Chapter 7: Life

Chapter 7: Life

~o~

I was sitting in the library once again, reading through another of the tutorial books for magic. There were so many books now ever since the expedition that carried Melisandre over to Lannisport. The thing about these books was that most of them weren't for complete beginners. They assumed you knew certain things, as if you had a magic teacher or were a native of Asshai. Of course, I would have asked Melisandre to teach me, but she was unfortunately carrying out her latest order of Zaimokuza which was to preach to the people of Lannisport. She still came around for her sessions with me, though she didn't have much time for anything else. While the street preaching wasn't explicitly allowed by Tywin, he hadn't said anything about it yet. In fact, according to the latest gossip I heard, most people were just ignoring her in Lannisport, treating her like another beggar. Until the newest expedition comes back with some more priests and priestesses of Rh'lor, I was going to be on my own for this. Still, it wasn't too bad. I was here for another purpose.

Turning my head to the side, I looked at Jaime who was seated on my right, cheerfully reading through the fiction novel I told him to read. It was one of the better ones that I had found from scouring the library for years. Occasionally, he would ask me what a word meant, and I would tell him the definition. It wasn't always like this; it had taken two years for him to actually be able to read on his own. However, I wasn't done yet. I wanted him to be proficient at it so I slotted out a reading time in the library for both of us. He still wasn't really interested in reading, but with both of us here, he didn't try to avoid it like before. I remembered having to drag him in at times in the past.

Jaime flipped a page, fully concentrated on his task. He hadn't even noticed that I was watching him. Well, I had to get back to my own reading. Looking down at the page, I rotated my neck to work out the kinks and got back to trying to comprehend it.

Time passed us by, and by the end of the second hourglass, we had both gotten through a number of pages. It was only then that I tapped his shoulder, catching his attention.

"It's time to go."

Jaime blinked. "It is?"

"Yeah, let's get going before Cersei gets mad at us for being late."

Jaime placed the bookmark between the pages before shutting the book. We both got up and stretched out bodies. I had never been much of a sports person, but when I had to keep doing sword fighting practice, I got into the habit of doing the stretches I remembered from Earth. I taught both Jaime and Cersei how to do it too. They didn't do it much at first until I forced them to. Now, it had become somewhat of a habit.

To be honest, I didn't like practicing swordfighting, but Jaime refused to read if I didn't keep up with the practices so it was a trade-off. Sometimes, it felt like having a younger brother instead of a twin brother. It was a good thing that I already had experience with younger siblings before, otherwise things would have turned out differently.

We left the room and walked down the hallway. On the way there, Jaime waved at a few people that we passed by. They would get in the motion of waving back, but when they noticed my presence slightly behind him, they would quickly turn away and get back to their job. Was I really that scary? Probably. I was the heir to Casterly Rock, and I didn't exactly interact with people much. I was still polite to everyone, even those of low statuses, unlike most of my family, but I never really bothered to get close to them.

I wasn't like Hayato. I couldn't get close to people that easily. Even if I were to do it, I didn't think it would be a good idea. If a rich, high society kind of person suddenly came up to me and wanted to act friendly with me, I would think they were pitying me. Probably looking at me like an endangered species in a zoo. That would make me resent them all the more. No, I wasn't like Hayato. I wouldn't subject people to that until their hatred grows so far and wide that they would take a dagger to my back. If I wanted to help them, I would help them from afar.

And I planned to do that. Well, later, not now.

In stories, it seemed so easy to implement change. The main character would start out as a king or a savior of a village, and from there, any change he put forth would be implemented immediately and usually without much opposition. The results would be rather fast too. I wasn't in any kind of position to try that, but I doubted that it would be that easy. Having to get approval from Tywin first was stifling the process, and I wasn't going to be able to become the head for a very long time. The only way he could abdicate this seat was by either death or taking the black. By taking the black, what it meant was joining the Night's Watch at the Wall in the North. However, both prospects were bad; I wasn't about to kill him off or send him to the freezing North to fight and die alongside convicted criminals.

