Go to work! (3)
“I-Interns?”
“Yes, interns.”
Park Jung-gi, who had been helping me with things in the meantime, wore a doubtful expression. I didn’t blame him for it. Will an intern be willing to apply for a collapsing guild? That didn’t seem possible.
However, it wasn’t a bad choice in our current situation. We had the media and masses on our side. We would still have some applicants willing to come in, either way.
When public opinion and the media come together, applicants are expected to come in anyway. This was how we could revive the image of our guild.
‘Young Company, Young Guild!’
What we needed was to capture the guild similarly to a venture company on Earth. It should be seen as a free, creative environment everyone can enjoy.
Of course, the reality may be a little different, but the publicity had to be like this to find more talent and noncombatant recruits who were both loyal and okay with relatively low wages.
‘That’s where the interns come in.’
“First, it would be better to change the interior of the guild a little.”
“Yeah?”
“I think the office looks a little dull. This kind of guild isn’t what Lindel’s young talents would want. It would be better to remove all the desks using magic to change Blue’s interior.”
“I don’t… I don’t understand why we need to do that all of a sudden.”
“What Blue needs is innovation. In this kind of environment, it would be hard to think of new ideas. This is why we need to change the environment and make it livelier.”
“Ah… Yes. Okay.”
Nothing sounded better than the word innovation. This was another one of my sleazy reasoning.
“It would be nice to tear down the offices used by Lee Seolho and the other old people. The area would look better if it was open and have sofas where the staff can rest. Oh, a sleeping capsule sounds like a good idea! We should use an existing one rather than create a new one entirely to minimize the budget. The important thing is the atmosphere. It is important to make Blue look like the kind of guild that promotes freedom and activity to stimulate the young ones.”
“Ah… Yeah…”
“It doesn’t matter if you install a pool table or a card game in the common room where employees can use during breaks, just make sure to put something. Oh, it wouldn’t be bad to have a board game like chess. The price won’t be too costly, anyway. Also, let’s change the guild restaurant to a buffet establishment.”
“Ah, but the restaurant’s budget…”
A well-fed slave worked harder, after all.
I didn’t know about the rest, but I was sure this particular area needed an improvement for the sake of all the guild members and workers.
‘The executive dining room is too big in itself…’
“If you sort out the useless luxuries of the old men that were in place before, we can pave out a plan.”
“It still won’t be enough. How much would you want?”
I knew I had to worry about that for a bit. However, the answer in itself was simple.
“There will be no such thing as a maintenance fee in Blue from now on. Please make sure to subtract the cost for the welfare of party members and executives. You just have to put it in some of the remaining budgets.”
It would be better to run slaves with money.
The annual salary that the executives and party members received was enough in terms of dignity. To use and receive benefits on top of that sounded ridiculous. I bet that, if it weren’t for the guild’s old forces, Blue would have been a much larger guild than it was now.
“The salary of the Guild Master, Vice Guild Master, and diplomatic officers remains the same. We’re just going to cut the amount we will actually receive by 30%.”
I was only being honest. There were many things to do, so much that they would have to be written separately.
Perhaps sensing the workload this entailed, Park Jung-gi looked at me in a tiresome manner, so I hurried to speak first.
“I’ll make sure not to set a lunch schedule. Eat what you want, and when you want to. This also applies to all of the guild staff right now. Please notify me about this tomorrow morning.”
“Of course.”
“We will also open all the amenities that were only used by executives in the past to everyone.”
“Really? Won’t it be too small for all the guild members?”
“We will operate by reservation. Of course, it would be better if the party members or executives have priority reservation rights. It is a facility designed to be used, so it’ll be a waste if we don’t use it. During the expedition, there weren’t any people who used it at all.”
‘Efficiently, might I add.’
“Oh, I see.”
“We will run a class where you can study magic, swordsmanship, or imperial law for plain guild members or guild staff. Jeong-yeon will teach the magic class. The swordsmanship class… Well, if Lee Sang-hee permits it… No, I will speak directly about it to Lee Sang-hee.”
“Yes, sir.”
“How much do you think the budget will cost?”
At my question, Park Jung-gi began to do the math in his head.
Park Deokgu could do the work that required labor, and if one were to consider the changes with the maintenance budget, there would still be some money left.
‘If we’re going to be hiring interns, then the money will be enough.’
The cost of wages for a one-year hiring period for interns seeking free work was much lower. This was the best environment in which slaves could be freely enslaved in exchange for almost nothing.
In the first place, not a lot of people would understand this type of system.
“No, you don’t have to calculate anymore. Come to think of it. It will all be okay. I’ll do the rest of the work today at the lodge. Please go home and bring the documents I need to review directly to my room. Mr. Jung-gi can bring it.”
“You mean, right now?”
“Yeah. Construction will start right now.”
“The Guild Master’s approval is…”
‘Not required.
“There is no need for his approval. I’ll tell him about it later.”
“Ah… Okay.”
In the first place, Kim Hyunsung had entrusted me with this task. It made no sense to stand around, waiting for his approval when I could be as efficient as possible with the allotted time.
He also had his tasks as the Guild Master, so it would be better not to bother him.
“Then, let’s get started.”
“Of course.”
I tapped a distracted Park Deokgu on the back, and he was quick to nod in reply.
