Stephen Baratheon POV
"It took some time, my lord, but my contacts finally managed to get in touch with an experienced Glass Maker. One who is willing to work for you in exchange for the freedom of him and his family." Mel told him and he nodded in his astral form.
"Tell me more."
"He is one of the few master glass makers capable of making the highest grade glass lens in Myr." Mel said "He has a family of four. A wife, two daughter who're of age and a young son. He and his family live deep within the mansion of one of the Archons of Myr. And aside from the freedom of his entire family, he has three more demands."
"And they are?"
"His first demand is that you'll allow him to design his glass workshop on his own."
"Granted."
"His second demand is to get a 10% cut from the final profit of the glass products created by him."
He thought on it for a moment before he nodded. "Granted."
"His third and most important demand is to provide him and his family protection from the Myrish people."
"Granted. However, please communicate three requests from me to him," he said. Noticing that Mel was paying attention, he proceeded, "Firstly, upon his arrival in Dragonstone, I expect him to take on at least three apprentices. Secondly, I want him to impart all his knowledge to those apprentices. Lastly, I want him to work a minimum number of hours to produce a certain number of high quality products every week."
Mel gave a small bow. "It'll be done, my lord. Should I send men to try and rescue him or will you do it on your own?"
"I'll do it on my own."acknowledging the unlikelihood of a group of armed men infiltrating an Archon's residence and successfully escaping with the intended target. "I'm a bit busy these days, having to deal with Petyr's mess. but I should have some free time in my hands by the end of this moon. Tell him to be prepared for rescue by that time."
"It'll be done, my lord." Mel said with another bow before she gazed into his eyes, a sly smile forming on her face. "I got your 'special cargo' this morning, by the way."
"Oh. And what are your thoughts on it?"
Mel hummed thoughtfully for a moment before she shrugged. "I have not made my mind just yet. He, or she, now that you've turned him into a girl, seems like a dangerous person to keep alive."
"You're right in your assessment." He told her. "That is why, I want you to keep her locked up until I eventually come back home." He paused. "I want to see if I can capture a Husbando by turning him into a waifu."
"You intend to seduce her?" Mel asked, not looking very surprised.
"I'll only ever be able to trust her once she has been Captured and have become completely loyal to me." He said. "Otherwise, with her long history of manipulation, and betrayal, it would be foolish to put her in any position of power, despite her talents."
Mel pondered for a moment, then leaned forward to offer him a more revealing view of her ample cleavage. "And when will you be returning from King's Landing?" she inquired in a seductive tone.
"The King has asked me to attend his tourney, so probably anywhere between 1 to 2 moons." He informed her, sensing a pang of remorse as he observed the crestfallen expression on her face.
Maybe he should take out some time from his schedule to go to Dragonstone and meet Mel every week or so.
With his flying speed, Dragonstone was only 30 minutes away from Kings Landing. And he won't mind giving up an hour of his time every now and then to keep his primary woman happy and satisfied.
Especially with how hard she was working for him.
He needed to remember to not take his women for granted.
After a few moments of silence, Mel broke the silence. "Missandei is progressing nicely," she commented. "Though she had some initial difficulties adapting, she has now grown accustomed to her new situation and is blossoming into a self-assured young woman."
"Oh? Tell me more." He said with great interest.
And over the next few minutes, Mel regaled him with all the stories about Missandei. How she was turning out to be a brilliant assistant, helping her greatly with her tasks.
"I'll begin assigning her more duties once she becomes proficient in reading and writing in the Common Tongue." Mel told him. "I'm not sure whether she'll sink or swim, but the experience would undoubtedly be valuable for her regardless."
"I'll refer to your experience on this matter." He said and felt amused at the satisfied look on Mel's face.
Despite her 400 years of experience, Mel frequently acted like a young girl seeking validation from him. This behaviour was certainly linked to the Waifu Catalog, but he had no qualms about providing her with recognition as often as he could.
"Now… is there anything else of import you need to inform me about?" He asked and Mel hummed in thought before her eyes lit up in recollection.
"I received a letter from Lord Tarth a few days ago."
"Oh?"
"As per your agreement with him, after the latest failed betrothal, he has sent Lady Brianne to Dragonstone. To learn how to become a knight and serve as a sworn shield for Princess Shireen."
He nodded. "Have you told my mother yet?"
Mel's smile became stiff at that question. "No. I'll have to reveal it in a manner that does not lead to her won't looking down on the poor girl. From what little you've told me of Brienne, the girl already has confidence issues. I don't want her to face more problems from your Lady mother."
