Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: Apprentice Recruitment Plan
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Having roughly outlined my plan, I met with the staff one by one to ask their thoughts on expanding the team.
Not that anyone would outright oppose hiring more people, but everyone might have their own ideas.
As I went around asking each one personally, just as I'd expected, they all seemed welcoming to the idea.
"If possible, please hire more pattern makers."
Rather than responses like 'Why?', the first thing out of their mouths was 'Please go for people like these.'
And the conditions they wanted were all perfectly reasonable ones.
"Elizabeth, you busy right now?"
"I can spare a moment."
Once I'd confirmed that everyone was positive about hiring in principle, I immediately sought out Elizabeth.
"I'm planning to recruit some new people to work with us soon. What do you think?"
"Everyone's starting to look a bit overwhelmed, so it seems like a good idea."
Fortunately, Elizabeth was on board too.
I'd thought that since she wasn't just Elizabeth anymore but Princess Victoria, she might find new faces a bit intimidating, but no.
"But how do you plan to recruit them?"
"I'm thinking of raising them from scratch—start with simple tasks and gradually build them up."
"Like an apprenticeship?"
"Yeah."
"Won't that take too long? Even with talent, it'd still be a few months, right?"
"Experienced hires come with some risks, so I'm going the safe route."
The ideal would be to find pattern makers or seamstresses who mesh well with us, are trustworthy, and highly skilled—but good luck finding any.
Someone like that could run their own atelier. What kind of money do I have to poach them with?
It's a fact I often forget because our staff are such insane talent magnets, but aside from Herbert and Adelaide, no one here has any prior sewing experience.
They survived the underwear hell and grew on their own.
"We don't have the luxury of time. How do you plan to teach them?"
"Use weekends and evenings to teach the basics quickly, then throw them into real work. It'll still take a few months, though."
"In that case... the hiring conditions will be key. Got anything in mind?"
"Just some rough ideas I jotted down—take a look."
I handed Elizabeth the paper I'd scribbled on for a few minutes.
Elizabeth took the paper, her eyes widening slightly as she slowly read the words written there.
...
People who want to learn sewing and pattern making.
Requirements: Must be able to hold a conversation, not cause fatal harm to those around them, and be able to sew in some way—even if missing limbs, we'll take them.
However, if conditions are similar, prefer healthier and younger applicants. Ideally, ones we can employ long-term.
Training time: Weekday evenings or weekend days.
Specific times and frequency to be negotiated later based on individual circumstances.
Training period: About 3 months, up to 6.
After training ends, a few days of testing to decide on full-time hire.
Benefits: Modest meal allowance during training?
...
"What do you think?"
After my question, Elizabeth shot me a sidelong glance with half-lidded eyes and spoke up.
"Who's going to teach them during those 3 months?"
"I'll handle pattern making, Adelaide sewing."
"You trying to crush the new sprouts from the start?"
Neither Adelaide nor I are suited to teaching with our 'just do a ton of it and you'll get good' mindset.
"But we can't use anyone else."
Still, we couldn't use anyone else.
Elizabeth staying with the atelier was already a miracle and special circumstance, so she's out.
Walter and Elin are out on personality.
Caterina's embroidery is top-notch, but her sewing is below average housewife level. Mari has cat hands and can't sew.
Prince Herbert and Princess Fanny would be suitable teachers, but unlike me, they haven't abandoned high society, so no time.
"With so many people..."
Elizabeth frowned and turned to look at the staff, but as soon as she took them in, her shoulders twitched and she trailed off.
"Yeah, no helping it."
She nodded as if convinced.
"Next question: Aren't the conditions too vague?"
"Vague?"
"I felt it when you hired us too—you write conditions so ambiguously. This way, you'll attract tons of weirdos. If you're doing it like this, shouldn't you at least do resume screening?"
"You're right, but you can't tell good from bad without seeing them in person. There's too much writing can't capture."
The best way to hire top talent is simple.
Examine every single person yourself.
The real talents that words or paper can't judge.
There's a joke in the martial world about watching out for kids and elders, but in resume screening, kids and elders get cut before even interviews.
