Accountant Isekai

It had been a while since the cold war with Motteburh started, and now, I was in a meeting with the usual suspects. King Eduard the Defenestrator, Queen Eleanor, Duke Armand, and Queen Hildoara along with Duke Carini through crystal balls. Some messages had been sent from Motteburh to the monarchs. The rest of us held our breaths in bated anticipation.

"Well, it appears our plan of holding their nobles hostage was the straw that broke the dragon's back," King Eduard said. "The King of Motteburh has agreed to make some reforms and end his actions against Vandalland and Greenrivers in exchange for their return and 'not turning the peasants against him anymore.'"

Hildoara nodded.

"I got a message saying the same thing. Though it did not specify how many reforms he is willing to make," she stated.

"That will be done through negotiations. In any case, unless there is treachery, Motteburh has surrendered," King Eduard replied. "Just don't send your hostages back until you have proof that Motteburh is actually doing what we want. They could be lying."

Duke Armand spoke up.

"While this could be the case, King François is a man of his word. We should not let our guards down, but we can consider the conflict with Motteburh mostly over," he said.

I wished that I could take more pride in this achievement. But I couldn't. Motteburh still had a long way to go. Yes, their reforms are a good thing. However, they're just a start.

Knowing history will tell you that just because reforms are made doesn't mean everyone will abide by them. Or that they'll come easily. The average person in Motteburh's life will probably barely change for another century or so.

Of course, I'd be keeping a close eye on Motteburh. I was sure that King Eduard, Queen Eleanor, and Hildoara would be doing the same. But I'd also be pushing them to make further reforms. It was the least I could do. And I intended to do more than the bare minimum.

"Are things with Motteburh settled enough that..." Hildoara started.

"Yes," Queen Eleanor nodded. "Call Gustav's parents to inform them of the wedding."

King Eduard turned to me.

"I am certain you've kept ready to leave at any point, Saint Gustav," he said.

A flicker of nervousness passed through me. I never even dated in my last life, and now I was getting married. The gravity of this never set in until now.

It was probably a bit weird that I was more concerned about getting married than the fact that I'd be a king after my wedding.

"Now, he realizes something weird about himself!" Dʰéǵʰom groaned.

I ignored the god in my head and spoke.

"Pretty much everything I own can either be carried easily by me or is in Blitzburg," I said.

"Good. I will do you the courtesy of arranging a dragon flight to Vandalland. Inform your retainers that you are leaving on the morrow," King Eduard replied.

I inclined my head.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," I stated.

He waved it off.

"Worry not. While you are on the Vandalland part of our agreement, try not to frustrate their lords too much," King Eduard said.

"What's frustrating about me?" I asked, confused.

King Eduard looked like he wanted to sigh. However, the monarch closed his mouth.

"I know better than to address that," he stated. "Saint Gustav, go and prepare for your journey. I trust that Vandalland will prepare him for the wedding?"

"Yes, we will," Duke Carini confirmed.

With that, I left the room. On my way back to my retainers, a thought came to my mind. It was a very worrying thought.

"Dʰéǵʰom, did you ever find out what happened to Laestrygon?" I thought.

"No, and Poseidon's playing dumb. Zeus is pretending to be fooled by this, so he doesn't have to punish his brother for defying him," the god replied.

A sigh escaped my mouth.

"That sucks."

"Yeah. So, I've been sending Poseidon clips of God of War 3 and 600 Strike."

What?

"600 Strike? What's that?" I questioned.

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"A song from a musical that came out in your world after you died," Dʰéǵʰom explained.

Oh. I guessed that it had something to do with Poseidon or the Greek Gods before moving on.

"Anyway, I have a plan for dealing with Laestrygon when he shows up again," I thought. "I'll need to get him away from other people first, but it should reduce him to a crater on the ground."

Interest flickered in Dʰéǵʰom's voice.

"What do you have in mind?"

"First, did you know that there's a spell that lets you see further away and in more detail?"

"Of course, I did. I'm the God of Exposition, remember?"

That was a good point.

"Well, if I increase its power enough, I might be able to use it as a cross between a telescope and a microscope. Then, I should be able to see things a few miles away at the atomic level," I explained.

I heard Dʰéǵʰom chuckle.

"You should be able to see further than that. I'll help you develop the spell. But what do you have in mind, aside from introducing atomic physics to the people of this world?"

"Imagine a spell that splits an atom inside of someone's body. Even a demigod like Laestrygon shouldn't be able to survive that. If I can get him to stand around and rant in one place, he won't dodge it either," I thought.

Dʰéǵʰom grew silent for a moment. Then, he spoke.

"I'll get a god of math to calculate the exact distance away you'll need to avoid any damage to bystanders. I'm pretty good at math myself, but I want a specialist."

I nodded.

"Good idea, Dʰéǵʰom. Can you get that god in whatever the deity version of speed dial is? I'm not sure when I'll need to use this spell after I make it."

"I'll have to talk to him about it, but I should be able to."