He chuckled slightly before responding. "Yes, my mother can be rather biased when reality fails to meet her idealised view of the world," he acknowledged. "Nevertheless, ensure that Brienne's stay at Dragonstone is pleasant. Make her feel welcome and provide her with all the necessary training."
"It'll be done, my lord." Mel said with another bow and he smiled, wanting to caress her cheeks but knowing that it was impossible with his astral body.
"Was there anything else, love?" He asked and smiled upon seeing Mel's cheeks heat up slightly.
"No, my lord. That's all for today."
He nodded and then thought of telling her about the Exit Stage Left that he'd bought. And how close he was to getting 100% and thereby unlocking the next world.
But then decided against it.
He wanted to hold her in his arms and look her in her eyes as he revealed this important bit of news to her.
He nodded. "I'll see if I can fly by to visit you this week. But otherwise, continue the good work Mel. I'm proud of you."
Mel smiled beautifully at him. "Thanks, my lord."
"Love you Mel."
"I love you too, my lord." She said softly.
He nodded and then withdrew his astral form into the Glass Candle before returning to his physical body.
As always, getting back into his physical body felt a bit disorienting but he was getting used to it by this point.
He stopped channeling his magic into the Glass Candle and the room fell into darkness. Though the illumination provided by the moon was more than enough for him to see everything clearly with his highly enhanced eyes.
He looked around the room and smiled at the sight of Lysa sleeping sounding on her bed. And with his Shaper power, he could feel the new life growing within her.
The thought of his future child once again plunged him into deep contemplation.
Ever since he acquired the Exit Stage Left, his perspective on a lot of things had shifted. Choices that were once crystal clear to him now appeared less definite.
Most importantly, he now wondered whether raising his children in a medieval world was really a wise decision.
He would definitely make sure that his children had lands and castles of their own. There was no doubt in that. But a modern day human lives a far better life than even a King from the medieval world.
A human living in the modern era has access to significantly better living standards, travel methods, medicine, education, entertainment, and much more.
Would he doing a disservice to his children by raising them in a medieval world? Or should he take his women and children with him to the other worlds.
Worlds or a world where they might not be nobility but they'll have far more options to do whatever they want in their lives. A world where they won't have to play the part of a prim and proper noble and could live however they want.
Plus, it wasn't like he was really giving up on being a King. If he ever truly desired to be one, then he could move to another low tier universe and take over an entire world.
Hell... universes like the Star Wars were weak enough that he should be able to take over entire worlds in the outer rims without much opposition. Now that he has the key to the vast multiverse, giving up the throne of Westeros wasn't as much of a loss as it one seemed.
These thoughts kept him up at night for hours on end, causing him to question each and every one of his decisions thus far.
Because if he decided to take his women and children to the other worlds, then was there really any point in becoming the King in Westeros.
Of course, he had no intentions of allowing Joffrey to ascend to the throne. But Tommen, being a kind-hearted child, could be shaped into a capable ruler.
He tapped his fingers in indecision. Not liking the fact that he was being this indecisive about everything.
After thinking on it for a moment, he took out a notebook, a quill, and an ink pot, and proceeded to write down the pros and cons of becoming a King of Westeros.
The Pros of being a King of Westeros were:
1. He'll gain a large amount of man power, wealth and influence. Things that he could use to improve the lives of countless millions of people.
2. Becoming a King would provide him with an opportunity to acquire new skills that he would not otherwise have pursued or cared about. It might even give him a useful Title that he would otherwise never get.
3. It would give him the resources to wage a war across the Narrow Sea, thereby enabling him to liberate numerous slaves. Not that he can't defeat Free Cities on his own, but ruling them would become easier if he's also a King.
4. He would be able to provide his women with lands and castles very easily.
5. It would be a simple task to capture Westerosi women once he ascended to the throne, particularly given the historical precedent of Kings maintaining concubines or mistresses.
Then he looked at the Cons of being a King of Westeros
1. Becoming a King is a huge time sink. It's a commitment of a lifetime and he'll have to work for 2 decades if not more before he could abdicate the throne in favour of his son.
2. While being the King of Westeros does provide him with a lot of opportunity to help the millions of common people living in the Continent, it doesn't provide him with many (if any) personal benefits.
3. While he'll get access to a lot of waifus in Westeros, those waifus are only worth 1-2 points. Going to the next world where he would have access to higher tier waifus seems like a far better use of his time.
4. He'll be able to provide a better standard of living for his women and children if he goes to a modern day world in his future jumps. Or he could just buy a Pocket Dimension eventually.
