Charlotte looked at the girl in front of him, well aware that keeping her would invite so trouble. But if he were to drive her away, she would have no ans of survival.
"You can't use magic in public, so if you want to stay, you'll have to take on more responsibilities," Charlotte calmly said.
"Such as?"
"Cleaning the entire clinic upstairs and downstairs every day and keeping the clinic clean and tidy."
"Okay," Vivian nodded readily. For a water mage, cleaning and hygiene were simple tasks.
"You will also be responsible for a portion of the potion brewing."
Vivian was surprised. "Potion brewing?"
"Yes, that's a task that doesn't need to be done in public," Charlotte nodded.
He couldn't possibly treat an interdiate mage as just a janitor. Even the workhorses of the production team wouldn't dare let her rest like that.
"But I've never dealt with potions before, and I'm not good at potion brewing," Vivian said apologetically.
The dical school offered alchemy courses, but she hadn't taken them.
As a magical prodigy who had been adored since childhood, it would be questionable for her to waste ti studying alchemy.
Charlotte said confidently, "That's okay. As long as you're willing to learn, I guarantee you'll beco a competent alchemist in no ti."
Vivian hesitated in her heart, but under Charlotte's gaze, she gritted her teeth and nodded, "I'm willing to learn."
Compared to going out and robbing people, learning potion brewing should be easier, right?
"If there are any unexpected situations where I need your assistance in performing certain surgeries without revealing your magic abilities, you must not refuse," Charlotte added another requirent.
After a mont of thought, Vivian nodded in agreent.
Charlotte's requirents were not excessive.
"Very well, from now on, you are an employee of the clinic," Charlotte finally smiled and extended his right hand to Vivian. "I'm Charlotte."
Vivian looked at the warm smile on Charlotte's face, and her blue eyes were clear like water as if there was a light shining on her.
"Charlotte?" Vivian felt that the na sounded sowhat familiar, but for a mont, she couldn't rember. She reached out and gently shook hands with Charlotte.
The warm touch brought her back to her senses, and she finally found a foothold in the abyss.
An ordinary little clinic.
A young boss.
Charlotte withdrew his hand and looked at Vivian. "Your job is exactly what I ntioned earlier. Your monthly salary is 1000 copper coins, and if your performance is outstanding, you'll beco a regular employee with an additional 200 copper coins after one month.
Moreover, there is an additional bonus for potion brewing, with 1 copper coin per bottle."
"Okay," Vivian's face revealed a hint of surprise. This was even better than she expected.
"Let show you around the clinic first. The first floor is the working area, and the second floor is the living area." Charlotte's gaze fell on the white cat on the counter. "And this is Anna, the mascot of the clinic."
"Co on, Anna, give us a smile."
"ow." The white cat let out a warning ow towards Charlotte, with its tail held high and trembling slightly.
"Very good, you see, she seems to like you," Charlotte said satisfied.
"Huh?" Vivian looked at the proud Anna jumping back onto the counter and didn't feel any affection.
Although the clinic was clean, it was indeed very simple.
The existence of the operating room surprised Vivian. As a dical school student, the education she received always emphasized therapeutic arts and internal dicine. Surgical procedures were only done by low-status barbers.
In the imperial capital, many common people believed in the so-called bloodletting therapy, which resulted in the disease not being cured but the person dying.
Was her new boss just like a barber?
Vivian couldn't help but worry. As a healing mage, it would be terrible for her to assist a deceptive swindler.
"These are the alchemy rooms, and the potions are brewed here. It will be your work area in the future," Charlotte said as he opened a door.
Vivian looked at the rudintary alchemy room, with the most eye-catching item being a large iron cauldron placed on the stove.
Were those so-called potions with magical effects brewed in that large iron cauldron?
This made her feel even more suspicious that she had entered a den of thieves.
Then Charlotte took her to tour the second floor. There were four rooms on the second floor, with the largest one being Charlotte's bedroom, and the other three rooms were filled with miscellaneous items.
Charlotte let Vivian choose one of the rooms as her bedroom, and he planned to turn the smallest room into a kitchen.
He had figured it out. Now that there was one more person in the clinic, they couldn't eat the dark and hard black bread every day.
His current body was weak, partly due to the aftermath of the depletion of magical origin, and partly due to a lack of nutrition.
Of course, dialectically speaking, it couldn't be ruled out that it was related to so bad habits of the previous owner.
"You'll be responsible for cleaning your room. I'll go out and buy so daily necessities for you," Charlotte said as he looked at Vivian, whose face couldn't hide her excitent.
