SWNOVELXO Chapter 17: Luna
As Pilemon had anticipated, hundreds of young men and women showed up at the outer yard of Notos Keep. The Notos guardsmen were mobilized in full force to maintain order and turn away opportunists who were clearly too old to be within the specified age-range.
Some tried to cause trouble after being turned away from the 'free money', but after a few of them were beaten up, none else dared to cause a scene in front of the guards.
Those who arrived were ordered to stand in neat rows for inspection. Anyone who didn't like it could leave, the Sword Saint Grant announced, though they would not receive the large copper coin. This led to the applicants quietly complying with the orders.
"Well?" Pilemon huffed and asked his son who stood next to him on the battlements of the Keep, "They are gathered neatly as you wanted. How are you going to select them now?"
Luke silently kept his eyes on the applicants, letting the A.I. Chip scan each one thoroughly.
Most of them had stats that varied around 0.8 - 1.2, which indicated the average of a regular untrained human. Some of them stood out with higher stats, either in their strength, agility, vitality or magic power. The A.I. Chip also displayed their age. While the younger applicants may have lower stats than their older counterparts, he could still judge their potential.
Luke started calling out numbers, based on the row and column they were standing in.
"Those whose number have been called, you may stay for the second stage of the selection. If your number was not called, you may leave the outer yard and collect one Large Copper Coin on the way out."
A majority of those whose numbers were not called let out a sigh of relief. Most of them were only here for a quick buck anyway. Though some let out disappointed groans.
"Wait a minute!" A muscular young man objected, "Can you tell us why only they get to stay? I bet I am stronger than any of them!"
The Notos guards frowned and moved towards removing the trouble maker until Luke stopped them.
"Hmph. I can tell just from a glance. You are diseased. Was my recruitment notice not clear? Healthy of body and free from affliction. Did you think you could hide it?"
The trouble maker's jaw slackened for a moment before he indignantly shot back, "What!? What disease!? I am as healthy as a bull!"
Luke's head tilted in surprise as he detected no trace of deception. "You are not aware? Well, consider it a noble's grace to now be informed then. Go seek a healer before the disease in your bones becomes worse."
From what he could recall, bone cancer was a painful way to go.
The muscular young man looked shell shocked, not really knowing how to react to the shocking news Luke just dropped on him. He was mutely removed from the field by the Notos guards.
There were 45 applicants remaining. These were the ones with the highest potential that Luke evaluated. Of course, what he was judging was not only potential but also whether they had the right mindset to work under him.
Amongst them was a cloaked figure hiding bunny ears under her hood, and a tall, muscular youth staring blankly into space.
The next step for Luke now was personally interviewing the remaining applicants. One by one they were ushered into a room where Luke was sitting at a table with a desk and an empty chair opposite.
Luna was the first to be interviewed. Luke had arranged them by order of their potential.
She entered the room and was momentarily stunned upon seeing Luke. Although he had been the one to call out her number and was the one giving out the orders most of the time, it was still surprising the child in front of her would be the one interviewing her.
With shoulder length auburn brown hair styled neatly into a small knot on the back of his head, Luke was draped in an elegant tunic with muted colours. The boy looked comfortable being in a position of authority.
"Please, take a seat." Luke gestured to the chair in front of him.
Luna silently complied, her eyes subtly darting around the room looking for potential exits and improvised weapons. Any weapons she brought with her, which was only a pair of daggers, had been confiscated before she came into the room.
"Now, I have forty-four more applicants to get through today, so I won't drag this out. I will start with a brief introduction. My name is Luke Notos Greyrat, son of the next Lord Notos Greyrat. The personal guards that are being hired will be commanded by me. Do you have any questions or objections up to this point?"
Luna shook her head and gestured for him to continue.
"Okay that's good. Now we will start the interview. What's your name and age?"
"Luna. Twelve." The bunny girl, still cloaked and hooded, answered.
Luke nodded, writing it down. "What special skills do you have, Luna?"
"...I am good at moving around silently and out of sight. I am handy with knives. I can pick locks and I can run faster than most adults."
Luna had debated if she should be honest. After all, having grown up on the streets and working for so many years in a thieves guild, her skill set mainly revolved around thievery. But somehow she had a feeling the noble boy in front of her could tell if she was lying, and if she wanted this job, she needed to be upfront about what she could do and how she could add value.
Luke gave a slight smile, "Are you involved with the Silent Hands?"