5. He might provide his women and children with castles, but they would still be living in a medieval world. Which does not have the best standards of living.
6. He could always provide them with better castles and lands in other, more developed worlds. That won't be possible if he became a King of Westeros.
He stared at the Pros and Cons for a long moment before he let out a tired sigh as he realised that aside from giving him the ability to help other people, being a King doesn't provide him that many other benefits.
And truth be told, while he did want to help the people in this world, he didn't want to spend his entire life doing it.
Not when there is a vast multiverse out there, full of new opportunities, just waiting for him.
It was not a good feeling to realise that becoming the King of Westeros would only lead to his stagnation. Sure he'll be able to grow stronger at a steady paced thanks to his Gamer System, and growing Shaper Power. But aside from that, he'll be stuck.
He'll not be able to learn new magical systems, get new Quirks, eat Devil Fruits, learn Charka Techniques, become a Super Saiyen, learn Riatsu techniques, get badass swords, or useful magical items etc.
More importantly, he won't get to seduce to fuck beautiful waifus like Tsunade (Naruto), Yoruichi (Bleach), Boa Hancock (One Piece), Erza Scarlett (Fairy Tail), Hermione (Harry Potter), Momo Yaorozu (My Hero Academia), etc.
It was also annoying because he has already invested so much time and effort in this world. In growing his financial and power base, as well as increasing his reputation and building a spy network so that he won't face to many problems once he eventually becomes the King.
And now here he was, wanting to throw it all away so that he could go to the next world.
He let out another sigh as he realised what his dream of becoming a King has turned into.
A Sunk-Cost Fallacy.
A sunk-cost fallacy is a phenomenon whereby a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy or course of action because they have invested heavily in it, even when it is clear that abandonment would be more beneficial.
And the only way to get it out it relatively intact, was to stop putting even more time, money and effort into the previous course of action.
He let out a heavy sigh and looked up at the moon as he finally made his decision.
No. He'll not become the King of Westeros.
—
"More and more lords and knights have started to arrive at Kings Landing every single day." Lord Penrose spoke up in a soft weary voice as he leaned forward at the small council table. "The new Gold Cloak Captain that Prince Stephen has installed in their posts are doing an excellent job at keeping the King's Peace. But the situation is still deteriorating. Only yesterday night, we had two counts of murder, one count of gang rape, three tavern brawls and one horse race through the Street of Silk."
"Awful as this is, this is also nothing new." His father spoke up. "Things like these happen every time a Grand Tourney takes place in Kings Landing. Is there any particular reason why you're bringing this to our attention, Lord Penrose."
The old man hacked a cough before he nodded. "Aye. Under… Petyr Baelish's mismanagement, the Gold Cloak became a corrupt order, with little care in regards to the safety of the small folk of Kings Landing. The *cough cough* the situation is improving now, but it'll take time to bring in more new recruits into the order and train them."
"I'll supply you with 50 of my guards for the protection of the city until this Tourney is over." Lord Arryn said.
"As will I." His father said.
"There was… also the matter of the gold that'll be required for the training and other expenses for the new recruits." Lord Penrose said, giving him a side glance. He did some mental calculations before nodding to the old man.
"Give me a list of the new gold cloaks you've recruited, and I'll give you 2 gold dragon for dach one of their training, and other expenses." He said.
After a few days of arguing, it was decided that Lord Wyman Manderly would serve as the new Master of Coin.
The King accepted this decision and a letter has already been sent to White Harbour, summoning Lord Wyman Manderly to take his new post.
But it'll take a while for Lord Manderly to arrive to Kings Landing. And since he was the one who was dealing with Petyr's mess, he has temporarily been given the post of the Mast of Coin until Lord Manderly eventually arrives.
He knew that if he really wanted, then he could've easily taken this post for himself.
Being the future Goodson of the King as well as the man who revealed Baelish's embezzlement and saved millions of gold dragons for the Realm, he definitely had the ability and the influence to take that seat of the Master of Coin.
But he was already too busy with his other projects. He didn't want to take a seat that'll keep him even more busy in the future.
Especially with his recent decision, which made him even less interested in the affairs of the realm.
Plus, the less time he spent here, the more time he could spend with his women.
"Thank you, Prince Stephen." Lord Penrose said with a slight incline of his head.
"With that out of the way, Ser Darklyn, I would like a list of all the important people who're coming to attend this Grand Tourney." Lord Arryn spoke up and the Master of Whisper blinked.
