My agendas for the weekend had filled a page full. I wanted to spend the time in the new house where my mistresses and Eren were currently at, but I also needed to arrange matters concerning the shop as well as the supplies that would be needed to make the products to fill it. This meant I had to drop by Elion and confirm the status of the workers he'd chosen for the shop.

Since it was the nearest and most convenient to do at the moment, I decided to stop by the campsite in the outskirts of the Temple and walked towards the very enthusiastic crowd.

"Evy!"

"Evy!"

"Evy's here!"

"Hello, everyone," I said in the same tongue. I set down the ten boxes of pastries I pre-ordered from the nearby bakery, which should be just about enough for everyone—even leave a few extras—and entrusted it into the hands of the elder to be distributed around.

At some point, the Vertvaldenians had gotten used to my frequent snack drops whenever I came by that they all automatically came forward with enthusiasm.

"What flavor is it this time?" a kid bounced over, asking.

"Strawberry," I said, ruffling the messy hair. My guess was that they were playing around, so they were all messed up and dusty. It reminded me very much of the childhood I had in my past life. Living in the provinces, it meant we often lacked electronic gadgets to pass the time. The best way to wile the hours away were to climb trees and roll around on dirt.

"You know, Evyionne, you really don't have to do this every time," Elion said as he came over with a smile.

"I feel bad if I come empty-handed."

"No one will blame you for it," he told me. "Did you come over just to drop snacks or do you intend for something else along the way?" he asked teasingly.

I flipped a brow his way. "I think the answer to that is pretty obvious."

He ceased his jokes, flashing a big smile, then motioned for me to follow. "Come over, I'll introduce you."

Elion steered into the less crowded space in the camp while everyone busily pored over the snacks.

The jobs I had Elion fill in were mostly manual labor that did not need much communication ability. After all, the Vertvaldenians were still mostly challenged folks when it came to having to speak in the local tongue. Although on-the-job experience should provide them with some avenue to practice, I did not want to put them in uncomfortable situations.

I had already seen the spite that the residents have shown towards their people a couple of times before. I could not imagine what sort of discomfort they would have if they were to encounter unreasonable customers—and not be able to defend themselves simply because they did not know how to.

I needed, however, someone who could help with packaging, someone on handicrafts, someone on the actual products, and someone on inventory. I could pretty much understand the language, so it didn't matter if the records had to be made in another language. Written language did not come as smoothly as spoken one to me, so I still have to struggle a little with that.

The people Elion introduced were all very reliable people, and it seemed they were very skilled in their respective fields too. I feared for a moment that they would be doubtful considering my age, not to mention they were all much older than me. However, contrary to my expectations, there was none of that bias at all. I assumed it was because I was already quite intimately acquainted with everyone, hence they were not too resistant to me becoming their boss.

Seeing as they were very eager and looking forward to the job, I arranged for them to come by the next day to take a look at the shop. I planned on going after training tomorrow, so I gave them the time to meet up. I then pulled out the money I prepared and handed each one their compensation in advance.

"So soon?" they asked, surprised at the weight in their hands.

"This is what I like to call a signing bonus!" I said, lifting a finger to the sky with a wink. "So please make sure to take care of me and the shop, okay?"

"Absolutely!"

My new workers beamed up as bright as the afternoon sun and skipped off to their own business after expressing their profuse gratitude. After exchanging further pleasantries, I turned over to Elion and said, "Why didn't you offer a job to yourself?"

"Didn't you already pay me for the job of finding people for the job?" he pointed out, smiling wryly. "It didn't set well with me to hoard all the blessings to myself. The job is better off given to others. And I'm not very skilled in the areas you were requiring either."

"Well, you are the best one among the folks here when it comes to Lovardi," I said. In fact, I was very impressed with this thoughtfulness. Elion was either too naïve or just not greedy. Between the two, I felt inclined towards the latter. "Actually, I'm on my way to source out materials for the shop. Once I've decided on the places, I still need someone who can come and go fetch them."

"Are you offering me another job?" he asked, grinning.

"Well, I know you don't have a thick enough face to give yourself one," I replied.

Elion was someone I had very high hopes for, partly because he'd shown integrity and honesty towards everything he did. I felt he would be a very reliable person who I could leave the shop to when I couldn't be there—which would be very often. And considering his personality, he would definitely look after the others. Of course, the guy was still quite young, so anything managerial in nature would have to be handed to a capable adult, but I felt he had that unique charisma that could call people together if the situation called for it.

