Tiga gadis yang berdiri di hadapan Lex kelihatannya berusia awal 20-an, dan pemindaian singkat menunjukkan bahwa mereka semua masih dalam tahap awal latihan Qi. Ini tidaklah aneh, karena dengan harapan hidup rata-rata di realm ini, orang-orang jauh lebih terbiasa untuk melakukan segala sesuatu dengan perlahan.
Lex menyadari bahwa mereka tidak terlalu fokus dalam berkultivasi, kemungkinan besar karena keterbatasan waktu atau kondisi finansial yang membuat mereka bekerja. Pakaian mereka yang pudar menandakan bahwa kehidupan sehari-hari mereka lebih banyak dihabiskan untuk bekerja.
"Perkenalkan diri kalian," kata Lex singkat.
"Namaku Naki, dan aku kakak tertua," kata yang mengenakan baju hijau.
"Namaku Nami, dan aku kakak tengah," kata yang mengenakan baju kuning.
"Namaku Nani, dan aku adik bungsu," kata yang mengenakan baju oranye.
"Kami sudah punya pekerjaan, tapi kami bekerja terpisah. Jika kami bisa bekerja di tempat yang sama, itu akan jauh lebih mudah bagi kami," kata Naki.
"Ya, ya, itu akan lebih baik bagi kami, dan lebih baik bagimu juga. Kami pekerja keras, dan semua orang menyukai kami," kata Nami.
"Naki bekerja di toko bahan makanan, Nami bekerja di laundry untuk orang kaya, dan aku bekerja di dapur restoran membantu para koki," kata Nani.
Ketiga gadis itu memancarkan energi yang positif dan semangat, dan Lex tidak keberatan untuk mempekerjakan mereka, tetapi dia harus menguji kemampuan mereka terlebih dahulu.
"Pekerjaan kalian terdengar bagus, apakah kalian yakin ingin menggantinya? Kerumunan di tavern bisa kasar, dan pekerjaannya juga tidak mudah. Tapi kalian tidak perlu khawatir tentang keselamatan, karena aku akan memastikan semua pekerjaku aman," kata Lex.
"Ya, kami tidak malu-malu," jawab ketiga bersaudara itu. "Kami punya 9 saudara laki-laki, kami tumbuh besar di antara anak laki-laki, kami tahu cara menjaga diri sendiri."
Lex mendoakan kesehatan ibu mereka dan tidak membiarkan pikirannya terlalu jauh pada hal itu.
"Ada beberapa posisi yang terbuka. Pertama, aku butuh beberapa koki dan juga pelayan bar. Rick menangani pembersihan untuk sekarang, jadi aku tidak khawatir tentang hal lain. Aku juga butuh seseorang untuk housekeeping. Pekerjaan mana yang kalian minati? Aku harus melihat performa kalian di posisi itu sebelum mempekerjakan kalian," kata Lex.
Ketiga bersaudara itu ingin menjadi housekeeper, tapi Lex tidak membutuhkan mereka semua di posisi itu. Maka, mereka memilih beberapa posisi yang berbeda, dengan dasar bahwa jam kerja mereka sama.
Lex memberi tahu mereka bahwa dia akan membuat keputusan setelah melihat mereka bekerja, dan memerintahkan Rick untuk menunjukkan mereka tempat kerja.
Dino, yang selama ini berdiri diam, akhirnya maju dan berkata, "Aku mendengar tavernmu dikunjungi oleh saudara-saudara Noel tadi malam. Jika kamu berhasil membuat kesan yang baik, maka aku bisa bilang kamu sedang beruntung, dan tavernmu akan segera dikunjungi oleh semua orang kaya di kota."
"Mereka bersaudara?" tanya Lex sambil membandingkan dua kepribadian yang sangat berbeda.
"Tentu saja," kata Dino sambil tertawa. "Mereka adalah putra-putra Lord Noel, penguasa negeri ini. Babylon hanyalah salah satu dari ratusan kota kecil di bawah kekuasaan keluarga mereka, jadi sangat jarang bagi mereka untuk berkunjung. Setiap belasan tahun, seseorang dari keluarga Lord muncul untuk memastikan semuanya berjalan baik.
"Saudara-saudara Noel itu lebih dicintai daripada Lord sendiri. Meskipun mereka adalah orang kelas atas, mereka sangat ramah. Ada banyak cerita tentang mereka membantu orang biasa jika melihat seseorang dalam kesulitan. Lord Pvarti bahkan pernah menyelamatkan pertanian kakekku," kata Dino dengan bangga.
Ceritanya membuat Lex menyadari bahwa Pvarti mungkin sudah berusia beberapa ratus tahun, meskipun dia bertingkah seperti remaja yang mencari kegembiraan.
Lex bingung karena wilayah ini diperintah oleh manusia biasa, bukan oleh ras Crystal seperti yang dia harapkan. Dia mencatat untuk mempelajari lebih lanjut tentang wilayah netral ini tanpa mencurigakan siapa pun.
