Chapter 80 - Ronny's Job
After having lunch with Lucian, I finished my third-period class and now it was time for the joint fencing class.
In fencing class, we had to change in the training room, so we had to hurry a bit to make it on time. If commoners were late, it would already be noticeable, but we nobles would stand out even more. I had to make sure not to be late.
"Ronny, let's head to the training area early. If we're late, we'll definitely be scolded and stand out."
"Yeah, you're right. Let's go quickly."
Ronny and I were the first to leave the classroom with our bags and headed to the training area.
"I've never done fencing before. Even if it's practice, getting hit with a sword would hurt, right?"
"It might hurt if you get hit, but I think we'll start with things like how to hold a sword and practice swings. I don't think we'll be actually hitting each other from the beginning."
"Is that so? Well, that's a relief... Has Leon ever done fencing?"
"I've practiced a little bit with Lord Lucian before. But I've only done it briefly, so I'm no different from a beginner."
I had started learning fencing properly only about a week ago. I practiced swings every day, but I was still far from being anything but a beginner.
In the fencing class, I wanted to learn as much as possible. I was good at magic, but having more skills was always a plus. Fencing would be more useful in close combat, and a sword could also serve as a shield.
As Ronny and I chatted while walking quickly, we arrived at the training area. As soon as we entered the boys' changing room, there were screens set up just inside the entrance, and lockers were behind them.
I remembered that lockers were grouped by class. Our lockers were probably the closest to the entrance. Thinking that, I started looking for them near the entrance, and they were quickly found.
Just as I thought. The most frequented area is for Class E, and the back is for Class A.
"Ronny, I found them."
"Really? Thank you."
"Should we change quickly, then?"
"Yeah, we should. It's better to get out of the way so we don't inconvenience others."
We quickly changed and left the changing room. Ronny seemed more reserved than usual, probably because of the training clothes.
Ronny's training clothes were of lower quality than his regular clothes. He probably didn't have enough money to get training clothes of the same quality... With these clothes, he would probably receive comments like "Did you get new clothes? That's nice," even in my neighborhood.
In this school, he would likely stand out a lot...
"Leon, is it really bad in these clothes?"
"Well... You might stand out a bit."
"Yeah, I thought so... I didn't have enough money to buy training clothes of better quality."
With these clothes, he would probably stand out quite a bit and might be teased. Ronny was a good guy, so I wanted to minimize any potential bullying.
But would it be okay for me to lend him money? Ronny seemed hesitant, and...
Should I suggest a part-time job? But finding a job that only fits into the short hours after school in this world, where there aren't many schools, would be quite challenging.
Is Ronny currently working part-time?
"Are you working part-time right now? On days when there's no school or after school?"
"I haven't started yet. It's not easy to find such a convenient job. If they're hiring, they usually want someone who can work all day. I want to work too, but..."
I see... But Ronny can read, write, and do math. Isn't there a job where he can use those skills?
"Isn't there a job where you can use your intelligence, like reading, writing, and math?"
"I've never thought about that, but I don't think they'd hire someone who can only work for a short time. But now that you mention it... I'll try to look for something."
The first thing that comes to mind for a job that uses reading, writing, and math skills is a merchant, but if they're hiring someone who can only work short hours, wouldn't they prefer to hire someone who can work all day and provide necessary training? Well, if it were me, I might do that.
Hmm, it's quite complicated.
What if I open a shop and hire Ronny? I have some capital now, and it might work out well. How about a stall after school and on recovery days? You can set up a stall with just an application, right? Then I can buy the necessary items, hire Ronny, and split the profits. Even if there's no profit, I can still give him a fixed salary.
That sounds like a good idea! Now, what should we sell? And it's important to see if Ronny can spare time on holidays.
"Ronny, can you spare time on holidays? Do you need to study?"
"Hmm, I think it should be okay, but I'd like to reserve Sunday mornings for studying."
"How about running a stall with me after school and on holidays?"
"A stall?"
"Yes, I'm thinking of starting a stall and hiring you. What do you think? You'll get half of the profits, and even if there's no profit, I'll still pay you a fixed salary."
"Um... That's really generous of you, but starting a stall would require a lot of money, I think. And I doubt we'll make a profit that easily..."
Certainly, it would require some investment, but I should have enough money. And there are various things I can think of selling. I can confirm whether they'll be accepted in this world and sell them accordingly.
"I have the money, so don't worry about that! If we decide to start the stall, would you be willing to work with me? I plan to join an after-school club, so I might not be able to be at the stall too often..."
"Of course! I want to say that, but how much would I get paid?"
Hmm, how much would be fair? About three hours after school and maybe six hours on holidays?
If we consider it as an hourly wage, it would be one copper coin. That's one silver coin and eight copper coins per week. Let's add a little extra, how about two silver coins per week?
"Let's make it two silver coins per week as a fixed salary, and if there's any profit, we'll add 20% to it."
"W-What!? That's way too much for me!"
Is it? I don't know the standards of this world.
"That's already quite high! And you shouldn't be giving employees a share of the profit at all!"
"True, but since it's just you and me running the stall... Two silver coins and 20% of the profit sound fair to me."
"Um... Well, if you're offering it, I'll gratefully accept it, but it still seems like a lot..."
Hmm, if he says so... Maybe I should reduce it a bit? But I think the fixed salary is fine as it is.
"Then let's go with two silver coins as a fixed salary and
20% added to any profit."
"Um... Well, if you're offering it, I'll gratefully accept it."
"All right, it's settled! I'll prepare everything, and once it's decided, we'll talk again."
"Okay. You're doing this for my sake, right? Thank you so much."
"It's not just for your sake. I've always wanted to try running a stall, and there are things I'd like to sell."
At this point, other students had also entered the training area, so we stopped our conversation.
"Well, let's do our best in class for now."
"Yeah, it's not something I'm looking forward to, but I'll do my best."
Comments
Post a Comment