"Um… there's Lord Relny, his squire Loras Tyrell, and his Stormland contingent. Aside from that-"
Ser Rolland Darklyn was interrupted mid sentence as the doors of the council chamber were suddenly flung open and Joffrey of all people, strode into the chamber, a smug and self-satisfied look on his slightly sunken face.
Joffrey has still not completely recovered from his 2 months of bed rest. But the boy had recovered well enough to start in on his morning training once again.
He wondered what the hell this boy was doing in the Small Council.
"You are late, Prince Joffrey." Lord Arryn said with a disapproving frown and Joffrey's smirk widened.
"Oh well, you know how it is. I'm a Prince, and I have princely duties to attend to. Besides, isn't it the duty of the Small Council to serve at my leisure."
"We serve at the leisure of the King, you'll do well to remember that, Prince Joffrey." His father said with a scowl before he turned to glance at Lord Arryn. "And what do you mean when you told him that 'he's late'?"
"Precisely that." Lord Arryn spoke up, cutting off Joffrey before the boy could get into an argument with his father. "Inspired by... Ser Stephen's presence, Prince Joffrey has decided that he'll start attending the Small Council as well. Starting today, he'll serve as my page and listen in on the Small Council meetings."
"A… most prudent… and wise… course of action." Pycelle spoke up and he raised an unimpressed eyebrow as Joffrey sent a smirk his way.
He could feel Cersei's hands over all of this. Though he wondered how she managed to convince the boy to go along with this plan of hers.
"Of course." Joffrey said as he puffed up his chest to look bigger than he actually was. "If my… lesser cousin can attend these meetings. Then it should be well within my rights to do the same."
Wow… even as a 10 year old, the boy is insufferable.
"Ser Stephen is only attending these meetings because he was able to reveal Petyr Baelish's crimes, and is now dealing with the aftermath until the new Master of Coin comes over to the take the post." Lord Arryn spoke up while he held gazed stoically at his 'royal' cousin. "But that is neither here, nor there. Please take a seat, Prince Joffrey and listen. Mayheps you might learn something."
Joffrey scoffed at Lord Arryn's words but did as he was asked to took a seat beside the old man.
"So…" Joffrey spoke up as he lounged back on his chair. "What are you people talking about?"
"We were just talking about all the important guests that will be attending this tourney." Ser Darklyn said, trying his best to brown nose to the Crown Prince and he watched the proceedings with mild amusement.
The Small Council meeting continued after the brief interruption, and it didn't take long for the boy Prince to become bored of the proceedings.
He wondered just how many Council meetings the boy will be able to attend before he stops coming altogether.
Though surprisingly, the Small Council ended with a twist this time around when Lord Penrose spoke up and made an announcement.
"I'll be… leaving my post after this Tourney has ended."
Lord Penrose had been getting on his years and rumours about his resignation have been flying around for some time so no one was really surprised by this announcement.
"Who will… be the next… Master of Laws?" Pycelle asked, acting even more feeble than the actually feeble old man. "I would… personally suggest Ser Kevan La-"
"There will be no need for those suggestions, Grandmaester Pycelle." Lord Arryn spoke up. "Before he left for his hunt this morning, His Grace informed me of his decision on who'll serve as the next Master of Laws."
"And who, did uncle pick for the post?" He asked with mild curiosity even though he already had his suspicions.
"His Grace has picked up Lord Renly Baratheon for the post." Lord Arryn announced. "Lord Renly will be arriving here in the next few days to attend the Tourney. And stay in the city afterward to serve in his new post. Lord Penrose, you'll have that duration to teach him everything about his new post."
Lord Penrose nodded and the Small Council diverged into small talk and into bickering afterward. And after a few minutes of that, Lord Arryn finally ended the meeting.
Joffrey gave him one last smug look before he left the Council Chambers. Though his own mind was busy musing about Robert's sudden departure to the Kingswood for yet another hunt until the Tourney starts.
But it was not Robert's departure that he was thinking about. But Jaime, who had left with Robert as well.
It was a surprise, as Jaime usually didn't leave Cersei's side.
Though considering the rumours their growing arguments these past few weeks, he wasn't really surprised.
But now that both Robert and Jaime had left the castle, Cersei was all alone. And would remain that way until they return from the hunt, which could take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on how long Robert wants to dodge his responsibilities.
Hm…
He was suddenly reminded of a story from his past life, where a bullied victim took revenge on his bully by fucking the bully's mother.
Now, Joffrey has neither bullied him, nor was he a victim. But he certainly didn't mind fucking Joffrey's mother.