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Waifu Catalog Nightmare Mode by BatRou-Dawg

Misc » Book X-overs Rated: M, English, Supernatural, Words: 294k+, Favs: 159, Follows: 172, Published: Jun 27, 2023 Updated: Jun 29, 2023

16Chapter 4

Stephen Baratheon POV

"Only 1 out of 3… Are you sure?" He asked the elder of a farming village in Dragonstone who had been escorted here to answer some of his questions and has been doing so for a while now.

"Um… it's just a guess milord. But I think so."

"If only 1 out of 3 small folks in Dragonstone farm for food, then… what are the other 2 doing?" He asked, a bit confused by these numbers as he'd learned that 80% - 90% of the population in the medieval community is made up of farmers.

To hear that only 33% of men in Dragonstone farmed came as a surprise to him. The old man was probably not very accurate with his assessment but given his own observation of the people living in Dragonstone, that number should be about right.

"Many of them are fishermen milord. And many others become sailors. A good portion of the men in a nearby village work in the Royal Fleet. Me own son wants to join the Fleet and serve under your lord father." The old man spoke with some pride before he continued. "Others are herders, tradesmen, smith, shipbuilders, work in the port or have some other way of making a living."

He mulled those words over for a moment before asking "Since the farming population of Dragonstone is so small, I guess that a good portion of your food is provided to you by the fishermen."

"Yes milord."

"Why is the farming population of Dragonstone so small in the first place?" He asked and then turned to his guard, a landless knight who has been serving his father for a few years now. "Don't you think it's a bit strange."

"I wouldn't know my lord." The guard replied with a simple shake of the head. "I am a knight. Using my sword with valour in the battlefield is all I need to know."

'ugh… another muttonhead.' He thought with mild disappointment that he managed to hide behind a polite smile.

"If I may milord. I think I might know why things are the way they are." The village elder said and he gave the man a curious look, gesturing for him to continue.

"It's because of the land milord. A good portion of the land in Dragonstone is rocky or barren. The ones that's fertile makes for decent pastures but not good farms."

"So you're telling me... that Dragonstone lack farm lands?"

"Yes milord."

Well, there was no way he was going to magically turn rocky pastures into fertile farm lands. Unless he could transport some of Volcanic soil from the Dragonmont and use that to grow his crops. But that seems like it'll be an expensive undertaking. Not something useful to him right now. Though there was something else he was curious about.

"What about crop rotation?" He asked.

"Crop rotation milord?" The old man parroted his words, looking mildly confused.

"You know… when you grow a crop in some of the fields and leave some of the fields fallow, to give it time to regain its fertility. How is it done here."

"Oh! I see what you meant my lord. And yes, as taught to us in the Seven Pointed Star, we separate our fields into two sections. And grow our crop in one while leaving the other fallow."

"2 crop rotation then." He said, feeling a headache building in his head at the thought.

Did the peasants of medieval Earth also used 2 crop rotation as well? Or did they rely on 3 crop rotation. And when the hell did the idea of the 4 Crop rotation even emerge.

He wondered if the farmers of Reach also used a 2 crop rotation method of farming. He definitely hoped not. Because if they did then… he wasn't sure what would shock him more. The fact that they could see a great improvement in their already gigantic farming industry by implementing better crop rotation method. Or the fact that they produced as much food as they did with such an archaic method of farming.

8,000 years. That's how long humans have lived in Westeros. How the hell have they not found better methods of agriculture.

'They same way they haven't found a better method of creating steel, or paper, or cloth, or any other advancement really.' He thought with mild annoyance.

How the hell does a society stagnate for thousands of years yet still manages to survive?

Then a thought hit him and he turned to the old village elder once again.

"I've seen large swathes of fertile lands near the base of the Dragonmont? But I've never seen anyone farm those lands. Why is that?"

"That's because of Dragons milord."

"Dragons?" He asked, confused.

"Yes, milord. I heard that there were some people who tried to live in those lands in the past. But the dragon ate all of them and burned their homes and farms. So now no one likes to go near Dragonmort, aside from foolish boys wanting some adventure."

