Cheese (5)

But the person who came in this time was someone I knew again.

“Miltain?”

“Yes…”

“What brings a mercenary here?”

“Haha! Well…”

Miltain scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Many familiar faces had appeared, but this time was different. Unlike Mr. Knoll and Ms. Elena, who had nothing to do with the ranch, Miltain was in line for the interview.

“Actually, I’m thinking of quitting mercenary work.”

“What?”

Quitting mercenary work? Quitting a decent job?

“Why quit a decent job?”

“Well… I want to work with my Senior! I saw the recruitment notice! It said it was rewarding work creating new ingredients! My Senior has been feeling very unmotivated lately. He’s been doing desk work at the mercenary guild, just sitting around, and he feels very frustrated!”

At that point, Mr. Knoll, who was beside us, suddenly stood up. He frowned deeply and spoke.

“Ah! So that’s why he’s been looking so down lately? That guy? He didn’t even talk to me about it?”

Mr. Knoll seemed ready to storm out of the interview room, so I hurriedly grabbed him.

“Mr. Knoll. Don’t be hasty. Let’s hear Miltain’s story first and then decide. You can go talk to him after that. Calm down. Calm down.”

“I guess that’s true…”

Fortunately, he understood.

Mr. Knoll sat back down and glared intensely at Miltain.

“So I thought trying something new might help my Senior regain his energy! Working at a ranch after retirement isn’t bad, right? Even though he limps, he’s still strong. He only retired because his colleagues didn’t want to give the impression of a crippled mercenary in the guild! I decided to follow my Senior for life, so I want to work here with him! Really!”

I looked at my lie detector. When I turned my head, I met Ms. Elena’s eyes.

“Is everything he said true?”

I whispered in her ear, and Ms. Elena shook her head with a doubtful expression. Then she brought her mouth to my ear again.

“What he said just now is true. But it seems like he’s hiding something.”

“He’s hiding something?”

Ms.Elena nodded quietly. So at least it’s true that Mr. Ment hasn’t been able to adapt to new work after injuring his leg.

With Mr. Ment’s character, I could trust him with anything. And this young man, he seems strong and kind-hearted. Seeing as to how he asked for food for his Senior.

“Did he have any lustful thoughts?”

“No. Not lustful thoughts…”

After whispering with Ms. Elena, I looked at Miltain.

“Can you tell me everything without hiding anything? It seems like there’s another reason you’re not disclosing. You know that elves can see through lies, right?”

“Yes? Ah! Well!”

Miltain opened his mouth in surprise.

“Well, you see…”

It seemed like there was something he hadn’t said. I needed to hear the hidden reason before deciding. At least for this young man.

“Well, you see. The pay is higher than mercenary work!”

Pay? Just for that?

“It’s a small scale now, but if things get tough, the pay might not be that high.”

“It’s fine! Mercenary work isn’t popular with women! I can’t say I’m not at fault for my Senior getting hurt, so I feel guilty! I have a girlfriend now, and she said she’d consider marrying me if I quit dangerous mercenary work! Boohoo, I want to work here! And my Senior’s story is true too! I want to work together on a big ranch. I want to see my Senior smile!”

As soon as Miltain finished speaking, I asked Ms. Elena.

“What do you think?”

Ms. Elena nodded without hesitation.

“It’s true.”

So it’s about money, marriage, and his senior. Money and marriage are very important aspects of life.

“If it were just an ordinary ranch, I wouldn’t have thought of this, but there’s something magical about you, Mr. El… I think this ranch will be extraordinary and amazing! I also know you’re working with Mr. Knoll on the Palenque business!”

It seemed he had considered various things and made calculations. If that’s the case, there’s no problem. Mr. Ment and Miltain, both former mercenaries, are strong and perfect for handling animals.

“Then I need to meet Mr. Ment. I’m planning to expand this ranch little by little. There will be various challenges, so it won’t be boring. But it won’t be life-threatening.”

“That’s exactly the good point!”

Miltain shouted with a very earnest expression.

Then there’s no problem. I had Miltain wait and resumed the interviews.

Among the other candidates, there were some who passed Ms. Elena’s strict screening, but there was only one position left.

In other words, I needed someone with experience. Even if they passed the screening, they needed to be experienced, but no one met all the requirements.

That means I need to find someone with experience separately.

I asked Mrs. Rayne to find someone with experience, so now I have to rely on that.

After bidding farewell to Ms. Elena, who needed to go back to the clinic, I took Mr. Knoll and Miltain to seek Mr. Ment.

Mr. Ment, who was sitting idly in a corner of the mercenary guild, was rather happy with my proposal.

