I Don't Want To Inherit A Feudal Estate So I'll Just Throw Everything On My Brother And Li

Chapter 174

"Staff Recruitment"

Translated by Dawn

“Staff Recruitment”

“Welcome to the Dondre Slave Trading Company.”

A suspicious-looking man greeted us with an equally suspicious greeting. After leaving the Commercial Guild, Machad and I headed to the slave trading company.

The purpose, needless to say, was to secure employees to work in the new company. We had originally requested this from Liliere, the guild master of the Commercial Guild, but I returned before even a few hours had passed, so the preparations were still incomplete.

Knowing that selecting trustworthy individuals took time, we decided to at least secure some employees who could serve as shopkeepers by purchasing slaves and employing them, just like Greg Trading Company.

“What kind of slaves are you looking for?”

“Mumble mumble, something-something, chop-chop, pong-pong.”

“I see, you want to buy slaves to work as employees in your shop. Understood. I will immediately select slaves that meet your criteria.”

“…How did you understand that with such a nonsensical explanation?”

“Perhaps it’s because of my experience and intuition.”

I only said it as a joke, but surprisingly, he understood. Perhaps slave traders who were familiar with the dark side of things have such rich experiences.

While Machad expressed his amazement at the slave trader’s keen sense, we were guided by a serving woman to the reception room.

After waiting for a while, the slave trader from earlier entered the room with a dozen slaves, all dressed in plain clothes. The slaves had various appearances, ranging from those with relatively attractive features to those with modest appearances but good physiques.

Their abilities seemed to focus on basic literacy and numeracy skills, as well as some customer service experience. They appeared to be categorized based on their appearance, physique, and abilities.

“How about these?”

“I didn’t ask, but are you the shop owner?”

“Yes, I am. I apologize for the late introduction. I am Dondre, serving as the representative of this company. It is the utmost honor to meet the legendary hero.”

“Why do you think I’m that hero?”

“Information is vital in this business, and even a small piece of information can greatly influence a transaction.”

“I see.”

From that alone, I could understand that Dondre paid close attention to the surrounding information. As a merchant, having information about your trading partner could make a significant difference in how they perceived you.

For example, if someone desired fish but you offered them meat, they were more likely to decline. However, if you already knew what the other person wanted, you could provide them with exactly what they desired.

Perhaps Dondre had done some research on me in advance and discovered my connection with Greg Trading Company. He might have predicted that I would eventually open a shop in the capital city. To prepare for that, he had procured a certain number of slaves and brought out the ones that matched my criteria at the right timing. The fact that my casual and nonsensical explanation worked was good evidence of this.

Furthermore, the fact that Liliere, who was the guild master in the Commercial Guild, introduced me to this Dondre Slave Trading Company also supported my speculation.

When establishing a new company within the Commercial Guild, employees were necessary. Therefore, new hires were required. And since most of Greg Trading Company’s employees were slaves, this information was not kept secret. Naturally, Dondre should be aware of it as well.

If it was already known that I wouldn’t hire employees through regular channels and would instead use slaves, gathering slaves that fit the criteria in advance would inevitably lead to great profits. That’s the conclusion I reached.

“You seem to be quite skilled as a merchant.”

“I am extremely grateful for your kind words.”

“For now, let’s start by taking about seven of them and see how it goes. The contractor is Machad here.”

“Huh? Wait, wait a minute, Rolando-sama!?”

Ignoring Machad’s surprised reaction, I proceeded with the procedures for acquiring the slaves.

“Aren’t you the one contracting, Rolando-sama?”

“I’m buying slaves to employ as staff for your shop, right? It’s obvious that Machad, the representative, should be the one contracting.”

“Well…”

Though Machad seemed perplexed by my reasonable words, it was already a decision that couldn’t be contested. When I hired slaves at Greg Trading Company, Greg showed a similar attitude to the current Machad. But now, even without my instructions, Greg voluntarily hired new slaves. So, when I visited Greg Trading Company without notice, I noticed unfamiliar faces among the employees.

However, I didn’t reprimand him for that. In fact, I believe that if Greg himself deemed it necessary, there should be no problem.

“Then, Machad-sama, let us proceed with the contract ceremony. Please come over here.”

“Y-Yes…”

Although still dissatisfied, Machad reluctantly followed Dondre’s instructions and conducted the slave contracts for all seven of them. As for the breakdown, there were two men and five women. Among the men, one had a fairly average face and a lean muscular build, while the other had a bulky, heavily muscular physique.

Regarding the women, three of the five had average looks and average bodies, while the remaining two were beautiful woman with a well-proportioned face and a plain-faced but voluptuous and glamorous woman.

“Thank you for contracting with us.”

“How much?”

“Alright, let’s settle for ten medium gold coins.”

“I see, that’s cheap. I’ll take it.”

“…This is a bit more than the usual amount.”

I paid fifteen medium gold coins, which is 1.5 times the amount Dondre had initially offered. The intention behind this was that there might be a shortage of manpower if things got busy in the future, and it was entirely possible to hire new slaves or take other measures.

That’s why I paid more than the regular amount, as a way of saying “thank you in advance” for the future. Dondre seemed to understand my intention and just smiled, saying, “Thank you very much.”

Now that we had acquired employees, I could start selling goods in the royal capital. While inwardly chuckling at the thought, I remembered something important.

(Come to think of it, I haven’t made a place for the slaves to live. Well, a single-story house will do for now.)

First, I purchased clothing for the slaves and then returned to the shop. Upon arrival, I handed a bag to Machad, which could only be used to retrieve specific items, and had the slaves help with arranging the items on the shelves.

During that time, I immediately built a villa for Machad and the slaves to live in and prepared the necessary furniture. The land I received from the king was three times the size of other shop properties, so there was plenty of room to build the villa for Machad and the others.

“Now, let me reintroduce myself. I’m Rolando, the investor, and owner of this shop. I’ve entrusted everything regarding this shop to Machad, so if there’s anything, please let him know. Also, I want to clarify that I didn’t buy you as slaves for unpaid labor. You are hired as employees, and you will be paid accordingly.”

Normally, slaves are treated as tools, and no compensation was given for their work. However, since they were hired as employees of the shop, just like at Greg Trading Company, I intended to pay them accordingly.

This seemed surprising to the slaves, as they wore puzzled expressions, but I decided to leave the detailed explanation to Machad.

“For now, let’s have lunch since it’s already noon.”

Saying that, I distributed the stored meals to the slaves and left the shop in Machad’s care, returning to my residence in Orargrand.