“Are you ok, Master Rockin?” Ranalaiya asked, seeing me spacing out… again.

  We were at the Auction House waiting for Meribel Willmint to become available to see us. We’ve been waiting for about an hour but I had no intention of complaining since it gave me some peace and quiet. I was happy I could sit there peacefully without anybody bothering me.

  I must’ve looked like an overworked office worker which might’ve been very true right now. The past two days were crazy and it wasn’t an exaggeration. After the Rites of Strength was over, when Lilfira had wiped the arena floor with those prideful red dragonkins so wonderfully and I had knocked out the dragonkin who had assaulted Lilfira in the dungeon, half the Guild’s adventurers decided to join my clan. Ok, saying half of all the adventurers deciding to join my clan might’ve been a stretch, but I have received over twenty applications the very next day and over forty applications the day after that.

  Receiving over sixty applications wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was dealing with the adventurers after I refused to accept them into my clan and I wasn’t the one to receive the backlash for the most part. It was Savirei. After people had found out that our clan’s base was at her diner, adventurers flooded it with the intention of wanting to apply. Someone might say that was great news for Savirei. She was running a diner. The more people come in, the more money she would make. Unfortunately, that wasn’t so.

  Savirei’s diner wasn’t a high-end restaurant. It was clean and cozy, but it was a simple diner. Savirei had her regular customers coming every day, with a few stragglers showing up now and then which kept her business going. The majority of the people who came in to apply to join my clan weren’t interested in eating, however. They’d simply pick up an application form and sit down at the table to fill it out, reducing the available tables for Savirei’s patrons who would come there to eat. In addition, when people found out they’ve been refused to join my clan, they’d vent their anger on Savirei, not something even the most tolerant person would want to deal with every day.

  The truth was, the big majority of the adventurers who wanted to join my clan were low level adventurers who were looking for handouts for the most part. Half of them didn’t bother filling out their application forms properly and the other half who did weren’t exactly fit to join our clan either. Some of them weren’t even level five adventurers or weren’t registered at the Guild as adventurers at all. I’ve got to meet quite a few of them in person as well. Two specific types of people started to emerge, especially amongst men. I started calling them either stalkers or assholes.

  Stalkers were the ones who thought there were plenty beautiful women in my clan that they could meet. I understood where they were coming from. I had three beautiful women by my side myself. Who wouldn’t want that? I refused them to join my clan right away. Assholes were partly stalkers too, but they were worse in a way that they didn’t treat slaves as people. I had even punched one guy for pushing Ranalaiya away for not wanting to deal with a slave when she tried collecting his application form.

  I had women apply to join my clan too, but again, there were whores and bitches among those too. It might sound harsh to call women that way, but some of them were really nasty towards Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and Lilfira. Those who mistreated slaves, or anyone from my clan for that matter, were not welcome to become members in my clan. As for the whores, Savirei got reminded of the incident with Lilfira the moment the first woman hinted she’d be willing to offer some extra services to the clan’s leader as an incentive to let her join. Savirei came to express her thanks to me for scolding her that day, telling me how much she appreciated I actually did that, also saying she had the utmost respect towards me as a clan’s leader.

  Savirei’s good news aside, this very morning Savirei regretfully informed me that she wouldn’t want to be taking care of the application forms forever. Meaning, she’d rather have someone else take it over from her as soon as possible. Things became so bad, she started losing business, with the stalkers and assholes, and whores and bitches scaring her customers away. I totally understood where she was coming from. As such, I had her stop giving out application forms and told her to let people know our clan wasn’t recruiting right now. That was when I also realized it was my fault that Savirei and her diner was put in such an ungrateful situation in the first place. It was Savirei who offered to help me with the application forms, but I should’ve known better. I just took the easy way out, thinking if Savirei wants to do it that’s just for the better. That was irresponsible on my part and I had to fix it.

  Another thing that was causing issues, and I knew it will need to be solved sooner rather than later, was our clan’s quests. We didn’t have a Quest Board and explaining to new people how the payments and quest rewards worked was too big of a hassle, especially if I wasn’t the one who was explaining it. I understood it pretty well and when I explained it to the others, they understood it too, but when it came to others explaining it to new people, that’s where confusion kicked in. Not many people were able to explain things to make it sound easy and simple. Heck, some people weren’t even bothered how it worked as long as it worked and it was fair to everyone. I’m not going to mention Tarrion’s name here, of course. I am sure he understood how it worked himself, but he wasn’t the type to waste his time on getting into nitty gritty detail or be bothered to explain it to others.

