As the day was coming to an end and no customers were coming, I started cleaning the store in preparation for closing a little earlier than normal.

Clang.

Of course, as soon as I did that someone walked into the shop, bathed in the red glow of the sunset.

Who could it be at this hour?

I wanted to chase them away, but there was still some time left before closing, so I smiled brightly.

“Welcome to Mai’s general store. Is there anything you need?” 

A tall, hooded figure stepped closer to me.

“Miss Litrie?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

Despite the hood, I could tell this was a young, handsome man.

There was an unspoken rule in the formulation of this world that handsome men were dangerous, and it sent a chill down my spine.

The man slowly looked around the store, then approached me and tilted his head with a playful expression.

“Do you make about 10 silver a month?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

I was taken aback by the sudden question about my income, but I had nothing to hide. My salary was average for this neighborhood.

“Hmm, I want to hire you.”

The sweetness in his gentle voice was unusual.

“If I offer you 1 gold per month, will you work for me?”

1 gold was equivalent to 100 silver, almost ten months’ worth of salary in one month.

“No,” I immediately declined.

“Then how about 100 gold?” The man raised the offer nonchalantly.

“I decline.”

It’s true that I’m a skilled worker, but this is too much of a scam. Out of the blue, offering such an enormous amount of money? It’s suspicious no matter how you look at it.

With that money, he’d be better off opening a few more stores. It would be much more profitable.

“Then, how about 10,000 gold?”

When someone mentions 10,000 gold, there’s a limit to the number of people in this country who can pay that amount at once.

I doubted whether he could actually give me that money, and even if he could, I shouldn’t accept it! I should avoid it!

There’s an implicit rule here that the more handsome and wealthy someone is, the more you should avoid them. It’s a rule that only I know.

My heart was pounding, but I was a professional. I didn’t show any signs of hesitation.

“I’m going to have to decline,” I smiled at the man who was the definition of suspicious.

“Really?” The man chuckled and clapped his hands. 

I remained unresponsive, but he didn’t seem disappointed.

“Anyway, it’s closing time now. Will you come again next time?”

The man smiled brightly.

Even though I could only see his chin due to the hood, his excessive attractiveness was felt.

It raised the ominousness level, and as if to prove it, the door opened with a rattle.

“Miss Litrie, I’m back!”

There, my boss, who would normally never come back after going to the nearby small business owners’ meeting, appeared.

Behind the boss stood a man with a neat mustache. Judging by the polite greetings exchanged with the man in the hood, he seemed to be a secretary or subordinate.

“This store, as we discussed, is being sold to my master,” the mustached man affirmed to my boss.

“The terms are as we talked about when you came, right?” My boss questioned back.

“Yes, that’s correct. You can sign here.”

As if everything was already prepared, the man with the mustache took out a document from his pocket, and the boss signed it right away.

It was his decision to buy or sell the store, so I watched him sign and then pulled my resignation letter out of my pocket.

“Boss, here’s my resignation letter.”

The boss looked troubled.

“Well, Miss Litrie. I don’t think that’s possible.”

“What?”

“He wanted to keep you as an employee.”

The boss’s words put a question mark in my head.

What does that mean?”

“Well, Miss Litrie. When I sold the shop, he wanted to acquire the employee as well, so I signed a contract with such a clause.”

This guy! He sold me out?

“In exchange, he will hire Miss Litrie separately, and will provide the severance pay.”

“That’s enou-” I started to firmly say ‘enough,’ when my boss added a sum.

“-100 gold coins.”

The word “enough” sank in. Instead, my mind quickly raced. In other words, is it a danger bonus?

‘You sold me for such a paltry sum?!’ I wanted to ask, considering that with 100 gold coins, I could open several of these stores.

Or you could buy a nice, big place.

But if I’d known it would be like this, I’d rather have worked for that man when he offered me ten thousand gold!

“What nonsense is this? I don’t want this!”

You know why I worked in this shop.

The reason I worked in this store was because the boss was kind to someone like me, without a home or parents, and a very ordinary citizen, making it a safe place.

“Isn’t this against the law?”

“Miss Litrie, you signed a contract to work for six months. You’ve been working for three months now. Isn’t that right?”

“….Yes, that’s true.”

The hooded man knew so much that I wondered if he’d been doing background checks on me from the beginning.

When they reentered the store, the person who appeared to be a secretary didn’t say a word to the hooded man. Was the man’s clapping earlier some kind of signal?

“Unless the employer is at fault, the employee must fulfill the agreed-upon period. Alternatively, termination of the contract can be done with the agreement of both parties.”

An ominous feeling crept up my spine. I never set any laws when I wrote this novel.

“Selling the store is not the employer’s fault, Miss Litrie,” he continued in his serene, almost didactic voice. 

“…….”

“And the previous owner didn’t agree to let Miss Litrie quit.”

All I could do was remain silent.

“The previous owner transferred all rights associated with this store to me by selling the store.”

The man’s tone was even more self-assured, and I could hear his true meaning behind his words: ‘You’re already caught in the net I’ve cast.’

“Even the employee, Miss Litrie, belongs to me now.”

The man calmly explained each detail in a low voice.

“This is Imperial law. If you try to use an excuse to quit your job, Miss Litrie,”

Was it my mood that caused the man’s voice to pause when he said my name?

“On the contrary, Miss Litrie will be the one to have broken the law.”

Ugh.

“In such a case, law enforcement officials will chase after Miss Litrie until her death.”

“I see.”

Why bother chasing after someone like me, a lowly person? It must be at your command. It was evident that the man who bought the store was influential.

“Would you like me to explain what happens if you get caught?”

“No.”

“First, you’ll be bound and captured.”

Wait a moment.

“Then, you’ll be subjected to torture. There are various methods, such as waterboarding and burning.”

Wait a moment!

“Depending on the situation, both methods may be used. It doesn’t immediately lead to death. Shall I continue?”

This was clearly a threat. It demanded acknowledgment of the change in store ownership.

I struggled to maintain composure, concealing the pounding of my heart and replied.

“Hello, new manager.”

And when I glared at my former boss with a resentful look, he laughed and walked away. The gentleman who appeared to be his secretary also disappeared, following suit.

Only the two of us remained in the shop.

After a moment, I heard what seemed like a scream, but it was probably just my imagination, right?

I smiled faintly, hiding the sweat dripping from my clenched fist.

“Since today’s business is over, can I take a break?”

Should I really escape with the money I’ve gathered? The warning bells are ringing in my mind.

“Okay,” the man nodded genially, “By the way, how about my house as a place for Miss Litrie to take her rest?”