Chapter 56

#56 The Tin Knight and the City of Springs Act 2 (5)

“Hey, Smith. How could you scheme something like this without even consulting me? What if we get scammed!”

“Yo, Sync. How did you pull in someone like that without saying a word? What if this ends up ruining the shop!”

The Zepeto siblings’ gazes clashed fiercely in the air, but it was only for a moment.

Soon, they both averted their eyes from each other.

With the thought of ‘let’s just go for it and see the outcome!’ both siblings acted similarly, leaving no room for blame.

After repeatedly clearing his throat to ease the awkwardness, Sync finally spoke up.

“*Ahem.* Well, it’s not all bad, right? With Gale and, uh, Dorothea’s help, our workshop is getting set up nicely! I have no idea where you found those incredible workers, but they’re amazing! At this rate, we’ll be done in under a week!”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“What’s with that gloomy answer? Are you worried no customers will come just because the location is good? Lacking confidence?”

“Shut up. Of course not.”

Smith scratched his head.

“It’s because I’m worried about that jerk Stromboli. For someone who’s sold his name as a quick buck, having us, the legitimate heirs, as competitors must really grind his gears. He won’t just leave us alone.”

“Come on. You’re overthinking it. You’re purposely making sure the sign goes up later, and avoiding the construction site to look uninvolved. He probably doesn’t even know that shop belongs to us anyway!”

“He’s not that easy to deal with, you know. He’ll definitely use some petty, cunning tricks. …Damn it, I’m worried.”

***

Smith’s worries were on point.

Stromboli’s sneaky and vile scheme was targeting the construction workers.

“Excuse me? Why would the Stromboli company want someone like me…?”

“Haha, you’re being too modest. No matter how much you try to hide it, the nails in your pocket will eventually show. Disregarding our firm’s insight would be unwise. We’re fully aware of your capabilities and promise to treat you accordingly.”

“Well, I appreciate the offer, but the thing is, I’m already employed.”

“Here, the specific terms of the contract are right here. I assure you the pay is top-tier in the industry.”

“Whoooa!”

Despite being satisfied with the temporary job that involved eating, drinking, and the work not being too hard (exactly how much of it he remembered was hazy), they were still just temporary employees.

In front of the shocking amount offered by the Stromboli company, it was rare for anyone to stand firm.

The terms were apparently so good that some even began to suspect it was a scam…

“Wait, is this some sort of scam? You’re not going to just take my info and later act like nothing happened without paying, are you?”

“Would we really tarnish our company’s reputation by doing something like that?”

“I still don’t trust you. The current job isn’t bad enough to justify betraying them.”

“Hmm, well, it can’t be helped. If you agree to the contract, we’ll give you an advance.”

“Oh, my doubts were misplaced! No other company is as trustworthy as this!”

…Yet even those doubts crumbled helplessly in the face of ever-more enticing money.

The headhunters for Stromboli felt puzzled.

“Are these really top-notch hiding-their-skills elite workers? They seem like random street folks to me.”

“Supposedly, they’ve endured ridicule and neglect while hiding their prowess for years, showing immense loyalty and camaraderie? They’re falling for us way too easily, don’t you think?”

“It seems like the master is in a bit of a misunderstanding…”

Stromboli was the foremost company in the empire for magical automatons.

Of course, since magical automatons themselves weren’t that hot of a product in the empire, the company wasn’t that big either. Still, being the top of the industry means talent naturally gathers.

The headhunters, outfitted with brains instead of spaghetti, realized something was off and reported back.

“Master! Reports are coming in that the new artisans are all complete idiots…”

“Master! The existing artisans are expressing discontent over the contracts of the newly hired artisans.”

“Master! Team leaders from each department are insisting that the newly hired ones are all useless fools.”

And here again, the truth of life revealed itself.

Even if the workers on-site had brains, it was meaningless if upper management refused to accept it.

“Tsk, tsk, with everyone lacking judgment like this, I can’t help but worry about how our company will fare after my retirement.”

Charles Stromboli leaned back on the couch, taking a big puff from his cigar.

He began scolding his foolish subordinates.

“Ultimately, it’s money that moves people. But, there are indeed folks who can be swayed by trivial emotions even after gulping down the signing bonus. They betrayed their friends for money, so surely they’ll need their own rationalizations, right?”

“Self-rationalization, you say?”

“Exactly. They might find it awkward to work among us right after betraying. They’ll be uncertain if their true abilities have been revealed or not. They’re currently gauging the atmosphere here.”

“But Master, showing good treatment to those who aren’t working properly can negatively impact existing employees.”

“Then how about setting up a separate team with the existing employees?”

“Or how about just yelling at them to get them to work?”

“Oh dear, you frustrating kids.”

Charles clicked his tongue, rubbing his cigar into the ashtray.

“If we keep them separated without mixing with the existing employees, do you think they’ll adapt to their new workplace, or will they conspire amongst themselves? Seeing their neighbors work hard should jolt them into a faster realization. And yelling? What if they just go back to that Smith guy?”

With Charles speaking so confidently, his subordinates couldn’t help but start to think, ‘Could that be true?’

Upon listening, it did seem reasonable.

In fact, it would be more accurate to say they hoped it was true.

Even though he hadn’t received the title or domain due to being overshadowed by his elder son, Charles was still a member of the Stromboli count family.

If he said so, his subordinates had no choice but to trust and follow.

Charles wore a triumphant smile.

“And even if they end up slacking, so what? The moment we poach those workers, it’s only a matter of time before that shop falls! Hahaha!”

