What appeared next was a flood of notifications. And emotions.

[Initializing binding process.]

[24…57…72...88…100]

[Commencing to bind with the target.]

[3…18…23...35...47…66...79…87…100] The counter reached the 100 percent mark so fast, in under a second, that it almost seemed redundant.

[Binding completed successfully.]

[New [Employee](Special) hired. For lack of other suitable rooming alternatives, the only available residence for [Employee] Emily was automatically assigned.]

[Congratulations on hiring your first employee.

New feature unlocked: Staff management.]

[Warning!

Employee Emily’s apparel is inadequate to represent the Emporium in a satisfying manner.

Until this issue is rectified, the Employee in question is not qualified to be assigned to any task or workstation.

Thank you for your understanding.

Notice: The integrated store offers a variety of suitable attires.]

‘Understanding my ass!’

At the same time, all the dirt and grime and dried mud peeled off of Em’s body and disintegrated into nothingness as soon as it touched the ground. Only the dirty, and in some parts torn, rags which still hang loosely on her skinny frame betrayed the fact that she had obviously been used to living on the streets. Or maybe even in worse places.

Her hair turned out to be of a light brown color, with a hint of red which, probably, even the people most familiar with her had never seen before. ‘I wonder how many years...Has she ever been clean before?’

Emily herself, though, didn’t seem to notice the changes to her person, as she just stood there stunned, motionless. Overwhelmed by the realization that this was real and not just a scheme to take advantage of her, something she wasn’t totally sold on even a moment ago when she was suddenly and magically able to read the strange floating screen in front of her, as she as well was now able to see and, more importantly, understand a bunch of notifications.

Giving her the time he knew she needed, to digest all the information and impressions, Severin didn’t disturb her in her trance-like state. Instead, he browsed the store to find something appropriate for Em to wear.

‘Once again, having to do stuff that should’ve been taken care of by the System itself.

Once again, more of a lackey than anything else.’ While he complained inside his heart, Severin couldn’t disagree with the urgent need for some more appropriate and fitting clothes for his first employee.

‘Even if she isn’t covered in dirt stains anymore, I guess she would still be ignored, as she is right now. At best. If she ever even decided to reach out to someone. Not to mention her wanting to enter a shop.

Even now, with those ten gold coins…who knows what would happen to her. Still…’ Severin had been positively surprised by the [Duelist] and his attitude towards the girl. Even if the guy seemed not to care or even realize what he was doing, Severin was sure that this was Xander’s way of showing compassion.

‘No way, a random girl from the slums or wherever was his only choice. Much less the best.’

Severin quickly bought a red medieval-looking dress, which he thought would match Em’s hair color. The thing was seemingly made out of cotton, judging by the small picture next to it; But unlike his own shirt it came with an enchantment on it which, supposedly, granted, ‘+1 Confidence’. While Severin had no clue how, or even if, that addition would be noticeable, as he was able to write the purchase off as a business expense, and therefore didn’t have to pay for it himself, he wasn’t too concerned with the premium price of one thousand gold. Neither with the comparatively cheaper pair of leather boots.

‘Maybe not all that ladylike, but if anyone would be able to appreciate a sturdy pair of boots, it should be her.’

The next step was navigating the new ‘Staff management’ menu.

‘Salary, one percent. Seems fine for now. Assign job…still greyed...now where is…ah! ‘Send items’. There it is! Now, let's try to just drag the stuff over there and then…’

Ding

The resulting notification finally snapped Emily out of it. She raised her shaky small hands towards the bluish screen, which only Severin was able to see besides her. Only to stop mid-motion and freeze once again. Only for a moment, though, this time as soon realization set in.

Sob

“I-I don’t… “Seemingly out of nowhere and without reason, tears started to appear on the girl’s face.

Cry

Severin had no clue how to react. He didn’t like this situation.

“No more…!”

Severin didn’t know what to make out of this. The swallowed sentences didn’t help either in trying to understand what was going on right now.

“I don’t feel it…!”

In an awkward and terribly conscious manner, Severin put his hands on Emily’s shoulders and bent down to face her directly. Seeing the face, wet from both tears and snot, closeup, he wasn’t able to form any intelligible words either. The red swollen eyes and her strange grimace made for an expression Severin wasn’t able to read.

‘That’s not what I signed up for!’

boohoo

“N-No more hunger!” With that, she threw herself into Severin’s arms and the floodgates opened.

After an unknown period of time, the two of them separated.

“Thank you.” The small voice was still a bit broken and shaky, but her smile was apparent and genuine. Not used to, and certainly not fond of, overly emotional situations Severin seemed rather uncomfortable receiving the girl’s thanks. He tried his hardest to suppress his own tears.

ahem

“Try navigating the System screen and open the inventory.” Severin pointed towards the chest icon, trying to change the subject. “I’ve sent you something to make you look presentable. And don’t mention it!

“Also, just thinking it is enough, you don’t actually have to use your hands and really touch it. Besides me, no one else will be able to see it anyway, so if you don’t want to look like a crazy person…”

Em didn’t seem to mind the gruff tone as she did what Severin had suggested as she still carried a wide smile on her face.

“For me? My own dress? And my very own shoes?! Are you ser…”

“Try also opening your character screen now. I suspect you should be able to equip it from there without having to actually change,” he quickly interrupted her as he tried to preempt another round of crying.

Hearing this, instead of following the instructions, her ears perked up in surprise. “Suspect?”

“Later.”

‘Damn. I guess living on the streets makes you more perceptive. And age faster in general.’

“For now, we should inform Xander first. Seems like he’s getting impatient. See that white dot? Inside the map menu.” The dot bearing Xander’s name had become somewhat restless.

“Aaah! So, you already knew my name even before asking?!” The surprised exclamation was followed by a tone of mock accusation.

‘Yeah, way too perceptive.’

“That…”

Just as Severin tried to come up with a helpless excuse, the new [Employee] standing in front of him, from one moment to the other, suddenly looked like a whole new person.

Like a girl. A real one. One which didn’t have to live off of other people’s waste and was kicked for it.

”Thank you so much!”

Even Severin couldn’t keep a stupid grin off his face as he saw the girl swirl around in her new dress while squealing in amusement.

‘Well, not so old after all.’

“Haha. Come, let’s send Xandi on his way for now.”

“Yes, of course! Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“I said, don’t mention it.”

“Thank you.”

…

After a moment of irritation and confusion on Xander’s part, Severin was soon greeted with a look of disgust.

“How did you make her cry? And why do you have girl clothes just readily available?”

Instantly, all the goodwill Xander had recently earned with Severin was lost.