"That's good. We might need him soon."

Soon after this talk, I was in a room with my retinue. I was looking forward to seeing my parents and Dr. Minos again. It had been a while since we last talked in person.

"Are you all ready to move out tomorrow?" I asked.

"After years of living with you, I learned to be mobile," Joanna answered.

"I'm always mobile," Johannes said.

"So am I," Astrid added.

Then, a concerned look crossed Joanna's face.

"Is this another one of your plans, or did something happen?" she questioned.

"I guess both, but indirectly? I'm not sure how to put it, so I'll just tell you. Motteburh has conceded," I explained. "We're going to Vandalland for my wedding."

Excitement flashed in Johannes and Astrid's eyes. Joanna appeared to just feel relieved. Then, I saw tears of joy flowing from her eyes.

"My baby Gustav is all grown up," Joanna stated.

Johannes gave me a nod.

"Congratulations on your wedding, Gustav," he said.

Astrid placed a finger on her chin.

"After this..." she contemplated. "...should I call you Your Majesty or King Brother?"

I let out a deep sigh. I'd not expected my parents to agree to adopt Astrid so quickly. It took them basically no convincing. This will take some getting used to, especially after she and Johannes get married. It's not like I had a sister in my past life.

"You can ask Hildoara about that. She'll know Vandalland customs better than me," I said.

As in, she'll know Vandalland customs. I had looked into a few of them, but most remained unknown to me. There weren't exactly many books in Greenrivers on it. So, I'd have to wait until I was in Vandalland itself to learn more.

From my modern perspective, it was a bit weird that Vandalland would get a king soon who'd never even been here. But to Medieval people, it wouldn't be that weird.

Ugh. I knew that I wasn't going to like being one of the leaders of Vandalland, but if it was for Hildoara, I'd do it. Besides, King Eduard wasn't going to war with a nation that had a saint as one of its leaders. This would preserve the peace between Greenrivers and Vandalland even beyond the gold agreement.

"What is Queen Hildoara like?" Johannes asked.

"I'm interested in knowing too," Astrid said. "She's a childhood friend of yours, right?"

I nodded.

"She is. We mostly interacted through letters and crystal balls. I've only met her in person twice," I said.

Which was really weird to think about. And it seems, judging by Joanna's words, that my face showed my emotions.

"That is normal, Gustav. Honestly, you've had more contact with her than most nobles have with their spouses pre-marriage," my wet nurse pointed out.

"Did you ever meet her, Joanna?" Astrid questioned.

"Once, when she was very young. And even then, only briefly. She left a good impression on me all the same."

I nodded.

"Hildoara is the sort of person who would go to great lengths for the people close to her. She'll do her duty to her people to the best of her ability," I added. "She is fun to write letters to as well. And I want to do my best to support her. Whatever Vandalland says officially, Hildoara is their queen and their primary leader. She will keep being that. I'll stay in a supporting role."

Laughter from a god erupted inside my head. It wasn't mocking but mirthful, as if Hildoara and I were in on the joke rather than the subjects of it.

"What's so funny?" I thought.

"Nothing. It's just obvious to me that you and Hildoara are far more alike than either of you realize," Dʰéǵʰom said.

"So, you think we won't have any problems?"

"You'll have some issues that you need to work out, but nothing that talking between you two won't solve. Hildoara became queen for her brother's sake and you're becoming king for her sake. Without external factors, neither of you would have risen to power."

I understood what he was saying right away.

"Hildoara will want me to take a more dominant role as king?"

"No."

Oh. I guess I didn't understand.

"You two will try to make the burden each other has easier by taking on more of it yourselves. You'll have to figure out some way to divide your workload."

"You're right. That is something that can be solved with a talk."

The deity then chuckled a bit softer.

"I'm sure Hildoara will enjoy getting dragged on various crazy adventures with you."

I scoffed.

"My adventuring days are over. I'm not doing that when I'm king."

"Yes. Yes, you are."

"How do you know that? Can you see in the future or something?"

"I can see possible futures, but I don't need to to know that you'll keep on adventuring. I don't know if Vandalland will have kings after you, but whether they do or don't, you'll be the weirdest monarch in Vandalland's history."

A nod crossed over my head.

"Good point. I'll be a very weird king."

Dʰéǵʰom breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally! Some self-awareness!"

"I'm plenty self-aware," I thought. "After all, I'm a perfectly normal person from another world in a modern era. Any person from my time and place would be pretty weird by Medieval standards."

I heard Dʰéǵʰom facepalm.

"Okay, now you're just fucking with me," the deity said. "But you have a good point about any modern person being weird by Medieval standards. I mean, you guys don't even eat from plates made of bread anymore."

"What do you mean? I ate on trenchers all the time in my past life. Then, after the trenchers soaked in the meat juices, I donated them to the poor as is tradition."

There was a moment of silence in my head. Then, the deity spoke again with a slightly amused voice.

"Why am I not surprised?"