Chapter 244 – No Second Chance
“What does that even mean? Is that how you see us?”
This made me chuckle.
“Not at all. But you know, nothing is permanent in this world, especially species’ feelings. If you work for me, you’ll have to handle a large amount of money at one point or another. I’m talking about golds here.”
“Gold coins…”
Judging by Aren’s reaction, gold coins were probably things they could only see in their dreams. They might not even have seen a single one in their entire lives.
“That’s right. And there’ll come a time when you’ll be tempted. ‘Should I just take that money and flee? It’s such a large sum’, and so on. It’s only normal. If I have to give any advice, it would be to think about it carefully before doing anything. Even if you steal a few golds, how long would that last with that? A couple of years at best. And then what? You’ll be a fugitive, still without any skills, and with three people to feed. Maybe in an even worse situation than right now.”
I was finally starting to get their attention as they let me talk without interrupting me.
“What about if you don’t betray my trust? You’ll have a salary, shelter, food, clothes, and will be kept safe, all of that until the end of your life. Plus, you’ll grow strong and won’t ever have trouble handling anyone. This is what I want to offer you, in exchange for your loyalty.”
There was a moment of silence, the children being deep in thought. Erin was the one to speak next, now a lot calmer.
“Why us? If you need people to work for you, there are plenty of skilled ones all over the city.”
“You know the answer to that question already, don’t you? If I employ a normal person, they’ll get a job, and that’ll be it. I can’t expect any special loyalty from a normal worker, nor should I. But if I take you in, I’ll give you everything. In just one day, you’ll transform from slum pickpocket kids to normal ones, no, even better than normal ones, because I’ll be the one taking care of all your needs.”
“If you want destitute kids, the district is filled with them. Why us in particular?”
This also made me smile.
“Weren’t you the one who came to me first?”
“What? When?”
“Didn’t you try to pick my pockets around a year ago? That’s how we established contact for the first time.”
The two siblings opened their mouths in astonishment.
“Just for that?”
“That’s right. It could have been anyone. It just happened to be you.”
For some reason, my response seemed to disappoint them. I liked how they were still innocent enough to react like this. It was proof my eyes hadn’t been wrong about them.
“Haha, you’re so cute.”
“W-What?”
Erin instantly became angry, and I lifted my hands to calm her down.
“That’s not the only reason, though. You keep saying you have nothing and you don’t possess any skills, but I don’t think you should belittle yourselves like that. How long have you been living in this place?”
It was Aren who answered.
“Almost four years.”
“Two small children like you survived in this terrible place for almost four years. On top of that, you raised your baby brother, all alone and without any resources. Let me say it straight. That’s exceptional. That’s admirable.”
My sudden praise startled them. Aren was even looking a bit shy. It was clear they weren’t accustomed to compliments.
“That willpower of yours, I value greatly. Anything else can be learned with time. Courage and willpower are different. In my eyes, you two are praiseworthy. Extremely so.”
“…Stop it with the disgusting words. It makes me sick.”
Even though Erin said that while wincing, I knew I hit close to the mark. Her insults felt almost gentle now.
She frowned at me for a while before opening her mouth again.
“So, what do you want us to do in the end?”
“At first? Nothing much. Your goal will be to learn everything you couldn’t before. Reading, writing, calculations, common knowledge, and magic. You’ll be busy catching up with all these topics. You’ll be provided with everything you need, plus some basic pocket money. You’ll only start receiving a normal salary when you begin working for real.”
“That still sounds way too good to be true.”
“I’m not completely stupid either. You’ll start with a season of probation first.”
“Probation?”
“Consider it like a test period. That goes for both sides. You’ll only become a real employee if you pass this trial period. If there’s something you don’t like, you can leave at any time within that season. For me, if I see you don’t behave correctly, I can fire you on the spot. We don’t owe anything to each other, and we part without bad feelings.”
“Hmm…”
“All right. I think I’ve said it all. Take your time to think it over and tell me your decision when you’re ready.”
I stood up to leave, but Aren blurted in a hurry.
“I want to do it!”
“Ren!”
He was scolded by his sister, while I also shook my head.
“Don’t decide now. Wait some time, cool your head, and choose after that. It’s something important that will shape your life. I don’t want to trick you by asking you to commit while you’re hot-headed.”
“It’s not like that!”
I didn’t let him explain himself. I gave them the bag of food for the day and immediately walked away, leaving the siblings to have a long talk. I didn’t feel a lot of hatred coming from Erin anymore, so I hoped they would come to a good conclusion.
I hadn’t lied when I told them they would play a crucial role for me in the future if they managed to accept my proposal and didn’t betray me. They were a lot more important than they realized. Still, this was something for the very long term, and there was no need to hurry. It was the sort of plan only someone who knew they had more than 150 years of lifespan left in front of them could think of implementing.
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