Chapter 484. Unusual
‘Let’s take a mont to drink so water and clear our heads.’
Gulp.
I turned on the water purifier installed in the office. Then, I watched the swirling water molecules in the glass and began to think.
[The guild you manage has been selected as the “Outstanding” exemplary organization for this quarter]
The outstanding company of the year. Or the top guild of the quarter ntioned this ti, and so on.
Fortunately, even an alien marine creature could understand the significance of the above terms. For ordinary people living normal lives, this information wouldn’t matter much. But for a hunter in the job market, or soone preparing to buy stock in a particular company, waiting for the annually announced list of award-winning guilds made perfect sense.
‘Do I… really have to attend this award ceremony?’
Moreover, the hunting industry in this world has always placed its life on showcasing achievents. Since the concept of magic was only just beginning to rise, guild leaders often had to prove their abilities in so way to secure human resources.
The Neo Sisters received massive financial backing from a large corporation. The Korean Magic Tower even had an S-rank hunter as its guild master. For small and dium guilds with nothing else to boast about, wouldn’t it make sense to at least collect awards like this to build credibility?
“Hmm.”
A fleeting thought crossed my mind. The image of a mammal standing endlessly in front of the guild master, sweating profusely… This was a scene commonly seen whenever passing by relevant governnt agencies, as small- and dium-sized guilds structurally struggled to recruit higher-ranked Awakeners.
Therefore, I heard that newly opened hunting companies often have headhunters barely managing to secure personnel while guarding various regional Awakener examiners. But what would happen if these mammals, who are busy just handing out business cards, were given sothing like an “Outstanding Organization Award” record?
‘Of course, things would beco incredibly easier.’
Suddenly, my chest ached. Everyone else seed to need it, but being forced to accept sothing I didn’t want made feel uneasy.
‘Anyway, achievents like this don’t affect my workload. But ordinary human employees can at least leave work earlier, right?’
But whatever sympathy I might feel as an outsider aside, what really mattered right now was the attention this award ceremony would draw from humans.
‘It’s only been a few days since the prototype golem caused a commotion—just a few days!’
The guild I had established for tax breaks dared to create a new headline. I decided that I couldn’t let this continue.
‘Did I save all the employees’ phone numbers?’
So I imdiately pulled out my phone and began planning a sudden in-office eting with the employees.
***
Ding-dong. Ding-dong. Ding-dong.
“Hmm?”
One afternoon. More precisely, soti after 6 p.m., when office workers had already finished work.
‘There wasn’t any delivery I ordered this week, so what on earth—ah, you started !’
A B-rank hunter who had barely pushed through the evening rush on the roads to had get ho experienced sothing unexpected. An unannounced visitor had co to his terraced apartnt. For reference, it was pouring rain from the sumr sky. Yet despite the building exterior being soaked by the downpour and heavy with the sll of rainwater, the strange figure standing before the front-door peephole carried not a trace of body scent.
“What is this all of a sudden, Hunter Kim Giryeo?”
The familiar S-rank hunter had appeared.
“Did you co without any prior notice?”
“I’m sorry. I was a bit flustered today and completely forgot.
Seonwoo Yeon couldn’t hide her flustered expression. She was displeased by the fact that the other party had shown up without prior contact. Of course, no matter how much she preferred a carefully planned life, she had no intention of rigidly sticking to her schedule to the point of leaving a shivering outsider standing in the cold hallway.
“Please co in—go ahead and co inside.”
Seonwoo Yeon hurriedly ushered the other person inside.
“Seonwoo Yeon-ssi.”
“Ah, yes.”
However, the alien in front of her began saying sothing absurd the mont he stepped into the residence.
“By the way, I think I’m probably going to have a serious fight with Director Seo Esther soon.”
“Really?”
“Do you happen to know a hunter nad Choi Jin? She’s a bit tall—there’s a chance I might end up clashing with her in the near future as well…”
If S-rank hunters were to join forces and attempt to overthrow the social system, that would of course be terrifying. But it was hardly welco news for hunters whose nas everyone knew to end up grabbing at each other’s throats either.
‘Why is the lineup of people being nad like that, every single one of them?’
Therefore, the long-haired woman soon spoke up. Seonwoo Yeon cautiously asked Kim Giryeo how he had ended up on bad terms with so many famous hunters.
“That’s…”
In response, he gave a single answer.
