148: Chaos

I looked in the library’s direction as I entered the foyer, when Archie showed up a moment later.

“Excuse me, sir, if I could have a moment?” he said.

“Just Trevor, and sure,” I responded, as Lily vanished from behind me.

“It’s about the other staff, s—Trevor sir. Well, how to put this? They are not cut out for the job…” he said, struggling to find the words.

“They have quit, sir. All except Cameron and your guards have quit. The arrival of the dragon—although in illusion form, as she said, I believe—was too much, along with other events.”

I felt bad. I didn’t want them to think they couldn’t do the job, and it would be a hassle to get new staff, I thought, but I really didn’t know what to do.

“So what do we do now?” I asked.

“I wanted to seek your permission in hiring more, and if there was a particular budget?” Archie asked.

“I really don’t know. As far as I know, the royal family was paying for all the staff,” I said, trying to think of the king’s exact words in this regard.

“That makes it simpler. If it were possible, Trevor, sir, would I be able to walk potential candidates past Lily to see if they can handle it?” Archie asked.

“I don’t know. You’ll probably need to ask her if it’s okay. She doesn’t follow my orders.” I shrugged.

“As… ask her?” Archie stammered.

“Yeah, she’s not that bad. Just ask—Lily, are you listening? Is it okay?” I said, looking around but not seeing her.

“She’s probably gone to sleep. Just ask tomorrow; it should be fine. Or you could ask Sylverith; she’s scarier than Lily.” I chuckled.

“I see. Well, I will select some candidates for tomorrow morning and organise a short list for the afternoon,” Archie said, bowing slightly.

“Thank you, Archie. Oh, before you go, I’m very sorry, but I’ve never been in a house like this. Are the staff fed dinner here? Or…” I said, but Archie interrupted with a laugh.

“No, we can sort ourselves out, though if you have leftovers you wish to share, just let me know and I will collect them from the kitchen,” he responded.

“One last thing—if I wanted to get a large butchery room, would that be possible?” Now was as good a time as any.

“We could possibly repurp…” Archie began to say.

“Oh, I mean a very large butchery room. I have some creatures I need to break down that are very large, and I will need some privacy when I do it, so outside is not an option,” I explained, remembering the drake, but also the titan boar.

“I see. I don’t see why not. This land is yours from my understanding, so you can do with it what you will,” Archie said.

“Thanks, Archie. I will talk to you tomorrow then. Have a good night,” I said, heading towards the stairs that led up to the master bedroom.

“Good night, si—Trevor,” Archie called.

Heading into the room, Lily was spread out across the bed. It was impressive—even though the bed was close to three times larger than anything I’d had before, she still took up the entire thing. Who sleeps from corner to corner anyway?

***

The next morning I woke up late, which was to be expected. I needed to sleep diagonally on the bed to fit, but luckily the bed was large enough that I still had room despite Lily’s best efforts.

Getting dressed and heading downstairs, I was surprised by how busy it was, with so many people I didn’t know.

I didn’t even register the effect of Lily walking behind me as four people collapsed immediately as we came down the stairs, catching me off guard.

“Well, that solves the problem of asking,” Archie said, coming to the front. Then he announced to the crowd,

“This is Master Trevor, owner of this house and the individual you will work for. That pressure you feel is from his companion. If you’re unable to function under this, you won’t be able to succeed today.”

“Hey Lily, want to test them a little? And just up the pressure a tiny bit?” I whispered down to her as she looked over the crowd.

The look I received was incredibly hard to describe—like happiness and challenge.

This got me slightly worried as she vanished from my side and appeared in front of everyone, right next to Archie. As she sat down, even I felt the pressure slightly shift as all but six people collapsed in only seconds.

I could see the strain on Archie’s face, along with the people left standing as they tried to stay upright.

“That’s enough, Lily. I think Archie has his candidates now,” I said, and a moment later Lily had returned to my side.

“Thank you, sir.” Archie bowed.

“For all those standing, you’ve made the short list. Help me move those who have passed out. For all those who collapsed and are conscious, I thank you for your time; however, you’ll be unsuccessful today. I wish you the best of luck.”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

While this was happening, Lily, flaring her presence, clearly caught the attention of others as several people started appearing from the halls.

With Milo and Sylverith coming from the library.

“What happened?” Milo asked as I came downstairs next to them.

“Screening for the new staff. All but one quit after last night,” I said, watching as several individuals were moved to the living room while dozens shuffled their way out the front door, disappointed.

“That tall one looks more like a warrior than a servant,” Milo said as he pointed to a large man looking like he was in his early twenties, with short brown hair and dark eyes, and a warrior’s body.

“Yes, he has the class of one too,” Sylverith chuckled.

“You there,” she called, pointing to him, catching his attention immediately, but also every other eye in the room as the soft ethereal voice sounded in both our heads and out loud.

He pointed to himself, staring at us.

“Yes, ma’am?” he said, bowing.

“Why are you here?” she asked, the room going quiet as all eyes moved between the two.

“Me? Um… I am here hopefully to serve, ma’am,” he answered, his voice trembling slightly.

“And yet you have a warrior’s class, and not steward, attendant, or scholar as the others. What is your name?” she asked, stepping closer.

“My name is Tony Fairmont, and yes, ma’am, that’s correct. I was told by my father to get a job and work here, that it would be good to understand the world,” he said, fear on his face now.

“And who is your father?” Milo asked, stepping into the conversation now.