Count and Countess von Blitzburg looked on in amazement as Dr. Asterios Minos drew on a large, parchment-covered board in their solar. His massive fingers were far more articulate than either of them expected. And the minotaur was more than capable of being gentle enough that he did not damage the parchment.

"Well...Dr. Minos, you are very good at drawing," Count von Blitzburg said.

Dr. Minos nodded and made a bull noise. The count sighed before leaning into his wife.

"Do you have the faintest idea what he just said?" Count von Blitzburg asked.

His wife shook her head.

"Not the faintest," she answered. "I have no idea how Gustav does it."

They both looked at Dr. Minos' delicate strokes of his quill pen.

"Well, at least we know that the phrase 'minotaur in a glass shop' is not accurate," the count stated.

Dr. Minos stopped drawing. He pulled out a sign. It read:

"I apologize for contradicting you, My Lord, but that saying is accurate."

The minotaur pulled down the sign and pulled a different one up. It read:

"It took me years of training during university to be able to draw even half as good as I can now. But I can assure you, My Lord, that it was fully worth it to obtain my engineering degree."

Dr. Minos pulled down the sign and kept drawing. The Count and Countess Blitzburg stood in stunned silence. Then, a contemplative expression crossed the Countess' face.

"Do you think he made a bunch of those signs ahead of time or that he just writes much, much faster than he draws?" she questioned.

"I...I have no idea," Count Blitzburg admitted.

Dr. Minos made a cow noise. Then, he stepped away from the board, revealing what he drew. It was an architectural diagram detailing plans for a large building.

Count von Blitzburg looked closer. The noble saw that the structure had several floors and numerous rooms. These included entertainment rooms for singing, watching people dance, drinking, and an indoor pool.

Notes were present on the plans. They revealed that this building was intended to be a sort of massive inn where people could stay and enjoy themselves while in Blitzburg. It could also serve as headquarters for the von Blitzburg family's financial endeavors.

There was another note saying that they would need Gustav to analyze the finances for it, but it also stated that the fact that Blitzburg had a dragon port would help attract travelers.

"This...is not a bad idea. It will take a while to make, but we could make it work," Count Blitzburg said. "Gustav already wants to increase trade into Blitzburg. Even if there aren't many travelers, this should help increase their numbers."

He then went over to a bookshelf. There was a contemplative look on his face as he grabbed several records.

"I will run some numbers. We will see how much building this will cost," Count Blitzburg explained.

Dr. Minos nodded. He pulled out another piece of parchment and started drawing on it. After all, if his current plans cost too much, a scaled-down version might not.

In Vandalland, Queen Hildoara was sitting in a room with Duke Carini and Prince Wisimir. Several crystal balls were on the table in front of them. The girl breathed a sigh so deep that someone might think she was trying to inhale all the air in the area.

"That meeting almost ended horribly. Thank the gods, Gustav was able to change the subject," Queen Hildoara said.

"It did?" Wisimir questioned. "I thought it went well across the board."

Both of the other people in the room turned to him with perplexed expressions.

"Your Majesty," Duke Carini turned to the princess. "Perhaps Prince Wisimir could use some socialization classes? He has lived in isolation for a while and might not be the best at reading the room."

Hildoara nodded.

"I agree. I will have to find a tutor. Until then, Wisimir, listen with incredible care before speaking," she instructed. "And avoid talking until someone directly speaks to you."

A dark realization came over the prince.

"How badly did I mess up?" he asked.

"It's diff...I don...Duke Carini, how badly did Prince Wisimir mess up?" Queen Hildoara questioned.

"Not too badly, but mostly because King Eduard and Queen Eleanor do not wish to destroy political relations with Vandalland. With Saint Gustav, on the other hand...I do not know him well enough to say," the duke said.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

The monarch sighed. There was a hint of sadness in her eyes.

"I am partially to blame for what happened today," she stated. "I should have told you about Gustav's wet nurse, Wisimir."

Now, the prince seemed confused.

"What about her? Lots of nobles have wet nurses. I had one myself," he said.

"Her name is Joanna Smed," Hildoara stated.

A sinking feeling flowed into Wisimir.

"Saint Gustav's wet nurse is the last survivor of the Smed noble family?" he asked.

"Yes," Hildoara answered.

Prince Wisimir put his head in his hands.

"And I talked about having her killed right in front of Saint Gustav," he said.

The boy imagined what would happen if someone talked about killing his own wet nurse in front of him. Wismir grew a sudden admiration for Gustav's self-control.

"Do you think he'll forgive me?" Wisimir asked. "Will this hurt your plans for marrying him, Hildoara?"

With a sigh, the queen spoke.

"Thankfully, it won't hurt the latter. After you went on about killing an innocent for political reasons, Gustav will probably want to marry me more," she answered.

Confusion flowed through Wisimir.

"He will? Why?"

"So he can get me pregnant with a son as quickly as possible to make sure you never take the throne," Hildoara explained.

"That doesn't make any sense. Surely, more people would be helped if we sacrificed the Smed family. I can understand him objecting because she's his wet nurse, but not that," Prince Wisimir said.

Hildoara sighed.

"You say that because you do not know Gustav. So, as someone who sent letters back and forth with him for years, let me tell you something about him," she stated.

