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Her Eternal Excellency, a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, Raiden Ei Reborn as Argella Durrandon, is 15 chapters ahead
DCU:Blacklist, a Raymond Reddington inspired OC SI using his knowledge for his own advantage, as well as the rest of the world, is 15 chapters ahead,
Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World, a Robert Baratheon OC SI in an AU, is 15 chapters ahead,
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—
Storm Kingdom
Storm's End
11 BAC
Knowledge was one form of power, and to that end, Ei had frequently visited the library of Storm's End.
Impressed by her drive to learn—a rare thing, seeing as the Storm Kings preferred to punch their problems until they became a bloody mess—Maester Larry had offered to teach her Valyrian, the language of Old Valyria and the Dragonlords.
As they were at the bottom of her list of things to worry about, Ei had not spared time to learn about them, but now that the farming machines were under production, she had decided to rest for a while and took the opportunity offered.
To her disappointment and ire, the greatest empire this world had seen was a despotic cesspool of slavery, blood magic, other dark arts, and horrific experiments performed on people.
Had they not already perished, Ei would not have hesitated to obliterate them the second she learned just what kind of people they were.
Alas, the majority of them were destroyed by the event named the "Doom," and only the houses Targaryen, Velaryon, and Celtigar had survived.
As they did not practice slavery nor the mentioned blood magic and dark arts, Ei saw no need to start a conflict with them.
Another interesting part was their dragons.
As far as she understood from the books, they were merely flying lizards capable of breathing fire, nothing like the Sovereign Dragons.
After learning the language, Ei saw no need to further learn about the Valyrians.
Her time could be spent better elsewhere.
—
Ei finished the blueprints in a week, working on and off, as she was also busy with inspecting the agricultural machinery production, training, and growing her paper business.
She showed the plans to her father, who naturally did not understand much and summoned Hammond the Blacksmith and Maester Larry to take a look.
The men began to inspect the drawings with a fervor, conversing animatedly regarding the feasibility of the proposed forges.
"My King, if these forges work, we could arm more men than we ever have," Hammond exclaimed. While he was no engineer, the concept of these Iron Works was easy to grasp, and if they worked, well, his work would be easier.
A lot easier.
Maester Larry agreed, giddy on his feet. The blueprints were a marvel, not because they were something complex and beyond his grasp, but because they brought together several already existing concepts.
Riverrun had large water wheels they used to control the gates, bellows and hammers were an inseparable part of a forge, and blast furnaces were known in Essos. That the princess had brought them together so easily and turned all three into a single construct made him question how he or anyone else never thought to do something like that.
Larry was sure the maesters at the Citadel would think the same.
He made to take the blueprints, but the princess proved to be swifter and snatched them from Hammond.
"Ah, Princess, I was hoping to study the blueprints," he said, nervously shuffling his hands at the dispassionate look the princess gave him.
"For what purpose? If there is something you did not understand, I could explain it," Ei offered; after all, she intended to employ the maester to oversee the construction while she was busy with other affairs, and making sure he had a full grasp of the blueprints would ensure more seamless work.
"No, I understood the blueprints; I just wish to send a copy of them to the Citadel. I am sure the Maesters would be glad to have a marvel like this in the library," he explained, looking hopeful that the Princess would understand.
"You may not." Ei blinked before refusing the offer, annoyed at the mention of the Citadel and the maesters.
They had refused her request to borrow several books, citing "they are only open to our highest-ranking members" and whatnot, as if they couldn't have simply just sent her a copy.
If they wished to hoard their knowledge, so be it, but Ei would respond in kind and not share her knowledge in return.
"But…" Maester Larry said, thinking about appealing to her better nature.
"No buts, Maester Larry. As long as the Citadel refuses to share their knowledge, I shall treat them much the same. Nothing about any of my creations shall be sent to the Citadel, and that is the end of it." It usually took a god to make Ei lose control of her emotions, but the undisputed monopoly the Citadel kept on knowledge for thousands of years and did nothing besides serving the lords?
No schools to teach the people, no assistance by the maesters to solve the common problems smallfolk faced every day, and no attempt to use their vast libraries and the political strength they held to improve the atrocious conditions the majority of the populace lived under?
Had someone done this in Inazuma, well, divine thunder struck even when the skies were clear.
Maester Larry felt a shiver in his spine and felt the words die in his mouth.
He nodded and quickly left, followed by Hammond, who looked much the same.
As for the king, he found it amusing how a girl of nine name days old scared grown men.
"So, daughter, how did you come up with this Iron Works of yours?" While Argilac was not a bookworm, he still knew of the history of his house and could say with confidence that they were all warriors, not builders, save perhaps for the legendary Durran Godsgrief.
"Call it a divine inspiration." His daughter offered no further explanation, and Argilac snorted.
After all, she worshipped the gods as much as he did.
"How much is this going to cost?" Argilac might be a warrior, but unlike most others, he was well versed in how to handle the coin and keep the books.
Ruling a kingdom that had already been in dire straits for a long while made him consider where every penny went, lest things get worse.
