The Scum Emperor's Redemption System

After another exhausting night with Esmeralda, Argider collapsed onto the bed beside the sleeping empress, utterly drained.

She could hardly believe it. This was her life now—living as the vessel, caught in a web of obligations and strange rituals. And the worst part? She had handed the power over to the insufferable narcissist.

— [New Notification]

— [Status Updates]

— [Open? Y/N]

With a heavy sigh, she reluctantly pressed "yes," and the system interface popped up, sliding across her vision. As she read through the details, her eyes widened in disbelief.

This couldn't be real. Her personality traits had soared to level four, all from those nights with her main wife.

One more level and she'd unlock stage two of her personality development—cognitive, psychosocial, and all the aspects that came with it.

But there was a nagging unease deep in her gut. Was this what it felt to be a woman in high society? To gain points, to improve through the act of being bedded? It felt off. Like a game, a strange and unsettling one where her worth was measured by... this?

Oh, how she missed being a man.

A sharp, tired groan escaped her lips as she gingerly sat up, the weight of the night still clinging to her bones.

Her right arm, wrapped tightly in a cloth slung across her shoulder, protested the movement, a painful reminder of just how much had been given.

She tried to sit upright, but the cool night breeze from the balcony cut through the room, sending a shiver down her spine. Her body ached in places she hadn't known could hurt, and yet—somewhere, deep inside—the system was feeding her more power, more development. What a strange, strange life she was leading now.

Argider slid out of bed with a grunt, wrapping a robe around her body to shield herself from the cool morning air.

She made her way toward the balcony, the city of Aloxus sprawling below her like an endless sea of rooftops. She took a deep breath, the city's smells mixing with the fresh scent of dawn.

Why am I even doing this? she wondered, staring at the horizon.

"I'd like to ask the same thing," came a voice from above.

Argider glanced up to see Alvator gliding through the air before landing gracefully on the balcony's edge, his paws clicking lightly on the stone.

She smirked, though her heart wasn't in it. "I mean, I do want to go back to being a man. No way I'm staying like this. Not when people treat me like this."

Then, she stepped closer to the edge, gripping the stone with her hand. If she could crush it, she would. But her fingers was as frail as the rest of her. It was a hunting reminder of her metamorphosis into a woman.

"But have you ever thought about changing the world?" Alvator asked, his voice light but with an edge of something deeper.

She chuckled bitterly, shaking her head. "What am I gonna change it to? A whorehouse factory?" She laughed again, but it sounded more like a groan. "I'm not a hero."

"You don't have to be a hero. If you don't like where you are, take a step and see what you can change. Sure, everyone's telling you to adapt to being a woman... but what if you didn't have to? What if you could change everything around you, so no one has to adapt at all? Imagine a world where people could just be themselves, without the weight of a role forced on them."

Argider raised an eyebrow, intrigued despite herself. "What do you mean by that?"

The cat's tail flicked in the air as he settled on the balcony, eyes narrowing as if he could see something beyond the present. "Everyone's conditioned to a role. Peasants, nobles, warriors, even kings and queens. But what if you made a world where no one was bound by their role? Where everyone could be whatever they wanted? You're the Emperor. You still have the power."

Argider stared at him, incredulous. "Then why didn't you do that when you were Emperor? You were the one who enforced all those roles, after all. You and your precious loyalty-based system."

His eyes softened for a moment, his voice almost wistful. "I wasn't wise. And I was conditioned to a role, too." He paused, looking away as if lost in some distant memory. "I won't say more."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Argider's chest tightened. "I don't even know what I want anymore. I just want to be a man again... but I'm scared I won't be able to go back. I'm over this whole 'existentialism' thing. What if I get so used to this, I don't even want to go back?"

Alvator gave her a steady, unblinking stare. "It's not about the purpose. It's about the worth you find along the way. People give up on their dreams all the time, but the ones who keep going? They find worth in the journey itself."

Argider frowned, her thoughts spinning. "I don't know... That requires too much faith and I, for one, don't possess such belief."

Alvator's tail twitched again. "Maybe you will. But you have to find it."

Worth was a word that shouldn't be tied to a scum. How could something as vile as scum have worth? Yet, when she really thought about it, the world itself could be considered scum—ruined, drenched in death and corruption.

But despite everything, humanity clung to life. They found a reason to keep going, to endure, even when they had the power to end it all.

The idea that worth could exist in such a broken world... it was almost laughable. Though, it was undeniable. Some twisted, stubborn part of existence still saw value in continuing, even when everything seemed lost.

"This is too much deep talk," Argider groaned, pressing a hand to her forehead as if trying to ward off the weight of her thoughts. "I'm going back to bed. This is giving me a headache."

With a final, frustrated sigh, she turned and retreated into the room, her footsteps fading.

Alvator watched her go, his eyes narrowing in something like disdain. Typical behavior for someone with a mind as shallow as a puddle, he thought, rolling his eyes.

But beneath the irritation, a flicker of something else stirred—curiosity.

Will she actually take the bait? he wondered. Or is she too lost in her own mess to even try?

The question hung in the air, unanswered, as he remained perched on the balcony, his tail twirling thoughtfully.