On the morning Meat was being held by the coachmen, a boy arrived at Grand City Grunvalt around the same time William Steven and Slot were conducting swordsmanship training.
The boy had been tracking traces of the Demon race. There was far too much evil in this world that needed to be eradicated.
His calling was to find and eliminate the remnants of the Demon race still existing on the Yuras Continent.
It was certain that remnants of the Demon race remained on this continent, but finding their traces was no easy task.
“I definitely felt the energy of the Demon race near here…”
He could smell the faint scent of the Demon race from the coachmen he had encountered in another village.
Sniff… sniff.
The boy’s nostrils flared. Tracking the scent in that manner, he eventually arrived at Grunvalt before he knew it.
“I’ve returned to Grunvalt… I wonder if everyone is doing well… For now, should I go meet the coachmen…?”
The boy hesitated for a moment before entering the Grand City.
***
I finally took out and equipped my gear. I strapped the Soot Sword to my waist and put on the Wolfman’s Leather Gloves.
Strangely enough, the moment I put on the gloves, the Soot Sword felt significantly lighter.
This is an artifact!
It was fascinating that the sword could become this light just by wearing gloves.
‘Actually, it seems like it would be much more useful if I gave it to Slot…!’
However, there was an option attached by the order of the Miss that prohibited transferring it to anyone else.
I drew the Soot Sword and gave it a swing.
Shiiiing…
Unlike Slot, it made a sound like air escaping, but the sword swung lightly.
Since my current strength is so abysmal, I don’t think I’ll be overwhelming anyone with power even if it’s 0.1 * 2…
Slot hurried over from the side and spoke.
“Organization Leader. Swings with the sword are forbidden for you. Using a real sword without proper training… it is still too early. Please give it here…”
Sigh… I was trying to look cool… What a spiteful fellow.
I quietly exchanged the real sword for the wooden sword he held out.
Having finished our preparations, we headed toward the warehouse near the Carriage Exhibition Hall.
Upon arriving at the warehouse, a huge number of coachmen were gathered there.
“There must be over fifty of them?”
Meat was sitting in a chair, bound. Fortunately, no signs of him being beaten were visible.
“No, Elder. You didn’t tell me there would be this many.”
The Elder had certainly warned me to be careful, but having brushed it off, I was only now regretting it.
I was momentarily intimidated by the large number, but didn’t I have an SSS-grade mercenary by my side?
I trusted that he was a mercenary capable of handling a hundred men.
“Huh? Why are you getting nervous too?”
Slot was staring at the coachmen with a grim expression. The coachmen all stared at us simultaneously and then asked Meat.
“Is it that guy? The ones who lured you.”
“He looks like a pretty boy.”
“It’s always the ones who look that polished who run scams.”
We are pretty handsome, but… is that a compliment or an insult?
“Hello, coachmen. I am William Steven, the Merchant of the Unicorn Company. There seems to be a misunderstanding, as you are currently holding our Deputy Merchant bound. How about we settle this through dialogue?”
“Hmm? You’re saying you’re the Merchant and not the person next to you?”
“He really does look exactly like a scammer.”
“I knew it because I saw him yesterday, but to think he’s the actual Merchant… The moment I saw the person next to him, I just thought you were a servant…”
Because of Slot, I’m the only one suffering in various ways…
“William, Slot. Why did you come? Run away even now.”
Meat spoke with a solemn voice. But though his words told us to run, his expression said otherwise.
He had a look on his face that was pleading for us to save him.
“Coachmen, would you care to talk with me?”
The operation to persuade the coachmen had begun.
“Who are you trying to deceive with that silver tongue… After hearing from Meat, we concluded that you are a group of scammers.”
Several large, rugged coachmen stepped forward.
After glancing at one another, the largest coachman among them stepped out and spoke. He was a middle-aged man with rugged muscles and a short beard.
‘Ma… Mabelly?’
He reminded me of a famous action actor from the Republic of Korea.
“Is it true that you are the Merchant?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
“Is it true that you are hiring coachmen?”
“Yes. Though the hiring part requires some further explanation…”
“At first, I thought Meat’s words were plausible. I didn’t see it myself, but some were impressed by what you showed in front of the noble yesterday. And then this morning, Meat came to find us and convinced us. Since we haven’t found a job yet and everyone is desperate for a livelihood, we gathered quickly. But the more we heard, the more strange the details were.”
“What parts were strange?”
“I don’t know if you know the work of a coachman well, but we are generally hired in two ways. As you know, if we serve a noble, we stay at the noble’s house and perform our duties. Or, if it’s a Merchant Guild, we sign a long-term agreement, accompany the Merchant Guild, drive and manage the horse-drawn carriage, and transport cargo. But hearing about this, it’s not serving a noble, nor is it following the orders of a Merchant Guild.”
That was obvious. Since I was planning to start a new business.
“Yes. From a business perspective, it’s not serving a noble, and it’s not operating a Merchant Guild’s cargo. A third option is being created besides those two. This work will be similar to an existing coachman’s job, yet different. The similar part is that serving nobles is possible, and later on, there might be work transporting cargo for Merchant Guilds. The different part is that it is applied in a different way from the current form of employment.”
