I couldn't believe it Emiliano and his two daughters, Sumi and Mia, were already in the courtyard before I even got there.
■― I can't believe it. You actually came. ―
— Emiliano — Of course, sir. You said to show up today, and here we are. ―
— Pudiente — Looks like you didn't chicken out after all. ―
— Emiliano — Not this time. I think Mr. Hunt is different from the other merchants, no offense. ―
— Pudiente — My father was many things, but a good man wasn't one of them... though I didn't realize that until I met this bastard. ― He said, grabbing me by the arm, grinning.
■― So… do you have what you promised me? ―
— Emiliano — Yes, but I could only finish thirty. ―
■― Suuu! — I shouted — That's more than enough. ―
— Emiliano — Well… should we get to work now, or are we waiting on someone else? ―
■― Right now. Let's go. But first, we need to get your contract signed. ―
In the office I share with Neo and Pudiente, the conversation shifted toward working conditions and how we run things at the company. Emiliano looked like he wanted to say something a little hesitant but his daughter stopped him several times.
— Pudiente — Hunt, what about her? ― He said, nodding toward Mia — The older one can work with the others. ―
■― Actually… no. I talked with Neo, and plans have changed. ― I winked at Emiliano. — Starting tomorrow, all our workers' children will come here in the mornings to study: math, physics, chemistry with me, and language and literature with one of the secretaries. I think with Marte, but I still have to ask her. ―
— Pudiente — Physics and chemistry?... ― He said, puzzled — But do you know how expensive that is for the workers? They'll be broke. Even with the raise. ―
■― So that's the problem… mmm… I see... well then… they just won't pay. ―
— Pudiente — But–but–but… what do you mean they won't pay? You don't know the first thing about running a business! At this rate, we'll be broke by the next holiday. We've already spent more than a gold coin just feeding these people… ―
■― Are you like your father? ―
— Pudiente — What does that have to do with anything? ―
■― You like to gamble. ―
— Pudiente — Last time I gambled, I left everyone without a shirt on their backs. ―
■― Let's make a bet. I'll give you the company back if you win. But if I win, you never question me again. ―
— Pudiente — And what are we betting on? ―
■― I say by the end of this week, we'll have at least four — maybe even five — gold bars in the vault. The same kind I gave your father. ―
— Pudiente — That's… that's at least 350 gold coins… ― He muttered, rubbing his temples and questioning all his life choices. Finally, he agreed, sealing it with a handshake — The company will be mine again. ―
I gave him a smile he couldn't read whatever it meant, it immediately wiped the grin off his face. A bit later, while I was finishing up the thermometers with Emiliano, Varo's eldest son showed up.
— Damos — Good morning. ―
■ — Neo already kicked you out? —
— Damos — He says I'm too little to work. —
■ — That sounds familiar… — I said, glancing at Levi, who gave me a look like (Come on, man, what did I do now?) — Alright, here's the deal wait here while I finish this, then you come with me. I've got errands to run. What do you say, think you can keep up?
— Damos — I swear I'll work harder than anyone else. I'll do whatever my bones can handle, from morning to night, and night to morning. — (Haha, he told Neo the exact same thing.)
About an hour and a half later, we had all the thermometers finished. All that was left were the markings and divisions. I left Emiliano in charge of wrapping things up. I assigned him a few general workers and one guard, just in case. Then I went to double-check a question I had about Neo's work before continuing my day.
After that, I headed off with Emiliano's daughters and Damos to one of the rooms in the building a pretty big space, filled with armor and weapons. I called for Pudiente, and with help from his "lackeys" (i.e., the merchants), I told him to sell everything we wouldn't be needing it anymore and use the money to get tables and benches. He did get the chalkboard, but didn't set up the room. (I think I give this man too many tasks…)
Once the weapons were cleared out… I started cleaning the room myself. But then Claudia and Elena (from General Services) caught us and kicked me out — said I shouldn't be doing that kind of work. In the end, I went back to my office with the three kids and started talking to them about the city.
Their perspective is completely different from Selene's. Damos told me his family lives on the fourth floor (no elevator), and how in winter it's hard to carry water up or take waste water down. He said sometimes his dad comes home just to sleep before going back to work without dinner or breakfast. His mom works as a seamstress, and she gets beaten at work ("it's normal," according to Sumi) if she takes too long. He also mentioned that his little sister, who's 13, is learning to sew like their mom, and sometimes stains the fabric with blood and when she does, they hit their mom.
Sumi, on the other hand, told me how the field lords overwork their laborers, but she talked about it like it was completely normal. She said that after turning 16 last year, she went to work harvesting in the fields. Some bastards tried to assault her, but a huge wolf showed up and scared them off. Luckily, some adventurers had been tracking it for a while the wolf didn't even look at her.
