5. Hideous

Tristan stiffened like a wood, his eyes widening as if they were about to pop out. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he stopped breathing.

The answer from the system was very scary.

Tristan only heard a woman's voice, but he could imagine the woman saying it with a crooked smile on her lips and a sly face.

The system seemed to have created thousands of tasks, along with rewards and penalties.

Tristan just needed to wait when they gave him a task, and he must successfully carry out the command to get a reward.

No one wanted to undergo punishment.

In his previous life, Tristan was in prison for 10 years for an act he never committed; he was slandered by someone who called him a friend.

Then he regretted asking that, as a memory came to mind. The man he couldn't see in the all-white room after he died and before he was in Tristan Madigan's body had already told him their purpose in sending Tristan here.

"I am stuck." Tristan just realized that. Yesterday, he carried out his first task without the slightest suspicion. He was too scared when he heard the word 'penalty'.

"Am I dreaming?" Now Tristan wanted to deny it.

He pinched her hands, stomach, legs, and cheeks. He even hit his forehead on the table. He grimaced in pain. "I'm not in a dream."

Everything that happened to him was a reality. A fate that he must accept gracefully.

"I should be in hell or heaven after being stabbed to death by those damn robbers." Tristan was too late to question this.

"Are William and his wife also in this world? Maybe they are the same as me, who entered someone's body." Tristan regretted why he hadn't thought about this since yesterday.

"But how do I know they're going through the same thing as me?" Tristan scratched his head.

The strange and miraculous case that happened to him made him suspicious of everyone in this world.

Perhaps they hail from the same universe as him. They died, and God transferred them to our world. Whether it was reincarnation or inhabiting someone's body.

"Ah, my head is dizzy." Tristan leaned back in his chair with his gaze fixed on the ceiling. He was lost in thought.

The sound of the door opening startled Tristan. The man hurriedly sat up straight, and his gaze fell on the book. He forgot that the purpose of going to the library was to read books about this world.

"Your Majesty." Aiden, a knight who had guarded Tristan Madigan since childhood, bowed to his king. "You have to attend a meeting with the ministers."

Tristan's eyes widened. Gosh. He forgot about it!

"Thank you for reminding me," Tristan said firmly, and he immediately stood up.

Tristan secretly looked right and left, making sure there was no one else in the library. A few minutes ago, he was muttering to himself. People would think he was crazy, or they would suspect he wasn't Tristan Madigan.

"That is part of my duty," said the knight, which again surprised Tristan, who was observing his surroundings.

***

Tristan never liked those who had positions because only some of them actually carried out their duties as officials, and others could only brag about the positions they had.

Tristan just listened to those speaking and arguing when he was in the vast and closed room with the ministers.

Tristan wonders who of them was not doing their jobs correctly and who was corrupt.

He didn't believe that there were no officials who were not corrupt. Everyone loves money, and they could do anything to have money.

The ministers mostly came from noble families; only 2 commoners managed to become ministers.

Tristan was willing to bet that it was the minister, who came from a noble family, who committed corruption because they worked together.

However, Tristan wouldn't bother punishing or beheading the corrupt because the system had not ordered him to do so. He hoped that the system wouldn't issue him such an order.

Because Tristan understands how difficult it was to identify the culprits of corruption and where the money from corruption went up.

After all, Tristan Madigan never had any thoughts of catching the corrupt—he had dug up all of Tristan Madigan's memories. So Tristan didn't need to think about that.

"Ah, what a boring 2 hours." Tristan grumbled as he left the meeting room. The two knights who were escorting him were silent, not daring to comment.

Tristan walked towards the palace where Tristan Madigan's father lived.

His heart was beating fast. It was the first time he met Carlos Madigan because Tristan Madigan had asked his father's blessing two days before his coronation day.

Carlos Madigan has been lying in bed for seven years. He remained king in his immobile state until Tristan Madigan was 18 years old.

Tristan was jealous of Tristan Madigan. He also wanted to have a father who thought about his son, who would miss out on his childhood and youth if his son worked.

His father was a bastard who liked to drink and gamble. Tristan was annoyed at God's unfairness. His father should be in prison!

"Tristan." Carlos Madigan smiled, seeing his son, who looked fine. His secretary didn't lie. "Congratulations on your coronation, my son."

"Thank you, dad." Tristan smiled.

"I believe you, my son. Therefore, you must believe in your decision. Don't let other people change your mind." Carlos Madigan gave some great advice to his son.

But the trouble was that Tristan wasn't sure if he could apply his decision to every regulation in this kingdom, or if he needed to wait for the system to assign him a task or a clue.

"On your first day as king, you decided to behead the perpetrator of the garden fire and place his head in the square. You have shown everyone that you will act tough on all criminals." Carlos Madigan was proud of his son.

"Thank you, dad. I'm grateful that dad didn't misunderstand me," said Tristan.

Carlos Madigan didn't want to give criminals the death penalty; he preferred a life sentence. Tristan didn't know whether Tristan Madigan had thoughts like his father or like him.

[The second task has come, and its duration is until Carlos Madigan dies.]

[You must ensure that Carlos Madigan can never recover.]

[If you fail, you will die.]

Tristan's eyes widened.