Hurry Up and Work! (4)
Lindel was noisy enough to make the whole city feel restless.
At least my constant cries of innovation had been worth something.
They were probably already familiar with Blue’s current system.
A dream of a company that thought about welfare and employee convenience in all the ways a proper business should.
People on Earth, too, dreamed up that sort of company in their heads.
Of course, it usually didn’t take long for them to realize that things taken for granted in one place weren’t so ordinary somewhere else.
The professional managers all over this world who had studied business administration and gone on to found companies knew as much: they understood where talent flocked.
But knowing and doing were worlds apart.
Most of the companies I knew didn’t actually carry out the very methods they claimed to understand.
Maybe it was simple greed.
Or maybe it was because, no matter how hard they worked the slaves, there were always more waiting in line behind them. Or maybe there were internal circumstances I knew nothing about.
They might have lacked capital. Or perhaps the company itself was so unstable that welfare was impossible in the first place.
Even on Earth, where clever people were everywhere, there weren’t many companies that looked after their employees to this degree.
And in Lindel, a city burdened with the special reality of constant danger, that was even more true.
The big guilds like the Crimson Mercenaries or the Black Swan were doing fairly well, but for the rest of the mid-sized clans, life was nothing short of hell.
What I was doing, to begin with, was nowhere near what anyone would call innovation.
Hiring interns was hardly a noble act.
Still, because there was fair compensation attached, these people could work with far more desperation.
If they can just become full-time employees.
That thought alone was enough to shove coal into the furnace of slavery.
If I wanted to put it bluntly, even the word innovation itself was just a frame and a bit of wordplay.
Once an image was planted, it hardened into place, and whenever Blue changed in the future, our followers would turn into parrots crying innovation all over again.
What matters is the image.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that framing through the media and public opinion decided everything about a group.
I was tapping the desk with my fingers when a voice came from beside me.
“There are quite a few people who passed.”
“Then it may take a little time.”
“Yes. We already filtered them once through the first exam, but there are still a lot. It’s a good thing that more capable applicants showed up than expected, but… the deputy guild master really ought to handle some of this too….”
“No. I’ll see every one of them myself.”
Since I could see status windows, this was the right way to do it.
“I’m worried you may be pushing yourself too hard.”
“Not at all. These are people who’ll be working for the guild. It’s only right that I see their faces personally.”
“I see….”
“It won’t take long anyway.”
The method for filtering out talent was simple.
Unfortunately, there was nothing more effective than an exam for getting rid of the riffraff.
For the applicants to the pension planning office, I decided the best thing was to test them on imperial law and tax management. For those applying to the pension project team, I judged that an exam on alchemy would be most effective.
And it worked.
It kept out the people who had merely rushed over after hearing rumors.
The only shame was for the genuine talent who got eliminated over a momentary mistake, but right now I didn’t have the time to take in people like that too.
What mattered more was hiring people who could be put to work immediately.
“Have all the interview applicants gathered?”
“Yes.”
“Then let them in one by one. I’ll conduct the interviews alone.”
“Understood. I’ll do that.”
As soon as I settled into my seat, the first nervous-looking man came into the room.
He looked like he was about to shit himself.
He probably hadn’t expected me to be the one interviewing him personally. It wasn’t surprising that he’d make that face; after all, he was standing before someone who could be called one of the power holders of the city.
It took only a moment to smile faintly and check his status. His abilities were low overall, and his tendencies were….
A lazy selfish prick.
That was exactly the sort of person I needed to weed out.
The sort of bastard Sun Heeyoung would strip down to the bone and leave with nothing to bury.
His résumé sitting on the desk didn’t look especially bad, but men like this were the tumors that infected a guild from within.
There was no reason to resurrect a bunch of mad old bastards in Blue a second time.
I suspected he was just one of those people who thought he could coast for a year and then enjoy the welfare benefits as a full-time employee.
“Ah. Mr. Kim Cheolsoo?”
“Yes. Hello.”
“No need to introduce yourself. This interview will be a little different from the usual one. You applied to the Crisis Response Team….”
