THE KING'S RECRUITMENT

That morning, Elbert's house:

Elbert sat quietly in his house, deep in thought.

(Thought)
"What was that monster? I've never seen anything like it before. Something strange is happening, and I need to do something before things get worse. Maybe that thief girl could actually be useful....."

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A few hours ago:

After the fight with the beast, Elbert was completely exhausted. He struggled to get up, and Lily and Lui rushed to help him. Sherlin hurried over as well and offered him a hand.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Sherlin asked, concern written on her face.

"Yeah. I'm fine."
"Seriously, I'm kind of surprised you managed to kill that beast without a single injury. You know, that was actually pretty awesome."

Sherlin said, practically buzzing with excitement, while Elbert just kept nodding along.

"Okay, okay. But weren't you trying to steal from us while we were fighting that thing?"

Elbert asked, annoyed. Sherlin looked embarrassed and gave an awkward smile.

"Ah..... I'm really sorry about that. I'll return everything I stole from this village. I promise."
"You never change, do you?"
"Maybe not..... But what was that beast? I've never seen anything like it before."
"Me neither....... Hey, Sherlin, can you do me a favor?"

Sherlin looked at him, curious.

"What?"
"You travel to a lot of places for your heists, right? So if you ever come across any signs of monster attacks, could you let me know?"
"Of course. But wait — does that mean you're okay with me continuing my heists? Are you actually supporting me as a thief now?"

She smiled at him. Elbert froze.

"No, that's not what I meant. I just meant — if you're already out doing a heist somewhere..... I don't mean I want you to keep being a thief."
"Hey..... I'm just a poor girl with no one to rely on. What else can I do?"

Sherlin put on her most innocent expression, which softened Elbert a little despite himself.

"Fine, fine. I suppose..... it's alright to keep living as a thief, as long as you don't hurt anyone and only take enough to get by."

Elbert said it awkwardly, even though it wasn't really what he wanted to say.

"Oh, I thought you'd say something more dramatic, like 'you have me' or something....."
"What?"

Lily and Lui just stared at the two of them as they went back and forth.

"Who's this woman, anyway?"

Lui whispered to Lily.

"Maybe big brother's new girlfriend?"
"No way."

"So, will you help me?"

Elbert asked.

"I still don't really see what's in it for me, but you did save me twice tonight, so — fine, I'll agree."

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Elbert was still lost in thought.

(Thought)
"If I don't do something, innocent people are going to get hurt, and my village will end up in trouble too. I can't let that happen. I'll do everything I can about this."

Just then, Lui and Lily came up to him.

"Big brother, are you feeling okay now?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. How's everything going out there?"
"Everyone's working hard to clean up the village and rebuild the houses. People are still wondering who killed the beast. We think it's better to stay quiet about it."
"Yeah, probably."

Elbert stood up and started walking outside.

"Where are you going? You're supposed to be resting."

Lui said, worried.

"How can I rest when everyone else is out there working so hard?"

Elbert smiled at his siblings, and they smiled back, clearly proud of him.

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Royal palace, Voymir, capital of the Voymaria Kingdom:

The capital, Voymir, was vast and beautiful. The palace itself was enormous, larger even than most royal palaces, since Voymaria was one of the wealthiest nations in the world.

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty, please wake up..."

Royal advisor Kane spoke calmly and patiently, trying to rouse the young man sleeping in the royal chamber.

"Hnn..."

The man opened his eyes and yawned.

"Kane..... what is it?"
"Your Majesty, it's already ten in the morning. You're very late today. Please get up and get ready. No one has had breakfast yet — everyone is waiting for you. There's a lot of work to get through today."
"Alright, alright."

The man slowly got up. He was still groggy, so Kane helped steady him as he walked. The guards standing outside the room remained silent.
The man was none other than Romeo Hailton, the king of Voymaria.
The king went to brush his teeth and finish his morning routine, with Kane accompanying him through every step — it was as if the king could barely manage anything on his own without him. Afterward, the two went to have breakfast. All the nobles were already waiting there. Even though they could have eaten before the king arrived, they chose to wait for his arrival out of respect. The king's parents had passed away long ago, so most of the nobles present were his cousins and other relatives, each trying, in their own way, to stay in his good graces.
The king took his seat at the head of the table. The nobles greeted him, and everyone began to eat while Kane stood behind the king's chair.

"Hey, Kane, you should eat too. It's gotten pretty late."

The king said to him
.
"That's alright, Your Majesty. I'm merely your servant. I'll eat once you've finished."
"Come on, you can eat with us."

