by in struggling Maselin.

'No way that's happening.'

That sealed it—I had to send him to Maselin. This useless bastard would just suck Maselin dry, poor as it already was. And shipping him off was easy. I'd already paved the route with those "free talent support" programs.

'Donate the eastern duke.' Done.

"The east... now that so many nobles are dead, we'll need a ton of replacements."

I hadn't killed every eastern coalition noble, but with imperial heavyweights still rooting out corruption in real-time, at least half—or more—of the current count would follow.

"Hmm."

To cultivate talent, we'd definitely need something like an academy.

'Empire Status Window.'

Time to check how much the empire had changed.

"Hm."

The eastern ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠report was stuff I already knew, so fine. But corruption improved a notch, while military dropped one—probably from killing off all those knights?

Funny thing. Fat, corrupt knights gnawing at the empire, and wiping them out drops military to insufficient? Guess they still counted as combat power.

'But is this the empire's peak historical standard?'

Not relative to other nations, probably. An empire with a dragon as an Executioner—and five of them—calling average military insufficient wouldn't make sense.

'No clue on the benchmark, but it's not comparative to neighbors.'

Seemed like an absolute scale. But since it hadn't budged the doom probability yet, no immediate worry.

"The empire... has non-humans too, right?"

What about them? Gotta check that next.

Top priority for talent cultivation:

"Everyone in the empire learning to read and write."

It'd cost a fortune, but no sweat.

Why? 'The eastern coalition... they've hoarded piles of wealth.'

Confiscating corrupt bastards' assets. Traitors selling out the country? No private ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠property for them. Survivors get lifetime labor for the empire.

'Literacy drive, academy, northern stroll... oh, and hunt some talent first.'

As tasks piled up,

"Time to send Maselin Kingdom its first gift."

I resolved to knock out priorities. Hope you like my bento, Mirne.

'Send the gift, then convene the council again.'

God, let only nobles with intact knees show up this time. No more knee-chopping in meetings.

Of course.

'If I have to.'

Then no choice.

"Mirne! The eastern duke is sending talent support to Maselin!"

"What?! Really!? Out of nowhere!?"

Mirne jumped at the king's words.

'This fast? Already head over heels for me?'

Communication via artifact had been spotty lately, leaving her anxious about what was going on.

'No unknown variables after all...? Just temporary hiccups?'

Hearing this good news had her over the moon, practically bouncing.

The eastern duke had vast ocean knowledge and exploration skills, uncovering sea ruins and rare artifacts. Like a naval special forces unit. And damn cool too.

'Hehe.'

Mirne giggled inwardly, eager for Kailen to arrive. With the empire's workings a total mystery lately, a duke defecting wholesale? Proof the story was progressing even better than original.

'Thought the academy would take forever, but with his skills, maybe faster.'

Once built, Maselin would boom. Empire talent paying top coin to join—that plotline existed.

'Perfect! Team up with Duke Kailen, things'll click right into place.'

Bonus: peek at the Marin mana heart method.

Daydreaming happily, Mirne awaited Kailen—the sea battle ace who'd make Maselin stronger.

Who knew waiting could be this fun?

"Hehe."

The smile wouldn't leave Mirne's face.