"Okay, okay." Vivian nodded repeatedly, but her stomach betrayed her and grumbled.
Gurgle...
Vivian blushed and lowered her eyes, feeling embarrassed.
But it couldn't be helped. From yesterday until now, she had only eaten the bread that Charlotte gave her. She hadn't found a safe water source, so she hadn't even had a proper drink of water.
Charlotte sighed inwardly. "I'll buy you so food while I'm out."
"Thank you, boss!" Vivian expressed her gratitude.
She suddenly felt ashad of her previous thoughts. Even if he was a swindler, he was the only one willing to provide her with food. A regular person like her, without magic, would have to put in more effort to survive in the Abyss.
Charlotte went downstairs to leave, and Vivian couldn't help but spin around in her room.
The room was very simple, with a wooden floor full of pits and walls made of rough stones. There were small gaps, although not letting light through, still allowing a bit of draft.
The only piece of furniture was a wooden bed against the wall, but it was missing a leg. Everything in the room was covered in a thick layer of dust from being unused.
Pushing open the wooden window, the dim light from the Abyss didn't brighten the room much, but it made her feel like the gloomy world was illuminated a little.
She finally had her independent room, like drifting duckweed that had finally found a place to root in the Abyss.
From her family suddenly falling into trouble, fleeing south all the way, experiencing countless hardships, and witnessing her closest family mbers die before her eyes, her anxious and grieving heart finally found a place to settle.
Even though it was crude, it was still better than wandering outside.
"Let's clean up and get today's work done!"
Although her stomach was growling and her body felt weak, Vivian felt full of energy.
...
Charlotte first went to the grocery store on Baka Street and bought a bedding set, so toiletries, and a black wig, spending 250 copper coins.
"Darn it, a poorly made wig and it still costs 180 copper coins." Charlotte walked out of the store, looking at the wig with loose threads in his hand, and muttered under his breath.
This was the one he carefully selected, with the least flaws.
Then he went to the bakery and bought four black bread loaves.
"The doctor has a good appetite these days," Bella, the bakery's owner, handed the bread to Charlotte with a smile.
"I hired a cleaning staff mber, as you know, orcs have big appetites," Charlotte replied, taking the bread with a helpless expression.
The old lady was the owner of the bakery, known for her big mouth, and she was the gossip center of Baka Street.
"It must be a beautiful orc girl in her twenties, right?" the old lady asked with a beaming smile.
"You even guessed that?" Charlotte was surprised.
"Hehe, you've been consistent for the past three years, and I've noticed," the old lady's eyes narrowed with a smile.
Charlotte was a bit puzzled. This was different from what was recorded in the diary of the original owner.
"You've always liked girls in their twenties, and your taste has never changed," the old lady added.
"You understand ," Charlotte said as he walked away with the bread, feeling a bit puzzled about his reputation.
When he pushed open the clinic's door, Charlotte was stunned.
He thought he had cleaned the clinic quite well these past few days, completely different from the previous owner's doghouse.
But in just a short ti he was out, the clinic had completely changed its appearance.
The marble floor was shining, the walls, ceiling, and furniture were dust-free, and even the air seed fresher.
The counter had been rearranged, glass jars and vials were neatly arranged in order from large to small, and even the placent of empty bottles was symtrical.
"What kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is this?" Charlotte couldn't help but comnt.
On the other side, Vivian was sitting behind the counter, holding Anna, the little one obediently on her lap, allowing Vivian to gently rub her belly, making a purring sound.
"Ah, it's a capricious cat!"
Charlotte couldn't accept it. He was the one who ca first.
"Boss," Vivian stood up.
Anna's enjoynt was interrupted, and she gave Charlotte a disdainful look.
"Here's the bedding, have bread to fill your stomach first," Charlotte placed the items on the counter and went to pour a glass of water for Vivian.
Vivian's eyes lit up when she saw the bread. After cleaning with her cleaning magic and even washing the little kitten, she felt completely drained.
Ignoring any ladylike manners, she devoured the bread in big bites and took large sips of water, quickly finishing one black bread.
After finishing one, Vivian glanced at Charlotte and then at the remaining bread.
"Eat it, the clinic is cleaned up nicely. You've worked hard," Charlotte smiled, very satisfied with Vivian's work attitude.
From today onwards, he could bid farewell to the tedious task of cleaning.
Those 1,000 copper coins were worth it!
With Charlotte's approval, Vivian picked up another piece of bread, but this ti she didn't wolf it down. She ate it in small bites, savoring the comfort that food brought to her hungry stomach.
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