[Nightmare]

"Your people? If you're not talking about people on Earth, then are you saying that the people you came with are of a certain race?" Eliza asked.

Helix laughed and shook his head.

"No…. It's better to say all of the people here share the same [culture]." He claimed with a bitter smile.

"I don't understand. Are you saying the culture you share is dangerous?" She asked.

"More than you could know." He replied with a defeated smile.

"Helix, I don't doubt your intelligence.

However, can I be honest with you?" She asked.

"Sure, please speak bluntly." Helix replied with a serious expression.

"From what I've been told, the people you came with are known for being weak, defenseless people that spend most of their time playing fantasy games.

They're not violent, don't have deep-rooted relationships, and have never had sex.

Those are the criteria for [chosen ones]." Eliza explained with a serious expression.

Helix didn't know whether he should laugh or cry after hearing her blatant confirmation of the truth.

"Yup, pretty much explained them perfectly." He chuckled bitterly.

"Helix, this isn't funny. In the past, we've recruited many types of people.

We've brought in athletic people, charming people, and many with a strong sense of justice." Eliza explained.

"However, those people missed home almost immediately and couldn't get a grasp on magic or how to use it.

As a result, they all eventually died or became callus and mediocre."

Helix chuckled some more, sparking greater annoyance on Eliza's face.

"That's why we chose people that were—"

"Easy to manipulate?" He asked with a playful smile.

Eliza opened and closed her mouth multiple times in disbelief.

Helix sighed.

"Look, you're right to believe that my people are easy to manipulate.

And wheeeeew! You've done a masterful job doing it too.

Since I arrived in Myriad, I've been in genuine awe about it." Helix said with a bitter smile.

Eliza gave Helix a complicated expression.

"That's why I don't doubt your competence.

You've recruited the right people to take full advantage of what Myriad offers." He chuckled.

"However, as you pointed out, if you remove the Kull Bird population, it will create a more serious problem.

That's what's happening here. You've fixed all of your problems, but you're experimenting with something you don't understand."

Helix gave Eliza a serious expression that chilled her to the bone.

"I… don't understand, Helix.

If the people we've chosen are weak and docile, how did we bring war into these walls?

That's a dramatic declaration." She reasoned hesitantly.

Helix gave her a wry smile.

"They're not weak anymore, Eliza.

These people [were] weak, unattractive virgins that never left their rooms.

Then you gave them extraordinary power, beauty, and undeserved sex.

Now they're delusional otaku super-virgins who believe that they will live out the fantasies in their light novels and video games." Helix explained with a dead-serious expression.

"Everyone here has acclimated to Myriad seamlessly because they think they're historians that have prepared their whole life for this moment.

They believe they have cheat codes and game guides that make them transcendental existences that will use knowledge of the future to become super cheats."

Eliza stared at Helix with awe and fear.

While the things he was saying were absurd beyond belief, his pitch-black eyes were ice cold and serious.

"Look, Eliza. The kingdom's greatest mistake was selling Myriad to my people like it was a shameless harem novel." He said after closing his eyes.

"If you just said magic and adventure, it would have been fine.

But the emissaries described Myriad like it was the plot of their favorite trash novel, and now they're treating life as though they're the protagonists."

Eliza was listening to Helix with wide eyes and a complex expression.

"Are you saying they will follow these light novels and [trash novels] as though they're teachings and act upon them?" She asked.

"Yes, they're already recreating that behavior because they're in an echo chamber of people that believe it's reality.

In short, it's viewed as acceptable human behavior.

That's why two people almost lit the castle on fire with their Nightmares and murdered me on the second day in Myriad.

They thought this was a game and didn't understand the consequences." He said with a wry smile.

"What!? They almost activated their Nightmares on the second day?

A fire spell, no less? They didn't just try to rough you up!?" She cried.

"Haaaaaaah. Roughing people up is the normal definition of violence in both Myriad and Earth." Helix chuckled.

"However, the definition of violence in light novels and web novels is in a league of its own."

Eliza's eyes trembled.

"H-How violent?" She asked with a shaking expression.

Helix sighed.

"There's a certain genre that focuses on a concept known as [cultivation].

People meditate and breathe in something similar to spirit particles known as [Qi].

They obtain incredible power using this meditation, and obtain growth through treasures and killing opponents." He explained.

"That's very similar to what happens here….

So what's the problem?" Eliza asked.

Helix sighed with an awkward expression.

"Well, the thing is. The cultivation world is depicted as a ruthless world where the strong eat the weak.