The bunny girl was momentarily frozen by the casual name drop of the Thieves Guild Firenze led. But upon second thought, she realized that a Thieves Guild could only operate in such a large city with the implicit endorsement from the ruling nobility.
She had only come to this realization after seeing a member of said ruling nobility so nonchalantly mention the name of the organized criminals she usually ran around with.
Luna suddenly felt a pit of cold dread settle in her stomach. Had she foolishly walked into a trap on her own volition? Was this nobleman going to hand over to Firenze while laughing about how stupid she was to have been so ignorant about the connection between outlaws and the law enforcers?
Her eyes quickly darted towards the window. They were on the first floor. She could jump out of the window and run over to the walls of the battlements in a few seconds. From there, her legs were strong enough to vault over the walls in a single leap. But she couldn't go back to the safehouse. The noble already had her name. He could just report it to Firenze after she left.
She would need to leave the city as soon as possible. But if the noble gave a heads up to the Silent Hands, she would not have enough time to make a clean getaway. So far she had only given her name to this boy in front of her, if she got rid of him…
Crack
Her thoughts were interrupted by Luke rapping his ring-bound finger on the mahogany table between them.
"Calm down. I can see your thoughts racing from here. Hold on, let me guess. You suddenly got freaked out after I mentioned the Silent Hands, that means you're probably associated with them in some way." Luke narrowed his gaze at her, and Luna suddenly felt a cold bead of sweat on the back of her neck.
Why? Even though she was a trained and experienced knife fighter, having even once had to kill a man before during a heist gone awry… How could this kid unnerve her with a mere gaze?
The Beast Race had sharper instincts than humans. And Luna had relied on her instincts on more than one occasion to get her out of a sticky situation. If her instincts were telling her to behave and bow down in front of a metaphorical predator… it was probably good to listen.
Luna silently nodded at Luke's correct assumption.
"Judging from your proclaimed skill set, you must be working with or for them, correct?" Without waiting for a confirmation, Luke continued, "You're young but skilled. You started out pretty early, huh? But you're here applying to be a personal guard, which means you're not happy with your current job, and you're scared that they would find out. Do they have something on you? Or is it just fear of that bunch of ragtag petty thieves?"
Luke leaned forward in interest, "Well? Is my guess right?"
Once more, Luna could only nod mutely in confirmation.
His smile widened and he sat back, seeming satisfied he had won his little guessing game. "So, miss Luna, can I assume that you are here seeking employment as a personal guard in order to come under the shade of our protection?"
Luna gritted her teeth, feeling frustrated that suddenly all of her secrets have seemingly been exposed in such a short time. She felt naked. Vulnerable. Not a feeling she enjoyed.
"...I shall take my leave. Please excuse me." Luna seethed in helplessness, and stood up from her chair.
Luke blinked in confusion, "Leave? But the interview has not concluded."
"It is pointless to proceed, isn't it? You wouldn't hire me after knowing all that." She forced out, turning her back from her interviewer.
At this point, Luke couldn't resist letting out a snicker, "And why's that? Do you think we, the Notos Greyrats, care about a bunch of hoodlums that have to kneel and beg for our blessing to conduct their business in our city?"
Luna widened her eyes at the casual disregard of an organization she had spent years living in fear of.
He continued, still with an amused smile on his face, "The leader of that group, what was his name, Firenze? Did you know he personally delivers a fat cut of his gang's proceeds to our family? He doesn't deliver it to us directly either, he only gets to meet the servant of our steward. And even then, he doesn't dare give anything but the utmost respect to the servant of my servant. Do you understand what I am getting at?"
The bunny girl slowly nodded. The figure of Firenze, the man she has had nightmares about, was just casually dismantled with mere words by the noble that was sitting relaxedly.
The authority of a noble house was not measured just by how much wealth they had or how many soldiers they could field. What they had, unlike other private organizations, was legitimacy! They had the backing of a King and an entire kingdom.
A Thieves Guild consisting of a few hundred petty thieves? What were they compared to an upper-class aristocracy like the Notos Greyrats? And Firenze himself would be like a plankton compared to the whale-like Greyrat heritage!
"I… I understand." She answered, her tense figure relaxing.
Luke then lifted an eyebrow, "So, miss Luna, do you still intend to leave, or shall we continue the interview?"
Luna quickly got back in her seat, and lowered her head respectfully, "I apologize for my hastiness. Please let us continue."
