For Rio ?

"What would you say… the meaning of life is"

'God, what the hell'

"Princess, you shouldn't be here right now, you have a meeting with the emperor in a moment, you should get ready."

"What do you think I'm doing, Cyan? I'm preparing for the meeting right now! So leave me alone for a moment and let me prepare."

'Damn it, my head hurts.'

'Isn't the whole continent wiped out? There shouldn't be any people near me, let alone a god damn princess.'

As a young boy in ragged clothing slowly propped himself up,

'What the hell, my hands are small, and what's this nasty smell?'

He could somewhat guess that he is in a different body and a weak one at that.

He slightly raised his head in response to the conversation in front of him, he was met by a young women standing in front of him.

She was wearing a black corsets with a simple pristine yellowish-white dress underneath with a simple silver crown. Her wavy Silver hair seemed to be maintained immaculately as it gently cascaded down her shoulder to her slim waist. She also seemed to be carrying a large crimson bowie knife of exquisite tasteful design next to her.

Although the young boy thought that the barbaric knife didn't suit her, he still thought that he had never seen a more beautiful person in his entire life.

'Hmmm'

"Hmm, you seem a bit out of this world, are you alright?"

"Princess, we have to go right now!"

The so-called princess ignored her attendant and gently squatted down near the young boy, seemingly uncaring that her pristine dress was being soaked by the dirty slum road.

The attendant near her gasped "God damn it, princess, you can't be doing this right now, we have to go."

The request fell on deaf ears. The princess inspected the dirty young boy and asked,

"Now, answer my question, young man. What is your answer to the meaning of life?"

"For someone to have achieved their meaning in life, is it to be rich? To have power over people? To raise a family and have kids? To protect something valuable?"

'What the hell is happening?'

'Am I in a dream?'

The young boy was stunned by the princess' appearance, but now he was even more baffled by the sudden question.

After a short pause,

'God, this is awkward.'

'But let's entertain her first, then I'll figure out the situation.'

The young ragged boy struggled to sit up and look at the princess and calmly said,

"Why are you asking an impoverished person about what the meaning of life is? Are you stupid?"

'Oops, that slipped out of my mouth. I was meant to act confused and pretend I didn't hear the question and perhaps ask for some money. Why did I say that?'

The princess looked shocked but quickly returned to a dignified and calm expression and said, "Well, just entertain my question for a little bit. I'll give you a gold coin as a reward if your answer satisfies me." The attendant near her looked increasingly impatient.

The young boy looked at the princess and creased his eyebrow before he looked down.

'Hmm... she isn't executing me for lèse-majesté. But I guess I do need money to survive. Let's answer before asking for help. Also… Gold? Women I need imperial cash, not gold !'

"Well, I'd say the meaning of life is to indulge in self interest before dying." After a brief pause, he added, "It may sound selfish, but we all will die in the end, no matter how much grand goal you have achieved would be buried underneath the infinity of time with no hopes of being remembered ever again ... So why not indulge in self, and find ways to live for as long as possible"

'What the hell is wrong with me? This philosophy couldn't have been said by a young boy that I'm currently in. She's going to think that I'm suspicious.'

'Does she have some sort of magic to force out my true thoughts whenever I speak? God, I loathe those types of people.'

The princess looked at the young boy in front of her, her eye glistened for a moment , then she chuckled, " Close enough, you'll do. Cyan, dress this boy up, and we'll go to the castle right now."

The attendant, Cyan, who hadn't been in the boy's attention at all since the start of the encounter, silently sighed and walked toward him.

Now that she was close, the boy was able to see the princess's attendant more clearly. The attendant had straight cyan-colored hair, and she was wearing a fitted black business suit. She was also carrying a long and black katana-like sword to her side with an simple design. The only flaw on her beautiful face was the heavy bags underneath her eyes.

"Oh, before that, what's your name, young man?" the princess asked.

'Young man this, young man that, I'm probably two times your age.'

Although disgruntled, the young boy said in a low voice, "Rio."

"Huh, for real?" The princess lightly chuckled. "Well, nice to meet you, Rio. If you act accordingly, you'll receive your gold coin soon enough."

'Was that… a joke?'

Before Rio could react again, he was knocked out again.