Chapter 5: Discovery (275 AC)

Chapter 5: Discovery (275 AC)

~o~

After the Martell visit, things were quiet. I resumed my daily regimen of studying, training, games, and boredom.

Also, time skips are bullshit.

In any kind of stories, they would never really go into detail about the boredom part. They would skip it and go to the good parts. This was especially true in reincarnated stories where they skipped the childhood phase after a few displays of the main character's overpowered nature, but nope, not for me. To me, boredom was a very real threat; I didn't have the luxury of a time skip. I have gone over the subject many times already, but it never stopped being a problem. In the modern world, I rarely had any idle time. There was always something to do, whether for my own amusement or for the duties to the establishment known as school. I was fully aware that I was saying this from a privileged standpoint. If I had been born into a peasant family, my lot in life would probably not have turned out so well, no matter how smart or innovative I was. It was extremely difficult for a minor noble to rise up, but for a peasant, it was nearly impossible. Still, privileged as I was, I was still a child so I didn't really give much more thought than that.

That was why, just like that, two years passed me by, leaving my siblings and I to watch our ninth birthday fly by. Nothing of note really came to mind. Oh, except last year. News of Oberyn came north, carried on the wings of the letters that his sister sent to me. Yes, ever since the visit, she had been sending me letters. I had replied back promptly, and just as I expected, the intervals between replies began to grow bigger and bigger. It was, in part, my fault as well. She sent me letters filled with trivial details, and I sent back polite responses, but since the expectations they had for me were met, that justified my minimal actions. I never invested myself so it would never come back to bite me.

In any case, the news was noteworthy since Oberyn did something stupid. He was slated to be a harem protagonist, but what did he do with it? He slept with the wife of a notable noble household head. He committed NTR. Trust me, those kind of protagonist could only survive in doujins, and even then, a quarter of the time, they met a gruesome end. He had permanently relegated himself as a scum character. However, by the time I finished the letter, I had to change his categorization once again. He got challenged by the husband, but what did he do? He secretly poisoned the man during the duel, resulting in the death of the head of the Yronwood House. Now, he was in temporary exile. If he had not been part of the family that ruled Dorne, he would probably have been killed. No, in fact, in any other region, he would have been killed regardless. The Yronwood House was the second most powerful house in Dorne, and their current head was poisoned dishonorably by a child of a branch line of the Martells. Any other kingdom would have put the child to death. This kind of blatant bias? It was the kind that started civil wars. These two houses would likely never reconcile after this because this was a blatant humiliation and definitely fertile grounds for a rebellion. It was likely one of these houses would have to be buried six feet under the sand in the future. Just low enough to be out of sight, but high enough to be a feast for scavengers.

There was no if or buts about it. He was a villain, pure and simple, promoted from the background character of scum to a public assassin. What more, he did this when he didn't have any reason to. The duel was to first blood, not to maiming or death. The issue would have been mostly done with if he had not used poison. For this stupidity, he could only rise to the villainous rank of mid-boss. An idiot like him could only show his true effectiveness when under the orders of a true boss character. Whether he finds one or languishes in mediocrity was up to his luck.

It had been a year since then. Last I heard, he was off gallivanting in Oldtown, studying to be a maester, strange as that was. I didn't gauge him as the studious type, so I doubted he would last long there, especially since the Yronwoods probably sent assassins after him.

Good luck, former harem protagonist candidate. You will need it. Being a mid-boss isn't a profession with a long shelf life. Do your best to be a good stepping stone for the real protagonist.

"Hachi, do not stray from my side."

I blinked out of my thoughts and quickly shuffled over to Tywin. We were surrounded by knights as we walked through the city of Lannisport. There were many people crowding the streets or watching windows and balconies. Of course, the reason why they were watching was obvious. They were here to see me.

This was my first time in Lannisport, and since I was the heir of Casterly Rock, I would be their future lord. If you considered all of that, it was no wonder that there seemed like a huge turn-out. Everywhere I looked, there were people waving and throwing flowers. However, I wasn't here for this. I wasn't even here to see the city, though it was a lot cleaner than I thought it would be.

