I slept very little last night because God dumped me here at the most inconvenient time imaginable. But a maid woke me up and helped me get dressed. I was put into some weird clothes that were very uncomfortable. At least it didn’t itch.

Breakfast was fancier than anything I ever laid eyes on. There were like 4 small dishes, 2 big dishes, and a bunch of servants watching our every move.

I tried to eat everything on my plates, but it was too much. Then I looked around and realized not a single other person finished the food on their plate. If my grandma saw this somebody would die.

We were taken to this hall filled with important looking people after breakfast. There was a very long table there, each chair was probably worth the GDP of Yemen. I have a feeling that if this castle burned down the stock market would take a 25% hit.

The daughter of the emperor I met yesterday named Sara led me to the seat at the head of the table. I sat down, she followed behind me and started pouring a cup of tea. I of course put as much sugar into it as physically possible.

There was one thing bugging me. That is how ridiculously uncomfortable these clothes are. I realized that as I was shifting around and putting sugar into my tea, I was just being stared at by all the people at that table. Holy shit I probably look insane.

“Ahem, as you know I’ve been sent by a shitty God who majors in business admin to help you out. I shall use the authority granted to me to forge a better future for mankind. Allow me to introduce myself once more, I am Milton Smith. And I am going to go change into more comfortable clothes quickly.”

I ran off into my room, quickly stripped, and then put my shorts and t-shirt back on. I just left my clothes on the floor. I’m a bigshot now! I can do that… sorry mom.

When I came back everyone was looking at me like I was some alien… Wait I am technically an alien huh? That’s actually awesome!

I sat down at the table but there was something in my back pocket, it’s my Ti-84. That’s pretty nice, math will be easier with this.

“Ahem, I have returned, now let’s get down to business. Do any of you have knowledge about economics?”

A man spoke up to my question. He was the youngest person sitting down, his nametag read ‘Aric, king of Slavonia’.

“No, God taught us about the 5 factors of production, which he later corrected to 4. Then he told us if we tripled our rate of taxation and built a bridge across the ocean our problems would be solved.”

“I.. I see, how did that turn out?”

“It fell apart.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

Ok but seriously why would he do that? Well, that God is pretty much the embodiment of chaos. Well, it would seem like I’m going to have to start from scratch.

“Ok, allow me to begin lesson one. What is economics?”

This caught everyone’s attention immediately. When I turned around, I saw Sara looking at me with sparkly green eyes. She is way too cute.

Wait, I’m losing focus here. Ok, let’s start this,

“Economics is the study of how a society manages and distributes its scarce resources. It is a science that examines how production, markets, choices, and many other things distributes those resources to the participants within an economy.”

Many people are taking notes as I speak, those that aren’t are staring at me as if to etch every single word into their memory. Teaching this stuff is pretty fun, maybe I should have gotten my PHD after all and taught full time.

“Um hero. You mentioned ‘scarce resources.’ What does that mean?”

“Very good question! A society only has so much of certain things, and the amount they have is not enough to fulfill everyone’s wants. Essentially scarcity is the conflict between societies unlimited wants, but limited resources.

Let’s say 4 people all want to eat chocolate cake, but they are only able to produce 3 slices of cake total. That means one person isn’t going to get cake. 4 people wanting cake but only 3 people getting cake is what it means for people to experience scarcity.”

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“I see!”

“So, when I said, ‘study of how a society manages scarce resources’ I was talking about what process goes into deciding what 3 people get cake, and who the one person who doesn’t is and why.”

“Would it not be best to study ways to make sure everyone gets cake?”

“This is something a lot of economists do. Economists often study and try to present ways to make a society more efficient or more equitable. Ultimately, the goal of economics is to improve and make people’s lives better by better understanding the things I’ve discussed previously.”

Though I have been rather unsuccessful at this. After all I have all the tools necessary to understand the dating market, yet I’m still alone. The path of economics is truly a lonely one.

“Anyways, here is an economics joke! I tried hitting on a banker girl when inflation rate was the same as nominal interest rates… but she had no REAL INTEREST in me!”

I of course chuckled at my comedy gold I shared… but nobody else laughed so I stopped laughing and got serious.

Wait! Sara was giggling behind me. Ah, this has made everything worth it. I can die in peace now.

