By the Grace of the Gods (LN) - Volume 14 - Chapter 13

Chapter 9, Episode 5: Prepare for Departure

The next morning, I woke up in my own bed for the first time in a long while. Although I never found camping to be a pain, I couldn’t deny that it was very relaxing to be home. Now that I’d had a good night’s rest, I could start gearing up for my journey into the Sea of Trees as planned. Base camps set up by adventurers hunting for material would be scattered throughout the woods, but it wouldn’t hurt me to pack heavy. First, I went to Digger Armory to have my armor patched up. It had been damaged in my sparring match against Sever.

“Hello?” I called from the empty storefront.

Soon, the shopkeeper Darson sauntered out from the back. “Looks like you made it back unscathed.”

“More or less.”

“How’s the prototype? Did you have any issues with it?”

“It worked great. Today, I came to have my armor restored.”

“Restored? Why’d you let your guard down?” Darson asked, jumping to conclusions.

“I sparred with someone I met along the way.”

“Traded blades with a master, huh?”

“Yes. If this journey has taught me anything, it’s that I still have a lot to learn.”

“Would it kill you to act your age for once?” Darson quipped. “Show me the armor.” I obliged, pulling the damaged armor out of my Item Box. Darson observed it curiously. “Whoever you tussled with was good. Real good with a lance, or something similar. Good with wind magic too, I’d bet.”

“You can tell that much?” I asked.

“After so many years in this business, cuts and dents and scratches start to tell you stories. It’s not every day I see a plating of hard lizardhide sliced through like butter. There’s a clean cut through the placcate too. Was your sparring partner someone famous?”

“I think so. His name is Sever Gardock—” Before I could add that he was a former Knight’s Order captain, Darson’s eyes shot up from the armor.

“The last captain of the Knight’s Order?! Why’d you have at it with someone like that?!”

“We happened to be going the same way, and one thing led to another...”

Darson whistled. “That explains these cuts. Speaking of, I heard that he and Duke Reinbach came to your shop yesterday.”

“They did. I met them while I was out of town, and they brought me back to Gimul by dragon. They stopped by my shop before visiting the duke’s residence yesterday.” I took the opportunity to share with Darson what else happened while I was away.

“Huh. Fate’s funny like that, isn’t she? You’re living your adventurer life to the fullest. There’s not much you can do about the curse now. And I don’t have much ground to stand on telling you this, after the trouble I got myself into when I was younger, but be careful out there.”

“Absolutely. I think I got a lucky break this time. Once things settle down, I intend to practice breaking curses,” I said.

“That’s a great idea, if it’s an option. If something happens, let me know. Not that I’d be any help with breaking the curse, but I don’t feel any differently about you so far. Least I can do is listen to your troubles.”

“That would be great. I was hoping you could continue to act as a go-between for me and the artisans in charge of developing my equipment pieces. That would help me a lot as I travel more frequently and as the curse grows stronger.”

“No problem,” he said.

“Thank you. Oh, and those two I was talking about—the former royal sorcerer and Knight’s Order captain—will be here soon. If you could go over the prototype and give each of them one, I’ll pay for—”

“Wait a minute,” Darson said. His eyes glazed with shock. “Did you just say Lord Gardock is coming here?”

“Uh, like I said, we’ve been traveling together, and we got to talking about each other’s equipment. I’d told them about the prototypes to ask for their help in testing and advertising them when they hit the shelves... Did I overstep—”

“Not at all! That’s no problem at all!” Darson insisted, very eagerly.

“Are you a Sever stan?” I asked.

“Of course I am! Most guys my age wanted to be him. When we were young, Lord Gardock hadn’t become captain yet. He flew all around the country leaving legends everywhere he went. I’ve only met him once, when I became S rank. With all the ceremony and crap going on... The only thing I remember is that I was tongue-tied for once in my life. Barely got a word out to him.”

So Darson’s quite the fanboy... As long as he doesn’t mind them coming over, that works for me. 

“Maybe we should have stopped by yesterday...” I mused.

“No, my nerves would’ve gotten to me all over again. It’s much better to have advance notice.”

“I see. Well, good luck,” I offered.

“You betcha. This place will gain some cachet if he shops here. He’ll see the best service I’ve ever whipped up.” Darson’s hardened face cracked a grin before a thought seemed to strike him. “Right. The armor makers had a request. You know the fabric we use for the slash-proof undershirts and cloth armor? They want to experiment with different methods of weaving.”

“Experimenting with weaving, rather than materials... Personally, I fully support it. I can fund it as well, but I can’t afford to invest too much if there’s no specific plan in place.”

