Rumia stared at the ceiling once again while in bed. She was back to waiting. If she had to wait, then she had time to think at the very least. It was always a dull moment, in this city. There was hardly ever time for action.

  She had a few things in mind, at the very least. She had a weapons training course that she signed up for, it would be a basic way to learn self defense. She wanted to explore the sewers a little bit more, perhaps head into a building to gather information. Maybe she should even try and build connections in the city herself, because she felt like she was sorely lacking in allies. However, all of this was held up by her priority of getting a job to figure out where PASCAL was.

  And that all relied on if Grimace was able to convince Rebecca. She hadn’t heard from Grimace all morning, so she wondered how exactly that process went for him. Rumia hoped that it didn’t end poorly, she didn’t want to stoke even more frustration in her bodyguard.

  A ringing was heard on the table next to her. Anise walked by Rumia and tapped on the button for her, and with a projection of glowing light, PASCAL was summoned into their room.

  “Good morning Rumia and Anise. I have one message for Rumia from Grimace,” PASCAL said in her polite as ever tone. “Would you like me to play the message?”

  “Oh,” Anise thought. “He did say he was heading out soon, wasn’t he? That’s probably why I haven’t seen him all morning.”

  “Sure, play the message,” Rumia ordered the AI. PASCAL complied, morphing into an image of Grimace looking back at them.

  “Good morning, Rumia, Anise. Today I will be headed out to Lune for a special assignment given by Governor Esther. That leaves me with two messages to deliver to you. First, to Rumia. I have spoken with Governor Esther, and she has agreed to allow you to work in the castle. Whenever you feel you are ready, you may approach the castle and a guard will escort you inside.”

  So he was successful. That was good, there was a step closer to getting out of here. A whole new world of this city had just opened up to her. She hoped that it wasn’t too much trouble for Grimace, but she was grateful he managed to carry through.

  “Also,” Grimace continued. “Your new bodyguard should be with you shortly. Her name is Yuzu, and she is known as the Executioner of Oscur. As one of my peers, you are to treat her with the respect and dignity she deserves. She is far less tolerant than me, so you may face more dire consequences for disrespect.”

  That was slightly more worrying. She already thought that Grimace was suffocating enough, but now she had to deal with an executioner? If she followed the same schedule of Grimace, at least it might be manageable.

  “Either way, thank you for listening. I will be back as soon as I am able to,” Grimace said, before morphing back into PASCAL.

  “Would you like to listen to the message again?” PASCAL asked.

  “No, I’m good. Thanks,” Rumia said, finally getting out of bed. PASCAL nodded and quickly dissipated, leaving the room entirely.

  “I wonder what our new friend is going to be like,” Anise thought aloud. “She should be arriving soon, right?”

  Rumia would be much happier if they arrived later. Though, if Grimace was gone, then this means she would have a rare moment of being unsupervised. It was at that moment, she realized she needed to take advantage of this. Any time unsupervised would be a time to put one of her plans into action.

  “I’ve got something to do, then,” Rumia said. She began to run out of the door and into the hallway as fast as she could. Running down the stairs, she was almost out of the front door until…

  “Rumia, yes?”

  She was stopped by a girl in a blue dress standing in front of her. A massive battleaxe was slung on her back as she stepped forward to look at her. Her presence prevented Rumia from moving a single step further, as she leaned in.

  “Considering you’re glowing, I’d say I’m correct. My name is Yuzu, if you didn’t get the memo.”

  “Hi… Yuzu…” Rumia awkwardly waved. “Are you going to be my new guard?”

  “Yes, you are right,” Yuzu nodded. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Rumia.”

  She was too late, the girl was already here. She shouldn’t have spent this morning sulking around waiting for Grimace. Now her opportunity was crushed, unless…

  “I was hoping to go out for a bit. Do you mind paying for my meal? Grimace does it all the time,” Rumia said.

  “Pay for yourself,” Yuzu responded, harshly.

  “Come on, I don’t even have a job yet. Can’t you give me this one?”

  “No. You already have the cafeteria anyways, why should I cover for you?”

  Yuzu’s stance held firm. That was an issue for her. She got a lot of free stuff under Grimace’s watch, but this lady seemed to be different. If this lady was different then this would be far more annoying.

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  “Whatever,” Rumia said. “I’m going to the castle anyways.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Yuzu responded. “I do not want you to get lost.”

  Rumia rolled her eyes as she accepted this. She’ll have to figure out this new problem later. For now, she has a job to get.

  The castle was big. She could see it from all the way from the Lunar Academy, but from up-close it was gargantuan. It was also a semi-tourism attraction, with people crowding around just to get a glimpse of the inside.

  It was sectioned off into multiple parts. The government buildings and the castle itself. It created a massive structure that served a multifaceted purpose for the entire city of Oscur. The architecture itself was similar to the academy’s, with a strong, gothic, moonlit feel that towered against the city.

