Proofread By Thomas F. 30th March 2025
Miss Cain left after finalizing a few details; she will start the order immediately and tailor dresses for three girls, including Carla, by the end of the week.
We have already chosen the designs, and she made a few changes according to our suggestions. She said she would have three dresses ready in the week and hire people to complete the massive order within two months.
Carla had left with her to take the measurements and discuss the design adjustment with two other girls.
As they left, I walked to my room and changed into better clothes before leaving the manor.
Twenty minutes later, the carriage pulled into the large compound of the merchant guild. As it parked, I got out of it and walked into the huge building of the merchant guild.
It is filled with people; hundreds can be seen in and out of the large lobby.
Inside the merchant guild are offices of many guilds; from cobblers to blacksmiths, one will find the office representing nearly every trade.
I looked around and turned before walking toward the magical elevator; a guard was there, but I flashed him my merchant badge, which stopped him in his tracks.
The badge is different from the standard merchants' ID badge.
It is purple and is only given to members of influential mercantile houses. In the center is a sigil of the House of Silver, and below it is a unique ID number that belongs to me.
This badge is rare, even in influential mercantile houses. Only two children of my father earned.
Me and my sister. Edvin also had it but got it by begging and crying to his mother. She then forced the father.
After becoming noble, it had become invalid.
I stepped into the elevator, which rose quickly. A few seconds later, it reached the top, and the energy cover surrounding it had disappeared.
I stepped inside and walked toward Damon Hardt's office.
"Remus Silver, I have an appointment with the Guildmaster at eleven," I said, and there were only four minutes left.
"The Guildmaster will see you soon," replied the dark blue-haired receptionist. I nodded and sat down in a comfortable chair.
"Mr. Silver, the Guildmaster, will see you now," she informed, right at eleven. "Thank you," I thanked and walked to the office of Damon Hardt, whose door had opened on its own.
Soon, I walked into an opulent office with a great view and saw Damon Hardt sitting behind the huge table. He was not the only one there; a man in his early fifties was sitting on the couch by the glass window.
"Guildmaster Hardt, vice-guild Master Ramos," I greeted two of them. "Young Silver, take a seat," offered Damon Hardt.
"Thank you, Guildmaster," I thanked as I sat before him.
"Remus, you applied for the position of the guild's legal adviser, and we intend to give it to you as respect to your grandfather," he said,
Telling me why he gave me the job while making no mention of Soren Arryn and the thing I did for him.
"I appreciate it, Guildmaster," I replied with a smile.
I knew my grandfather's letter would do the trick. We might be merchants, but business and politics are deeply entwined. Denying me this harmless position would have been noted, and no one wanted to draw my grandfather's attention.
Especially not over something as insignificant as a legal adviser's role.
"The position is yours," the man said, his tone matter-of-fact. "John will take you to your office. He oversees the legal department."
He gestured to John Ramos, who inclined his head in acknowledgment.
More than just a legal administrator, he was also a leader in the Wool Guild, representing the weavers, dyers, and fullers who powered the city's textile trade.
The trade might not be powerful, but like Silver and Hardt, the merchant house Ramos is powerful; they deal in clothing, mundane and magical.
I thanked Damon Hardt and walked out of his office with John Ramos.
"The legal office is on the third floor," he informed. I knew that already, but nodded.
"Soren Arryn said quite a lot about you, that you helped him with his contract," he said as we walked down the stairs.
"I was just lucky," I replied humbly, to which he smiled.
"We are going to sign thousands of contracts in the coming weeks, and there will be a lot of work,"
"If you can do what Arryn had said you are, then you will be a great asset to our guild," he said. To that, I smiled.
He said nothing further, and soon we reached the third floor. We walked through the hallway until we reached the door, which had 'legal' written on it, before entering.
Inside is a huge hall, with fifty people sitting at desks working on the papers in front of them.
"We have fifty-two lawyers in the legal department; they handle crafting contracts, finding loopholes, solving disputes, among other things,"
"You will be responsible for the contracts," he stated, and I nodded without a word.
As we walked, an old man in his late sixties came toward us,
"Vice-guild master," greeted the old man as he appeared. "Remus, this is Philip Oakley, responsible for the legal department of the guild," he introduced.
"Philip, this is Remus Silver; he will be the legal adviser," he introduced.
"Mr. Silver, it will be great to have a member of a distinguished mercantile house," said the old man, shaking my hand.
"It will be a pleasure to work with you, Mr. Oakley," I replied, shaking his hand back.
Looking at the old man's expression, it was clear he did not want me here, a young upstart from a powerful house who could make a mess of things.
"You are the fifth and final adviser; I hope you will have a pleasant time working here," he said as he took us to my office.
It is a small square space with a table and three chairs, but I have privacy, which matters most to me.
"Thank you for the tour, vice-guild master," I thanked. The man smiled and patted my back before leaving.