Of course, in those very same stories, there were other ways to power through certain game mechanics. You could level up, get powerful, fight monsters, and ransack dungeons. Here? You could only fight bandits really. Putting aside the fact that I have never killed anyone, what would I gain from defeating bandits? There were no special or magical items I could get, and I had no need for loot since I had plenty of money. The only thing that I could think of was getting experience, creating a safer environment, and gaining some fame. Not that the Westerlands had too much banditry in the first place since Tywin kept his iron gauntlets tight on the matter. In that sense, you were pretty much stuck in whatever power grade you were born in, which did make sense since Westeros was a pretty stable environment, even with how unfair and archaic it was.

Finally reaching our destination, I opened the door to the room.

Inside, Cersei had her hands crossed with an angry frown on her face, which somehow made her seem adorable than normal.

"You're late!"

For the next four hours, we played with Cersei as the game master.

~o~

"Hachi, what did you want to talk to me here for? And why can't Jaime be here? The top of the rampart is really high…"

"Cersei, give me a moment. I'm thinking."

Food. That was the topic on my mind for the longest time. I needed a way to produce more food, store more food, and keep them fresh. The best way was probably to introduce modern farming techniques like crop rotation. Unfortunately, being the former high school loner that I was, I never bothered to learn about any of that so I knew absolutely nothing on how to do it. Same thing applied for design and construction of silos for more storage space. As for freshness, all I had was just salt or an icebox. Salting food was what they did now, and that wasn't increasing the lifespan of food by much. An icebox would be ideal, if it wasn't for the fact that I would need to constantly add in more ice to replace the melted puddles. As this was the Westernlands, it would be near impossible to acquire ice on the long term.

During the Long Night, food would become the greatest commodity. Without it, people would go insane, and that would spell the end. I had to think about it as if it was a zombie apocalypse or a colony ship crash landing on a foreign world. In this way, it gave me an idea of what was necessary and what wasn't. The thing was that I needed more than the amount required to feed the Westerlands; I needed enough to feed the entirety of Westeros, and for a long time at that. Refugees to my territory was almost guaranteed, and turning them away was not something I wanted or was willing to do. This was the current biggest problem so I sent Zaimokuza to negotiate with the Earth gods for the information.

Unfortunately, that would take time. Time that I had…plenty of at the moment, but I probably would not have enough in a few years. I wasn't too sure if I could convince Tywin of implementing my plans, especially since I was this young. If a elementary schooler just came up and told me that I needed to change the way I rule, I wouldn't believe him. Well, maybe I would but not without some form of evidence.

Evidence like my flame powers.

Actually no, that wouldn't work. I remembered how he looked when I showed him my abilities as proof that a god existed. It was like he bit a bitter melon. He gave the benefit of a doubt, but he was still skeptical all the same. That was just the kind of man he was, and after living all these years with him, it was impossible not to have a gauge of his personality.

"Hachi, it's hot out here."

"I'm still thinking."

"You always do that."

"I'll be done in a moment."

"You already said that five minutes ago!"

"Five minutes and a moment."

"Negative ten Cersei points."

"Nooooooo," I said in a deadpan voice and expression, just to make sure my sarcasm got through.

Everything else came back to the Crownlands. I needed that region to establish a trade route from Essos and also a landing point for any armies that Zaimokuza sends. However, that place was under the jurisdiction of the Targaryens. They currently had their own brand of crazy going around. Last year, Prince Jaehaerys was born. Doesn't sound bad, right? The problem was that he died later that same year. After that, King Aerys executed the wet nurse, his mistress, and his mistress's family under the belief that they had something to do with the prince's death. I heard the rumors. The so-called confession was tortured out of his mistress and her family, but each one differed greatly from each other. It was more than obvious that they "confessed" to stop the torture. Yet, in spite of that, they were still executed.

