BVSSA 11

2. I’ve Become a Full-Time Employee

I tossed and turned all last night. So, I decided to do the perfect thing for when you can’t sleep: “They said they’d pay 50 gold per assembled quill, right? That’s ten thousand gold earned.” I worked a side gig. After assembling two hundred quills, I realized I had gained something else besides ten thousand gold. “La Mar really is a great workplace.” It was company loyalty. “La Mar can’t go bankrupt before I pay off all my debts. Well, and I suppose Arden shouldn’t go down with it either.” Of course, I couldn’t bring myself to love Arden too, but it was certain that I had developed an affection for my paycheck—no, for the merchant guild. Yesterday, I combined my three-million-gold celebratory bonus with the two million gold I already had on hand and wired this month’s interest payment. If it hadn’t been for that bonus, I would have had to assemble sixty thousand quills. Even if I plucked every single goose in the capital, there wouldn’t have been enough feathers.

“…….”

Before stepping out of the house with the box of quills, I looked back and stared at the jewelry box resting on one corner of my desk. Inside lay a large, glossy pearl and a few smaller ones, yet an empty slot made the box look hollow.

“Ilian, come here for a moment…….”

These were the keepsakes left behind by my mother, who passed away fourteen years ago when I was six. Even when my circumstances grew desperately grim, I would have rather sold the house than touch my mother’s mementos. The only reason an empty space remained was…‘Because my gambler of a father ran off with one of them.’ It was a pendant necklace set with pearls and sapphires that my mother had placed around my neck herself.

“Just you wait until I find you.”

That was one of the reasons I was searching for my father, and one of the reasons I was paying off this debt. I was told my father hadn’t even made it far before being caught by the loan sharks. The debt collectors had even been kind enough to show me a photograph—proof to ensure I would keep paying off the debt.‘He’s probably doing hard labor in some mine somewhere.’ If that were all, however, I might have given up long ago. From the very beginning, I never expected the necklace to still be in his possession. He had either sold it off, pawned it, or had it confiscated by the loan sharks—one of the three. The reason I was still relentlessly tracking down my father was…….

“Ilian, there is something you must know when you turn twenty. I’ve told your father, cough, so…….”“M-Mom!”

It was because of my mother’s dying words. Of all the things to run off with, how could he flee without even passing on the final message a mother left for her daughter?‘Of course, I couldn’t trust the loan sharks, so I saved up money bit by bit to hire the information guild, though nothing came of it—probably because the commission fee was too low.’ In any case, once I find out those two things, I will never have anything to do with my father again. I wondered if that sounded heartless, but he was the one who abandoned his family first just to save his own skin.

“I’m heading out.”

I gave a small wave to the jewelry box as if it were my mother. On my way to La Mar after dropping off the box of quills at the employment agency, I recalled the original novel’s plot details and the plans I had scribbled down on paper while testing out the quills. At this point, what I needed to do was crystal clear.

Goal: Ensure La Mar runs ‘smoothly’ and ‘legally,’ at least until my debts are paid off.

It would have been nice to aim for ‘Arden’s rehabilitation’ or ‘world peace,’ but those weren’t dreams meant for a mere extra like me. If I could just protect the peace of my bank account, that would be enough. However, this goal—which at a glance looked like merely maintaining the status quo—was no easy feat.

※ In other words: Stop Arden from doing bad things from now on.

Because that meant somehow guiding a man whose hobby was scheming and whose specialty was covert operations onto the straight and narrow. The one silver lining was that I possessed knowledge of the future.‘First, I need to gain access to Arden’s schedule and the authority to adjust it. That’s step one.’ The problem was that Arden didn’t only have a ‘merchant guild’ schedule.‘There’s no way he’ll reveal right away that La Mar also operates as an information guild.’ Until he deemed me trustworthy, La Mar’s true nature would remain a secret.‘Until Arden tells me himself, I’ll pretend I don’t know anything and just do a great job with the standard trading guild work as instructed. If I keep at it, an opportunity will come, right?’ I planned to build up his trust step by step.

“Hello, Director. Good morn—” “Let’s step into my office.”

At least, that had been the plan.

“Miss Grecia. As of today, you have become a full-time secretary, so there is something you need to know.”

Wait, what is going on…….

“We are not an ordinary merchant guild. What I mean is, cargo isn’t the only thing loaded onto La Mar’s ships.” “…….” “What La Mar deals in can sometimes be secrets, sometimes intangible value. Or, at times, even people.”

My plan was shattered in five minutes flat. Am I dreaming right now…….

“Any questions?”

Arden—who had just abruptly exposed La Mar’s true nature to a secretary on her second day of work—asked with a completely deadpan expression.

A short while earlier. Having arrived at the office early, Arden answered a knock at the door without even lifting his head. “Come in.” “It’s Luth—yessir.” Entering awkwardly, Luther cleared his throat with a small cough. “I’m here to report on the Jeremy matter. We dumped him near Crimson.” “And their reaction?” “Their employees spotted him on their way to work and made a ruckus, so the ‘Chairman’ came out to see what was going on and nearly had a heart attack. After that, he personally dragged the still-unconscious Jeremy inside.” Luther shrugged his shoulders. “We also neatly folded the dummy safe deposit box contract Lennox found and tucked it into Jeremy’s pocket, so by now they’ve probably figured out that Jeremy wasn’t doing the job they hired him for and was just embezzling money.” “I see. Good work.”

It was rare for Arden to say ‘good work.’ Luther replied bashfully. “Oh, I didn’t do much, haha. By the way, when do you plan on dealing with Crimson? Sending a spy directly into our ranks definitely crossed the line…….” “Well.” When Arden spoke like that, it meant he already had a plan in place. The timing to execute it simply hadn’t arrived yet. “For now, it is advantageous for La Mar to have a company that ‘looks like a rival.'” “Ah, right. Because we shouldn’t stand out too much.” “Besides, aren’t you curious?” About what? Luther was about to ask back, only to be met with a smile from Arden that was far more terrifying than his usual expressionless face. “About what Crimson—who failed even after planting a spy—will try to pull next.” “…….” “Which is why I intend to wait. Ideally, I hope they do something unexpected. I have a use for it.”

Even for Luther, who had watched him for a long time, it was impossible to tell whether Arden was joking or being serious. In the first place, did anything ‘unexpected’ ever happen to Arden? Ah, there had been one instance recently. Just yesterday, in fact.“Well, I didn’t expect this.” It had been when they saw Ilian and Jeremy grappling in a fistfight.‘Though, to be fair, who could have possibly predicted that?’ Recalling both the Ilian from that moment and the Ilian who had smiled so brightly in front of her run-down house, Luther cautiously spoke up.

“Um, Director.” “Speak.” “It’s about the new secretary.”

Arden, whose eyes had been glued to his documents the entire time, lifted his head for the first time. The only reason Luther had escorted Ilian all the way home was because Arden had ordered him to.‘Did he do it because he suspects she’s a spy and was afraid she might slip away to another path on the way home?’ Or was it because, spy or not, an employee was still an employee, and he was worried she might suffer aftereffects from the physical brawl? Arden’s true intentions were unreadable, but Luther ultimately felt glad he had visited Ilian’s home. Truthfully, he never would have thought to walk her home on his own. As Luther hesitated, opening and closing his mouth, Arden asked coldly.

“Well?” “Her house was shockingly run-down. Like, seriously bad.”

……That’s it? Arden wore a look suggesting he had wasted his time waiting, so Luther hurriedly added, “W-well, there’s that too, but honestly, there’s something else that’s been bothering me.”

Arden’s pen came to a dead stop. He asked in a low voice, “Something bothering you, you say. What is it?”