Osric was falling asleep in his bed—
And in another part of town, Paul had started telling his wife about everything that occurred to him today.
His wife was quite surprised.
"I understand. And I am not mad at you for getting fired."
"You did the right thing honey. That's why I love you."
Paul got teary eyed and embraced his wife as he kissed her.
She smiled first, but then pushed him away.
"You reek of alcohol. Sit down"
"Don't be like that. Give me another kiss."
They playfully bickered for a while.
"So what do you plan on doing?"
"You mentioned Osric a few times before from your childhood stories. And he can be trusted. Do you want to work for him?"
Paul sighed.
"I do, but I am not sure how much he can pay me and it carries many risks."
"I have never entered the monster forest before, but I wouldn't be the first porter to die in there."
"What do you think Carol?"
"I think you should take it."
Paul didn't expect that answer.
"What?"
Carol smiled.
"Where will you find a boss who you can trust as much as you trust Osric?"
"And even if right now you might not earn a lot, I heard a lot of positive rumours about him and that he will succeed as an adventurer."
"Also, I might earn decent money with my bakery that I inherited from my father, but we will need more starting now…"
She had an extremely bright smile as she continued.
"Because I am with child."
Paul stood up quickly and his chair fell down.
He had never been happier about any news in his life.
"Really?!"
Carol chuckled with tears flowing down her cheeks.
"Yes honey."
Paul started crying in joy and hugged her with all his might.
"Ehh, honey."
"You're chocking me."
"Oh no!"
"Sorry honey. Is my son okay?!"
"You dummy. We don't know if it's a boy or girl yet!"
—
The next morning Paul went to the inn that Osric stayed at.
But it was already noon and Osric wasn't there.
Meanwhile Osric had told William about his encounter with Paul, as they were training at the guild.
"That's amazing!"
"What amazing luck man!"
William was very excited that Osric had found a trustworthy porter so quickly.
"Don't get your hopes up William."
"He didn't agree yet."
William rolled his eyes.
"Come on. How can he say no to you?"
"You're so pessimistic boss."
Osric just sighed and raised his practice sword.
"You talk too much."
He moved very quickly to throw a stab at William's chest, but it was blocked.
"Haha. I am not so easy anymore."
"I am confident that I am more skilled with the shield than you."
'Although he still practically beats me in everything else.' William thought as he frowned with sweat dripping down his forehead.'
—
Osric and William walked back into the guild building after finishing their training.
What Osric saw inside surprised him.
He spotted a nervous looking Paul sitting by himself at an empty table.
Paul clearly looked uncomfortable being surrounded by adventurers for the first time.
'Hah. He came much quicker than expected. Although I hope it's good news.'
They met eyes and Osric approached him together with William.
Osric introduced the two to each other and they started talking while sitting down.
"I see. Congratulations on the baby. And I am also happy to hear your answer."
Paul smiled.
"Thanks Osric. So what's the next step?"
Osric took out a rolled up paper from his bag and put it on the table.
"I already drafted up a contract. Read it and tell me what you think."
Paul was surprised after reading it.
"3 silver a month plus 5% of all mission earnings? Is this real?"
Osric wasn't sure if it was too little.
"Yes. Why?"
"This is almost as much as I earned before. I thought it would be much less."
Osric was relieved.
"I am glad to hear that. I took those 5% from my original 60%, so now I will earn 55, William still 40 and you 5. Is everyone okay with that?"
William shrugged.
"Sure. My share stays the same and is already good enough."
Paul felt grateful.
"Are you sure about this? I would be okay with just the 3 silver."
Osric nodded.
"This is the least I can do. 3 silver is just the bare minimum to survive here in Ashbrook. I would give you more if my own stipend was higher, but as our earnings from monster corpses increase, we will all earn more."
Paul smiled as he felt Osric's genuineness and signed the contract.
"Thank you Osric. I will do my absolute best working for you!"
As they shook hands, William also smiled from the side, as he was happy seeing this side of Osric.