I wasn't one to base my opinions on hearsay, but the frequency of these events were increasing. It was getting harder and harder to discount it as just rumors when it involved something hard to fake like executions. The girl was the daughter of a household knight, but their entire family was erased, down to the last infant child. Death was a fact of life in Westeros, but it didn't make it any easier to hear. I would assume those on the lower ranks like peasants have suffered worse, yet news of such events were not really told or spread around unless there was a raid or a massacre. Dealing with the Targaryens would be dangerous, such that even suggesting a marriage with them started to feel like standing on a knife's edge. I knew Tywin was friends with Aerys during their childhood, but I wondered if that would hold up now to his crazy streak, especially since I heard about how the king had a thing for Joanna.

It wasn't like I could just outright invade the Crownlands. If it was under any of the other great houses, then it could be possible. Messy and incredibly dangerous, but possible. However, attacking the traditional land that was usually ruled by the crown prince was like asking the entirety of Westeros to come out and crush my house. Now, assuming that it was possible and not suicidal, it would essentially create a line of territory from the Westerlands to the Crownlands, but such a line was fragile. It could easily be attacked from both the north and south without any real defense to hold it.

There were, however, two other choices for port location. Shipbreaker bay and Dorne. Both had problems. Shipbreaker bay was aptly named for the deadly frequency that ships tended to break on the jagged rocks hidden under the waves. If there was a safer way to get through that, then the port would have been much more prosperous than it currently was. The other option, Dorne, was not really too feasible since it was too far to the south. While it was true that I already had a connection there from my engagement that would allow it to become an open port for me, the desert and terrain made it such that if I was going to do that, I might as well just send them all straight to Lannisport instead.

Well, there was a third alternative: the Bay of Crabs. It led into the rivers that went through the Riverlands. The problem with this was that the Riverlands wasn't a united land. Every major war almost always went through the Riverlands since it was in the middle of Westeros, which meant that their land was often enough the battlefield, leading to erratic borders and tons of fiefdoms. While the Tully may rule over it, it was more akin too a conglomerate of individual fiefdoms. Without real borderlines, conflicts were common, and that made it hard for any single Lord to pursue bandits far enough without stepping in each other's toes. This allowed banditry to thrive there.

It wouldn't normally be a big deal, but this was a river. There was space for a limited number of ships before it clogged up both ingoing and outgoing lanes which meant that the escort was limited as well. With land being so close, bandits have been known use the narrower sections to board and anchor the ships. That wasn't even mentioning that some of these bandits were actually knights and men-at-arms in disguise. The richer boats and foreign boats were often the target of these bandits, especially since none of the nearby locals would be angered because of it. If something happened to their ships, they would have to let it go since they could hardly start a manhunt in someone else's territory.

If I wanted a real route, it had to go through the Crownlands. There was no real way around it, not without making a significant detour that would cost both time and money as well as lives. If I had them sail around the continent to Lannisport, there was a increasingly large chance they would be raided by pirates eventually. The more pirate raids there were, the less merchants and items that would come to the Westerlands, significantly increasing the prices. No, I needed the direct route through the Crownlands.

I turned to look at Cersei. My sister looked back at me curiously.

"What do you think of Rhaegar Targaryen?" I asked. No point in beating around the bush. "Do you like him? He's pretty good-looking, right?"

"Huh? Um…erm…" Cersei averted her gaze, a faint dusting of red upon her cheeks. "Did father tell you?"

Well, wasn't that something.

~o~

I entered Tywin's office without ceremony. He stared at my entrance without a hint of surprise.

"Hachi," Tywin said. "This room isn't a playground for children."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm not playing around." I walked over and sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. The piles of parchments and books were neatly organized on his desk, in small stacks. It seemed more for appearances than actual work. "When were you going to tell me that you planned to have Cersei marry Rhaegar?"

"So your sister told you," Tywin stated evenly.

"Yes."

"I see. I did not want anyone to know until it had been arranged."

"She seems smitten." I would have said that she had a crush, but that kind of term wasn't known in this world. "When do you plan on arranging it?"

"She wasn't supposed to tell anyone until it became set in stone," Tywin said in a fairly annoyed manner. "I will suggest it to the king when an opportune times comes."