"But… the dragons are all gone now." He said, not understanding the problem here. After all, the land near the base of Dragonmont was probably the most fertile land in all of Dragonstone. The food that could grow in that place, if it is farmed, could probably feed the entire island's population if not more.

"Ah… we just don't like to go near that mountain milord. Some say that a dragon still slumbers in its depth and would one day rise up to devour the entire world. Others say that anyone who farms in that place will become cursed and die before long."

"Smallfolk superstition!" His guard spat out with disdain and the village elder looked mildly offended at the comment and spat back.

"Call it what you will Ser Knight. But no one wants to go and farm in that area."

'What a fucking mess.' He thought and held the urge the facepalm himself. 'The most fertile land in the entire island, going to waste because people are still afraid of dragons that died out 160 years ago.'

He wondered if he could force some of the peasants to go and farm that area? Would that be within his right as the lord (son of the lord) of this Island. Or would the peasants rebel over something like this.

'One step at a time Stephen.' He thought to himself before he enquired about something else that had him curious.

"What kind of tools do you use for farming?"

"Tools. Do you mean, like plow, rake, and sickle milord?"

"Yes. What kind of tools do you use? How is it made? Tell me everything about that." He said, knowing well enough that better farming tools played a large part in the green revolution that took place back in Earth.

And as the village elder started telling him about the tools that the farmers in Dragonstone used for farming, he fell further and further in confusion and bewilderment.

And as soon as the Elder stopped talking, he asked. "So… you use tools that are made up of bones, wood and stones."

'What the fuck was this, the stone age? Come on Westeros, do you really love to disappoint me so much. Or is it just Dragonstone that is cursed to be such a desolate place.' He thought and then paused as he realized that he might be onto something.

Was if possible that the other places in Westeros were more advanced than this, and Dragonstone simply fell behind because it was isolated from the main land or its Targaryen rulers didn't care about its small folk?

He wasn't sure if he was willing to believe that theory. A good portion of the Targaryen rulers in the past were mad, cruel, weak, or just plain useless. But a fair portion of them were also smart, wise, cunning and capable. So it was probably the isolation. Probably.

"Yes, milord. Though my family has an iron sickle that has been passed to us for generations. And a good quality castle forged spear that me father brought back from that last black dragon fire war in the Stepstones. The Iron sickle has rusted too much to be useful though, and it just sits there now."

"I see." He said simply, not knowing what else to say.

A part of him wanted to ask why they did not buy more steel tools. But then again, steel was expensive. And since Dragonstone didn't have any iron mines, they have to import that steel from outside, which made it even more expensive.

Plus, small folk, especially the farming community of this world were dirt poor. And a good portion of what they manage to grow in their farms is taken away as part of their taxes by their lords. With the remaining grain being used to survive.

Telling these people to buy better Steel tools for better farming would be a useless advice when these people cannot even afford better clothes for the half a dozen children back in their huts.

After a moment of silence, he reached inside his purse and took out a silver stag before handing it over to the old man who gave 'many thanks' for his generosity before he dismissed him.

He remained silent as he watched the old man leave before he turned to look at this guard.

"Well, what do you think?" He asked and the knight looked confused.

"About what my lord?"

"I was thinking of using some of that land near the Dragonmont base to grow spices. Spices that we can then sell for a lot of gold, which we can then use to make this Island more prosperous." He said.

The knight looked faintly disturbed at his words. "Forgive me my lord, but isn't growing and selling spices the work of lowly merchants and copper counters? Why would you ever lower yourself to bother with such trivialities."

He his stomach churned in disgust at those words and he closed his eyes before he said or did something that he'll later come to regret. "Never mind." He said, though he now knew one of the reasons why the small folk have yet to advance in this world. How can a peasant ever rise in this world when the lords and knights look down on you like this.

Though he did plan to eventually use people to grow spices in that land. This was an opportunity he couldn't allow to pass by him. Not when he could use his own Shaper powers to turn a lump of grass into a lump of Saffron, Pepper, Cinnamon, silk or something else that he'll then be able to sell for a large bag of gold coins.

But before he could say anything else, he heard frantic footsteps coming in his direction and turned just in time to see Melisandre stop a foot away from him.

Now… this was the first time he met her after her Capture finished last afternoon. And this was the first waifu he'd ever captured in this world. So he had no idea how she would react to him.

