I turned to Dhoran. “Well...what do you say?”
He nodded. “She’s motivated for sure. I don’t mind takin’ ’er under my wing.”
He’d been scrutinizing her since we’d entered the shop and, after hearing her enthusiastic speech, he seemed willing to let her join the team.
Next, I looked at Pola and Lycian. “Girls, do you think you’ll be able to get along with her?”
“Engineers express themselves through their skills. Magic artificers do so through their creations,” Pola said matter-of-factly.
Lycian nodded thoughtfully. “It’s important to not only be inventive but also have the skills to bring those inventions to life.”
Despite the pragmatism of their comments, it felt to me like the two of them were happy to welcome a new member to their squad. A creative genius and a genius of hard work... Now imagine adding a reincarnator with the memories of her past life to the mix. I was excited to see what kind of creations the three of them would come up with.
“Um, I told you I can’t work for you...” Rina said, stopping us before we got too excited.
“That aircraft you saw isn’t just any aircraft—it’s an airship. Well, it’s actually a flying boat, if you want to get technical. The engineer who built it is Dhoran right here, while Pola made the interior. It even has a space-expansion enchantment that makes it much larger inside than it seems on the outside. And it belongs to yours truly. So? What do you say? If you agree to join us, you’ll even get to ride on it within the next few da—”
“I’ll join you!” Rina interrupted me. “I’ll go anywhere if I can study under the master who made that airship.”
Well, that was fast. We hadn’t even talked about the salary yet.
“Perfect. I’ll hire your employee too. Well, if she’s interested, that is, so how about we discuss the terms of your contracts over dinner?” I suggested.
I was glad Rina had ended up accepting my offer, but I had definitely not expected the airship to be what won her over. Monsieur Luck had been making himself scarce lately, but it looked like he was finally back in business.
Dhoran was about to have his hands full with an apprentice, so I made a mental note to ensure he got the rest he deserved. I glanced at him, a sheepish smile on my face, and saw him pressing his palm to his forehead. He must’ve reached the same conclusion I had.
“Sure. I’ll go get ready. Nanya, you’re coming with us,” Rina called to her employee, who had just returned from the back room and was now manning the register.
A look of surprise registered on the girl’s face. “But what about the shop?”
“We’ll close early for today. I’m going to do something very important, and I want you to come with me. I’ve finally found my master,” Rina announced.
The employee gasped before giving a vigorous nod. “Yes, ma’am!”
Yup, sure enough, she’s already begun calling Dhoran “master.”
More impressive, though, was how readily her employee agreed to come with us given how little information Rina had offered her. It looked like the two of them had a lot of trust in each other.
“I’ll be right back!” Rina told us determinedly.
“Um, sure,” I replied, taken aback by her sudden transformation. She had gone from quiet and reserved to a confident business owner in the blink of an eye. I assumed it was because she now saw me as a potential collaborator and not a customer, but it still gave me a bit of whiplash.
I really don’t understand women, I thought, puzzled, while waiting for the pair to return.