He was also young and robust. With a lot of energy. Shuttling around shops, perhaps for delivery or transportation of materials, should be the perfect job for him.

"I'm in. Do I get a bonus too?" he asked.

I pulled out a bag of money from my satchel and handed it over. "Thought you wouldn't ask!"

"Thank you!" His eyes brightened with the money and set it aside carefully. "With this, maybe renting a place shouldn't be too far off. The camp can be unbearably cold at night and unbearably hot in the evening," he told me.

It was indeed not the most comfortable place. The living conditions here were very limited.

"My mother and grandparents really cannot handle this," he continued.

I nodded. "Indeed. I hope the best for you. Shall we go now?" I finally spoke in Lovardi. "You know, in this job, you're most definitely going to have to talk to people, so from now on, let's talk like this."

"You...okay," he reluctantly followed. "This harder already."

"You'll get used to it in no time. You were already so much better when we exchanged lessons."

"You were better."

"No. Don't compare yourself to me, it's better to look at yourself and yourself alone in the learning process! People walk in different paces. If you keep looking at others, then you'll never see how far you've come yourself." My circumstances were special and did not require hard work at all. Having to compare hard work with someone who simply had fortune tended to have big damage to one's psyche.

Elion was amused. "You say."

It must sound weird speaking like this. It looked like a little kid lecturing an adult. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I decided to clamp my jaws shut and instead lead the way. Elion's laughter continued to resonate beside me that I was a little indignant.

I'd already made a list of the places where I could source out materials, some of them a little farther from the Temple. I was not very comfortable straying to unfamiliar places, so I decided I would keep much of my options within near the center where the business would be.

I hated huge crowds. I especially found them intolerable if I was out alone. Now that I had Elion with me, I was much more comfortable strolling about bargaining on prices. I had already written out the ingredients I would need for the first release. Considering the limits of my efforts at the moment, I decided to only release five scents at the same time. However, according to my previous plan, I would package them in different forms—oil, perfume, and incense.

The expected opening date was about half a month after I settled everything about the business. I would have to run everything through my mistresses to make sure I was doing them right. Admittedly, some of my ideas worked well in theory and were quite naïve when reality became involved. Hence, I still needed "adult" guidance.

For today's matters, I had to make ample preparations and research. I had to scout the average market price and find out the best quality to low-cost ratio I could find.

Elion was very patient with accompanying me in inquiring—even gave some very helpful suggestions.

By the time we were done, the whole morning had been spent. I was hot and tired and sought some cold drinks in the nearest restaurant to freshen up, then had launch with Elion along the way.

I encountered huge obstacles in my quest due to my age. Elion was not that much older either, not to mention the subtle racial discrimination made it quite hard to gain a footing in transactions. I had to flash some "security funds" as well as haggle for a fair price like an aunt in the market. It made me wish I brought either Mistress Veronika or Kora along.

After eating, we went back to the Temple. Elion and I parted ways here. I got up to fetch my harp, wrapped it in its little blanket, then proceeded to set out for the place where the mistresses were currently staying in.

Before going through the agreement with Kaiser, I had to ascertain a couple of things.

Before going through the agreement with Kaiser, I had to ascertain a couple of things. Obviously, the best people to consult would naturally be my capable mistresses.

"Evy! You finally came! Maun was pretty upset," Mistress Kora said, opening the door and greeting me in the corridor.

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. He wouldn't...talk to me..." he trailed off awkwardly. "Anyway, you go and talk. Have you eaten yet?"

"I just ate."

"Okay. Then there're some snacks in the kitchen. Come in to help yourself if you feel like it." He flipped back his long hair and strode off, long skirt swishing with his movements.

"Is Mistress Veronika in?"

"You need to talk?"

"Yes."

"I'll call her over," he told me. "Maun's in the living room."

I strode inside comfortably—and a little nervously, wondering where I went wrong this time. Maun was sitting on one corner with tools out, hacking away at a piece of wood. And I mean hacking away. It might just be some small sharp knife, but boy was he digging into that block so furiously.

"Maun?" I softly intoned.

He did not acknowledge me. I set down the harp on the floor and pulled over a pillow for my knees. "Did I do something?"

He looked up, cheeks puffed up in indignation. I opened my mouth to continue asking when these huge drops of tears started rolling down his cheeks. "Uh—wuuu."

Crap. What did I do this time?