Victoria, Londinium, a corner bookstore.
After lingering at the street corner for several minutes and confirming no one had followed her, Vina finally let out a quiet breath of relief and slipped into a bookstore she frequented.
The shop’s owner, Golding, was a young and beautiful teacher.
On weekdays, she worked at St.
Marsol Elementary School, and during weekends and holidays, she stayed here to run the bookstore.
Vina hadn’t met her many times; her only impression was of a gray-haired woman who seemed a bit pessimistic.
After all, in Victoria, few people wore lilies as decoration.
There, lilies symbolized death.
Today was a weekday, so Golding wasn’t around.
The store was quiet, with only a handful of customers—mostly elderly people passing time.
Vina moved through the aisles with familiarity, heading straight for the geography section.
She scanned the shelves one by one until, tucked away in a corner, she finally found a book titled A Study of Kjerag’s Customs.
Using the public Terra map beside the shelf, she at last located Kjerag.
“Kjerag lies between Kazimierz, Victoria, and Columbia, surrounded by mountain ranges.
Its people largely follow the faith of Kjeragandr, believing that the deity created their nation.
Unlike the Laterano Church, however, Kjeragandr’s followers have little interest in proselytizing.
Kjerag itself remains relatively closed and conservative, with nominal governance by the religious institution known as Vine-Bead Court, while actual power is held by the Three Great Clans.”
“Vine-Bead Court…” Vina frowned, pulling the crumpled recruitment notice from her pocket.
“But this says ‘Kjerag Government.'”
“Could it really be a scam?”
She let out a disappointed sigh.
To be honest, no matter how she looked at it, this recruitment notice seemed like a joke.
And yet, she had still held onto a sliver of hope.
She didn’t want to stay in Londinium anymore.
If possible, she didn’t even want to remain in Victoria.
It was too dangerous.
Just like earlier—walking down the street and nearly being stopped by a mounted officer, living every day with the fear of being discovered and executed by the nobles of the city council—she was exhausted.
She just wanted a peaceful life.
As for avenging her father and reclaiming the throne, it wasn’t that Vina had never thought about it.
She had.
But she also understood that, for now, it was impossible.
Victoria continued to function without a king.
Londinium remained orderly without her father.
Under such circumstances, unless something unexpected happened, unless chaos returned, she would never have the chance to step foot in the Iron Palace again in her lifetime.
What was that saying again?
Lie low and grow quietly, wait for the tides to change.
So if the opportunity truly existed, she wanted to leave Victoria for a while and go somewhere peaceful.
“I didn’t expect anyone to still pay attention to Kjerag.”
A familiar voice suddenly sounded beside her.
Vina froze, then quickly looked up toward the figure at her side.
It was a powerful lion, his mane shining like the sun.
“Gawain?”
Seeing this elusive “guardian,” who always seemed to appear at the most critical moments of her life, Vina called out in surprise.
The last time she had seen him was when the king had been hanged, when she was secretly escorted out of the palace.
Gawain had appeared then as well, guiding her path.
“Why are you here?
Do you know something?”
Vina asked quickly.
Every time Gawain appeared, there was always a reason.
He had carried her to the Duke of Cumberland’s estate so she could see her father one last time.
He had guided her out of the palace and away from the massacre.
And now, he appeared just as she hesitated over this recruitment notice from Kjerag.
Gawain did not look at her.
His gaze rested on the crumpled notice, as if recalling something.
After a long moment, he lowered his head and sniffed the paper, then pressed a paw lightly against it.
“You can go,” the beast said calmly, offering no further explanation, only a simple statement.
“It’s safe there.”
Vina paused, about to ask more, but Gawain had already turned and begun walking away.
She hurried after him, but by the time she reached the end of the shelf, his figure had already vanished.
She opened her mouth, then closed it again, shaking her head helplessly.
Gawain had always been like this.
He never explained, never persuaded, never forced.
He simply told you the answer you sought, then disappeared before you could even react.
Just as her father had once told her, Gawain existed only because the ancestors of the Aslan had made a pact with him, entrusting him with the protection of their bloodline.
Beyond that, he would do nothing more. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
But even that was enough.
Vina returned to the shelves, picked up the thin notice from the floor, carefully folded it, and placed it back into her pouch.
The location listed was Ascarat County in Victoria, at a company called Karlan Trade.
It was some distance from Londinium, but fortunately, the recruitment period was not short.
Vina had made her decision.
___
“Young master, do you really think we’ll be able to recruit anyone by traveling this far?”
Lara asked curiously.
Ernest simply looked at her for a moment, then turned away.
If that flyer hadn’t been so bizarre, our chances of… persuading people, no, recruiting people would probably be at least ten percent higher.
Of course, he couldn’t say something that blunt.
And to be fair, he understood Lara’s difficulty.
Publicly recruiting civil servants was something even Ernest, with memories of two lifetimes, had never encountered.
Expecting her to handle it perfectly was unrealistic.
Assigning her this task in the first place was already a form of passing the burden along.
He had no ground to criticize her.
Besides, she had already apologized.
If nothing else, Ernest had learned something new.
Apparently, even the straightforward Ursus could have surprisingly soft thighs.
Don’t misunderstand.
It was just a lap pillow.
Nothing else.
After packing his belongings and checking everything once more, Ernest closed his suitcase and said with confidence,
“Don’t worry.
As long as we offer enough money, there will always be people willing to take the risk.”
Then he added,
“Oh, but make sure you don’t mention that the high salary only comes after full employment.”
Lara nodded in understanding.
Only then did Ernest pick up his suitcase and step out of the small, shabby government office building.
Outside, an off-road vehicle bearing the logo of Karlan Trade had been waiting.
“Lara, ready?” Ernest took a deep breath, his tone full of anticipation.
“First stop on our business trip, Victoria.”
“Ready!” Lara replied loudly.
The doors shut, the engine roared to life, and Kjerag’s first-ever government-funded business trip began, starting from Victoria and ending in Kazimierz.