"That's vague," I said. "You're the Hand of the King. You talk with him all the time."

"I'll not have you take that tone with me, boy."

"…sorry, father."

"The king is still mourning the loss of his child. Now is not the time."

"It's not going to get any better, and the Targaryens aren't known for being stable," I said grimly. "Are you sure it's a good idea for Cersei to be married into their family?"

"She will be queen. I will settle for no less." His statement brooked no argument. Still, I had my doubts.

"And if she doesn't. What then?"

"She will be queen," Tywin repeated, as if saying it again made it true. Maybe it did.

If he was going to expend this much effort, then it was probably as good as settled. Once he set his mind on something, he could be pretty stubborn. I certainly wasn't going to do any better than him. Besides, there were other issues that I needed to take care of.

"I'll leave that to you then."

"I did not know that I needed your approval," Tywin said bitingly.

"Still, you have it now," I said. "Moving on. I'm going to send a messenger to bring more priests of Rh'lor to Lannisport."

Tywin narrowed his eyes slightly. "You believe in this religion?"

"We reached an agreement," I said as I raised my hand, letting a flicker of fire dance upon it. "And a Lannister pays his debt."

"The High Septon will send more septons to Lannisport in response."

"Then they can compete with the priests of Rh'lor for more faithful," I said. "The faith militant doesn't exist anymore. They're no threat."

"No, Hachi. You'd do well to learn that all can become threats in their own way."

"It's not like I'm going to kick them out. I'm just giving the people the power of choice," I said. "I won't force anyone to believe in any religion, but I won't deny it to them either."

"The power of choice? To the unwashed masses? They'd choose the first glitter in front of their eyes," Tywin said. "Put a gold dragon in front of a farmer, and he will skewer and eat his wife for it. The sheep cannot be trusted with choice."

"Given the chance, given the opportunity, they can rise up above their station in life. In time, I hope to provide that opportunity." In my previous life, these opportunities were given to everyone. It didn't mean I took advantage of them, but I was at least given the choice, though I chose not to get caught in the corrupt wheel of corporate society.

"Dangerous words. You'd do well not to repeat them outside this room."

"Choice brings ambition, yes, but it also brings loyalty and skill." I stared at him unblinkingly. "A peasant that can fight like a knight or a commoner who can think like a maester without being beholden to any organization like the Citadel is a useful tool."

"You think they will stay loyal to you, to us, to the Lannister family?" His voice became tighter and grimmer. "The moment they can, they'll put a dagger in your back just to raise their position. The smallfolk cannot be trusted with that power."

"And the nobles can?"

"They have their families and their houses. The actions of one will reflect on their entire house."

I stopped and gritted my teeth. Yeah, I didn't think of that. The consequences of a noble's actions could lead to the eradication of their entire house, thus restricting their schemes. If someone with nothing to lose gained power, then there was a chance something bad would happen since they could have nothing to lose and everything to gain. That chance would grow as time went on and more commoners gained power; the chance that someone would betray me.

However, I knew what kind of world would come about if I just gave people the chance, the opportunity to succeed. I had seen it with my own eyes, lived through it. I couldn't very well erased that memory.

"It's a risk I'm going to have to take," I said. "Just take a look at Castle Black. Most of them are commoners, but they banded together. All they need is purpose, reward, and a stake in it. I'm not a gambler, but I know where to place my bets."

"And you'd put the entire Lannister family at risk for this?"

"If I have to, then yes." I stared at him unflinchingly, gazed straight into his sharp and unyielding eyes. "I cannot win without taking risks."

Tywin stood up and slammed his hands on the table. "I am the Lord of Casterly Rock! So long as I live, you will not doom our family with this recklessness!"

"And how long will that be? I am the heir to Casterly Rock. Eventually, it'll become my decision when I become the master of this castle." My heart was thumping in my chest, but I couldn't back down. Not now. It was too late to. I had to move forward or drown. "Are you going to live in fear of that day? The day when I take over? Or are you going to force me to join the Night's Watch and have Jaime become your heir? Do you really think that he can be a better lord than I can?"

