Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: S1. The Prince, the Flower, and the Resistance -1 (GM Perspective)
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If someone asked me what the most important thing in a TRPG is, I'd say it's motivation.
Players need a strong driving force—that's my philosophy. If you just plead, "The girl next door, Hyesun, got snatched by a giant squid," who in their right mind would step up instead of calling the cops when a neighbor's kid gets nabbed by a monster?
Only when Hyesun's the hottest beauty in the province, sweetly flirting with the player, and the cops are utterly useless with no sign of backup does the heart start to waver. That's human nature.
In that sense, nothing motivates like the threat of death. When a massive monster charges to rip your limbs apart, desperation kicks in naturally.
Now, it was time to throw an impromptu session at the Second Prince.
What session to run? What's the core conflict? How to hook the motivation?
If I'd known about his visit a week in advance, I could've prepared properly—done some background digging, tailored the session's vibe to his personality. But this was a sudden drop-in.
The order was in, and it was time to serve the dish to the customer.
Time to check the ingredients on hand.
Fantasy modeling was roughly complete. Wuxia needed more work for combat deployment, and modern settings felt iffy to shove at the prince—he'd probably just gorge on gourmet food and call it a day.
Plus, basing it on modern times had a fatal flaw.
Trained subculture readers know clichés inside out. Pocket watch stops? You're about to die. "He can't lose! He's the strongest!"? Instant jobber or defeat.
They spot it instantly. Drop a cute girl in the session? "Ah, she's the key character!" Ominous clouds and gloomy vibes? "Something big's coming—brace yourself!"
But the Second Prince? Total normie, clueless.
Straightforward plot needed.
"This calls for time travel."
"T-Time trave...?"
The Magic Tower Master, lounging in the massage chair, mumbled in a quivering voice. This place was basically the control room—a virtual space for manipulating virtual reality. Where you puppeteer NPCs and narrate.
I munched popcorn while flicking through VR controls. First, scooped up the Second Prince and dumped him in a remote forest. Needed to buy time.
Time travel it was—future sounded good.
Perfect, I had a sleek steampunk future city model ready. Skyscrapers and all, oozing atmosphere just from a glance. City name: Nightwatch.
Plopped the steampunk city next to the remote forest.
Skyscrapers so tall, he'd spot them easy. Once he hit an open clearing, those sky-piercing towers would lure him out of the woods.
And steampunk wouldn't be complete without...
"Tower Master?"
"Hm?"
"Mind modeling an airship? Ten..."
"Huh?"
"Nine... eight..."
"???"
"Seven..."
Tower Master Yuna bolted up and started chiseling the airship model. True to a grand sorceress, blistering speed. Ignored the interior, nailed the exterior just right.
With urgent modeling outsourced, I focused on the monitor. The prince was eyeing a tree model intently, so I nudged him toward mumbling an explanation.
Second Prince: "This tree species only grows near the Imperial Capital. It was created by alchemists on the Fifth Emperor's orders to commemorate his birthday."
What.
"Tower Master, you modeled this tree, right?"
"Aaaah, airship done...! Uh, uh? Y-Yeah, I did."
"Says it only grows near the Imperial Capital."
"Yep!"
Can't use the steampunk future city Nightwatch then.
I gave the tree-modeling culprit, the Tower Master, a cheek pinch as punishment.
"Mmmph."
Still, steampunk future city Nightwatch could work.
Even if the player pulls off cool deduction like that, I could just wave it off with "Eh, close enough~" and swap it for some other city instead of the capital.
But that's a million miles from my TRPG style.
If the player deduces and it makes sense, it's truth. Wrong deduction? Ruins the mood! Before the prince turned back, I nuked the skyscrapers.
Razed ambitious future city Nightwatch, hastily summoned an Imperial Capital model, and slapped it in. Sprinkled future-era hints everywhere.
Scratches on the walls, pointless clockwork and steam engines jammed into buildings.
"...No skyscrapers now, can't lure him to the city?"
"Mmmph."
"Tower Master, airship launch! Float it here and sail him straight to the city!"
Guided the prince with suspiciously slow-moving airship. And here, this moment—time for Illusion Magic to shine.