“They haven’t gotten that far, but they mentioned wanting to study the Striss weave practiced in a region in the north, and to hire a native weaver if possible.” Darson went on to explain that the Striss weaves were soft, thick, and sturdy, to withstand the brutal frost of the north. Traditionally vibrant in color, they were favored by nobles of that region who used them for banners and battle dress. However, the unique and complex technique of weaving was both arduous and time-consuming. With not enough young weavers willing to learn the craft, hardly any Striss weaves were being produced today.

“An art on the brink of being lost...” I said. “Local nobles might try to monopolize it. Who knows what pushback we might face if we try to headhunt one of the weavers? Let me go through the duke for this one, and I will let you know.”

“I’ll pass the message along. Even if we can get to the point where we hire a Striss weaver to teach them, there’ll be a steep learning curve. None of them expect to master it overnight, so they probably want to take what they can from it. A craftsman never stops learning.”

“I know what you mean,” I said. Curiosity often overwhelmed me when it came to slimes and magic.

“Back to your armor,” Darson said. “Sure, I can fix it up, but frankly it’ll be cheaper to buy a new set. Especially since you can always use your prototype. I can take this off your hands if that’s what you want to do.”

“I’d like to repair it. Even though it’s only been a year, I’ve grown attached to it. Even if I don’t end up using it again, I want to keep it in the best condition I can.”

“No problem.”

“How much will I owe you?”

“Let’s see... Four small gold coins.”

“Here you go.” I took out a bag full of coins from my Item Box and paid the price.

“Pleasure doing business. It’ll be ready in three days.”

“Thank you.”

With that, I set out for my own business.

***

As my laundry shop came into view, so did an endless stream of people flowing in and out of the shop, just like yesterday. Greeting customers in line, I entered the shop through the back entrance where Carme was already waiting for me.

“Were you waiting long?” I asked.

“No, you’re perfectly on time. I only thought to meet you at the door to avoid unnecessary interactions that might trigger the curse,” he explained.

“Thank you. I appreciate your concern.”

“Shall we?”

Carme and I sat down across from each other in a small office, where he gave me a quick report of what I’d missed while I was out. To my relief, nothing catastrophic had happened in my absence, and Carme had dealt with any small issues that had arisen.

His only concern at present was an attitude prevalent in some of the new employees... By “attitude,” Carme meant that they were slightly lax in their work ethic from time to time. Letting it slide too far could cause some problems, but this was by no means an emergency. It was natural, even.

“Even though we have only been open for a year, the public witnessed your bravery in the attack on the city that took place over New Year’s, as well as the duke’s support for your business ventures. The reputation of the business drastically increased. Combined with the very competitive pay and perks that you offer, I suspect there’s a subconscious sense of security in the new hires,” Carme said.

“It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come,” I said. I still remembered how I’d asked the Merchant’s Guild to advertise to prospective employees, only for almost every interviewee to walk out. I didn’t blame them, though, since my shop hadn’t established the reputation it now had, and anyone I’d hire would have had to work for a literal child, for all they knew. Now, Carme told me, there were frequent applicants asking for job openings at the reception, or even advertising themselves. I never expected our recruiting situation would improve so drastically.

“Well, we expected some of that. It shouldn’t be a problem. Please continue to address it as you have been, for now,” I said.

“Yes, sir. Subtlety pointing out the lax attitude should be all it takes for those willing to improve to begin doing so on their own. If they’re willing, I will offer coaching as requested. I have some experience with this from when I worked at the Morgan Trading Company. In the event that an employee is unwilling to improve their performance, do I have your permission to issue verbal and then written warnings, then to fire them if they don’t address the problem?” Carme proposed.

“That would be an unfortunate circumstance, but yes. It’s not in our best interest to keep people around who not only underperform, but have no intention of improving their performance. Someone like that can bring down the morale of the entire team.”

Even in Japan, I’d met plenty of people—of all ages and genders—who liked to coast through their job rather than work hard at it. Not only did they contribute to a decrease in productivity, their attitude of complacency was infectious. The old analogy of a bad apple wasn’t one I liked to use on people, but it suited the situation well. Carme would have to break the cycle before the infection spread throughout the shop.

“I concur,” said Carme. “It’s already generous to offer them two warnings.”

“Well, it isn’t really about generosity...” I clarified.

