He had no reply.
Then she tilted her head and added, "I heard you've lost everything. And now you're seeking work."
Ryan nodded. "That's correct, my lady."
Her eyes narrowed further. "The Governor's House will employ you. But appraisal alone won't be enough. Do you have any other useful talents?"
Now was his chance to build his position. He stood straighter.
"I'm good with numbers," he said. "I can count quickly and accurately. I've helped maintain accounts before. I can read scripts, not all fluently, and my writing is poor, but I understand structure."
Another screen shimmered:
[Charm Check: Ishtaruna – PASSED (+10 XP)]
Ishtaruna's eyes softened, just slightly.
"Very well. You will start tomorrow. Your wage shall be ten shekels per week. Prove your worth, and we shall revise it upward."
"Yes, my lady," Ryan replied, bowing again.
"Belitana," Ishtaruna said suddenly.
The younger woman looked up, mildly startled. "Yes?"
"Make arrangements for him within the mansion."
"Me?"
"You brought him here," Ishtaruna said flatly. "He is your responsibility—until we can trust him."
Belitana blinked, then gave a polite nod. "Understood, sister."
[Familiarity Increased: Ishtaruna +10]
[Familiarity Increased: Belitana +10]
[New Quest: "House of Ash and Coin" – Serve the Governor's House. Duration: Indefinite.]
Ryan exhaled slowly as the tension in the room ebbed away.
He had survived the lion's den.
And not just survived—he'd been given a job, a place to stay, and a foot in the door of Babylon's most powerful household.
But more than that… he now had the attention of both noblewomen.
And attention, in a place like this, was as much a weapon as it was a gift.
As Ryan handed the Elerium bracelet back to Lady Ishtaruna with great care, she took it silently and turned away, ending the audience without another word. Beside her, Lady Belitana gestured subtly for him to follow.
Ryan obeyed.
Outside the chamber, one of her maids waited patiently at the corridor entrance. She was a young woman with gentle eyes and a modest uniform, her hands folded neatly in front of her.
"Take him to the estate scribe," Belitana instructed curtly. "Tell them of his appointment. He starts tomorrow."
The maid gave a small, polite nod. "As you wish, my lady."
Ryan offered a respectful nod of his own. "Thank you… Lady Belitana."
She didn't respond. She was already turning back toward the inner chambers.
As Ryan followed the maid through the winding stone corridors, he noticed how she kept a careful, formal distance. Neither too close nor too far. No small talk. No idle glances.
The silence was thick. Ryan scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
He knew this was just a game, a world built of code, events, and plotlines. But the weight of these social rules and invisible hierarchies was very real.
The difference between a glance and an offense, a step too close or a word too familiar… it all felt like navigating a minefield in a court of snakes.
Eventually, they reached the administrative section of the estate.
Unlike the polished halls of the governor's chambers, this wing was far more practical. Scrolls lined crude wooden shelves. Oil lamps flickered dimly. Stone walls echoed with footsteps and scribbles.
The scribe's office was near the archive storage rooms—a wide chamber dimly lit by overhead lanterns and littered with papyrus scrolls, clay tablets, and slates.
When Ryan stepped in, he nearly recoiled.
Chaos.
Scrolls were strewn across the tables.
Wax seals had been broken and carelessly tossed aside.
Dried ink stained the surfaces.
Three men worked frantically amid the mess—one middle-aged man with a gray beard (probably the chief scribe), and two younger aides, both hunched over parchment, muttering and sighing.
Ryan's face went pale.
"This…" he mumbled. "This is where I'm going to work?"
The maid glanced at him, noticed his expression, and—unexpectedly—chuckled. Just once. Light and brief.
For a moment, she actually found his dismay… adorable.
"Master Suli," she called out, regaining her formal tone. "This is the one Lady Belitana mentioned. He is to begin work under your guidance."
The chief scribe, Suli, didn't even glance up. He waved absently while grumbling something about "another pair of hands too late."
With that, the maid gave Ryan a final polite nod, turned, and left.
The door closed behind her.
Ryan was left standing awkwardly at the edge of a paper battlefield.
He took a deep breath and muttered under his breath, "What kind of roller coaster is this? Luck pulls me up—then kicks me in the face…"
*
The moment Ryan sat down, the chief scribe didn't even lift his head.
"Sit and get to work," the man barked, eyes buried in a scroll. "Go through the expenses and tally the amounts. If you find any letters from the lords or servants, any kind, put them aside. Any scrolls with seals, give them to me."
Ryan blinked.
No greeting. No name asked. No introduction.
He sighed and dropped into the low wooden stool, eyeing the chaotic mountain of papyrus, clay, and parchment stacked before him like the aftermath of an academic apocalypse.
"Back to the grind," he muttered.
Picking up a scroll at random, he unraveled the parchment lazily, expecting some boring line of numbers or agricultural account records.
Instead, his eyes locked on something far more… explosive.
It was a letter. Handwritten. No seal. No sender name. But clearly not a routine report.
His eyes widened as he scanned the words:
"Governor, on our investigation, it was confirmed that there is a spy hiding at the estate, who is passing the information to the Persian Empire after sunset through pigeons."
—For the glory of the Empire.
Ryan was flaggerbasted when he saw the letter. It's like the mission just falls into his lap. Ryan then went into the contents of the mission. He knows the spy details, like he is a male, younger than 30 years old, has a palindrome name (could be first name, middle name, or surname), he always sends the information after sunset and through airmode, i.e, the pigeons.
Combined with this anonymous letter, it became clear that the spy that the letter was talking about is the same one he was looking for. The spy was inside the estate, after all.
He slowly, carefully rolled the scroll back up, heart pounding in his ears.
This… This wasn't just important—it was mission-critical.
Ryan let out a slow exhale. "What kind of luck is this. I just came into the estate, and it so happened that the culprit is hiding in the estate?"
It's like the game just threw him a main questline on a silver platter.
He looked around quickly. No one noticed.
The scribes were still busy scribbling and groaning over tax documents.
He opened his Inventory screen. "Let's try this."
With a silent prayer, Ryan dragged the scroll toward his inventory slot.
Poof.
It disappeared into the system's dimensional space.
"Holy…" he hissed. "It worked?"
He blinked, stunned. "Wait, how? Isn't this supposed to be the Governor's letter? I thought I could only store down the things that aren't anyone's property. System, please answer the question."
In response, a system prompt appeared in his vision.
System Notice
Ownership Check: The Sender has relinquished ownership by releasing the message via anonymous delivery. The receiver (Governor) has not yet received or read the scroll. Scroll currently considered "unclaimed."
Inventory Storage: Authorized.
Ryan stared at the floating window.
"System, please answer this question. Until the governor actually opens it, it's fair game?"
*Ding!
[Correct. This is applicable to all unsealed, unclaimed written material not in direct possession of a person or container with ownership logic assigned.]
Ryan leaned back, dazed. "So, this is all about understanding the rules and using the loopholes, huh?"