"More than anything else, Saint Gustav hates nobles, monarchs, and people who drink tea."

Now, Wisimir was even more confused.

"But he is a noble and you're a queen," the prince pointed out.

"Yes. Gustav is very strange. But he despises nobles and monarchs because he thinks they abuse their power. And as far as he's concerned, sacrificing innocents is an abuse of power, even if the sacrifice would lead to more good than bad. Gustav would never condone it. Even now, he's trying to make sure the famine he causes in Motteburh doesn't have any casualties. I doubt many other nobles would go as far as he has," Hildoara stated.

Duke Carini nodded.

"Not many would," he confirmed.

Hildoara turned to her brother.

"Now, Wisimir, do you understand what sort of person Gustav is?" she asked.

"I do," he answered with a gulp. "I probably should observe him more to know what to say around him."

Hilodara nodded.

"Please do, especially since he might be my husband soon," she said.

Above the skies of Greenrivers, Cinnamon flew through the air. A trade caravan was below him. When monsters saw the dragon guarding the merchants, they decided

it would be best to stay within the shadows.

The caravan was returning from a trip to Weltai. And Dimitri was riding on Cinnamon, the necromancer feeling a great deal of pain from the dragon's scales.

"How is it going up there?" Cinnamon asked.

"F-Fine," Dimitri answered, deciding to keep things complementary to the kaiju-sized dragon. "And to think that I was going through training when you arrived."

"Oh, ja, you were withing Saint Gustav when he came to my house. So, you should be being involved with the business too, ja."

Dimitri sighed.

"To be honest, the whole thing slipped my mind until you..."

His crystal ball started ringing. Dimitri pressed his hand to it. Gustav's face appeared.

"Dimitri! I just remembered to inform you of how the business I had planned is going so you could get involved," he said.

The Weltai noble chuckled.

"Then, it seems it slipped both our minds. You must have been busy," Dimitri stated.

"I was," Gustav replied. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important."

The Weltai noble shrugged.

"Well, I suppose you are not. I have plenty of time right now," he said.

Cinnamon nodded.

"Ja, ja, Dimitri is being having a lot of time," the dragon stated.

Gustav blinked in shock.

"Was that Cinnamon?" he asked.

"Yes," Dimitri answered. "A caravan he was guarding went to Weltai. I ran into him there, and now we're on our way back to Blitzburg. It seems Cinnamon was the only one of us who did not have this slip his mind."

The dragon beamed with pride.

"Oh, ja, we dragons are having very good memories. I can remember what it was like to hatch out of my egg," Cinnamon said.

"I remember a few things about my childhood," Dimitri added.

"And I have a few things about my infancy that I would like to forget," Gustav stated. "But a certain someone won't let me."

Dimitri decided it would be best to not press Gustav on who this person is.

"I have a few things I can contribute to the dragon insurance plan. My necromancy lessons are going very well, and I have some new talents," Dimitri said.

Gustav nodded.

"Perfect! I called my parents and Dr. Minos earlier today. They should be able to get some paperwork ready when you arrive in Blitzburg," he replied.

In a grant palace on Mount Olympus, an extraplanar realm where the Greek gods lived, Poseidon had gathered around a table with Eris, Apollo, Artemis, and Hypnos.

The stern God of the Sea gazed around at his allies.

"So, we are all that's left of the Olympians who wish for humanity's extinction?" Poseidon grimaced.

Apollo stroked his lyre.

"Others probably wish it," he said. "But few would dare oppose Zeus, ever since he was persuaded to change his mind."

Poseidon slammed his fist on the table.

"Does no one care that my son, Laestrygon, was almost killed because of humans?" the god shouted.

"He was almost killed by humans?" Artemis blinked in shock.

Poseidon sighed.

"No, he was almost killed by orcs," the God of the Sea corrected. "But if I hadn't sent him to wipe out the humans of that insipid God of Humanity's world, he wouldn't have been injured! So, it's humanity's fault he almost died!"

Apollo nodded and strummed his lyre.

"A true tragedy. But you must remember that he isn't supposed to be in that world at all. So, aside from those in this room, you cannot tell anyone of it," he said. "Thus, ruining your plan to get sympathy from other gods."

Poseidon scoffed.

"It's not like any of you are doing anything about humanity," the God of the Sea stated.

Eris shrugged.

"Eh, I'm pretty split on it. On the one hand, wiping out humanity would be fun. On the other, killing them all would remove people I can torment," she said.

Artemis grimaced.

"After humanity is wiped out, maybe we should move on to certain gods?" the Goddess of the Hunt pondered.

Eris stuck her tongue out at her.

"Do not worry, Uncle Poseidon," Apollo smiled. "My sister, Hypnos, and I have a plan to ensure humanity's destruction. Count on us."

"As if I could rely on any plan you three would come up with," Poseidon scoffed.

With that, he got up and left the room. Hypnos stood up next.

"I'll talk to Poseidon. Maybe I can convince him to help us?" he pondered.

After Hypnos exited the room, he noticed that this part of Olympus was unusually empty. The God of Sleep did not notice Mjolnir coming right for his head. And thus, Hypnos was placed into unconsciousness.

It's a good thing for him that he's immortal or being hit by Mjolnir would have killed him.