Spending My Retirement In A Game

"It wouldn't just be Samuel, if we can somehow turn this into a tool, or weapon, then wouldn't it be impossible for anyone to stand in our way?" Jyuuk pointed out, "I mean, we've all got a couple enemies, right? Not just Samuel, but people or monsters who would love the opportunity to take us out now that we've been weakened."

Brody scoffed, "We're still immortal, what good would that be? Not like they can actually permanently get rid of us."

"Well, it's not like killing us would be the only way to get rid of us... trapping us would be enough, right?" the monkey beastman suggested, "What I'm saying is, this would be an incredible shield for us. Whether in regard to Samuel or anyone else."

Eisen quickly shook his head, "If we manage to weaponize this, we can't risk using it haphazardly. If Samuel finds out about it, then he might be able to figure out a way to make this opportunity obsolete."

"Right, that's why we can only use this in combination with the part that's blocking Samuel's view. That way, he wouldn't even be able to figure out what's going on to begin with," Jyuuk added, but Eisen still wasn't fully convinced.

"It's still too risky. It's going to take some time until we can make proper use of this anyway, but unless we can rest assured that Samuel will not find out about it, we can't risk it," Eisen said clearly, making his opinion on this matter as clear as he could, "But that doesn't mean that we can't use this for other means.

If we can control the ability-blocking, then there are still a lot of other ways to use it than combat. Unlocking things that were blocked with skills, removing curses or other apparently-permanent effects. If it's not directly sealing abilities in individuals, we should be able to disguise it well enough to make use of it."

"...So that mens we can use it to remove the curse on the Giants?" Xenia asked, thinking about the possibility further, but Eisen just shrugged with uncertainty.

"It would be great if we could, but who knows how any of that really works? Not to mention, I don't even know if Samuel can re-apply the curse... since he hasn't done it with Silber yet, it might not be possible, but it might also be some plan to make us lower our guard. But... if we can figure out how to make it work at all, we can at least put a wrench into Samuel's plans for the Dragon-war."

Everyone in the room perked up, "But are we sure that Kotam is even being controlled somehow?" Evalia questioned, and Jyuuk nodded his head quickly, "From what I've learned, she wasn't always like this. She used to be a bit on the rowdy side, but her being Trygan's daughter, she must have a good side to her. Or at the very least, she's surely not inherently evil. And more importantly...

Trygan said she was being controlled, right?"

"...Being a father myself, I..." Eisen replied, closing his eyes as he let out a deep sigh, "I'm not sure if we can trust what Trygan said exactly. You always want to see the best in your children, so even if Kotam were doing this of her own accord, Trygan might not want to realize it so easily. But of course, he's still a god, so I'm hoping that he knows this for a fact, but...

the gods aren't infallible, we know that. The truth might be somewhere inbetween the two extremes, but we won't know for sure until we meet Kotam ourselves."

Xenia soon spoke up, "That being the case, none of this is really important unless I manage to figure out how we could possibly make use of this anyway. And trust me, it's not going to happen anytime soon... I'm happy I managed to figure out how to stop Samuel's spying in the first place."

"That's a good point... should we just start working on the meeting area for the giants and the people from the central continent? It's not that long until they're coming to Asgard, right?" Evalia asked, and Eisen quickly nodded, "Another few weeks. We should be able to finish it in time, I hope. The basic construction is already almost done, right? And we just need to add the Samuel-block?"

Xenia confirmed, "Yes, exactly. We need to gather a few materials, but I've already asked Komer to get us everything we need, and then Eisen, you have to construct the base for the room and I do the engraving."

The old man quickly nodded his head. If it was like that, then the meeting between the giants' country and the central continent should be able to proceed without any particular interference, at least from Samuel's side.

---

Eisen walked through the hallways of the castle, accompanied by Girland. The Country-Core Guardian was making sure that the old man was getting everything done that he had missed out on during his journey to the giants' country. There was plenty of administrative work that Girland herself could take care of, but Eisen being the official King, he was still needed for a large amount of finalizations.

The other originals were able to take care of a lot of things, but sadly not everything, as annoying as it felt to Eisen.

One of the first things on the agenda were some updates to the country-management systems through the country-core that needed the old man's approval. Otherwise, there was paperwork in regard to Komer's merchant company and comfirmations of official affiliation, as well as other documents needed for certain trades between countries.

There were also a number of diplomatic letters that Eisen needed to reply to and approve personally, even if the decisions had already long been made. Since he was the only one with the actual legal power to do so, at least in the view of the other countries in question, there were quite a few annoying aspects to this.

Not to mention, there were areas that simply needed Eisen's expertise. Choices on materials and quality of items for the soldiers, of what was imported and exported to and from Asgard, and just making sure that the craftsmen hired the kingdom were up to snuff. Those were things that could technically be done without the old man, but he actually preferred to be there and make the final decision.

The country run by the originals had to be at the peak in every possible area. Just how Evalia oversaw the artistic development and Brody made sure that the soldiers' combat training and expertise was good enough, Eisen felt the need to ensure that the areas of his experise weren't lagging behind the others.

Especially considering that he had been away from the country the longest now, there were a lot of things for him to catch up on.

"What's next?" The old man asked, and Girland quickly listed the next few items on the old man's agenda, "There was a delivery of test-materials from multiple different island in the kingdom, such as Marble and Limestone, as well as Oak and Birch wood. Then there are a few craftsmen from the central continent that wish to immigrate and work for our country.

Their immigration process has already started, but in order to hire them we need your final word. And then, just before lunchtime, you are to check on the construction sites on the north-eastern side of the capital city as part of the efforts to show everyone that you have truly returned and are working hard once more," the guardian quickly explained, and Eisen let out a deep sigh.

He was going to be busy for the next few days, but he figured that was to be expected. If he wasn't up to this, he wouldn't have chosen to become a King again in the first place.