Chương 589: 552. Business I

Nobby and Brittany returned a couple of hours later, with fresh weapons at their side. Nobby revealed his new axe and shield, each simple in design, but more than likely well made. Brittany revealed a pair of shortswords, which were also simple in design, but seemed to be well made.

"Not a bow?" Adam asked.

"I already have a deadwood bow," Brittany said.

"Magical arrows are easier to lose."

"A fair point," Adam replied, smiling at the pair.

'I should make them each +1 weapons. Brittany already has a +1 shortsword, but it's not exactly hers.' Brittany still wasn't sure if she was actually an Expert, though Kitool had confirmed she was close. An Expert. Someone who could easily dispatch the average person, even when facing multiple people at once. She could feel a slightly tingling sensation in her gut, but it quickly disappeared when she remembered the old man they had met in the previous year.

Adam, who could easily dispatch Experts, had fallen instantly to him.

"Jurot?" Adam called.

"Yes?"

"Do you think our adorable cousins are already crawling?" Adam asked, sighing.

"It's about that time, isn't it?"

"Children grow strong in the Iyr," the Iyrman replied.

"I am sure they are crawling well."

"No," Adam whispered, frowning.

"How can they do this to me?" As the hours passed, Adam called for the farmers into a private room of the guild, one of the many facilities the guild provided to the adventurers. The room was fairly plain, and Adam ordered food for the group to eat as they discussed.

"Thank you for meeting with me," Adam said, reaching out to shake their forearms, before motioning for them to eat and drink at their leisure.

"Of course," Rick replied, settling himself opposite Adam, beside his companions. He waited for Adam to broach the topic as he helped himself to some fried doughy snacks.

"We haven't known each other that long," Adam began.

"Roughly a year."

"That's right," Rick replied.

"I've known Nobby only a little longer," Adam admitted.

"I met him about two years ago now, near the beginning. He was a porter, like his uncles, but Jurot was smitten with his physique. Not in a weird way, of course, just in the way that he wished to make the boy a cold blooded killer." Rick slowly nodded his head as he listened to Adam's words. The pair lived in different worlds, so it was still weird for Jurot to want to make someone into a cold blooded killer, in his humble opinion.

"Two years and he became an Expert. Technically this is the third year, but roughly two years, right?" Adam smiled.

"Yes," Rick replied.

"Brittany too. We've known her about as long as Nobby, and she's become an Expert in about as long too. We could have been quicker. In fact, I think we could have done so in a year, but, you know, we should take breaks now and again." Rick nodded, trying to understand where Adam was going with this.

"The porters are well equipped too, as you've seen," Adam said, smiling slightly.

"I think you were there when I discussed their gear. I was meant to take half their pay while they've been working for us, but it has been a little awkward recently, so I've been giving them their pay appropriately." Rick slowly nodded again.

"Nobby and Brittany becoming Experts is just the start. As you may know, or perhaps you don't, we work for an Enchanter." You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. John choked on the bread he was eating, quickly drinking down some ale, staring up at Adam in shock. Rick remained far more composed, while the others reacted in shock.

"An enchanter?" Rick asked cautiously.

"An enchanter," Adam confirmed, smiling at the farmers.

"Now, we have plans to expand the business eventually, potentially into inns and what not, but there are certain matters that we need to attend to, and some of those I'd like to discuss today. The Enchanter wishes to create and enchant weapons of all sorts. We helped the Enchanter in some ways before, so they're rather close with the Rot family, and I possess certain other abilities that are useful, hence why I hold a high rank.

The Enchanter wishes to enchant peacefully, and are happy to bankroll whatever endeavours we wish." Rick wasn't sure how those things converged.

"Yes?"

"We've been travelling around for some time, and I am of the belief that you all are quite dependable. Though the business doesn't have a base yet, it will in the next couple of years, and I'd like to extend an offer for you to think about."

"What is the offer?"