Some of the nobles clearly didn't care for that suggestion. None of them wanted the advisor sitting at their table.

"Your Majesty, there isn't an open seat for him. He can eat once we're finished."

One noble said. Romeo glanced at him, understanding well enough that none of the nobles wanted Kane there. He began eating faster. He wasn't the type of person who cared much for royal formalities. Reaching for his glass of juice, he ended up spilling it across his expensive robes.

"Holy crap!"

Kane calmly pulled out his handkerchief and wiped down the king's clothes without waiting to be asked.
The king slowly stood and went to wash his hands.

"That's enough for me. Kane, sit in my chair and eat."

His words stunned everyone at the table. The nobles exchanged looks of disbelief.

"But, Your Majesty......"
"That's an order."

Romeo went off to wash his hands while Kane took the king's seat, right in the middle of all the nobles, making everyone visibly uncomfortable. The king's younger sister, Rhea, only smiled at the sight and glanced toward Kane. He caught her eye, and the two shared a look only they could understand.

Afterward, the king went to his daily training session, while Kane went to deal with his paperwork. That was when Rhea came to see him.

"Hey, Kane, are you busy?"
"Ah, Princess Rhea. A little, but that's fine. What brings you here?"
"Well, it's just....."

Rhea looked troubled, and Kane noticed right away.

"You can tell me whatever's bothering you. I'm listening."
"I'm just a little worried about my brother."
"Why's that?"
"I've been hearing that strange things have been happening all across the nation lately. Even our neighboring towns are getting attacked. There's a chance we could be next. And you know how my brother is — he can't handle all of that on his own. He never wanted to be king in the first place. He was only forced into it after our older brother passed away so suddenly......"

Rhea's expression fell slightly at the memory of her late brother. Kane offered her a gentle word of comfort.

"Hey, don't worry. Lord Hailton may not have much experience, and he may not enjoy the job, but I'm always by his side. I'll never let him down. I promise you that."

They both smiled at one another.
After that, Kane went to see the king, who had just finished his training and looked worn out.

"Your Majesty, how was your training today?"
"Tough as always, but good. Anyway, did you finish your work?"
"That's actually what I came to talk about. There's a lot of it, and I can't manage it all alone."
"Ah..... so you need my help. My apologies — here I've had you doing all my work for me while I've been the one relying on you."
"No need to apologize. Anyway, I heard some troubling news."
"What is it?"
"There was a monster attack on Costridge Village. Most of the houses and buildings there were destroyed."
"What? A monster attack? That's terrible. We haven't had a monster attack in years. Where would something like that even come from?"
"No one knows. But the strangest part is that someone managed to kill the monster, and no one knows who did it."
"Is there anyone in Costridge capable of killing a monster on their own?"
"I don't know. I think it's worth looking into."
"Agreed. But first, send enough gold to Costridge so they can rebuild, and send workers to help as well."
"Understood."
"As for the monster attack..... let's wait and see whether any more happen."
"Yes, though..... we'll need someone capable of investigating cases like this — cases I don't have time to look into myself. And do you remember the matter of the missing sacred seal?"
"I haven't forgotten. We need to find it as soon as possible. It's one of the greatest treasures of our royal family. If word ever got out that it's missing, it would be a disgrace to me and to our entire nation."
"I understand. I would have looked into it myself if I had the time, but..... these days, I barely have a moment to spare....."
"I understand completely."
"Your Majesty, what I'm trying to say is that we need someone capable of handling the sort of cases I can't get involved in personally."
"Ah..... you're right. We're dealing with a lot right now, and the two of us can't manage everything alone. So you're saying we need a personal detective? Do you have someone in mind?"
"Yes. I've heard there's a young detective in Ashbroad Town said to have solved every case he's ever taken on. What do you think about recruiting him?"
"Alright. Let's give it a try."

Meanwhile, in Ashbroad Town:

Rem sat in his house with Niko, doing nothing in particular. He checked his wallet.

"Niko, I'm almost out of money. I'm going to go bankrupt at this rate. What should we do? I haven't gotten a big case in a while, either."

Rem said, looking at Niko helplessly.

"How are you supposed to get more cases when every criminal in town is too scared of you to commit one? Why don't you take on some other kind of work for a while, until a bigger case comes along?"

Niko offered.

