landbeastnovel Chapter 1 Congratulations on becoming the first... leader of the Secret Cult!
Chapter 1 Congratulations on becoming the first... leader of the Secret Cult!
What's it like to become the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on your very first day in this world?
Winston Wheeler: Thanks for the invitation, but this is a big question.
It is now known that it is 1888 AD, the famous Victorian era.
Winston is from Earth in 2026.
It sounds like this is just a normal time travel.
But what if someone told you that the full name of the British Empire here is "The Holy Catholic Union of Great Britain"?
There isn't even a word for "kingdom"!
When Winston first transmigrated, he hadn't yet inherited the original owner's memories, so upon hearing the full name of the country, he naturally had a question:
The Holy Catholic Covenant of Great Britain... What do you mean by "Holy Catholic"?
Catholicism?
Did Henry VIII's religious reformation fail in a parallel universe? Is England now a theocratic state authorized by the Papacy and ruled by the monarch?
With this question in mind, Winston encountered a blonde, blue-eyed beauty on his way to Westminster Palace. She handed Winston a small card with an ambiguous smile.
Winston looked down in surprise and saw that it read: "My friend, may I trouble you for a few minutes? I would like to talk to you about our Heavenly Father and Savior."
"..."
Are your Heavenly Father and Savior serious?
"Ignore these people; they're just homeless people and a scam gang."
The person who said this was Detective Inspector Angus McLeod of the Metropolitan Police Headquarters.
"The only true God worshipped in Great Britain is Queen Victoria. Although we have been forced to recognize the status of ancient gods in other countries, that is only a temporary measure. It would be best if you could deport these heretics after you become Prime Minister."
After listening, Winston replied with only one word, displaying the unfathomable demeanor of a statesman:
"what?"
Angus McLeod said, "Isn't your campaign manifesto 'It is our duty to restore the Queen's glory'? I think that to achieve this goal, we should start by expelling the infidels."
Before Winston could explain, the inspector patted him firmly on the shoulder and encouraged him:
"Go ahead, Mr. Wheeler, we've arrived at Westminster Palace. Congratulations again on your election victory! When you walk out of these doors, we'll be calling you Your Excellency the Prime Minister, ha ha!"
The dark doors of Westminster Palace closed behind us.
Winston stood in the middle of the red carpet, his blood pressure soaring and he felt dizzy.
There were far more people in the palace than he had imagined. Looking around, there was a dense crowd, most of them dressed in suits and ties, with receding hairlines, serious faces, and sharp eyes.
Do you politicians have a standardized image training course?
Winston thought.
Will I be expelled from British politics because I'm not bald enough?
"Your Excellency Prime Minister, please come forward."
The emcee's voice sounded dull and muffled to Winston's ears.
Winston's feet and knees moved forward involuntarily. He could smell the sweat on his forehead mixed with the sweet scent of hair wax, as well as the smell of tobacco and mildew wafting from the distant parliamentary seats. As he moved forward, his gaze passed over the throngs of black top hats and caught a glimpse of a throne draped in velvet on the high platform.
The throne is empty.
But he knew there were "people" sitting there.
At that moment, fragments of memory, like sharp glass, slicing through Winston's brain.
In the original owner's memory, Queen Victoria was "perceived" to be sitting on the throne during every parliamentary meeting.
In people's imagination, she wears a crown and a gown studded with pearls, her skin is as pale as the dead of winter, and her eyes are like two tunnels leading to the seabed, forever gazing in a direction that mortals cannot understand.
"In Her Majesty the Queen's name, you are appointed Prime Minister of the Holy Catholic Covenant of Great Britain, Sir Winston Wheeler."
The master of ceremonies suddenly raised his voice, "May His Majesty's rule last as long as the sun never sets—"
"Buzz!"
A very faint buzzing sound rang in Winston's mind.
His vision blurred, and he suddenly stopped in his tracks, almost tripping over the edge of his leather shoes.
The surrounding whispers receded like a tide, and pale blue dots appeared at the edge of Winston's vision. These dots quickly converged into lines of floating text:
[The British Empire Assets and Order Management Terminal V3.57 is launching...]
[Loading historical data... Historical data loading error, world line conflict.]
[Parallel Universe History Patch V1888 detected, downloading...]
[Parallel universe history patch installed successfully. 'British Empire Assets and Order Management Terminal V357' is starting up... Startup successful!]
[Current timeline: 1888 AD, 752nd year of the Old Gods' Descendence.]
[Today's Earth Knowledge Tip: The Victorian era is considered the golden age of the British Empire. During Queen Victoria's reign, a total of 356 prime ministers were elected, with a median term of 89 days!]