She said stuff like that is part of the job. She learned the hard way to carry hidden knives, just in case. Her father doesn't know… She told us several stories how she'd hide from monsters when it was getting dark, and how she'd sometimes have to spend the night outside the city.
Mia also joined in, telling us how she takes care of her dad how he always burns his hands, and how people would come just to laugh at him and watch him work.
But before she could keep going, we got called to see how the room looked after it had been cleaned and reorganized. I went with Hugo and René to set up the chalkboard.
Then I headed to the administrators' office to borrow some chairs and tables. They were in a meeting with Pudiente about some accounting issue, but Neo showed up and we did the print tests.
For lunch, we decided to make meatballs, so we picked a type of meat that was as close to beef as possible. Since Levi and Antón never do anything just watch we had them chop the meat with knives. There were some complaints, but not enough to stop the work.
The tomato sauce was easy: chopped tomatoes, boiled, with some spices. (I think. I don't really know Neo made it, and now he's forcing me to write about how we cooked. Seriously.)
During lunch, Varo dropped a bomb: he said that tonight, after work, he's going to make a sacrifice… at the Temple of Tolmas. Naturally, we were all pissed off about that "tradition."
● — Everyone pay attention. — Shouted Neo. — Jesus that is, God made man once said I didn't come to be served but to serve. I came to give my life for the salvation of many. In other words, God-made-man, Jesus, was the last "sacrifice." The true God doesn't ask for blood like that Tolmas does. —
■ — Stop killing just for the sake of it. That's wrong. —
No one said a word, and to break the awkward silence, we brought out the little cakes for Damos. After he blew out the candles, we stood him up on the bench. Right in front of his "beloved," we pulled his ears I took one, Neo the other.
— Varo — What was that supposed to be? —
■— Just a dumb tradition from our village. —
— Damos — But we're not in your village. — He said, rubbing his sore ears.
● — So what? Maybe that shake from side to side will help you finally understand that you're still a kid, not a grown-up. At least, not in our eyes. —
After cleaning up, Neo went back to sketching patterns, and I returned to Emiliano. We started talking about how to make glass bottles. He explained that it's tough, since they don't always come out the same — it depends on how he makes them and how they settle.
(#■ — Could you make me some kind of mold to produce small glass bottles? —#)
(#● — If you don't mind, I'll do it tomorrow. You'll have it by the afternoon for sure. —#)
I gave him the task of preparing everything for the next day, since we were going to start making a lot of containers. Later that afternoon, I spoke with Marte — with a raise, I managed to settle the matter of the literature classes. And when she heard I'd be teaching the other subjects, she asked if her own kids could attend too. I didn't say no — that was the plan all along.
That afternoon, I kept setting up the classroom with tables and benches, hoping I'd be able to handle as many kids as possible.
Pudiente, ever the skeptic, kept throwing little jabs about how we should charge for this... but since I didn't answer him, he eventually stopped.
Before leaving for the day, I spoke with almost all the workers except the artisans about letting their kids over 12 attend classes. (I still don't know what I'll do if someone brings a 6-year-old and a 15-year-old...) Once they heard the classes were free, none of them said no. I also started casually asking about their partners' work mostly the wives and turns out almost all of them are seamstresses, or do something related to clothing.
Ω ― Ω ― Ω
At night, I met with Neo in the subdimension, where we talked about making a standing loom to attract the workers' wives. I told him the stories the kids shared with me today. When I told him Sumi's story, I could see Neo's blood boiling but he said nothing.
He left me alone with Selene and Dalia, talking about life, while he started sketching the loom's design. Both Selene and Dalia were worried about the festival in the third week of the month, because lots of people would be coming and that usually increases the violence in the city. During this festival, it's easier to travel between cities because there are lots of adventurers guarding the roads, plus the nobles' soldiers.
Dalia told me how many of the young men who were attending university are now imprisoned, all because of the marquis's youngest son. That the university now seems like a girls-only school, and you can feel the silence. They also told me how the high-ranking noblewomen the other four marchionesses have taken control of their cities, and how a duchess from another city went half mad (a full-blown dictator, according to them). In contrast, the lower nobility countesses, viscountesses, and baronesses let their sons take over, even if they were really young. Some still rule from behind the curtain, though. (Behind the curtain, behind the curtain, but I still found out, you know?)
The funerals were many, and a lot of children were sacrificed for the nobles' sake. I asked about Salvia and how she's doing, but they said she still hasn't left the house and that Solomon was buried that same night.
They told me his son, Samuel, also hasn't left his room. He's locked himself inside and won't speak to anyone. That even the marchioness herself came to visit the family, and he didn't come out to greet her.
(A deed that evil could only have come from someone who follows Tolmas. This world is tearing itself apart on its own, and we still can't do a thing. Nothing except through force. But we… we are engineers. No. Of course, if we win the "war", we're the victors — and the ones who get to write the story, right?)