We had time to discuss the matter on our own, thankfully; we were dismissed right then and there, and told to come back to that same building at eleven AM in a week's time. So, we retreated back to the Purpleheart Collective, and more specifically, my own apartment within there.

(I did notice, on the way in, how the collective had started hiring more people who hadn't originally been in the Dornhelm Dock Snakes, and were instead simply out-of-work folks who could be given some training and a class unlock, and suddenly be brought up to speed.)

"I don't want to live in the same building as my mother and sister," Nicky said simply.

"Understandable," I said, nodding.

"Frankly, I don't think any of you want to live with them, either," Nicky said, looking around at everyone. "They are deeply, deeply unpleasant people who are very insistent that their status as royalty means that anyone who isn't at least a Lord should be kissing the ground they walk upon and catering to their every whim."

"So," Lisa began, "while they may still look like you, they definitely don't act like you?"

"I'm not Akane," Nicky said simply. "I'm not going to forbid you from fucking my mother. Spending any time at all with the woman is its own punishment, and I trust you to realize the error of your ways quickly enough."

"Moving right along," I said hastily, "I suppose we'll want to build a guest house for hosting people we don't want to live in the same building as, which, honestly, feels like it's going to be every two-bit aristocrat who decides to come visit. Aside from that, though... I think we're at a point where we need to decide how much we want to reveal. On the one hand, I know I did reveal pretty much everything to the wood elves, but... I mean, we had the wood elves over a barrel, and now I'm the Red Prince whose word is law unless Rachel, who loves me and also has taken my dick inside her something like two dozen times over the course of a month, sees fit to countermand me. Dorn, however, is a kingdom I am far less able to control, and..."

"I mean, that's what it comes down to, isn't it?" Ariel said. "Control. You know that your technology is life-changing, can completely end scarcity, and you're debating whether you should deploy that openly in the country you live in because it'd mean you lose control."

"...Yeah," I said, sighing. "Yeah, that's the long and short of it, isn't it? And... well, I don't want to be a dictator who controls what people can do with their lives. My dominant urges are something I try to restrain to the realm of the sexual, so... fuck it, I guess we go all-out with publishing my notes on the infinity engine."

"That was not a condemnation," Lucy said. "While it is true that a pattern of dictatorial behavior is, for lack of a better word, bad, it also remains the case that you happen to possess an unusually keen moral compass, and it may well be the case that the world would be better off, in the short term, with you being able to throw your weight around and quash any truly monstrous behaviors in their tracks."

I grunted. "Yeah, but... when do I stop? The world doesn't stand still, Lucy- things change, people come and go, and if I appoint myself the global watchman with the justification that I'll stop being the global watchman as soon as there stops being powerful monsters who'd misuse my tech to drown the world in fire, then I'm going to have a very strong incentive to broaden my definitions of misuse until I can justify being in that position forever. Which, you know. That's bad."

"That would be you playing the role of a king," Nicky pointed out.

"And kings are bad," I said patiently. "Remember how the last king we interacted with tried to force me to go spend a week in the desert building a city for no pay? And how the only thing that stopped her from doing that was the fact that she couldn't?"

"...I suppose you're taking offense at that?" Nicky said dryly.

"I am very much taking offense at some highborn dipshit who thinks her ownership of a hat made of gold means she can order me around," I said. "Identities are layered, and I've got three layers of identity that react poorly to hereditary aristocrats. I was born in a country called America, and our founding myth is a rebellion against the crown, that ended with the establishment of a republic, where our leaders are chosen by the votes of the people. By blood, I am French, and in France, shortly after the American Revolution, we had the French Revolution, where the streets ran red with highborn blood. And then there is the matter of my conversion to a religion known as Judaism, practiced by a people who resist assimilation as best as they are able, and who also argue endlessly with anyone who will listen and several people who won't. I'm gonna be honest, my conversion wasn't fully complete when I woke up in a world where Jews, Frenchmen, and Americans didn't exist, so my case with Judaism isn't really as strong as the French and American cases, but I can still rattle off a few Jewish stories about the Jews throwing off the yoke of foreign kings and asserting their independence, and I'm prepared to argue endlessly that this still counts."

