True Dragons Don't Care About Sheep

Spring, Day 22, Monday, 11:00 AM.

King's Landing, Red Keep.

White Sword Tower.

Daeren knelt before the desk, his quill sketching a map of King's Landing's defenses.

He was armored.

His silver-gold ear-length hair fell naturally. Beneath the silver armor carved with intricate patterns, he wore a purple silk shirt. A gold tassel hung from his chest, and a purple cape draped over his right shoulder.

On his feet were leather boots, a reward from a level 10 mine chest.

The stark armor highlighted his youthful, handsome face, imbuing it with the composed nobility of a high-ranking official.

It was unavoidable.

Taking up the position of Deputy Commander of the City Watch meant patrolling various parts of King's Landing.

Neither the trial by combat nor mining had required him to wear armor, but certain areas of the city necessitated caution.

After all, the common folk of King's Landing had a notorious reputation.

"My Prince, the frostbite ointment you requested is ready."

Maester Harvey spoke softly, careful not to disturb him.

"..."

Receiving no response, Maester Harvey moved to a corner of the room, occasionally glancing at the round table.

His naturally timid nature made him deeply respect the benefactor who had changed his life.

Daeren had personally seen to his promotion to acting Archmaester.

He would temporarily hold the responsibilities until the Citadel elected a new Archmaester.

Compared to eight days ago, his entire demeanor had improved dramatically.

His face had regained a healthy color, his body was no longer so thin, and on his face, adorned with a small mustache, he now wore square-framed glasses.

The lenses were two magnifying glasses, hand-ground, and the frames were a gift from Prince Daeren.

He had finally overcome the negative effects of his severe myopia.

"The Prince is truly diligent."

Harvey averted his gaze and returned to preparing healing salves.

In recent days, the Prince's demand for medicinal herbs had increased, and he had also requested frostbite ointment be prepared.

Furthermore, the King's daily calming medicine was also essential.

Meanwhile, Daeren was engrossed in his work.

"This should be about right."

Daeren put down his quill, picking up the finished product with satisfaction.

The paper depicted a map of King's Landing's defenses, accurate to the actual locations.

"Eight days since I took office, and the groundwork is finally complete."

Daeren had a clear plan.

For the past eight days, to outsiders, he had been holed up in the White Sword Tower, using the Kingsguard's Yew Round Table as if it were a daily ritual.

In reality, he had accomplished many significant things in silence.

Dragon Tongue Farm -- Capital Garrison

Regarding the farm, strawberries had been harvested on Spring 18th, Spring 21st, and Spring 22nd.

On Spring 18th and Spring 22nd, 16 strawberry plants, accelerated by sprites, yielded 32 strawberries.

On Spring 21st, normally grown strawberries ripened, yielding 29 strawberries.

A total of 61 fresh strawberries: 45 ordinary quality, 15 silver-star quality, and 1 gold-star quality.

This was the first time Dragon Tongue Farm had produced a gold-star quality crop!

With the large harvest of strawberries, his Farming level had naturally increased to level 5, unlocking the [Farmer] profession, and increasing crop sale prices by 10%.

With the [Farmer] profession.

Daeren kept one gold-star quality strawberry for himself, gave a few silver-star quality strawberries to his mother, Rhaella, and his sister, Shayani, and sold the rest.

The sale brought in a staggering 7590 gold.

The gold was temporarily set aside for future use.

Equipped with the Neptune Greatsword and the Ring of Luck, he ventured into the level 45 mine and began preliminary iron ore extraction.

Harvest: Smelted iron ingots, from which three basic sprinklers were crafted.

Difficulty: Starting from level 40, the mine entered a frozen region, with bone-chillingly cold temperatures.

It was particularly difficult for Daeren, a Targaryen.

Outside of farm matters.

Daeren stretched his limbs and stood by the tower window. "Maester Harvey, has Lord Manley come looking for me?"

"Yes, yes, Prince."

Harvey pushed up his thick glasses and quickly replied, "Lord Manley said that many knights have recently joined the City Watch, causing friction with the middle ranks of the original City Watch. The two sides are not getting along well."

"Then I can rest easy."

Daeren said calmly.

Harvey: "Huh?"

The Prince's words were too complex; he couldn't understand them.

Daeren: "Maester, others think I'm hiding in the White Sword Tower to slack off. This is a good opportunity."

He hadn't realized it before.

The City Watch was so corrupt.

The Golden Cloaks, with a roster of two thousand men, hadn't been full for many years. Captains at all levels were corrupt, taking bribes, creating ghost soldiers, and enlisting conscripts to fill the ranks...

The crimes were too numerous to count.

Lord Manley Stockworth was loyal but lacked ability.

During his tenure, he couldn't suppress his subordinates and could only try to win over a faction of veteran Golden Cloaks to maintain the dignity of the Commander of the City Watch.

"It's rotten to the core; we need to cut the bone to heal the poison."

Even though Daeren was naturally gentle, he was angered by this.

Knock, knock, knock!

A servant from the Lannister family knocked on the door, informing him that the Prime Minister had summoned him.

Daeren: "Lead the way."

Before leaving, he reminded Maester Harvey to continue developing a more effective sedative and to help his father, Aerys, break his Poppy Milk addiction as soon as possible.

Maester Harvey nodded vigorously, as if he wanted to use all his strength.

Prime Minister's Tower.

"You're here, kid."

Tywin sat behind his desk, with a pile of recently processed documents beside him.

Looking at the furrowed lines on his forehead, it was clear that being Prime Minister was no easy task.

Daeren asked, "My Lord, do you have any instructions?"

Hearing this address, Tywin frowned slightly.

However, thinking that one addresses others by their title when working, that hint of dissatisfaction faded.

"I sent for you to inform you of something."

Tywin pulled out a document and said in a deep voice, "Your position was appointed by the King; it wasn't a position I handpicked for you."

"And after you took office, you caused a major stir without consulting me, and now you've gotten into trouble."

Daeren picked up the document to examine it.

It was a joint impeachment letter.

"They're all minor figures."

Daeren glanced at it and placed it back on the table.

The densely packed names were all captains at various levels of the City Watch, with a few merchants and minor nobles acting as sycophants.

The impeachment content accused Daeren of nepotism and disrupting the unity within the City Watch...

Nothing substantial.

Seeing his indifferent attitude, Tywin knitted his brows. "Kid, you may look down on those flies, but don't forget that beasts often stand behind flies."

"You should appease them and achieve merits as soon as possible to win the unanimous approval of your subordinates and noble lords."

He offered clear solutions to his carefully cultivated protégé.

Daeren shook his head. "Beasts? I see a flock of sheep."

"Lord Manley Stockworth is the sheep!"

Tywin raised his voice and said sternly, "The noble lords behind those flies can skin you alive and swallow you whole."

Great nobles rule over lesser nobles by winning hearts and minds.

It's not that you can truly be King just by wearing a crown and shouting, "I am the King."

Arrogance will only lead to destruction.

"In my eyes, they're all sheep."

Tywin's expression shifted.

Daeren tapped the document with his finger and retorted, "Teacher, when a lion eats sheep, does it care about the sheep's opinion?"

"I am a true dragon, and I don't care about the opinions of sheep."

With that, Daeren bowed slightly, turned, and pushed the door open to leave.

Those posturing sheep hadn't seen a dragon's fury in too long, their perceptions were impaired.

Daeren would show them with actions.

What "Sleeping Dragon's Wrath" meant.

Bang!

The door closed softly.

Tywin's eyes were filled with surprise, unable to fathom this student's thoughts.