"What? Take some other job? Me? I'm the great detective of Ashbroad! No way. That would be embarrassing!"
"Then what else do you suggest?"
"That damn girl! She stole my money! If I ever get my hands on her again......!"
"And what would you do?"
Rem thought about it for a moment.
"What would I do? ...... Nothing, probably!"
"Yeah...... you're completely useless."
"More useful than you, at least."
"At least I give you advice."
"Yeah, terrible advice."
"Less terrible than what you give me."
They both fell silent for a moment. Then Rem spoke up.
"What if we tried something different? Let's make our own cases."
"What do you mean? Like, commit a crime ourselves and pin it on someone else?"
"That's a good idea, actually, but no, that's not it — I'm not doing that. What I mean is, let's set up the right conditions for someone else to commit a crime. Then we catch them in the act. We're not in the wrong, since they're the ones actually doing it. I don't really know what a 'moral code' is supposed to mean, but since you always insist I have one — fine, we'll target people who are already criminals, create the right opportunity for them to slip up, and then catch them."
"That's the kind of plan an evil man would come up with..... but honestly, it's not bad. So how exactly are you planning to create these 'opportunities'?"

Just then, someone knocked on the door.
Rem walked over and opened it, a little startled to find several people in expensive clothing standing outside — clearly not commoners. There were three of them. The one at the front spoke first.

"Are you Rem Worthswords, the famous detective?"
"That's me. Who are you people?"
"We are messengers of our king, Lord Hailton."

The messenger displayed the royal family's emblem as proof. Rem froze for a second.

(Thought)
"The king's messengers? Here, to see me?"

"You're not busy, are you? May we come in and talk?"
"Oh — of course, come in."

Rem invited them inside.

"Sorry, my house doesn't have much to offer. I don't really have anything to give you either....... would water be alright?"
"That's fine."

Rem poured water into three glasses and handed them out. The messengers sat down on the floor and began to speak.

"We'll get straight to the point. The king didn't have time to write a proper letter, so he asked us to explain everything to you in person."
"Alright."
"Simply put — the king wants you to become his personal detective."
"The king's personal detective?!"

Rem was stunned. It wasn't a proposal he'd ever expected.

"What about pay?"
"Three hundred gold per case, as a standard rate. That amount can go up or down depending on the difficulty of the case. Paperwork duties are also included, which comes with an additional five hundred gold a month."
"What?! That's an enormous amount!"
"You'll also be given a residence within the palace. Food, clothing, and other essentials will be provided as well."
"That's..... an incredibly generous offer. But why me, out of every detective in the nation? I'm entirely self-taught. Why not someone who's actually studied criminal psychology?"
"The king and his advisor have had their eye on you for some time. They were impressed to learn you've solved every case you've taken on. So — what do you say?"
"I see..... could I have some time to think it over?"
"Of course, but please decide quickly. If you accept now, you can travel back with us and save yourself the cost of the journey."
"I understand....."
"We'll wait outside. Take your time, but not too much of it."

The three messengers stepped outside, leaving Rem and Niko alone in the house.

"What's there to think about? Weren't you just saying you needed money? This is a fantastic offer."

Niko spoke first.

"It is, and I do want to take it, but..... working for the king is a lot riskier than working as a private detective. The cases would be far more dangerous. I wouldn't have any time left to actually enjoy life. And there might come a day when the fate of the whole kingdom rests on my shoulders...... and you know I'm not the type who wants that kind of responsibility. Plus, with pay that good, the king's probably going to work me to the bone. I don't want that."
"Rem, life is about taking risks and taking on responsibility! If you keep running from it, you'll stay exactly who you are now."
"I'm fine with who I am now."
"No, you're not!"

Rem looked at Niko, puzzled.

"Ashbroad Town might know you, but what are you outside of it? What are you, even here, really? We're struggling for money right now, and this is the perfect chance. What if this changes your whole life? Just give it a try!"

Rem thought about it for a moment, then laughed.

"Alright, I get it. I'll go and see how things are, give it an honest shot. But if the king tries to take advantage of me, or work me like a dog for the rest of my life........ I'm a detective. I'll find a way out of it."
"That's the spirit."

Rem began packing his things. There wasn't much to pack — a few changes of clothes, some tools, a handful of books on psychology. He opened his shelf and paused at what he found there: a small pendant that had belonged to his late mother, and a bracelet his father used to wear.

"Father, Mother, I always want the two of you with me....."

He said quietly to himself, and put both of them on. Wearing them made him feel, somehow, like his parents were there with him.
He turned to look at Niko.

"Niko, aren't you coming with me?"
"Is that even a question? Where would I go without you? Of course I'm coming."
"That settles it, then."

Rem smiled at her. The two of them walked out to meet the messengers, who were already seated in their horse-drawn cart.

"Hey, I'm ready to go."
"Good. Then shall we head to the capital?"
"Let's."

And with that, their journey began.

To be continued........