"Being acquainted with the aforementioned conditions, work under me and me alone."
"Hm…"
"What do you say?"
I had a lot to say. First off, I wanted to clarify some things. What drove her to doing all of this was the fact that she needed a powerful weapon she could trust. A powerful weapon that would be her asset alone. The kind of tool that shall serve her, at the palace, where she, for more than one reason she didn't dive into, could do with someone's help, and work under her alone. I imagined the life at the castle, being a high-ranking noble and all, was also difficult in its own way.
So I knew she could use me as I would be some kind of secret weapon, let's say, but that was it. I didn't ask about what kind of work I would be required to pull under her direction or anything. It didn't interest me, and I think I didn't have to know. What interested me, though, was what would happen outside of that.
I mean, addressing the elephant in the room, would I be joining some kind of army or something? Work with other soldiers? Have a superior, train all day with them, perform some kinds of daily duties, like patrolling squares or stuff like that?
That wasn't likely, and I was right. I was told, "Not at all. That's a fair question, now that I consider your perspective, but no you won't." What didn't I understand, she asked me? She said it again: a soldier that would work under her and her alone. And so, from what I understood, and that was a question I asked, I would become some kind of special knight, guard, or escort to the lady, eh?
Following her everywhere around, be it from the shadows or in plain daylight, executing her orders here and there, be it gathering information she needed, or do away with some noble competitors now and then, all of which would be meant to serve her, ease her life, and help her climb her way up the dominance hierarchy at the castle.
She said it was basically that and I entertained the right idea. If she was to be quite honest with me, she told me in all honesty she herself didn't really know about all the technicalities and such of the job she offered me, but in more than one way, I could basically call myself her "servant." I didn't like the sound of that word but I nodded anyway.
It hadn't been a week since I first opened my eyes in that restaurant and decided to gather information about the Outside World… and I was already offered a job. I quite honestly imagined, not that I gave it much thought, that I would be wandering around the world with my two companions for more than a year, at least, before we found a place to settle in and stuff.
Like, having a real home and what came along with it. Belong to a land, basically. My old man, when I asked him what he thought about that, confessed that both he and I had the same idea. Meaning it would take long before we settled in some place. And today, after only a week, I was offered a job, hm? If I accepted it, I'd already be belonging to one place instead of wandering the world, directionless.
I already had a direction, now. I guess you'd have to thank the System for that. If I didn't have the quests to basically walk me through the world, I'd probably still be in the dark streets of the Sville Village, with the rats, trash, and piss, starving myself to death and jumping from one Receptacle to the other.
That felt like so long ago, by the way… but it had been, what, only a little handful of days at most. Presently, thanks to the System, I had my Character created, I could "participate in the Game," as the System would have it, and so I had many directions to follow.
So far, I always followed the System's directives. It was about the only thing I always had with me that always helped. It proved useful to listen to whatever this power of mine I called System said to do. So what should I do? Follow that lady's lead, as the System qualified the path she gave me as a "Compulsory Quest," or not? I never tried disobeying the System, now that I think about it, so maybe I should experiment? Try and see what would happen?
"Pfft! What are you— Not so fast, hey!" the royalty laughed. Shaking her head at me and smiling, I cocked my head to the side, asking her what was funny. "First of all, don't put it that way, little monster. 'Make babies with,' yes? Tut-tut. Rude."
"Yes, ma'am. Be wedded to renew alliances and stuff, then."
"Sure, and then, about your concerns… Ideally, I shouldn't need you to kill so easily. Hopefully, you, little monster, and your presence wouldn't be more than a deterrent to that kind of hostilities. My trump card, if you will. Ah, and you can forget about the suitor problem I mentioned earlier. Why, if everything goes well, today, and I prove my value to Father, though a woman I may be, I will still have time."
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