Two middle-aged men stood in front of Agostina in some weird clothes that had silvery buttons and with a Human and their new boss right behind. They were fidgeting – ‘nervous’ would be a gross understatement.

“Explain it to me, Human. Again.”

“These are my friends who had fallen on hard times and were just now employed by Clodia. They have a job and everything. I just need a place for them. One shared apartment is good enough. We’ll upgrade to one each down the line.”

Tiberius and Quintus were two ex-[Soldiers], proficient at their past jobs. Once, they had taken pride in their work. But for too long, they had forgotten what it was like to have pride. The young man grinning from the side, unabated by his landlady’s murderous gaze, had decided to give it back to them—or try to. Nonetheless, both soon-not-to-be-homeless men looked down at the tips of their shoes.

They were extremely uncomfortable about it.

Did they even deserve it?

“An apartment with two beds,” Agostina spelled out the request. “Are they together?”

“We are not—” Quintus tried protesting, but Joey was already on it.

“Even if, would that be a problem?”

Agostina looked at the unsufferable expression on Joey’s face.

“It would, indeed, idiotic Human. I have apartments with two separate beds and ones with a single bigger bed. If they are together, they might prefer the latter.”

“Ohhh,” Joey facepalmed. “Sorry.”

Agostina rolled her eyes. “So?”

“Two separate beds will do,” Tiberius said, swallowing.

“This is the key. Clodia already sent me a message with a [Runner]. If you break something, you’ll pay out of your wage,” she said, eyeing the boss of Happy Bakery, who had come personally—just in case there was a problem.

Perhaps, if Agostina wasn’t the most famous and powerful [Green Mage] in Amorium, Joey, Clodia, and the duo might not have been so intimidated. But in the current situation, Tiberius and Quintus only found the strength to nod in response.

But this was all good. They were a bit ashamed of who they were—well, had been, now, but for all that mattered, this was nothing but a joyous occasion.

They had not only a job but also a roof over their heads.

“We… huh… are very grateful, and, Miss Agostina, we shall not let you down.”

The landlady looked at the two with a touch of cursory compassion in her eyes before turning to Joey.

“Whatever,” Agostina shrugged, raising her hands and stopping the thanks coming from the two. She gave Joey a long look before putting the key in Tiberius’s hand. “The Human will explain the rest. Good luck.”

And with that, she left.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at work,” Clodia nodded at the two newly employed men.

“We’ll not let you down, Miss Clodia,” Quintus replied.

“Thank you so much for the opportunity,” Tiberius added right after.

Joey had had Clodia pay out of Happy’s pocket for both men’s [Vow: Debt of Honor]. He had told them that if they desired so, he would teach them how to become great bakers. Not [Bakers], beware—the Human had said he didn’t care one bit about that.

“Joey, they are your responsibility,” Clodia warned him. That wasn’t the first time she had said it today, but she really wanted to drive the point home.

After the bake-off, Joey had sent her to pay off their debts and then had them both work with him and Raissa during the night shift. Stan, Claudius, and Truffles were not interested in working as [Bakers]. Instead, they chose to either go home or back to the park. Truffles had Joey promise several times that he would teach him how to make soap. How it was possible that the Human knew something that [Alchemist] kept secret was beyond both Tiberius and Quintus.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

But honestly, after they had witnessed an entire crowd of professionals applaud a guy without a single level in a cooking-related class, the two ex-[Soldiers] believed he could do pretty much anything.

“So, I’m a bit tired. The bathroom is over there,” Joey pointed across the corridor. “You’ve got a clock, a stove, a bunch of stuff, and two beds. There’s some hot water if you want to wash—just turn on the rune. We’ll get together for a late lunch, okay? I just want to lay on the bed and sleep like the dead for ten hours.”

Both nodded, still speechless.

“We also need to bring the bread to the guys at the park. I have some other plans, but again... I’m tired. I’ll see you guys later. Have a good rest!”

And with that, Joey Luciani left the two Elves in front of their new residence.

