In the Royal Capital of Lapel, four figures had gathered in Prime Minister Marcellus Helbrit's study.
The atmosphere was far from amicable.
Two trembled in terror, one had resigned himself to fate, and the last stood with icy composure.
Marcellus shifted his gaze sideways. His wife and cousin, Kathrinne, clutched their son Halios, tears streaming down her face as she trembled. Halios mirrored his mother's state, though he had already lost his right arm.
Marcellus stared straight ahead.
Before him lay the bodies of twenty fallen guard knights, piled like fallen leaves. Standing expressionlessly before this carnage was a woman whose hair and eyes matched his own.
Marcellus remembered how it had taken less than thirty seconds for twenty of his escort knights to become cold corpses. The woman before him was already a monster with power beyond common sense.
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't come up with a way to escape this room alive.
"Was this Baron Prucus's order?"
Marcellus recalled Baron Prucus, who had maintained an arrogant attitude before him. At the time, he had assumed the Baron had powerful backers he couldn't afford to provoke. He had planned to investigate these backers after the banquet.
But there were no backers. Baron Prucus had intended to kill Marcellus and his family from the very beginning.
"...Long ago, on the day my mother died, I made a deal with the Master."
"Ah, so Baron Prucus saved you. I can guess what kind of deal it was. He wanted my head... no, the destruction of Helbrit, didn't he?"
"Yes. Instead of taking revenge for my mother with my own hands, I pledged everything to the Master."
"Your revenge was successful. Congratulations. But why are you hesitating? With your skills, you could kill us all in an instant. What do you want from me?"
Yuria stared at Marcellus. At first, she had wanted to kill him the moment she saw him. Suppressing her surging murderous intent had been agony. But now, with revenge within reach, she felt calm.
"I want information about the nobles who follow you. More specifically, I want the weaknesses you hold over them."
"...Do you think knowing their weaknesses will allow you to control them?"
"Are they better than you, who is about to die?"
"...No, they aren't. Very well. I suppose I will control them."
"If you cooperate, I won't torture you. I'll give you a clean death by beheading."
Marcellus was about to reveal the information about the nobles when his son, standing beside him, cried out:
"Father! Are you just giving up like this?! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"
"There's no other way. Isn't it better than being tortured to death?"
Halios gritted his teeth and glared. Fear made his body tremble, but he couldn't let everything be taken from him and die like this.
"I know you're my younger sister. I'm sorry about what happened to your mother. But it's not too late! We're family! Come back to the Helbrit Family, your birthplace, your home! I'll take you as my wife! We can rule this kingdom together and live well urk!"
A dagger flew and pierced Halios's chest, striking his heart with deadly accuracy. He collapsed to the floor.
"Aaaah! Halios!"
Yuria plunged another dagger into Kathrinne's throat, silencing her scream.
Silence fell. Marcellus tore his gaze from the corpses of his family. He had already accepted his death.
Yuria memorized every piece of information he uttered, not missing a single detail.
She stepped right up to Marcellus's face and asked, "Do you regret it?"
"Yes. I regret it. I should have found Nell Lins and killed her for good..."
She raised her dagger. The dark, shadow-like black Aura Blade extended like a longsword.
"...Are you satisfied?"
"Yes. I am satisfied."
With a silent smile, she swung the dagger without hesitation, severing Marcellus's neck.
Yuria glanced at Marcellus's head rolling across the floor and closed her eyes briefly.
"Mother..."
"Aaaaaaaah!"
As dawn broke, a soldier on guard duty at the Royal Palace screamed.
The heads of the Duke Helbrit family were impaled atop the Royal Castle.
The second most powerful figure in the kingdom had been assassinated.
The Royal Castle erupted into chaos. Nobles were confined to the Royal Capital, while knights and soldiers mobilized to surround the city and hunt down the perpetrators. As time passed, news of the massacre at Helbrit's main family estate spread.
Various conspiracy theories began to circulate.
Some claimed a secret assassination squad from a rival kingdom had infiltrated and eliminated Helbrit. Others whispered that an assassin guild, long at odds with Duke Helbrit, had carried out the deed. These baseless rumors spread like wildfire.
People began to whisper that there might be only one assassin. The rumor, its origins unknown, spread like wildfire. Those who revered legends and heroes even began to treat this assassin as a kind of hero, bestowing upon him a nickname:
The Dark Emperor.
It was the moniker of the most elusive and feared assassin, whose very existence remained unconfirmed.
"Now I understand what you meant earlier," Marquis Heollis said, his gaze fixed on me. Though he spoke with forced composure, I could sense his underlying tension. "I never imagined you would use an assassin to eliminate the Prime Minister."
"Why do you assume I'm responsible?" I countered. "I merely mentioned that eliminating the Prime Minister before the banquet would resolve the problem. Surely you don't believe I could assassinate him myself?"
"...Which assassin guild did you hire? Can't you tell me? Are you saying the Dark Emperor, a lone assassin, slaughtered everyone at House Helbrit?"
"I didn't expect Your Excellency Marquis Heollis to believe such absurd rumors. Duke Helbrit was at the Royal Castle, and reports indicate the massacre at the Main Family occurred at the same time. How could he have done it alone?"
"If he used magic to teleport..."
"You know teleportation magic is impossible within the Royal Capital."
"...So you're truly not responsible?"
"If you wish to accuse me, bring forth evidence. Or do you already have it?"
"...I've learned one thing in my life: most criminals always demand proof."
"So, do you have any proof?"
"...No."
Marquis Heollis sighed as he answered.
