First thing the next morning, he called on the two applicants to see him. He had to ask someone—one of the servants who cleaned the Lord's House, which he was currently occupying—to do so.
This was the house the new leading team would be using while the new houses were being built. This was the only one with a decent toilet and decent amenities, so they really couldn't be choosy if they wanted to live with some semblance of comfort.
As the occupied territory, Guia's buildings could be built in the main territory, Alterra (not that any of those interested them), but the same could not be done to the extensions.
Anyway, the two applicants were naturally confused as to why he didn't just send an announcement to them. However, they followed the servant anyway.
Elders and Stewards could make general announcements, but 'filtered' ones or those directed to specific groups of people seemed to be a 'Lord-only' privilege. The theory was that it required more energy for the system to do so, rather than just an overall announcement which was the default.
Similarly, they could not send messages to citizens outside the territory lines either, even if they were willing to pay the extra costs for it.
Pushing aside these thoughts for a while, Gill stood up and prepared to head to the Village Center to meet up with the new hires.
Before he left the room though, he heard the tapping sound at one of the interior balconies of the large house. The Bird Loft was there and Gill's feet moved faster to check it out.
Sure enough, a Messenger Bird was there, and wrapped on its feet was a piece of rolled paper.
He fed the bird its meal and rolled out the letter. His eyebrows rose when he saw its content.
/Prepare to send goblins to Limestone Valley. Some guards would get there soon./
Gill and the new hires met up in the Village Center meeting room on the second floor. The third floor—the one with the teleportation array—remained accessible only to Althea.
The two were understandably quite nervous. After all, they had heard of how many people Gill sent to jail. If he disliked them, what if they got thrown there, too?
They tried to appear professional and likeable though, which in Xeno meant appearing strong. So when Gill arrived, he saw the two's posture suddenly straighten like tense bows pulled back.
The two tensely gestured to bow, "Milord—"
"I'm not the lord," he said, waving his hand. "I'm just a temporary steward assigned to fix things until a new steward comes in."
This made the two a bit confused but they nodded. The taking over of territories wasn't common knowledge, but it was actually an open secret among the upper class. They assumed that the token was won and had been sold to the new lord, which apparently wasn't the case.
They then returned to their tense postures, making Gill's eyes to twitch.
It looked very uncomfortable.
"Relax," he said, "You look like idiots."
His words did not make them relax at all.
He sighed and sat down, staring at the two men who didn't seem like they were breathing. He didn't say much anymore since he knew he couldn't comfort them anyway. Instead, he took the time to observe them and perhaps get more information about them based on their appearances.
Poki was a tall man with tanned skin and light-colored hair, while—as he thought—Gio was an extremely effeminate young lad that anyone could mistake for a female.
There were no signs of arrogance or complacency in them, which he liked. "I will be hiring the two of you, but there will be a probationary period," he said after a tense minute. "If you don't perform well for the next month, then you'll lose the job."
This made the two brighten and look at him gratefully. Gill raised his hand to stop them from speaking. "I am very strict."
"Yes, we understand!"
After making sure they truly understood, Gill then proceeded on sending out his first orders to them.
He looked at Poki, "I want you to study and look for decent and strong men and women who wish to protect the territory. You will be paid well, at least 300 copper every day."
"Three-Three hundred—sir?" Poki gasped and Gill nodded.
"If you do well after the probationary period, you would be entitled to the minimum wage of 500 copper."
In villages, that's a very good salary!
Poki was very excited. However, when he recalled and memorized the instructions, he couldn't help but pause. Perhaps he had misheard?
"And…sir Gill, women?" They were hiring… women? Really?
Gill's eyebrow rose and it made the two flinch. "Is there anything wrong?"
"N-No, sir!" Poki immediately exclaimed, doing their standard respectful salute.
Meanwhile, Gio stood awkwardly at the side and waiting for his own instructions.
"Your job would be administrative," he said. "Your job will be to help ensure everything is in order—in and outside of wars."
Gio blinked, then paled, realizing he didn't know anything about how to do that.
"Don't worry, someone's coming from Alterra who will be in-charge of the overall organization of the territory. They will also teach you exactly what you have to do. Just do your best to learn as much as you can as quickly as possible."
Gill looked at him. "Your job may need a bit more sternness than that," he said. "You need some training."
He stood up and headed to the door.
"You will come with me, we will be going around the territory," he said. "You will tell me what you see, and tell me what is wrong in your eyes."
Ideally, he could hire someone who grew up in Guia, but sadly there was no one qualified as of yet. It was less about their skill and talent, but more about their worldview.
Growing up in a place like Guia and having its values, it was unlikely for a proper human being—one who could serve a territory with professionalism—to grow.
In the end, every person in its leading team was… a foreigner.
"I want to know how you truly look at this territory," he said, going down the stairs, closely followed by the two. He was not one for inspirational speeches, but he needed these two to do well, otherwise he'd suffer.
"I want to hear what you think we should do to improve it.
"For better or for worse, this is your new home now," he told them. "Then why not make it better?"