"What do you mean you want me to hire two teenagers?!"
Veronica questioned in bewilderment. Seraphina had finally brought her an applicant for the housekeeping job, but, even despite being elves, it was clear that the two were practically children. They both seemed to be in rough shape, their hair dirty and their clothing worn thin. They smelled quite bad as well, even after clearly having tried to clean up just that morning. Their hair was still wet and a few wet spots had even shown up on their clothing, making it clear they had been in a rush and likely didn't have any spare clothing to change into.
"Look, it was already hard enough to convince someone to accept work inside a dungeon. With your anger fits affecting the dungeon of late, most people don't even want to visit the dungeon, much less stay in it full-time. Have you not noticed how much the dungeon traffic has decreased? Surely your tributes and room rentals would clue you in?"
She didn't like how much shade Seraphina was throwing her way, but it wasn't exactly as if she was wrong. Despite her best efforts, Veronica was having a hard time controlling her emotions enough to get the dungeon to settle for more than a few hours or days at a time. She had yet to make it a full week without tremors shaking the dungeon and her [Monsters] going on a rampage against the adventurers. If she could communicate with her gargoyles effectively, she'd try to explain she didn't need them mindlessly attacking everyone. That wasn't a choice, so she was at a loss for what to do on that front.
"Still, I doubt their parents would agree to them working for me. I also only need one new employee right now and I told you I'd prefer a woman, so why'd the other one here?"
The boy was currently staring at the floor, silent as he waited for his fate to be decided by those in front of him. The girl, on the other hand, squeezed his hand tight as she whispered reassurances to him in an effort to comfort him. Seraphina's expression was sour as she replied
"Things aren't... ideal outside of the dungeon. There are a lot of homeless people who have nowhere to go and have to live in the alleyways. These two are part of that group, but they're both willing to work hard and accept any work you're willing to throw their way. However, they don't want to be separated as the older sister is the only family the boy has left. They don't expect you to pay them a lot and they are willing to share the same room, so I'm sure you can make something work."
Veronica rolled her eyes, feeling sick of decisions being made for her. Ultimately, it wasn't a big deal to have two employees at once. It wasn't like she had every single inn room taken every night. She could spare two rooms without any problems and she likely could use the help. However, she would have preferred someone with a more fit physique so they could help her move some of the heavier [Items] around her dungeon when she stocked her tavern. Sighing, she finally replied
"Fine, they can both stay, but I expect both of them to earn their keep. I'll provide them with clothing, food, lodging, and even a magic crystal each week. I don't like to fall into gender stereotypes, so I don't want to hear any complaints about the type of work I make them do. The boy will need to train hard to learn to defend himself and become strong enough to carry heavy things. I'll expect him to help out with cooking in the kitchens while his sister learns how to do the housekeeping."
Seraphina smiled, clearly happy with getting her way as she reminded
"You probably shouldn't just call them 'boy' and 'girl'. This is Elora and Eldrin Starblossom. Their parents both died when the last dungeon collapsed. It's unclear whether either has a class as they've never been in a dungeon themselves and, obviously, no one has paid for them to be assessed by a priest or priestess."
Veronica made everyone clear out so she could do some quick research and create some [Items] for the siblings as well as set a room as their with the system.
Would you like to spend 20 DP to research a dark green dress using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, and green dye?
Yes
No
Would you like to spend 20 DP to research a green and white floral dress using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, green dye, and white dye?
Yes
No
Would you like to spend 10 DP to research white cotton stockings using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, and white dye?
Yes
No
Would you like to spend 16 DP to research dark green dress shoes using the [Base Resources] undyed leather, undyed cotton, undyed thread, and green dye?
Yes
No
Would you like to spend 20 DP to research a green and white dress shoes using the [Base Resources] undyed leather, undyed cotton, undyed thread, green dye, white dye, and iron?
Yes
No
Would you like to spend 24 DP to research a dark green hooded robe using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, and green dye?
Yes
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No
Veronica may not have been expecting two homeless teenage elves to join her dungeon, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to treat them well. One set of clothing would serve as the everyday wear for Elora while she cleaned inn rooms while the other was a nice outfit for wearing out on the town. Both were made to look like a mixture of 50s style clothing from her world and medieval-esque fantasy fashion. It wouldn't make her blend in with the locals, but that was hardly what she wanted anyway.