“First of all, it’s not my fault.”
“I see.”
“The only mistake I made was giving my all in everything I did.”
The alien strongly insisted on his own innocence.
Tuk.
But once Kim Giryeo had safely entered the apartnt, he imdiately began acting as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He pulled out four 10,000-won bills and one 5,000-won bill from his leather wallet and boldly thrust them into the Earthling’s hand.
“And this is a Korean tradition.”
It certainly looks more polite to visit soone’s ho with sothing in hand rather than empty-handed. That was why this alien always prepared at least a small gift whenever he visited soone else’s place. Today, however, the visit was so sudden that he hadn’t been able to prepare a proper manufactured gift.
“But for that reason, suddenly handing soone cash is a bit much.”
Therefore, the black-haired woman beca certain at that mont. Despite his insistence that he was innocent, this incident too surely involved many mistakes on that alien’s part. For now, she declined the banknotes in front of her and moved toward a nearby table.
...
After moving into the Earthling’s ho, the alien then produced the following words.
“Our guild is about to end up receiving a major award.”
In many ways, it sounded like nonsense.
“This is a real crisis. The guild I set up just for tax deductions keeps drawing people’s attention…”
“It’s driving crazy.”
“On top of that, you said your personal ti has been reduced because of all the [Appraisal] work.”
The company had won a prestigious, officially recognized award. The employees were voluntarily boosting the reputation of the startup guild, yet for so reason, the alien CEO alone was left agonizing over it.
At that mont, a certain line of thought flashed through Kim Giryeo’s mind.
‘I even provided free [Enchants], so what are the employees increasing their workload for?’
Earlier today, Choi Jin, who had been summoned to the guild’s temporary office, answered the boss’s question like this.
‘Wasn’t giving them [Enchants] in the first place a way to make people work harder?’
‘What did you say?’
‘I thought you were the type who ran an organization really well using but carrots, without any whip at all.’
Those remarks were the company president from a binary star system couldn’t understand at all. Kim Giryeo gathered his courage and asked Choi Jin what she ant by that, and this was the answer he received.
‘If you don’t just hand out expensive equipnt to hunters indiscriminately… and instead give them a chance to strengthen what they already have.’
‘Yes.’
‘Of course people end up craving better weapons. If they’re going to enhance sothing anyway, they’ll want to apply those effects to the most expensive gear possible.’
The asure Kim Giryeo had used in hopes of hastily taking a few days off had ended up backfiring like this.
‘But that skill called [Enchant]… even just receiving it once makes such a huge difference that you can feel the contrast so strongly it almost feels like reverse feedback.’
‘…’
‘So the employees think, I have to work diligently to satisfy the guild master! Then I might also get special benefits for the gear I’ve saved up and upgraded over ti’, and…’
‘…’
‘And I guess that’s why everyone probably increased their workload?’
‘Because of you, all the dungeons in the Gangwon do area have already dried up’
‘Is that a complint?’
The alien had thought that freely handing out things [Enchant] without any compensation would stir humans’ lazy nature, gradually lulling them into sloth. However, the plan that relied on [Enchant] had failed. The archmage himself clearly admitted this point, but he could not accept the other issue at all.
“Now that Choi Jin has explained it directly, I understand perfectly well that we shouldn’t use the [Enchant] thod anymore.”
“But why do these damn employees end up working twice or three tis as much even when I raise their base salary?”
Tang.
The blond man lightly tapped the table with his fist, in response, the Earthling who had been listening blinked.
‘Well, that’s just…’
Soon, the word that ca to the woman’s mind was “motivation.” The problem, however, was how to explain this to an alien from a binary star system.
“Hmm.”
Let’s take an example at this point. A hunter nad Jang Ingyu, who had joined the alien-run company, was actually soone who had been treated this way only when he was in the Faith Guild.
‘[Faith Guild Deposit: 3,515,080 won]
3.5 million won per month. At first glance, it might seem like a lot, but within the hunting industry, it was barely enough to make ends et.
But the company kept raising fees, saying he should be grateful to work with teammates in a safe office rather than among “frogs” and “boss-stealing criminals” in the wild. Anyway, when he was at the Faith Guild, the whole world seed so gray.
‘After paying everything this month, I’ll barely be able to keep up with my savings.
One hunter, who had been repeating a daily life with no hope for the future, finally found a proper new workplace.
