"I'm Risa Bane, nice to meet you."
"Welcome, welcome, welcome. I'm Delfina Hops. Co-Founder and commander of this merchant group. I'll be in charge of arranging, commanding and assigning work for the combatants! You shall call me captain Hops or captain!!!"
I looked at the budget. I reviewed our expenses. I have even searched for information about the market in the neighbouring regions, and the regions beside those neighbouring regions.
It took a lot of information gathering and planning but I found some leeway in the budget.
"I'm Trina Ambush. It's great to be working with you all."
"Good to have you on board. I'm Frank Stein. I'm the Founder and president of this merchant group. I'm the one that handles anything that involves money and merchandise. Call me president in formal settings, you can call me boss anywhere else."
"I call him turtle boss!"
"Turtle boss."
"Turtle president."
After all the times I reminded her not to call me that in front of the subordinates.
She is going to be my commander. She needs to command respect during times of intense violence. I can't have her prestige decline by berating her in front of the subordinates. I will scold her harshly later. Don't think I will let this slide.
*Glare*
"Errr... ahahahaha."
Hmmph, just you wait.
"All right, We'll have a small welcoming party later tonight. Meet us at this restaurant this afternoon. I already reserved a booth for us. It's reserved under my name. This is a copy of your contracts. Please read it through. We will do the formal signing at the restaurant and submit it the next day."
"Hmm, this is quite a thick contract."
"Those started small but it gradually became like that after going through the contract office. I was told it was standard. You are free to have a lawyer look through it if you so wish."
"I'm good. I'll be back later. bye."
She looks like she doesn't care what is in her contract. Is this good?
"Lawyer? Hmmp, no need for such a thing. I, myself, can properly analyse this. I'll meet you all later, Bye for now."
She on the other hand has this air of arrogance. It's there but not enough to make you angry because she could back up whatever she is saying.
"There they go. I have a good feeling about our recruits, turtle boss."
"Yeah, and what did I say about calling me more respectfully in front of the employees!!!"
"Ah, aren't you hungry, turtle boss? How about I go out and buy something for you to eat?"
"We're meeting later in a restaurant! Why would I need food now?"
"How about something to drink then? Ok, bye, I'll grab something for you!"
Tch, she escaped. She's as quick as ever in escaping.
Things will be busy from now on. I did look into our budget and while it is possible to hire the two of them, we would have to do continuous travels to the surrounding region.
If money is tight, then all we have to do is earn some more. It would take a huge amount of hard work but in this world where there is no internet shopping and centralised delivery system, merchants will always be able to make a profit. The only thing getting in the way are other merchants, bandits, and the weather.
Hmm, no actually if the weather is bad, it's easy to mark up the price. I wouldn't say it's hard to come up with a reason to mark up the price but you have to be subtle when doing it. If you get labelled as someone with expensive goods that can be bought cheaper at other merchants, the common people will instantly avoid you.
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
"Turtle boss? Are you in there? Are you still mad? I didn't mean it, really!"
"Come in already. Don't hang around the door like that! You think having the other inn patrons hearing our argument would make me not yell at you?"
"Come on, don't be mad. I bought your favourite sparkling candy."
"Hmmp! Don't let it happen again."
These things don't melt quickly and the taste lasts long. It's a very good food. The only problem is that they melt as time goes by, so it's best consumed after you buy it. This thing is the brand name product of a medium merchant group in this town.
They specialise in candy and I must say they are geniuses. They have a product that won't last long, so other merchants can't buy it in bulk and transport it to far communities to sell. They have the complete control of their merchandise, and because of that, they can price it higher than normal.
"Don't worry, turtle boss. We would need these two to be the foundation for our future defence team. They will be part of the core group just because they joined first. If they are going to be part of the core group, a little friendly atmosphere is fine."
"That is exactly why we needed to be more strict. They just joined. They don't have any impression of us and the merchant group yet. They will be in charge of defending the wagons. The tension could be loose but it should be tight enough that they do their job properly."
I don't really know much about being a leader. I have never been in such a position. Even when I was a butler, I was still following the orders of the head maid. Even when I was ordering others around, it was still under the orders and authorization of the head maid.
However, from observing the head maid, I think the first impression a leader should give the new employees is authority! They need to know you are the boss and that the first thing they need to learn is to be humble.
The hierarchy needs to be established at the start. They can climb the ranks or usurp power later but at the start they need to learn to follow orders.
"Hops, I allowed you to hire the two of them. This is a big investment because we are only starting out. You better teach them well."
"No problem. Having the two of them will guarantee our security. There have been a few bandit attacks where we escaped by luck or battles where we barely won. Now that we have them, I am sure we won't fall into such a situation anymore."
"That's good. We don't want to be looted by bandits."
"I have a good feeling about these two. Risa is an assassin type fighter and our only ranged fighter. In bandit attacks, she would stay with you to hold bandits back with her bow and arrow, She would also help support me and Trina during battles. Trina would be the main fighter. I don't know her skills yet but I want her to be strong enough to hold off the bandits while I take out the leader. Once their leader is gone, it would create panic among them. I will add more to that chaos by running here and there taking out their strong fighters."
"Do you have any plans on how to train them?"
"For now, I want them to be able to drive a wagon. We will let them drive the wagon for a few months. When we encounter enemies, we will run away as a priority. Fights should be the last option."
Ah yes, the old saying that not fighting is the best way to defend yourself. I guess she wants to make sure that those two know how to handle the wagon expertly, especially during escape situations.
"However, even if we prioritise escaping, we can't completely avoid not fighting. Teamwork is very important. However, we aren't fighting side by side, so the problem of getting in each other's way won't happen. The only thing we need to be aware of is when risa is attacking. No one wants to be hit by a stray arrow from a teammate. We could build up teamwork as long as we continue doing that a number of times. It would be awkward at first but that is only natural."
It's a good thing that the bandits in this area aren't that strong.
"It won't really be a formal plan unless we see what they are capable of."
"Well, we can see all of that after we formally hire them."
"Turtle boss, why didn't we include an exhibition part during the interview? Wouldn't it help us examine them better if we know what they are actually capable of?"
"I wanted to include that too but we needed to rent out a venue to have them demonstrate their skills. We don't have the money to afford it. Next time for sure we will add a requirement for them to demonstrate their skills."
"I'll hold you to that. I'll be the one playing the good one and we will include a skill demonstration in the next hiring event."
"Ok, let's get ready to meet them. We have a busy day tomorrow onwards, so let's go all out and have fun today."
"Yeah!"
I still have to make equipment for hops and me. If there are enough leftover materials, I want to make a few armour for the horses but considering their size, it won't be enough.
If those two stick with our merchant group for a long enough time, I can consider making some armour for them too.
To make sure they stick with us, We need to make sure to show them that this merchant group has a good future. The custom made equipment should be enough of a teaser but I wonder if I should add other things too. Maybe a pension plan?
