Chapter 124: The AFK Player Logged On
"Get ready, we're going to the factory to take a look."
Nina was startled. "Right now?"
"Yes." Egger had drummed up a considerable amount of business in the coalition camp. Margaery and a host of other nobles from the six kingdoms had promised to visit the office to discuss cooperation and investment, and there was no telling when they might arrive. If a client requested a tour of the industrial park and he, the boss, took them to the site only to be shocked himself by his own burgeoning factories, it would be far too embarrassing.
Egger did not believe in fighting unprepared battles; he liked the feeling of having everything under control.
"Understood... right away." Nina immediately stood up, walked to the door leading to the office's backyard, and pushed it open. "Lady Arya, Lord Egger is back!"
What, Arya is in the backyard? No one knew he was returning today; had this girl been coming here every single day during his absence?
As the door—also recently replaced—swung open, the backyard erupted with crisp laughter and the thwack-thwack-thwack of wood striking wood, followed by an excited shriek. The insulation of the thick, double-layered door was so effective that despite talking to Nina for all this time, Egger hadn't realized anyone was back there.
Why was Arya still practicing her swordplay here? Ah, right—before leaving King's Landing, Tyrion had said he would take over the baton and keep the Stark girl engaged... but who was she practicing with?
A sense of foreboding washed over him, and Egger finally understood why he hadn't recognized a single person upon entering.
Before he could think further, a small, agile figure darted in through the back door. "Master! Master! Master!"
Calling out joyfully, Arya rushed toward him, not even dropping her wooden training sword. Egger barely had time to stand before the girl slammed into his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist and rubbing her small head against him a few times. "You're finally back! No one was here to tell stories; practicing swordplay all day is so boring."
"Didn't I put all the stories into books? You can read them yourself. And where did you learn to act so spoiled? You're a young lady; mind your manners!" Egger sighed and ruffled Arya's hair. He hadn't seen her in two months, and she seemed to have grown a bit taller. As they pulled apart, the man noticed something else that left him dumbfounded. "Why are you wearing lipstick too?"
"You said girls should know how to dress up," Arya stuck out her tongue and explained in a low voice. "I saw how pretty Sister Nina looked wearing it, so I wanted to try it out!"
Well, he had said that, and it did look good—she appeared lively and spirited, with bright eyes and ruby lips. The tomboyish Arya Underfoot now looked like a charming reincarnation of Lyanna Stark. Egger brushed aside his stray thoughts and immediately remembered a potential issue: Arya's bodyguards usually sat on the bench outside after dropping her off. He hadn't seen anyone when he walked in. If such a fresh, high-born little girl was walking the streets alone, what if she encountered some unsavory character?
"Where are your guards?" Egger's face darkened. Children could be excused for being careless, but he was an adult and had to be responsible for those around him.
"They went outside the city to teach swordplay to the people you recruited!"
"After the guard drops the young mistress off every day, he goes outside the city to train the men we've hired," Nina chimed in to explain. With others in the room, her speech had become much more fluid. "He returns here in the evening before it gets dark to take Lady Arya back to the Red Keep."
"Teaching swordplay? That's not a bad idea, but he is Lord Eddard's man after all. Working him like this..."
Nina immediately cleared his confusion. "Lord Tyrion pays him a wage... or rather, a 'stipend' for his trouble."
I see. A stipend paid by a Lannister was bound to be substantial. As a Stark guard, being able to earn extra coin on the side must make the rest of the household guards green with envy over the cushy gig. His worry had been misplaced from the start; with Tyrion's brain at work, how could he let someone work for free?
It seems Eddard Stark is treating my Night's Watch office as a free daycare center. Oh well, Arya had done great service for the industry; consider it a hundred-year daycare fee paid in advance.
He initially thought about telling Arya not to treat cosmetics like toys, but then he had a second thought: The Hand's daughter using Night's Watch products and looking beautiful afterward—isn't that the perfect advertisement for the lipstick? He should support her and perhaps even pay her an endorsement fee. He'd check the production process later, and if there were no harmful ingredients, he'd let her be. "Anyway, I'm heading to the industrial park outside the city. Are you coming?"
"Yes!" Arya cried happily. She was full of energy and never tired of running around; she only feared having no company. "I want to ride a horse by myself!"
...
In the backyard, Arya's private sword instructor also walked through the door and greeted him. "Lord Egger."
