"Margaux, take a seat," I said to her as she came inside for the interview. "Thank you, Master Silver," she replied nervously.
"Don't be nervous; I will only ask you a few simple questions, and it will be over within an hour," I said with a smile.
Hearing that, she relaxed a little.
"So, can you tell me a little about yourself?" I started with a classic question. It is a very important and frustrating question, but it also gives a lot of insight into the person and the question every interviewer asks.
I have taken hundreds of interviews, both for my firm and the clients, and I would always start with this question.
She seemed a little surprised by the question but soon smoothened her expressions.
Though, she did not immediately answer.
"I had entered the business when I was sixteen and have nearly thirty years of experience. In my life, I have been in seven brothels, including this, and above level 20 in my base class," she replied measuredly.
"Why do you want the job?" I asked another classic question.
This time she did not wait to answer, she seemed very clear about why she wanted the job, and her answer was satisfactory.
I then asked her about her strength and weaknesses before starting on a targeted question about the job she was being interviewed for while taking notes of her answers.
Forty-five minutes later, I finished with all my questions.
"Thank you for your time, Margaux; Carla will inform you of my decision," I said. "It is my pleasure, Master Silver," she said as she got up before walking out of the office, and a few seconds later, Ina walked inside.
"Take a seat, Ina," I said to the confident woman; unlike Margaux, she did not seem nervous; there was even a small, confident smile on her face.
"Thank you, Master Silver," she said and sat down.
A few seconds later, I began the interview, and I have to say, she is one heck of a confident woman and also quite charming. They are great qualities for any kind of leader.
I asked her the same question I had asked Margaux and received answers for all of them. Her answers are quite different than Margaux, but right.
Both of them are different, might even say the opposite in some views, but are perfect for the job I am interviewing them for.
"Thank you for your time, Ina; Carla will let you know of my decision soon," I said; she nodded and walked out of the office.
"So?" asked Carla.
She had been present, but as I had asked her, she did not speak any words and only observed.
"Both of them are very good; if we had two positions, I would have hired both of them," I said, "But there is only one position, and you can only choose one," she said, and I smiled.
"It's Margaux," I said, and I could see a surprise appearing on her face. "I thought you would choose Ina," she said.
"Ina is very good, and I might even say more capable, but I would need someone grounded; for that, Margaux is the best choice," I replied.
"I will inform her," she said and got up.
A few minutes later, Margaux signed the new contract. She will start today; first, she will learn from Carla before taking over the responsibilities of the madam.
After Margaux left, I had worked for some time before walking out of my office, as it was time for me to leave for the merchant guild.
There is a meeting, and I am also excited, especially about the work, as now I will definitely be able to read those truly desirable contracts.
Soon, I reached the merchant guild and directly went to the office of Damon Hardt.
"Mister Silver, Guildmaster is waiting for you inside," the receptionist said before I could say anything.
I nodded and walked toward the door, which began to open, and when I went inside, I found it was filled with people.
"Guildmaster Hardt, vice-guild masters," I greeted.
Aside from them, I saw a few familiar people like Rip, Locke, and others.
"Remus, you have come at the right time," he said and asked me to take the seat. "Thank you, Guildmaster," I said down.
"We have received the missive from Count Darrow a few minutes ago; he selected the successor of john Santos," he said smilingly, but I could see the smile was not reaching his eyes.
"Who is it?" I asked while casting a glance at the sub-guildmasters in the room; since they were here, it must be someone from the room.
"It is Locke Hercule; he will also head the legal department," he said, and a surprise appeared on my face before I stopped myself from smiling too widely; it was the best outcome I could hope for.
I may only know Locke for a few minutes, but with an incident in Namdar, we share a good rapport.
Locke becoming a Vice-Guildmaster would help me tremendously, especially compared to John Santos; god rest his soul.
"Congratulation, vice-guild master Hercule," I said to which he smiled and seemed very happy that he could barely contain it in his eyes. If I had been in his place, I would have smiled too.
"The trip to the Namdar had been an immense success; in less than ten days, the goods coming and going for Namdar had increased by 100%, and it is increasing daily."
"We had estimated that by the end of the month, it will definitely increase by 300%," said Damon Smidt, sounding quite happy.
I am too happy as it not only affects the city and him but also me; my business is dependent on rich merchants.