But falling down on her knees, proclaiming him to the Azor Ahai and begging him to let her come into his service was not exactly what he had in his mind.

—

"Where are we going my lord?" Melisandre asked as he dragged her through one of the unused corridor of the castle and he felt a shiver go down his back at her words.

You see, when a knight, a guard or a maid calls you 'my lord' it is nothing but a form of address. Like calling you 'Sir or Mister' back in Earth. Some of them might respect you, but for most of them it is mere formality.

But when Melisandre called him 'my lord' he could feel intense emotions and reverence in her voice.

When she said 'my lord', she genuinely thought of him as her lord. Her one and only lord that she planned to serve with all that she had.

It was… strange. No, not strange. Creepy and Off-putting would be the correct term here.

"To someplace where others can't hear us speak." He replied, having already sent his guard away with a coin to get a drink and another coin for his silence on this matter. Though he doubted how much silence he'll get from a man like that.

Yeah, he knew that he shouldn't look down on people and think ill of them. But he really did not like that man for some reason. Probably because of how he looked down on the 'small folk'. The same people who kept them all fed and were the backbone of their society and economy.

"You fear that you're being spied on?" She asked, her longer, voluptuous legs easily keeping pace with his hurried walking.

"No. Or I hope not at least. But I'm 4th in line for the throne after Joffrey, baby Tommen and my father. I would be very surprised if someone wasn't keeping an eye on me." He said.

Using Observe on the Knight guarding him had told him that the Knight did not serve any other player in the game (the same of which could not be said for some of the guards, servants and maids in Dragonstone) but that didn't mean that the Knight won't just sell info on him for a gold coin or blurt it out to a whore in a futile attempt to impress her.

No, it would not do for people to think that he was consorting with a priestess from a foreign land who worshipped a foreign god.

Not if he wants to rule Westeros one day.

No, it would be better for his reputation to remain spotless. His enemies were probably going to spread false rumours about him anyway in a bid to discredit him once he starts playing the game. He didn't need to give them any more ammunition.

He knew well enough what people in Kings Landing thought of Tyrion in canon despite him having saved the city from being sacked.

Reputation matters in Westeros. It matters a lot. And anyone who disagreed on that sentiment was either naive or a fool. Or probably both.

They eventually arrived at a deeper, abandoned part of the castle. Dust coated the floor in this place since no one walked walked these dark halls. No one except for him.

After making a turn and crossing another hallway, they arrived at what looked like a giant underground cavern, with a single ray of light coming in from a hole in the stone ceiling that illuminated a part of the cavern and showed…

Spoiler:Cavern

"Those are… graves? Where have you brought us my lord?" Melisandre asked curiously, not the least bit creeped out about being brought into a tomb.

"This…" He said as he spread his arms to gesture at the entire cavern "Is the resting place of the Targaryen Kings, and Queens of old. Though I suppose there are a fair share of princes and princesses buried in here as well."

He had found this place two years ago when he was searching the entirety of Dragonstone. Hoping to stumble upon a secret passageways to the lost treasures of the ancient Targaryen rulers (if such a thing even existed). Or a Dragon egg that was perhaps left forgotten by the people in the past.

He hadn't found any treasure or Dragon Egg as of this date. But this place served as a place of solitude for him. A place to escape to and hide whenever his new life and the role of a prince became too much for him.

Then he went to one of the graves sitting in the more well lit area of the Cavern before he reached into his pocket and took a portion of the biomass kept in there, before using his power to turn it into a flower.

A flower that he kept on top of that grave before removing the old dried up flower.

Melisandre walked up to him as he cleaned the dust off the grave and read the initials on the tombstone. "Here lies Rhaella Targaryen, a wife, a mother, a queen. She showed kindness to all who needed it. Rest In Peace 245 AC - 284 AC." She then turned to look at him, a curious glint in her eyes. "I did not know that you cared about the Targaryens my lord."

"I don't." He said as he scratched his head and sighed. "Not really. But I feel guilty for what happened to Elia and her children. And since there is no grave for them…" He trailed off with a shrug. The topic of Elia and her children always left him feeling uncomfortable and strangely guilty despite him having no hand in their demise.