Tiberius felt his hand tremble; the key had a weight that was beyond words. And Joey had just left before they could thank him again.

They had heard Clodia’s shouts, the swearing, and the big woman punching through the wall in frustration. But, in the end, she paid everything upfront without batting an eyelid. She swung by the barracks, got their debts shredded, and that was it.

They were free.

It was hard to rationalize the thought.

And the first thing they felt was guilt.

Not joy.

Guilt.

As they entered the apartment and looked at all the luxuries they could now benefit from – namely, a bed and a roof over their heads – they felt guilty.

They felt guilty because they had left so many people behind at the park. They were chosen almost by mistake. By chance, actually. Joey had decided to cut their hair and offer them the opportunity of a lifetime.

They knew the Human was a good earner, but they didn’t think he was this good. All the gold coins he had put forward to their names could have started a small business or bought a little apartment.

“He didn’t give us a contract.”

These were Quintus’s first words.

Out of the two, he had been the most skeptical about the Human—and that made him feel like a piece of crap now.

“He said we don’t owe him nothing. That if he could, he would do the same for every other guy at the park. He also said we could get another job if we didn’t want to be [Bakers].”

“We are going to, right? Be [Bakers], I mean.”

“Yes,” Tiberius replied. “We are. It’s the very least we can do. And we learned a lot in one night. All those things about bread? Proteins? Have you ever heard about it?”

Quintus shook his head in disbelief.

“What do you make of this, Tiberius? I can’t lay my ears on either side without getting a headache.”

“Yeah... and did you feel his aura at the end? What was that?”

“Right,” Quintus nodded. “I started shivering when he was creating those decorations. He was so fast and precise. Does he really not have any skills? I have gotten less pressure from [Generals].”

“Our new boss apparently asked him under truth-stone. He has zero cooking skills.”

“Madness,” Quintus whispered. “The aura... only high-level people have that.”

“Only high-level people should be able to do what he did. That Flaminia? Her level is above 30. Did you see her cake? I know nothing about baking, but Joey’s looked – and probably tasted – much better than that.”

“I wonder what he’ll do next.”

They both looked at the door, somehow expecting the weird Human to jump through and shake their lives upside down again.

When that didn’t happen, they got out of their work clothes and put on the spare change Joey had picked up for them.

“We should help the others,” Tiberius pointed out with a sigh.

“We will.”

Tiberius sat on his bed and cradled the work uniform in his hands. As he was doing it, Quintus saw the other man’s eyes getting wet.

Turning to face the wall, Quintus took out a piece of bread, and some of the chocolate spread Joey had given them.

“I wonder what Nutella is,” Quintus muttered, dipping the bread in the chocolate cream and biting into it. Joey had diluted the Pigfeed-derivate with some cream, telling them he needed to sort out enough hazelnuts to make some knock-off Nutella—whatever that was.

“We have a job now,” Tiberius ignored his friend and kept rubbing his fingers over his new uniform. The fabric was luxurious for a uniform. Not even their best clothes in the military had been this good. And the buttons actually looked like real silver.

A few weeks ago, Tiberius might have thought about selling it for a profit if someone had given him a uniform like this.

Now? He felt very protective of what Joey had given them. Not just the uniform, though. A job. Their dignity.

“We do have a job. And no more debts,” Quintus said, lightly sniffing and swallowing his emotions.

Quintus passed a hand over the side of his head, where the shaved hair was slowly poking back. He found a bronze circle lying on the nightstand, so shiny it could be used as a mirror.

He looked at himself, marveling at the stranger he was gazing at.

Not only did their looks change, but so did their circumstances.

“A Human comes and starts paying off [Soldiers]’ debts. That could be the start of a hilarious joke or a terrible story. He got interrogated by the Watch, you know? They cleared him. But I wonder if he’s a [Spy] or something.”

Tiberius finally woke up from his stupor.

“Fuck, don’t say that stuff, you brain-molded idiot.”

Quintus turned with a smirk.

“At this point, if Joey is a [Spy] or a [Dissident], I would probably join his cause, Tiberius.”