As I had expected, the construction went very quickly. There was a lot of manpower for such simple labor.
The Lindel trade union hired technicians at a low price and brought together artists whose talents were wasted in the plaza. This wasn’t just a paid job for them. It was another shot at bringing their careers to life.
The dull interior space began to be filled by the works of artists who wanted to promote themselves for free, and because of that, there were even other people who were willing to donate works that they did not manage to sell.
‘Ah, what a difficult world for artists to live in.’
Park Deokgu had been busy doing manual chores such as breaking down the dividers of the old offices. Although he was the type who refrained from using his head properly, this was still a plan that he was interested in. Thus, the plan proceeded quite smoothly.
“Lee Kiyoung, how would you like to deal with the remaining space?”
“How is the child compensation in our guild?”
“Subsidies are coming out…”
“Oh, then, I think establishing a children’s home inside where they can safely leave their kids is a good idea. If you have ever worked as a child care teacher in your district, please report it to me. How many households are in the guild now?”
“Three families.”
“I see. That’s actually very little…”
“I’m a bit reluctant to marry anyway…”
If a parent swore allegiance to the guild, there was a high probability that the child would also be loyal to the guild. We weren’t just finding slaves for shortterm work. We were finding slaves who would devote their whole lives to working for the guild.
Thus, it was only right to expand on parental compensation and the maternity leave system, thus abandoning the old corporate guild beliefs on pregnancy and the like.
The guild’s appearance changed so suddenly that a lot of the existing guild members felt confused. Of course, this was also for their benefit.
Promoting our guild was an indispensable opportunity.
In addition to contacting the Lindel Daily, I had to worry a lot about renting a billboard. The title would be…
[The Dream Job: A Job In Blue]
Or…
[Completely Different: 23 reasons why Blue Has Become the Dream Workspace]
Showing our concern for our employees’ welfare rather than our overall dignity, creating an atmosphere where everyone can enjoy their work, and focusing on developing each member’s capabilities—all these would be able to move the people’s hearts.
The guild we were going to create would prove to be very satisfactory.
Of course, it was evident that Blue still had some incomplete areas, but it was only human to show these. It would have a negative impact if we looked too perfect
“We’re relying on word of mouth here. Please continue to educate our guild members. Public opinion is more important than the press itself. Send some members to the tavern to help pay their expenses. Due to the guild’s circumstances, I will set a limit on what you can spend for dinner.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Enjoy as much as you can and come back. Of course, we cannot allow anything to interfere with our work tomorrow.”
“Yes… Of course.”
“Innovation. What matters is innovation. It would be good to improve our image. We are the guild of the young and innovative. That’s the image we should maintain. In addition to this, we’ll also be supporting a variety of activities. Don’t stop developing yourself. The same is true for Park Jung-gi. I think you have good agility stats… It’ll be a waste to rot your talent.”
“Ah… Thank you.”
“So, why aren’t you all wearing the guild’s insignia?”
“Oh… It can only be worn by the executives as well as other party members.”
“Ha… Those crazy old men…”
“W-What?”
“It’s nothing. In the future, all guild members and staff shall also wear the insignia. Make sure to wear it outside, too. You represent the guild. That means everyone should be on their best behavior unless you want me to blow your head off. Make sure to remember that. I won’t even allow you to look ugly. I’m not turning this into a fashion show, but you should at least look neat.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“I’m not sure what you’re thanking me for. It’s only natural for you to wear the insignia as well.”
The results were going fast, and they all led in a positive direction.
We were currently seen as extending our efforts in taking care of our remaining members, all while changing the overall atmosphere of the guild. Thus, the people’s opinions of us soared.
At this point, we were receiving inquiries even though our application processes had not yet opened until eventually, a press conference was needed to reveal the guild’s new interior.
I was surprised to see how much the situation had improved. The public’s attention positively stayed on us, and I was sure talented people would come knocking on our door.
Our previous events have become a thing of the past. And the past debates on whether Blue would sink or not turned into people wanting to join the guild.
The Red Mercenaries and Black Swans, who never backed out on our alliance, also began to reach out again, and we were soon emerging as a promising guild with high potential. The old executives from the past were no longer a concern.
I also liked the fact that our current staff was doing their best. Without their organized skills, the rumors about Blue would not have settled down so quickly.
Even the guides already belonging to the large guilds were interested in us, which gave me a sense of how thorough the Blue guild was in terms of our educational systems.
With this, our once-lazy guild members felt motivated enough to improve themselves.
‘These days, reports are also coming up on time…’
Mistakes that were previously evident were now noticeably reduced.
Of course, many of our people had skills too low to be called competent slaves, but it was nice that they were all doing the best that they could for the guild. Everyone alternated between maintaining public opinion while dealing with their guild tasks.
I endured as long as I could, but when I came to the point where I could no longer handle the work with such a small amount of people, anxiety began to well up within me.
[Blue Internship Recruitment Announcement 1602]
[We are looking for someone to become a new family member in the Blue Guild. Can become an official guild member in due time.]
The reactions turned out to be more passionate than I had expected.
“The Blue Guild has risen.”
“Did you see their recruitment notice?”
“Is it true that they are also electing a combat team?”
“Ah…”
Lindel became noisy once more.