The air in the Throne Room of Aethelgard was thick with the scent of incense and desperation. Kaito Sato knelt on the cold marble, but he wasn't praying. He was scanning.
Back in Tokyo, Kaito was a corporate shark who specialized in "restructuring"—a polite word for tearing businesses apart and rebuilding them for maximum profit. When the truck hit him, he didn't ask for a second chance to be "good." He asked for the tools to own everything.
"O Hero from another world," the King proclaimed, his voice wavering. "We have summoned you to defeat the Calamity. We grant you the legendary blade—"
"Keep the sword," Kaito interrupted, standing up without permission. The guards bristled, spears leveling at his chest. Kaito ignored them, his eyes glowing with a faint, predatory blue light. [Skill Active: Structural Analysis].
He wasn't looking at the King's face; he was looking at the castle. He saw the microscopic stress fractures in the pillars, the hidden gold reserves behind the north wall, and most importantly, the turbulent, unrefined mana flowing through the King's daughter, Princess Malice.
"I don't do 'saving' for free," Kaito said, his voice echoing. "I looked at your kingdom on the way in. It's a mess. Poorly zoned, inefficiently taxed, and your 'heroes' die because they're idiots. I'll stop your Calamity, but I don't want a medal."
He walked toward Princess Malice. She was beautiful, but her eyes were cold, calculating—just like his. He leaned in, whispering loud enough for the King to hear:
"I want the deed to the 'Forbidden Barrens.' I want a seat on the High Council. And I want the Princess as my primary 'asset' to manage the estate. I'm not here to save your world, King. I'm here to buy it."
The First Acquisition
Later that night, Malice entered Kaito's temporary chambers, a dagger hidden in her sleeve. "You're bold for a commoner from another world," she hissed. "Do you truly think my father will hand over his kingdom—or me—to a man with no bloodline?"
Kaito didn't turn around from the blueprints he was drawing. "Bloodlines are just biological legacy code, Malice. Usually full of bugs."
He snapped his fingers. [Skill: Structural Manipulation].
The floor beneath the Princess shifted. Not a collapse, but a precise realignment. The stone rose up, gently but firmly pinning her against the wall, her dagger clattering to the floor. Kaito walked over, his face inches from hers.
"I know about the poison you've been feeding your father to accelerate your inheritance," he smirked. "I saw the chemical traces in the tea service downstairs. You're ambitious. I like that. But you're inefficient."
He placed a hand on the wall beside her head. "Stay with the King, and you'll rule a dying land for twenty years before the Calamity eats you. Join me, and I'll build you an empire that defies the gods. I'm building a 'harem,' Malice—but not the kind in fairy tales. It's a syndicate of the most powerful women in this world, and I'm the one who holds the blueprints."
He let the stone retreat. Malice rubbed her wrists, her eyes darting between the door and this strange, dangerous man.
"What do you want first?" she asked, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and newfound hunger.
Kaito smiled, and for the first time, Malice realized the "Hero" was more dangerous than the Calamity.
"First," Kaito said, "we're going to seize the Royal Treasury. I need capital to start the renovations."