After finding the building, Minos was happy to find the entire place had been renovated from outside to in.
The old rotting boards that made up the building had long since been replaced by new ones, a large billboard at the top reading 'House of Wisdom.'
Entering inside, Minos was happy to see the interior even cleaner, the floors, walls, and ceilings having been wiped clean, the place filled with a fresh scent.
Rubella was seated at the front desk bored out of her mind, the sound of the door opening jolting her awake and filling her with excitement.
"Welcome Cus-" Before she could even finish her sentence, she realized it was Minos, her excitement replaced with happiness.
"Master! You were gone so long!" Rubella shouted, jumping over the desk and into Minos's arms.
"How's business going?" Minos asked with a smile.
"Awful!" Rubella complained.
"Really? How about Zatiana?" Minos asked.
"Don't mention her, it just makes me angrier!" Rubella groaned.
"Why? What's wrong?" Minos asked.
"Nothing, that's what's wrong! Her 'House of Treasures' is doing great, especially since you keep supplying her talisman's and weapons, how could we compare?" Rubella said, feeling she had gotten the short end of the stick.
"You shouldn't compare in that way, the intelligence business isn't one of money, but rather connections." Minos said.
"Well, how are a bunch of orphans meant to have connections?" Rubella questioned.
"Hey, that's your job to figure out." Minos said with a laugh, causing Rubella to go slightly red as she gritted her teeth, her annoyance reaching a new level.
Seeing Rubella's face, Minos stopped laughing, realizing it was about time he guided this little apprentice of his.
"Look Rubella, sometimes you have to start small if you want to build big. Maybe you can't solve any mystery's now, but you can still help in little ways." Minos explained.
"Help in little ways, how?" Rubella asked, calming down somewhat.
"Follow me." Minos said, as he exited the building and headed towards the fanciest mansions in Underwood City.
Finding a house at random, Minos knocked heavily on the door as he waited for a response, Rubella looking on with curiosity, wondering what Minos was doing.
After waiting a couple minutes, a well dressed butler came out, looking at Minos and Rubella with a raised eyebrow, as if to ask what they wanted.
"Hello sir, my name is Minos and this is my apprentice Rubella. We're from the House of Wisdom, dedicated to helping our patrons solve their mysteries, regardless of difficulty!" Minos said confidently, Rubella starting to understand what he was doing.
"House of Wisdom? I've never heard of such a place." The butler said somewhat skeptically.
"Well we're a new group, but rest assured, our skills are time tested with a 100% success rate." Minos said, lying through his teeth.
"100%, huh? Well let me talk to my Mistress and see if she needs your services." The butler said, deciding to give Minos and Rubella a chance since they seemed quite self-assured.
"Master, what if we can't solve the problem, or what if they don't need us." Rubella whispered.
"If we can't solve it, just pretend there's no solution, and if they don't need us, then we'll just keep searching until we find someone who does."
"Through work like this, we'll spread the House of Wisdom's name throughout Underwood City, and soon our job options will expand rapidly. Understand?"
"I get it!" Rubella said excitedly, finally seeing a clear path forward.
"Good, now follow my lead." Minos said, putting his business smile back on just as the butler came back to the door.
"You two are in luck, my Mistress recently lost her favorite ring, and if you can find it, she'll reward you generously!" The butler explained.
"Great, can we talk to your Mistress? We'd like to ask a few questions." Minos said.
"Of course. Follow me." The butler said, guiding Minos and Rubella into the living room.
Entering the living room, they found a middle aged woman seated comfortably on a luxurious couch as she slowly sipped her tea.
Seeing Minos and Rubella enter the room, her eyes couldn't help but light up, not expecting such a handsome man and beautiful girl to help her, her opinion of them instantly rising.
As unfair as this sounded, it was simply human nature, and people were usually willing to give beautiful people more chances and opportunities compared to ugly people.
"You two must be from this so-called House of Wisdom? Have a seat." The middle-aged lady said pleasantly.
"Thank you Ma'am, now about that ring, can you recall the last place you wore it?" Minos asked, cutting right to the chance.
"Well I remember still having it with me when I came back home, but losing it soon after, so I think it's somewhere inside my home." She explained.
"Do you remember anything else?"
"Hmm, I think I lost it on the second floor, but I can't be certain."
"How about the ring's appearance?"
Just like this, Minos and the woman went back and forth, Minos telling Rubella to take notes as they discussed, wanting her to learn from this interaction.
After talking for about ten minutes, Minos extracted all the information he needed. Of course, with his Omniscient Eyes, these questions were pointless for him, and he could simply see her memories directly.
But these questions weren't for him, rather they were for Rubella, teaching her the right questions to ask when she's left to do this work on her own.
"Well that should be enough Ma'am, we'll get right to work." Minos said, getting up off the couch and heading upstairs with Rubella.
Seeing the two walking upstairs, the middle-aged lady gave her butler a wink, her intention being obvious.
Minos was aware of her worries, but he didn't mind, after all it was only natural she wouldn't let some strangers walk through her expensive home unsupervised.
"So Rubella, tell me, what are your thoughts?" Minos asked.
"Well, she said the ring was likely lost on the second floor, and that she was wearing it in her house before losing it, so I think it's most likely in her room somewhere." Rubella explained.
"Anything else?" Minos asked, trying to push Rubella's mind to the fullest.
"She said the ring was made of pure sapphire, which from what I've studied, is a very reflective gem, so maybe if we darken the room and shine a light around, we may find something." Rubella said, making Minos both surprised and happy from her conclusion.
"Good thinking. Let's give it a try." Minos said, though he already knew exactly where the ring was based on the ladies' memories.
While she had forgotten, the memory actually existed inside in the subconscious of her mind, making it impossible for her to access it, but Minos didn't have that limitation.
Entering the room, Minos and Rubella sealed all the windows shut before turning the light off, activating a shining talisman as they got to work.
Minos left Rubella to figure things out as he looked on, watching as she used the shining talisman to scan the room thoroughly.
It didn't take much time for a bright reflection to be sent back into Rubella's eyes, blinding her for a moment.
After blinking a few times to deal with the irritation, Rubella put the shining talisman away and reached out to where the reflection came from.
Pulling her hand back, she opened it to reveal a small ring made out of a beautiful blue sapphire gem.
"Master, master, I did it!" Rubella said excitedly as she showed off the ring.
"Well done, you didn't even need my help." Minos laughed, turning the light to the room back on.
"That was so exciting! But it was a bit too easy, I want to solve something harder." Rubella said, her blood rushing with exhilaration, never having thought that solving problems would be so fun.
"Seems you have a detective's spirit, that's good. Don't worry, as long as you prove your skill, harder jobs will definitely come." Minos said confidently.
"Good! Then I'll prove to this city that I'm the best detective around!" Rubella said as she danced around.
Smiling at Rubella's joy, Minos gave her a moment to collect herself before the two exited the room and headed back downstairs.
"Here you are Ma'am!" Rubella said, handing the ring to the lady.
"Oh? Solved so quickly? You two really are capable! How much do I owe you?"
"Well we charge based on the difficulty of the task, so ten Nux Crystals." Minos said.
"Ten Nux Crystals? Very well, I'll have my butler get that ready for you."
"Thank you Ma'am, and if you ever need work again, here's our card."
"Well, I'll keep you two in mind."
"Here you are." The butler said as he handed the ten Nux Crystals over.