“Hey boss?” Seg asked. “I have a question about the job.”

“The job in general or in specific? Because I can’t answer you specifics. You know that.”

His “boss” was an old man, but his hair was bright red.

“Yes, although I don’t know why.”

“M’boy, if you want to know why you’ll have to investigate, and I-

“-can’t tell me specifics about investigations. I know. Anyway, it’s a general question.”

The old man’s mood seem to darken even further.

“It’s ethics isn’t it?”

“How did you know?”

“This job spawns two types of questions. Those about the ethicality of your actions and those about the legality. If it was legal you could ask someone else. I am proud to know that you trust my judgement over anyone else’s but not in the result.” He sighed. “Ask away.”

“If someone did the wrong thing, for the right reasons, should I work to turn them in?”

“That’s a few questions in one but you seem to be concerned about the job. I say no. If you can’t decide whether you want to succeed, you shouldn’t try. You won’t be able to concentrate on the job, and you won’t be able to trust your own work, your own conclusions.”

“But the law is the law.”

“That’s why I’m telling you not to investigate. The law doesn’t say you have to, but if you find something, the law says you have to cough it up. You want to avoid the law if you’re not sure whether to follow it. If you follow a case you don’t want to report, you’d better be good and ready to break the law for what you’re doing, or compromise your values to follow the rules.”

“But which one is better? My own personal ethics, or the rules of the whole kingdom?”

“M’boy, if you ask someone else the answer to that question, it means that you don’t really want to know.” ’and that you’re nowhere near ready to.’

“So I should just leave it? Abandon my duty?”

“Abandon the job. Not your duty. Look, let me recommend another quest for you. I’ve heard a rumor about two men to the north of here. One of them cannot be killed in a fair fight, and the other can only be killed in one. They’ve been riding to meet each other for days. If you hurry, you might catch them.”

“Did you, by any chance, arrange this whole conversation?”

“Why would I do that?”

“So I could check out this adventure for you.”

“Well, it seems I’ll make a detective out of you yet.”

[p=center]* * *[/p]

Seg had left the house of his teacher and boss.

“Heh, the kid thought I arranged it all in advance.”

The boss laughed to himself.

“If he has one weakness, it’s that he always thinks everyone is smarter than he is. I’d be surprised if there were more than a handful on the continent who really are. If he ever meets one of them, though? Now that would be an interesting day.”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

He went into his bedroom and opened the dresser.

He reached in and pressed a button.

The surface of the mirror on the other side of the room began to shimmer, and resolved itself into an image of another room, with another person in it.

“Hello, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Why are you calling me now?”

“I was feeling nostalgic. I wanted to talk to the only person smarter than me.”

“I’m not smarter than you.”

“You beat me in chess.”

“It’s a game. Would I be smarter than you if I beat you in poker?”

“You could never beat me in poker.”

“Maybe not, but that isn’t my point! You keep acting as if chess is the ultimate arbiter of intelligence. I am telling you for the last time. I am not smarter than you.”

“You know, you’re right.”

“Thank you.”

“Chess doesn’t prove intelligence.”

“I’m glad you see it my way.”

“I never realised how silly I was being.”

“Wait a moment…”

“You realised it from the first though didn’t you?”

“Oh no. Nonononono. Stop talking right now!”

“You’re much smarter than I am!”

“I’ll kill you! I mean it this time!”

“It’s good to see you to.”

The mirror shimmered again, and returned to normal.

“You shouldn’t do that to him. You know that.”

“I wouldn’t, if it weren’t so funny.”

“I don’t see much humor in it.”

“...”

“Okay, I admit it’s funny.”

“Why are you in my house?”

“Aren’t you even going to ask me how I did it?”

“Please, save that drivel for someone who doesn’t know your nickname.”

She frowned slightly, almost pouting.

“It’s a codename. I seem to recall yours was-”

“Anyway! You haven’t answered my question.”

“I haven’t.”

“...”

“...”

“I’m not going to.”

“Fine. There is a problem with my student.”

“So? I beg your pardon, but I hardly think that that would concern me.”

“It does, because it concerns your student as well.”

“Ah. That is a different matter.”

“I thought it would be.”

“Let me guess. He is doing the right thing, for the wrong reasons.”

“How did you know?”

“Simple. Seg is an idiot.”

____________________________________________________________________

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