"Ada rumor," lanjut Dino, "bahwa Lord Pvarti sebenarnya memutuskan pertunangan yang diatur oleh ayahnya. Mereka bilang Lord sangat marah, dan sedang berencana menghukum berat putranya."
"Itu masuk akal. Bertram bilang dia sedang menunda pulang," kata Lex, menambahkan gosip baru.
"Hahahaha! Oh, istriku akan sedih karena kita melewatkan mereka ketika dia mendengar ini," kata Dino sambil tertawa. "Aku harus kembali ke toko roti. Semoga beruntung dengan para bersaudara itu, tapi kamu tidak harus bersikap lunak karena aku. Mereka gadis-gadis baik, aku harap mereka bekerja keras," kata Dino sebelum pergi.
"Terima kasih," kata Lex. Bagus tidaknya performa mereka bergantung pada apakah dia bisa mendapatkan tamu. Tavern kosong akan menyulitkan untuk menilai.
"Oh," kata Dino tiba-tiba dengan nada khawatir, "Jika saudara-saudara Noel memuji tavernmu, harapkan banyak orang kaya mampir. Tapi hati-hati jika saudari mereka datang. Jika mereka datang, berhati-hatilah."
Sebelum Lex bisa bertanya lebih lanjut, Dino pergi. Lex mengangkat alisnya dengan rasa ingin tahu, dan memutuskan untuk mencari informasi lebih lanjut di Ruang Rumor.
Dia membuka buku yang terus menampilkan rumor-rumor terbaru yang beredar di sekitar Babylon. Lex secara sadar memilih topik "Keluarga Noel - saudari". Dia membaca rumor yang paling umum beredar, dan ekspresinya mulai memburuk.
Pamela Noel, kakak perempuan Pvarti dan Bertram, adalah gadis yang sangat manja. Semua tanda menunjukkan dia menderita sindrom putri, dan sangat mendominasi. Untuk membuatnya lebih buruk, kultivasinya tidak lemah, dia berada di realm Nascent, dan dia sangat dimanjakan oleh tidak hanya ayahnya, tetapi juga oleh saudara-saudaranya.
Lex berdoa dalam hatinya bahwa dia tidak akan mengunjungi tavern itu, dia tidak ingin mengurus anak manja.
Di sisi lain Babylon, seseorang lain telah masuk ke kereta saudara-saudara Noel. Pvarti berbagi berbagai cerita petualangannya dengan orang ini, dan ketika ceritanya mencapai suatu tavern, Bertram menyebutkan bahwa tavern itu memiliki koleksi anggur yang menyenangkan.
"Oh?" seru wanita itu. "Bahkan Bert kecil menyukainya. Aku akan mengingatnya untuk mengunjunginya nanti."
The three girls standing in front of Lex seemed to be in their early 20s, and a quick scan showed Lex that they were all still in the early phases of Qi training. This wasn't abnormal, since with the average life expectancy in this realm, people were a lot more used to taking their time with things.
They lacked a certain sense of urgency that was hidden deep within the psyche of Earthlings. Yet, considering the resource available in this realm, the uniformity of their cultivation realm, and the realm itself told Lex that they had not focused much on cultivating. This meant that they were either lazy, or lacked the time to cultivate. The faded colors on their clothes indicated that it was probably their financial situation that took up most of their time in the form of various jobs.
"Introduce yourselves," Lex said simply, after a brief moment of introspection.
"My name is Naki, and I'm the oldest sister," said the one wearing green.
"My name is Nami, and I'm the middle sister," said the one wearing yellow.
"My name is Nani, and I'm the youngest sister," said the one wearing orange.
"We have jobs already, but we all work separately. If we could all work in the same place, it would be a lot easier on us," said Naki.
"Yes, yes, it would be better for us, and better for you. We're hard workers, and everyone loves us," said Nami.
"Naki works as a floor worker in a grocery store, Nami works at a laundry service for rich people and I work in a kitchen in a restaurant, helping the chefs" said Nani.
The three girls radiated a vibrant and positive energy, and Lex had no issues hiring them, but he would first have to test their capabilities and decide what position they'd be good for.
"Your jobs sound good, are you sure you want to change them? The crowd at a tavern can be rough, and the work can be rougher. Of course, you won't need to worry about your safety, as I will make sure to take care of all my workers, but it still won't be easy."
"Yes, we're not shy," the three sisters answered at the same time. "We have 9 brothers so we grew up around boys, we know how to take care of ourselves."
9 brothers? Lex prayed for their mothers good health and didn't let his thoughts dwell on the subject.
"There's a few positions open. First, I need a few cooks and I also need barmaids. Rick handles the cleaning for now so I'm not worried about anything else, but whoever takes up the position will have long hours. Moreover, I need someone for housekeeping as well. Which of those jobs are you interested in? I have to let you know that I'll have to see how you perform in that position before I hire you."
All three sisters wanted to be housekeepers, but Lex didn't need that many. So they opted for a few different positions, but the premise was that they have the same work hours. Otherwise, there was no point in them changing their jobs.
