That look in his eyes was somewhat ambiguous. To me, it seemed full of temptation. Faced with such an obvious question, I still instinctively nodded. Come on, who in the world doesn’t want to be emperor? But why was this guy asking me that?

The man, having received a positive answer, beamed with joy: “In that case, I will switch with you. You become the emperor, and I’ll be you.”

My mind instantly went blank. This was simply unbelievable. I looked around carefully—could this be some TV station playing a prank on me? These days, variety shows that mess with innocent civilians have really high ratings. If I actually believed it and stripped right here, I’d be exposing myself to the whole nation. I’d never be able to show my face again.

“Hurry up, will you? This transfer space won’t last much longer.” The guy claiming to be the emperor glanced around, as if estimating the time.

He looked so real that I couldn’t help but believe him. If a TV station really found someone who looked exactly like me just to prank me, well, I’d accept it. At least I’d get a hefty compensation afterward.

Still, I was a bit cunning. I quickly said, “If what you say is true, then you take your clothes off first. As long as you do, I’ll do it too.”

He looked like he wanted to get angry, but forced himself to hold it in. In just a few moves, he stripped off all his clothes.

“Stop, leave the last one on,” I quickly stopped him as he was about to remove the final layer. Damn, if someone caught us both naked on camera, how could I live with myself?

“Fine, we won’t swap that one. Your turn,” he said, a bit excited but with a slightly ashen face. “Hurry up, don’t you know it’s winter?”

Screw it! I gritted my teeth—after all, I was at the end of my rope. What if—just what if—he was telling the truth? I’d be set for life. After all, as someone who often browses the internet, I read a lot of fantasy novels, so I’d developed some immunity to supernatural events. Plus, I remembered those fortune-tellers who scammed my family, which gave me a bit more confidence.

I quickly took off my clothes and emptied my pockets of all my belongings. We swapped, and I put on the dragon robe. The freezing weather forced me to act fast, so I dressed as quickly as I could.

This outfit’s design was really perverse. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t put it on right.

“How do you guys design your clothes? Why are they so complicated?” That guy, playing the villain, was the first to complain about my clothes.

I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw him struggling—he couldn’t put on my clothes either. This proved that what he said was probably true. If it were a TV station prank, how could he not know how to wear regular clothes?

Thinking of this, a warm, floating feeling welled up inside me. Could it be—could I really be about to become emperor? The guy in front of me suddenly seemed kind of cute. I walked over and, in a few quick moves, helped him put on the clothes.

“Your turn, help me put on this ridiculously complicated outfit!” I demanded.

“How dare you ask I to help you get dressed?” He raised his eyebrows, getting angry.

“How dare what? Come on, don’t forget, we’ve switched now. I’m the emperor.” I glared and snapped.

“Uh, actually! I doesn’t know how to put it on either. Usually, the servants dress I,” he muttered softly, his face a little red, looking embarrassed.

Ha! I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Damn, there are really idiots in this world who don’t even know how to dress themselves. But after laughing, I realized a serious problem. If neither of us could put it on, didn’t that mean...

“Alright, let’s just leave it at that.” He flashed a sly grin and walked toward the shimmering light: “Time’s up. Good luck. I is never going back to that hellhole.”

“What do you mean, just leave it at that? What am I supposed to do?” I cried out in shock, clutching a pile of complicated clothes. “Don’t go!”

The swirling light in front of me suddenly began to spin faster and faster. As it spun, I grew dizzy and suddenly passed out.

I had no idea how long I slept.

In a daze, I vaguely heard someone shouting from far away: “Your Majesty, where are you?”

I forced my eyes open, only to find myself surrounded by darkness, with only a waning moon casting a faint glow. Suddenly, a chill swept over me, making me shiver all over. That’s when I realized I was only wearing underwear.

Struggling to my feet, I wrapped the dragon robe tightly around myself, finally feeling a bit warmer. My bag—I suddenly remembered it. I immediately spotted my travel bag on the ground, along with some of the things that had been in my pockets, scattered nearby.

With trembling hands, I picked up my cigarettes. My fingers were so numb from the cold that it took ages to light one.

I took a deep drag, and as the nicotine hit my brain, my nerves relaxed a bit and I started to feel warmer.