Tywin swung out his arm to the side, smashing it against the neat stacks on his desk and sending both books and parchments flying. I could feel his anger as he resumed his glare on me. I had rarely seen him truly be angry because that was the type of man he was. He held it in, sharpened it like a whetstone to a blade, and used it to cut down his enemies without mercy. To explode like this was both an indication of how angry he was and how much he cared about this subject.

"Father, have you ever known me to be stupid? I've thought this through. The Long Night is coming. I know you don't believe me, but I have to prepare the Westerlands for it." I locked my gaze with his. "I'm not preparing for war. Not yet. However, I can improve this land and the people on it so that we'll have a better chance to survive. I'm not sure if it'll work or if it'll change anything in the end, but I can't do nothing. Even if the Long Night never happens, the Westerland will still benefit if my work succeeds. We will benefit. All I'm asking is that you to trust me."

"You're asking me me to trust a boy, a child of nine namedays?"

"No, I'm asking you to trust me, your son, Hachi Lannister, heir to Casterly Rock," I said. "I believe in you so believe in me."

"You said these words before." Did I? Probably, since I did steal them from a certain anime with drills.

"And if you ask the same question, I'll say them again. And again. Because that is what I believe in, and I'll keep believing in it no matter what."

Tywin closed his eyes.

I waited.

"I'm not a sentimental man," Tywin finally said as he opened his eyes. "I'm not superstitious. I do not believe in the seven-pointed star nor in the red god. I do not believe in magic. I have ruled the Westerlands with an iron fist for many years."

I stayed quiet.

"Yet, you have overturned more of my views than I care to admit." Tywin looked into my eyes and breathed deeply. "And I will believe in your insanity once more, but do not think that I will close my eyes. I am giving you far more power than my own father gave to me before his death; far more than any would give a child of nine namedays. Do not abuse my trust."

I let out the breath I held.

"Thank you."

"Do not thank me yet, boy. Your trials have only just begun."

~o~

I was lying in bed, but I couldn't sleep. There was just too much on my mind.

Power.

What was power?

If I was to simplify it, it would be: doing what you want, when you want, to whoever you want.

When I put it this way, it was easier to see why power corrupts. In Japan, it was difficult to have power like this, as it was regulated by government and police. While money did have a way of circumventing that restriction, it was still within a limited scope. Even if you were the richest person in the world, the moment the truth comes out that you murdered someone in cold blood, it would be difficult to suppress the resulting public outcry.

Here, it was different. If you were lucky—emphasis on lucky—to be born with the right bloodline and heritage, you could murder someone in front of a crowded market and get away with it as long as that person did not have any backing. Even then, if their backing was much lower than yours, it would only result in a minor hassle. Life and death was dirt cheap, and the people on the bottom rung endured it all without a word like obedient slaves because they knew that they had no power and no choice in the matter. That was why people were very respectful to nobles; their lives and deaths were based on the whims of the nobles.

It was happening all across the kingdom. I didn't doubt that. It was the logical conclusion that, if given a way, there would always be people that would abuse it. A knife used for cutting vegetables could also be used to kill someone. Yet, in spite of that knowledge, I didn't really feel anything. It was too far from my sight. I had power. A great deal of power over a great deal of lives. The Westerlands was the range of my authority and responsibility. I could rampage, murder, or massacre my way through a village without repercussion. If it was a minor house, it would generate some outcry, but a peasant village? None would say a word. Well, maybe there would be grumbling about the lost tithe in the shadows behind my back, but nothing more than that. The thing about being born into a higher social status was that they sometimes viewed the people below, the commoners, as non-human. If you looked at them like that, you couldn't sympathize with them. If that was the case, you could do anything to them since they were only equivalent to animals. To swine. It was just the nature of life in Westeros.

