Chapter 60 Second Negotiation
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The day after the monster attack, I came to the city with Diana in a hurry.
The reason, of course, was to recruit people to strengthen the defense force, but first we decided to stop at Harvest Hoe.
This is the third time we’ve been here, but compared to before, it seems to be deserted.
I wondered if they were busy selling the crops that they had bought in large quantities before, when Gibbett-san came out from the back of the building.
”Master Neil, welcome to our firm.”
”I’m sorry, Gibbett-san, for barging in like this.”
”No problem. Come on in.”
We are led into the reception room by Gibbett-san and sit down on the sofa to talk about what we have been up to.
It seems that I was half right, and the reason why there are not many staff members around is that they are busy selling the large amount of crops that they have bought from the settlements.
The reason for the half is that it is also the harvest season, and they are mobilizing their staffs to buy crops from others.
Although I felt sorry to come at such a busy time, I decided to ask him about the sales of his crops, which I had been wondering about.
Gibbett-san told me that the sales were going well, and although not all the crops had been sold yet, they were already profitable with the current sales, so he offered me to sign a regular contract with them.
”Well, we are also short of staff, so we would like to reduce the volume of purchases when we conclude a fixed-term contract.”
He said he wanted to reduce the volume of purchases as a condition of the contract.
Well, it would be quite hard to buy and sell that much every time, and it would be harder for me to sell that much every time considering the hard work of harvesting, so I agreed to it without any problem.
Then, Gibbett-san bowed his head and made a request to me, saying that he would be willing to do so if it was possible.
”Master Neil, do you have any vacant buildings in your settlement?”
”Vacant buildings? There are several.”
”If you are willing to let us use one of them as our store, we will pay you for it.”
”As a store? That’s fine, but what exactly do you intend to sell in our settlement?”
To tell the truth, there is hardly any demand for the goods that Gibbett-san and the others sell, even if they set up a store in the settlement, and to begin with, there are only a few people who would buy goods from the store in our settlement where only slaves live.
So I thought it would be meaningless to pay money to set up a store, but Gibbett-san explained the reason.
”No, it is not a store to sell goods. The last time I visited, it was unexpectedly difficult to move around, so if I could set up a store in Master Neil’s settlement, I would do the purchasing there and transport the purchased crops to here through the item boxes.”
”Ah, I see.”
I nodded my head in agreement with Gibbett-san’s idea.
It’s true that it’s hard work to go back and forth along the road every time they come to buy crops, and if we can save them the trouble, it might be worth paying to set up a store in the settlement.
”We will be in regular contact with the staff member through the item box, so if Master Neil and the others need something, just ask the staff member and we will be able to prepare the item and send it to the settlements through the item box. “
”Oh! That’s very kind of you.”
Being able to buy what I want from the store of the Harvest Hoe means that I don’t have to go all the way to the city.
Moreover, the frequent situation that one cannot easily go to the city to buy something, even if one wants it, because of the distance between the city and the item, and that the item will not be available for a long time, will be solved by this new system.
Of course, there is a limit to the size of items that can be exchanged in the item box, so for large items, we will still have to go to the city by wagon to buy them, but this is still a very welcome news.
”Okay, there are a few buildings that are available, and you can use it.”
”Thank you very much. Now let’s go through the formalities.”
With that, Gibbett-san leaves to get his papers, leaving me and Diana alone in the reception room, and I exhale as if I’ve lost my mind.
”Huff…”
”As I thought, are you still nervous?”
”Well, you know, he’s the head of the firm, more than twice my age, you know?”
Even though I am in a better social position than he is, it is impossible for me not to be nervous considering my shyness.
And even though we have come to know each other, this is only the third time for me to meet Gibbett-san.
While I was chatting with Diana for a while to relieve my tension, there was a knock at the door and Gibbett-san came back from getting his papers.
I looked over the documents briefly and made sure there were no problems, then I signed the documents and Gibbett-san checked to see if they were complete.
”…Yes, indeed, this concludes the contract. Thank you very much for your cooperation.”
”My pleasure, thank you very much.”
”By the way, this is a little off topic, but are there enough people in Master Neil’s settlement now? I don’t mean to be presumptuous, but if you don’t mind, we can send someone from here to help you.”
Oops, that’s a very timely offer.
I don’t think he knows the purpose of our visit to the city, but I inquire Gibbett-san.
”Why are you talking about this now?”
”Well, when I visited the settlement, Master Neil personally helped me and it seemed like the staff was in short supply.”
”Ah…”
I see, he was talking about that.
It is true that we are understaffed in that sense, but it is a rare case that we have more than one visitor at a time in our current settlements, so it is not a problem for now.
The problem is the defense capability.
”That part is fine for now. It’s just…”
”Just?”
I wondered whether I should say something or not, but I decided to tell Gibbett-san about yesterday’s incident, thinking it would be relevant to him if he was going to set up a store in the settlement.
”That’s why…”
”I see, you are looking for someone who can fight.”
Gibbett-san gave me a difficult look when he finished listening to me.
Well, Harvest Hoe is a firm that mainly trades in crops, so it would not have anything to do with this kind of rough work, and there would be no one like that.
”Okay, if you are looking for someone like that, I can help you.”
”Oh, you have someone? Someone who can fight?”
”No, we don’t have such people in our firm, but we have hired people who can fight from firms that mainly provide staffing services when wild creatures ravage farm villages with which we have contracts, so if you give us specific details of the job, we will be able to proceed with it. “
”That’s very kind of you, but is it really necessary for you to do that?”
”Yes, it’s no one else’s business but ours, as long as our staff is going to be in charge of the settlement. And since Master Neil has to go back to the settlements, it will be difficult to find a permanent staff, won’t it?”
Gibbett-san is right.
If it were true, I would like to choose the right people, but I can’t leave the settlement empty forever.
I told Gibbett-san about the current situation of the settlements and the conditions of the people I wanted to hire, and left the job search to Gibbett-san.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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