Isekai Jobhunting   von KatouHasegawa
                         (Jobhunting in another world)
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             Kapitel 6: The Royal Guards are just doing their job
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Behind him two fairies landed on the platform. It was Durin and the one from
before. 
“Good, you stayed here. I just confirmed it. So, you weren't lying after all.
You were pretty lucky though. If I hadn't been there at that time, the griffin
could have bitten you to death. I wonder what got into them. Usually, they don't
attack settlements...” 
She nodded while Durin stepped forward. “Sorry for leaving you alone all of a
sudden...! A griffin attack can be disastrous. I wonder what got into them...”
He pointed at the fairy in the golden armour. “By the way, this is Dulcina,
leader of the Royal Guard.” 
She saluted. “Pleasure to meet you, human. I apologize for doubting you
earlier. You may be our guest for the time being.” 
“Thanks, I'm Daniel. And I don't intent to stay for long anyway.” 

“Should we introduce him to everyone? It could prevent more
misunderstandings.” Durin asked Dulcina but she shook her head. “No. The
appearance of an extinct creature could cause a mass panic among the people. If
you need to keep him here, I think it would be best to disguise him as an elf.
We'd have to cover his eyes though. They stick out too much.” 
Dulcina smiled innocently at Durin. “But I'm sure, you'll figure something
out, right? Honoured Court Alchemist?” 
Durin reluctantly smirked back. “Of course, Lady Dulcina... I have the right
equipment to... fix his appearance.” Daniel's eye twitched. Did they just
indirectly call him ugly?

“Well then, come along.” Durin waved his hand and they went through the door
in the tree bark. On the other side there was a chamber that looked much like
laboratory. A row of glasses in different shapes and sizes filled with strange
liquids in all possible colours was lined on some boards on the wall. 
In the middle of the room a bowl with water was placed on a decorative table.
Above everything a huge net made of moss and glowing vines covered the ceiling
and illuminated the room with a soft, greenish glimmer as soon as they entered.

Durin snipped his fingers and a closet in the back opened itself. “Hm, let's
see... How about this amulet?” He took out a golden necklace that had a charm
with a purple gem attached. 
“If you wear this, you will be surrounded by illusion magic. It will hide your
true identity and give you the appearance of an ordinary passerby.” He gave it
to Daniel. 
Dulcina nodded happily. “That's perfect! I knew, you always have a solution
for everything. I'm impressed!” Durin turned away shyly. “You give me too
much credit... I could have never made this without you who lead the expedition
to the gem mines and, of course, Fay's help with the spell adjustments.”
Dulcina smiled. 
“You're too humble. You deserve so much more. If I could just get through to
her Majesty-...” 
They both stared down quietly.

Daniel felt uncomfortable with the awkward silence, so he broke it with a
question: 
“I've heard about your Queen before... but what's wrong with her? Is she
sick?” 
Dulcina's smile faded away. “Oh, she's not physically sick. It's just... Ever
since her husband died, she doesn't seem like herself. She doesn't eat properly,
her hair turned ashen grey and nothing can cheer her up any more. Unfortunately,
she's also neglecting her duties as a Queen... 
If this continues, I fear our kingdom may soon collapse.” 
Durin patted her shoulder. “We're all trying our best to prevent that.
Besides, the nominations for the next heir are proceeding well. Soon, we can
elect the next Vice King. And that will hopefully stabilize the situation and
take a bit of her burdens away.” 
The Guard fairy nodded. “Yes, someone has to do it after all. I just wish her
smile would come back one day...” “The time will come. Especially since you
yourself are the most promising candidate for the position. It may be good for
the Queen to have someone reliable by her side who truly loves her and is also a
competent leader.” Dulcina smiled sadly. “Oh, now you're being too
flattering...” Durin smiled back at her. 

From outside someone was calling. Another guard fairy knocked at the door. 
“Excuse me, is Lady Dulcina here? We need you at the Southern gate!” Dulcina
flew toward the door. “Alright. Take care of the human, Durin. I have to back
to work. Duty calls!” 
“Sure, don't worry too much.” Durin waved her goodbye as she rushed out in a
hurry. “She's a splendid Royal Guard fairy. Honourable, reliable, hard working
and to top it off, quite beautiful...”

Daniel smirked. “So you like her?”
The fairies ears turned red. “Wha-? Me? What makes you think that? Anyway, why
don't you try on the amulet? I need to see if it works properly!” Daniel
laughed. “Alright, I get it.”
He put on the necklace and the gemstone flickered a bit. 
“Hm... I don't see a difference?”
“Yes, but it works. Look at your reflection.”
Durin pointed at a water basin in the middle of the room. Daniel could see
himself in the water: His hair had turned darker, his eyes were now green and
his ears had become long and pointy. He reached out to his ears, touching them
but he felt no difference. What he felt and what he saw was not the same.

Durin flew around the human and inspected what he saw. “It's amazing, right?
Illusion magic can be really confusing. It can make ugly people beautiful and
beautiful people ugly. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were a real
elf.”
Daniel shook his head. “I'll take that as a compliment... With this at least
people won't stare at me like they're seeing a ghost and call me an elven
miscarriage....” He paused shortly. “By the way, that Dulcina from before...
I heard her mention that humans are extinct in this world. Is that true? Are
there absolutely no humans here?  Why did they disappear?”
Durin hesitated. 
“Good question. We don't know much about humans, only a few ancient scriptures
that mention trading connections with humans remain. Maybe you could help us
find out more about your kind...” The fairy seemed to be lost in thoughts. 
“It would be amazing to discover all the mysteries that are buried in the
past. Are you sure you don't want to stay here a bit longer?”
“Yes, I'm certain. I have a cute girlfriend at home, you know.” That answer
came immediately. 
Durin sighed. “Well, that's too bad... -I mean good for you.”

He collected a few pages from a large, wooden register. ”Hm, since you
insist... I'm going to make a custom spell book for you, so you can come back
from that journey unharmed. Fay will give you a list of materials to collect and
Borck can give you all the other equipment you'll need. He's the leader of the
Scout fairies, just so you know. I'm sure, he'll be happy to have a new travel
companion to talk to. And believe me, he talks a lot. Mostly about trivial
topics though.”
He stacked up the pages on the table. “I'm gonna need a bit time to sort and
assemble this, so let me send you to the Scout headquarters first. Maybe you'll
meet Florette there again.”

They left the laboratory and headed to the mushroom platform. Daniel wrinkled
his eyebrows. “We'll fly again?”
“But of course. The only way to get around here is by flying.” Durin smiled.

“Though for your sake, we'll do something different this time.”
He drew his wand and pointed at a large leaf, the size of a small car, which
promptly fell from the tree and landed in front of Daniel.
“Hop on, I'll fly you.”

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