There had been several expeditions to Asshai over the years, but the books they returned with were not entirely useful. Sale of books concerning magic was highly restricted. Even with the amount of money I threw at the problem, progress in getting those material remained incredibly slow, hampered by the indigenous locals. It was difficult to find people to bribe in Asshai, or more specifically, people who can be bribed and had access to such books. It was a tightly controlled commodity, but I had expected that of a mage society. Still, even I didn't expect the yield to be this low. I devoured what I could by learning the language of the Asshai'i and skimming through all the materials that the expeditions brought back, which varied widely in content. It was hard to make a whole enough picture with random fragments, not to mention dangerous.

Learning Asshai wasn't easy, but it was doable. Some people think that with all this free-time I had, why not learn all the languages of the world? No, no, motivation does not work like that. Corporate slaves are brainwashed into thinking that they must learn new languages to talk to certain clients in their corporate jobs, but was that ever a good reason? Learn it just to occasionally talk to a few people? No! Absolutely not. Going to live in a country that primarily speaks that language is a good reason. Importing works that are interesting in their original language is a good reason. Getting a mail-order bride is somewhat of a good reason. Learning just to speak to a few people for your job? What kind of reasoning is that? It is blackmail from a corporate society that says you have to do it or lose your job. When will you ever use it outside of that job? Nowhere. I would much prefer to spend my time trying to puzzle out and construct the jigsaw puzzle that is magic rather than be strung around by corporate nonsense.

Unfortunately, magic was currently a puzzle that was missing vital pieces. Frustration was a commonplace feeling that I had to endure more times than I cared to count, and it was hard to resist the urge to try to draw in the blanks, even as dangerous as that was.

So why was I here in Lannisport?

It was because after months of negotiation, I had finally managed to broker a deal with the Asshai'i government. There was no way around dealing with them if I wanted access, and it worked out far better than I had hoped. Of course, this was all done under Tywin's name with his permission. With the massively increased selection, I pretty much went on a shopping spree. I had spent more gold dragons on that than I had ever spent on anything else in my entire life—this life and my previous one. I had temporarily lost my mind there. If this had been my old life, it was possible I would have taken out a loan with my kidney as collateral.

By the time we waded through the crowd of spectators and reached the harbor, the ship had already sailed into the port and dropped anchor. The gangplank had been extend and set down on the pier, and there were a few of the crew bringing the crates filled with books across. The moment they saw our procession, they quickly put down their burdens and stood at attention. Not in the militaristic way, but in a way that still showed at least a modicum of respect to their employer. An older man among them—having a shaggy head of gray—came forward, to which Tywin waved aside his guards.

"M'lord."

"Captain." Tywin casted his stern, unyielding gaze over the man. "Has everything been settled?"

"Aye, t'ough we still be 'auling crates. I t'ink two turns of the 'ourglass be enough," the captain said. "The lady's anxious to meetc'a, M'lord, but I confined 'er to the cabin for now."

"Lady?"

"Part of the contract wit' t'em Ass'ai'i."

"Ah yes, the priestess," Tywin said with mild disdain. "Bring her here."

"Aye, M'lord." The captain bowed his head once more before he promptly turned and made his way up the gangplank.

It wasn't long before he reappeared again, though this time assisting a lady down the gangplank. Her reddish hair contrasted her white skin, such that the pallor of her complexion was exemplified. She wore a robe of black and red that hugged her figure and left a good amount of cleavage exposed, I noted. Surprisingly, I thought about all of this with an exceptional amount of stoicism. The time before puberty was truly a vastly different world. In most reincarnation stories, the main character often had those blushing, heart-pounding moments of sexual exposure and embarrassment in their early days, but that was not the case here or at any time really in my current life. Youth truly was a lie.

"My lords." The red-headed woman bowed to us both in turn, though she oddly aimed it at me first. "I am a priestess of R'hllor, the Lord of Light and the God of Flame and Shadow. You may call me Melisandre."

"I have no need of your name. Only your promise that you will not be a nuisance."

"That, I cannot promise." At those words, Tywin's eyes narrowed.

"Do as you will, but remember, a Lannister always pays his debt."

"I should hope so, with the amount that my brothers and sisters have gifted you with."

"This is a deal, not a gift. As per the agreement, you will be given adequate housing in Lannisport. You may meet with Hachi only once a week, but should you practice your crafts on my son and heir, your head will be removed," Tywin said sternly. "I believe I do not need to remind you of how thin the ground you walk on is."