  In addition to how one could post a quest, there was also an issue with collecting money from people. Who should they pay the five percent fee to? Was the fee supposed to be collected by the person who posted the quest or the one who completed the quest. How does one pay the fee to the clan. Who was responsible to collect fees within the clan in the first place? And the most important bit, who is responsible for managing the clan’s finances overall? Those were important issues that needed to be solved. Of course, people were expecting for the clan’s money to be kept by the clan’s leader, but I had a different opinion about that. I certainly as hell did not want to become an accountant or have all the money with me at all times. So, here I was, waiting for Meribel to see me. It took about two and a half hours of waiting time until someone came to let us know that Meribel Willmint was ready to see us.

  “Mister Rockin, I’m so sorry for having you wait for so long. If I had known you’d be coming in advance I would’ve made time to see you earlier,” Meribel, who looked as dazzling and as beautiful as she always was, greeted me with an apology. She was wearing the same sexy-looking red dress she wore when I saw her last time, it’s open decollete doing everything it could to force my eyes to look at it. Her burning red hair was beautifully combed to the side, a sparkling, yellow, if not golden, hairpin holding it in place and away from her face, her eloquent makeup that was barely noticeable making Meribel look excruciatingly gorgeous.

  “Oh, no, you don’t need to apologize, Miss Meribel. I know you are very busy and I appreciate you were able to find the time to see me today,” I said, being very honest with my words. I knew her time was precious and that I have shown up without any notice.

  “So kind of you to say that, Mister Rockin,” Meribel smiled before turning to the three ladies who were accompanying me. “Greetings Ranalaiya and Sylfrin. I can see Mister Rockin is taking care of you well.”

  “Hello, Miss Meribel. It’s a pleasure to see you again,” Ranalaiya said, bowing her head.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Greetings, Miss Meribel. Master Rockin is wonderful and I couldn’t be happier having a different Master,” Sylfrin said.

  “That’s so wonderful. I’m really happy for you two. And…” Meribel said before turning to look at Lilfira. “I don’t think we have met before.” Meribel smiled

  “Good morning, Miss Meribel. My name is Lilfira Flamelash. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Lilira introduced herself, bowing her head too.

  “Lilfira. What a pretty name. And the pleasure is all mine,” Meribel returned the greeting before turning to face me again. “Why don’t we have a seat, Mister Rockin?” She invited, motioning with her hand towards the table.

  “Thank you,” I said before sitting down.

  “Now, how can I be of assistance to you today, Mister Rockin?” Meribel asked the moment all of us sat down.

  “Well, I need someone who could help me run my clan. I thought… maybe you could recommend someone?” I went right to the point.

  “I would need to know more details of what kind of help you need or what kind of person you are looking for, Mister Rockin,” Meribel said.

  “Right, so, I need someone who…” I went to explain to her, as briefly as I could which was a challenge really, what kind of person I was looking for. I told her about the difficulties I was having with managing application forms, the quests, the payments and rewards for completing the quests, etc. I was open and truthful, telling her how it was and what kind of help I needed. Meribel listened to me quietly, nodding her head now and then, indicating she was following my story until I was done talking. “So, yeah, that sort of… sums it all up, Miss Meribel. In all honesty, I did not expect for so many people to become interested in joining my clan so soon. It’s a bit of a headache, really.”

  “I see. Now it makes it all clear. I take it you are that little dragonkin lady who was fighting the red dragonkins at the Guild’s arena a few days ago, aren’t you, Lilfira?” Meribel asked, turning to look at her.

  “Yes, it was me, Miss Meribel,” Lilfira said.

  “I thought so. I am surprised you did not expect for people to become interested in joining your clan after showing off your strength against the red dragonkins, Mister Rockin,” Meribel spoke to me again, showing a smile.

  “Yeah, well… It’s not that I don’t want more people to join my clan. It’s just that… the majority of people who had applied were… not exactly a good fit for my clan, if you know what I mean?” I almost called them the way I was calling them in my head but managed to catch and stop myself in time.

  “Yes, I can understand that. The Guild is having a hard time regarding similar issues as well,” Meribel said, her words piquing my interest.

  “The Guild is having a hard time with adventurers?” I asked, tilting my head to the side and feeling curious.

  “Yes. It often happens after the clan recruitment ends. Many higher level and higher rank adventurers join bigger clans and leave Hirvant, reducing the number of adventurers in the city both in numbers and quality. With less and weaker adventurers around, less quests are being completed as well, forcing the merchants to offer higher reward for completing the quests which in turn forces them to raise prices for their wares as well. Higher prices lead to people buying less which makes it harder for businesses to survive. The Auction House is no exception to it as well. Not to mention, with fewer decent adventurers around, thieves, thugs and other criminals become bolder too. I was having a meeting with the city’s guard captain just now to discuss how to strengthen security to protect people and their businesses better. Unfortunately, they are facing the same problem as the Guild, not having enough people to be able to protect everyone. As a matter of the fact… Oh…” Meribel suddenly stopped talking, becoming quiet before showing me a smile. “I am so sorry, Mister Rockin. You have come here to seek help and here I am, having you listen to my own problems.”

