章 52: Qualifications For Being A Nova Employee

"And your reason?"

Brian didn't shut this crazy request right off the bat. He knows when it comes to Samon, these brazen requests can become something good.

"I'll be honest… I don't want to return to my mundane life. Work after work- It's too boring! If it wasn't for my teacher, I would have left earlier."

"I'm not accepting tenants. I don't do that kind of service."

"I heard from that scary girl that this is a newly established shop, and you're looking for someone to work here."

The scary girl he was addressing should be Lucy. Brian does not know how their first meeting went although he can understand how she got that nickname from Samon.

"You're planning to work here? This shop has no living space."

"That door with the sign that says 'bathroom' should be the lavatory right? As long there's that, I can simply lay down a mat and sleep on the floor when it's closing time."

"Well…" Brian cannot really say the reason why it's a bad idea to live in his shops so he asked the System first.

<System: No>

A simple answer yet an effective one.

He was just trying his luck whether the attitude of the System changed during its hiatus. He knows very well it was impossible in the first place.

So Brian explained to Samon the circumstances he had to abide by without hinting at the existence of the System. Making excuses is deemed to be difficult when it's a master mage he's talking to.

However, his speech attribute should be nearing the max which made his statements mix with truth and lies very believable for someone like Samon.

"How about next door?"

"As I said, you can't live in any of my shops."

"No, I'm talking about the inn just across the street."

Samon pointed to the house that was directly in front of the blacksmith. Contrary to the peculiar yet lively appearance Nova shops had, this building emits an atmosphere akin to haunted houses.

It has been there before he came in Soliel, yet it barely had any impression. Brian does not know who owns that place since he hasn't seen someone go in or go out of that building.

Now that Samon is telling him it was an inn, he wonders if the owner is the same as him who was forced to put up a shop by an annoying System.

"If that's really an inn, why choose my place to work? With your capabilities, it won't be difficult to find jobs offering greater positions."

"That defeats the purpose why I escape. This shop won't be busy so I can just sit here and relax."

"You know what you're saying right."

No person in the universe will hire somebody after hearing that. Samon would definitely get a slap in the face by the interviewer if that was his answer to the common question of 'What makes you want to work at our company.'

You know it was bad when even Paia who barely understands how the world works, looks at you weirdly.

So basically Samon is telling Brian he wanted to be hired so he can laze around.

"…" A silent response from Brian tells everything Samon needed to know.

Since his value was going down in Brian's mind, Samon needs to go with plan B. A plan that is risky and desperate one- And that is to increase his shamelessness by tenfold.

"Maybe I can a work a little bit… Shops like these just need to produce potions and magic scrolls right? I can easily create them so I don't need to worry about staying in the shop 24/7"

"Bottle and scrolls don't sell themselves."

"... I can create a clone that's capable of handling that stuff."

Brian wanted to see how that works. However, that's beside the point. This supposedly strong mage is very persistent to work under him. He really cannot think of hiring him if he does not know the reason why he's going this far to the point he'll share all his trump cards.

So Brian asked, "Why did you leave?"

It cannot be simply because he wants to take a vacation away from his work or he's bored living there. There was no way a man would spontaneously decide to change the way how he live even if they were the most eccentric man alive.

From bits of pieces of information he gathered from talking with Samon during this day and their past meetings, he can tell he was a well-off person back in their place.

Brian is a tolerant person. If you have the right reason, then you'll be given a chance. That is why he is still entertaining this one-eyed mage up to now.

It may seem pointless and boring this discussion was dragging on. But for Brian, becoming an employee for Nova is like becoming his family member.

They may be the King or an expert of their craft. As long as they don't have the character to back it up, then he doesn't want them joining his group.

He may not have met Samon for long, but so as Raju when he just woke up after being betrayed by his own blood-related family.

"You should know Lucy and Richi are my employees, right?" Without letting the other side answer his initial question first, Brian ask another one.

Samon just nodded curiously about why Brian suddenly brought that up.

"Both of those guys are good people. One might not be very honest with herself, but I don't see them bringing trouble for me or for my shop."

"…"

"I may be much weaker to you right now that you can easily burn me with those phoenixes you conjured. However, I believe you won't do so."

"Where are you going with this, Bry?"

"If you really want to work here, I need to know your circumstance for doing so. I don't want trouble knocking on my door because of you… And if you can't share that, I'll just have to thank you for entertaining my daughter."

Brian's voice was calm- Yet his words made the talkative man shut up.

Paia felt the atmosphere inside their newly built house become heavy. She was not in the age yet to read the air, but she knows her father is serious and looks cool.

The silence told Brian the resolve this mage had from this unprecedented decision. It is his goodwill to not blindly accept an overqualified candidate as the manager/supervisor of his alchemy shop because he knows that person would regret it sooner or later.

Shameless as he may be, no words will come out of his mouth.

The man in front of him doesn't look that much older compared to him, yet he saw that man as someone who had lived the end of their life. Just like his teacher who fought wars and taught students for ages.

It made him carefully think about what he was doing. The consequences he didn't really care that much from leaving crawl back on his mind. This includes the uncertainty of the future which he thought he can overcome with his free-spirited attitude.

Looking at the man waiting for his answer, he can only say to him, "Can I come another time?"

Brian smiled and replied, "I won't be looking for people so soon. I'll have to make sure first this shop has a proper supplier for the alchemy ingredients."

Ending with that, Samon gave a gratitude bow before leaving with a newly found objective in mind.

Looking at the figure turning smaller and smaller until they can't be seen under the lantern posts, Brian doesn't know whether he'll be back for the same purpose.

Many would say it is a waste to throw the opportunity to hire an exceptional mage. Brian even has the same thought when he saw the figure of Samon walking away. There was a high possibility it may be well the last time they will meet.

"Will weird uncle be coming here every day?"

"We'll see."

Destined or not, only time can tell.

Making Samon one of his employees now will be a short-term profit with a greater risk of repercussions. That's how Brian sees it. Sounds good on paper, but may not work like intended to.

All he can do in the meantime is delay the opening of his shop a little bit after he secures and prepares everything the shop needs. After all, nothing is controlling his life.