"That is more than sufficient, my lord."

"If anything happens to my son—"

"I think she gets the point, father." I wasn't usually bold enough to interrupt Tywin, but there was something about her smile that was putting me on edge. It was only when she turned her attention to me that I realized what it was. Her smile didn't reach her eyes when she talked to Tywin, but the moment they landed on me, they sparkled. I didn't exactly know what it meant, but I had an idea. She was a hunter of cherry boys. I should be careful—or maybe I should celebrate? "I believe you already know my name, Lady Melisandre. Do you have a last name?"

"Please, my lord, call me simply Melisandre. As for last names, I've long forgotten mine while in the service of the Lord of Light."

"A bit convenient, isn't it?" I watched her carefully, but I couldn't read her. It was like trying to see through a block of ice. Sparkling ice, if her eyes were any indication. Skimming around the edges wasn't going to give me answers, so I decided to take a direct approach. "Why the interest in me? Is it because you think I'd be easy to convert since I'm young?"

"My lord, why wouldn't I be interested in you? The flames had showed me your true form."

"And what would that be?" I raised my hand to stop the guards from interfering when Melisandre walked over to me and leaned in to whisper into my ear.

"Great Bodhisattva Hachiman."

My entire body froze. It was as if time stopped; everything around me slowed to a halt as my mind began to burn furiously.

"How…how do you know that name?"

Melisandre took a step back and, with a smile, said, "The God of Light revealed it to me in the fires."

"Stop lying." There was only one person who called me that.

"I do not lie. Not to you. The God of Light guides my—"

"Shut up!" I gritted my teeth even as I glared at her. After a moment, I forced my eyes close and took a deep, audible breath. Only when I felt I had a bit more control did I open my eyes again. "You'll tell me what you know."

"I can only show you."

"Fine. You'll come with us to the castle and show me tonight," I said. "If you're lying to me, the rest of your stay in Lannisport will not be pleasant."

It was a vague threat at best, not really saying anything. The words didn't mean anything really, but only I knew that. I could have warned her with—and carried out—threats of torture and death, but I wasn't going to do that. Doing something like that felt like I would be crossing a line, losing a bit of the humanity that I carried with me from the other side.

Power corrupts. Liberators transform into dictators. Heroes turn into monstrous kings. Once someone crosses the line, it becomes easier and easier to do it time and time again. When does it end, when does it stop? It doesn't. That is why I had to be careful.

I was to be the Lord of the Westernland with my domain stretching across the mountain ranges. Those that will be ruled by me would have no real say; they could only obey. Rebellions and revolts were certainly responses that they could reply to me with, but those would be stomped out by my bannermen unless I became a truly evil tyrant who everyone—including my loyalists—turns on. In a sense, as long as I didn't become that blatantly evil to everyone, there was no one who could stop me.

Melisandre smiled gracefully, elegantly, and knowingly.

"As you wish, my lord."

~o~

"What did she tell you?"

Tywin was sitting across from me the in the rumbling carriage as he asked the question. Honestly, I thought he would ask that sooner, but I was glad he waited until we were alone, with the red priestess on another carriage.

"…a nickname I had inside a dream I saw a long time ago."

"I see," Tywin said without a hint of his thoughts. "Is she a threat?"

"I'm not certain," I said, "but I'll find out tonight."

~o~

The trip back to the castle was quiet, and the dinner afterward felt stale in my mouth. Both Cersei and Jaime assaulted me with questions about Lannisport, but I could barely answer them; there was too much on my mind distracting me.

By nightfall, I had a large tent pitched up in the middle of one of the upper courtyards. There were guards stationed a small distance away to allow privacy, but they were close enough that they could hear me if I shouted or made noises. It was a precaution that I had to do to satisfy Tywin to allow me to go alone, but I didn't expect anything to happen; there was just no motive that I could think of—no, that was wrong. These kind of people didn't need a motive, at least not one for themselves. Religious fanatics were unpredictable and dangerous. If they wanted to kill me, they could easily say that they saw me being a threat to the world in the future from a vision to justify themselves.