Veronica needed to be able to send the siblings into town to run errands for her, when necessary, and she needed them to be identifiable as being one of her people. If they looked odd, while still being dressed as nice as any noble from this world, then they were more likely to be believed and treated with respect by others. That would simplify things for them and ensure she was more likely to get what she wanted too. Besides, even if she had yet to make more clothing for herself, she knew how important it was for a woman to have a few different outfits to mix and match.
Would you like to spend 6 DP to research a green floral hair bandana using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, green dye, and white dye?
Yes
No
Would you like to spend 6 DP to research a green floral face mask using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, green dye, and white dye?
Yes
No
Would you like to spend 10 DP to research a green floral apron using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, green dye, and white dye?
Yes
No
Would you like to spend 6 DP to research a leather coin purse using the [Base Resources] undyed leather, undyed thread, brown dye, and black dye?
Yes
No
While she already had a black version of most of these things, she thought it would be kind to give the poor girl matching accessories to use while she cleaned. The normal safety goggles and brown leather cleaning gloves would still work, but a green set of everything else would match her clothing and green eyes quite well. May as well let Elora feel cute, even while she was working hard. Veronica appreciated being let off the hook on the cleaning and would rather keep her worker's satisfaction high so she didn't have to worry about hiring replacement workers anytime soon.
The coin purse was mostly just to make it easier for Elora to travel into town to buy any supplies she needed and sell the magic crystals she received as payment for her work. Of course, a world such as this one was bound to be full of dangers she herself wouldn't be exposed to. So a bronze dagger and a few potions were included among the welcome gifts she prepared for the young elven girl. She wasn't sure how the two planned to share the space in the large inn room, but there was only one bed, so she placed everything there, leaving it for the two to sort out when they were let in.
Things were kept a bit simpler for Eldrin, but she still made him a new set of clothes.
Would you like to spend 10 DP to research a white cotton dress shirt using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, and white dye?
Yes
No
Would you like to spend 10 DP to research a green cotton vest using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, green dye, and black dye?
Yes
No
Would you like to spend 6 DP to research a green tie using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, green dye, and black dye?
Yes
No
Would you like to spend 10 DP to research green cotton dress pants using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, and green dye?
Yes
No
Would you like to spend 6 DP to research green cotton socks using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, and green dye?
Yes
No
Would you like to spend 10 DP to research green leather loafers using the [Base Resources] undyed leather, undyed thread, green dye, and black dye?
Yes
No
That covered a basic outfit, at least. It was more of a 50s style and looked very dressy, but it would serve well for the sort of work he'd be doing anyhow. The shoes might not be ideal for the kitchen where he could end up slipping on water or oil, but he'd be able to serve well as a handsome bouncer in the tavern. She didn't really know if he had the talent to cook food in the kitchen anyhow, so she didn't want to lean too heavily into that idea right now anyway. Making him serve the food to customers as he played barkeep and server would be fine. Even carrying crates filled with bottles of alcohol should be fine since it wouldn't require much bending, which the dress pants likely wouldn't do well with.
Of course, it would be better if he could also serve as a guard whenever he and his sister went into town, so she should also make him a weapon. She wasn't sure if he had any talent with anything in particular, so she decided to go with something basic and that most people could easily figure out how to use.
Would you like to spend 20 DP to research an iron sword using the [Base Resources] iron, charcoal, and wood?
Yes
No
Would you like to spend 20 DP to research a steel scabbard using the [Base Resources] steel, undyed leather, undyed thread, and brown dye?
Yes
No
Many games would make iron swords out to be made from purely iron, but you actually need carbon to ensure it is sturdy enough to actually use. Veronica was hardly an expert in such things, but swords were a common technology in this world and it was easy enough to leave it to the dungeon to figure things out. Adding a coin purse, Veronica nodded to herself, feeling satisfied with the results. She'd have to remember to bring them some food later, but this should be enough for them to, at least, be able to take a shower and change into clean clothes.