Who'd hire a 60-year-old grandpa or 14-year-old teen on a whim?
And honestly, resumes don't reveal much anyway.
Degrees? Certifications?
The most reliable thing is a single recommendation letter from a guild or previous employer.
So naturally, nothing beats checking in person.
Of course, you can't scour the whole world for the absolute best, so at least screen everyone willing to show up personally.
It's exhausting, annoying, and headache-inducing, but the talent you find this way repays that effort a millionfold if nurtured well.
Ultimately, talent scouting is like sifting gems from rocks or gold from riverbeds.
That's why I set vague conditions on purpose—to draw in as many applicants as possible for more chances at real talent.
"And can normal people even adapt to this atmosphere?"
"Well, that's true, but..."
Our current staff aren't exactly normal to begin with.
Just the pattern makers: royalty, a woman who ditched a family trade respected even by the Pope, and a guy who sought us out because he loved my clothing philosophy.
Even the most 'normal' among us like Walter and Elin are talent freaks—timid, sure, but they'll speak their minds to a noble like me.
What happens if a regular person joins this mix?
I could bet they'd break in weeks.
"Still, there are limits. How long do you plan to filter through them all? You haven't forgotten that time dozens of young ladies and lords showed up, right?"
"True, but I wouldn't feel secure without seeing them myself... Fine, I'll tough it out for a few days."
"Ugh... A mage family, yet you act like you're from a knight house, all grit and no sense."
Elizabeth pressed a hand lightly to her forehead, her head throbbing at my stubbornness.
"I get why you do things this way, but at least add some basic restrictions. We can't hire someone like Reginald and have them bail before we even use them."
"Ah..."
Reginald.
A name I hadn't heard in ages.
The only experienced pattern maker among the first hires, around Caterina's age despite being human, but he quit immediately due to arachnophobia and left.
"Guess I do need to add some disqualifiers..."
It was an argument I couldn't bulldoze or refute, so I dropped my hardline stance and conceded a step.
"So, write detailed conditions and..."
Seeing that, Elizabeth reached out to hand the paper back.
"Yeah... Huh?"
"No."
But midway, she changed her mind, frowned, pulled her hand back, and grabbed a pen.
"I know you'd just write something weird, so I'll do it."
"Oh, alright..."
And so, the draft got thoroughly overhauled in Elizabeth's hands—everything except training period and times got scrapped and rewritten.
The conditions she wrote fit my tastes perfectly, making me feel oddly like she knew me better than I knew myself.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ After rewriting Elizabeth's revised conditions neatly on fresh paper and sending them off to the newspaper with a letter, I completely wiped the matter of taking on apprentices and new hires from my mind.
It'd take a month for the ad to run and applicants to prepare and come to the Imperial Capital, so there was nothing more to do.
Training curriculum?
No such thing.
I'm no theory expert, and dexterity doesn't grow from explanations anyway.
The ultimate goal is to turn them into machines that can copy, cut, and sew the clothes we design exactly.
The fastest, most accurate, and easiest way is to start with simple garments and ramp up difficulty through endless repetition.
That said, I couldn't neglect the atelier's current workload overload, so I looked for ways to patch things together with the existing staff.
Otherwise, time for new designs would vanish entirely, and our edge—barely held by creativity and innovation—would erode away.
Finding a solution wasn't hard.
Elizabeth had already shown the answer once.
"Walter, Elin, I've got something to discuss. Mind coming to the break room?"
"Y-yes..."
I called them during a break time.
"Pardon...?"
"Wh-what's... this about...?"
I rarely called them aside, but twice today already? Anxiety crept onto their faces.
I patted their shoulders lightly and flashed a gentle smile.
"Nothing big—just more questions. No need to worry."
"O-okay..."
A few words didn't fully ease their tension, but at least their darting eyes calmed and focused on me.
After a brief pause, I asked ever so carefully.
"You two... ever thought about trying pattern making?"
"Pardon...?"
My words wiped the anxiety from Walter and Elin's faces in an instant.
Replaced by thick bewilderment and confusion.