Chapter 378: The Selected Servants
Construction of the Hinomaru headquarters, which incorporates a wealth of Mesaria-san’s requests, has begun. Unlike our own home, there aren’t as many particularities here, so the building is progressing swiftly. In between, whenever I receive a message on my smartphone, I discreetly open small dimensional rifts to appraise the slaves.
“Did you find anyone with a rare Skill?”
As I finished peering into a dimensional rift during a break, Ivan, with a squid snack in his mouth, called out to me.
“I might have found more promising Skills than I expected.”
I’ve already checked over ten slave traders’ slaves. Counting them has become tedious, but I might have seen around two hundred. Since Skills can fetch a high price, I thought the slave traders would have a good grasp of their slaves’ specialties, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Upon reflection, this world has a system where touching a crystal reveals one’s profession. However, the probability of a profession being displayed is less than half, meaning there are many people whose strengths remain unknown. Even if a profession does appear, it only shows the one that seems most suitable based on the Skills they possess. To truly understand what someone is capable of, one must appraise them. Of course, there are those with Appraisal Skills, but individuals who have mastered it to the point of seeing Skills are exceedingly rare. At least, I don’t know anyone besides my master.
“Really?”
“Yeah, so we might end up with more people than planned.”
“Is that so?”
“It seems Hinomaru is also facing a shortage of personnel. If there are any useful slaves, they’re planning to buy them all.”
Without mentioning who caused the personnel shortage, I simply conveyed the facts.
“Hmm. Sounds tough.”
Ivan, pouring sake into a small cup from a sake warmer, didn’t seem particularly interested. To be honest, I was initially skeptical about whether there were any slaves with such Skills, but I’ve grown somewhat bored of it now. While munching on potato chips spread across the table, I began to contemplate the upcoming tasks.
“Well, yeah. So we need to build dormitories for the slaves… or rather, the employees.”
“Is that what’s happening?”
“The buildings will be ready soon, so that’s fine, but I’m glad I consulted with Mesaria-san about it.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, if I had done it myself, it would have turned into a situation where there was no place for people to sleep once they arrived, right?”
I tend to believe that most things will work out if I just give them a try. This has made me acutely aware of my lack of planning.
“If you knew that and still consulted with Mesaria-san, then you should be fine, right?”
“Is that how it works?”
Rio offered me some comfort, and perhaps it is indeed that way. There’s a saying about the right person for the right job, and maybe it’s enough for me to focus on what only I can do.
“Exactly.”
“Well, I guess that’s fine.”
And so, the construction of the base progressed in a relaxed manner.
Then, a few days later, the day finally arrived for the first group of slaves to visit. For this day, I had created a key from the Dungeon’s Create Menu that would allow access to the dungeon entrance. This key is exclusively for the use of the servants. Uniforms were also prepared, matching for each profession, sourced from a clothing store in Japan. It would be impossible to make so many identical outfits by hand in this world.
“「「「「P-Please take care of us!」」」」”
The slaves, visibly tense, lined up to greet us. Gathered from major cities across the continent, they represented a variety of races and ages, ranging from teenagers to those in their forties. However, with about twenty of them, it was impossible to memorize all their names.
“This is your new master from today. Please be sure to show him the utmost respect.”
“「「「「Yes!」」」」”
“Um, I’m Mizumoto Shu. Nice to meet you.”
I was the only one standing before the slaves. Neither Rio nor the other members stepped forward. Generally, Mesaria-san took the lead in speaking, while I merely stood there.
After Mesaria-san divided our household servants from Hinomaru’s employees, six individuals remained in front of me.
“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Sebastian Winslow, and I will be serving as your butler.”
“I am Grace Morris, the maid.”
“Uh, y-yes, I am also a maid, Hannah Kingsley.”
“I am Frank Weber, the cook.”
“I’m also a cook, but you can call me Rachel.”
“My name is Samuel, and I enjoy gardening.”
It seems that those with family names are often nobles who have fallen into debt or failed to inherit their family titles. It might be true that those with many Skills are more likely to be from noble backgrounds.
Sebastian, with his distinguished gray hair; Grace, the capable head maid; Hannah, the novice maid; Frank, the stubborn cook; Rachel, who had worked as a waitress in a town eatery; and finally, Samuel, the only rabbitfolk with a muscular build and a laid-back demeanor.
I had gathered them as instructed by Mesaria-san, but it felt like a larger group than I had anticipated. Since these six would frequently interact with others besides me, everyone introduced themselves once more. I wanted them to have the correct knowledge, so I informed them that Nil was an S Rank monster known as Frozevitnir, and Phonia was also an S Rank monster, a Mystic Fox, which made their faces turn pale.
And so, it was time to guide these six to our home, which would be their workplace.