"Also, Roxy's domineering personality is a coping mechanism for a fragile ego, and that also makes her respond very poorly to people giving her orders," Lisa volunteered, 'helpfully.'

"...Maybe so," I admitted.

"Oh, Roxy is going to kill someone," Akane murmured.

"I'm not that bad," I said, frowning. "I'm generally a big believer in the sanctity of life, and all."

"You're going to tell some Count to fuck herself, and she's going to challenge you to a duel, and you're going to shoot her in the head because you are incandescently angry with her and believe yourself to be administering justice," Akane said, folding her arms.

"...In fairness," I began. "Considering what hereditary aristocrats are like, there's solid odds that if I killed one at random, they will have, in fact, done something to deserve death, to the extent that anyone can deserve death."

"Okay, this might be a genuine showstopper," Nel said. "If we can't trust Roxy to not kill other aristocrats, then we're going to have a problem on our hands."

"Yes, but also no," Nicky said. "If Roxy can be trusted to successfully and reliably kill aristocrats, then after the first few duels in which her opponents die of bullets to the brain, the other aristocrats will be too terrified of her to risk her wrath, and will, therefore, be walking on eggshells around her, doing their best to behave themselves in ways that don't get them killed by the Duke of Shang, and thus the problem is resolved."

"Solving the problem by killing enough people to serve as an example to the rest is a really bad solution," Nel said. "I think we might be better off just... doing our absolute best to ensure that Roxy does not directly interact with any aristocrats, ever. Telling the truth that she is an ornery lowborn who hates her newfound peers and would gladly eat them raw is one way to do it, but I'm willing to hear alternatives."

"I'm going to be married to Princess Penelope for a little while, aren't I?" I asked. "On paper, at least, she's the regnant and I'm the consort, with the title staying with her and her bloodline when I divorce her. Given that fact, I feel very comfortable asserting that I'm at liberty to insistently ignore all the other aristocrats and refuse to speak with them."

"Okay, I... think we have something workable," Nel said, nodding.

"Great," I said. "So long as I can, in fact, successfully pawn off the wrangling of inbred morons onto someone else, I'm fine with trying the whole civic administration thing. Food and houses, and people to funnel complains and requests to me; the rest'll take care of itself."

"Just... please don't get into any fights with aristocrats," Akane pleaded. "They're not stupid, and they do have ways of making life hard for you."

"Yeah, yeah, alright," I said, waving it off. "What exactly are they going to do to the Duchy of Shang, which can feed itself without trade? They sure are putting fear in the heart of the Red Prince, who can just pack up and go back to the Red Forest if she ever gets sufficiently sick of this shit."

Akane grimaced, then sighed. "Fine. On your head be it."

"There... is one more person I should consult first, though," I said, frowning.

"Roxy," Rachel said. "What prompted the King to call you back for a personal audience?"

"Well, apparently King Dorn was impressed by some of my work with a local bandit gang, and transforming them into productive citizens," I said. "And now she wants me to do that again, on a bigger scale- to become the Duke of Shang, and rebuild the province after its devastation in the war sixty years ago."

"Ah," Rachel said.

"And I wanted your opinion on that," I continued. "The specific deal is that I'll have a political marriage to the King's third daughter, who'll be given the title of Duchess-Regnant of Shang, and I will be the Duke-Consort, and then we'll divorce once I'm done being a Duke. But while I am a Duke, then I'm going to be responsible for keeping the Duchy of Shang running, and also for training the Duchess to do that job once I'm gone. So, this isn't a permanent position that will prevent me from ever returning to the Red Forest, but... it is certainly a delay in that."

"Mm," Rachel said. "Well, seeing as you are, technically, my vassal, I can understand why you think I'd be opinionated about you swearing fealty to another king. But! Overall, I really don't mind that much. As you said, it's an explicitly temporary state of affairs with a well-defined exit clause, so... I'm not worried."

"You think I should go for it?"

"As the Red King, I am, broadly, unconcerned with the affairs of kingdoms beyond Azel's shores. But aside from you getting more practice and experience with civic administration, as a person with a moral compass, I think it'd be nice if you were to make a better life for your people. So... Overall, yes, but I wouldn't be shocked or upset if you decided not to."

I grunted.

"Well," I said, finally. "Fair enough, then. Thank you for your guidance."