Even on Earth, one doesn’t necessarily need to know the true form of a god to believe in them. It’s the faith itself that matters.
Even in this Otherworld, where one can actually borrow the powers of a god, it seems the mechanism of belief is quite complex.
“I don’t know the name of the god I serve yet, but I’m certain they are a god who presides over justice. My master used to say I’d find out when the time comes.”
I wondered if Hyde’s optimistic personality was the reason he was able to become a Monk.
“So you seem to be a combat-oriented Monk. Do you have any healing abilities as well?”
“Those are usually found among the gods of the priest classes rather than Monks. I’ve never specifically learned healing arts; I’ve only been passed down techniques for close-quarters combat.”
“Huh? Hyde, then how have you been healing your father until now? Didn’t you say you tried to heal him every year but failed?”
“That’s… well, using Divine Power is the same principle. I’ve been showcasing the finishing moves I’ve honed over the years in front of my father one by one…”
So, to summarize… he ran away from home, coincidentally became a Monk, and every year he came back to perform things like ‘Super Strike’ and ‘Deadly Donkey’ in front of his father…
It might actually be a relief that his father hasn’t woken up.
“But my master said this: Divine Power is different from Magic. If the caster has faith, they can achieve anything. I believe that once I fulfill my Duty, my father will surely wake up. And…”
“I have a secret I haven’t told my sister. I will find that Demon race bastard one day and definitely get my revenge.”
***
“Oh, William. I think the horses will be ready by tomorrow. Don’t worry, I’ve prepared only the healthiest ones.”
“Thank you, Julie. Fortunately, it looks like I’ll be able to settle the payment tomorrow.”
The situation worked out well thanks to the coachmen’s persuasion. I’m not sure how many people will show up later, but I currently have 12 Gold.
If at least 14 more people come, I should be able to cover the 40 Gold balance remaining for the horse purchases.
“Surely fewer than 14 people won’t show up…”
Gulp, gulp!
The Beer travels coolly down my throat.
It has already been three days since I arrived in Grunvalt.
On the first day, I established the Sangdan and the Mercenary Company, and I met Slot and Meat.
Yesterday, I rented 50 horse-drawn carriages from Sir Hailey through a Rent-to-Own agreement.
And today, the third day, the horses and coachmen are ready. Even I find the speed and results hard to believe.
‘I originally intended to set everything up after visiting Serranos, but the foundation might be built before then.’
I hadn’t forgotten the Main Quest given to me by the Miss.
“Well, shall we head out to sign the contracts?”
We finished our brief drinking session and headed back to the warehouse.
***
“Um, Organization Leader… there’s no one here…”
“William. You did announce the time as 5:00 correctly, right?”
“Haha, sister. I think you misjudged this time. Having spent time with him, I don’t think William is a swindler, but I guess it wasn’t a big deal after all.”
The warehouse was empty. Even that fellow Meat was nowhere to be found.
“Let’s wait a bit longer.”
I looked outside the warehouse, but no one was in sight. After a short while, I saw a tiny figure of a person running from far away.
“Oh… there’s one person running this way.”
“But… why do they look so exhausted?”
“Did another problem crop up?”
Slot, Hyde, and I each tossed out a comment while watching the person running from the distance. As he got closer to us, he threw both hands into the air.
“I’m first!”
What… first in what… While we were all standing there bewildered, we saw a massive crowd rushing toward us from that direction.
They ran like racehorses, kicking up a cloud of dust.
“My legs are worth a million Gold!”
“Argh! I have two hearts!”
“Don’t talk to me! I’m going to die!”
I didn’t know what was happening, but they began arriving one by one. The man who arrived first started calling out numbers in order.
Eventually, 47, 48, and 49 were called. Then, Mabelly, the coachman we had confronted before, came in as the 50th.
“Whoa! I made it!”
Dozens more coachmen stopped behind them, wearing expressions of despair.
“Just what are you all doing?”
I asked because I was genuinely curious. What is this?
“That’s… ‘huff, huff’… We heard about it, and it sounded like a pretty good deal. There are already over a hundred of us waiting for an employer. Since it’s a Job where we can earn more if we work hard… we had no choice but to run, right?”
I could see everyone nodding their heads here and there.
‘But why did you have to run?’
Once he had calmed down a bit, Mabelly the coachman spoke.
“Now I’m finally catching my breath. Phew, I ran until my feet were on fire because I thought I wouldn’t make the cut. Ultimately, we judged it to be a good proposal. But it didn’t feel fair for only us to know. So we told every coachman at the Carriage Exhibition Hall. And wouldn’t you know it… everyone wanted in. So we decided to settle it fairly on a first-come, first-served basis.”
“By… what?”
“What else? For coachmen, it’s obviously a marathon. Based on the time, it looks like it was about an hour’s run.”
So, for the sake of a fair gamble, over a hundred coachmen ran a marathon? Is this right?
Why is it “obvious” for coachmen to run a marathon?
A long while later, Meat came in. He then collapsed in frustration.
“Dammit! I’m too late.”
Um…?
“Meat, why were you running?”
“Why? I had to get in on the first-come, first-served slots too. I’m telling you now, I have no intention of using tricks to get in.”
Meat spoke with total sincerity.
“No, you’re the Vice-Organization Leader… you have to manage things. You have so much work to do. You can’t go out on the routes anyway.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
I really might need to hire a manager for the Maber business from scratch.
