The Man And The System

On a world dominated by the salty waters of a vivid blue ocean lies an island with sandy beaches and a smattering of large-leafed trees. Despite being not very large, with such clear waters and golden sands warmed by a sun within a cloudless sky, it was the sort of place that attracted tourists with bottomless pockets and a thirst for privacy, lording it over their own little destination for two to three weeks.

At present, there was a man on the island, but he was not a tourist and he was currently speaking with a seagull.

"So you are saying that I was the King of this Kingdom in my last life, is that right?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," these words did indeed come from the seagull's beak with not a squawk to be heard.

"And this Kingdom was prosperous and peaceful, mighty and fair?" The man continued to ask.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"And after I died, you, the System, were sent by God to watch over the Kingdom so it continued to prosper, right?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"But somehow, you deleted it??"

Quick introductions should have already been made, but have long been neglected in actual fact. The man went by the name of Russell and he was once a fairly ordinary person living on a world called Earth. He had two parents, they weren't divorced, but the threat was there every other day following a senseless argument, which was later resolved behind closed doors in a manner he did NOT want to think about. Just seeing the old man gloating and the old lady all tender smiles made him shudder and think that it really was about time for him to move out. Of course, he never suspected that 'moving out' would entail transmigrating to this deserted island in the middle of a place that was not Earth.

As for the seagull, it actually wasn't a real seagull, just this form was fairly useful when it came to traversing an ocean. A dolphin or whale might have worked better, but neither could live outside the water and hop around on land. So the System chose the form of a seagull. Besides, it was used to flying around the multiverse, taking on wings made it feel somewhat normal.

Still, it was strange for Russell to see a seagull pull a sort of shamefaced expression and cover its beak with its wings trying to invoke pity. "It was an accident!" It cried, pitifully. "I didn't know that entering that command function would actually set off a series of natural disasters annihilating whole regions and causing countless people to lose their lives! I tried to stop the destruction, only it was followed by years of famine and a neighbouring kingdom declared war, which led to more death and… well.. in the end I thought it was better to choose to restore the world's original settings."

Russell looked quite deliberately around himself over the small island, human population - 1. "And this… island counts as part of the original settings?"

"Yes!" The seagull bobbed it's head up and down in confirmation. "It will expand once you've completed a number of missions! So, Your Majesty, are you ready to begin restoring your kingdom?"

The man sighed, heavily. "Maybe later. I'm thinking a nap would be better right about now."

"W-What?"

The seagull looked panicked as he followed the man to a shady area beneath a palm tree and watched as the man cast a satisfied eye over the shadow cast by its broad leaves. The man lay beneath the tree and closed his eyes. The system cried tears of frustration inwardly before maneuvering his bird body over to peck at the man's clothes.

"Your Majesty!"

"I think you may have the wrong person," the man muttered without even opening his eyes.

"I don't understand, Your Majesty."

"Let's say that I believe you," he sighed, inwardly thinking that this was the worst transmigration ever. Even those who transmigrated into slaves usually ended up with a decent golden finger and the opportunity to escape so they could comfortably walk the rags to riches trope. But he had to fix other's mistakes, like an I.T. Engineer, all work no real reward, just a rapidly thinning hairline and leaning towards an alcohol dependence. "That I was a King in my former life, yada yada. What's that got to do with me now? Keeping the Kingdom running smoothly was up to my descendants. Why not pick one of them to rebuild the place?"

"Well… technically, it's you that has the experience in Kingdom building so…"

"Again, former me, not the current me," Russell partially opened one eye to gauge the gull's reactions.

The seagull's beak flapped open and shut a few times, before it attempted to draw the man to its side through different means.

The Threat; "It just has to be you! And if you don't, you'll be stranded on this island forever!"

"Eh, that's just fine, I'm all for peace and quiet. It was time I moved out of home anyway."

The Coaxing Method; "Ah, go on, please! I promise the rewards will make it worth your while!"

"...Like?"

The Carrot; "Kings naturally have a treasury of gold and silver as well as a harem full of the most beautiful ladies…"

"Ladies? No men?"

The Cautious Approach; "... you… you're into men in this life? Well, it shouldn't be too much of a problem… I suppose. Creating the heir might prove a bit difficult…"

"I never said I was into men. I just thought that you were too gender specific. It's the age of equal rights between all genders, race and sexualities, you know."

Understanding; "I see…."

Finally, When All Else Fails, Get Down On One's Knees and Beg Method; "Please, Your Majesty! It has to be you, there is no other that can do this! Please take pity on this system, say you will!"

The seagull couldn't kneel, but it did lower its neck and bring forward its wings in an imitation of a kowtow. "Fine, I'll agree." This didn't move Russell, who finally decided to agree to the seagull's pleas. He just hoped the bird would shut up for a while.

"Oh, thank you Your Majesty! Then we can start?"

"Right after my nap."

"Oh no, there's no time for naps! We need to get started right away, or God might find out what I've done and annihilate me and this world!"

The man's eyes flickered open. "What did you say?"

"Um… I didn't say anything… in particular…"

Russell captured the seagull about the neck. "Out with it!"

"Well… just that… as I said, I was created to look after your Kingdom, be God's eyes and ears for it per say. In God's words; it was just perfect, no need to do anything more. Which is great as that guy is just a bit of a perfectionist and has been known to destroy things that don't meet his standards with no chance of restoration nor reincarnation…"

After digesting the implication, Russell considered his options; Death by drowning in the ocean, death by hanging using the drawstring of his trousers… his stomach gurgled angrily. Well starvation was also a choice. He'd think about it again after his nap.