"If faced with the same situation, some people would have flown into a rage as soon as they heard no one by my name lived at the mansion and rushed off to find me and settle the score. Others would have been knocked out by that mercenary's little trick in the middle of the night, or frightened into inaction. And faced with a vengeful spirit, some would have done what that mercenary did: splash some holy water and get ready to fight."
"At least you did well in that respect." Carlo held up a finger. "You were very good at gathering information on the spot. You noticed the room number and name in the front desk register, deduced that the mercenary was lying, and got more information out of him. When you faced the vengeful spirit, you didn't attack rashly. Instead, you used my hints to deduce the Amodun family's faith back then and solved the problem with a prayer."
"Being able to piece scattered information together and make an accurate judgment in a short time is a rare quality. Often, there's no time to think things over slowly. You have to rely on intuition, experience, and reason to make the right decision as quickly as possible. And you have that quality."
Isaac digested the assessment, then asked, "You mentioned... previous employees?"
"Mm, but the latest few all ran off. One still owes me money, one broke a leg on his first field assignment, and another quit after a few days, saying he couldn't stand my personality." Carlo finished counting them off on his fingers. "So now I'm a commander without an army, and I have pretty high hopes for you."
Isaac didn't know whether to feel honored or worried by those expectations. "If I refuse..."
"You wouldn't want anything unfortunate to happen to those books of yours, would you? Like having coffee spilled all over them, for example."
Isaac: "..."
All right. If the books really were in Vista, as Carlo had said, there was nothing Isaac could do to counter him right now.
"Then, if I accept the job, what exactly would I have to do?" Isaac asked instead.
"Investigate some things, deal with some trouble, maybe get into a fight or two," Carlo said casually. "The details depend on the commission, but don't worry, I won't send you off to die. It isn't easy to train an investigator, after all. Tearing up a character sheet too soon wouldn't be good."
Investigator? Tearing up a character sheet?
Isaac was thoroughly confused. Carlo took a sip of coffee. "We can sign the contract now, right?"
"Isn't this a little too fast?" Isaac hurriedly stopped him. "I only just found out you're a Beyonder. I haven't even figured out exactly what you do, and you already want me to sign a contract?"
"Fast?" Carlo frowned. "What do you want, then? Should we exchange a few pleasantries about the nice weather, chat about Palmer's local pastries, and spend half an hour feeling each other out before getting to the point once the coffee's gone cold? Then probe each other for another three or five rounds before shaking hands and parting on good terms? I don't have that kind of time."
"At least you should explain the pay and working hours," Isaac said. "Since you're calling me an employee, there should be some basic... explanation of the compensation?"
"As for compensation..." Carlo narrowed his eyes. "Room and board are covered. There's a spare room at my agency, and I'll have it tidied up for you. Expenses during assignments can be reimbursed too, as long as you don't try to pull a fast one on me with the bills."
"...That's it?"
"Of course there's pay too. The agency takes commissions, and we split the fees thirty-seventy."
"Who gets thirty and who gets seventy?" Isaac wasn't about to let such an easily manipulated point slide.
"I've always been a generous and broad-minded person, so I'll reluctantly take the smaller thirty percent."
Isaac was taken aback. That meant he would get seventy percent? That was unexpected. He had thought this guy would demand an exorbitant share and be a ruthless boss or something, but the split was fairly reasonable, even generous.
"That sounds... pretty good." He rubbed his nose.
"Of course it does. Even if you're unfortunate enough to die in the line of duty, I can throw in a grave, burial included. Doesn't that sound tempting?"
Isaac: "..."
Objectively speaking, that did count as a benefit... didn't it? But why did it sound so ominous?
Seeing his expression, Carlo swirled his cup. "Don't look at me like that. I've never been hard on my employees, provided you get the job done. As long as you do what I say and don't deliberately get yourself killed, I can ensure your basic personal safety. I don't want to have to hire someone again too soon, after all."
"What about working hours?" Isaac asked.
"Working hours depend on the commissions. When there's work, you work; when there isn't, you rest. It's flexible," Carlo said. "If there's no work, every day is a day off. Of course, when there are no commissions, room and board are still covered, but there's no pay."
In other words, he might end up with no income at all or working overtime every day? That sounded even less dependable than the conditions of the factory workers he had heard about at school...
But he really had no other choice at the moment. Isaac knew his current situation was awkward: unemployed as soon as he graduated, his rental agreement broken, and even his book collection held by the person in front of him.
"...All right, I accept," Isaac said at last.
Carlo nodded. "A wise choice. We can sign the contract now, right?"
Isaac looked around Carlo. "Do you carry the contract with you?"
Carlo looked exactly as he had when Isaac saw him yesterday. He wasn't carrying a bag or anything, and his trench coat didn't seem big enough to hold a contract of the size Isaac had in mind.
"I can't be bothered carrying that sort of thing around. I just get it when I need it, like now." Carlo's gaze shifted to Isaac's pocket. "My dice. You brought them, right?"
"Mm, yes." Isaac took the two dark-gold dice out of his pocket.
"Since you're joining me, I'll show you how to use them." Carlo held out his hand.
Isaac handed the dice to Carlo, who tossed them lightly in his hand. "When you saw these dice last night, what did you think they were for?"
Isaac went over the previous night's events in his head. "These dice... should be a medium for some kind of supernatural power, a tool for using some ability. You use them to channel or trigger certain phenomena, like the appearance of that vengeful spirit last night."
"Pretty clever." Carlo held the dice up and looked at them. "Then, is it possible for the contract we're going to sign to appear directly on the table?"
Isaac was taken aback. "You mean..."
"The check value... fifteen. A little difficult." Carlo muttered to himself.
Isaac caught on. "If you roll a number below fifteen, what you said will happen?"
"Clever." Carlo flicked his wrist, sending the two dice rolling across the table.
Isaac watched the dice. The one with recessed numbers stopped at two, while the other, with raised numbers, continued to turn slowly before finally stopping at one.
Then, nothing happened.
Carlo sighed. "Ah, twenty-one. Not very lucky. Let's roll again."