The Otherworld Antique Bookstore is a Life-Risk Chapter 14

 

Chapter 14: Now Hiring

 

It's Yuki here.

Today is the day when everyone I've called to help clean up the books for the capital's main store renovation will gather. They're all from the orphanage, and everyone is supposed to meet in front of the store at the sound of the first bell at noon.

So, I wake up with the morning bell and head to the commercial district.

My first objective is to obtain passes for the orphanage children to freely move in and out of the warehouse district, as it's an important area where each merchant stores their goods.

I successfully got the passes issued at the warehouse district office, but they told me some stories about our warehouse.

Apparently, it's called the "Ghost Warehouse," with strange noises heard at night and sightings of ghost carriages being sucked into it.

They probably told me this to scare me, but I have an idea of what's causing it, so I just stared at them blankly, creating an awkward atmosphere.

"Ghost Warehouse," huh? I hope the orphanage children won't be scared...

Next, I went to the workshop district. My second objective for the day was to pick up the store uniforms I had measured for earlier.

I received two types of uniform designs: one for general employees and one for supervisors and above. I immediately changed into the general employee uniform. I changed here to check the ease of movement and comfort of the uniform while traveling.

I packed my own clothes and a self-defense weapon into my bag, slung it over my shoulder, and carried the wrapped supervisor uniform in both hands. I bought the self-defense weapon thinking it might be necessary for the trip to the "Tower of the Fallen Kingdom's Witch."

Following the butler Yuk's advice, I got a big knife like what a dandy cowboy hunting crocodiles in Australia might carry. It's quite heavy.

I reached the central square just as the noon bell started ringing.

I wanted to check on the results of the employee recruitment at the Commerce Guild, but I postponed it and headed to the store where everyone was waiting.

People passing by all turned to look at me. Well, of course, this light blue uniform with frills looks like something a princess would wear. The stares are a bit intense, but I'll ignore it.

 

Ten children from the orphanage and two girls I had scouted as potential employees were already standing in front of the store. It seems Mr. Tubai has already gone inside.

Two carts have been placed on time as well. Thank you, Mr. White.

"Good morning, everyone."

"Good morning, Miss Yuki."

Aww... The children's eyes are sparkling as they call me "Miss Yuki." This is too much. It's so adorable.

But this form of address isn't appropriate for a professional setting. In this world, store owners are called "proprietor," but I prefer a more familiar term.

"Please call me 'Manager' instead of Miss Yuki. Okay?"

"Yes, Manager."

Aww, that's perfect!

"Now, let me explain your work for today."

I told the ten children that their job was to use the two carts to transport books from inside the store to the warehouse in the warehouse district, and I handed them the passes for entry and exit. I explained that they should load books without strings that Mr. Tubai has appraised, and that if they show their pass at the warehouse district office and ask for "White Trading Company's book warehouse," they'll be told where to take them.

I told them to work hard transporting books until the evening bell rings, then turned to speak to the two girls who are potential employees. Their names are Nagi and Fuyu.

They look quite mature, so adding "-chan" doesn't seem to fit. Yeah, let's go with just Nagi and Fuyu.

"I'll explain your work, so shall we go to the store's basement?"

I said this and we went to the basement, but something seems off about the two of them. They're fidgeting and seem restless.

"Um, Manager. Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Manager, do you work wearing such a princess-like dress?"

"This is the store's uniform. Everyone who works here will wear one."

"Eh?!"

Both of them exclaimed in surprise, but it doesn't seem like they dislike it. They're interested.

"I have another one here. Do you want to try it on?"

"Yes!"

From there, we entered dress-up time.

They're wearing the higher quality supervisor uniform, which looks almost the same as mine - a light blue-based maid outfit with decorations. I had them put on white long socks to complete the look.

"It's a bit tight in the chest and loose around the waist, but it's fine."

Ugh...

"Nagi, you look cute."

Since there are no mirrors, Fuyu, who's watching Nagi wear it, seems more impressed. Yeah, it suits her and she looks cute.

Next, Fuyu wears the uniform and Nagi squeals in delight.

"We want to work here. Please let us work!"

Huh? We haven't even discussed salary or working conditions yet.

It's true that being a noble's servant is one of the dream jobs for girls, and the black maid uniform is a symbol of that. That's why I designed this uniform. A maid uniform is meant to enhance the master, but this uniform is designed to emphasize the presence of the store staff, so it's overwhelmingly cuter.

But these two, falling for just the uniform... They're such girls.

I explain their job duties again.

I instructed them that this basement will be used as a storage for replenishment books, so they should stack books with red strings in front for later shelving, and books with black strings in the back for replenishment after the grand reopening.

"It's just the two of you for now, but we'll hire a few more people later, so do your best for now."

"Yes!"

That's a good response. It's great that they're working with enthusiasm.

When I went to check on Mr. Tubai, he was still struggling with sorting books in the mountains of books on the third floor. I did give him quite a difficult task.

My next job is to secure the remaining employees. I'd like to have three more.

I told them I'd be back by the evening bell and headed to the Commerce Guild.

My thinking was naive. There were apparently inquiries because the salary is quite good, but everyone seemed to have given up because the conditions were too strict.

Recruiting women who can do advanced arithmetic was quite reckless.

But the guild people had kept records of the applicants, so I thought I'd actually meet and talk with them. It would be a shame to lose people who wanted to work for us.