I pushed aside the entrance flaps and entered the tent. It was completely barren inside—as I expected—with the exception of a brazier with a fire blazing upon its pan. Honestly, it looked more like a stand with a bowl filled with coal on top of it. Standing next to it, watching the flames with an almost unnatural intensity, was the priestess of R'hllor.

"I had seen you many times in the fires, my lord," Melisandre said wistfully. "For a very long time."

"How long?" I walked up to the brazier and looked in, but all I could see was the flickering flames and the coal underneath.

"Since you were an infant. I had searched for you across the Dothraki sea, from Asshai to Pentos.I had never thought you'd be here, in a land far from the Temples of R'hllor," she said. "It was only on my return to Asshai, by chance, that I heard of a Hachi Lannister in search of the words of magic. Your name was similar to the one shown in the fires, but not the same. I do not believe it was a coincidence that I heard that name, and you should not believe that it is coincidence that I'm here before you now."

"Do you expect me to believe all of this?"

"I had foreseen this moment. Of you standing here alone, watching and speaking with the fires of R'hllor," she spoke softly as she began to make her way around me to leave the tent. "The answers you seek are in the flames."

It was only when she left that I turned back to brazier. Okay, what was I supposed to do? Look into it until it shows me something? I supposed that it wouldn't hurt to try.

I had only looked into the fire for a few moments before the flames started to shift and warp. Fascinated, I couldn't take my eyes away as it molded itself, shaping itself into that of a flaming face. The fiery eyelids lifted to reveal deep pools of shadows that seemed to stare right into me. My feet felt like they were melted to the floor while my heart was hammering against my chest. The corners of the orange and red flickering lips turned upward into a sinister-looking grin.

"What are—"

"I've been waiting for you, my comrade!"

"…there is only one person who would say something like that."

"Indeed, you are right, Hikigaya Hachiman." The flaming face laughed without a care. "It is I, the Blademaster General!"

"Zaimokuza," I said with a groan. Despite all the hints that were thrown in long before this, I couldn't quite keep the surprise away from my voice. "You reincarnated as a god? No, that doesn't make sense. You're a magical being posing as a god, right?"

"Hahaha, that is a…no," the flaming head said. "I was called R'hllor long before I was given the name Zaimokuza Yoshiteru. Hahahah. My birth and life on Earth was just a vacation."

I rubbed my temples. "…explain it in a way that doesn't give me a headache."

"From the beginning? Well, my wonderful life began during the Long Night, when the prayers of—"

"I don't need your life story in detail. A quick summary works just fine."

"Comrade! You can't understand the significance without the details! Now where was I? My glorious life as a majestic—and handsome—god began during the Long Night…"

For the sake of making this quick with the least amount of embellishment, I quickly summarized his long and exaggerated tale into a much, much smaller summary in my head. Seriously, this thing went on for hours and hours, even pausing at some points to go further into trivial details like how he accidentally caused his priestesses to start draping everything in red cloth.

You know those cliche theories of how gods pop into existence through the prayer power of mankind? It turned out to be true. He popped into existence during the Long Night. There wasn't an exact time, since his consciousness didn't fully realize he was "alive" for a long time. After that, he pretty much governed his domains seriously and gained more power by the spread of his religion. It was the kind of story you would expect from a solitary god who lived alone for a long time. Of course, there were other gods and goddesses, but they apparently couldn't visit much because their domains remained far and there was really no reason to.

That changed when he decided to take a vacation—triggered by the musing of one of his most regarded high priestesses taking one in Pentos. But how does a God take a vacation? The answer was both simple and complex. They pulled a portion of themselves apart that included their primary consciousness and sent it to another dimension. It would be reborn into the world as one of its species and live out its life there, which may or may not be much sometimes, like if he became a lizard on a deathworld. However, he wanted to find out what being human was like so he decided on Earth.

As you could imagine, his newfound otaku obsession and personality had completely overwritten his previous personality. It was like a virus. He was a delusional highschooler with Eighth Grader Syndrome. Now, he was a god with Eighth Grader Syndrome. A chuunibyou god. How does that even work?

"And when the Long Night comes again, Hikigaya-kun, I'll come down there on my horse with my samurai katana, leading the charge against the icers!"

"Is that really how gods work?"