"Mm." Egger nodded in response. Since returning to the office, he had heard a continuous string of good news, but the presence of Jaqen H'ghar was not a pleasant surprise—it was a shock.
Why hadn't he left yet? As a top-tier Braavosi spy and assassin, if he had stayed in King's Landing to infiltrate the Royal Library for intelligence, three or four months should have been more than enough.
Egger had reason to suspect that Jaqen was staying purely to monitor the development of the Night's Watch industries, waiting for a chance to steal commercial secrets. If this fellow used his advantage as one of the first employees to somehow become a founding member based on seniority—acting as a nail driven into his empire by the Iron Bank—it would be a massive headache.
Furthermore, since Tyrion had begun preparing to issue loans, did the Night's Watch industries now pose a competitive threat to the Faceless men? Would he and Tyrion face a threat from the Faceless Men?
...
Nina had no idea what Egger was thinking. She turned and instructed the Faceless Man, "Kon, ride to the city outskirts first. Find Lord Tyrion and notify the others that Lord Egger is coming for an inspection."
"Mm." Jaqen nodded, and without another word, he actually pushed the door open and left.
Wait, Nina can actually boss Jaqen around! Was it because she was particularly authoritative, or was Jaqen playing the role of an office employee so professionally that he had truly immersed himself in the character?
After thinking it over for a moment, Egger set aside his concerns about Jaqen's presence. Since he was well aware of Jaqen's true identity, he simply had to ensure the man didn't enter the core management. If the rulers of Braavos wanted intelligence on his business, his current power was nowhere near enough to stop them by simply chasing away one Jaqen. As for competition, it didn't exist, because the Iron Bank was fundamentally unable to issue loans within Westeros.
The basic national policy of preventing the Iron Bank from entering the Seven Kingdoms had been established back in the Targaryen era. Although the Baratheons had overthrown the previous dynasty, they largely inherited its policies: while they borrowed money from the Iron Bank, the Seven Kingdoms officially rejected Braavosi political and financial infiltration. In short—even if Tyrion didn't issue loans, the Iron Bank couldn't expand into this market.
"Preventing foreign financial influence while failing to establish Westeros's own financial institutions." This was a blunder by the rulers of the Iron Throne, but it had inadvertently left a massive blank space in the market for Egger, as if waiting for a transmigrator like him to come and make some waves.
Dealing with zero competition and handling finance like a single-player game—it couldn't be more satisfying!
As for the Iron Bank's thoughts... business was never purely a zero-sum game of life and death. Instead of strangling him, the rulers of Braavos should be supporting and secretly helping him. As long as he ensured the core management was composed entirely of his own people, the industry wouldn't fall into others' hands even if he died—without giving a rival the chance to occupy the magpie's nest, his life wouldn't be under threat. The Iron Bank was formidable, at least in reputation, but it was essentially a commercial institution. As merchants, they wouldn't skip past the possibility of cooperation just to kill someone from the get-go.
Having reached this realization, the Watchman felt significantly lighter. Accompanied by the two women—one young and one even younger—and Casey, who was waiting outside with a proud veteran employee expression, he led his horse onto the road toward the industrial park.
The weather was no longer as sweltering as it had been months ago, which meant the stench of King's Landing had dissipated somewhat. This became even more apparent after riding through the King's Gate. Facing the steady, cool breeze of the open country, the group chatted as they traveled. Arya talked excitedly the whole way, rambling about how incredible Kon's skills were, telling Egger her swordplay had improved rapidly and demanding a challenge, and even mentioning how Septa Mordane had found her hidden smutty book. She bragged about how she had stayed tight-lipped and almost got beaten without snitching on Tyrion, acting like a loyal comrade seeking praise... the whole way was filled with the chattering of the little she-wolf.
From Arya's stories, Egger found at least one thing to be pleased about: Jaqen might not be teaching her everything, but he was certainly teaching her real skills. He felt a genuine spark of anticipation as to whether Arya would eventually become a formidable swordswoman.
Of course, it was only anticipation. As a transmigrator familiar with the plot and rich in knowledge—a man, a master, and the girl's idol—he should rely on his own abilities to protect the friends, disciples, and subordinates who admired and were loyal to him. To expect Arya to become a master assassin through suffering just to protect him, as she did in the original story, would be the height of spinelessness.
About half an hour later, Egger arrived at the banks of the Blackwater south-west of the city, at the site he had personally helped select. After two months of being AFK, he had finally logged back on.
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