Mr. Ment explained that it was hard to find other work due to his limp, and he was sick of just sitting around, finding life boring.

Especially since Mr. Ment had already tasted the pizza, the conversation progressed quickly.

Thus, the two strong men were confirmed as Miltain and Mr. Ment. Thinking back, I wondered if the interviews were even necessary, but it couldn’t be helped since I didn’t know Mr. Ment’s situation.

Next, I went to find Mrs. Rayne, hoping for news about an experienced ranch worker.

“Hello, Mrs. Rayne.”

“El! And… oh, who is this? Isn’t this my husband?”

Mrs. Rayne nodded to me and then grabbed her husband with a fierce smile.

“Where have you been playing around while you’re on duty! I can’t live like this!”

“I was helping with the interviews. Yeah, that’s right! I was working. You always said to actively help whenever El needs it!”

“Oh, really? What’s this? Was he any help?”

Mr. Knoll started winking furiously behind her. Well, maybe he was helpful. Maybe.

“Yes. Well. Haha. About the experienced ranch worker…”

“Oh, yes! About that. There’s someone who quit the uka ranch in the Greek Mountains. That ranch has a contract with our store, so I used to go there often. There was a woman managing the ranch, a bit older than me, who had been doing it since she was young. She suddenly wasn’t at the ranch anymore. So I asked, and they said she quit after finding a replacement…”

“Really?”

That’s a perfect experienced worker. Exactly the person I’m looking for. Uka are cattle, so if she worked at a cattle ranch, she could handle water buffalo similarly. The reason she quit is the issue, but it’s worth trying to persuade her.

“Can you guide me to her? I’ll go to the restaurant first, so after that.”

“Of course. Who do we owe our livelihood to? Hoho.”

Mrs. Rayne nodded and then glared at Mr. Knoll.

“You, stay here and watch the shop. If you disappear, just you wait and see!”

“Got it. Got it. Don’t worry and go!”

Mr. Knoll nodded with a pained expression. I stopped by the restaurant to make pizza first, then walked to the outskirts of the city with Mrs. Rayne to visit the experienced worker.

Mrs. Rayne knocked on the door, and a well-built woman in her late forties appeared. She looked strong enough to lift an average adult man.

“Excuse me.”

“Oh my, Rayne, what brings you here?”

The woman recognized Mrs. Rayne and looked happy but still had an unhappy expression.

“I heard you’ve been taking a break lately?”

Mrs. Rayne started speaking.

“Yes…”

The woman trailed off.

“This is Seral. El.”

“I see. Hello.”

“Who is this?”

The woman looked confused. Mrs. Rayne was about to introduce me, but Mrs. Seral spoke first.

“Would you like to come in?”

Mrs. Seral gestured for us to come in. We were led to a small table. As we sat, Mrs. Seral brought out tea.

“So, what brings you here, Rayne?”

Once we were seated, Mrs. Seral spoke again.

“Well, Mr. El here has started a new ranch, and he needs someone with experience.”

Mrs. Rayne started explaining slowly. As she spoke, Mrs. Seral’s gaze turned to me.

As soon as the explanation ended, I handed Mrs. Seral a pizza. Seeing is believing, so I needed to show her what we were making.

“Would you like to see this?”

“What’s this? It smells good.”

It was a basic pizza with the fresh scent of tomatoes. Made with just tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese.

“Try it.”

Mrs. Seral looked at Mrs. Rayne. Mrs. Rayne nodded. Then Mrs. Seral carefully brought the pizza to her mouth and took a bite. She saw the cheese stretch and her eyes widened in amazement.

“What kind of food is this? It’s my first time seeing it, and it’s very delicious.”

“Right?”

“This savory and chewy texture goes very well with the bread, and it’s flavorful. It almost feels like it was made with uka milk…”

She guessed its origin quite accurately, like a true expert. Seeing this, I was convinced she was a talent we needed to secure.

“The white part is cheese, made from Bereneryk milk. We’re raising them at my ranch.”

“Bereneryk?”

“It’s similar to uka but with horns.”

“Oh, I see? I’ve never seen one…”

“They inhabit the southeastern region, and I brought them here with great difficulty. So, based on your extensive ranch experience, could you help me? I’ll pay you well, much more than your previous job.”

Once mozzarella becomes commercialized, pay won’t be an issue.

Mrs. Seral looked at me intently after my proposal. But soon she shook her head. It was a clear rejection.

“Thank you very much for the offer. I would love to if the circumstances were different, but actually, I can’t go out to work right now. Rayne. And Mr. El.”