“Yes, that’s right. I’m not sure if you’ve heard of it, but I once served briefly as the team leader of the Tree of Guardian Clan.”
“Ah, is that so? I’ve heard of it. Impressive.”
Tree of Guardian, my ass.
I’d never heard of it.
It was probably just one of those mediocre guilds that vanished in some absurd way.
His eyes were burning with enthusiasm, but tendencies never lied.
I looked at him and opened my mouth, and at once his slightly flustered expression came into view.
“I have a simple question for you.”
“Yes.”
“Please design an evacuation plan for a disaster that blankets all of Lindel.”
“Pardon? Right now?”
“Yes. It doesn’t have to be perfect. We need to evacuate the entire population of Lindel. If it were you, how would you move all those people?”
“Ah… um… first of all, I think using magic would be the most appropriate way….”
He babbled on and on, but his answer was nowhere near what I was looking for.
Idiot.
He was answering without even knowing what kind of danger he was supposed to be evacuating people from. It was pathetic.
I’d already been looking at him through tinted glasses because of his tendency, but honestly, I didn’t like this applicant one bit.
“The third gate of Lindel is….”
“Yes, I understand. That was a satisfactory interview. You may leave now.”
“Ah… yes. Understood.”
“We’ll inform you later whether you passed. Your answer was rather impressive. Thank you for your time.”
“Ah! Th-thank you!”
If no truly suitable candidate appeared, maybe I could use that guy for a year and see how he did.
He left, apparently convinced he had given the correct answer, a satisfied curve lifting the corner of his mouth, and the next person was brought in immediately after.
“Hmm….”
Outwardly, she looked neat enough. But traces of a hard life clung to her body here and there.
And she looks older too….
When I quietly opened her status window, her information came into view.
Name: Kim Miyoung, 39 years old, tendency: diligent advocate.
Her intelligence was better than expected, and even her mana stat sat at thirty.
Her background was rather unusual.
She had worked at a mid-sized guild, retired at thirty, opened a small general goods shop in the square after getting married, and… the rest wasn’t properly recorded.
It gave me the vague feeling that I could see the outline of her life.
It wouldn’t hurt to hear her story.
“Ms. Kim Miyoung.”
“Ah… yes.”
“You applied to the Imperial Legal Affairs Team.”
“Yes.”
“Your background is a little unusual, so I’d like you to tell me exactly what happened. You were married too… and there seems to have been quite a long break. You rested for five years.”
“Ah… yes.”
I could see her expression darken at once. It must have been difficult deciding how to begin.
It didn’t seem like a bad idea to nudge the conversation from this side.
“Your husband….”
“He passed away.”
“I see. I’m sorry. Do you have children?”
“Two. But they won’t interfere with my work.”
“Looks like you were treated unfairly at your previous guild.”
“…….”
I could already sketch the rest in my head.
She probably met her husband while working at the guild, got married, and almost immediately became pregnant.
After enduring all kinds of pressure, she left the guild and started a business with the money she’d saved up, but when that business also failed to go smoothly, her husband must have gone out hunting.
I didn’t care whether he died from illness or was killed while fighting monsters, but in any case, the dead husband likely left the family struggling to survive.
With children to raise, she couldn’t just take another job in some other guild or clan, and as that period of inactivity stretched on, she became exactly the sort of person guilds liked to avoid.
I had no idea how she’d managed to raise her children all this time, but I could say with confidence she hadn’t done it by taking the easy road.
She must have done odd jobs, hard labor, and day work somewhere, spending her days in ways most people couldn’t even imagine.
“During my time away, I challenged myself with various tasks and activities and used the time to reflect on myself and develop my abilities.”
That was a lie.
“I see.”
Still, I had no reason to care about that lie.
This woman was exactly the kind of top-tier talent I’d imagined in my head.
Very good.
Having children might be seen as a flaw, but if you looked at it another way, it meant that once I handled the children properly, she’d become a slave who would devote herself to the guild.
Her smart children would become workers for our guild too.
As for the flaw of her long break from work, that was the sort of thing she’d adapt to once she started working, and more than anything, I liked her tendency.
Effort is a good thing.
Mothers were strong.
