No one expected that at such a critical moment, Emperor André III would suddenly announce his abdication, handing the Human Empire over to the First Prince.
With war on the verge of breaking out at the northern passes, this move was no different from replacing the commander right before battle.
Such a bizarre development caught many off guard.
Some even began to suspect in secret that the series of assassinations hadn't been carried out by the beastfolk at all—but orchestrated by the First Prince, Eli André.
The attempts on Emperor André III and Soren might have just been smokescreens. The real goal was to eliminate his two biggest rivals.
After all, only the Second and Fourth Princes had died so far, while the less competitive Ron and Soren remained unharmed.
Thus, once the news of the successor spread, conspiracy theories quietly took root.
Even Ron couldn't help but feel suspicious.
But if that were true, Emperor André III would surely know the truth—so why would he hastily decide on a successor?
Unless… something had gone wrong with him?
Amid endless speculation in the Royal Capital, time slowly approached the end of the month.
Meanwhile, construction in Tansen City continued steadily, unaffected by events in the capital.
On June 30—the day before the coronation—
"Your Eminence Ron, the element station in Tansen City will be fully completed by this evening," Illya reported. "If everything goes well, we can begin trial operations tonight."
Controlling his lifelike puppet as it walked through the streets, Ron looked at the slender pillars lining both sides of the road and nodded in satisfaction.
At the top of each pillar was a sphere engraved with a light-element illumination array.
Beneath the ground, mana cables connected them to nearby element substations.
More than ten such substations had already been installed across the city, all linked to the massive element station outside the city.
Once operational, residents could simply connect their homes to a nearby substation via mana cables—
Much like electricity in Ron's previous world.
Back at the flower shop, during dinner, Mia's puppet suddenly spoke:
"Father asked my real body to dine with him at the palace."
Ron paused briefly, then said, "If anything unusual happens, tell me immediately."
With the abdication happening tomorrow, it wasn't strange for Mia—his only daughter—to be summoned.
So Ron didn't think much of it.
Later that night, Mia reported that everything was normal.
Ron then shifted his focus back to Tansen City.
The element station was now complete.
At Ron's command, trained workers activated the countless magic arrays within it.
A massive stockpile of Element Potatoes instantly released enormous amounts of elemental energy, which was converted into mana and transmitted outward through thick mana cables.
Soon, the substations across Tansen City began receiving mana.
Part of it was reversed into elements and stored via special arrays, while the rest was distributed to the street lamps.
And just like that—
Under the astonished gaze of its citizens, Tansen City lit up.
The streetlights shone far brighter than ordinary indoor lighting, turning night into day.
Fortunately, prior promotion using Mimic Grass had prepared the population—otherwise, panic might have broken out again.
At that very moment, the system's mature female voice sounded in Ron's mind:
[System: "Congratulations, host. Mission complete. Reward—Real-World Lotus Seed and its cultivation method—has been deposited into your inventory."]
[System: "Upgrade mission triggered."]
[Upgrade Mission] — [Cultivate the Real-World Lotus]:
["Requirement: Successfully grow one Real-World Lotus."]
["Reward: System Level +1. Upon reaching Level 10, unlock the ability to materialize system panel skins."]
Ron raised an eyebrow.
Materialize skins?
Does that mean…
Before he could think further, his real body immediately headed downstairs and entered the dimensional plane.
Meanwhile, in Tansen City, Puppet Ron said to Guy,
"Next, Water Generators and Magic Refrigerators will be sold publicly. You're in charge of laying the mana cables in residential areas."
Guy nodded. "Understood, Your Eminence."
Inside the dimensional plane, Ron absorbed the cultivation method and checked the description of the Real-World Lotus.
[Real-World Lotus]:
["A perennial aquatic herb…"
"…Its leaves can attract wandering souls. Its petals absorb stray souls as nutrients. The fruit nourishes the soul, enhancing memory and learning ability."]
Ron scratched his head.
That's it?
Still, he withheld judgment.
If the effect was strong enough, could it extend lifespan?
Or at least make people smarter?
Even that wouldn't be bad.
With that thought, he planted the seed.
Half an hour later, the lotus bloomed in a small pond within the cultivation space, its colorful petals dazzling.
[System: "Congratulations, host. Mission complete. Rewards issued."]
Before Ron could even open the panel, it appeared automatically.
The Goddess of Harvest — Hervesta skin detached from the interface, transforming into a 3D form.
But this time—
When she placed her hand on Ron's shoulder, he felt it.
A real, physical touch.
"…What the hell…" Ron turned his head in shock. "It actually became real?"
A thought crossed his mind—should he test it further?
But before he could act, Hervesta floated away—
—and entered the cultivation space.
Ron froze.
Even he couldn't enter that space.
Yet she could.
Inside, she casually plucked a lotus fruit and ate it.
Watching this, Ron felt a chill creep up his spine.
"System? Come back," he said cautiously.
Hervesta immediately returned to his side.
Ron relaxed slightly—
But then his body tensed again.
She was smiling at him.
Not like something without consciousness—
But like a living being.
"Second time we've met, my dear Chosen One," Hervesta said playfully.
Ron's scalp tingled as he backed away.
"What is this? System?"
"No need to ask~" she giggled. "I've already descended into this world. Isn't it obvious?"
Ron stared, mind racing.
"…The system is the Goddess of Harvest?"
Hervesta smiled, nodding and shaking her head. "Yes—and no."
"I should thank you," she said, circling him. "Since I've succeeded, I might as well explain."
"I used divine power to create the system and chose you. Through it, you earned wealth—what you call 'wealth value' is actually the power of faith contained in gold coins."
"Faith is the source of divine power. Without it, gods cannot exist."
"The less faith, the weaker a god becomes."
"Some, like God of the Stars — Starray or the God of Magic, don't even have independent consciousness—they're merely conceptual gods."
"But I…" she smiled, "am the first to successfully descend into the mortal world."
She looked down at her body curiously. "So this is what a human body feels like…"
Ron took a few more steps back, barely processing it.
"Wait—why make a system for me?"
"I didn't," she blinked innocently. "It was generated from your own thoughts and memories. I only supplied the divine power."
"…What?"
"The missions, too," she continued. "All generated based on your own logic."
"I just powered it."
"I never expected you to gather so much faith so quickly."
She explained how Ron's hot pot business and products spread faith far faster than coins ever could.
Ron was stunned.
"So other Chosen Ones… are just tools for gods to gather faith?"
"Creating one consumes a lot of divine power," she said. "Only the seven major gods can afford it."
She went on to explain the histories of other gods and their Chosen Ones—
Until Ron suddenly froze.
"Wait… what did you just say?"
"The Chosen One of the God of War… started wars?"
"I thought he was long dead!"
Hervesta looked puzzled. "Of course, Chosen Ones can't be inherited."
"Then…?"
"Oh," she said casually, "you call him the founding emperor—André the Great. He's been possessing his descendants' bodies to survive."
"He's not dead."
Ron's face went pale.
"Don't worry," Hervesta patted him. "I won't let him touch you."
"That's not what I'm worried about…"
Ron suddenly thought of Mia—still in the palace.
He shook his head.
Surely… that person wouldn't possess a girl's body…
But then—
Did that mean Emperor André III had already been dead for a long time?
Recalling their past meetings, a chill ran down his spine.