A Tyrant's Guide to Atonement

[A preregistration story I started to relieve stress, based on a high school daydream. It's unpolished.]

I had a dream. In it, I sat high upon a magnificent throne, looking down as my ministers knelt before me.

I pinched my arm. It didn't hurt, so it really was a dream.

...Senior year must be getting to me.

The next day, and the day after that... I realized I was having dreams that continued like a TV series.

Well, since I was dreaming, I might as well enjoy the life of a monarch and let off some of the stress I'd been building up.

So by day, I toiled away, battling my way through mountains of practice questions. By night, I reveled in wine and women to my heart's content.

What? Govern the country? I had no idea how to handle state affairs, and couldn't dream up anything like that anyway. Being a tyrant was the way to go.

That is, until after the college entrance exam, when a beautiful young man with golden hair and blue eyes, seemingly surrounded by holy light, appeared in my study.

He glared at me. "I was only two months late... How could you do such unforgivable things?!"

This continent was home to five countries, each peaceful and stable, each with its own distinctive character.

The unusual thing was that every country's "king" was someone from another world, chosen by a god and sent to rule with the help of a divine envoy.

The golden-haired boy was my divine envoy, but for certain reasons, he arrived late. I never realized the responsibilities I bore, and ended up making a terrible mess of things.

"You need to take responsibility and make amends," the boy said irritably.

...You're the one who was late, and now you're blaming me?!

Nobody told me that my "dreams" weren't dreams at all, but real life in a fantasy world!

And it's not like I hadn't already been extravagant and debauched, neglected state affairs, forcibly taken men, and dismissed worthy officials!

"This is a serious failure on both our parts. The gods will punish us... This is my first time serving as a divine envoy! If I lose this chance, I might never be able to..."

"...Why not find your next assignment? There are plenty of fish in the sea, kid."

My divine envoy looked like he was about to cry.

I'm making amends, really, I am.

Other people spent their senior-year summer vacation getting certificates, traveling, and making money. In short, they were enjoying life.

I was working like a dog in the kingdom.

Thanks to my hard work, public opinion about me went from overwhelmingly negative to mixed, and then to mostly favorable.

In the palace, I had to deal with the descendants the previous monarch had left behind. In the kingdom, I had to root out corrupt officials, bring worthy ones back into service, and balance the complicated relationships between ministers and nobles. Between kingdoms, I even had to sit down for tea with the other people from different worlds and build friendly diplomatic ties.

Some came from the Middle Ages, some from a futuristic spacefaring age, and some... Oh my god, a fellow modern-day person?

Anyway, I was exhausted.

Wait, something suddenly feels off.

The kingdom was running smoothly, and there was less and less for me to worry about. I could finally get some rest. Just as I was thinking that, I found myself surrounded by handsome men.

I'm not kidding. I feel like handsome men everywhere have secret crushes on me.

My stepson, ministers, nobles, even my fellow modern-day person.

Seriously, man?

I'd say my looks and intelligence are both average. Surely they weren't all moved by the story of a tyrant turning over a new leaf and reforming?

"This other world is too dangerous. I want to go back to the countryside." I poked my divine envoy wistfully. "I'm just an ordinary tyrant, but they're all lusting after my body. It's terrifying. At least you're safe."

"...Ahem. Right." My divine envoy looked away.

Probably a third-person story about an ordinary-looking heroine adored by everyone... probably.

I suddenly remembered this old idea while studying for finals. Thinking about it now, I was probably learning about the divine right of kings at the time, and the stress must have inspired the idea.

The original version was pretty hardcore. The heroine killed someone and couldn't forgive herself, and I planned to write a very traditional, detailed story about her governing the country afterward.

But I've gotten older, and I prefer things a little more peaceful.

Theme: Love and peace