I decided to consider holding study sessions at the store to train them in arithmetic and advanced arithmetic ourselves.

As I was leaving the Commerce Guild, someone called out to me. It was Mr. Huey, a self-proclaimed drifter belonging to the vigilante group.

"I heard you'd gone out when I went to the store, so I hurried to catch up."

"What's the matter?"

"Berga sis asked the vigilante group for a favor. She said it's dangerous for a naive young lady to wander the streets alone, so she wanted someone to accompany you. That's why I'm here."

I see. I have indeed caused various troubles. Bergana was looking out for me. She's probably still sleeping in the mansion while I'm busy working, so I can't exactly call her a good boss, but I should be grateful.

Besides, with Mr. Huey here, we should be able to quickly find the homes of the people we're going to visit.

The first place we visited was the daughter of an established trading company.

She's about to get married and leave home, but apparently her father suddenly became interested in education and started being strict with her. It seems she wanted to escape that environment until her wedding day.

She thought that if she worked at the White Trading Company store, her father wouldn't be able to interfere.

I'm sorry, but you're not hired.

I think this is her father's love, trying to teach her some of life's harshness before sending out his pampered daughter into the world.

The next place we visited was the home of a woman named Natalia.

She lost her husband early on and now lives with her elderly mother-in-law and three small children. Naturally, they rely on Natalia for income. She works at a night bar to support the family, but was looking for a job that pays better than piecework during the day.

To cut to the chase, I hired her.

While "complicated situations" involving crime are problematic, "complicated situations" like family circumstances actually score very high points with me.

In my previous life, I saw many hiring managers who avoided people just because they had "complicated situations," but when I hired part-timers for my store, I prioritized those with "complicated situations."

That's because such people have often faced unreasonable rejections elsewhere, and when someone finally hires them, they tend to work very hard out of a sense of gratitude. They also know how difficult it would be to find another job if they lost this one, so they don't run away when problems arise but try to protect their job.

That's why I can entrust them with responsible work.

Her mother-in-law seems to be able to look after the three children, and since we're introducing a two-day weekend system, she won't end up completely unable to see her children due to being immersed in work.

In this world where working full-time without days off is the norm, I'm not creating days off to spoil the employees.

Working is like running a marathon with no goal. If you keep pushing without rest, you'll collapse, and it's also problematic if people slack off to avoid collapsing.

Work at full power on workdays and take proper rest. I believe this balance is what produces good work.

In my previous life, there were companies that created an atmosphere where "people who do overtime are praiseworthy," but I don't recommend that. I don't have a single good memory of overtime.

In this way, with Mr. Huey's guidance, we visited several places and somehow managed to hire the remaining two people.

One is Ms. Flam, who had married into a village in the countryside but got divorced and returned to the capital.

The other is Miel, who fled with her mother from the neighboring kingdom of Garnets to the capital of the Calito Kingdom to stay with relatives.

Miel's father is a soldier in the Garnets Kingdom. She's 13 years old and becoming independent, but if she leaves her mother, their family will truly be scattered. So she wanted to find work in the capital at all costs, which is why I hired her.

Since I need help at the store immediately, I arranged for all three to come to the store starting tomorrow.

I originally wanted to hire a man as a potential store manager candidate with future expansion in mind, but in this world, the more skilled the job, the more it's recognized as "men's work," and working at an unfamiliar place like a used bookstore seems to be viewed quite lowly even among merchant employees.

That's why only women applied for this recruitment.

"It's finally over~"

Mr. Huey was smiling as he watched me stretch.

Thank you for your hard work too, Mr. Huey, for waiting outside the whole time during the interviews.

On the way back to the store, I noticed several groups of rough-looking people running around searching for something.

"Mr. Huey, did something happen?"

"Ah, apparently several thugs from the slums have disappeared recently. That's why these guys are on edge. It's probably something like a conflict between rival groups."

"Even bad people have it tough, huh?"

"Both good and bad people are desperately living each day. If the country became more prosperous, maybe such things would disappear."

"Oh? Even you think about such things, Mr. Huey?"

"What's that supposed to mean? I just thought it'd be nice if even the people in the slums could eat their fill every day. I don't know how to make that happen though."

I parted ways with Mr. Huey in front of the main store in the capital. Time to check on the progress of the work.

Hmm, the store interior is being cleaned up at a pretty good pace. At this rate, we might be able to bring in the craftsmen earlier than planned.

I join Nagi and Fuyu in helping to carry books to the basement. We work hard until the evening bell, and that concludes today's work.

I send everyone else home and wait alone in front of the store for the orphanage children to return with the empty carts.

The children return, frolicking.

"Weren't you scared of the ghost warehouse?"

"There were no ghosts. It was boring."

My worries were dismissed just like that. Actually, there are lots of amazing things in the back of the warehouse, but that's a secret.

Their wages for transporting goods are to be paid directly to the orphanage. So in exchange for the returned passes, I give them four silver coins as a treat. With this, the ten children can each eat two skewers that cost two iron coins.

"See you tomorrow."

The orphanage children waved energetically and left in response to my words.

Now, all that's left is to move these carts to the back of the store, and my work is done.

No, no, it's not over.

Tomorrow I'll be discussing interior construction and expansion with the craftsmen. I need to prepare a basis for that discussion. Though I plan to leave most of it to them. Sigh, somehow the busyness of work hasn't changed from my previous life.

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