Kal's emotions at this moment were both complicated and a tangled mess.
After doing so much to change things, he had originally thought he had altered Robert's fate. Yet he had been away from King's Landing for only ten days, and Robert still died at high speed in exactly the same way as in the original story.
To be honest, Kal did not even know what expression he should be making now.
Because according to his original plan, he wanted to use this opportunity to let himself grow for a period of time.
At least eight or ten years—until he had completely swallowed and digested the Westerlands—before plotting anything regarding the Iron Throne.
Because within that span of time, Kal was confident he could make Robert acknowledge him and legitimize him.
And now, yes, he was legitimized, but Robert died, and the timing was completely wrong.
This sudden awkward choice had completely thrown all his plans into chaos.
It even hung him high up, leaving him stuck in a dilemma, ending with him landing nowhere.
To put it plainly, with his current status as a bastard and his bloodline, plus his situation with no foundation at all, sitting on the Iron Throne…
For him, there would be no benefit.
The disadvantages completely outweighed the advantages.
Even if he simply gave up resisting and forcibly relied on his "absolute" strength to defeat all enemies, what he could gain in the end might not even compare to what House Targaryen once possessed.
At least Aegon the Conqueror was nothing like him.
Because House Targaryen, no matter how one looked at it, was still a deeply established family.
Their ancestors had wealth without limit; they were one of the dragonlord families, with multiple dragons—the ultimate symbol of absolute force.
That was the foundation that allowed him to unify the Seven Kingdoms.
But for Kal, right now he was just a bare, lone figure, and even the subordinates he currently had were people he had spent a whole year assembling only through various coincidences.
As someone who was, in every sense, alone and unsupported, forcing himself onto the Iron Throne at this point would not bring him a single advantage.
If he could bring people from the game world out — even dragons — that would at least be something worth discussing. In that case, his background would be far thicker than any Targaryen dragonlord lineage.
But up until now, he had not found any way to bring any creature or anything of the sort from the game world into this one.
And to speak honestly, Kal was also somewhat afraid of truly bringing characters from the game world into this world.
Because if those people were unconditionally and absolutely loyal to him, that would be fine.
But if, once they appeared outside, they underwent unknown changes — like his stone dragon egg — because of some unknown reason, then Kal truly had no confidence he would be able to control them.
Although in the world of Ice and Fire, aside from not being able to fly or breathe fire, Kal was currently absolutely as powerful as a dragon in human form.
With such strength giving him an effective layer of protection, he even dared to directly fight the Night King and end the threat of the Long Night.
But when it came to certain creatures from that other world, Kal had no confidence at all.
Whether it was the Dark Elf Witch living in the Tower of Terror, or the Succubus daughter who looked like she had been born from him but was not even the same species.
Or the High Priestess of the temple, the Elven Sorceress, the pet that matured according to desire by a god's gift, or even the dragons.
Toward these spellcasters — whose true age he could not guess and who were linked to those powerful gods in the background stories — Kal was certain that if they wished, every one of them would absolutely have countless ways to kill him, this so-called player.
At least the dragons and the Dark Elf Witch of the Tower of Terror definitely had that ability.
And there was also the Spider Queen in the tunnels beneath the Tower of Terror — if she got serious, she could crunch him in one bite.
Because that thing was, in a certain sense, immune to magic, and Kal's lightning had absolutely no effect on her.
And with that enormous body, and her nature as an incarnation of some god, killing him would be more than easy.
This was also why, even though Kal possessed near-invincible martial power in some respects in this world, he still always acted with extreme caution.
Because in this world there truly were real gods — the kind that could manifest miracles, grant all sorts of wonders, and even bring the dead back to life.
As for the game world, the witches and the others restrained their own actions according to certain rules and, in essence, were more like NPCs—beings without souls or true self-awareness.
Their primary purpose was to serve Kal, the player.
This was clearly visible after Kal had children with the mayor's wife or the halfling girl from the bakery.
Because those "children" would never grow up, and they also lacked their own consciousness.
They simply acted day after day along the predetermined life track set for them, and neither they nor anyone else would realize anything.
Or rather, they simply did not possess anything that could be called such awareness.
But if they truly came into this world, Kal could not say for sure.
If they really existed in this real world, they might automatically complete the missing rules of the game world and truly become living individuals.
At that point, Kal had no confidence he would be able to stuff them back in.
If they truly could be brought into this world, and if they could still be like they were in the game world — still bound by those world-class rules, still able to maintain some form of relationship with him—
Then with just them alone, Kal could truly become a godlike existence in the world of Ice and Fire.
But Kal could not gamble.
Because in the game world he was the player, and all rules essentially existed to rely on him and serve him; he was, in a sense, the true god of the game world.
His strength was overwhelming in the world of Ice and Fire, but in the game world it was only barely passing.
This was also why Kal had always been fixated on that stone dragon egg of his.
...
Using the interval when Jon and Sam—who had knelt to swear fealty—stood up and came to the table, Kal quickly sorted out his thoughts in his heart.
So when the four of them sat down, under the candlelight, Kal already had a rough idea in his mind about the plan he would follow next.
Then Tyrion's gaze turned toward the young Maester who was still standing, one who was only here for practice and to find a temporary position.
"Maester Lawson, should you not make some statement?"
Although the Citadel's order of Maesters had, from its founding, established rules of neutrality—being a purely scholarly order, serving all lords and even merchants—
Tyrion would not truly be that naïve.
"I know what I should do, Lord Tyrion Lannister, and… His Grace the King."
Seeing that Tyrion Lannister—who had been wary of him ever since receiving the letter—had finally shown his fangs, this young Maester could only sit down with a bitter expression, lest he end up dying of some sudden illness.
And seeing Maester Lawson being bullied like a timid young wife, Kal had no choice but to play the good face and speak words of comfort.
"We need your knowledge to assist us in certain matters. Maester Lawson, you need not mind any of this. At the very least, your skill with ravens has already given us great help."
"I obey Your Grace's will."
What else could Lawson say?
'All the stern words and soft words had already been spoken by the two of you—what am I supposed to do now, truly dig into the earth and flee?'
"So now let us return to the main matter. Tyrion, regarding the information in that letter, what do you think?"
Receiving a response, Kal did not wish to waste more time. He turned his head, returned to the earlier topic, and continued as he looked toward Tyrion:
Tyrion had already spent an entire night thinking after getting the message, so of course he knew what Kal wished to know.
"Your Grace wishes to ask whether you should return to King's Landing to claim everything that ought to be yours, or whether we should still follow your original plan and head to Casterly Rock in the Westerlands to formally make this land acknowledge that you are its true lord?"
Kal nodded. "I do not believe Stannis Baratheon or Renly Baratheon will surrender the throne to me so easily."
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