The Absolute Ruler of the Household (5)
The notification window displayed four attached photos.
A couple in their thirties and two children.
All of them were pictures of the family next door.
After a brief moment of thought, I directed a question at the system window.
"What happens if I don't grant them citizenship?"
[Entities who do not receive citizenship will be expelled from the household.]
[Are you sure you do not want to grant citizenship?]
'As expected.'
I hadn't asked just out of curiosity.
The system understood my words.
Or perhaps it could read my thoughts.
'Otherwise, things like storing only the ramen inside a bowl in the warehouse or putting just the oil inside a canola oil bottle into storage wouldn't have been possible.'
Absolute Ruler of the Household Skill.
I wasn't entirely sure what this power was, but I had a rough idea that some level of two-way communication was possible.
Of course, the system wasn't exactly forthcoming with explanations.
It didn't just hand over all the information.
'Expelled from the household, huh…'
I wasn't sure what the expulsion process entailed, but I had a feeling it wouldn't be a particularly safe method.
"Grant citizenship to all four of them."
[Citizenship has been granted to Choi Hyungjun, Park Hyewon, Choi Nayeon, and Choi Seoyeon.]
After granting citizenship to the neighboring family, I immediately opened the skill window.
I thought a new skill related to citizenship might have awakened.
However—
"Huh? This is something else?"
The newly awakened skill wasn't about managing citizens.
The Absolute Ruler's Eye Lv.1
– Nothing inside the household can escape the Absolute Ruler's gaze.
I immediately realized that the strange phenomenon I had just experienced had been the effect of this skill.
'Where's the citizenship-related skill? Oh, found it.'
Surprisingly, citizenship management was included within the Household Proclamation skill.
Household Proclamation (Passive) Lv. 6
– No one can invade the household without the Absolute Ruler's permission.
ᛗ Citizen Management
A new Citizen Management button had appeared within the Household Proclamation skill.
When I pressed it, the four photos I had seen earlier appeared again, accompanied by brief statistics.
□ Choi Hyungjun (Trust: 24) (Lv. 9)
□ Park Hyewon (Trust: 18) (Lv. 5)
□ Choi Nayeon (Trust: 33) (Lv. 3)
□ Choi Seoyeon (Trust: 42) (Lv. 2)
Current Population: (4 / 600)
"600 people?"
The number at the end was probably the total capacity of citizens I could accept. Since the number "4" was displayed at the front, I was sure of it.
But that number was way too large.
'So I can accept 596 more people? Isn't that number a bit excessive?'
I instinctively realized that this feature would play an incredibly important role.
"Choi Hyungjun."
I called out one of the four citizens, and more detailed information appeared.
『Name: Choi Hyungjun (Lv. 9)
Trust: 24
Awakened Abilities: None
EXP Distribution Rate: 0%
Settlement Fund Distribution Rate: 0%
★ Assign Quest Expel』
EXP Distribution Rate and Settlement Fund Distribution Rate.
These meant that the experience points and earnings from the citizens' hunts would be transferred to me.
And I could adjust the distribution rates however I wanted.
'Could this be…?'
Was this function not something that had newly appeared due to my level increase?
Had it actually been there from the very beginning?
Maybe I just hadn't been able to grant citizenship because no one else had been in my home.
'Something always felt off.'
At first, I had thought my skill was strangely restrictive.
It was great that it created a perfect safe zone within my home, but in return, I was trapped inside.
'But if I could have granted citizenship from the start, that changes everything.'
If someone had been living with me from the beginning, I could have simply granted them citizenship.
Then, the experience they earned from hunting would have been transferred directly to me.
'So that's how I was supposed to grow.'
One thing had become clear after my battle with Kellykan—
My ability was far more overpowered than I had initially thought.
I still wasn't sure exactly how strong a Level 27 was.
But at the very least, I was confident that I could withstand most monster attacks.
"If I had been at my family home from the beginning instead of here, everything would have been resolved."
My parents were taking care of my grandparents in a two-story house. If I had awakened there, everything would have been different.
Not only could I have protected my family safely, but I also wouldn't have had any trouble growing my abilities.
"Hunting wouldn't be a problem either."
Thinking about how I hunted the Kellican, I could have hunted plenty without even leaving the house.
All I had to do was leave the front gate open and attack the monsters from inside.
Come to think of it, the reason I ended up so isolated was entirely because I awakened my abilities in a high-rise apartment on the 30th floor.
If it had been the first floor, I could have stabbed goblins from the living room window and grown stronger.
"If I hadn't been lucky, I would have died without achieving anything."
Originally, my ability was meant to control citizens from the start to help me grow, but I had only now barely gained the ability to command them.
"Should I call it fortunate?"
In the end, everything had worked out well.
"But what is this?"
There was one particular thing in Choi Hyungjun's citizen information window that caught my attention.
"Quest Assignment."
Ding!
The quest assignment window was divided into four sections: quest details, time limit, success reward, and failure penalty.
I tried filling in each section as a test.
"Hunt one goblin. The time limit is generous—one week. No reward. No failure penalty."
Ding!
"Quest Assignment"
Quest Details: Hunt a goblin (0/1)
Time Limit: 168 hours 00 minutes 00 seconds
Reward: Small amount of experience points.
