“What does that even an? Is that how you see us?”
This made
chuckle.
“Not at all. But you know, nothing is permanent in this world, especially species’ feelings. If you work for , 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 co a ti 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
talk without interrupting .
“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 mont of silence, the children being deep in thought. Erin was the one to speak next, now a lot calr.
“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
smile.
“Weren’t you the one who ca to
first?”
“What? When?”
“Didn’t you try to pick my pockets around a year ago? That’s how we established contact for the first ti.”
The two siblings opened their mouths in astonishnt.
“Just for that?”
“That’s right. It could have been anyone. It just happened to be you.”
For so reason, my response seed 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 beca 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
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 accustod to complints.
“That willpower of yours, I value greatly. Anything else can be learned with ti. Courage and willpower are different. In my eyes, you two are praiseworthy. Extrely so.”
“…Stop it with the disgusting words. It makes
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
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 so 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 beco a real employee if you pass this trial period. If there’s sothing you don’t like, you can leave at any ti within that season. For , 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 ti to think it over and tell
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 so ti, cool your head, and choose after that. It’s sothing 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 imdiately 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 co to a good conclusion.
I hadn’t lied when I told them they would play a crucial role for
in the future if they managed to accept my proposal and didn’t betray . They were a lot more important than they realized. Still, this was sothing for the very long term, and there was no need to hurry. It was the sort of plan only soone who knew they had more than 150 years of lifespan left in front of them could think of implenting.
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