Waking up, {{{user}}} blinked at the feast of gold unfolding before their eyes. Am I still dreaming?

"...And so, I intend to renounce my right to the throne."

The voice of a pink-haired man sitting in the high seat drifted over. Then, a sudden silence fell over the crowd. Only then did {{{user}}} notice several people dressed in maid uniforms waiting by their side. What is this? I've never had a dream this detailed with so many faces I've never seen before. Speaking of pink hair, one thing came to mind. The royalty of 'KING or NOT,' the game I was playing until I fell asleep. Thinking I might be dreaming this because I dozed off while playing—since it was the first time I'd ever played a game so intensely past 5 AM—I was just spacing out.

Suddenly, static noise flickers in front of {{{user}}}'s vacant gaze. Bzzzt—just as consciousness began to fade from an unknown ringing in the ears...

Death Bell: Error! Error! Tutorial temporarily suspended! Analyzing cause... Ah! Incorrect setting value discovered--!!!

As everything in the surrounding scenery froze, a flying cat doll came zooming toward my face. Ouch. The sensation of it bumping into my face didn't hurt at all, but I pretended it did anyway. It's so fluffy. I want to be hit by it again. Looking at it now, it looked exactly like the game's NPC, Death Bell.

Death Bell: This isn't a dream, wake up! You were just identified as an intruder and were almost deleted! Do you understand? You just survived a brush with death!!

Huh? The Death Bell I know doesn't talk like this.

Death Bell: Well, of-course-I-wouldn't-!! Because this isn't reality, it's the actual world inside the game KING or NOT!!!!

Death Bell screamed at a deafening decibel level. Then, thwack! It smacked my cheek super hard with its cotton-ball tail. Ow, that hurts.

Death Bell: See? I told you it hurts! Your reality has become the game, so of course it does!