If one were to move their sight across the narrow sea, to the giant continent of Essos, the environment there was vastly different. Westeros was a land of relative peace with not much chance for commoners to rise above their station in life. If I could sum up some parts of Essos in one word, it would be chaos. Status, tradition, and bloodlines were still important there, but strength was also included. If one had the ability, they could rise up. War was a constant facet of their life, such that many mercenary companies there were easily created and easily destroyed. Territory exchanged hands frequently, and the Dothraki hordes occasionally came around to make a mess of things like a natural disaster. Power rose and fell like water. This chaos was especially different when in comparison to Westeros.

In a sense, that was good for me. I already had more power than I ever wanted, and it was as stable as could be. Why did I think this power was a hassle? It was because of the responsibility that I felt was included with it. I had come from a different world so I had a different set of morals that I couldn't easily ignore, even if I wanted to. That was what got me into all those messes when I was in the Service club. It was what was restraining me now, in a sense. I wasn't going to abuse my power, to do something like make a crazy harem. I had thought about it; it would not be a hard thing to do with the amount of power and money I had. I could easily reproduce those scenes that I had seen in the countless doujins hidden in my old room in my previous life. It would be all too easy to do that, to change those people's lives and bend them to my will. All too easy.

And if someone did that to Komachi, I would kill them. Plain and simple, with no hesitation.

No, I would torture them and flay them. I would keep them alive while I give them a death by a thousand cuts.

If I was a righteous or virtuous person, I would stop there, but I wasn't. I wasn't a hero. If such a situation came about, I wasn't sure how I would react or if I could even restrain myself. I had a sneaking suspicion that I would kill their entire family too. It was a repulsive thought, but it was a clear possibility that I couldn't deny, especially if I was angry enough. Maybe I would torture them too. From the elderly to the youngest infant. The thought scared me, but nevertheless, I couldn't deny the possibility. I was only human. If I didn't have power, would that have stopped me? Probably not. I would probably have died trying.

I imagined that they would feel the same if I did that to someone else. Could I inflict that misery on someone?

Hah. Grim. My thoughts were becoming too grim.

In that sense, it was all Zaimokuza's fault. Ever since that overweight otaku ladened me with the role of protagonist—no, even before then. Just the fact that I was the firstborn son of a great house had put a great deal more responsibility on my shoulders than I ever wanted. It would have been good if I was the second or third son. Even better if I was born to a minor house. No real responsibilities besides freeloading.

I shook my head to clear my head.

I had been spending too much time thinking about things, things that I didn't need to before.

The clink of the doorknob being slowly turned attracted my attention. I quietly placed my hand under my pillow and unsheathed the dagger hidden there. I thought about rolling off and hiding under the bed, but it was too late to move, not without making a sound that would be heard by someone that was in the midst of opening the door. Hiding the dagger under my blanket, I watched and waited, trusting in the darkness to cover the fact that I was awake with my eyes slightly opened. The door slowly swung open with only a slight creak.

In the darkness of the room, my eyes had adjusted enough that I could make out the outline of the person and the general style of the clothes, but that was enough. I waited until the door was quietly shut.

"Cersei, what are you doing here?" She jumped slightly at my voice.

"Ha-Hachi, you're awake…"

"Sneaking into my room isn't very lady-like," I said lightly. It was too hard to see her expression in the dark, but I could imagine her face squinting in annoyance. "Really, Cersei, is something the matter?"

"I…couldn't sleep."

I nodded my head idly and pulled open the blanket. "Okay, hop in."

"You're okay with that…?"

"Did you really think I'd say no?"

"Well, no…"

"Then hurry up. It's getting cold." I flapped my blanket again, emphasizing the open space.

Cersei slowly and timidly made her way over. I didn't say anything as she crawled onto the bed and got under the blanket.

I thought it was pretty warm under the blanket, but she was shivering slightly so I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. I couldn't really see anything her well in the darkness, but she was probably grateful since she didn't say anything against it. At least, she stopped shivering.

Just like that, I quickly fell asleep.

~o~

A/N: And that is enough uplifting talk. Time skip coming up. Well, seventy percent sure unless some idea pops in my head.