As a result, the helpless virgin protagonist quickly realizes that violence is the answer 100% of the time.

If they don't go that route, the people they love and care about will die." He explained.

"As a result…." Helix laughed while scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"No later than chapter 500, the characters always lay waste to a thousand people at once for offending them.

That's usually a few months after being given a system like our Nightmare."

"WHAT!?" Eliza cried while standing up from the table.

The librarian looked at the woman hesitantly.

"You, out of this area right now!

Lock yourself in a room and don't listen to anything!" She demanded.

The librarian hurriedly complied with a fearful expression.

Helix closed his eyes with a bitter expression.

"Helix, if you're speaking any falsehoods for personal gain, I will not hesitate to punish you mercilessly." Eliza warned.

Helix flashed her a serious expression.

His silky pitch-black hair and sharp eyes sent an eye chill down her spine.

"I'm not joking. Right now, those helpless mental virgins down already have the power to retaliate and are planning to start a war.

They think it's acceptable, and they don't understand the real-world consequences of their actions.

The people on my side are no different.

I've been helping Macron with preventative and anticipatory countermeasures." He explained with a melancholy voice.

"I'm starting to feel like the only person who thinks violence is rarely acceptable like it was on Earth."

"Then why the hell are you asking me not to do anything, Helix!" Eliza cried.

Helix gave her an exasperated expression.

"I am requesting that you do something about it.

My suggestion is not to act on my behalf.

Moreover, if you insist on doing something, you should help me obtain safe passage outside Alzeria with Emelia.

To ensure maximum safety and avoid the powder keg, there are three people you should allow to accompany me.

They are my partners from a practical perspective.

You're the person rejecting these honest suggestions because you enjoy my company." Helix argued.

Eliza's eyes widened, and she gave him a wry, bitter smile after a moment.

"It's true. I don't want you to go because you're the only person that is both interesting and treats me like a human being.

I don't have any friends other than you because of my position, so I appreciate our relationship." She confessed.

"However, I fail to see how [you] leaving will solve these problems."

Helix sighed with a complicated expression.

"You're right. My leaving won't stop the raging shit-storm in this capital." He replied.

"However, there are triggers that start wars, and I'm one of them."

Eliza studied Helix's facial expression.

"Why you? From what I've heard, most of the females like you." She replied.

Helix wanted to jump out of his chair and proclaim, [the defense rest's its case!], but he couldn't.

Instead, he sighed the deepest sigh of the day.

"That…. Is the problem." Helix replied with a bitter smile.

"I don't understand…." She replied with a puzzled expression.

"Everyone came here with dreams of building a harem of beautiful women." Helix explained awkwardly.

"However… male virgins that read light novels and play video games don't magically obtain social skills after being given a system."

Eliza gilded her eyes to the left in contemplation.

"Are you saying that the thing they want most isn't obtainable, and they're frustrated?" She asked.

"Exactly. That reality isn't likely to change, either." He replied.

"But… Helix, are you saying that you have a harem of beautiful women, and they're jealous?

Is that why people are trying to kill you?" Eliza asked with keen interest.

"I… don't know how to answer that question." Helix chuckled in genuine bewilderment.

"Women surround me constantly.

They've befriended me since I made my stand for the female servants."

Eliza watched his conflicted expressions with strange attention.

Helix sighed.

"Very recently… I've discovered that a few do have feelings for me.

Moreover, they too are part of my people's culture, so the concept of harems isn't shocking or obscene to them.

As a result, I'm afraid that they will treat me as a harem leader, and people will go to war."

Eliza closed her eyes.

"This… is absurd. What a petty, embarrassing reason to go to war." She snapped.

"I agree."

"And their delusional fantasies are ridiculous."

"I agree."

​ "This was a mistake."

"I agree."

"What should we do about it?" She asked.

"You should separate them and take them on monster hunts." Helix replied immediately without hesitation.

"And kill them!?" She cried.

"How did you jump…. No. You should make everyone live out their fantasies and build their confidence." He replied with a befuddled expression.

"That makes sense. Letting them be the overpowered hero?" She asked.

"Exactly." He replied.

"And then let you leave quietly during the hunts?" She asked.

Helix gave her a hopeless smile.

"I prefer the term [escape bitterly], but yes.

That's the best thing to do." Helix replied with a bitter expression.

"Why are you so insistent?" She asked.

Helix sighed.

"Let me explain what will happen if you don't let me go."

—

Disclaimer: Power stones, grammatical mistakes, and minor inconsistencies = more content.