139 -) Preparation for the Capital
The last few months were both so crowded and repetitive. I was busy checking the construction site of the guild buildings, buying new slaves for work, keeping in touch with the mentors of both the slaves and apprentice questers, advertising the guild non-stop, trying to define default values for certain quests, keeping in touch with merchants that I have ties with, and trying to find and hire talented people who are eager or in a position to join Questers Guild.
I even questioned myself from time to time whether it was a good idea to work myself to the bone just for the guild’s sake. I could easily enjoy the wealth I've made so far, enjoy my days and nights with the girls, and just improve my own strength without caring about the world. However, it can’t be helped.
If there is a better future for myself and for those around me, I can't help but improve in the most effective way possible. I could have become much stronger if I had focused on leveling up my jobs, but that would not have provided what I really wanted.
Even if I cheat, it does not make me invincible. It is just getting me closer to it. Even with my current superior stats and various skills, I can’t win against a squad, let alone an army. That would not matter much in my current situation. Since I can just teleport wherever I want, even if it is impossible to win, a direct defeat is impossible. However, just because it does not matter does not mean that it will not be in the future.
What if a noble tries to seize what belongs to me? What if I have a big family or have numerous friends in the future? What if it is not just me and a few people beside me, but a whole lot of people I should protect? Can I protect them without letting any of them get hurt?
That was the main reason why I waited to buy the girls and did not think much when I decided to buy Namo. For Namo, I thought that I would not be so sad even if he were to die or get hurt. And as for the girls, I already had everything prepared for them to be safe and for all of us to be able to live comfortably. Then, I had also made my plans for the future at that time.
Everything was going smoothly so far, and the guild was doing much better than I had expected. It housed all kinds of talented slaves, young people who needed immediate aid, and skilled artisans and merchants with their own issues.
Slave training starts with ensuring they are proficient in the common language. Then it progresses with checking their experience and ability in their respective specialties. Aside from that, they would be trained in basic self-defence methods even if their main job is not based on combat.
They need housing, a constant food supply, clothing when they first arrive, and facilities where they are supposed to work. Thankfully, most of the apprentice questers are not in need of accommodations as they already have places to sleep at night. We just provide lunch for them and training utensils, training facilities, and mentors.
The apprentices were mostly from slums, and they were also mostly kids. They are either sent by their parents, or they are just orphans, and want free food. But as they are subjected to rigorous training, they either are afraid of approaching or forget their main goal and try to learn at least one more thing.
They were only training for now, so there weren't many people to work with. We fill those spaces with immediately suitable slaves and a few questers who, for some reason, decided to join us. Currently, there were a dozen or so bronze-rank questers, and we simply paid their dungeon entry fees, which is 1 silver coin per person, to keep them here. As for the higher ones, we have just a few silver-rank questers. There is no gold or anything higher yet.
There are not many missions for silver ones to solve yet, so we add virtual missions and give high rewards so they might find it attractive to stay here. It may seem like I am just losing money for no reason, but it is just for the future. People who see the conditions we offer will naturally want to join us… I hope so.
Even if it is not a possible future, we still have apprentices and my dependable slaves. Aside from hiring questers, we also need quest givers for it to be profitable, or at least self-sufficient. So I am currently offering lower fees than normal to get them used to us. Thanks to my efforts, the quest board in the main hall is not completely empty.
Lastly, but no less important, there are those I hired as useful experts. There are quite a few of them. Despite working for the guild, they don’t reside in guild accommodations. They are mostly people who already have their own workshops or stores.
I reached out to them when I found them in bad situations, like being in debt, forced by brute force by some thugs or influential people, or some other individual, in special situations. I helped them to solve these issues and gained their favor. Then I hired them. For those I paid their debt for in their stead, it can be said that I bought their whole establishment for them and made them a manager.
Silas Vane was in one of those cases. His business was not going well because of choosing to invest in the wrong goods at the wrong time, and he kept piling up debts as even most of his employees left him. Eventually, his debt surpassed his whole establishment, so he was facing the threat of becoming a slave.
I heard that he is normally a talented merchant, so I decided to pay his debts in return for his establishment and for him and his remaining workers working for me. He hesitated at first as he found it suspicious, but he understood when I said that I needed someone to take care of my goods as a talented merchant.
I placed all guards with my slaves and questers. I even placed a talented slave merchant as caravan vice leader whenever I sent him somewhere for trading. This way, I not only maintained control over the security of the caravan, but I also ensured that someone under my supervision learned the ropes.
