Newcomers (4): Exploitation and Demands
"Eek?!"
The guard yelped in surprise and rushed inside. In the office, three or four men were sprawled on the floor or slumped over tables. The other guards instantly surrounded Bertrand and Marim.
The administrator turned pale and started trembling as he stammered, "M-m-m-m-murder... m-murder..."
"They're not dead. Just passed out."
"Th-then ass-ass-assault..."
"Call it mutual assault."
Mutual assault? The administrator eyed Bertrand, who didn't have a single scratch. But those guys over there...
"Waaah!"
Some of the men, propped up by the guards, were vomiting blood-mixed bile, while others couldn't even stand. One had all his teeth knocked out and was slurring wildly through the gaps.
"Huwwy...! Huwwyha...!"
The administrator glanced frantically between them and Bertrand. "Wh-what... what the hell happened...?"
"Here you go."
Bertrand opened the money pouch the man handed him. It contained a few silver and copper coins.
"Marim, check the amount."
Marim shook her head at the sight. "That's only a third of what we agreed on."
"Hm. Right."
I handed the pouch back. "Put the proper amount in and give it here. We provided fair labor, so we deserve fair pay."
"That's all there is to begin with. Half-elves get less than half the daily wage of regular folk anyway."
"That doesn't make their labor worth less. Show me the ledger."
"What ledger?"
"You must have records of the work and payments. That'll show if they really got half or if you're skimming off the top."
Of course, the man refused.
"Who the hell are you to demand my business records? They should be grateful I pay those filthy things at all."
"I don't like seeing the half-elves I'm sponsoring get screwed over."
"Hah. What a joke. Sponsoring and protecting those mongrels? Oh, I get it."
The man smirked slyly, narrowing his eyes. "That's your game, huh? You look all upright, but you're a sneaky bastard. Trying to make her dependent on you as her 'protector' so you can have your fun? Half-elves may be lowborn scum, but I've heard they're exceptional in bed. That one's got a tight grip just looking at her. How was she? Bet you've tried it already."
Look at this fucker.
"Who knows. Probably not as tight as your buddies sitting there. Feels worlds better than using your hand, though you'd need a thorough internal cleaning first."
Marim, already tense, clung to my side with a look like she might faint. "Master... why are you going off like that..."
One of the men slammed the table with a BANG—and I shot my arm out, slamming it right back with a BANG. Instead of my fist, the man's face crashed into the safe. His yellow teeth scattered like corn kernels.
"Eek?!"
Marim freaked out and practically hugged my torso. The men at the table froze, and the one with his jaw smashed into the safe mumbled under the pressure, slurring through gaps.
"S-sowwy... sowwy..."
"I'm no saint either, and I'm not here to preach you assholes on living right."
Marim gripped my arm hard, whispering in fear. "Master... don't..."
"But I'm not letting anyone talk shit about my employee like that. Say it again. What about this girl?"
His jaw kept smashing into the safe, teeth flying out one after another.
"Uh-heeek..."
I let go, and the man—nearly all his teeth shattered—slumped to the floor like a ragdoll.
I approached the stiff-as-boards men at the table and kicked it flying. It smashed apart on the opposite wall.
"Bring the ledger."
"They exploited the half-elves by withholding their daily wages. When I came to collect, they came at me with knives first, so I had to defend myself."
Of course, the knife part was a lie.
"Half-elves? Wages? Exploitation?"
The administrator tilted his head, then finally grasped the situation.
"You mean... you took those mongrels' word and started this...?"
"No. I checked the office ledger. There was money allocated for the half-elves' shares. Don't believe me? Check it yourself."
"Even so... over those mongrels..."
I couldn't hold back and scolded the administrator sternly. "Over? If I, as chief inspector, garnished your salary as a mere administrator, would you sit still?!"
Sorry to the real chief inspector quietly working somewhere in the capital, but I'd play the part for now.
"Ch-chief... inspec..."
With that, the administrator rolled back his eyes and fainted.
Daily ID, charging out personally, stuttering, faint-hearted... No wonder Lenditofte was a mess with a guy like this running it.
The guards panicked like dogs with their tails on fire at the mention of "chief inspector."
"This half-elf lives in the forest community outside town. She said the community wasn't getting their hard-earned wages for a month, so I came to verify. No more issues."
"Yes, sir!"
Idiots. A chief inspector wandering a backwater alone made no sense. If I'd just shown a real badge, they wouldn't have bought it so easily. Administrator's an idiot, guards are idiots. No surprise half-elves get treated like shit.
"Let's go, Marim. It's over."
Marim, shaking like a leaf amid the guards, stuck right behind me. "I peed myself, Master..."
A quick glance—her brown pants were indeed darkened.
She seemed terrified of guards, probably trauma from her thieving days.
"Uh... sorry, but no saddle for you. Blink and follow."
"Aw, man. Half-elf pee isn't dirty...?"
"You're talking crazy."
Back at the community, I divided up the recovered money. The half-elves hugged me, thanking and apologizing profusely.
After finishing meals, cleanup, and checking damaged huts, it was time to go. The red-haired, green-eyed half-elves gathered to see me and Marim off.
"Bye, mister!"
"Come again!"
I waved as we left the forest. Next month, snow would probably blanket this place. Thanks to Atergar's fire, the huts would stay warm, but the kids commuting to work worried me. It was far to town, and winter meant few jobs. No way they'd get indoor kitchen work.
I wanted to help, but handouts weren't right. Helping them stand on their own was key—I couldn't support them from the inn forever.
Hm... what to do...
Back at the inn, Ukun was fuming, waiting for me. Ammugar and Orkog looked deeply troubled behind him.
"What's up, dwarf? Something piss you off?"
"Fire all those human shits from the monster zoo!"
Ukun bellowed out of nowhere.
"Why?"
"Those fuckers came as a group demanding a raise!"
"Raise? Out of the blue?"
"Fucking bullshit cocksucking..."
Ukun was too pissed to answer properly, spitting curses. I turned to the demons.
"What happened? You explain."
"Well, hero sir... it's like this..."
The situation: Short-staffed, they'd hired a dozen for the monster zoo recently. They'd explained the job fully and shown the inside. Everyone seemed excited, signed on, and worked fine until yesterday.
Today, they all showed up demanding hazard pay after trying the work.
"Hazard pay..."
"Lady Atergar controls all the monsters, so there's hardly any danger. Plus, I hear you set wages accounting for that..."
"Yeah. Gave 'em a few extra silvers over other places. Hmm... tricky."
"What should we do, hero sir? Crowds are overflowing, but Mideronde's golems are managing barely. Low intelligence limits them."
First thought: Lenditofte's half-elves. Nearly thirty nimble kids—they'd excel at the tasks with their racial agility.
Snow was coming, so it solved my worries perfectly. They lacked raw strength, but demons and Mideronde's magic handled heavy lifting.
Problem: Even bringing one Marim caused backlash. Celereja smoothed it over ranting about divine punishment for racism, but...
Nearly thirty half-elves flooding Rosens at once? Worlds different from Marim alone. Housing issues, and even Hildeva would struggle. She's no racist, but not all citizens were enlightened. That's why I hadn't brought Marim's siblings yet.
Hmm... what to do...
Then Hildeva entered the yard, greeting me. "Mr. Bertrand! Just the man I was looking for."