No. 11 Rose Street, Glen Relics Preservation Association.
“Miss Shalin, your coffee.”
Mary Wheeler spoke to the middle-aged woman seated on the sofa.
Shalin Bell, responsible for material management and records, nodded slightly.
“Thank you, Mary.”
The two of them began chatting casually while holding their coffee.
Mary glanced toward the stairs leading upstairs and sighed, “The front-line staff really have it tough.”
“The manager and Mr. Marlon have already been staying at the association for two days.”
Shalin put down her coffee. “It would be much easier if those cultists caused fewer problems.”
Knock knock—
There was a knock at the association’s front door.
Both immediately stopped talking.
To outsiders, they were a proper “employment” company, not a security team dedicated to capturing and combating cultists.
“Please wait a moment.”
Mary raised her voice slightly and then walked from the reception desk to the door, reaching out to gently push it open.
Standing there was the Viscount’s eldest daughter, Loxi Morton, whom they had met once before.
Today, she wore a beige puffed-sleeve blouse with a ruffled collar paired with a brown long skirt.
Two pearl earrings adorned her cool tea-colored long curls, complementing her porcelain-white, delicate skin.
“Hello, Miss Wheeler.”
Loxi nodded slightly in greeting.
She still had a good impression of this Saint Margery “saleswoman.”
“Hello, Miss Morton.”
Mary wasn’t surprised by Loxi’s visit; the manager had already given her a heads-up two days ago—it was just a matter of dates not matching.
“Miss Morton, I thought you were coming tomorrow.”
“Sorry for not giving prior notice. Is this inconvenient?”
Loxi smiled apologetically.
As someone who appreciated beauty, Mary was instantly captivated by this fresh smile, like petals soaked in morning dew, and hurriedly said, “Not at all, it’s no trouble.”
With that, she led Loxi inside.
“This is Miss Shalin Bell.”
“And this is Miss Loxi Morton.”
Introduced by Mary, the two greeted each other.
Mary returned to the front desk and asked, “Miss Morton, we have Vitrao coffee and Naoqun black tea. Which would you prefer?”
“Black tea, please. Thank you.”
In truth, Loxi didn’t care much for either; she preferred sugary sodas, but unfortunately, those were off-limits for now.
And thanks to a certain gentleman, she was currently abstaining from coffee as well.
Loxi set down her cup, letting the refreshing taste of the black tea linger in her mouth.
“Miss Wheeler, is Mr. Michelson at the association right now?”
“The manager is resting in his room upstairs. By now, he should be awake.”
“I’ll go ask Mr. Marlon for you.”
Mary turned just as heavy footsteps echoed down the stairs.
Harvey Michelson appeared, his face drawn and exhausted.
“Mr. Michelson.”
Out of courtesy, Loxi stood up from the sofa.
“Hello, Miss Morton.”
The middle-aged man looked like he hadn’t been sleeping well lately; the dark circles and slight puffiness under his eyes were proof.
“If you have business, please come with me to the meeting room.”
After speaking, Harvey rubbed his temples. “Mary, please make me a coffee—no sugar, thank you.”
The meeting room was on the first floor, the second room to the left of the hall.
The door closed behind them as they sat down.
Loxi began with an apology.
“Sorry for coming early and disturbing your rest.”
Harvey ran his fingers through his thinning hair and shook his head.
“No problem at all, Miss Morton.”
“Besides, my intuition already sensed that a visitor would come today.”
Intuition? Premonition? Foreseeing the future?
Loxi listened with curiosity and a bit of envy.
She suppressed her emotions, keeping her tone soft: “Mr. Michelson, I have considered your proposal.”
Harvey nodded silently, waiting for her to continue.
“I intend to join the church and become like you—a member of the… guard?”
This caught Harvey off guard.
After all, their line of work rarely had noble families agreeing to let their children join.
But since Morton brought it up, it meant her family approved.
Harvey pondered for a moment before speaking.
“Miss Morton, please forgive me if I sound long-winded for the sake of clarity.”
“If you choose to join us, leaving after starting is very difficult.”
“There are processes: approvals, Faith Investigation, Personality Tests…”
“Mind-Body Evaluation and spiritual assessments.”
“Once you’ve gone through these, it will take at least half a year to resolve all related issues.”
“Furthermore, you must have at least three years of service before being eligible to resign.”
Loxi—“……”
So this is what HR looks like in the world of the occult.
Recalling some news she’d seen before transmigrating, she thought about typical company concerns during onboarding and replied:
“Don’t worry, Mr. Michelson. I have thought it through.”
“I understand the dangers involved in this work and am mentally prepared.”
“As for my marriage status, I won’t be considering marriage for the next few years, nor will I… have children.”
Not just the next few years—forever, Loxi quietly added in her heart.
“Ahem, ahem.”
Thinking so far ahead?
Harvey cleared his throat twice and added a clarification on that point.
“You need not worry, Miss Morton.”
“As long as you’ve worked here for a year, both men and women receive paid marriage leave.”
“As for maternity leave, men also have it since they need to care for their families, but the duration is shorter than for women.”
“All these details are clearly laid out in the contract, which you can review carefully when the time comes.”
No wonder this was an institution backed by the church and kingdom—the benefits were impeccable.
Indeed, the ultimate goal in the universe is civil service.
“As for salary.”
Though this noble girl probably didn’t care much about money, Harvey still had to mention it.
“For the first three months, you receive half the pay of a full-time employee.”
“The salary for full-time staff is 3 sodas and 10 solangs per week.”
“Pay increases with years of service.”
“If there’s an emergency, you can notify Mrs. Susie at finance to get an advance of one month’s salary.”
Three sodas and ten solangs weekly translates to a weekly wage of 70 solangs, daily 10 solangs, and an annual stable income of 180 sodas.
After cramming at the library, Loxi was no longer clueless about such common knowledge.
For example, the average annual income for servants and workers ranged from 15 to 30 sodas.
Skilled workers like carpenters, train operators, and master tailors earned between 50 and 90 sodas yearly.
An income over 150 sodas barely qualified as middle class.
Considering her family allowance, salary, the portion of estate the Viscount Morton passed to her after the coming-of-age ball, and the clothing store and vineyard recently gifted by Newman Carter—
She was, in fact, quite wealthy.
No, quite the rich guy.
Loxi’s last shred of dignity made her subtly adjust her words.