"…well, no. We can't really come down to the mortal plane like that," Zaimokuza said awkwardly while scratching his flaming head. "But now that you're here, you can help me think of a way to do it! With us two combined, nothing can stop us! Hahahahaha!"

"That reminds me. Why am I here? Didn't I die?"

"I brought you here," he said. "I don't have any powers on those other worlds, but I managed to make a deal for your soul. Don't worry, it only cost me some amenities."

"Oi, oi, you know there's another demonic entity who's affiliated with fire and barters for people's souls."

Zaimokuza's fire flickered wildly. "No, no! I'm a good guy, I swear!"

"Fine, I believe you…for now," I said as the flames calmed down. "Still, I can't imagine you negotiating for anything."

"Hahahaha, right you are, but if I'm bad, they're even worse. Godly beings aren't known for their social interactions. I had trained my tenaciousness to the limit during my human life!"

"So you basically pestered them until they gave in."

"…you make it sound less impressive than it is," Zaimokuza said with a disturbing pout and whine. "Putting that aside, I brought you to this world with your memory intact just like how the great main characters in light novels and web novels begin their journey to greatness."

"I'm missing my overpowered ability."

"Ah, about that. When I brought you over, it was my first time doing something like that. In the process, I kind of lost your soul so I couldn't exactly bestow anything to you."

"You lost me? How did you lose me?!"

"Don't say that in such an accusatory tone! I just fumbled and dropped your soul. Look, I've been trying to find you for years, but I'm not all-seeing. I used some vision powers periodically, but they were pretty vague. So I just showed those same ones to some of my priests and priestesses and hoped for the best. It worked out, didn't it?"

"So you sent a legion of stalkers after me. Well, nine years isn't that long so I suppose it worked." I frowned thoughtfully. "So do I get a power?"

"I am the God of Flames and Shadow! Your power will come from here, and it will be…will be…"

"You don't know, do you?"

"I didn't think I'd actually find you for a few more years." Zaimokuza drummed a flaming finger on his flaming double-chin. "Shadows are a bit situational, so let's go with fire."

"I guess that works. Fire is pretty broad."

"You'll be Flame Master Hachiman, the Herald of Fire! Together, we will push back the Long Night and usher in a new era."

"…why do I have a bad feeling?"

"Oh hohoho, your instincts are correct. We will introduce the wondrous world of anime and manga to this planet!" Zaimokuza raised a flaming fist. "Already, my faithful followers across Essos are spreading the art of manga creation. People are already starting to call me the god of art too. Maybe that will soon become a domain of mine, with enough prayers. I thought about starting with light novels, but without manga, they won't have the right mindset."

"They don't even have a printing press."

"That's where you come in, Hikigaya-kun. It's difficult to speak to my followers, but with you, I have a connection that allows us to communicate on a level that I can't with anyone else. A truly unbreakable bond between us."

"Can I refuse?"

"No," Zaimokuza said in a deadpan voice before he quickly regained his cheer. "You must take the reign. You must become the main character and usher in the new era of technology. Paper made from wood and the printing press is only the start!"

"I refuse," I said. "And besides that, I don't even know how to make paper."

"…oh." Zaimokuza frown for a moment before shrugging and smiling. "I'll just make a deal with one of the gods on Earth for the information. Not much prayer power going on there so they're a bit starved."

"Are you ignoring the refusing part?"

"Indeed, I am!" He nodded his flaming head. A serious look came onto his face. "This is a harsh era where people lose their lives easily. If manga can change the culture of the world to a better one, can you really ignore that?"

"…why manga?" I sighed. "But no, I can't ignore that."

"I didn't judge you wrongly, Hachiman. Now, come closer to the fire. I need to bestow you with your overpowered ability. Only with this can you fight with the Others on even ground."

"The Others?"

"You know them as the White Walkers, artificial constructs who turned on their masters and the world, just like Skynet. They are real, and they will come with the Long Night. Only by pushing them back can we even begin to dream of a peaceful world of anime and manga. Now come closer."

I stepped up to the brazier.

"Put your hand in, Hikigaya-kun, and receive my blessings."

I stuck my hand into the flames of the brazier.

"A-aaahnnn! N-not that deep, Hachi-kun!"

There was a flash of white and pain before I blacked out.

~o~

A/N: Didn't expect that, did you?