Santa had plenty of arguments left, but Hesta's question suddenly left her speechless—
How could they have been beaten for no reason?
The question made it sound as though the workers had done something wrong.
"Salima, if that's what you think, then I... I'll really do as you say." Santa deliberately paused, letting Hesta hear the warning in her words. "Once they leave, it won't be easy to hire them back."
"Go ahead." Hesta's tone remained as calm as before.
Santa let out a heavy sigh. There was no helplessness in it, only a trace of irritation—how could this Salima from elsewhere fail to see such a simple fact?
Santa spent about half an hour soothing the workers she knew well. Under the agreement, she was terminating their contracts without cause before the scheduled completion date, so she had to pay them twice their wages for the past few days as compensation.
Filled with indignation, Santa decided to go to the construction site herself and reason with them, only to run into Hesta and Simoya—apparently, Hesta had come over in person after Santa left.
"Santa!" Hesta waved to her. "Are you done with everything?"
"It's all taken care of, Salima..." Santa still looked worried and concerned when she suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure from the corner of her eye. "Oh, Porni, you didn't leave?"
The old carpenter chuckled. "Why would I leave?"
Santa finally breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at Hesta, she spoke sincerely. "...Salima, you can't let Porni leave again. If he goes, there really won't be anyone here left who can call the shots!"
Hesta gave a soft laugh. "Wosandta!"
The elderly woman slowly poked her head out from behind several support pillars. "...Hm?"
"Come over here." Hesta beckoned to her, then shouted in another