Recruitment
I spent the afternoon reading in the greenhouse after lunch.
“Young Master Reinhardt, may I have a moment?”
Since Damian came all the way to the greenhouse, it must be something urgent.
“Sure, is this about work?”
“No, it’s about this morning’s matter.”
“Oh? Did you find something out?”
“Yes.”
When Damian and the others went to the Adventurers’ Guild, the male members of Golden Wings—Salem and the rest—happened to be there.
Vice-Guildmaster Gavin stepped in to explain things and even went to call Linka, who then came with her friend.
“So it really was him.”
“Yes.”
The friend had quit the merchant company he’d joined and returned to his family home.
“What was the reason?”
“All he said was that it ‘didn’t suit him.’ Nothing more.”
“Has he decided on a new job yet?”
“He just got back, so he said he’s about to start looking.”
“Then tell him he’s welcome to come interview with us.”
“Eh?”
“Well, we’re swamped right now and short on hands, aren’t we? And he’s capable, right?”
“Yes, he was second in our year.”
“I won’t force him, but tell him if he’s got the motivation, he should come.”
If I let Mother and Raziel know, they’d handle the interview.
“He turned it down.”
“I see.”
The next day, Raziel reported back about Linka’s younger brother.
“Did he say why?”
“He said he didn’t want to get hired through his sister’s connections.”
“Through Linka’s connections? She doesn’t have any like that. The guy graduated second from St. Arthur Academy!”
“Perhaps that’s the reason he quit his previous job. It may be that the merchant company pressured him to use Golden Wings for difficult requests.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Large trading houses often receive rare-item commissions from nobles. Delivering them earns praise like ‘as expected of a great company.’ Many such companies want to cozy up to high-ranking adventurers.”
I see. So they probably hired him because he’s competent and his sister belongs to a high-ranking adventurer group.
“Is he still here?”
“No, I let him go home.”
“Mind if I go persuade him myself?”
“By all means—please do.”
Heh, sounds like Raziel took a liking to him.
I went to the Adventurers’ Guild and asked to visit Linka’s family home, but they told me it’d be better if they called him here instead.
Apparently, me personally showing up at their house would count as “pressure.”
When I asked why, Vice-Guildmaster Gavin reminded me, “Please consider your own position, my lord.”
He also pointed out that if I arrived in a carriage with our family crest, the neighbors would start asking questions.
Right, it’d look pretty bad if people said I went to recruit him personally and still got rejected.
So I waited there, sipping tea, until Linka and her brother arrived.
“Sorry to call you back. I heard you turned us down, but since you haven’t found another place yet, I wanted to ask again.”
“Young Master Reinhardt, I apologize,” Linka said. “It’s such a generous offer, but Edgar here flatly refuses to accept.”
Hearing her apologize made Edgar grimace.
“Tell me—at your previous company, were you told to push difficult commissions onto Golden Wings, or to gather information about my family, or to ask us for product favors?”
Edgar looked startled.
I’d only mixed in some guesses to soften Raziel’s suspicions, but judging by his face—did I hit all of them?
“Should I take it you’re worried that if you join us, your old company will cause trouble for your family?”
Edgar gave a resigned nod.
“Yes. That’s why I can’t accept.”
Linka turned to him, upset. “Why didn’t you talk to me about this?” she scolded.
“If we cleared everything up, would you come work for us?”
“Why are you so fixated on me? Surely there are plenty of other talented people.”
“Because no matter how talented, I can’t hire someone I don’t trust. And you are trustworthy. So how about you start part-time? You can stay in the dorms for now. I’ll settle things in the meantime.”
After some discussion, Edgar agreed to work part-time while staying at the dormitory.
Linka thanked me over and over before leaving the room with him.
“Young Master Reinhardt, are you sure it’s all right to make promises like that so easily?”
“Meyer, do you really think I’d take him in without checking up on his former company first?”
“… I see. My apologies.”
According to Raziel, the merchant house Edgar worked for is currently torn by a succession dispute between the eldest and second sons—and the second son, the more capable one, got driven out.
If the eldest weren’t useless, the younger would probably have supported him. But the man’s arrogant and incompetent.
Their father’s bedridden after a sudden collapse—some say the eldest may have had a hand in it.
Now he’s trying to oust his brother, but without any real accomplishments, the veteran employees aren’t siding with him.
Raziel sure knew a lot—apparently, even from Westland, he’s been gathering intel.
So, this time, I’ll approach the younger brother.
If rumors spread that Edgar rejoined us, the elder will definitely make a move.
The maneuvering after that—I’ll leave to Raziel.
What do you think about this chapter?
