I sat in a large solar, sweat pouring down my body. Bookshelves were to my left and my right. In front of me were several desks that were used for writing and such. King Eduard the Defenestrator and Queen Eleanor were on chairs. They were looking right at me.

"It is good that you are finally here, Saint Gustav," King Eduard said. "We have much to discuss."

"Yes. I am certain you have some awareness of the state of Greenrivers," Queen Eleanor stated.

"Dʰéǵʰom told me a lot," I replied.

King Eduard nodded.

"First, before anything else, what do you think of Duke Armand?" he asked.

I figured he'd ask me about that.

"He seems like a reliable ally," I answered.

"And of the task he assigned you with?" King Eduard questioned.

"I don't want Greenrivers to turn into Motteburh. And I doubt you do either. Otherwise, why would you have Duke Armand assign me with this?"

A slight smile crossed King Eduard's face before vanishing as a serious expression overtook him himonce more.

"And you are proving to be a reliable ally yourself," he said.

Ah, I see. So, sending Duke Armand to escort me was a test.

"Well, now that this is out of the way, did everything go well on your diplomatic mission with the Dark Elves? Is there anything we should be worried about?" Queen Eleanor asked.

"Nothing aside from that one time I was attacked by Dark Elf ninjas serving Dionysus," I answered. "I managed to get away fine because of the Dark Elf warrior protecting me."

King Eduard the Defenestrator blinked in shock.

"Dark Elves dared attack a Saint?" he questioned. "It is good that you're safe, but this...Dark Elves are more religious than I am. How could they dare attack a Saint?"

"Dionysus is a god, so he probably told the ninjas to," I explained.

"I have never heard of any god called Dionysus. He must be a fake god like Poseidon," King Eduard the Defenestrator scoffed.

"Our prisoner keeps claiming to be a son of a god called Poseidon. We'll torture the truth out of him eventually," Queen Eleanor said.

My mind turned inward.

"Should I tell them that Poseidon is real?" I thought.

"No. If King Eduard learns about gods outside of this world, it might throw him into an existential crisis. Especially since some of those gods want humanity extinct. Right now, it's best that he remains ignorant," Dʰéǵʰom replied.

I nodded before speaking.

"Dʰéǵʰom told me that you captured the man behind the raids and orphanage floodings," I stated.

"We can talk about that later. Right now, tell me more about these...ninjas. I have never heard that word before," King Eduard the Defenestrator said.

"According to Dʰéǵʰom, ninjas are a type of spy from a land in another world. This land is known as Japan, and ninjas performed espionage activities during a certain period of its history. They occasionally assassinated people," I explained. "And the Dark Elf ninjas were nothing like them. They were more like how a playwright would depict ninjas."

Confusion crossed the monarchs' faces.

"So, they were not real ninjas?" Queen Eleanor asked.

"That is one way of looking at it," I answered.

"Then telling us what ninjas are did not help at all, did it?"

"Yeah. Honestly, it was pretty pointless," I admitted, a sudden feeling of dread flowing through me.

Queen Eleanor let out a deep sigh. King Eduard the Defenestrator scratched his beard.

"It seems that you are quite insane, just as I suspected," he said.

Not wanting to contradict the king, I declined to tell him that I'm perfectly normal.

"Tell me what these Dark Elf 'ninjas' were like," King Eduard continued.

"They dressed in black outfits, used impractical weapons, and threw tiny throwing stars that wouldn't get past even the lightest of armor at me," I recalled, hoping my memory was accurate.

A moment of silence passed as King Eduard the Defenestrator and Queen Eleanor just looked on in shock.

"Well, it appears you met some other insane people," King Eduard stated.

"I meet a lot of them, Your Majesty," I said.

"Quite. Now, I am certain our beloved god told you about the state of Greenrivers."

Frustration, anger, and nervousness combined in me.

"Yes. Some mercenaries and bandits have been ravaging it, a psychotic demigod flooded orphanages, and now you have him imprisoned but the mercenaries are still attacking," I said.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"We've been hunting down these mercenaries. It is unfortunately slow work, but their heads are being gathered. I have a few of their bodies in gibbets outside the city gate," King Eduard replied.

I made a mental note to only leave the capital on dragon back.

"Their leader won't talk either. No matter how much we torture him, he won't tell us who sent him here, what their plans are, and why they told him to flood the orphanages," Queen Eleanor stated.

"Maybe he just likes killing people?" I suggested.

King Eduard scoffed.

"Voivode Dalv thought something similar, but no one could enjoy killing children. There is no one in the world that evil," he said.

I inclined my head.

"As you say, Your Majesty," I stated.

Then, I took a deep breath.

"You want me to get involved with hunting the mercenaries, right?" I asked.

My heart thumped when I did. Apprehension and nervousness pulsed through me.

"Of course, we don't," Queen Eleanor said.

"Yes," King Eduard agreed. "I am certain that you are a highly-trained fighter and quite capable in battle for someone your age. However, I have yet to meet anyone who could have predicted the disastrous effects getting that treasure would have on the economy. You managed to save the economy of the whole continent. Sending you to fight mercenaries would be a misuse of your talents. And you will be compensated for your talents during your stay here."

Relief flowed through my body. I would fight if I had to, but after almost getting killed by "ninjas," I'd rather not try taking on experienced mercenaries. If any of them are nobles, they could have centuries of experience. I, meanwhile, was still 15.

"You are going to stay in this castle until the mercenary situation is dealt with," King Eduard commanded.

Fuck. Still, being stuck in the palace would take away a lot of opportunities. And one misstep could get me thrown out a window. I'd need to find some way to survive this horrible situation.

"Yes, Your Majesty," I replied with a bow.

King Eduard then pressed his fingers together. His expression remained completely serious.

