The Steward Demonic Emperor - Chapter 1308: Heart’s Choice

Based on the popular Vocaloid series, by HoneyWorks, called “Kokuhoku Yokou Renshuu (Confession Rehearsal)“:

Natsuki, a third-year at Sakuragaoka High School, who holds unrequited feelings for her childhood friend, Yuu, who’s in the Film Club. However, instead of being honest about her feelings, she makes him be her confession “rehearsal” partner. Unable to say her true feelings, things start to get complicated when Miou and Akari, who are also in the Art Club, get involved! Will she ever be able to confess for real!?

Lin Momo hasn’t had a father or a mother since she was very young and lives with the grandmother who picked her up after being thrown away. One day, a person claiming to be an agent approached her and asked her to pretend to be the daughter of a certain star and participate in the recording of a reality show, and she would be given 20,000 yuan after the filming was completed.

Looking at her poor family, Lin Momo thought for 2 seconds and agreed.

This reality show is called ‘Living with Dad’. Dad takes the baby and randomly draws a family background to experience a different life every week.

The night before the recording of the program, Lin Momo had a dream that after the program was broadcast, only the team of the former singer—Lin Cheng—had bad reviews: the daughter is not cute; the father has no fatherly love; and the father and daughter have no communication at all during the whole process.

The audience pointed out: ‘He doesn’t know how to take care of a baby at all’; ‘It’s really embarrassing’; ‘There is no sense of presence’, ‘I hate this pair the most’; ‘It’s not good-looking at all, I suggest you go offline’ and so on…

Later, more black material popped up, Lin Cheng’s career and reputation collapsed completely, and Lin Momo’s 20,000 yuan was also lost. She was forcibly sent to an orphanage with the ‘help’ of Internet celebrities and caring people.

In order to keep her 20,000 yuan, Lin Momo was determined to perform well.

However, the father-daughter combination of Lin Momo and Lin Cheng still became the contrast team and the audience reaction is palpably different:

Other teams: ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so cute!
Contrast team: Hey, my daughter is so sensible.

Other teams: It’s great to be a star.
Contrast team: The life of outdated stars is so miserable.

Other teams: This is a parent-child interactive program.
Contrast team: This turned out to be a survival show?!

Other teams: Dad, come on, raise your children.
Contrast team who drew the [Unemployed Families] card: Daughter, come on and support Dad!

Lin Momo: “I have to work hard to make money, otherwise my father will starve to death.”

Lin Cheng: “I have to work hard to make money, otherwise I will have to take my daughter back to inherit tens of billions of property.”

——————

Lin Cheng, who hasn’t ‘appeared’ for half a year, received a call from his agent and was given a contract.

Lin Cheng: “Appearance fee?”

Agent: “None.” The appearance fee is 100,000 yuan, but the backer was invited to dinner for 300,000 yuan, so the remainder is negative.

Lin Cheng: “Script?”

Manager: “None.” The program team didn’t have time to write one.

Lin Cheng: “Draw lots?”

Agent: “Still no.” As the contrast team, there is no right to choose the family background.

Lin Cheng: “Is there a child?”

Manager: “Yes.”

Looking at the ‘fake’ child who looked too much like him, Lin Cheng had a weird feeling.

- Description from Novelupdates

The novel follows the story of Arnold, a porter, who accompanies warriors and superhumans inside dangerous dungeons, which are distinguished by their colours. The porters were always mistreated by the modern human civilization and even though their job was riskier than that of warriors and superhumans, their existence was never appreciated nor were they paid well. No one knows why these dungeons started to appear all over the world. The only thing they know was the dangers that would find their way into the world if they didn’t kill the monsters. But only a selected few cared about the calamity because for the rest it was all about earning money and gaining power. But nothing in this new world is constant and everything keeps changing, and this time the change would find its way towards an ordinary Porter. After stealing a scroll from the dungeon, he ran off to his home. The scroll gave him powers no one could’ve imagined to gain. But he wasn’t alone. 9 other humans had been granted similar powers... powers of the Gods! What would Arnold do with his newfound powers? Will he kill the other 8 Paladins and rule over the world which had oppressed him for years? Or will he rise against the Gods and make them repent for their crimes? Can the strength lent by the Gods be sufficient to deal with them once and for all? Would he be able to defeat his creator? Or will he join the Gods instead? Too many questions, too little time. The decisions he would make could be the end of humanity Or would an ordinary Porter, become he world’s only hope? Follow me on the journey to the power of this ordinary Porter as he becomes the Savior or the Devil.

I thought I had seen bad endings before—but nothing prepared me for the garbage conclusion of The Hero’s Path.Years of investment, countless struggles, and for what? The protagonist failed. The villain won. Everyone else? Dead. Furious, I sent a message to the author, only to get a chilling response:[Do you think you could do better?]Before I could even blink, my phone exploded in a blinding light, and the next thing I knew—I was waking up in a completely different body.Now, I’m Merlin Everhart, a fourteen-year-old with a 12-star talent, the kind of gift only the strongest should have.But here’s the problem: I have no idea who I am supposed to be.With nothing but a system and a first-day-of-school alarm ringing in my ears, I’m thrown into the world of The Hero’s Path.Am I just another side character in a world that already ended once?…Either way, I refuse to let this story beat me too.