At that answer, the group of mages immediately broke into an uproar.
A middle-aged mage who looked to be in his forties immediately called out anxiously, "I clearly heard you could earn at least twenty gold coins a month. That's why I came all this way. Now you're telling me that's not true? Is your Xinfei Merchant Guild deceiving people?"
"Exactly! If I can't earn twenty gold coins a month, why would I come all this way?"
"Look... if it's not twenty gold coins a month, surely it's at least fifteen? I hear living expenses are pretty high here. If the wages aren't high enough, I might not even be able to support myself..."
Roken kept smiling and quietly listened to their complaints and protests. Only after they gradually settled down did he say in a clear voice, "Everyone, I think you've misunderstood. That wasn't what I meant. I wasn't saying you couldn't earn twenty gold coins a month. Quite the opposite: if you join our merchant guild and make excellent progress on your work for the month, your monthly wages will easily exceed twenty gold coins. Of course, if your work isn't good enough... then I'm sorry, but you may only receive the minimum base wage of ten gold coins."
"Oh, so that's how it works..."
Only then did the mages breathe a sigh of relief.
"Hey, it's at least ten gold coins. Then there's nothing to worry about."
"Exactly. Ten gold coins! I'd be lucky to earn that much in a whole year back home..."
"Hey, you've got it pretty rough, haven't you? Back home, I do some work for the local lords, and I can earn twenty or thirty gold coins a year, at least..."
Sarah, who had been standing beside Roken without saying much,