"You're all quite capable, but you aren't Experts as of yet, from what I gather. However, you're already with us, and I'm sure if we keep adventuring together, you'll be Experts soon enough. Now, that's just a bonus, but I would like to remind you that we helped you in becoming Experts."

"Sure," Rick replied. He hadn't thought about it, but it was true that they had been adventuring for some time, and he had certainly grown a little stronger, as one might expect.

"We're still figuring out the contract, lengths and pay, that sort of thing, but we have figured out other benefits. Right now, they're still rather limited, but they will grow as the business grows. The business will offer healthcare, housing, food, and education, all free for the employees of the business." Rick narrowed his eyes slightly. Healthcare, he presumed the Half Elf meant taking care of them when they were sick, housing, and food, was typically the bulk of expenditures for most people.

Education, on the other hand, was something they could barely afford, even while adventuring.

"Is that even possible?"

"Once the business has its bearings, yes," Adam replied, trying his best not to smile.

"Sir Vonda, the Priest of Life accompanying us, has agreed to assist the Enchanter. She will be in charge of healthcare, and perhaps, education for a short while. Dunes, he may join, though I'm not entirely sure." Adam recalled Dunes was positive previously, but he wasn't sure if the Priest of War would still want to join.

'Jonn's pretty smart too, so he might be able to help out? I could always ask an Iyrman…' Adam wasn't sure if he should entrust the Iyrmen with so much.

"So the business will provide education?" Rick asked.

"I know my letters and numbers, I had to, but the business will provide education for others too?"

"All members of the business will learn their letters and numbers," Adam assured.

"These benefits will also extend to your spouses, and your children." Rick narrowed his eyes further, noticing the smile on Adam's face. It was innocent, but there was a slight hint of a smirk.

"Words. Numbers. Religion, if it's appropriate," Adam offered.

"How much will these benefits cost?" Adam tilted his head.

"What do you mean?"

"How much will housing, food, and education cost us, and how much are we going to be paid?" Rick was sure Adam had said it was all free, but he probably meant that some of these things would be free.

"Let's take a step back for a moment," Adam said, slightly confused.

"The business probably won't pay a lot of coin monthly, however, these benefits are all benefits you'll receive on top of your pay. They won't cost anything." Rick leaned back, trying to process what Adam was saying.

"Healthcare, housing, food, and education, are all free?" He couldn't have misheard twice, could he?

"Like I said, you won't be earning much coin on top of these benefits, but all basic needs will be dealt with by the business. Eventually, the business will expand to an inn, so we'll need farmers and such, fresh food that we can use to make the most delicious meals." As Adam spoke, he wasn't sure how feasible an inn would be. Though he was excited for it, enchanting provided so much more coin for the time involved, and a single business was much easier to deal with than managing so many different inns.

"If we were Experts, how much would you pay?" Rick asked.

"I assume you wouldn't want us as farmers?"

"Well, you might have to work as farmers, but as a guard…" Adam tried to think about how much he wanted to pay them. Technically, they were already decently strong before they joined the party, around Level 3 or so. However, Level 5 was quite different. He recalled the price being roughly one hundred gold a month or so.

"We're figuring that out still," Adam admitted.

"You wouldn't join our business for the pay, you'd join because it's stable living, with all your basic, and less basic, needs dealt with. You'd make enough money that you could spend it on some fun weekly, at least, and it would depend on the rank, how long you've worked there, so on. Of course, if you work as a guard, expect some magical weapons coming your way in the future." Rick leaned in, narrowing his eyes, his eyes stern.

"Magical weapons?"

"Yeah?" Adam replied, as though it were obvious. Rick blinked, trying to understand what he was hearing. Most of their needs would be dealt with, save for clothing and taxes, and they would have free healthcare, housing, food, and education. Education alone was worth accepting the deal, even if they received almost nothing as payment. Yet, there was also a magical weapon on offer?

'He's crazy.'