Stronger than I could have imagined.
“Do you think you’re still fit for active duty?”
“Yes, of course. Even while I was resting, I kept studying, and I also hold a Class 1 Imperial Law certificate. Of course, I’d need to renew it, but… I won’t have trouble handling the necessary duties.”
“I imagine you’re aware of our guild’s current situation.”
“Yes.”
“I’d like to hear why you applied to Blue’s Imperial Legal Affairs Team.”
After a brief silence, she slowly opened her mouth, and I watched her in front of me.
“I thought you would need people well-versed in imperial law. And given the recent incident Blue went through, I thought you would formally protest to Celia, since disputes with other free cities are not allowed under imperial law. That is, of course, assuming Blue Guild possesses evidence.”
“I see. And what would you do if we didn’t have evidence?”
“You might consider applying pressure in a way that doesn’t violate the law. As modern law has loopholes, imperial law surely has them too.”
“So there is a way?”
She gave a slight nod but didn’t answer.
If I wanted to hear more, it was probably her roundabout way of telling me to hire her.
I liked that a little.
“I see. Hmm… interesting. No, good. Very good.”
“…….”
“I think we’ll work well together.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m saying I’ll hire you. As you probably already know, you’ll need to work for one year without pay. That doesn’t mean I won’t pay you at all, of course. In your case, Ms. Miyoung, it would be more accurate to say you’re a special case. I’ll guarantee basic living expenses. After that, it would be best to renegotiate your salary. Ah, and if you’re willing, I’d also like you to take the position of team leader for the legal affairs team… though naturally, that would only be possible if you produce results during your internship.”
“Pardon?”
“You can leave your children in the guild’s facilities and come to work. Where do you live now?”
“Well… I’m in the outskirts….”
So she was living in the slums after all. That wasn’t a problem. In fact, having nowhere to go was even better.
“You should live in the guild house. I’ll prepare a room for you to stay in with your children.”
“Ah….”
I fished under the table where I was sitting and immediately tossed out the employment contract. Her face stared at it in a daze.
She probably understood this sort of thing far better than I did. The expert here wasn’t me, but her.
“Read it and sign it.”
“Yes… yes.”
I watched as she studied the contract very slowly.
It didn’t take long for that doubtful expression on her face to turn into one of pure joy.
“You’ll probably get busy. I should tell you now that there may be days when you won’t be able to see your children for a while. Of course, we’ll prepare everything the guild needs, from their education to their future career paths. If you produce results, I’d even be willing to send them to the imperial capital for study abroad. That support, naturally, is conditional on your children joining Blue as well. It should be written in the contract, Ms. Kim.”
“Yes… ah… yes!”
“And if you’d like adventure training, the guild also supports basic swordsmanship and magic classes, so your children can join too, and you’re welcome to participate with them.”
“Thank you. Th-thank you.”
There was no reason not to sign.
Compared to living in the slums, staying here would be better in every possible way.
No, when I thought about her children, signing the contract was the only correct choice.
Living in the slums, where some unknown volunteer might show up at any time, would never be as safe as Blue’s comfortable embrace.
It was only natural that it didn’t take long for her to sign the employment contract with a slightly blank expression.
I couldn’t help smiling.
“Then when do I start work…?”
“Right now.”
“Pardon?”
“After you find a man named Park Deokgu in the guild lobby, come to the guild house with your children. Once you’ve sorted your luggage and gone up to the office, rewrite the employment contract you’re holding now. I’m a little ignorant when it comes to legal matters. I made this based on the old one, but it looks a little strange, doesn’t it?”
“Ah….”
“Please finish your work before you clock out today and submit it to me, Ms. Miyoung.”
Kim Miyoung looked at me as if wondering whether she had made some mistake, but she had no choice.
Her faintly delighted expression was proof enough of that.
“Yes!”
The ideal way to handle workers was to make sure they never realized they were slaves.
When I saw the solemn look on Kim Miyoung’s face, I ended up laughing to myself.
Let’s grind together.
“If you produce results worth recognizing, I’ll convert you to full-time before the year is up. Results worth recognizing.”
“Yes. I’ll work hard.”