Lex told them he'd make a decision after he saw them work, and instructed Rick to show them around and tell them where they'd be working.
Dino, who had been standing silently on the side till now, finally stepped up and said, "I heard your tavern was visited by the Noel brothers last night. If you managed to make a good impression then I'd say you're in luck, and your tavern will soon be visited by all the rich folk in town."
"They were brothers?" Lex asked as he compared their two extremely different personalities. "I take it that they're famous around here."
While they spoke Lex invited Dino to sit, and poured him a reinvigorating juice. It was way too early in the day for anything else.
"Of course they are," Dino said with a laugh. "They're the sons of lord Noel, the ruler of these lands. Babylon is just one of the hundreds of small towns under their family's rule, so it's very rare for any of them to visit. Every dozen or so years, someone from the lord's family makes an appearance to make sure everything is going okay.
"As for the Noel brothers, they're even more beloved than the lord himself. Though they're upper class folk, they both are very friendly. There are even countless stories of them even helping the common folk if they spot someone in trouble. Lord Pvarti even saved my grandfather's farm once," Dino told with pride in his voice.
His story, though, made Lex realize that Pvarti was probably a few hundred years old himself, despite him acting like a teenager in search of excitement.
The fact that baffled Lex, though, was that the lord of these lands was actually a human. Not that he was looking down on the human race or anything, but when he compared the wealth that the map showed in this area, he was expecting it to be ruled by the Crystal race.
That wasn't to say that this was the richest plot of land in the realm, but it was definitely up there on the list, so he expected a more powerful race to control it.
If not the Crystal race, then even the Trelops would make more sense. The unusual way in which they integrated with nature, making entire forests and other landscapes their bodies made them ridiculously powerful. Lex even expected that, if Trelops existed back in the Origin realm, if they became strong enough they could probably even treat entire planets as their bodies.
He made a note to learn more about this neutral territory, without arousing suspicion of course.
"There's a rumor," Dino continued his story, not noticing Lex lost in his thoughts, "that lord Pvarti actually broke off an engagement that his father arranged for him. They say the lord is furious, and is planning on seriously punishing the young lord."
"That makes sense. Bertram said that he was delaying going home," Lex informed Dino, adding to the juicy piece of gossip. Nothing helped integrate people into communities more than sharing gossip.
"Hahahaha indeed! Oh my wife will be so sad we missed them when she hears about this," Dino said, barely containing his laughter. "I should get back to my bakery or else we'll just spend the day chatting like this. Good luck with the sisters, though you don't have to be lenient on my account. They're good girls so I expect they'll work hard, but if you don't think so, then don't hesitate to tell them no."
"Thanks, I'll let you know how things go," Lex said. How well they performed really depended on if he got any guests. An empty tavern would make it very hard for him to judge how well they worked.
"Oh and uh," Dino suddenly said, his bright disposition suddenly changing to one full of hesitation and concern. "I meant what I said. If the Noel brothers compliment your tavern, expect a lot of rich folk to drop by. But well, just… just be careful if their sister comes as well. Just as much as the brothers are beloved, the sister… uhh, well she… just take care if she comes."
With that, before Lex could ask any questions, Dino rushed off, afraid Lex would ask him what he meant. Lex raised an eyebrow in curiosity. If there really was some trouble heading his way, it would be best to get some information on it.
He used the spatial formation to walk through the kitchen door and enter the backyard instead, and headed towards the Rumor room. Since whatever information Dino was sharing was likely rumors and gossip anyway, he believed this room would be just as reliable.
The room was akin to a small study station, with an oakwood desk placed against the wall, with a book placed on the desk. Lex took a seat and opened the book that seemed to have endless pages.
This book would list all the currently ongoing rumors in the tavern's vicinity. He didn't know how large the range was, but he assumed it would at most cover Babylon. He could read the rumors randomly, or he could specifically pick a certain topic.
Directing choosing 'Noel family - sister' mentally, Lex began to read from the most commonly circulated rumor, and slowly his expression started to worsen. The fact that all the rumors seemed so typical and predictable made Lex certain that they were likely true. In summary,
Pamela Noel, older sister to Pvarti and Bertram Noel, was an extremely spoiled girl. All signs indicated she suffered from princess syndrome, and was extremely dominating in her ways. To make it worse, her cultivation was not weak either, at the Nascent realm, but worst of all was that she was greatly indulged by not only her father, but by her brothers as well.
Lex prayed in his heart that she wouldn't visit the tavern, he was in no mood to babysit.
Just as Lex was reading through these rumors, at the other side of Babylon, another person had entered the Noel brothers carriage. Pvarti was sharing various stories of his adventures with this person, and when his tale finally reached a certain tavern, even Bertram couldn't help but mention that it had a surprisingly pleasant wine collection.
"Oh?" the woman exclaimed. "Even little Bert likes it. I'll remember to check it out next time I'm around."
Komentar Chapter (0)
Login buat ikut berkomentar.
Belum ada komentar di chapter ini. Jadi yang pertama!