  Rumia supposed that the academy was designed after the castle, to make it feel more prestigious. Regardless, she stood ahead of the closed gate, with Yuzu standing just behind her. A man with a mustache approached the gate and looked down at the pair.

  “Glowing girl?” he said, in surprise. “If you have business with the government then you need to go through the government buildings. Tourism hours aren’t for a while-”

  “Let her in, we’re going to see Rebecca,” Yuzu stated.

  “Ah! Miss Executioner! I didn’t see you. My apologies. I will let you in, then.”

  The interaction was over quickly, and the man let the pair inside. They stepped into the massive castle garden, many times bigger than the academy’s own, and headed inside of the structure itself.

  Once inside, Rumia was overwhelmed by the sheer size of it. Adelyn had told her about many castles in fairy tales, but she never expected to actually be inside one herself. It was like the mansion the two of them used to live at, but multiplied by one thousand.

  Massive paintings coated the walls, and there were also suits of armor that stood intimidatingly around them. They passed by the empty throne room, closed off for now. She wondered how much time the princess actually stayed in that throne room, considering she was missing now.

  Yuzu led Rumia around the castle, through the multiple twists and turns. They eventually moved into an area that was labeled as restricted, bypassing a few guards that were on duty. A brief questioning, and they were set to continue. Rebecca’s office was very much out of the way of all of the tourism spots, leading to the back of the castle.

  A small waiting room greeted them behind a door that was shut. A receptionist was working the door, bored and waiting for something to happen. Her eyes were instinctively drawn towards the glowing girl.

  “Yuzu. Rumia. The governor will see you now,” she stated, pointing towards the door. Rumia nodded and immediately entered the doors. Inside, she saw the mass amount of gizmos lined up on the walls like trophies, to the point where Anise would be jealous, and the redheaded governor sitting at her desk. She was looking at a file, then she looked up towards the duo.

  “Rumia, I see you must have gotten Grimace’s message,” Rebecca said with a calm smile. “I assume you are here for that, yes?”

  Rumia was a little bit uncomfortable in Rebecca’s presence. This was the woman who was keeping her here, as far as she knew. The fact that she could sit there and smile at her was frustrating.

  “Yes,” Rumia said, simply. It was no use getting into an argument with her. When she did that last time, nothing came of it. “I would like a job in the government.”

  “You’re quite young, you know. Most of the Lunar Academy students would start with an internship first before they move onto government work. I like your ambition,” Rebecca responded. “Though, you’re hardly an engineer like your roommate is, aren’t you?”

  “No. I’m not. I was hoping for something that pays decently enough still. I’m good at… writing and reading, in particular,” Rumia explained. The girl didn’t pay much attention to her classes, but due to her time with Adelyn, she would say her literacy was at the very least above average. “I’m fine with any work in the government building, recordkeeper or assistant or anything like that.”

  Rebecca thought for a moment as Rumia finished her request. Then, she smiled once again and put her hand on her desk.

  “How about you work for me, my personal secretary?” Rebecca suggested. That caused Rumia to freeze.

  “Personal secretary? I thought you didn’t need one of those,” Yuzu asked.

  “Wait, hold on! I just said any job, I didn’t specifically ask for that position!” Rumia said. She probably would get compensated very well, but that wasn’t the point. Her entire reason for getting this job was so she could have access to restricted areas. But, if she had this title then wouldn’t the governor herself be watching over her at all times? How was she supposed to sneak around then?

  “This is the highest honor I can give you, Rumia. You know that Anise would be jealous, yes? It’s your choice, but in my opinion it would be foolish to reject my offer,” Rebecca added.

  “I mean, as I said. Couldn’t it just be a normal job? I don’t know if I’m necessarily qualified to hold such a position, I’m only twelve-”

  “I’m willing to accept your mistakes. This is a rare learning opportunity for you to become one of the best minds that the Lunar Academy has to offer. So once again, are you in?”

  “It’s… I…”

  It was like time froze for Rumia at the very moment. She had to process this sudden information thrown at her. The poor girl felt like she wasn’t being given a choice here. She wanted a job, but to be so close to the governor herself? That stressed her out more than anything she could imagine.

  A few deep breaths in and then out. Trying to keep her composure in front of Rebecca and Yuzu. She needed to make a decision.

  “I accept your offer, Governor. It is an honor to work under you.”

  The words left her mouth. She didn’t know if it was the right play, but it was better than not saying anything. Her thought process was jumbled, but in her fractured mind, she figured that if she could just find one opening then this entire plan would be worth it. All she needed to do was find one, and then she could look around this castle.

  “I am glad to hear that. We can start today, after your classes,” Rebecca said, seemingly satisfied with Rumia’s answer.

  “Yeah… thank you,” Rumia said. She got up from the chair, and she completely forgot that she had classes today. Rebecca’s reminder helped her get out of this situation as soon as she could at least. She began to walk away.

  “It will be a pleasure to work with you, Rumia. I hope our relationship can remain strong in the future,” she heard Rebecca speak as she left.

  She hoped she made the right decision.