The King climbed back up the steps of his dais and sat.
The warmth that had been in his face during the reunion went somewhere else on the way up, so by the time he settled, the man on the throne was the Crown again.
"Now then," the King said, and the Crown came back into his voice as he settled, "my daughter tells me you pulled her out from under a thing that killed a full detachment of royal knights."
"However you managed that," the King continued, letting the words find the far end of the hall, "the Princess of this kingdom is alive because of you."
"A debt like that cannot go unanswered," he said, both hands settling on the arms of the throne, "so name your reward."
Hajin kept still while his mind ran back over the list he had built during the carriage ride, because he had known the question was coming since the city gates.
'I cannot ask for anything that leaves a record,' he thought, keeping both hands loose at his sides.
