Alfraed told Lisa to achieve the target she might needed to prepare for overtime. That being said, unless necessary, overtime should be minimized to give herself and her subordinates work-life balance.
"…If you work all the time, you won't be able to find that special someone" teased Alfraed.
"Ah, well, that, hmm, boss you're single also, right?"
"…See, we all need work-life balance…" Alfraed's shoulders slumped as he said that, and turned gloomy upon hearing the fact.
"Pfft, I believe you boss…" Lisa laughed, but still able to maintain acceptable politeness to her depressed boss.
Alfraed continued his explanation by saying Lisa's new salary would be on a monthly basis, instead of the existing hourly basis, and effectively started at the beginning of next month. He put many considerations before deciding the final amount, and hoped Lisa would find it agreeable…
"…Your new salary is… 7,000 rune per month" informed Alfraed, who at the same time anticipating any reaction coming from Lisa.
"...Boss, is it okay for me to receive that much?"
Lisa and Elise once did a calculation on how much they would earn in a month with their current salary scheme, the result made them happy, as the amount was higher than their previous income. Now, she was offered to receive an even higher salary by her boss, this made her hesitated.
Was it okay for her to receive good things more than once in short amount of time?
"…Ms. Lisa…Honestly, I don't know the answer to your question... I just believe you'll proved me right in the end"
Alfraed only provided a simple answer, yet one could see how much trust he put on Lisa from that simple answer.
"Boss…I will, you won't be disappointed boss" Lisa paused for a moment, before she made up her mind to prove her worthiness to the nice individual in front of her.
For the next session, Alfraed asked Lisa to call Elise, while the former waited outside this time.
"…Ms. Elise, are you happy working here...?" Alfraed asked the same question to Elise.
"More than you know boss Alf" replied Elise firmly, and that was her true feeling. The pay was good, but for the most part because Alfraed treated her children dearly, she was surprised that they could already read and write, and now enjoyably learning calculation.
"…As I told you before, you are basically in charge of the whole store while I'm away"
"I have to say you give me quite the challenge boss Alf…"
"Sorry, but at the moment you're the only one I trust to do this"
"You need not to apologize, it's an honor" said Elise with a bubbly tone.
"…Before we go to the main topic, this is a token of my appreciation for successfully dealing with Dal, you can open it now if you want to…though, I'm embarrassed of the amount" Alfraed handed over a leather pouch to Elise, and she received it while repeatedly blinking, failed to understand what was happening.
"…!!! B-boss Alf… I-I can't accept this, it's too much!" protested Elise after instinctively opened the pouch, and found 50,000 rune inside.
"Ms. Elise, you deserved it all… However, if you insist not accepting it, then, this is your last day working here"
"…Boss Alf, that's unfair…" said Elise while uncharacteristically pouting at him.
"As a boss I can be unfair to a degree, I prefer not to though. The point is, you earned it, okay?... Now, your new salary is 10,000 rune per month"
"...…."
"…Ms. Elise, why are you crying?? Did my earlier joke go too far??"
Seeing Elise suddenly fell to her knees and crying, Alfraed became flustered.
"…Boss Alf, you're clueless sometime" said Elise with a smile, and later stood up and bowed to show her respect to Alfraed.
This young man had given so much to her and the twins, the only thing she could do was to help him grasp his dream.
With all said, their conversation ended, and the two went home.
-------
The pale crescent moon shone like a silvery claw in the night sky, and the midnight sky became a sweet embrace of starry black, a fresh chance to dream anew. Yet, in a small settlement, there was a restless soul who not yet able to close her tired eyes to dream until this moment.
"…Lisa, are you alright…?" asked Elise to Lisa who was staring absent-mindedly to the ceiling.
After leaving Herbs & Lotions, Elise, Lisa, and the twins had dinner together as a little celebration for their new positions. Afterward, Lisa asked Elise's permission to stay the night at her place, and Elise welcomed her friend delightfully.
"…It's just… what boss said hasn't sunk in yet…you know my story, no?"
Lisa was a Sirva, a race originated from a continent beyond the sea. Most of them were brought in as slaves, and majorly discriminated by the people due to petty reasoning like "Sirvas are inherently inferior and incapable".
That being said, Lisa was not a slave. For as long as her memory could remember, she was raised by a mercenary group, and was taught assassination by the leader. Countless lives fell by her hands. It was not the nicest of place to be, but she had home, a place she belonged to. Sadly, her mercenary group was wiped out, leaving her all alone.
Since then, she wished for a life far away from battle, but life chose to be hard on her, hardly any place would want to employ a Sirva. If they did, the treatment was harsh and unbearably condescending.
"…I don't care about your race, neither do my children… and boss Alf…" replied Elise while stroking the heads of her sleeping children. In the past, they often woke up at night because of hunger, now that happening felt distant.
"…You know, when you told me about a job opening… I was tired…"
Lisa did not care anymore, as she would probably experience the same humiliating cycle all over again. Moreover, she was an inch close to become a bandit, she was desperate and full of hate, with her skillset she might be a famous one. And, in the end, cut down by someone else's sword, either another bandit or guard, and reunited with her fallen comrades.
Thankfully, Elise persistently asked her to try…" One more time, plese just try one more time!" she begged her.
"…The boss, didn't show any hint of hostility nor disgust in his eyes when seeing me, that's rare, you know…"
"…I know…" Elise came closer to her friend and embraced her with motherly care. She knew that Lisa's cheerful personality was apparently just a facade to hide her sorrow and loneliness.
"…I'll always follow him…" declared Lisa weakly while sobbing.
"…So do I…"
In the future, Elisa and Lisa would show unshakeable loyalty to Alfraed, helping him tirelessly to expand Herbs & Lotions. In exchange, Alfraed trust them completely, and they even became the company's top management...