If a tutorial is meant to teach beginners, then it should be the kind of quest that practically feeds answers to you. But death upon failure? She reread it in shock.
“Death?”
“Yes. Since the God of Beauty personally placed your soul here, I imagine it is also possible for him to retrieve it. However… I did not expect it to be done in such a way.”
Damn it. This wasn’t the time to be enjoying the luxury of being served by a handsome, flower-like butler.
‘Right. Nothing in life is free. But starting off with death on the line is too much.’
She grabbed onto a pillar and suppressed her anger. Watching her, Radelk’s gaze gradually turned cold.
She had said she had no one left. That he was her only family.
The same was true for Radelk.
When he left his rest behind and chose a second life, she was the one who welcomed him. She had willingly swallowed his soul gem. If she died, he would die as well. Having chosen to share life and death, she had become his family.
In the past, he was a man who slaughtered the Demon King to avenge his family.
Most people would have built graves and wept, or perhaps taken their own lives to join them.
But he had not.
His obsession with his family was far too great to give up like that.
That fury could only be quelled by killing the Demon King.
So he did.
With everything on the line.
That madness settled into something cold.
“There is no need to worry, Master. I will summon the captain of soldiers first.”
Radelk smiled at her as usual, but for some reason, a chill seemed to seep from the back of his hand.
“The captain of soldiers…?”
At that moment, her memories surfaced.
The captain commanded the troops. Originally, knights were meant to defend this territory, but they had all left to side with her relatives. In the end, a makeshift leader had been appointed.
Even so, the force was small. Only two hundred soldiers.
And one commander, not even a proper knight.
“I’ll leave it to you, Radelk.”
“Yes, Master. However, before summoning them, we should discuss how to make them submit.”
“Discuss? Ah… right. After calling them, what do we do?”
She was quick to understand and quick to learn. But even she couldn’t excel at something she had never done before.
Drawing on the knowledge granted to him upon resurrection, Radelk began to advise her step by step.
“You must demonstrate authority as the lord. At present, the most effective method would be force.”
“Force? You mean using power? But I…”
“You possess me, Master.”
Her eyes widened slightly. Her pale pink hair swayed softly. He reached out and brushed away a strand that clung to her lips. Her face flushed.
What was she thinking behind that beautiful face? Radelk wondered, then continued.
“However, if I step forward immediately, it will not look appropriate. How about proceeding like this?”
Radelk carefully laid out his plan.
Recalling her knowledge from Earth, she added:
“If that’s the case, I think we can make it even more effective by doing this.”
As expected, teach her one thing and she would produce two.
The plan had begun with Radelk, but it was she who completed it.
“That is an excellent suggestion. Let us proceed as such.”
The captain of soldiers was taking a nap, as usual.
At forty years old, he should have been training, but ever since the lord’s family had died tragically, he had spent his days like this.
The other soldiers whispered among themselves.
“Our captain sure has it easy. What if another territory invades?”
“Who’d want to attack here and end up ugly? Then again, if someone wants divine punishment, who are we to stop them?”
Among territories, there were those protected by gods. Some by the God of Thunder, others by the God of Plague, and this one—Serekino Territory—by the God of Beauty.
This world was different from Earth. Gods directly interfered with reality.
Invade a land blessed by the God of Thunder, and you’d be struck by lightning. Touch the land of the Plague God, and who knew what would happen?
And here—
“If you anger the God of Beauty, you get cursed to become ugly.”
“There’s no reason to attack anyway. The valuable parts of this territory have all been taken by relatives. Nothing to gain, only a curse.”
The soldiers sprawled out lazily.
“This place is ours now.”
“Those embezzled taxes were pretty sweet.”
“A useless girl like that as a count? What a joke.”
“Works out great for us.”
They laughed as they roasted a goat. It had been the last goat of an old farming couple, who had begged them in tears to spare it so they could survive the winter—but what did they care?
Then a soldier came running in, out of breath.
“Captain! Captain! There’s trouble!”
The captain woke with irritation.
“What is it?”
“The lord has awakened. She says if you don’t come, you’ll be dismissed!”