"When will you start working, Mr. Silver; tomorrow or next week?" asked the old man after the vice-guild master left.
"Today seemed to be as good as any," I replied and walked inside the tiny office; the old man seemed a little surprised but quickly controlled his expression.
"I will send you the contracts then," he said. He left while I sat down and closed my eyes for a moment.
The legal adviser is a useless job; the position is created to oversee the staff of the legal department but is filled with loyalists of powerful, mostly guild heads and vice guild heads.
They look less after the guilds' interests—and more into their bosses' interests.
The vice guild leader oversees the department, while Mr. Oakley is the head—an employee, like the rest of the lawyers.
The advisers are independent and work directly under the overseer; the legal head has no authority over them. However, we could be said to have indirect authority over him, as our supposed bosses run the guild.
The job of a legal adviser is to advise if we find any problem with anything Mr. Oakley and the lawyers have worked on and give advice, which could make their job difficult.
Most advisers don't do anything; they look through the contract, and if they do not find anything that harms their boss's interests, they will approve it; some will not even read it if it does not relate to their bosses.
I have no patron here. I could do what this job demands.
Knock Knock
"Come in," I said, opening my eyes. The door opened. A young man in a ponytail, in his early twenties, came up with a pile of papers, the contracts.
"Mr. Silver, Chief Oakley had asked me to give them to you," he said, putting the pile on my table.
"Thank you," I said, and he seemed surprised. It is my job. Call me if you need anything; I am Kevin," said the young man hesitantly.
"I will," I replied, "Ok," he replied nervously and left.
I watched the door close and look at the contracts; I quickly glanced through their front pages, and a smile couldn't help but appear on my face.
The contract they gave me is minor; there is barely anything important here. It did not surprise me, but I did not expect they would let me see those important contracts on the first day.
There are ten contracts here, each being ten to twenty-five pages long. I picked up the first contract from the pile and began to read it.
The contract does not include any skills, though I could still feel the effects of the skills used when creating it. Nothing in the contracts disrupts my reading and understanding of them. Those skills will be attached at the final stage.
It makes things very easy for me, as I do not have to struggle against the skills.
Five minutes later, I took the stationary page and wrote something before I resumed reading. Every few minutes, I would stop, write something, and resume reading again.
The first contract took twenty minutes, the second took half an hour, the third took only fifteen minutes, and the fourth took twenty-five.
I read one contract after another while taking notes side by side, so three hours later, I was finished reading.
Back on earth, I could never have worked this fast, or even a few months ago, but now I can. My mental attributes and skills, combined with my knowledge, help me work fast.
I looked at my notes before putting a piece of paper inside the typewriter; the typewriters of this world are magical.
The one in front of me looked like a thick black square slate with letters and numbers carved on it, like a touchscreen keyboard.
As I touched the keys, the letters would be printed on paper through the heat.
I fixed the paper in the long seam of the typewriter and began to type, looking through my notes; sometimes, I would open the contract to double-check.
Half an hour later, I was finished. I took out the papers on which I typed, attached them to each contract, and stamped them with my stamp.
Click!
"Kevin," I called out, and a few seconds later, the door opened.
"Have you called me Mr. Silver?" he asked. "Yes, take these to mister Oakley," I replied, motioning toward the contracts; he seemed a little surprised but quickly took the contracts and walked out.
Seeing that there is time. I decided to read the book; it was a good thing that I brought it with me. Even with me reading quite a bit on my journey to Blain and the return trip, I was still quite behind my target.
Knock Knock
I was reading my book when I heard a knock on my door. "Come in," I said as I put the book down.
The door opened, and Mister Oakley walked inside with an expression of amazement lingering in his eyes.
"Mr. Silver, are you really the one to find these flaws?" he asked as he put down the contracts in his hand.
"Do you see anyone else, Mr. Oakley?" I asked back, which startled the older man.
"I mean no disrespect, Mr. Silver. Just a little surprised; I shouldn't have been," he replied quickly and apologetically, with a faint hint of fear appearing in his eyes.
"I am joking, Mr. Oakley," I said with a smile and could see him visibly relaxed.
"The contracts were good; there is only a single flaw in a small severance contract, while the rest were fixing the lines, with weaker meaning, to be more precise," I added.
"You have done a wonderful job, Mr. Silver; there are few more contracts that I want you to look at," said the old man, to which I shook my head.
"Not today, mister Oakley; it is nearly time for me to leave," I replied as I looked at my pocket watch; there were only five minutes to four.
"Will you be coming back tomorrow?" he asked expectantly. "Yes, I will come daily unless I am busy and stay for three to five hours," I replied as I picked up my book, put it into my bag, and turned toward the door.
"See you tomorrow, Mr. Oakley," I said, leaving my office.
A few minutes later, I was in the carriage riding toward the establishment when I heard the buzz in my mind; a text appeared before me.
Lawyer Lv. 4
[Skill Gained: Fast Reading]