Probably because while he had no part in their deaths, he did benefit from it.

Or probably because if he chose to reincarnate in someone like Rhaegar or even Viserys Targaryen then he could've saved them.

His words, that he didn't care about the Targaryens, weren't completely true either. After all, he did plan to marry Daenerys in the future.

She was the only other Tier 5 in this world aside from Melisandre and Arya Stark. And it was very likely that his actions will eventually butterfly away Arya's little adventure to Braavos (since he planned to assassinate Joffrey before that idiot could plunge the entirety of Westeros into war).

So Arya will likely never become a Faceless Man/Woman and thus remain a Tier 1 or Tier 2 Waifu for the rest of her life. Making Daenerys even more valuable.

He didn't care about Dany's dragons much, even though he'll make sure that they hatched since they were the only things that made her a Tier 5 character. But the 12 points he'll gain from capturing her (by making her fall in love with him, since he didn't have a Stamp anymore), were extremely important to him.

Especially the 5 points that he now needs to buy 'Exit Stage World' that'll eventually allow him to leave this world and move on to his next adventure. Without those points, he'll remain in Planetos for the rest of Eternity, which was not a welcoming prospect.

The legitimacy that a marriage with her would bring to his rule (along with her dragons) would also be useful.

"I was under the impression that your King hates the Targaryens." Melisandre said as she bent down, uncaring of the dust that latched onto her beautiful red gown and started helping him in cleaning the grave.

"That he does. But I am not Robert Baratheon." He said as he got up and moved on to two other graves in the darker side of the cavern and put a flower on top of them as well.

"King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne. The Targaryen King and Queen that I admire the most." He told Melisandre upon noticing her curious look.

"I've heard of them as well. The longest ruling Monarch of house Targaryen. The descendants of one of their daughters still live behind the Black Wall of Volantis, with the other nobility who fashion themselves as the last descendants of Old Valyria."

He nodded, ignoring her words about the Volantene nobles. "King Jaehaerys ruled for over 55 years in peace and prosperity. His rule saw the realm recover from the weak management of King Aenys and the cruelty of King Meagor. And by the end of his reign, the 7 kingdoms became so prosperous, that a small folk earned over 3 gold dragons in a year. And a war horse was bought for less than one. Can you believe that?"

"It is a bit hard to believe." Melisandre agreed. As she should. After all, nowadays, it was the exact opposite. A small folk can barely earn a single gold dragon from a year's worth of labor. And a war horse was worth anywhere between 3-5 gold dragons.

"You admire this King and Queen." Melisandre noted as he bent down and started cleaning the two graves as well.

"I do. They're my role models. Them, and Corlys Velaryon, who single handedly made Houser Velaryon the single richest House in the entirety of Westeros from his 9 famous voyages. And while I doubt that I'll ever sail as far and wide as he did, I do plan to follow in his footsteps to make my lands rich and prosperous with trade."

"You have good role models." Melisandre said as she bent down to join him in cleaning the graves as well. He tried not to stare at the absolutely gorgeous view of the cleavage that she was now presenting him. Those breasts were absolutely wonderful. Oh how he would like to remove that dress off of her and suckle and nibble and those wonderful teats.

At that moment, Melisandre met his eyes and gave him a seductive grin which managed to do strange thing to him stomach and sent blood rushing to his cheeks, making him quickly look away from her.

What the hell? He has not even reached puberty and the woman was already getting such reactions out of him. And was she doing this intentionally? She was, wasn't she? This vixen.

He coughed in his hand to dispel his awkwardness and came back to the topic. "Of course, then their descendants managed to piss all that wealth and prosperity away within the next few decades, so I wonder, how much of their contributions really mattered in the end."

"Does anything really ever matter in the end?" Melisandre asked and he thought about it for a moment and then shrugged.

"Probably not. At the end of the day, even Planetos is merely a small piece of cosmic dust in the vastness of space. So anything that human race itself has ever achieved in meaningless in the grand scheme of things." 'Including the humans back in Earth.' He thought.

Noticing the slightly confused look on Melisandre's face, he shook his head and cleared his wandering mind before he tried to get to the reason on why he brought her here.

