I let out a deep breath as I sat amongst my retainers except for Dr. Minos, who was with my parents. While I missed the minotaur, I still kept in contact with him through crystal balls. We were in a somewhat private eating room, and there were pieces of food all over the table in the center.

"Finally," I said. "I can take a moment to relax."

"Isn't that your own fault? You're the one who stood around for hours on end," Astrid replied.

In retrospect, telling my retainers about that wasn't the best idea.

Joanna sighed.

"If you think that's bad, you should know what Gustav was like when he was little," she stated.

Johannes and Astrid shared a strange look. They then both gazed at Joanna.

"How bad was it?" Johannes asked.

"Gustav liked taking orders literally sometimes. It took him a while to master figures of speech," Joanna answered. "Although considering that he has all his memories from reincarnation, it makes me wonder if that was intentional or not."

I shrugged. Thankfully, I had prepared for if they asked that question.

"My native language in my past life was French. And I also spoke German and English, unfortunately in the latter's case. Greenrivers' language is a bit like German, but it's more like Swedish and other Scandinavian languages. It was difficult to get used to it," I lied.

In truth, it was very easy. I guessed that a certain God of Exposition beamed that language knowledge into my head when I reincarnated. Either that or it was the magic we use to understand different languages at work.

"That is...surprisingly close to how it works," Dʰéǵʰom commented. "The former, not the latter."

"Cool! Hold on...is that how I'm able to understand Dr. Minos when most other people can't?" I thought.

"Yes. I gave you knowledge of the minotaur language too. Honestly, you don't even need to use the translation spells most people in this world use when talking to humans from other lands," the deity confirmed.

"But maybe if I alter them, they can be used to translate Dr. Minos' language? I'll have to try that later," I pondered.

Johannes nodded. His face grew grim for a moment.

"I don't remember much of my childhood," he said. "It's a blur of fighting, monsters, and other things. I wonder if my young adulthood will end up being like that too?"

Placing a hand on Johannes' shoulder, I gave him a reassuring smile.

"You don't have to worry about that too much, Johannes. Your repressed memories are probably a trauma response due to your horrible childhood. I think you'll remember things much better from now on," I assured him.

Then, I paused in thought for a moment.

"Of course, I'm not a psychologist. Dʰéǵʰom's working on that, though. So, we should have some mental help coming in sooner or later," I pointed out.

Looking at my retainers, I nodded.

"A lot of people in this world probably have dozens of undiagnosed mental illnesses," I said.

Panic flashed through my retainers' eyes.

"Mental illnesses? Are those contagious?" Astrid asked.

"Can we go to a spellcaster to get them cured?" Johannes pondered.

"Please tell me this isn't as bad as it sounds," Joanna said.

"Well...umm..." I started.

Fucking great. I dug myself into a hole.

"Mental illnesses are insanities. You don't have to worry too much, since your life would go on like it was before without a psychologist, but your lives will probably get better once we get one," I stated. "So, just go on like before."

That seemed to calm everyone down. At least, I hoped it did. I changed the subject just in case.

"Johannes, Astrid, how is your training going?" I asked.

"It's going great!" Astrid declared. "His Majesty has some incredibly skilled knights here. They've been running me ragged with their training."

With a chuckle, Johannes nodded.

"They made me join in too. So, I'm doing that and my enchanting training," he explained.

Then, the boy smiled.

"Still, I'm fine with it. After all, Astrid might need to train with someone when we're traveling. And considering how you're still far beyond our level in terms of magic, Gustav and Joanna, it needs to be me," he said.

I waved it off.

"Magically speaking, I'm beyond you both. But in terms of raw skill and talent with the blade, either one of you is better than me," I explained. "Without powers, I doubt I could beat either of you in a sword fight, even if I fought you a thousand times."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Joanna scoffed.

"I would not go that far, Gustav. Do not underestimate the training you were given. You are a talented swordsman," she said.

"And you also had some sword training in your past life. That has got to add to your skill," Johannes pointed out.

With a shrug, I replied.

"That is all true, but you and Astrid are more experienced than I am. Training helps a lot. However, experience in real sword fights and fights to the death outweighs it," I pointed out.

"And there goes any chance we have of deciding this by sparring," Astrid feigned a massive sigh. "I suppose that we'll have to just stick with verbal debating."

Then, an expression of interest crossed her face.

"So, how are things going with Queen Hildoara?" she asked.

"It's hard to say," I answered. "We haven't gotten a chance to talk, just the two of us, so I'm not sure."

Astrid got a look on her face. It told me that she was struggling to not point out that if I hadn't stood around for hours, I might have had a chance to talk to Hildoara by myself. I was very grateful that Astrid was keeping her mouth shut.

"There is something I need to talk to you about, though. It is something important and related to Motteburh," I said.

An air of seriousness flowed through the room. Johannes turned to Astrid.

"Whatever happens, I'm here for you," he stated.

"Thank you, Johannes," Astrid replied.

She took a deep breath.

"Alright, Gustav. What do you need?"

