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The following day, after finishing his classes and grabbing a quick meal, Caelan arrived at the store to find more than a dozen people already waiting by the counter.
He sensed immediately that they weren't here to play games.
"Boss, they're all here to apply for jobs. Some of them have been waiting since this morning," Oliver whispered, leaning in close.
Caelan nodded slowly.
He had anticipated that the recruitment notice would attract attention, but he hadn't expected such a massive turnout all at once.
Just as he was about to address the crowd, Jaren walked up to him. Caelan pulled both employees aside and asked quietly, "Let me ask you... is the salary I offered actually that high?"
"Ah? I don't know," Oliver said, looking surprised. "My mother and sister just told me to listen to you, Boss, and work hard."
"Uh, this is the first job I found after I had to stop adventuring," Jaren admitted, scratching his head.
Right. Asking these two is pointless.
Looking at the growing crowd of applicants, Caelan rubbed his temples. He only wanted to hire two waiters and one cleaner, but there were already over a dozen people here.
Is the pay really that crazy? Other shop assistants usually get around 150 silver marks, right?
After a moment of thought, he leaned down and gave Oliver a few instructions. Oliver immediately ran off to execute them, while Caelan walked toward the empty expansion area.
Tables and chairs were already set up there, though not yet in use. They would serve perfectly for the interviews. It would be too crowded to handle this at the main counter.
Caelan cleared his throat and called out: "Everyone here for the job application, please come over to this section."
With a sudden rustle of movement, more than forty people surged forward from various corners of the shop.
Caelan jumped. Holy crap.
It turned out that a large portion of the crowd had been pretending to watch the games while waiting.
Very good. Caelan immediately activated his mind palace, marking the faces of the dozen or so people who had patiently waited at the counter. He planned to prioritize them later.
"Please, find a seat," he instructed.
Caelan walked to the corner he had reserved for his future office. From a wooden cabinet, he retrieved a stack of white paper and several quill pens made from unknown bird feathers. He distributed them to the applicants.
Once everyone was seated with paper before them, Caelan projected the required information directly from his mind onto the nearby wall using a minor illusion.
"Please fill in your details according to the format above. I will select suitable candidates based on your responses."
The glowing text on the wall read: Name, Gender, Age, Address, Family Situation, Previous Work Experience, Willingness to Work Night Shifts.
"Boss... I can't read," someone called out timidly.
Immediately, several others echoed the sentiment.
Caelan paused, realizing his mistake. About half the room was illiterate. He was still operating on the habits of his previous life, forgetting that compulsory education didn't exist here. Even Ella and Oliver had only learned to read because a kind neighbor had taught them.
"Oh, alright then. Those who can read, please fill in your information. Those who cannot, please queue up here. I will interview you personally."
Although he hadn't originally intended to hire illiterate staff, Caelan decided to give them a chance. If someone had good character, he would consider them.
With his mind palace active, Caelan's observation skills were razor-sharp. It was a pity the Weave had so severely weakened the Illusion School; otherwise, with his current understanding of magic, he could have simply hypnotized them to ensure truthful answers.
More than twenty people obediently lined up.
The first applicant was a man in his mid-twenties.
"Name?"
"Ma... Marcus of House Mulberrytree."
"Gender... Alright, pretend I didn't ask that. How old are you?"
"Twenty-four."
"Where do you live?"
It didn't take long to question twenty people. Caelan didn't need to take notes; his mind palace recorded every detail instantly.
By the time he finished the verbal interviews, the literate group had finished writing. Caelan collected their papers, noting many misspelled words and awkward phrases, but he said nothing. He instructed everyone to wait.
Returning to the counter, he checked the stock. There were quite a few snacks stored underneath—meat pies and bread mostly.
Caelan had Oliver distribute the food to the applicants and pour everyone a drink. He settled the bill with the clerk who had delivered the food, then hopped onto a stool behind the counter.
Watching the surprised expressions of the job seekers as they received free food, Caelan sighed inwardly.
He began the screening process in his mind, enveloping the room with his mental energy.
He gave priority to two groups: those who had waited patiently at the counter, and those who were literate. Waiters didn't need immense physical strength, but basic health was essential. Cleaners, however, needed stamina.
Three candidates were quickly selected. They all lived nearby, were in good health, and seemed to have honest characters.
Caelan planned to announce the results after they finished eating.
As he watched them eat, his mental energy picked up on a specific detail: a few applicants were secretly hiding their meat pies, wrapping them up instead of eating them.
Cross-referencing their interview data, Caelan realized they likely had children at home.
After a brief internal debate, Caelan decided to expand the hiring pool. He selected three additional people—specifically the three who seemed to be living the hardest lives. He couldn't be sure who needed the job the most, but for now, he would trust his intuition.
Having made his decision, Caelan idled the time by engraving a few runestones while they finished their meal.
Once the food was gone, he walked over to announce the results.
The six successful applicants were overjoyed, while those whose names weren't called were visibly deflated. However, their disappointment didn't last long.
"For those who were not selected," Caelan announced loudly, "you will each receive three silver marks as compensation for your time."
The room buzzed. Caelan's action was, if not unheard of, extremely rare. No one in the arcade had ever encountered such a thing. The rejected applicants were immediately comforted.
This boss is the real deal!
Not only did he feed them, but he also paid them for merely showing up.
The gamers in the arcade witnessed this scene as well. Most were students from Crimson Academy, and they were equally amazed. The general opinion of Caelan skyrocketed; many now viewed him as a truly benevolent figure.
Of course, a small minority felt he was being hypocritical and buying favor, but that was inevitable. It takes all kinds to make a world.
Caelan didn't care about the optics. He sent away the rejected applicants and turned to his six new hires.
He first addressed the two older women he had hired as cleaners.
"You two will work together for the first two days to get familiar with the routine. After that, you will split into two shifts: 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM and 8:00 PM to 8:00 AM, rotating every half month. Your job is to keep the shop spotless, especially the restrooms. If they get dirty or smelly, clean them immediately."
The two women nodded vigorously.
Caelan then turned to the four new waiters—two men and two women—who were looking at him nervously.
Caelan smiled. "No need to be so tense. You're all older than me, anyway. For the next two days, you will shadow the senior employees"—he pointed to Oliver, Jaren, and Ella—"and let them teach you the basics."
"After classes end this week, I will announce that the shop is switching to twenty-four-hour operations. At that point, the seven of you waiters will be divided into three shifts: Morning (8 AM - 6 PM), Mid-Day (1 PM - 11 PM), and Night (10 PM - 8 AM). One person will always be on standby for holidays or rotation."
"Alright, come here and record a fingerprint... just press any finger on this runestone. Once that's done, go find the senior staff."
PLZ THROW POWERSTONES.