In this country, the employer usually held a lot more power than the employee, allowing a boss to fire their workers on the spot—much like the stereotype of an American workplace perpetuated in Japan—which didn’t really happen in Japan. Not that I wanted to restrict Carme’s ability to fire an employee to the point where it was counterproductive for the business—like it was for some companies in Japan—but it didn’t sit right with me to not give any guidelines for firing people when I’d had bosses in my previous life who used the threat of firing to control their subordinates.

From what I’d heard, though, America wasn’t as trigger-happy about firing people as the stereotype in Japan made it out to be. There were laws in America too that protected employees from unlawful firings, so employers always ran the risk of being sued by employees they dismissed. To avoid litigation, apparently, some companies offered increased severance at times if they needed to fire employees who they feared might bring a lawsuit.

“In any case, please give them those warnings, and be transparent about what warrants a warning from you. If that threshold is blurred, it will be more difficult to give precise instructions about how to avoid a warning in the future. That could lead to misunderstandings and fruitless arguments about what did or did not transpire,” I said.

Setting clear expectations was critical to improving employee performance, as well as protecting the business from accusations that might be thrown at us from disgruntled employees that Carme ended up firing. If the matter became public, we’d want an ironclad defense of the firing by citing repeated violations against the established expectations, as well as those warnings. Drawing out a conflict like that would only bring us negative press and bring down the morale of the entire team. That would lead to a negative spiral of high turnaround, and...

We will not create a hostile work environment, I resolved, mostly for my own sanity. I’d sooner find a new job for all of my employees or give them handsome severance packages and close down the shop altogether.

“There’s no need to be so concerned,” Carme said. “I knew what sort of business you wanted to run when I took over.”

“Was it so obvious where my thoughts went?”

“Life faded from your eyes, for a minute. So you’re okay with maintaining this policy?”

“Yes, please,” I confirmed.

“Some employees have also requested to use parts of the documents you’ve prepared that outline your business philosophy.”

“Do you mean...” I started, and recalled the set of papers I’d written for Carme—and any successor of his—when I decided to leave him in charge of the shop. They contained guidelines for running the business and some harassment-prevention pointers. There was no way for me to predict how effective they would be at helping Bamboo Forest maintain a healthy workplace, but I’d drafted them carefully, hoping that it would contribute to that in some way.

On the other hand, I knew that being draconic about squashing every seed of potential harassment could be taxing in and of itself, and that not everyone shared my outlook on how a business ought to be run. There were expectations and cultures for a business unique to this country, and even this city. I had only wanted the employees to keep that in the back of their minds.

Now that I thought about it... The scribe I had contracted to make copies of the handbook had come to me halfway through the project with tears in their eyes, refusing to turn another page. It must have been a torturous book to read, somehow, because even Carme had cried when he read it, much to my dismay at the time. Did these employees know what they were signing up for by requesting it as a training document?

“The handbook was quite depressing to read,” Carme admitted, “but filled with details—especially in the first half—that resonated with many employees, myself included. They were pointed warnings of behavior to be mindful of. The problem was that, as the handbook progressed, the actions of the hypothetical boss became more unhinged with every scenario... ‘When your boss slugs you with a bottle,’ for example. Employees shouldn’t be expecting that to happen to them. Your comments and the occasional, personal anecdotes seemed so real, which only made our resonating with them all the more painful.”

In the writing process, while thinking of personal experiences to turn into training scenarios, I had wanted to burn the whole thing a couple of times. Could I have subconsciously cursed the handbook? Despite my intentions, plenty of negative emotions were involved, and some magical energy had come out when I nearly cast a Fire spell on the book... Uh-oh. 

“Do you know where the original is?” I asked.

“I’ve treated it as a classified document since it pertains to running the business. It’s in the locked cabinet over here...” Carme strode over to the cabinet and retrieved a handbook as voluminous as a dictionary.

Is it cursed? I couldn’t tell. At the very least, it didn’t feel the same as holding one of the stones Remily and I had used when practicing curses.

“It’s probably fine,” Carme said. “The copy of the handbook was just as depressing as the original, and everyone who only read the copy felt the same way as I did.”

“That’s a relief... Who’s everyone?”

“Every employee who has been working since the grand opening. Once they read the handbook, they...seemed to understand why you treat your employees so well,” Carme said, adamantly avoiding eye contact. Clearly, I had made them all feel sorry for me.

Stumped on what else to say, I cast Despell on Carme and the book itself before changing the subject rather suddenly.

I did agree to Carme using the handbook for training, and left it up to him to decide how much of the original he wanted to carry over into a new and official training handbook. Seeing how expertly he ran the shop, I had no doubt that he would take care of it with proper nuance so as not to traumatize any new employees.