“Whew, talk about a struggle. It was tough stopping that one girl from coming to your room with that look on her face. She was all ‘Not only did he save our lives, but he healed wounds that would have only gotten worse…’” Shemel told me the next morning while I was washing my face.
“Nicely done. Good job,” I said.
“Yeah, well, it’d be a problem considering I hadn’t gotten permission for that sort of thing from Her Majesty, the prime minister, or the head court mage.”
“You’d have let her through if you’d had permission?”
“Sure.”
“Seriously…?”
I had no idea which of the eight women had tried to approach me, but I really wanted them to focus on recovering. I didn’t need them to be doing that kind of stuff.
“But y’know, you’re kinda partly at fault, Boss.”
“How so?”
“You do all these good deeds and never ask for anything in return. That’s really compassionate and all, but have you ever thought about how the recipients feel? It’d be one thing if they all shrugged it off, but you gotta remember there are people out there who will feel indebted to you.”
“Yeah, I mean, sure.”
“Exactly. And for people like these women, the only way they have to repay your kindness is with their bodies. And fortunately for them, you’re a man, get me?”
“Urgh…”
I hadn’t considered that.
“But I mean, considering what happened yesterday…what do you think I should do?”
“Well, they’re trying to pay you back, so give them another way to. Ask them to work for you or somethin’.”
“For me, huh?”
It wasn’t that simple. None of the work I’d done so far really required personal staff. The harpies were a unique case.
“Hmm, I get it. Work for me, eh?”
Still, when I thought about it, I had a plethora of reasons to go into the city for matters related to the Merchant Union and the Adventurers’ Guild, but the recent assassination attempt made leaving the castle riskier going forward. Having reliable people I could send into the city as my eyes and ears might be really useful. They’d need to at least be able to read, write, and do simple arithmetic. There might also be social-status complications to consider.
“I don’t think I can conjure a quick fix, but I’ve got a direction to go in.”
“S’that so?” Shemel asked, a smile forming on her lips.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Heya, everyone. Good morning.”
“Good morning!” the women chorused in response.
After getting ready, I gathered everyone for breakfast. I’d told them the night before that I wanted to eat together this morning.
“First up is breakfast. Once you’re done eating, I’d like you to try on the clothes I made for you. I’ve got cloth and sewing tools here, so if you want to make adjustments or even sew something of your own, feel free. And if there’s anything else you need, tell me. Don’t hesitate to ask, I can get most things for you.”
The women exchanged uncertain looks, probably because it didn’t look like I had all that much stuff with me.
“The boss here is the one who built this whole base. He’s like a mage who can make anything out of thin air.”
“Not anything. Only stuff I’ve got the materials for.”
“That’s pretty much anything, Boss!”
The women still looked confused, but I decided to save the explanations for later.
“For now, let’s eat. Thanks for the food.”
And so we began breakfast. Today’s menu was wheat porridge, sausage, and pickled cabbage. If I’d added some steamed potatoes, it might’ve passed for something straight out of Germany. Then again, maybe that was just my bias talking.
“There’s plenty of food to go around, so eat your fill,” I encouraged them once again.
“A-all right…”
The large meat sausages must’ve looked like luxury food to the women; they hesitated to take a bite. But once I served them onto their plates, they finally dug in.
I’ve got plenty. Eat up!
“I’m sorry to spring this on you while you’re eating,” I said after a moment, “but I’d like to talk about what comes next.”
The women froze mid-bite, tension rising in their eyes.
Don’t worry, ladies. There’s no need for concern.
“I mentioned arranging housing for you in Merinesburg, but if you’d prefer, you could also work for me directly. I still need to run this by Her Majesty, but right now, I don’t have any personal staff, you see. I’ve been sent out to build pioneer villages, but once I return to Merinesburg, I’ll have to coordinate a lot with the Merchant Union, the Adventurers’ Guild, and other organizations in the city. The problem is, after the recent assassination attempt, I can’t exactly wander into the city anymore. So I’d love to have people who could go in my stead.”
The women stopped eating, eyes fixed on me in silent attention.
Urgh, having so many eyes on me is making it hard to keep talking…
“If Her Majesty grants me permission, I could hire you all directly and have you serve as my arms and legs. Basically, you’d be my secretaries. More practically speaking, you’d be running errands for me, but if that’s okay with you, I’d like you to consider my offer. Oh, and if I remember correctly, the harpies have been struggling to look after the kids, yeah?” I turned to Egret, looking for her answer.
“That’s correct,” Egret piped up. “Someone always needs to be watching them.”
“Then if working as a secretary ends up being too difficult, I was thinking some of them could help out as nursery school teachers of sorts. What do you think?”
“I think that is a fine idea,” she replied. “Just having someone to look after the kids during the day would be a huge help for us.”
“There you have it. I know I said I’d prepare lives for you all, but not knowing what that actually means can be pretty anxiety-inducing, right? So for now, I wanted you girls to know what I have in mind. Of course, I can also introduce you all to other lines of work if you’d prefer. I am the king consort, after all,” I explained, puffing out my chest.
All hail the king consort! All hail feudalism!
Having authority in this world meant being able to make things happen, even those that sounded impossible. Fortunately, I had authority, money, and material resources, so I could make most things happen.
“That’s all for now. Once you finish eating, it’s time to have fun picking out clothes. I’ve also arranged it so you can take a bath whenever you want, so after you’ve chosen a look you like, it might be nice to relax in the water,” I said before taking a bite of sausage.
Mm. Delish.