‘What the… the guild run by Hunter Kim Giryeo… the base salary is almost in the high 3.9 million won range? He really just give this money without any extraordinary conditions?’
Soone once said that happiness can’t be bought with money. However, since human joy levels were clearly linked to annual inco, the guild mbers whose earnings had increased felt their central nervous systems stimulated.
‘[Kim Giryeo Guild Deposit: 8,548,134 won]
In other words, it ant that every ti their salary ca in, they felt an imnse sense of accomplishnt. The humans who beca Kim Giryeo’s subordinates must have thought this.
‘The more I work at this company, the more money stays in my account… If I just work hard on my own, our family could actually beco happy.
Money is a substance closely linked to dopamine release. But since the guild master kept handing it out, the workers gradually found company life “fun,” and it seed they overworked themselves as a result.
“Hmm.”
Seonwoo Yeon explained the entire assumption she had co up with to the alien.
“So what you’re saying is that by giving out money, I actually ended up just stimulating the workers’ motivation even more.”
“Yes.”
“In a workplace like this, everyone will naturally strive to perform well out of the desire to avoid being the first to get fired, at least compared to the humans next to them.”
“That’s how society works.”
“Ugh. Once the soil analysis is finished, I really want to kick everyone out and shut the guild down…”
But saying sothing like that in front of a public official was bound to be dangerous. Just because he didn’t want the hassle of work, he was talking about blowing up so else’s workplace into nothing.
“Uh, Giryeo-ssi! But, at the very least, you absolutely can’t fire employees arbitrarily during the period specified in their employnt contracts.”
Soone urgently stopped the alien.
The National Tax Service.
In fact, even being entangled poorly with such a place in the first place wasn’t exactly a normal situation.
The Ministry of Labor and the National Tax Service.
Getting caught between them would be a truly bad situation. Seonwoo Yeon, fearing that the alien CEO might be reported to both supervisory agencies at once, took it upon herself to explain the relevant laws.
“I already know that much.”
However, the blond man’s reaction was unexpected.
“Do you know?”
“It’s probably because the body I’m using now has been earning money since my high school days.”
“Ah…”
“Don’t underestimate just because I’m an alien. I understand the importance of job security too.”
The guest, Kim Giryeo, sipped the green tea Seonwoo Yeon had offered. After wetting his lips, he revealed to her the plan he had been thinking about for a long ti.
“Then, let’s rule out the idea of kicking innocent workers out onto the streets.”
“Yes, yes.”
“After various consultations, I completely understand now. After all, the problems I’m facing ultimately stem from the employees being too loyal, right?”
“That’s true.”
“So from now on, I’m thinking of trying to lower their ‘company loyalty.’”
Sohow, it was an unsettling prelude.
“Intentionally lower people’s company loyalty?”
At that mont, a few scenes flashed through Seonwoo Yeon’s mind.
Moving desks. Making employees check company regulations all day under work orders. And treating them as invisible, and so on. In fact, there were already ways to pressure workers into leaving a company voluntarily.
‘Even if he tries to avoid the labor laws, once he crosses the line, any thod he uses will eventually work against him in a lawsuit…’
A sudden thought crossed his mind.
“If I make them painfully realize that I’m a hopeless boss, they’ll lose their motivation to work soon anyway, wouldn’t they?”
“Hmm.”
“Loyalty to the company, huh. This ti, my goal is to keep poking at them from the side until the Earthlings only want to scrape by on their paychecks.”
By the ti Kim Giryeo said sothing like this, Seonwoo Yeon’s worries had deepened considerably.
“Anyway, just because of a problem like this, I had to rush to learn how to use the corporate card.”
“Corporate card?”
However, the alien’s idea of harassnt sohow felt… off.
“Hunter Seonwoo Yeon, don’t be surprised. Starting next week, I’ll be holding lunch gatherings once a week.”
“Lunch?”
“When I searched online for ‘things office workers hate these days,’ the number one result that ca up was company dinners.”
“You’re saying you’ll hold the company dinners at lunchti?”
“Uh, that’s because after 6 PM it’s outside of working hours, right?”
The long-haired female Earthling gave him a look he couldn’t quite read. anwhile, the alien, unable to interpret her reaction, continued speaking with an air of nonchalance.
“I’ve had sothing like office work before, so I know—when a boss loiters around, it just makes people unnecessarily annoyed.”
“Hmm.”
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