He was the brightest talent in the Communal Living Area; why does he seem stupider now that he’s in the Grand City?
After that, the coachmen continued to arrive one by one. Those who arrived late were lost in despair.
“Now, now, don’t be disappointed. We are only signing contracts with 50 people this time, but as the business grows, we may hire more. Also, won’t it be easier to get hired by Nobles or other Sangdans now that your competitors have decreased? Just because our business is moving forward doesn’t mean you’re forbidden from doing other work. Your options have simply increased.”
At those words, the dejected coachmen’s faces brightened.
The coachmen submitted either 2 Gold or 40 Silver to Meat and wrote down their experience.
“Huh? But among those who came in on a first-come basis, there are some with no coaching experience.”
It seemed some spirited rookie coachmen had challenged the run even though we told only experienced people to apply.
Unfortunately, three people had to turn back due to a lack of experience despite finishing in the top ranks of the marathon.
The coachmen up to the 53rd rank, who had been despairing about being just a bit too slow, were newly inducted.
The five of us—me, Slot, Meat, Julie, and Hyde—readily accepted the request for help I’d made at the pub earlier. Each of us took charge of a group of coachmen, quickly collected the deposits, and handed out the Mabus Certificates.
2 Gold is not a small amount of money, but whether it was because the credit of Meat, Julie, and Hyde was so good, no one complained. All the Mabus Certificates were delivered.
“Alright then, we will hold an orientation tomorrow. We’ll conduct a trial run the day after, and the official operations will begin in three days.”
I had suddenly acquired 100 Gold on the spot. In terms of Earth currency, that’s 200 million won. I now had enough to pay for the horses and the carriage rental fees.
‘However… the deposit is an amount that must be returned someday. I have to use it as sparingly as possible… I need to fill the coffers quickly…’
After giving a few announcements to the coachmen, we were able to end the long day. The start of the first startup, Maber, was right before our eyes.
***
We decided to spend some time to ourselves after dinner.
Since the first floor of the Inn was a Cafeteria, we could order Beer.
It wasn’t Beer with ice, so it wasn’t as refreshing as Earth beer, but it was cold enough.
I was sipping my Beer alone when Meat came to stand in front of me.
“Hey, William… I have something to say…”
Meat’s expression looked anxious. I ordered another glass of Beer for the elder.
After receiving his glass, Meat drank in silence for a while before speaking.
“Look, William. Honestly… I’m not confident.”
“It’s a lot of pressure, isn’t it?”
“To be honest, I was surprised watching you. I don’t know what kind of experiences you had during the three years we were apart, but you seem to have a truly special talent. Maybe it was like that even when we were together in the Communal Living Area. It might just be that I didn’t look at you properly. You know, I think I might have even looked down on you deep down.”
I listened to Meat’s words without saying anything.
“That’s because back in the Communal Living Area, I was considered one of the smart ones. You and the other Companions followed me well… But once I came out to the city, I was nothing more than an orphan who didn’t know how to do anything.”
Meat shared his honest concerns.
“My abilities are just lacking, and I wonder if it’s right for me to take responsibility for ‘Maber’ as the Vice-Organization Leader. I feel like this kind of job should be handled by you or someone else more capable.”
I understood. Until just a few days ago, he was being beaten and kicked out by a Noble, and he had been looking for a Job for over ten days. Now, he was the Vice-Organization Leader of a Sangdan operating 50 horse-drawn carriages and 50 coachmen.
Moreover, because we had discussed beforehand that I would be leaving in two days, Maber would revolve around Meat for the time being. I could understand his anxiety.
“Meat, that’s only natural.”
“What?”
“It’s natural to be afraid and nervous when doing something for the first time. Actually, I am too.”
“You are?”
“I’m just Pizza from that Communal Living Area… you know.”
“And I’m also a stranger who came to this Otherworld from the distant Earth…”
Even if I have the memories of Earth and the memories of Pizza, it’s only natural to be afraid and nervous when doing something for the first time.
“I think you have talent as a coachman. You’re responsible, and your Cornering is excellent… Even if you went back to being a coachman right now, you’d do great.”
“I guess you’re right… Then I…”
I’m sorry, but I cut Meat off in the middle of his sentence.
“And you’ll also do a magnificent job with ‘Maber.’ That’s the version of you I’ve seen.”
I couldn’t take away his fear. This was his first time doing this, and there was no way to know how it would turn out.
That would be the same for anyone else in this position. But I just wanted to tell him that he would do well.
“Thanks for saying that.”
We sipped our Beer together. One glass became two… and as we drank in silence, our conversation gradually grew. Eventually, we became quite excited.
“So, about that. The plan is good and all, but I think it would be better to change the part where there are no horses assigned to the coachmen and everything is managed collectively. One of a coachman’s main daily routines is horse management. It might be hard to assign exactly one horse per person, but how about letting them designate a few specific horses they will ride and manage? Miss Juli Taylor can’t check the condition of every single horse every time.”
“That’s a great idea.”
“And about the dispatch system. No matter how I look at it, this seems better. We create a status board and arrange the 50 horse-drawn carriages based on that…”
As Meat got tipsy, his ideas began to flow one after another.
We talked so much about the Maber business that I couldn’t remember it all.
The more I talked with Meat, the more it felt like the business was reaching completion.
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