The images flooded into my head of a girl, who had long white hair and beautiful blue eyes.
But despite her young age she had a weak body and stayed in bed all day. Her meals were simple and she would dress lightly to not put a strain on her body.
I saw the figures whom I'd seen earlier through her eyes looking at her with smiles on their faces but worry in their eyes.
She was precious to them.
The white-haired man was this girl's father and the young boy was her older brother.
The girl's name was Reina and even though she was physically weak, she was smart and used to read books for the majority of her time. She would also play chess with her brother whenever he would come by. That was the only time when she would be happy.
One night she had a fit and the doctors who were always on standby tried their best to get her condition under control but it only grew worse.
Before the dawn broke, her breathing and her heart had stopped.
She was pronounced dead.
But only after ten minutes of being dead, her heart suddenly started beating and her breathing returned. She hadn't regained consciousness but her coming back to life itself was a great shock for the doctors and a miracle for her family.
However, she didn't regain consciousness, everyone around her was waiting for her to wake up but their waiting period just kept growing.
After three days of staying in a comatose state, her soul had passed on but another soul had transgressed into her body and that was me.
It was as if I was watching a film before I could finally feel my senses again. I could hear someone sniffing and a large warm hand enveloping mine.
I tried to open my eyes but the mild headache made me groan.
"Reina?! Reina, are you awake?" The sounds bombarded at once and I opened my eyes to see their worried faces.
The closest one was my new body's father, Duke Arthur Aurelius of the Kingdom of Sestia.
"Ugh..." My voice was raspy and hoarse and his amber eyes glistened with tears.
"Reina! Reina, how are you feeling? Are you in pain?" I heard a boyish voice and saw the face of a small boy.
The older brother, Rune Aurelius, his large eyes which he'd inherited from his father were sparkling with worry and tears.
"No..." I spoke and the two looked at each other before sighing loudly probably with relief.
After a few minutes of the doctor examining me and telling the concerned crowd that I was fine and just needed a little rest and food, the tension in the air seemed to have grown lighter.
Duke Aurelius sat beside me on the bed while the other side was taken by his son, both of them seemed as if they had no intention of leaving my side.
"I-I'm fine now, you two should go and rest," I said.
Their faces looked haggard, they probably hadn't slept for days.
"We're fine, Reina."
"Yes, you should rest more."
Both of them said and I sighed.
A maid brought some soup which I ate and then was forced to sleep again.
[Initiating orientation...]
When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a different space again, it seemed like I was in a circular white room. I looked down at myself finding myself in my old body and wondered if what I saw just moments ago was a dream after all. But how did the hospitals get so advanced?
There was a huge screen on my side which suddenly came to life as if noticing my presence and a voice boomed throughout the room.
"Welcome Host!"
"What the-" I gasped as I saw the blue lines appearing on the screen.
"You have been chosen by the Goddess of Wisdom and Defender of Divine Glory to save the world."
"Hah?"
"You will be given quests which will have rewards according to the level and-"
"Wait, hold on a second!" I shouted making the computerised voice stop.
"Is there a problem, Dear Host?"
"Yeah, a big one." I said, "Where am I?"
"This is your mind's space, Dear Host."
"My mind's space has this electronic stuff?"
"It is myself, Dear Host."
"This screen?"
"Yes,"
"Why are you here?"
"I am to address you because you've been chosen for a great task, Dear Host."
"Chosen?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because your skills and experience fit the criteria of the Chosen person. You were the best fit that we had obtained after years of trials and errors."
"It's a bit confusing but Chosen for what exactly?"
"To save the world."
"The hell? No way! It's tedious."
"... Are you refusing to be a part of this system?"
"Yes, I don't want to be a hero and go through all those stupid cliche troubles. Please spare me the trouble! I've already died similarly." I said waving my hand.
I would rather sleep for eternity.
[Goddess of Wisdom asks you to reconsider.]
[Defender of Divine Glory requests you to understand the situation.]
I looked at the two screens that flashed separately and frowned momentarily.
"What kind of weird dream is this?" I muttered as it seemed more and more like the certain kinds of novels that I read in my past life.
"This is not a dream, Dear Host. It is an orientation session." The computerised voice answered making me frown.
"Huh?"
[Goddess of Wisdom pleads for your assistance.]
A goddess was pleading with me?! This was shocking enough.
[Defender of Divine Glory requests you to be the judge after grasping the situation.]
The tone of these messages seemed desperate so, I just sighed; I wasn't rude enough to refuse polite requests.
"Fine, I'm listening tell me."
