Aurelia was very curious about the mansion and started exploring it with great enthusiasm. Since I had only seen parts of the mansion during the cleansing process, I joined her.
Overall, the mansion was a great purchase. It had many rooms, a few secret passages and it was architecturally sound considering the technology available. Sure, it would need some magic toilets installed but no one would expect that to be already done.
The land belonging to the mansion was also quite large and if we set up an array to combat the cold climate we could probably make a garden to supply us with herbs for potions and such. Though I'd like to let Rose take care of the garden to achieve maximum benefit.
"The mansion looks pretty good Abel. However, no matter how nice it is I think it's not entirely suitable for a branch guild. Our goal is to attract customers of all walks of life and I doubt a commoner would enter this mansion even if it was known as a merchant guild. Short of tearing the entire thing down, I don't see a way to remedy that."
"I see what you mean. Here's hoping the second building is more suitable, it was a small merchant guild after all."
"You didn't go look at it?"
"I'm not a fan of looking at buildings all day long. And it was only 41'000 gold coins!"
"Only someone like you could say that. To you, that sum is nothing but a few minutes of work, isn't it?"
"Is it my fault that I can mass produce magic (grade 4) grade items with ordinary materials? If I were to give it my all I could probably even make an epic (grade 6) grade item out of ordinary materials but it would take me a while."
"Yes, I know of your freakish achievements. Still, I've got a bad feeling about this. But in the worst case, we'll just tear it down and rebuild it. About those interviews, would you mind letting me take the lead on them?"
"By all means, I'll just act as a bystander."
"Don't tell me you'll use that... persona of yours."
I gave her a fiendish grin and began to shapeshift. My height decreased to about 160 centimeters and my belly began to expand out like a balloon. My forehead became wrinkled and my hair grew short and gray. The appearance I now had made me look like some rich, fat, and very typical merchant. I bowed towards Aurelia which with my newly added bulging stomach was quite a challenge and probably looked quite comical.
"Portly Bonnefoy, at your service."
My voice was high and nasal. The sort of voice that was perfect for lying since no one would be able to perceive the natural shift in your voice when you lied.
"Abel, why do you still use that form? You're just pretending to be someone you aren't and he such a bother."
"Lady Aurelia, master Abel is currently away on business. Also, I am part of him so technically your accusations are groundless. Now, on master Abel's wishes, I will act as an aid for the interviews sent by the main guild."
Pretending to be Portly came easy to me. I prodded the part of my mind where my insatiable greed for earning money was located and what flowed out made my roll easy to play.
"Fine, be that way. But promise me to turn back into Abel right after these interviews are over."
"A merchant makes no promises that aren't advantageous to him."
Aurelia snorted and turned away. Being strongly influenced by these feelings always made me want to tease her.
We furnished some of the rooms to act as waiting and interview rooms. The next morning I was waiting in the foyer for any applicants while Aurelia was sitting in the interview room drinking tea.
The first applicant arrived at the break of dawn. A middle-aged man that looked incredibly nervous entered the foyer through the open gates. Upon seeing my pudgy form standing there clearly not being a noble he visibly relaxed. This was the drawback of holding the interviews in a mansion known to have been owned by nobles.
"Greetings, I am Portly Bonnefoy of the grey merchant guild. Are you here for the interview taking place?"
"Yes, am I too early?"
I gave him a reassuring smile and patted him on the shoulder. He tensed up a little at the sudden touch but seeing that I was smaller than him and very harmless looking he quickly recovered.
"Not at all! We never stated a time when the interviews would begin so you are fine. Since you came so early and no one else is here yet you can directly proceed to the interview. Have you thought about what job you would like to apply for?"
He looked confused by my question and I realized that all I had told Eleanor was that we were recruiting and not what for. That might have been a mistake. I sent a mental message to Aurelia to inform her of this and addressed the man once again.
"You see there are multiple different positions in a merchant guild. During the interview, you will be asked what you wish to apply for. There are the positions of the branch guild master, various secretary positions, clerk positions, and manual laborers that are available to anyone. Additionally, we will hire anyone with a desirable production skill such as alchemy, woodworking, and similar things."
He looked a little intimidated by my long enumeration. The power of a multitude of words was an interesting sight to behold. Now that he was told, Aurelia would be able to guide him through the rest during the interview.
To help inform the following applicants I also planned to post a notice in the waiting rooms that stated all positions. Given, most of the applicants wouldn't be able to read it due to the high rate of illiteracy. Still, someone with the ability to read would benefit from it and allow me to decrease the number of people I'd have to explain it to.