Published: August 15, 2025
Side: Eudam
When I told the manager that the person I had leaked information to was his majesty the king, he asked again.
“So, if the other party is his majesty the king, Eudam, does that mean you work for the country?”
“No, of course there are government agencies and departments for that, but I’m actually his majesty the king’s personal errand boy.”
I figured it would be quicker to explain everything step by step.
When I shared that thought, the manager said it was fine even if it took a little longer.
I didn’t intend to drag things out unnecessarily, but since it would be somewhat long, that was a relief.
Because the whole matter started back in my student days, just before graduation.
“At that time, I used to fight with my father almost every day. He was strongly opposed to my desire to pursue martial arts and to go on a journey to test my skills. …I’ve told you a bit about my family before, right?”
“Right, something about your family serving as court gardeners for generations.”
“As long as you remember that, it’s fine. So, one day during those days when we would argue whenever we met, my father called me to his workplace.”
Back then, I was younger and more hot-headed... When he called me out to the royal palace gardens, I expected a lecture about how wonderful their work was and how foolish my choices were…
“I didn’t want to go, but skipping it would feel like running away. So I obediently showed up, and there was his majesty the king.”
That was the first time I heard that my father and the king had secretly been close since my father was an apprentice. The king had heard about me from my father and thought I was convenient for his purposes.”
“Convenient, how?”
“His majesty receives massive amounts of information daily from all over the country in the form of reports. But that information is filtered by many subordinates, unnecessary parts removed, and formatted suitably for the king’s attention.
That’s necessary because otherwise, the king alone couldn’t process all that information. But he also wants unfiltered information — the voices from the field, the raw voices of the people.”
The king had been famously free-spirited since childhood among the nobles, and he apparently met my father because as a child he would often escape from lessons or tutors and hide in the garden. I heard he even roamed the streets incognito from time to time.
“So that’s the kind of person his majesty is. And that explains the ‘personal’ relationship between you and your father.”
“Yes, exactly. Of course, after the king ascended to the throne, it became even harder for him to sneak out of the palace. That’s why I take the journey, reporting regularly on the roads I pass and the towns I stay in. In return for taking that job, the king persuaded my father to allow me to leave home.”
By the way,
“The information I send is strictly limited to what an ordinary traveler can see and hear. It’s basically about the atmosphere I feel walking the streets and gathering rumors. I’m sure the kind of undercover investigations the manager is thinking of is the job of official government agencies, not mine.”
When I said that, the manager seemed to understand something.
I was about to ask what it was, but before I could, the next question came.
“Why did you choose our laundry service as your place to stay? I’ve heard you helped Chef Shelma, and that connection… Also, it’s convenient for earning travel money, right?”
“That was really just a coincidence. The king ordered me to come to Gimul, but from there I happened to help a woman in trouble right in front of me, and since the town seemed unsafe, I escorted her.
The story about earning money is true too. As I said earlier, the king’s reward for this job was only to persuade my father. I haven’t received any money.”
“Is that so?”
“The king offered to provide some, but my father and I refused. There was some back-and-forth when we hammered out the terms… My journey is to hone my skills. I want to make a living on my own. If I needed someone’s financial support to travel, it wouldn’t be worth it.”