The system was quiet for a moment before it uttered an ominous sentence.
"The world you live in will be destroyed after fifteen years."
"What?"
"The world where Reina Aurelius lives will be destroyed after fifteen years."
"Why?"
"The appearance of 'them' will destroy the world."
"What's 'them'?" I asked.
"I cannot tell you that now but you can be the only one who could prevent that from happening."
"So, I'll be a Hero and fight with the monsters and stuff," I said, exhausted.
"Not quite."
My ears perked up at that, "Then?"
"You will fulfil a crucial role by staying in the shadows."
"What does that mean?"
"You will have to do the same thing that you used to do in your past life."
I frowned at that, the same thing I did in my past life would mean becoming a part of the Intelligence Organisation.
"You will be vital in creating a new King of the Kingdom who will in turn help prevent the destruction of the world."
"That's not what I did in my past life."
"Surveillance, Planning and Execution. These are your strong points and that's what will be needed for you to carry out your quests in this life."
I was listening to it carefully. The destruction of the world wasn't a simple matter and if I was really someone who could prevent it then it put a great responsibility on me. Even if I rejected it now my guilt would keep eating me for eternity thinking I didn't even try to save it.
[Defender of Divine Glory thinks positively of you.]
[Goddess of Wisdom says she will do all she can to help.]
"And who are these people?" I asked.
"Goddess of Wisdom and Defender of Divine Glory have chosen you for this task and blessed you." The system answered and I sighed.
So, these two were the ones who put me in this shit.
[...]
"What will I get if I do your job?" I asked.
"Anything that you wish for."
"Anything? Really? If I asked to become the owner of a planet even that will happen?" I asked jokingly.
[Goddess of Wisdom asks if that is really something you wish for.]
"It can be arranged." The system answered and my eyebrows jumped.
"What?"
[Defender of Divine Glory asks you to think of the reward you want carefully.]
[Goddess of Wisdom trusts that you make a good choice.]
"You can make the wish after you complete the quests, Dear Host." The system said and I sighed.
"Fine, that aside. What's my mission?" I asked.
"You will become the Kingmaker."
"Eh? What?"
"You will choose the King for the Kingdom of Sestia and help him gather the strength of other Kingdoms so that when 'they' appear the world can be saved."
"That's..." I didn't have a strong enough word to fit the level of trouble this mission sounded. It was a God-level troublesome task.
Fighting against terrorists was one thing and even keeping an eye on their activities was fine too but this, this was pure politics and I wasn't well-versed with it.
[Goddess of Wisdom believes that you will be the one to save the world.]
These guys sure were hopeful.
"God!" I sighed and massaged my temples.
"The system will help you in every way possible."
[Goddess of Wisdom says she will help you too.]
[Defender of Divine Glory asserts that he will lend his strength as well.]
I stared at the huge screen of the system and the two separate screens with the messages of the two entities who were supposedly Gods.
This was something uncalled for, I was thinking I'd enjoy my life in the fantasy world, make money and then probably marry a super handsome man and live happily ever after. But this was something totally different from my expectations.
[Goddess of Wisdom says you can still do all of what you were thinking of.]
And these guys could read my thoughts as well. I wondered if the concept of privacy wasn't known here.
[Defender of Divine Glory says you are the hope of this world.]
Hope of the world, huh... I ran my hand through my hair. I guess there wasn't a choice here. Everything had a price, my new life had one too.
"Fine, I'll do it," I said and in an instant, two messages popped up.
[Goddess of Wisdom is happy at your decision.]
[Defender of Divine Glory feels proud of you for becoming a saviour of the world.]
"I just hope you guys don't screw me over."
[Goddess of Wisdom blesses you to be victorious.]
[Defender of Divine Glory asks you to have faith.]
"So, I will have the magical powers or something similar, right?" I asked.
"Your attributes will be displayed before you when you call for it."
"Do I have some cool magic?" I asked as I recalled the amazing magical abilities that the protagonists of the stories usually have.
"Yes, you have a cool magic." The screen answered and I blinked, its tone was strange.
"Anyways, so, I will just have to appoint the king, see to it that he maintains good relations with other kings and then sit back when 'they' come, right?" I summarised.
"Yes."
"Okay, then. I guess I'll have to work some more but it's only for a few years so, I'll forgive you." I sighed.
"Do you accept the mission, Dear Host?"
"Yes," I answered.
The system blinked and I saw the bar appearing on the screen with the words 'loading' written on it and the computerised system voice said:
"Initiating the Kingmaker System."