Failure Penalty: None.
[Would you like to assign this quest as is?]
[Yes / No]
A quest window appeared exactly as I had set it.
The strange part was the reward section. I had clearly chosen "none," but a small amount of experience points was still listed as a reward.
"So there's a basic reward no matter what. In that case… how far can I go with the failure penalty?"
It wasn't out of malice.
I was just curious about the limits.
Since I had confirmed that the quest wouldn't be assigned immediately, I decided to experiment.
"Modify failure penalty: Death."
Ding!
"Quest Assignment"
Quest Details: Hunt a goblin (0/1)
Time Limit: 168 hours 00 minutes 00 seconds
Reward: Small amount of experience points.
Failure Penalty: Death.
[Would you like to assign this quest as is?]
[Yes / No]
"…No."
[Quest assignment canceled.]
…So it really worked.
I could set the quest details and the time limit however I wanted, but the fact that there were no restrictions on the failure penalty was shocking.
The meaning was clear.
"I can kill a citizen whenever I want."
It meant that I held the power of life and death over the citizens.
It wasn't even difficult.
Even if it was just a simple quest to hunt a single goblin, setting the time limit to one second would be as good as a death sentence.
"Crazy."
A chill ran down my spine as I faced the true nature of my skill.
The lives of four people—no, four citizens whom I had accepted—were in my hands. That thought alone made my shoulders feel unbearably heavy.
For the first time, I was afraid of my own power.
'So this is the Housebound Overlord skill…'
Just like its name suggested, within the confines of my home, I wielded absolute authority.
'…What do I do?'
There were many ways I could use the citizens.
In extreme cases, I could treat them like chess pieces by assigning quests strategically.
If I imposed death as the penalty, they would have no choice but to risk their lives hunting.
If I wanted, I could exploit them as much as I wanted.
'I could even order them to go and rescue Mom and Dad through a quest.'
But…
'Would they actually be willing to complete the quest? No, more importantly, do they even have the ability to do so?'
The neighbor, Choi Hyung-jun, was only level 9.
Taking down a goblin wouldn't be a problem—goblins were merely level 6 or 7 at best.
But the outside world was dangerous, with monsters like the level 27 Kellikans roaming around.
'Even if that's not the case, if a horde of goblins attacks, they'll die in an instant.'
That wouldn't accomplish anything.
'I need to train them until they can easily overpower a goblin horde. Either that or form a team strong enough to handle it. Only then will there be a chance of rescuing Mom and Dad.'
The method was simple.
Since there was an experience distribution system, that meant the citizens could level up by hunting monsters.
So, all I had to do was keep giving them hunting quests.
Forcing them to do it wouldn't be a problem, but I didn't want to.
Not only would it be morally wrong, but they would also start resenting me.
And that resentment could become a dangerous variable when it came to saving my parents.
'In the worst case, Mom and Dad could end up in danger.'
I didn't need mere pawns that blindly followed orders.
I needed people who would move for me willingly.
'A forceful quest system won't achieve that.'
To gain people, I first had to win their hearts.
'I need a win-win strategy.'
Having made my decision, I prepared to head to the neighbor's house.
But then, I caught sight of myself in the full-length mirror by the entrance and stopped.
An unkempt beard, a worn-out tracksuit—the very image of an unemployed bum.
On top of that, I was drenched in sweat from my recent battle with the Kellikans.
'I should clean up first.'
I knew how important first impressions were when dealing with people.
Shhhhhh
As I stood under the warm water, checking my skill window, I noticed something I hadn't seen before.
"Huh?"
Housebound Overlord's Shop Lv. 1 [+]
Allows you to purchase registered items at a fixed price.
[Skill Points Available: 3]
Housebound Overlord's Dignity Maintenance (Passive) Lv. 1 [+]
Restores and maintains the overall functions of the household.
[Skill Points Available: 3]
Housebound Overlord's Storage Lv. 1 [+]
A subspace for storing items.
[Skill Points Available: 3]
A plus sign had appeared next to the skill levels.
'I can level up my skills!'
Finally, I could register more items in the shop.
'As expected, I can't upgrade the Housebound Declaration skill with skill points.'
The only skills with a plus sign were the shop, dignity maintenance, and storage.
The wallet skill was already at max level, so that made sense. And though the newly acquired Overlord's Eye skill was at level 1, it didn't have a plus button.
'Maybe it levels up through usage?'
Either way, it didn't matter.
I had already decided which skill to upgrade first.
[Are you sure you want to upgrade the Housebound Overlord's Shop skill?]
"Yes."
At that moment, the skill window flashed gold.
Wuuung!
[Housebound Overlord's Shop skill has leveled up to Lv. 2.]
[The number of items that can be registered has increased to 20.]
[All item prices are now 10% cheaper.]
"Oh?"
I had expected the item limit to increase.
But a discount on all items as well?
"Not bad."
Now, I had 2 skill points left.
Just in case, I checked the shop skill again, but this time, there was no plus button.
'There must be conditions for leveling up.'
I had a guess.
'Maybe I need to fill the 20-item limit before I can level it up again?'
I had already planned what to register.
My top priority was brand-new, unused essentials—things like shower supplies and toilet paper.
'Let's give it a try.'