The next day, after sending Lina to work, I went back home to finish my daily tasks. While I was vacuuming, Lani suddenly ran over and switched the vacuum off. Then she looked up at me and said,
"Big bro, there's someone outside the front gate."
Hearing that, I pulled open the curtains and looked outside through the big living-room window. A group of soldiers were gathered at my gate, and a very extravagant carriage stood behind them.
(Was coming.)
Today was the day the sanctuary would receive the oracle and announce that I was the Brave.
The people outside were probably here to bring me to the royal castle. But… what about Lani? I couldn't leave her alone at home, and I definitely couldn't let her know I was the Brave. Otherwise, Lina would find out before I even set off on my journey.
Forget it. I'll just ask Lani to keep it secret for a few days.
I picked her up and opened the door.
When I reached the entrance, I saw the sword saint himself—now that surprised me. Why would the king's personal guard come just to deliver a message? And before I could ask, he stepped forward to speak.
"Mr. Karen, do you still remember me? I'm Anthony Somart."
"Of course. Duke Somart, what brings you here?"
Even if I already knew the reason, acting clueless was part of normal conversation.
"His Majesty requests your presence. May we come inside?"
Why they needed to enter my house, instead of me following them to the king, was beyond me. I asked immediately.
"May I ask what this is about? Aren't I supposed to go see His Majesty?"
"I'm not sure. But His Majesty said he wants to speak with you personally."
The king himself had come?! What an honor—
…Yeah, no. It was a headache.
As soon as he saw the automatic gate open, he would bombard me with questions.
And that luxurious carriage definitely had the king inside. So I told the sword saint:
"Is His Majesty in the carriage? Please invite him out. I'll only allow 6 people inside."
I wasn't going to let a whole squad walk into my home. Too uncomfortable and too risky. With that many people, I couldn't control what they might find many things of my house.
"I'll inform His Majesty right away."
The sword saint saluted, then walked to the carriage window. After a moment, the door opened and the king stepped out. There were others inside too—two beautifully dressed, a woman and a little girl.
"Karen, forgive me for coming unannounced. There is something of great importance I must tell you."
The king tried to dive straight into the topic, but I gestured for him to wait.
A different idea had popped into my head—
If I waited until Lani's nap time, I wouldn't need to ask her to keep secrets. So I needed to stall.
"We can talk about that later. You didn't come alone, did you? May I know who these two are…?"
"They are my queen and my daughter."
So the king's wife and daughter, huh. They gracefully lifted their skirts and introduced themselves.
"I am Leanna Aimebisalon, queen of this kingdom."
"I… I'm Sophia Aimebisalon, the second princess."
After hearing their names, I took out the remote and opened the automatic gate. Their shocked faces were priceless. Then I introduced myself.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Karen. Lani, introduce yourself too."
"I am Lanivia Dokamir, three months old."
Her little introduction was adorable. I patted her head proudly.
And the king reacted exactly the way I expected.
"Karen—th-th-this… this gate! What is it?! Is that magic?!"
"It's not magic. Also, Your Majesty, I will only allow six people inside. Please choose who you want to bring."
I watched the king carefully pick his six. Just as expected—the king, the queen, the princess, the sword saint, and two knights.
The rest were sent back.
After everyone walked in, I closed the gate behind us. The king immediately called out to me.
"Karen, where was this automatic gate made?! I have never heard of such technology!"
He was already digging for answers. Of course he was.
But there was no way I'd tell him the real mechanism.
"It's from the dungeon. If you'd like to install one for the castle gate, I can help."
People always covet things others have—
and a king was no exception. After seeing a magical door like this, of course he'd want one for himself. And if I installed it for him, he'd be too happy to keep asking questions.
"Truly?! I'll reward you generously! Just say the word!"
He immediately offered reward. But the gate was something I intended to use as leverage later—to secure the king's approval for Lina's actions. It was far too early to bring that up.
"We can discuss the reward later. I'll going by around noon tomorrow."
I had to finish my daily tasks first anyway.
And honestly, they came so suddenly I hadn't even finished cleaning. I was not happy about that.
The king then pointed at the solar lamp posts outside.
"Understood. Karen, what are those short poles? Decorations?"
So he was curious about the solar lights too.
Great—more reward.
"Those are lamp posts. They turn on automatically at night."
"Also dungeon technology? Karen…"
"If you want some, I can install them too. But I'd prefer you see how they work before deciding."
I cut him off before he could get excited.
He'd definitely want them—but I'd rather he judge after seeing them at night.
If they didn't meet his expectations, he might accuse me of tricking him.
"Very well. I'll stay until night."
Stay until night?
We could've finished talking while Lani napped, and he could've gone home afterward.
Why stay until night?!
I wouldn't have time for my daily missions at this rate!
If he wanted to see the lamps, couldn't he just walk past at night?! I forced a polite smile and asked him again, so he'd reconsider.
"…Would you repeat that?"
"I said I'll stay until night. We'll also have dinner here."
Did he not see how troubled I looked?!
And he was so firm about it too—
dinner included!
How was I supposed to serve royal-level meals?!
I glanced at the two potential lifesavers beside him.
"So… Her Majesty and princess feel the same?"
"I follow His Majesty."
"I… feel the same as Mother."
So they weren't saviors, they were accomplices.
I'd expected them to act picky and persuade the king to go home, but instead they looked completely indifferent.
On second thought, the king probably never opportunity for passed by my house anyway.
He was always stuck in the castle handling affairs of state.
If it wasn't an emergency, he wouldn't leave the castle at all.
Oh, whatever. Cut the king some slack—it's rare for the whole family to go out for a little trip, and the destination just happens to be my house.