Once the “Three Kingdoms” was completed, all the developers trapped within the barrier fainted.
To be precise, they were all carried to their rooms and fell asleep, while Mineva entered a guest room and sealed herself with a spell, saying to return after three days.
But I still couldn’t sleep.
I had to make sure the Emperor played this game as soon as possible.
I contacted the Platinum Deer to request entry, and the Emperor quickly granted me access.
“Ah, it’s been a month since we last met, Yuren.”
“Yes… Your Majesty…”
The Emperor welcomed me warmly in his private office. At the same time, he looked worriedly at my expression.
“Yuren… are you alright? You don’t look well.”
“It’s nothing serious. Just haven’t slept for a week.”
Technically, it had been two weeks due to the accelerated time.
Seeing my bloodshot eyes, the Emperor seemed touched.
“To think you’ve worked so hard for my continent unification plan! I will never forget this!!”
“Your Majesty, I’m honored…”
If I mess up, we’ll kick off inter-dimensional World War II right above my head—so of course I have to work hard!!
I had a lot to say, but I screamed silently in my head.
The Emperor approached the Crystal Ball I brought as if he were a kid receiving a present on Christmas morning.
Looking at the basketball-sized orb radiating orange light, the Emperor spoke.
“So this is it?”
“Yes, this is the strategic simulation game ‘Three Kingdoms’ where Your Majesty can test his plans.”
The Crystal Ball of “Three Kingdoms” was five times larger than a regular one.
There was no choice; it had to be this big to fit everything we had implemented.
In fact, even with this size, we almost hit capacity limits, and compressing it was a real struggle.
“I’m excited. Can I start right away?”
“Of course, Your Majesty. However, since ‘Three Kingdoms’ enables a long special experience, I recommend you enjoy it somewhere you can recline comfortably for an extended period.”
“I see. Understood.”
Ignoring my words, the Emperor attempted to touch the Crystal Ball.
Just then, a maid appeared out of nowhere and said.
“Your Majesty, before you begin, we need to conduct a brief inspection.”
“Oh, I forgot about the inspection. I see.”
The maid, who always appeared and disappeared in the blink of an eye, was a stunning beauty with red hair and an impressively cold expression.
She seemed to be part of the Platinum Deer, one of the people guarding the Emperor, and along with a few other maids, they began analyzing the Crystal Ball.
“Please understand, Yuren.”
“It’s alright. Feel free to inspect it as much as you need.”
I replied, barely holding onto my consciousness.
It’s a rule to thoroughly check any items, especially Magical Tools entering the royal palace, since you never know what kind of magic might be woven into them.
If there’s anything like mind control or influence magic, that would be a disaster.
After about fifteen minutes of inspection, the red-haired maid spoke.
“Aside from a time acceleration spell affecting the user, no other magic has been detected.”
“I used it because I wanted to provide quick results to Your Majesty.”
“The ‘Three Kingdoms’ contains time acceleration magic I learned from Alicia.
By focusing on the player, time can be accelerated up to 20 times.
In other words, playing for one hour would equate to twenty hours of playtime.
Of course, it consumes a tremendous amount of magical energy, impacting the Crystal Ball’s size significantly.”
“Is it harmful to the human body?”
“It’s safe as long as it’s not used continuously for over a month.”
“Then it’s alright to play.”
The Emperor advanced, eager to play “Three Kingdoms.”
But the red-haired maid, with her icy gaze, said to the Emperor.
“Your Majesty, you still have a lot of official duties left.”
“Hah… I understand, Lirin. Take the Crystal Ball to my bedroom; I will play it this evening.”
“Yes, understood.”
The maids took the “Three Kingdoms” Crystal Ball away.
Dragging my nearly collapsing body, I said to the Emperor.
“Then I shall take my leave, Your Majesty.”
“Are you leaving so soon?”
“Yes, I think I need to rest a bit.”
“Very well, rest well.”
The Emperor said something after that, but I couldn’t recall it anymore.