“Ahem, now that you have been blessed with my comedy, I shall continue. We will continue learning about economics at a later date. For now, I shall propose an international agreement to protect basic economics freedoms. The primary economic freedoms necessary for a functioning economy are the right to personal choice, the right to voluntary exchange of goods coordinated by markets, right to freely enter and exit markets, and the protection of one’s property from aggression. If these economic freedoms are not protected, it could be disastrous for an economy.”

After saying this the table broke out into murmurs. Those at the table talked both to each other and the aids behind them. I did just drop a bombshell on them, the autocracies here would likely respond poorly to giving more rights to their citizens. However, I believe this will benefit everyone over time, including those here.

“Let us dismiss for the day hero, good work, and I look forward to hearing more from you later.” Emperor Augustine spoke.

“Yes, that sounds good.” I responded. Then everyone got up from their seats, with many staying around to talk. I kinda wanted to get out of here before I was ambushed with some side quests. I’ve played enough rpgs to know how this thing goes.

“Hey Sara, is there a garden I could go to?” I ask my guide.

“Yes sir hero, it is this way.” She starts walking in front of me. I follow of course.

Her walking is so graceful. There are some people out there that just exude beauty and charisma and she is definitely one of them. Her white and blue dress accentuates her body perfectly. Her, ahem, mummeries were not particularly large nor small, completely average in a great way. God, am I going to end up on r/menwritingwomen one day? Oh well, if that is the cost of capturing this perfection, then I shall incur it, for I am a rational actor who thinks on the margin. I am just going to stop now.

Anyways, while I am thinking my sinful thoughts, we arrive at the garden. I never realized even plants can look expensive, but I shouldn’t even be surprised by the extravagance anymore.

It was a sea of colors, chaotic yet organized in the most appealing way you can imagine. The brick path was smooth and unobstructed. In the center of the garden was a fountain with lines so intricate that one would imagine it carved by an ant.

The smell was wonderful, no perfume could replicate this. Eventually found a grassy area and flopped onto it and stared into the sky. Sara slightly panicked a bit saying, “sir hero let me get you a blanket”. But I didn’t want that, it would ruin the experience. I soaked up the rays and turned to look at the dignified girl sitting next to me, she had a look of hesitation on her face, one of hesitating to speak.

“Anything you want to talk about?”

“…Are you not angry at us, sir hero? We drag you away from our homeland and make selfish requests to solve our problems. To strand you in an unknown place and burden you with our problems is so cruel.”

“Are you kidding me? This is every mans dream… though I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit lonely. I don’t have a girlfriend over there or anything, but I would like to see my dog and my mom again. That being said, there is no point in crying about it now. I have dedicated so much of my life to get this knowledge; it seemed like a waste to use it for something like a hedge fund. I’m glad that you brought me here, because this means I can do something amazing with it.”

“You really are cool sir hero.”

“That’s obvious, isn’t it? Anyways chill with the ‘sir hero’ stuff. It makes my feel all tingly in my liver.”

“I.. I see. Then what shall I call you?”

“Mil, it’s what my friends call me after all.”

“Then Mil, I once again thank you for everything you are doing for this world and its people. Whatever you desire I shall help you with.”

“Haha seriously don’t mention it. That being said, I do admit. I have some, dark desires…”

“Dark desires… I… I see…. I will try my best.” She looked down as if resigning herself to some tragic fate.

“For example, I want to eat a whole cake in bed! AND THEN SPEND ALL DAY PLAYING GAMES!”

She looked mortified upon hearing this.

“MIL YOU CAN’T! SO MUCH SUGAR AT ONCE WILL LEAVE YOU BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS! AND YOU ONLY ARE SUPPOSED TO GET 30-60 MINUTES OF GAMES A DAY!”

“I told you my fantasies were wicked Sara… But there is no point in stopping me. All that you can do is join me, and become a sick freak like I am…”

“I see… if it is for the hero then I shall join you… please be gentle with me…”

“Gentle does not exist within my vocabulary. You won’t win a single round against me.”

“I would expect it, to beat the genius hero is unthinkable.”

We continued to banter like this for the rest of the day. I seemed to fall asleep in the garden at some point. Luckily some soldiers carried me to my bed. I truly get the luxury treatment in this world, don’t I? Being a hero is great. Especially if Sara is around.