The Flying Emporium

“This is where I live. Or lived until recently.”

‘Being an adventurer is that lucrative, huh?’ Severin could hardly believe what he was seeing. And that was even before he had seen the full extent of it.

Mylana pushed open the ornamental entrance gate; moments later, they walked through a lush garden, well-maintained garden so expansive it made Severin forget he was currently in the middle of Malcos’ capital and not visiting a remote country estate.

But what he didn’t forget was to question, “Why did you bring me here? Didn’t you say we-”

Severin didn’t get to finish. The mansion itself came into view and the sight made him momentarily lose his voice again. Not only that, but at the same time the duo was spotted by a servant manning his post in front of the house.

Immediately upon recognizing the master of the estate had returned, the man approached them as fast as the decorum of someone in his position allowed him to.

“Madam! What a pleasant surprise.” Greeted the neatly dressed man.

“Anything noteworthy happened in my absence?”

“Nothing,” he shook his head, a fact which Mylana acknowledged with a nod of her own.

“Please, I am at your service. Anything I can help you with?”

“Go inform Perc that my guest and I will be in the tearoom,” she instructed, without ever halting her steps.

“Of course, Madam. Anything else?”

“No. Thank you. That will be all.”

“Madam,” the man acknowledged before scattering off, not just to inform Perc but the whole mansion of their mistress’ return.

Soon Severin and Mylana sat in the so-called tearoom, which the [Shopkeeper] estimated wasn’t any smaller than a regular families’ entire living space; somehow this fact was amongst the least noteworthy observations Severin had made on his way inside the estate.

Once seated, he ordered his thoughts and picked up where he had left off.

“I was saying, why have you brought me here?” Before he had finished his sentence, he had an idea and quickly added, “Do you want to transfer over some of your own staff?”

Until now Severin had never even considered what Mylana had left behind when she decided to join him. Now that he had seen the reality of it, he was utterly impressed, not just by the size of her property and the amount of servants he had seen in even just this short amount of time, but by their obvious diligence and sense of duty.

As far as Severin knew, ever since she started as his [Employee], Mylana had never left the mountaintop other than to accompany him to meet Senheim for their deal with the dungeon core about a week ago.

Yet everything here was orderly and speckless. The servant who greeted them and all the others, Severin realized, must have never neglected their duties even in the slightest, despite Mylana’s absence.

He strongly suspected that his own employees, Sabina in particular, would not be this committed.

That realization didn’t necessarily make him rethink his plan to offer the young woman the promotion. But it made him appreciate the value of hiring properly trained and educated staff.

Was letting him experience this, what Mylana had in mind when bringing him here? He asked as much.

“It’s part of it,” Mylana admitted. “But no, while I might have maybe a hundred members of staff working here, and could certainly afford to appoint some of them to the Emporium, that is something I will most definitely not be doing.” She said, shaking her head disapprovingly. “I wouldn’t be doing you a favor if I did, and the fact that I have to tell you that only means you still have much to learn.

Just where do you think these peoples’ loyalties would lie if I did?”

Severin wanted to protest, but at this moment a knock at the door announced the arrival of their tea.

“Perc! Come inside.”

“Madam. I’m glad being able to serve you again. Sir,” the butler briefly but with a polite bow acknowledged Severin’s presence before putting down his tablet and serving the tea as per his mistresses’ instructions.

“Anything else I can do for you?” the elder gentleman asked once he had finished his task and had re-assumed his straight posture.

“There is. That’s why I asked for you in the first place. Please see if Mr. Everheart has some time available to join us. Let him know it is business related.”

“Of course.”

“Also, I trust you have kept up with local affairs while I was gone?”

“Of course.” The reply was the same as the previous one, but Severin could have sworn that this time the man sounded as if he had just been slighted.

“Good. Tell me then, are there any auctions held in the White Hall today?”

“In the early afternoon there is an art auction featuring-” Without having to think about his answer, the well-prepared man started his reply. But was soon cut off.

“Who leads the auction?”

“Miss Evelyn, madam.” If Perc, was annoyed by the rude interruption, he was too professional to let any hint of it show.

‘He is probably used to it by now,’ a bitter Severin joked to himself, fed up by Mylana’s incessant reprimands and interruptions.

“That’s it? Nothing else?”

“There is also another private auction later in the evening-”

“The auctioneer? Again, she interrupted.

“Mr Reigh.” And again came Perc’s immediate and plaintless answer.

“Great. Be a dear and make sure we are on the guest list, will you?

“Of course.”

Mylana nodded in satisfaction.

Realizing that all her concerns had been addressed, and he was being dismissed, Perc excused himself and began his retreat. But hesitated when he reached the door.

“Madam? Please excuse my impertinence, but if you would allow me the question. What are your plans for the coming days? Are you planning to stay? The kitchen staff, in particular is very concerned about this question.”

“We will be here for dinner, but that’s it. And no need to prepare anything fancy.”