What I remember is the fading path of the palace and the lone Sylvia waiting for me at the entrance, who hadn’t participated in the development and was still full of energy.
As I collapsed into Sylvia’s chest, my memory faded.
I hoped all would be well when I regained consciousness, and I fainted.
*
The schedule of a ruler was, unless one was an out-of-touch tyrant, incredibly hardcore.
And that applied to the schedule of the Emperor of the Zers Empire as well.
He had to check reports coming in from countless cities and discuss them with his ministers for processing.
The Empire’s administration was structured with a quota system, having representatives from various races, which often led to raised voices.
After addressing significant incidents, commerce, economy, diplomacy, healthcare, and a slew of other issues, he also had to review separate magical technology reports coming from various Schools and Magic Towers.
In this Other World, technology was based on magic, so naturally, the Emperor needed a significant amount of magical knowledge.
With all that dealt with, it grew late into the night.
The Emperor, exhausted, made his way to his chamber, where the game “Three Kingdoms” awaited him.
“Finally, I can play the game created by Yuren!!!”
After finishing all the administrative duties and coming to his bedroom, that was the Emperor’s only joy in life.
He washed himself clean and brought the “Three Kingdoms” Crystal Ball to a comfortable reclining bed as Yuren suggested.
And then he executed “Three Kingdoms.”
-Buuuuuuuuuum-
“Wow… this is something new!”
As the “Three Kingdoms” Crystal Ball activated, orange magical energy began to envelop the Emperor.
Then, he felt weightless and suddenly found himself in the sky, with a vast continent spread out before his eyes.
“This is… the Zers Empire?”
What lay before him was a stunningly lifelike representation of the Zers Empire.
As he stood in awe, a cute elf with white hair appeared before the Emperor.
“You’re not the one; who are you?”
The elf, who resembled Irene, opened her eyes and began to speak with a blank expression.
“Hello. I am the guide interface ‘Interren,’ here to lead you into the world of ‘Three Kingdoms.’ Would you like to start the tutorial?”
Hearing the expressionless elf, the Emperor boldly shouted.
“No need! I can play well without any of that!”
The Emperor had never done a tutorial in any of the countless games he had played so far.
He believed tutorials revealed too much about the fun parts of games, ruining the experience.
In response to the Emperor’s words, Interren replied blankly.
“You’ll probably regret it.”
“I, the Emperor of the Empire, do not regret anything!”
Confident in his statement, the Emperor watched as Interren merely nodded blankly before a map pop-up appeared.
The screen displayed a map with the Zers Empire, Kingdom of Ra, and Yura Republic.
“Now, let’s begin the game. Please choose your faction.”
“Of course, the Zers Empire!”
As the Emperor selected the Zers Empire, it zoomed in on the map.
“The Zers Empire is blessed by the World Tree, ranking at the top of the continent in terms of population, economic power, and magic. It’s the easiest country to start with; are you sure you want to begin with this?”
“Of course! Because I am the Emperor of the Zers Empire!”
“The Zers Empire has been chosen as the player faction.”
Filled with pride for his nation, the Emperor picked the Zers Empire.
Interren confirmed the Emperor’s choice, and as the map of the Zers Empire expanded, numerous pieces of information began to display.
From food, finance, population, development, commerce, public safety, administration, generals, and so forth, there was a wealth of information for internal affairs.
For an ordinary person, this would be quite overwhelming, but the Emperor felt differently.
“How closely this resembles actual governance… as expected of Yuren!”
The feeling he experienced was one of familiarity.
This was all information he had dealt with countless times within the palace.
In fact, some of the figures matched those he had recently received reports on, further increasing the Emperor’s trust in this game.
If he could perfectly unify the continent within this game, then he could surely do it in reality as well.
“Alright! Then let’s unify the continent starting now!!”
The Emperor began managing the empire excitedly, like a thrilled child.
Behind him, Interren watched with an expressionless face.
As if foreseeing the calamity that was about to unfold.
