章 21: Contract of Death
Just as soon as his quest finishes, another one was triggered. Brian was joyful about how things were going but he did not expect this type of quest.
"Were you not the one who's going to provide the materials while I work?"
<System: This is the Amazing Merchant System and not the Amazing 'Blacksmith' System. This Amazing System aims to let the User be the Boss of his own business rather than do everything himself. It is a given that a merchant should focus on running it behind the scenes by creating business relationships and let other work for you. Your main task is to sell products other people create>
"Hmm~ It's just a thought I get" Brian nodded in agreement.
He finished all chores he needs to do before the end of the day. And just like that, the clucks of Poulum have woken up the citizens of District 9 for a new day.
After their morning routine, Brian usually would bring Paia over to Raine's household. She has become her teacher in the meantime, and she was glad to teach Paia so there was no guilt leaving Paia there.
This day was different. Brian separated his plans for today into two and he was bringing along Paia for both of them.
Firstly, he was going to meet with Richi and see if he can be the blacksmith he is looking for. Raju told him that he will bring his son first thing in the morning so Brian does not worry about it.
The next thing he is planning to do is concerning the other requirement for his quest. Meeting a supplier for ores. Brian intent to go to the nearby District and look for a blacksmith shop to inquire where they are getting their materials.
"Good morning, Brian!"
Raju just came in the right time after the family of two finished brushing their teeth. They were no toothpaste in their world so Brian substituted it for sea salt he bought cheaply in the market. His life on Earth gave him the good habits he should share with his daughter.
Brian opened the door to greet his neighbor. Beside the two-meter wolf was half a meter shorter than his father.
Richi is clearly excited just a look from his face. If the words of his father yesterday were true, then he can create swords with an actual furnace instead of his mini furnace back on their home.
"I'll leave Richi in your care." Raju still needs to work so he did not stay for long.
He was confident to leave his child to Brian like how Brian also is confident on leaving his daughter in their care. Richi can also be considered a young adult that knows independence base on their growth rate.
They separated and the three went to the Blacksmith next door. Raju may not have told where the Blacksmith was because Richi was just as surprised when he discovered it was the house just two lots away from their own. As a person who has experience and knowledge of blacksmithing, he wanted to ask Brian something but decided not to.
'Maybe this is what blacksmiths look like in their place.' Richi just concluded for himself not bothering to judge anymore.
"System, I got the first employee. He should be able to go behind the workshop, right?"
<System: All workers, including those in the future, will have to sign the contract first before this Amazing System can categorize them as such>
"Contract?" As soon as Brian heard a familiar term, he was alerted that the contract papers are under the counter area on the corner near the workshop.
Crouching to look for the contracts, there was a single stack of papers that were not present the other day. Brian grabbed one and read the contents for himself. Reading what was written put a sour expression.
To understand why Brian was making a weird face, this is what was written in the supposed contract provided by the System.
[1. No fighting among workers. Directly or indirectly. Members of Nova Initia should promote co-operation and camaraderie… Low-level Punishment will be placed on those who were guilty. Continuous violating the rule will increase the Punishment level]
Brian has no problem with this. This was a given if he wants a friendly workplace.
[2. Intentionally destroying property inside the store will result in certain Punishment Level depending on the severity.]
This is the System's way to make sure his workers will not dare to steal or do any of that sort in his stores.
[3. Confidentiality must be observed. Employees will be instructed what things must not be shared with outsiders. And outsiders include employee's close relations like parents and friends. Disobeying will immediately put the culprit in High-level Punishment]
Questionable it may seem, Brian can somewhat understand that secrets should stay secrets. However, the punishment only makes it look like they were hiding something.
This is where Brian thought there was something wrong in the System's head. Under the rules is the list of punishments. The Punishments are categorized into three namely; Low, Medium, and High-level Punishment. Just reading it made Brian wonder if it was taking it too far for breaching one of the few rules listed on the contract.
The low level is somewhat acceptable. The earnings of the one at fault will be halved for a certain duration depending on the Boss, in this case, depending on Brian.
The medium level can already be considered the worst one. Being fired is bad and all, but it also includes memory wiping of anything related to working in Nova. Brian does not know how that works but feeling that the System is involved, it may just happen.
Now for the last punishment for only the worst offenses... Death is involved. The one at fault will experience soul evisceration... Not having the chance for the soul to survive, the guilty will be dead among the dead if they for some reason ended up with this punishment.
"No one would join me at this rate!" Brian cursed the system in his mind.
<System: This is a requirement for anyone involved in Nova Initia because what they are dealing with cannot be found in this world>
"Are they just simply creating products then selling them in my stores?"
<System: You'll understand when you go inside the workshop. User should stop worrying about the little stuff and hire someone already>
'May the System be damned!' Brian felt this was the most impossible task given by the System. The contract alone makes the reader question whether the store might be selling illegal products.
Brian can only laugh in anguish when giving the contract to Richi. He was 99% he would be the first employee he would have yesterday, but now it became 1%.
As he expected, when he handed him the paper, the wagging tail of his suddenly stop. The air suddenly becomes serious except for Paia who was still a bit sleepy sitting on one of the chairs.
Brian will not hate Richi or anything if he declines his offer especially when he has not yet told him how much he can earn. If the shoes were reverse, Brian will definitely move on and look for another opportunity to use his blacksmithing skills.
Waiting for a certain rejection, Brian was thinking ways on how to coax people for his business.
"Boss Brian, how do I sign?"
"Huh…? Were you not able to understand what was written? I can read it for you."
"I have understood everything Boss Brian. There's nothing wrong with hiding the art of what makes our products unique. I also want my weapons and armors to be something only I can create."
"Are you sure?" Brian was happy Richi was willing to, but he does not want him to regret it in the future. He still feels indebted towards Raju's family so he needs to be careful.
"I may be a novice, but I'll not give up the chance to fulfill my dream just I'm afraid of my consequence. My father always told me I can never achieve what I want without any risk… In the first place, as long as I don't break any of these rules, these punishments mean nothing." Richi said with conviction.
Seeing that the wolf in front of him cannot be persuaded, he gave up and told him how to sign it. He just needs to stamp it with a droplet of his blood then it will be done.
Nova Initia Blacksmith finally has its first employee.
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