“That’s the strange part. First, there’s no fixed route or schedule plan. We set route plans every day to serve nobles or for Merchant Guild operations. We move along routes that are fixed to some extent. But I heard the work we’d be doing might involve operating on unfixed routes.”
“Yes. It’s not that there are no fixed routes, but rather that the destination differs depending on the purpose of who we are taking in the carriage. Even if you are hired by a noble, you don’t only transport the Elder, do you? There are situations where you have to transport the noble’s children, or you might go to the next village to attend a wedding. Just think of it as the target audience becoming broader. Since I have no intention of attempting long distances right away, most of them will be roads you know.”
The coachman Mabelly glanced at the coachmen next to him. Since no one said much, it seemed he was moving on to the next point.
“Hmph. Fine. Carrying someone unknown and going to an unknown place seems very dangerous, but let’s say that’s possible. We also occasionally carry other people at the request of an employer.”
“What is the second strange point?”
The first point was the weakest, and the stories would get progressively more intense.
“Second, there is no salary. As you know, we work hard and receive a fixed monthly salary in return. But there’s no set salary?”
“To correct that slightly, it’s not that there is no salary, but rather a structure where you earn as much as you work hard.”
“Do you think that makes sense? That means we might not even earn a single Bronze Hani.”
“That could be true. But isn’t it the same right now? You can’t receive a single Hani before being hired by someone. It’s not like someone gives you a salary while you’re waiting for employment at the Carriage Exhibition Hall.”
“Uh? That’s true, but…”
“And depending on how hard you work, you can earn much more. Why are you satisfied with just a salary? Do you not want to earn more money?”
“How are we supposed to earn money other than receiving a salary?”
Several coachmen spoke as if they were frustrated. I decided I should explain it more simply.
“Now, think about it. Do you see that Meat Pie shop over there? That Meat Pie shop is operated by a small merchant. When it gets bigger, they might register as a 5th Grade Merchant Guild and hire employees, but if they’re starting alone for the first time, they’ll operate the shop by themselves. Who would give the owner a salary?”
“Well, they’d take whatever they earn. But this is a different situation.”
In this Otherworld, starting a shop for the first time doesn’t mean you must register as a Merchant Guild. As small merchants, they operate shops at a store level without registering as a Merchant Guild. After all, a tribute of 1 Gold per year is a very large amount. Then, when they have employees, or need to be supplied with materials cheaply, or need protection, they register as a 5th Grade Merchant Guild.
“You can think of it as being similar. You aren’t registering as a 5th Grade Merchant Guild, but you can think of it as a system where an individual becomes the owner and operates like that shop owner. It’s not fixed like a salary, but you can earn more than that. Depending on the person who works hard, you could receive more than twice the salary you get now. I am simply opening that path.”
Mutter, mutter…
“We will share our opinions for a moment, so please wait.”
The coachmen gathered and shared their opinions. There were coachmen who didn’t understand my words well, and there were those who thought it was quite decent. I waited for a while.
In the Republic of Korea, there are Private Business Owner and corporation systems. A corporation is literally an artificial entity created according to the law with a legal basis.
This shows many differences in taxes, ownership and management, and operation. Even in the Republic of Korea, when people first start a business, they choose to be a Private Business Owner rather than a corporation.
This is because the administrative procedures are easy and there are relatively fewer regulations.
Many people who start a restaurant business or operate a store for the first time choose to be a Private Business Owner.
Also, among them, there are Private Business Owners who operate as one person, which are freelancers.
Since Private Business Owners have various tax Seal of Approval and such, it is sometimes more advantageous to be a Private Business Owner and receive taxes than to be employed.
That’s why academy instructors, web designers, and writers also register as Private Business Owners.
In cases where private taxis are operated, they often proceed as Private Business Owners.
However, this concept of private business would be unfamiliar to this Otherworld.
“It’s a story that isn’t bad if you think about it just a little bit…”
After a while, the coachman who stepped forward as the representative spoke.
“I didn’t understand everything, but I understood that we take what we earn like that Meat Pie owner. But the third point is the biggest problem. I heard there’s a tribute?”
Fortunately, the most difficult part of the conversation seemed to have passed successfully.
“A tribute?”
“You aren’t lending us horses and carriages for free. I heard the price for that is quite high. What guarantee is there that you won’t take our money and run away?”
In fact, to operate stably, it is better to receive more than a certain amount as a tribute. After all, neither carriages nor horses are free.
“To correct that slightly, rather than a tribute, the terms deposit and profit distribution would be more appropriate expressions.”
The coachman looked around and asked the other coachmen.
“Hey, what are a deposit and profit distribution?”
“How should I know?”
“Isn’t it an amount to guarantee and an amount to distribute?”
“I’m asking what that means…”
“A deposit is literally an amount held for a certain period to carry out this business from the coachman. You know that carriages and horses are expensive, right? No matter how cheap they are, you’d have to pay 20 Gold for a carriage and 10 Gold for a horse to buy them. Even that is a minimum estimate.”
As if a coachman wouldn’t know the price of carriages and horses… the start of persuasion is from a place they know.