Percy bowed in response before stepping backwards out of the door. Once closed, Mylana’s attention immediately returned to the tired Severin.

“We don’t have too much time now. If he hurries, the messenger will be there in about fifteen, twenty minutes.”

Following her words, Mylana saw the incomprehension in Severin’s face. She explained further, “Mr Everheart. If he is available, we can expect him in maybe an hour.

It would be for the best if by then you’ve figured out how many people you actually need.”

Severin had already wondered who this Everheart fellow was supposed to be and why she was inviting him over when they still had so much to do. Now it began to make sense.

“He is…”

“...the headmaster of the country’s most prestigious butler school. Most of my staff have graduated from there and I am very satisfied with their skills and services.” Severin suspected that coming from Mylana, those words were the highest praise one could hope for, but kept those thoughts to himself.

“Short of investing a whole lot of money, time, and effort to train them yourself, I’d say they are the best money can hire. If you have a referral, that is.”

“So that’s why you insisted on coming with me,” Severin realized.

“Among other things, yes.”

“But a butler school? Isn’t that a bit much? I don’t need anything so fancy, just some regular staff. Like a new server and a cashier. Not someone like that,” he nodded towards the door.

“I told you, they are the best. Don’t let either of the terms butler or school fool you. Besides, you really have other things to worry about if you consider only hiring two people.”

“I wasn’t,” Severin crossed his arms defiantly. “Assuming Krill and Sabina will take on the new roles I’ll offer them, two people fill their positions are just the bare minimum. That’s all I was saying.

But even I understand that those two are hardly holding up as is, and that we’ll be even more busy in the future,” he couldn’t help rolling his eyes. “Four people would be more realistic. Six, if I don’t want to earn myself a reputation of a slave-driver.”

“That’s still only accounting for your already existing businesses. What about your future endeavors? Might want to consider the staff needed for those as well.”

“I don’t even know if the relevant parties will agree.”

“This again,” Mylana sighed in faux exasperation. “If you can offer them what they want, then of course they will.

You don’t plan for failure, but for success. Remember that. And it’s not like having some additional people at the ready will do you any harm.”

Severin ignored her tone and only considered her words; he was too tired to argue and knew he didn’t stand a chance against her, anyway. If everything went according to plan, how many people would he need for things to run smoothly?

“Another six then,” he concluded after some calculation.

“Very good,” Mylana nodded in satisfaction, a sight that was almost impossible for Severin to imagine after all her complaining and prodding he had to endure this day.

But now was not the time to marvel. As it turned out Severin hadn’t reached his conclusion even a minute too early.

Instead of the estimated one hour, not even forty minutes had passed when there was another knock on the door.

“Mr Everheart,” announced Perc as he stepped inside and made way for an immaculately dressed man with puffy red cheeks who followed closely behind him.

“Lady Mylana! Always an honor and a pleasure. I came the moment I learned you were in need of our services.”

“Much obliged. But it isn’t me who requires your services.” She gestured towards the other person in the room.

Quick on the uptake, the newcomer closed the distance with a hastened step and, with a bow, offered his hand in greeting. “Please excuse my manners. Everheart at your service, Sir…?”

“Severin. No, Sir.”

“Ah?! Severin?! Then you must be.. the Emporium?” he quickly made the connection. “I have seen recordings of that event of yours! Let me tell you, I enjoyed every second! Truly remarkable what you have put together. And with the [Princess] herself?! But I am forgetting myself. Please, tell me how I can help you.”

Severin was amused by the man’s excitement, which fit not at all the image he had of a person of his apparent status.

‘Or maybe it was exactly his experience that lets the man know how to best deal with each person individually,’ Severin surmised; this certainly beat dealing with the kind of people said [Princess] surrounded herself with, and as long as his services were satisfactory, then that was all that mattered to Severin.

But the pleasant atmosphere and some stroking of his ego, wasn’t enough for Severin to forget his previous doubts.

“If you’ve heard of my store, then that should make it easier. I require staff. Not to take care of nobles or retired adventurers, but to run a business.”

“However, I am right in assuming that you are not looking for specialized laborers like bakers or alchemists for your store?” Bakers and alchemists obviously referred to Severin’s two main avenues of business.

“We indeed don’t offer these services, but I don’t think Lady Mylana would have referred you to me if that was what you are looking for.

But if you are looking for anything else, say a salesperson, a server, a clerk, a maid or a cleaner- anything along those lines- then please rest assured. My people are well up to the task; they have proven so many times over. You wouldn’t be the first to approach us for such purposes.

But please, tell me in more detail what you need exactly.”

From there on, everything went much faster than Severin could have ever anticipated. Trusting Mylana, and by extension Mr Everheart and his discretion- a quality, the man assured, was also greatly emphasized during training- Severin roughly explained some of his plans for the Emporium and the kind of challenges that would come with it.

Only two hours later, a contract was signed. The next morning, Severin was promised, a first batch of people would arrive at his mountain; they could have made it earlier, but there was still a building order for some new apartments to place before that.