“What? That crazy bitch has lost it? The hell is she playing at?”
He grabbed his shield and hurled it.
Boom!
The wall cracked under the impact. Though not a true knight, he was still someone who had learned to use mana.
The soldiers stared in awe.
“Damn… even without training, he’s still strong.”
“So? That lunatic snapped again, huh? Who did she come with?”
“Not her directly. Her butler came instead—you know, that pretty-boy-looking guy who’s been with her since childhood.”
Thanks to the god’s manipulation, Radelk was remembered as a long-serving butler. Only the two of them knew the truth.
The captain sneered.
So she really was insane. Coming with just a butler, no guards? Practically defenseless.
“Fine. Let’s go. Get ready!”
Even if she had regained her senses, she was still a powerless woman.
He intended to teach her a harsh lesson.
‘Heh… come to think of it, she was pretty.’
Thin, but with soft pink hair and pale skin that seemed to glow.
He had no intention of marrying a lunatic, but if she was sane now…
Maybe she would suit him.
If he married her, wouldn’t he become a count?
With no one to protect her, no one in the capital would know whether it was forced or consensual.
‘Maybe I’ll play the husband this time.’
He patted his swollen belly.
“Arm yourselves!”
“What? We’re going to meet the lord armed?”
He stomped the ground.
Boom!
“When I say do it, you do it!”
A deep footprint sank into the floor.
“If we all go fully armed, she’ll be terrified.”
“That’s the point. Who really runs this territory?”
“Y-you do, Captain.”
That’s right. ‘I’ll teach that stupid girl what power is.’
The soldiers armed themselves.
Chitra sat in the hall, taking deep breaths.
“It’s starting.”
“Yes, Master. Everything is prepared.”
To say she wasn’t afraid would be a lie. But her life was on the line. The quest was absurd, but she didn’t want to die.
‘Can I really do this?’
Then she changed her thinking.
‘If I fail, I die anyway.’
Strangely, that made her feel calmer.
This wasn’t about whether she could or couldn’t do it.
If she failed, it was over.
So she had to do everything she could.
She inhaled deeply.
—Mana Counting proficiency increases by 10.
—Mana Refresh proficiency increases by 10.
“You are still training even now. Impressive.”
It had become a habit.
To someone from Earth, mana was fascinating. Feeling it flow through her body, circulating through her veins, was endlessly intriguing.
‘More than anything… because of my phone addiction…’
She still occasionally glanced at her right hand out of habit. More than once, she had mistaken the rustling of curtains for a phone vibration.
A modern affliction—smartphone addiction.
So she used her skills instead, watching the proficiency messages.
‘Though it’s not increasing as quickly anymore.’
Even after repeated use, progress slowed at Rank C.
If going from C to B was this hard, then B to A would be even worse.
‘But the efficiency will increase too.’
Each rank had doubled efficiency so far.
As she waited, the soldiers finally arrived.
“Lord! What is the meaning of this? We are working tirelessly to protect this territory, and you summon us like this?!”
Two hundred fully armed soldiers lined up in the hall.
Anyone could see it—it looked like rebellion.
‘These bastards… while this body was sick, they ran wild…’
Memories flooded back—how they had treated her, how the maids whispered that the captain had been embezzling wages, how no one could stop him.
‘Protecting the territory? Don’t make me laugh.’
Even if it wasn’t her own experience, the body remembered.
She inhaled deeply, then infused mana into her voice and shouted:
“Silence—!”
The soldiers flinched.
It worked.
If mana could strengthen muscles, why not her voice?
‘I didn’t get a skill for it… maybe I need to repeat it?’
“I have been chosen by the God of Beauty—!”
The captain scoffed.
“What nonsense—”
“My illness has been cured, and I have been commanded to rule this land in His name! And yet you dare disgrace my authority and His name?!”
At her outburst, the captain burst into laughter.
“Hahaha! Have you developed another illness on top of your madness, my lady?”
As expected, he wouldn’t be easy.
But she hadn’t expected him to fold so easily either.
Then she declared:
“I will deliver divine punishment upon you, unbeliever—!”