"Never mind that. Let's get to the reason you have approached me. It is because of certain… changes that you've felt within yourself. Is it not?"

Melisandre's expression became serious at his words and she nodded, a fervent gleam appearing in her eyes as she gazed at him with the same look of love and reverence that once again sent a shudder down his spine.

"Yes, I have experienced a few changes since last afternoon and have felt rather confused about what has happened to me. I believe you hold the answers to this… mystery."

"I do. Though I'm not sure how much I should tell you." He said, and he was being serious.

After all, all relationships are built on the foundation of truth and respect. And while he did use the Stamp to mind control her and make her fall in love with him (something that he felt only mildly guilty about since she was a religious fanatic who'd burn other people with glee), the truth was that they were now in a relationship.

A strange relationship of master and servant. Perhaps even slave and owner. But a relationship nonetheless. And he did not want to lie to her. Not when he was already doing that to everyone else in his life.

A life built on lies and deceit can get tiring and burdensome faster than a person can ever imagine. He knew, because he was living that life.

"Tell me as much as you feel comfortable with." Melisandre said encouragingly and he smiled.

Here was a woman who would serve all his wishes and desires. Do everything he ever asks of her. And could be his trusted confidant. Something that any other man could only ever wish for.

So why did he feel so guilty all of a sudden. And full of emptiness.

'Because at the end of the day, this is just another relationship built on a foundation of sand. Her love and devotion for me a mere product of mind control.' He thought with slight melancholy.

Wow, he was turning into Rhaegar 2.0, wasn't he.

He shook his head and slapped his cheeks. He has succeeded in his goal of capturing her. And now has the Gamer System thanks to that. No point in looking back at the past for what he did. He could only move on ahead with the decisions he'd made so far.

And despite his reluctance, he could admit that he was in a great position in regards to the future.

So he opened his mouth and told everything to Melisandre.

Well… not everything.

He did not tell her about his past life. Or the fact that he had something called Waifu Catalog. He might tell her about those things someday, in the far the future. But not today.

No, he just told her that he used his power to mind control her into loving him.

Her reaction?

"I do not mind." She said simply.

"You… do not mind?" He asked, a bit dumbfounded by her simple reply.

"Yes, I do not mind. For however it is that I came to love and adore you, it is my reality now. And I'm willing to serve you to the best of my abilities my lord."

He frowned at her words. "I see." He said and silence filled the cavern as he gazed in its dark corners. Dark corners that he'd once searched in the hopes of finding a dragon egg.

He let out a chuckle at that thought before he turned to look at her again. "Remove your collar." He said.

Melisandre froze at his words and her lips quivered for a moment before she looked at him with a shaky expression. "Do you mean, the one I wear on my neck."

"Yes."

"That's…" She paused and pursed her lips. "You know how I look underneath, don't you my lord?"

"Yes, I do know that you're older than even King Jaehaerys and Queen Alicent. Though not exactly how old. Can you tell me."

"428 years my lord." Melisandre said as she clutched her collar tightly, a look of fear on her eyes. "Is this really your wish?"

"Yes." He said and with shaky fingers and a silent chant, Melisandre finally removed the necklace from her neck.

A wave of revulsion and nausea instantly assaulted him along with the smell of death and decay. And it was all he could do to hold his lunch in his stomach.

He had seen how Melisandre looked like in the show when she removed her collar. A old decrepit woman who looked to be over 100 years old and could barely walk to her bed. And he had thought himself ready for the scene in front of him.

Yet, just as this Melisandre looked far more beautiful and seductive than the version of her in the show, the version of her that he saw after she'd removed her necklace was also far, far worse.

Eyes that were sunken within themselves. Skin that seemed to barely hang onto her face. A rotting head that held a few hair on a few places, making her look worse than if she had not a single hair on her head at all.

He was frankly not sure how she was still alive at this point.

He'd seen wights in the show who looked more healthy than her.

Magic, as always, was an insidious and dark thing in the World of Planetos. And now… with how far her body had deteriorated, he could only hope that he'll be able to help her with his own abilities.

Melisandre continued to stare at him silently, her figure shaking from what seemed like a great effort to remain standing. And he took hold of her arms, her wrinkly shaggy arms with little to no muscles underneath -shudders- and helped her sit down on the ground.