Actual forest travel: 5 minutes. Felt time: "Time Perception Slowdown," a.k.a. boot camp force field. Skips the slog while keeping it real.
Wrapped Imperial Capital model tweaks in 5 minutes. Whipped up a crest to replace the imperial flag—mashing three random kingdom emblems worked wonders.
Just touring a future empire lacks urgency.
Crisis. Crucial. No suspense or action? Tastes bland. Even when showing the Tower Master Korea, I debated adding an incident.
Crisis. Crisis. Crisis...
"Tower Master, quick—top things that come to mind with 'empire'?"
"Borethser little finger nokko mahji?"
"Ah."
Let her go.
"Slavery, military powerhouse, imperial family actively mixing blood with nobles?"
"Okay."
Class reversal world it is.
Downgraded golden hair—imperial blood symbol—to slave. NPCs hurled stares: "Whoa... golden hair? A slave?" Prince's face flushed at the novel gazes.
While he queued for inspection, tidied the plot. Main theme: class reversal world. And... rags-to-riches success story? Perfect.
Born with everything, never scraped bottom. Time to feed him that bottom-to-top catharsis.
First, shove him down.
Verbal beatdown. Then the finisher.
Index finger to forehead poke.
Nearly swung at work once. Worked like a charm here too—the prince roared his coming out.
Second Prince: "Mind your manners, guard! I am the Second Prince of the Empire, Irid Crown-!"
Pondered balance: displeasure vs. fun must be exquisite.
Sweet potato to soda strategy—don't kill off player's family, friends, lover first or risk a punch. Just enough scratch to irk without true rage, then instant soda payoff.
Stuck to "brat" over harsher slurs.
Scratch a bit more. Just a bit.
Intriguing hook, right? Future self as the empire's last emperor.
(Backstory: "Fallen Emperor" smear by Kingdom Alliance. Black mage-allied coalition spreads rumors post-conquest.)
"........."
"Uh, h-hey. Second Prince's face... looks like a dead fish...?!"
"Whoa, oh no."
"Y-You're okay, right?!"
No, not okay. Fucked up.
Didn't mean to wound that deep!
Thought high pride, scratched hard—but lower self-esteem than looks suggest? Misread. Rushed into TRPG after ages.
"It's fiction, Your Highness. All fiction..."
Needed to convey it's illusion, just a game.
But direct talk ain't elegant.
Had NPCs club him while cranking pain down.
Probably feels like light taps.
See? Weird, right? Clubbed with a stick, but just pokes? Doesn't add up? Indirect fiction hint.
No, shock-numbed—not really painless.
Actually painless! Iron club, yet stray thoughts? Impossible.
No choice. Time for emergency cuddle op.
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This bastard dodges events like a pro.
Prideful retired soldier spots prince's eyes, takes him in => Prince bolts on sight. Fail.
Fat wallet spawn for "find money, eat well" => Fears tracking magic, passes. Fail.
"Free bread event"—giving loaves to passersby => "Definitely whacks me with baguette," runs. Fail.
Rich, kind noble ladies at crossroads for gear/support => Wall-climbs and flees. Fail.
"Masochist?"
Craving pain?
Sees through Illusion Magic, dodging my prank events?
But dead-fish face says no...
"...Sigh."
No choice. Ace up sleeve.
Cute girl.
Boy meets girl—timeless cliché, killer power.
Inn server girl with commoner charm.
Water bucket sponsor. Splashdown...
Go time: cute girl's mistake. Soggy prince gets sweet apology event... bastard bolts again!
Quick tweak: Not inn server.
Resistance cute girl disguised as inn server. Jack up physical specs.
Slide down wall pipe, drop.
Get the genius?
Frail cutie who can't lift pink dumbbells? Actually bold enough for 3-story drop. Gap moe.
Plus,
Flipping skirt reveals mature lingerie clashing with innocent face!
Perfect. Look up quick. Gasp in awe, Second Prince Irid! Soul-poured lingerie model...
"Gah!"
Why look away...!
Frustrated and wronged, I collapsed on the spot.
And the Tower Master watched pitifully...