***

“Hmm. Is it just you who came this time?”

“Uh, yes.”

In front of the black beauty (the construction workers still didn’t know Dorothea’s name), Dalton felt his body stiffening unconsciously.

It wasn’t just a matter of employer and employee relationships.

Though she was clearly more slender and frail than Dalton, her eyes burned with intense will and an exceptional force.

From a distance, he had the luxury of chit-chat with his colleagues about looks and figures, but standing there making eye contact with her felt like he was a frog in front of a snake.

Looking objectively, Dalton hadn’t done anything wrong, but he still felt himself shrinking.

‘Damn it, did they all really switch over to Stromboli? Should I have just taken the offer?’

Dalton found himself momentarily engulfed in regret.

He too had received an enticing offer from Stromboli but had turned it down to come here.

Not because he had particularly strong loyalty or work ethics.

Dalton knew very well what his abilities were.

And he also understood how those who received excessive treatment compared to their skills were treated by those around them.

If Dalton were to enter a huge company like Stromboli (based on Dalton’s criteria), he’d face a storm of incredulous stares and sarcasm.

That’s right.

Dalton had simply rejected the offer wanting to avoid the backlash.

“Hm. Well, it’d be tough working alone.”

The beauty made a slightly sulky face, then shrugged as if she expected this much.

“Then you, are now the management officer.”

“W-what?”

Dalton reflexively responded.

“I mean, you’re in charge of managing things. It’s not hard, just help serve meals, and occasionally hand out money when I’m not around. Let that guy over there handle the heavy lifting.”

Pointing to the armored knight nearby, she spoke.

Realizing that he wasn’t imagining things, Dalton frantically waved his hands.

“W-wait a sec! The management role? Why me?”

“Because the managing role fits too. I’ll pay you more, so do well.”

“Do well? But there’s nobody here.”

“I told you at the start, didn’t I? I’ll hire new people if there are vacancies. There are some who couldn’t join last time due to overstaffing, so we can gather people quickly. Oh, and if you know anyone, feel free to bring them. Just make sure they’re in decent shape. Also, today’s construction is on break. We’ll start again tomorrow once we gather some people.”

Dalton’s mouth fell open.

Something was unfolding that was heading in a direction vastly different from what he expected.

At first, Dalton had planned to refuse no matter what, but during his bewilderment, the beauty unilaterally shared her intentions, and he was left with the new title of site manager.

And the next day.

“Uh, M-manager, is it really okay to eat this before we start work? All this food and drink?”

“Uh, um. Sure, just go ahead and eat it all.”

“M-manager, is it true that it’s okay even without any experience or skills? We won’t stay silent if we don’t get paid later because we can’t work.”

“There’s no way that’ll happen, so just eat your meal.”

“Manager, who exactly is that beauty?”

“Forget it, just eat up!! Here, have some of this drink! Pour! Drink!!”

Stuffing bread into the mouth of the worker who was about to spill nonsense, Dalton nervously glanced at the beauty and the knight standing by her.

Whether they simply hadn’t heard or didn’t care, there was no particular reaction from them.

After barely finishing the meal service, once he checked to see one by one how the workers sprawled out and snored, Dalton finally breathed a sigh of relief.

And then, a fundamental question arose in his mind.

But when does work actually start? All these guys are passed out! I didn’t notice it when I was eating, but seeing it here, it’s a total mess!

“U-uh, um, employer…?”

“Good job. You did well. Keep it up like this.”

What did he do well? Dalton had no clue, but the events that he couldn’t understand were just beginning.

The beauty approached the sprawled workers and clapped her hands.

Though it was a rather small sound, the sprawled workers all startled, jolting upright.

Some even twitched and convulsed, but when the beauty clapped again, they soon settled down.

“Alright, let’s start work.”

Upon her command, the workers gradually rose.

It was as if they were trying to shake off the drunkenness of moments before, stretching and inspecting the surrounding materials as they prepared for work.

Some of Dalton’s acquaintances were among them, and seeing them casually handling wood despite having never worked as carpenters in their lives left Dalton flabbergasted.

“Employer! W-what on earth is this?”

In response to Dalton’s question, the beauty simply shrugged.

“I can explain if you’d like, or you can just nod along and accept it.”

Dalton’s mouth snapped shut.

Then it opened again.

“How about the working hours? We can’t guard this place 24/7.”

“You can leave now if you’d like. Just come back during meal time later. Got it?”

“Sure.”

***

“Master! The construction has resumed!!”

“Huff, but the core talents have already been taken-”

“The pace of work hasn’t changed! In fact, it seems even faster!!”

“What!? What do you mean by that… Hah! So the initial workers were merely a decoy! The actual workers were separate!”

“Indeed, that makes sense regarding the incompetence of the newly hired staff!”

“But master, many people are witnessing these workers actively engaged in labor!”

“Hmm… They might’ve mixed real and fake personnel to dazzle our eyes.”

Charles made a decision.

“Let’s abduct those new workers too.”

“The cash drain will be too severe!”

“I’m not saying to take them all. Just carefully observe, then take only the good ones based on their abilities. After that, replace them with our people to monitor the internal situation, then scouting will become easier!”

“Oooh! How wise you are!”

***

“What the hell! No matter how I look at it, these idiots are just plain dumb! Why do they keep wanting to hire them!?”

“Dunno, they won’t listen anyway, so what can we do? Since they made this mess, they’ll be the ones to deal with it.”

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