"Namdar is huge, but we need to sign the contracts with all the cities, whether it is big or small; we need to increase the trade," he said, and we all nodded.
Everybody here understood that, given the city's position, we might not be here for a decade. So, we need to make as much profit as we can so when the time comes to run away, we will have our bags filled with money.
I hope that day never happens; I have come to love the city, but me hoping does not change the facts.
Things are going to get dangerous in the future, and I need to prepare and become ready to face any kind of danger that will appear.
"Our first plan is signing more comprehensive bilateral contracts with the cities, as we did with Namdar,"
"We will first begin to cities around us like Deerpond and others before moving to the cities of Meldhorn," he said, and we begin devising the best way to approach that.
As Namdar had been easy because the one controlling it was powerful and did not have a conflicting interest. It is different when it comes to cities of Renwell Region and the Empire.
Every city in Renwell Region, aside from Deerpond and Dustorn Fortress, is controlled by a loyalist of different princes; even the lord Deerpond and Commander of Dustorn Fortress have views and ambitions that do not align with Greltheaven.
We will have to navigate through all this, it will be fun and exciting, and I am happy to be involved.
In the past, I did not get a chance to be invited to such meetings, but now I do, and getting to know many things that I did not before about the leaders of the different surrounding cities.
It was four when the meeting ended; it would have lasted longer if not for the party that the guild was hosting today.
"Vice-Guildmaster Locke, it sounds nice," I said as I walked out with Locke, "It is, isn't it," he said, grinningly before his expression turned serious.
"It is a great position, but keeping it won't be easy," he said and looked at me. If the hints I caught were right, then I could understand what he was implying.
"You survived undead; sailing through this wouldn't be any problem," I said neutrally.
"I hope you will help me, Remus; I barely have any legal knowledge, and now I am handling the whole legal department," he said with his eyes becoming desperate for a moment.
"I will do my best," I said.
I want to stay away from guild politics, but that wouldn't be possible. So, I will help him as much as I can without angering others and compromising my interests.
"I will count on you," he said, and I just smiled.
Soon, we were out and went to our own carriages; sitting in my carriage, I picked up the bundle of contracts and began to read through them.
First time since I have become a legal adviser, I have gotten permission to take the confidential contracts home. While they are not important as others we have discussed, it is a step.
…
"I knew you would be here," I said as I looked at Ina sitting under a tree; seeing me, she had wiped her tears away, but it was clear by her face that she was crying.
It is her spot in the huge garden; it is well hidden, and unless one is by the tree, one will not see who is sitting under it.
"Carla, I really wanted that job," she said as I sat beside her. "Since coming here, I dared to dream, and when you told me about it yesterday, I had really dreamed about it and thought I would get it," she said with tears filling her eyes.
"I know, honey, but we all have to face disappointments sometime, even in a place like this," I consoled and hugged my friend.
She might seem confident and strong, and she is, but she is also fragile.
"I am happy for Margaux; I know she will do a great job," said Ina after some time. "She will, and you will also get the opportunity in the future," I said, and she turned toward me from my chest.
"What, do you think this is the end?" I asked with a laugh.
"This is just the beginning; I could not tell you much, but I will advise you to gain as many skills as possible." "As the opportunity will come, and it will come sooner than you might expect," she said.
They stayed under the tree for a few more minutes before walking inside; Ina needed to prepare for opening, and so was she, as Remus could return anytime.
….
"This had come for you," said Carla as I sat in my chair and handed me a package, which had two letters in it.
I looked at them, and my eyes immediately lighted up when I saw the seal of the house of silver and not of the common member but of the leader of the house.
I immediately tore apart the envelope and took the letter, and immediately a smile appeared on my face.
A handwritten letter, not typed; Grandfather only does it when it is important or shows he is pleased.
Reading the letter, I know he is pleased.
He congratulated me for aiding in killing the lich, unlike many people who would say I killed the lich, even when they truly do not believe it.
The old man is wise; he would rarely make any decision without getting all the facts first.
I finished the letter before opening another letter, which contained the gift he had sent. I am quite curious about that, and when I took it out of the envelope and saw what it was, a smile on my face couldn't help but brighten up.
'I would have been great if I had this before taking the loan,' I thought, but soon shook my head.
This is too precious but also very risky; this thing should be used wisely, and no matter how much I want to use it right now, when I am making the changes, I will not.
I am sure there will come a time when I will need to use it, and I will wait until then.