Ei had already calculated the amount she had and how much it would cost to build the Iron Works. Every single silver stag she had would cover roughly half of the production costs.
"A hundred thousand silver stags in total. I have enough to cover a quarter of the costs; our coffers will have to cover the rest." Ei knew this project would require readjusting the budgets, but as the Storm Kingdom did not have the abundance of natural wealth the Westerlands had nor the fertile lands of the Reach, an industrial revolution would be their best option.
I would see to it.
"I know how much allowance I give you, Argella; it is nowhere near that much." Argilac leaned forward, puzzled.
"I have my own means of earning silver." Argilac frowned at this. You didn't get that much coin from selling embroidery.
"I own half of the paper business booming in Weeping Town. As it is a product everyone needs, there is no issue with selling it."
Argilac was dumbfounded. He had seen the machine and watched as it created sheets of paper that would take days of work.
The amount of wealth it brought to the Weeping Town had drawn the interest of the whole of the kingdom.
"That was you? But how?" Argilac had tried to find the man called Carn behind this machine, but as if the ground had split and swallowed him, no one could.
"I designed the machine and used intermediaries to see it put into production. I have been saving it, as I had no need to spend it," Ei explained, but of course it was easier said than done.
Designing and building the machine, then bringing it to Weeping Town to find a trustworthy partner to oversee the production and maintenance and train workers was time-consuming, especially as she had to constantly travel between Storm's End and Weeping Town to avoid suspicion at home, but she managed.
"I am surprised Grandfather did not tell you, though." Ei commented, and she truly was. Something like this should have been brought to his attention, certainly?
"He did not, but then again, men start forgetting things at his age." Argilac winked, inwardly furious at his good father.
One did not live to his age by forgetting things, and the Storm King was sure he did not tell him that on purpose.
He would find out why.
"Tell me more about this paper-making machine of yours. I heard Gardes and the Hightowers got into a fight over it." Argilac, despite his good father's schemes, was still in a good mood, especially after learning who actually was responsible for the latest dispute in the Reach.
While every place of trade produced parchment, and paper to a lesser degree, Oldtown having the Citadel meant they produced more than most and could affect the price of it as they wished.
Cheap and good-quality paper flowing out of Weeping Town undercut their business, and the Hightowers did not like it at all.
Rumors said Lord Hightower petitioned King Gardes to ban paper from the Storm Kingdom, but apparently King Gardener refused, saying competition was good for trade.
While the paper trade itself was nowhere near big enough to start a dispute, Gardes' dismissive attitude was.
Argilac was just happy to see any disagreement amongst the Reach.
—
Next Day
Budget adjustments here were intense, to say the least. Ei, owing to her previous position, had done just as much, though it was usually to allocate several million moras to fund a festival, not seventy-five thousand silver stags to cover three-quarters of the cost of the Iron Works.
King Argilac started with a plan to reduce the already allocated coin, distributing the cut amongst different expenses to reduce the impact.
Unexpected, yet perfectly logical, and Ei thought that would work.
It did not.
The master-at-arms, apparently also responsible for the repairs around the castle, was the first one to request exemption, citing that he had already ordered materials and promised payment.
Next was Maester Larry, raising concerns over his need to restock his healing supplies.
As the castle lacked a queen to oversee the management of larders, winter clothing, and other daily necessities, the head maid, stranded with the responsibility, came forward, informing the king about the rising prices of grain and meat, both due to the approaching winter and the poor harvests, saying they may not be able to fully stock for the winter if they faced cuts.
Argilac massaged his forehead, veins pulsing.
Ei ignored the whole thing halfway, barely listening as she tried to come up with a way to find the necessary silver herself.
Increasing the price of the paper was one way, but that would still take time.
Time she did not wish to waste.
Huh, the God of Eternity, yet here she was, impatient.
Ei shook her head.
Perhaps she could find a gold mine or something? That way, there would always be a steady source of income.
She couldn't do it herself, as once again, it was out of her domain, but that didn't mean she couldn't build a machine to detect natural sources, not only gold but also silver, copper, iron, coal, and everything else.
A consideration for the future, as it would take even longer than raising the price of the paper, and if they couldn't spare enough silver for this, they never would be able to do it for the development of a mine.
Perhaps treasure hunting?
After abolishing the Vision Hunt Decree, she and Aether had traveled around Inazuma, going on a friendly trip rather than a ruler inspecting her lands, and they had found treasure chests, whether hidden in some crevice or behind a puzzle or in the possession of outlaws like the Treasure Hoarders.
She had let her friend take the treasure chests, as she had no need for their contents.
Spending time with a friend was worth more than any treasure to her.
Memories aside, if she could find treasure chests here, perhaps that could solve her problems, but where to find chests?
But there were no treasure hoarders here, nor monsters to guard chests, nor puzzles with rewards at the end, left behind by people long gone.
She leaned on the wall, her eyes drifting outside, completely ignoring the throne room now.
Perhaps she could just go and raid some Ironborn ships? Then sink them, of course.
It was only fair after all.
Ei straightened herself, eyes locked forward.
Perhaps there was no need to go and search for a ship to sink.