"And speaking of your talents, Greenrivers currently has a debt problem. Aside from the existing cost of my past wars, I need to deal with the costs of the current mercenary war," the monarch said. "I am certain that you understand what this means for Greenerivers' economy."

"I do, Your Majesty," I stated.

It means he might have to increase taxes to pay for all this.

"The trade deal you made with the Dark Elves will help. However, it will not be enough. Considering your knowledge of economics, perhaps you have some other ideas?" King Eduard asked.

...I really should have seen this coming. Well, at least this saved me the trouble of figuring out some way to bring up some ideas I had to King Eduard the Defenestrator.

"I do, Your Majesty," I said. "I have several ideas."

"Go on, tell us," Queen Eleanor urged.

"We need to raise funds, and my family is setting up a dragon-based insurance bodyguard service for trade caravans. We have only allied with one dragon so far. So, you could send a trade expedition with lucrative goods to someplace that does not have access to them. When they return, that should boost your coffers."

King Eduard the Defenestrator and Queen Eleanor shared a look of utter shock. Then, they turned to me.

"Do you mean to say that you convinced the dragon you used to stop that battle to be a bodyguard?" King Eduard asked.

"Not for free, but yes," I answered. "And I believe that the benefits of such trade will be more than worth the cost."

"You. Convinced. A. Wild. Dragon. Not one of the runts that let us use them as transport. But. A. Wild. Dragon. To. Be. A. Bodyguard. For. Merchants."

He looked completely stunned.

"Yes. That is exactly what I did," I said.

A moment of silence passed between us.

"Very well. I will get on a crystal ball call with your family after this," King Eduard stated.

"Does this dragon bodyguard have any...existing clients?" Queen Eleanor questioned.

"I have not been in contact with my family for a while, so I do not know," I admitted.

King Eduard shrugged.

"If he is already acting as a bodyguard, we will merely have to wait until that is finished," he said. "Tell us another of your ideas, Saint Gustav."

"Well, we are currently in a command economy, as opposed to a free market or mixed economy. I suppose it would be mostly accurate to say that we're in a mostly command economy because there are people with more economic freedom, like merchants, and guilds aren't government-controlled. With that in mind, I believe that we should invest in transportation infrastructure when we have access to more money. First, we'll need to focus on clearing out some of the monster population, though."

King Eduard stroked his beard.

"Command economy, free market, mixed economy? I have never heard those words before," he noted.

Fuck! My mind went right back to my economics classes!

"To sum things up, I think that when your debts start getting cleared, you should kill a bunch of monsters and build a lot of roads," I said as fast as I could.

"Duly noted, Saint Gustav. But paying the warriors protecting Greenrivers from those mercenaries is our biggest economic problem right now. Do you have any ideas for those?" Queen Eleanor asked.

"Aside from my dragon plan, I have one idea," I answered. "The sea elves have a deal with the god of the ocean. It is my understanding that some of them are subjects of the Crown of Greenrivers through conquest. They might still be bitter over their conquest, but if they could be convinced to be merchants, it would open up ocean trade."

King Eduard nodded slowly.

"The sea elves still have quite the grudge against me, and many of them might turn back to piracy if I let them take to the seas again. Do you have any ideas on how we can convince them while maintaining their loyalty?" he questioned.

I turned my thoughts inward.

"Dʰéǵʰom, if there's no sea trade, how were the sea elves pirates?" I thought.

"They were like the buccaneers or Vikings. They attacked coastal settlements. Some of them, ones that aren't under the rule of a human kingdom, still do," he said.

That explains it.

"I have an idea for an economic incentive," I stated. "Give the sea elves a tax cut if they act as merchants. The current tax on trade in Greenrivers is 15%. Maybe reduce that by a few percentage points for sea trade? The total tax income should increase despite the rating being lowered if enough sea elves go into trade. Or, if you do not want to do that, Your Majesty, you could perhaps give sea traders an exemption from military service? As for loyalty, I'm afraid making people loyal to me is not something I'm experienced with. But because they hold a grudge against you, we might want to work with Vandalland on them. They have reason to help us."

The sound of Dʰéǵʰom bashing his head against something entered my mind. Meanwhile, King Eduard nodded.

"I will discuss this with my queen and other advisors," he said.

"Other advisors? Does he have an advisor hiding somewhere here? Is someone listening in with magic?" I thought.

"No self-awareness," Dʰéǵʰom sighed.

"I have plenty of self-awareness, dammit!"

King Eduard pressed his hands together.

"Now, Saint Gustav, tell me why you think Vandalland is so willing to help us. Is there some specific reason?" he questioned.

I really hoped that King Eduard the Defenestrator wouldn't take this the wrong way. He was fine with me having Hildoara's crystal ball number, so he should expect us to talk.

"Queen Hildoara of Vandalland contacted me. Motteburh has stopped trading with her kingdom, and I believe we should call a meeting with her to negotiate a deal that helps both Greenrivers and Vandalland," I said.

Rage flashed over King Eduard's eyes, but the rest of his body remained composed.

"Motteburh, you say?" he asked.

I shivered, panic flashing through me.

"Yes, Your Majesty, Motteburh. They are concerned about the agreement you made with Queen Hildoara and Voivode Dalv," I answered.

King Eduard nodded. He stood up. Queen Eleanor joined him.

"Thank you for informing me of this, Saint Gustav. You have helped confirm some of my suspicions," King Eduard said. "Contact Queen Hildoara and arrange this meeting. Tell her that she has our full support in this matter."

Even greater anger flashed through his eyes.

"Also tell her that I doubt Motteburh is acting entirely because of our agreement. I will find out just how much Motteburh has interfered with Greenrivers' affairs, and I will pay them back for every last bit of it. There will be a reckoning."