As people started to finish their training and showed good results, I did not pursue immediate gains; instead, I started to place them to oversee the new branches of the guild. I selected those branches’ locations based on their distance to Yargan, the size of the settlement, and the importance of its location.
None of the branches I started to build are finished yet, and they already cost so much money that I would not be able to afford them without creating and selling some enchanted items from time to time.
While taking care of these works with the help of the girls, I noticed a place that is a bit special. It was a town named Lupinel. It was 2 days away from Yargan, close to the main trade route, and had a decent population. So it was a good candidate for the establishment of a branch. However, it was not the best option among the towns where guilds had not yet been established.
The unique thing about this town was that it was the hometown of Wyn and Woya. It has been in my mind for a while that I wanted them to visit their hometown to make them relieve their longing with people they miss, so they and I would not be burdened by it anymore.
The time also proved suitable, so I would send them with a caravan and Silas, so they would visit their home, scout the town for branch establishment, and sell some goods I have been itching to get rid of. Finding the idea quite logical, I called the girls and told them.
Contrary to my expectations, the girls did not show any eagerness for the task. If it weren’t me who proposed this, they would not be willing to go at all. They clearly wanted to stay by my side. After explaining my reasoning and other stuff to them, they reluctantly agreed. I also asked Elaris to accompany them to gain some more experience and make them take care of her. I also had some other plans, so it played out well.
In the guild, I also keep close business and personal relationships with my merchant and artisan partners like Orzhan, Thrain, Sarya, etc. Orzhan keeps taking care of the enchantment business and buying skill crystals for reasonable prices as soon as they are available.
Thrain provided me with good-quality equipment. Thanks to that, I managed to create enchanted equipment and sell it for more funds. They are sold for better prices since they were both enchanted and the work of the well-known master blacksmith, Thrain Coldhammer. The best part of this deal was that I managed to create another set of equipment thanks to his help. But this time with all 4 skill crystals embedded. Even with months of work and including the equipment he already had, I could complete the set just now.
The set of equipment with 3 skill crystals implanted was already a good event in Yargan, so I don’t want to waste this chance by trying to sell it here. So that is why I decided to visit the capital of the Hazaroth Union, Balgar. I am sure that I will be able to sell it in exchange for a fortune. I would not be surprised if it were sold for more than 2,000 platinum coins, which was equal to 200,000 gold coins.
With that amount of coins, I will be free of worry for funds for the Guild for a while. Before visiting the capital, I decided to take care of imminent tasks. One of the last tasks was to revise the clothing supply for newly delivered slaves and some orphan apprentices. Whenever I took care of an issue of those kids, I would think that it would be easier to build an orphanage for them. But it is clearly a task for the future. I am insanely busy dealing with that right now.
“So, Sarya, what do you think?” I asked Sarya, the owner of the Pinkdolls. I am here for clothing issues, as her main goods are clothes, even if it is focused on female staff. “Can you take care of the supply?” I asked with hope of a positive reply.
“Ugh! Yeah, yeah.” She said while holding her head with one hand. “You know my store is mainly for female clothes and kinds, right? Why do you keep bothering me with these kinds of tasks?” She asked as if it were a headache.
“You are a lifesaver, Sarya,” I said with a smile. “You know how busy I am. And since you are in this line of work, it is easier for you to get this done.” I explained with reason and said with a grin, “Also, I give you decent commission, so it must be okay for a merchant, yes?”
“Hey, you b*stard!” She chimed. “Do you think I am doing it for money? It is just too much work.” She shook her head in frustration. “Ever since you started that d*mn business, not you but many people have been overworking.” She said with a grimace, and suddenly her expression softened. “Fortunately, you pay well. If not for that, even your handsome face would not save you.”
“Hahaha!” I laughed at her casual remark. “I know. I am always thankful to you.” I said while bowing my head. Then looked toward her before saying, “I will make sure to pay you back.”
“Pay back? How?” Sarya questioned as one of her eyebrows raised, then she smirked before saying, “Will you go on a date with me or take me to a meal or what?”
“Hmm… Both of them sound good. But… “ I spoke like I was thinking. To be honest, this was one of the reasons I visited her. However, I wanted it to look like I was considering what she suggested. So I said, “I have a better idea.”
“Better idea?” She looked skeptical. “You are not just trying to brush me off, are you?”
“Haha, of course not.” Her clear yearning made me laugh. This was why I visited her today anyway, so I said, “I have some business in the capital. How about you also come with me?”