"Good." He nodded approvingly.
Luke wouldn't spend so many words on just anyone. From the A.I. Chip's scans, Luna had one of the highest potential of anyone he had ever met in this world since reincarnating. Her physical talent surpassed even his own with the help of the Knight Training Manual and breathing technique that enhanced his physique several folds.
[Beep! Target status updated!]
[Luna (Beast Race Leporidae Variant)]
Strength: 1.1
Agility: 4.9
Vitality: 0.8
Spiritual Force: ??
Magic Power: 265.2
A streetrat, lacking in proper nutrition and proper training. Yet, her Agility was higher than almost all of the trained guards of Notos Keep other than the three Saints.
(Natural stats ≠ stats enhanced by Touki. Luna's natural agility is higher than many guards' natural agility, but if these same guards use Touki, it will be higher.)
Her Magic Power, which he presumed had not undergone any training whatsoever, was high enough to comfortably qualify to be an Advanced-rank magician.
Yes, this lapine cutpurse was exactly a diamond in the rough that could be cut and polished to shine even more brilliantly.
The interview proceeded and concluded promptly. Luke didn't really care about whatever sob story Luna had. All he needed was an overview of her background, potential liabilities, weaknesses or leverage that could be used against him. In truth, Luna was a near perfect specimen for his purposes.
"Very good, I have all that I need from you, miss Luna." Luke said, finishing up the notes he had written on her. The notes weren't for his own use. Pilemon had requested it, for his own peace of mind that his son wasn't just randomly hiring just anyone off the street.
"And I am happy to state that I will be more than happy to hire you as my personal guard." Luke declared with a smile.
Luna reciprocated with one of her own. This was it, she could finally get out of her criminal lifestyle and also get out from underneath the thumb of Firenze!
"I accept! Thank you so much!" She lowered her head respectfully.
Luke chuckled, holding up a hand, "Well hold on, just for the record, I will reiterate your salary and benefits before you need to decide whether or not to accept."
"You will have a starting salary of 3 Silver Asura coins a month, your food and accommodation will be taken care of while under employment. You will receive proper training for the next few years, or until you are deemed qualified to be my personal guard. After your training has been completed, you will subsequently be bonded for five years."
"Bonded?" She asked.
"Meaning that if you decide to resign prior to completing five years of service, you will be expected to refund the cost of your training and any associated expenses. After five years you are free to tender your resignation with no strings attached." He explained.
"Oh, that's it?" Luna accepted the clarification indifferently. The contractual obligation to serve for at least five years was considered very lenient in this world. Most servants and guards for nobility, especially upper-class nobles like the Greyrats, were expected to serve for life after having received training. Of course they would be paid a salary, but resignations and freedom of career mobility just wasn't the cultural standard.
Especially so for more sensitive positions like stewards, majordomos, secretaries, guard captains or personal bodyguards, as the information they had access to were a lot more sensitive in nature. A steward working for the Notos family, for instance, couldn't just resign and go work for a rival noble house, free to spill the secrets of their previous employer.
Non-disclosure agreement? More like an implied threat to be permanently silenced for the sake of tying up loose ends.
In Luke's case, the 5 year timeframe was thrown out without much consideration. When he was through with his future employees, their loyalty to him would be absolute and unquestionable.
"Before we finalize the contract, do you have any questions for me up to this point?" Luke asked.
Luna bit her bottom lip and hesitated to ask, "About Firenze… what should I do?"
"That thug? What about him?"
"Well, do you need me to… take care of him?" Luna offered tentatively. She wanted to show her appreciation for the offer by immediately proving her worth to her new employer.
Luke's lips twitched. This girl was really amusing. "No need for that. He is easily replaceable, but he still has his uses for now. Once the contract is signed, a message will be sent informing him you are now under the Notos Greyrats' protection. If he's smart, he will leave it alone. If he's not, well… Like I said, he is disposable."
She breathed out a sigh of a mix of relief and disappointment. While Luna wasn't adverse to murder, she didn't exactly look forward to it. But at the same time, Firenze had extorted her for money for years with threats of violence and slavery. Some part of her had looked forward to putting an end to him, personally.
Luke saw the disappointment in her eyes and chuckled, "Heh, I can promise you this. When his usefulness has dried up, you can deal with that man however you like. Is that agreeable?"
Luna's eyes narrowed and she grinned, "That is more than acceptable… boss."