"Now that His Excellency the Prime Minister is gone, you can join me in gathering war supplies."
"...Baron, just one question. If the numbers don't add up, will you kill me too?"
"There's no need to kill you if you're not my enemy."
"...Was the Prime Minister your enemy?"
I smiled.
"Yes. He was my enemy."
I rested my elbow on the armrest of my chair, propping my chin as I gazed at the blonde man kneeling before me.
It was Prince Aiden, who had lost his supporter, the Prime Minister.
With the Prime Minister dead, Aiden faced two choices.
One was to relinquish the throne and step down. He would have to abandon all the power he had enjoyed until now and live like a mouse, barely daring to breathe. With the Prime Minister gone, no noble would support a wastrel like him.
The other was to find a new patron. This patron, while not as powerful as the Prime Minister, would still need to wield considerable influence within the kingdom.
Even if I find a patron, I'll still need the support of other nobles.
Securing a patron in such a short time was impossible.
Aiden isn't a complete fool. He must suspect I killed the Prime Minister. After all, I met with him right before the Prime Minister died, precisely to make him think that.
The man kneeling before me must be terrified. He likely believes I possess the power to obliterate the Duke's House in a single day. At the same time, he probably thinks I'm the only one who can make him king.
"This is your last chance, Your Majesty."
"I know that. That's why I'm begging you like this. Help me. Make me king! Baron Prucus!"
"I trust you haven't forgotten the conditions. It's only been a few days since that day."
"Of course not. I haven't forgotten. The day I become king, I will gladly offer Eileen to you. I won't care what you do to her."
"That's not the only price, Prince."
"..."
Aiden fell silent.
His eyes darted around before he finally lowered his head in resignation. He couldn't abandon the throne or his power.
"I... will submit to you."
I reached out and patted his shoulder, grinning brightly.
"You've made the right choice, Prince. I don't usually trust verbal agreements, but I'll make an exception this time. You understand the consequences of breaking this agreement, I trust? I look forward to working with you, Prince."
"...Understood. I look forward to working with you as well, Baron."
The night before leaving the Royal Capital.
I pulled out my smartphone.
A few days earlier, when Yuria had killed Duke Helbrit and achieved her revenge, the notification I'd been expecting had popped up on my screen:
Yuria Grace has reached Affinity Level 10.
Yuria Grace has accepted the contract.
From now on, Yuria Grace's existence is bound to the Pleasure World App. Even if Yuria Grace dies, she can be summoned again.
Yuria Grace can be summoned to other worlds. Once summoned, her original world, "Reincarnated as the Plum Blossom Sword Saint in the Count's Household," will be deactivated.
Character summoning cannot be used within the character's own world.
Your current character summoning level is 1. You can increase your character summoning level using Points. Each level increase allows you to summon more characters simultaneously.
To increase your character summoning level, you need 2,000 Points.
You can randomly share one of the character's skills or traits.
You can share one of your skills or traits with the character.
The summoned character's stats are identical to the app owner's.
Characters can use Limit Break to access their original world's power. However, summoning is forcibly terminated after Limit Break.
Yuria Grace
Origin World: Plum Blossom Sword Saint Reincarnated into the Count's Household
Affinity Level: 10
Summon Duration: 30 days
Summon Cooldown: 90 real-world days
Shared Skill: Genius's Time
Limit Break: 1 minute
Genius's Time (Character Shared Skill: Yuria Grace)
For 10 seconds, you will possess Yuria Grace's talent.
This ability can only be used once every 10 days.
Points can be spent to extend the duration of Yuria Grace's summon.
The summon cooldown begins immediately upon dismissing the summon.
Points can be spent to reduce Yuria Grace's summon cooldown.
Points can be spent to extend the duration of Limit Break.
Points can be spent to change a character's appearance.
As countless notification windows flooded my vision, I asked Yuria before returning to reality, "I heard you accepted a contract. Who did you make it with?"
"I'm not entirely sure. A voice... no, it was more like a will, suddenly appeared in my mind. I wanted to be with Master, and the contract was formed."
Yuria knew about me.
She knew I was from another world and that the Pleasure World App allowed me to experience other worlds as games. Surprisingly, she wasn't shocked. She said she had already suspected as much.
"I was surprised to learn this world is a fictional creation, but it doesn't matter to me. All that matters is that I can be with Master, even in another world."
"I appreciate you saying that, but the reality is..."
I explained the dire situation in reality to Yuria. Her help was essential to overcome the crisis.
Yuria nodded readily.
"An unforgivable monster. Just give the order, Master, and I will deal with your enemies."
Game Over.
Back in reality, I found myself pinned against a wall, my smartphone clutched in my hand.
Before me stood a white monster bleeding blue blood. Its skull was split in half, exposing its brain, yet it seemed utterly impervious to pain.
"Is that your ability? Nothing's happening. I don't know how you survived before, but this time I'll make sure you stay dead."
The monster slowly advanced, intent on killing me.
Summoning character. Target: Yuria Grace
Yuria Grace's remaining summon duration: 30 days
A blue-haired maid appeared before me, a dagger crackling with black thunderbolts in her hand.
The white monster flinched in surprise, then lunged into a combat stance. But Yuria moved faster.
I couldn't properly track her movements. All I saw was the white monster, paralyzed by the black thunderbolts, unable to resist as it was effortlessly sliced apart.
Just five seconds.
That's all it took for the white monster to be reduced to hundreds of bloody chunks.
Yuria stood over the blue-stained ground, looking at me with a bow.
"I will serve you faithfully in this world as well, Master."
A crimson stream of blood trickled from Yuria's lips.