  “No, no. It’s ok. I don’t mind listening. Besides, I am grateful for the information you have provided. It’s good to know what’s going on here in Hirvant,” I reassured her.

  “Thank you so much, Mister Rockin. I must say, I usually don’t have the luxury to talk to people just for the sake of talking,” Meribel said, showing another smile yet her eyes showed a bit of a regret.

  “Well, if you ever need a sounding board…” I said, making a strange grimace before adding a shrug.

  “Hmph…” Meribel covered her face to restrain herself from laughing. “That’s so kind of you, Mister Rocking, but I am sure you are busy enough as you are.” She added, hinting at the three women sitting next to me.

  “Ah, yeah, but… I’m sure I could find some time, considering you are kind enough to find the time to see me yourself, Miss Meribel,” I said.

  “In that case, I might take you on the offer sometime, Mister Rockin,” Meribel said, showing a charming, if not angelic smile, my face catching on fire by how mesmerizing her smile was.

  “Yes… sure,” I said, becoming very much flustered.

  “Now going back to your request, Mister Rockin. Let me summarize what you are looking for before offering anything. I can see two main issues that need to be solved here. First one: you don’t have a place which could serve as your clan’s headquarters. Second: you don’t have a person who could oversee and manage your clan’s administrative responsibilities, including finances. Is that correct?” Meribel asked.

  “Yes. That’s… about right,” I said, rubbing the back of my head, knowing it was a big ask.

  “One question before I could suggest something, Mister Rockin. Would the person who would be helping you with all that need to become a member of your clan?” Meribel wanted to know.

  “Ah, no. Not at all. A neutral person would be better, actually,” I said.

  “Wonderful,” Meribel said, brightening up. “In that case, I could recommend someone to do all that for you, Mister Rockin. Of course, they wouldn’t agree to do it for free.” Meribel added.

  “That’s understandable. I am willing to pay a fair salary for their service. Of course, I would need someone reliable and trustworthy to manage my clan’s finances,” I said, sharing a concern from my end as well.

  “But of course,” Meribel smiled. “As for the place to use as your clan’s headquarters, would you consider using one of the offices here at the Auction House, Mister Rockin?”

  “I could do that?” I asked, my eyebrows shooting up.

  “Certainly. I could offer you a discount on rent too, Mister Rockin,” Meribel offered.

  “Oh, ok. That’s very kind of you, Miss Meribel,” I said, basically agreeing to it.

  “My pleasure. The Auction House has several empty rooms and offices right now, so you’d be helping me as much as I would be helping you, Mister Rockin,” Meribel said, her eyes catching a delightful gleam.

  “Sounds fair,” I smiled.

  “Hmph. You’re such a delight to do business with, Mister Rockin,” Meribel said, not able to suppress her chuckle this time.

  “Thank you, Miss Meribel. You’re the one helping me out here, however,” I said.

  “Now then, we would need to discuss everything in more detail to come to an arrangement that would work for both of us, but how about a short break before that? I’ll ask someone to bring us something to drink and maybe a light snack too?” Meribel offered, wording it like a question at the end to check with me.

  “Yes, that’d be great. Thank you, Miss Meribel,” I said.

  “Wonderful. I will leave you for a short moment then. If you excuse me, please,” Meribel said before standing up. I couldn’t help but stare at Meribel walking away, my eyes not leaving her moving hips. Meribel took a moment before opening the doors, a satisfied smiled dressing her red, voluptuous lips which I didn’t noticed for the reason mentioned earlier.

  “I think she likes you, Master Rockin,” Ranalaiya commented the moment Meribel closed the doors behind her.

  “Ah, well… ahem… maybe. I don’t know,” I said, pretending I wasn’t thinking about what I was thinking a moment ago.

  “You were staring so intently at Miss Meribel walking away, Master Rockin,” Lilfira added.

  “I… wasn’t staring. I was… simply looking the same directions,” I said, my eyes shooting all over the office to avoid looking at any of the three women sitting next to me.

  “We could excuse ourselves and wait outside the office, so you could spend some private time with Miss Meribel just the two of you, Master Rockin,” Sylfrin suggested.

  “What? No, I don’t want to spend some private time together with Meribel. I mean… that’s not why I came here for today. I came here today to talk business with her. That… doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want to… talk to her in private sometime… but today is all business and… stop assuming things about… me or Meribel in the first place. She might come back unexpectedly and hear you say all those things and it could lead to a misunderstanding or something of the sorts,” I was trying to deny the obvious, but when I couldn’t come up with an excuse, I simply refused to talk about it in the end.

  “Yes, Master Rockin,” Sylfrin said, with Ranalaiya and Lilfira covering their mouths so they wouldn’t laugh too loud.

  “Humph,” I made a frown before turning to look away.

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