"When I was in my meeting with His Majesty and the others, we came up with a plan involving you," I said. "But I'm not going to make you participate in it if you don't want to. This is your decision and yours alone. I can convince the others that it won't work if you don't want to take part."

Reassurance came over Astrid's face.

"Tell me the plan," she said.

"Basically, we'll reveal that you're one of my retainers, in full detail of your past as a distraction from our other plans," I replied. "The Motteburh nobles won't take a half-commoner bastard, especially one from their own kingdom, being the retainer of a Greenrivers saint well. It will put you in danger, but it could also draw the attention of the Motteburh nobles."

I made sure to not mention Duke Armand by name. If I did and this didn't go well, it could put him in danger or at least make him needlessly enemies with Johannes and Astrid. I would prefer it if they put all the blame onto me.

A moment of silence passed over us. Astrid's face entered deep contemplation. After a moment, she spoke.

"Gustav, you want to reform Motteburh, right?" Astrid asked.

"Yes. My plan is to use economics to make them reform. I intend to make them give more rights to commoners, more rights to bastard children, and make their class system less harsh for a start. If they could end their enslavement of common-born spellcasters, that would be good too," I answered.

She nodded.

"And will this plan you have for me help with that?" Astrid questioned.

"It might. The main plan has to succeed," I replied. "If it fails, then nothing will change."

"Alright, I'll help."

I blinked in shock. It was that easy?

"Are you sure, Astrid? Like I said, I'm not going to force you into this. So, if this is because I'm your lord, you don't need to feel pressured," I said.

Astrid gave me a slight bow.

"Gustav, I appreciate how you're giving me a choice. I am your knight and you are my lord, so you have every right to just order me to go through with it. But whether you order me or not does not change my mind," she explained.

A look of determination crossed Astrid's face.

"If this has even a small chance of making things better in Motteburh, I will help," the girl said.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "I can't imagine that the Motteburh nobles will take the news well. They might send assassins or other killers."

Astrid and Johannes burst out laughing. Joanna snickered too, and she looked like she was holding in more laughter. I was confused. What was so funny?

"Umm...are you okay?" I asked.

With those words, everyone's expressions turned deadly serious.

"Gustav, we are all knights here," Joanna answered. "Risking our lives is part of our job. You know this as well as any of us. Remember how you willingly went on a dangerous quest for the sake of your family? You weren't even a knight then."

"Yes, but..." I started.

"Remember how I used to hunt monsters for a living?" Johannes questioned. "Every day could mean my death. I'm used to danger."

Astrid nodded.

"And I was a duelist before I entered your service. I risked my life by seeking out people to fight to the death. Talk of danger isn't going to dissuade any of us," she said.

Johannes then grinned.

"Besides, are some assassins more dangerous than a wild dragon?" he asked.

That...was a very good point.

"Alright," I answered. "So, you're okay with our plan, Astrid?"

She nodded.

"I am," Astrid replied. "What do I need to do for it?"

"You need to not be killed by whoever Motteburh sends. Luckily, we have a whole castle helping with that," I stated.

Astrid clenched her fits with determination.

"I'll have to start training harder too," she said. "I'll have the knights run me even more ragged!"

"Me too," Johannes added.

Then, a pondering expression crossed Joanna's face.

"Gustav, how exactly does His Majesty plan on revealing where Astrid is from to the Motteburh nobles?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I'm sure he has some plan," I answered. "Or he's planning on discussing a plan in the next meeting."

Joanna nodded. There was a hint of doubt in her eyes.

"I'm concerned because I don't know how the people of Greenrivers will take it. I have faith in His Majesty, but having a member of your inner circle be guarded by someone from a hostile kingdom might not look good. It might even make people suspect that you are being influenced by Motteburh," she pointed out.

Well...fuck. I didn't think of that. I mean, I'm sure the people with several centuries of experience already have, but we'll still need to be careful. And while most people would not criticize King Eduard...I can't say the same about the people who work for him.

"That's a good point, Joanna. The people from Blitzburg and the surrounding lands know me somewhat well, but most people in Greenrivers don't," I said.

"More do than you might think," Johannes spoke up. "I saw the picture King Eduard had painted of the Battle of the 3 and a Half armies. You look really cool in it."

Astrid nodded.

"I saw it too. A lot of people in the capital come in to look at it. If only more people could see it," she stated.

I'd never seen that painting. But Astrid's words gave me a great idea! It didn't have much to do with accounting, business, or my usual...no, wait, it had a lot to do with it! The mechanics might not, but keyboards and typewriters before them were used for accounting. And printing was something that we did a lot in the industry, even after it got increasingly digitized.

"I have a new idea!" I declared. "And Johannes, I have a new magical invention for you to make! It should be easy enough that even a beginner could do it."

A printing press would be a good invention for this world...if we didn't have crystal balls that could take pictures. They were fairly expensive. However, paper was not.

"What is it?" Johannes asked.

"A crystal ball that can place images and text on paper," I answered.