And gods, the smell became infinitely worse now that he was near him. But before he could gag or vomit on the ground, a blue notification came in front of him.

Gamer Mind has negated Nausea!

Wow… to think that being near a person could be so bad that it'll trigger his Gamer Mind. He didn't know if it was disgusting or impressive. But he could work with calm mind now at least.

She opened her mouth to say something but aside from a few groans, she couldn't make any other noise. And since he was touching her, his Shaper power allowed him to see that it was because her larynx has partially decayed with age. As had the rest of her body, her organs, and even her bones.

The worst part was her reproductive system which was… the less said about it the better.

Melisandre weakly raised her hand to put the collar back on her neck but he caught her hand and stopped her.

"Not now. Wait for a moment." He told her before reached inside his Inventory and brought out a few balls of Biomass that he'd made by melting down some pork meat.

Then he melted the Biomass on his hand and transferred it into Melisandre's body, changing its biology to make sure that her body will not reject it, before he used all the knowledge he'd managed to gather in the past 7 years in this world and started to heal her.

The entire process lasted for hours and it was the most tiring thing he'd ever done in his life.

By the end of it, he was sweating like a pig from all the exertion, his Vit stat had gone up by 2. And his Shaper ability (which was also shown as a skill in Gamer System) had gone up by 1 from 17 to 18.

Melisandre, for her part, had gone from looking like a skeleton with some skin hung on top of it that'll fall apart at any moment, to looking like a grandma that you expected to see at every Christmas. A grandma that expected to live for yet 5-10 more years.

It was… not a great improvement. Mostly because he'd run out of both biomass and energy while in the middle of the age reversing process.

But he was now confident that with a few more of such sessions, he'll be able to turn her back to looking as young as she did when she wore that collar. Younger, really.

"You can *huff* wear that *huff* collar back now." He said as he plopped down on the ground and Melisandre looked down at the skin in wonder and amazement for a moment before she picked up the collar and put it back on her neck, and went back to looking as young and energetic as ever.

"You should *haah* teach me that glamour magic *huff* sometime." He said, desperately wishing for a glass of water and cursing himself for not keeping some of it in his Inventory.

That's the next thing he'll do once he goes back to his room. Ask the servants to bring him a bucket load of food and clean water and put all of it in his Inventory for future use.

"I will my lord. When we have the time." Melisandre spoke, her voice young and sultry once again. Though he was too tired to care right now. "Though I doubt that the best of my abilities could even come close to what you're capable of."

"If you say so *haff*." He said and leaned his back against a tombstone for a more comfortable sitting position before he looked at her once again. And he realised that her unnatural beauty did not arouse him as much anymore. Not when he'd seen and felt and worked on her decayed insides mere minutes ago.

Maybe one day, when he's older and she's younger, he'll feel something for her again. But that time won't be coming anything soon.

As it was, he desperately hoped that seeing her in her 'natural state' hadn't left him traumatised for life.

"I… couldn't heal your… womb." He said after having recovered a bit. "I kept trying and improved it a bit. But there's something there, that's actively rejecting my healing. Sorry about that. But you won't be giving birth even after I've healed you completely." Not until he found a way to remove whatever curse that was.

"I understand." Melisandre said as she sat down beside him. "And as much as I enjoy your efforts and attention, I do not have any need or desire of children. Maybe in the future, if you're willing… but not right now."

"Yes." He said, ignoring her words about indirectly asking him to be the father of her future children. "How did that happen though. I assume it has something to do with your shadow binding magic."

"You assume correctly my lord. I had to… sacrifice my womb in order to learn how to give birth to beings of the shadow. If you heal me, then I'll lose my ability to birth shadows. So perhaps it's for the best that you don't try to heal my womb right now." Melisandre said "I want to remain useful to you for as long as possible."

Great, Melisandre was a Yandere now or what?

They grew silent after that and he enjoyed the silence even though he desperately wanted some water.

In the end, it was Melisandre who broke the silence. "Now what my lord."

He used his Shaper power to clamp down on his urge to drink water and calmed down before he looked at her and said. "Now… here's what you're going to do." And told her of his plans.