[You've checked in for 1 consecutive days! Congratulations! Your tenure has surpassed 0.1% of your predecessors!]
Great! The time-traveling cheat has appeared!
With time running out and the task at hand, Winston suppressed his excited heart and trembling hands, quickly skimming through the preceding nonsense before fixing his gaze on the words "current world line".
The year 1888... wait?
What is the ancient god descent era that follows?
And were there really 356 prime ministers during the Victorian era...? Isn't something wrong?
"Your Excellency?" The master of ceremonies looked at the new prime minister, who was frozen in place, with a puzzled expression, and reminded him in a low voice, "You need to take the oath of office. His Majesty is still waiting."
Winston snapped out of his daze and realized he was standing just three steps away from the throne.
A cold gaze emanated from the empty throne before him, a feeling as if countless transparent, slimy tentacles were slowly climbing up Winston's spine.
Winston had a splitting headache for some reason. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to look down at the oath text in front of him.
"I, Winston Wheeler, hereby swear allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen..."
His voice, proclaiming his loyalty, was incredibly dry, even less fluent than a primary school student reciting a text: "I will defend the glory of Great Britain with my life..."
[Host has completed inauguration ceremony; system functions unlocked]
The basic panel is now activated.
[Host: Winston Wheeler]
[Position: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]
[WARNING! Version conflict! This job is not compatible with the previous patch V1888!! Forcing yourself to take this job may lead to confusion, anxiety, panic, and abnormal perception, and in severe cases, it may be fatal!!!]
[Attempting to uninstall the "Prime Minister" position... Uninstallation failed. *beep beep beep beep* Hahahaha! This is the first time I've ever seen something so interesting happen!!]
[Loading new version of the class for you...]
[Loading successful!]
[Host: Winston Wheeler]
[Position: Head of a Tantric sect (concurrently serving as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom)]
Winston: "...???"
What did you say about part-time jobs?
How can a cult leader and the British Prime Minister be put together? What's the difference between this and strawberry dumplings?
At the same time, the "duduli dudu da da" in the middle also left him feeling a bit lost.
My cheat code seems a bit off.
Seeing the new prime minister once again standing there in a daze, the master of ceremonies had no choice but to say helplessly, "Your Excellency, it is time for you to walk up to Her Majesty the Queen and give her a kiss on the hand."
No!
A strong sense of resistance suddenly rose within Winston!
He didn't want to go any further! His intuition told him that continuing to get closer to that "Her Majesty" would have terrible consequences!
However, his body betrayed his brain, and spontaneously stepped forward after the master of ceremonies finished speaking.
step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
He stood directly in front of the throne in full view of everyone.
……
Winston stared intently at the red velvet carpet beneath his feet, not daring to even glance at the throne. Even so, he still suffered severe breathing difficulties, his temples throbbed, and his vision blurred at the edges. The tangled, deep red threads on the carpet seemed to transform into rotting entrails, flowing and stretching into the endless void in the semi-frozen air.
This is all because she was looking at him.
He is watching him.
Congratulations on receiving Queen Victoria's approval!
[You have become the leader of the esoteric organization "British Government". "British Government" is the default name and can be changed later.]
A total of 418 people witnessed your inauguration ceremony at Westminster Palace, the venue of which was a great success. You have gained 275 new followers!
[Note that the low loyalty of your followers, coupled with their limited skills and occupations, may cause difficulties in the later stages of developing your esoteric sect.]
We suggest you try the following two methods to resolve this issue:
[I. Human Sacrifice: Sacrifice one believer or one captured sacrifice in exchange for a gift from Queen Victoria.]
[II. Group Brainwashing: Large-scale gatherings are held, consuming "passion" to increase the loyalty of all believers.]
Even in a semi-conscious and semi-conscious state, Winston was still dumbfounded!
If the system had a physical form, he would like to shake the other person's head to see if he could pour out water.
—Do you want to guess why the jobs of these "peripheral believers" are so limited?
Because they're all members of the House of Lords and the House of Commons!!
Does this mean that if a prime minister murders a member of parliament and sacrifices the body to the queen, it will make that country (or the esoteric religion) thrive...?
"Golden touch? I think you're insane."
Under the combined psychological assault of Queen Victoria and the system panel, Winston could no longer withstand it.
Instead of kneeling down to kiss the Queen's hand, he let out a long breath, a relieved smile playing on his lips, as if to say, "I must be dreaming." He swayed slightly, his knees buckled, and the world spun before his eyes.
The master of ceremonies at the back froze for two seconds, then, horrified, shouted at the top of his lungs, "Help! The new prime minister has fainted during the inauguration ceremony!!"