Continental Courier Service II

Rome laughed with joy after hearing Carolyn accept his offer. Since Margaret had referred her, he had intended on hiring her as long as she showed up. This was not only because of the large debt of gratitude that he owed Margaret, but also because he trusted she wouldn't recommend somebody who wouldn't be useful. He would have been happy as long as she could read and write, but her skills were far better than he expected.

She should have no knowledge of the business operations, but she was able to reliably order the documents in such a way that Rome could find the files he wanted as long as he had a good idea about their contents. He had hired secretaries before, but if they weren't too slow or prone to error, the way they ordered the documents made him helpless if they weren't there to find what he wanted. His bad experiences had caused him to not hire a new one despite his heavy workload, and he was glad that he had done so or else he might have missed out on this gem.

"Great! We can talk more about your role here while we go out and have lunch. It'll be my treat."

"Are you sure, Mr. Rome?"

"Of course. The cafeteria food is good too, but it's nice to get out of the workplace every once in a while."

"I see."

After putting aside the documents for the time being, Rome and Carolyn left the office. As she looked at the plaque on the door once more, Carolyn finally understood the implications behind it. Assuming that the organization followed a typical structure, as Assistant Branch Manager, Rome would be the second or third most senior person in the branch. The salary he offered her started to make more sense, but she had to wonder how a person like this wound up being a regular at the Wild Boar Inn.

Carolyn thought they would take the elevator to reach the ground floor, but instead Rome headed in the opposite direction, towards the stairs.

"So we're not taking the elevator?"

"Well, we should considering all the money spent on adding it, but I prefer doing some light exercise before getting a meal. I don't mind if you want to split up and meet me on the ground floor though."

"No, it's fine. I prefer taking the stairs as well. It'll take some time before I get used to that floaty feeling."

"Ahh, I get you. It is a little unnerving at first."

Rome's office was on the third floor, but two flights of stairs didn't pose any challenge to these two. With some small talk along the way, they arrived at the ground floor in a few minutes. The hall was more packed compared to when Carolyn entered the building, but Rome shook his head at the sight.

"It's gone down again."

"Was it more busy before?"

"Even on our slow days. Though I guess it can't be helped, given the tax situation and all."

"Will the business be okay?"

"What, do you think I dragged you on a sinking ship?"

"Ah, no, I was just-"

"Hahaha, it's okay. I was just joking. The business will be fine. Our name isn't just for show after all."

Carolyn knew little about the Continental Courier Service, but if Rome was serious, then they would have to be an international organization with branches all over the continent. Carolyn didn't think a super major business like that would go bankrupt because of a tax increase, but it was still hard for her to imagine the scale.

"Good day, Mr. Rome."

"How are you, Mr. Rome?"

"Heading for lunch, Mr. Rome?"

As the two went towards the entrance, staff and clients alike greeted Rome and he cheerfully returned their greetings. Based on the documents she went through, Carolyn knew that his full name was Rome Taylor, but everyone they passed used his first name, including the young man that led her to his office. Of course, she wasn't any better, but she wondered if it was company policy or Rome's personal suggestion.

After leaving the building, Rome brought Carolyn to a restaurant called "The Local Wave". As soon as Rome showed his face, they were immediately brought to a private room twice the size of the room Carolyn rented at the Wild Boar Inn. The room had a dining table with a pair of chairs, as well as many aquatic-themed art pieces to serve as decorations. As they took their seats, Carolyn had an uneasy look on her face.

"Is it really necessary to reserve such a luxurious room?"

Carolyn didn't know how popular the restaurant was, but it was obvious that a room like this wouldn't be available for cheap. Perhaps even her new salary would fall short of reserving it for a single night.

"I'm friends with the owner, so you don't have to worry about that. I don't really care for the art, but the privacy is always nice to have."

Remembering her experiences in the tavern of the Wild Boar Inn, Carolyn nodded in agreement and picked up the menu. As hinted by the decorations, most of the dishes featured seafood, but Carolyn was surprised to see both saltwater and freshwater fish on the menu. Both the Walker and Amber domains were inland territories with no direct routes to the sea or any salt lakes. Because of the high requirement for freshness, this meant saltwater fish rarely made it to their markets unless processed for preservation.

As she had never tasted saltwater fish before, Carolyn was interested in ordering a dish that featured it, but these dishes were all noticeably higher in price, so she was hesitant. Seeing her furrowed brows as she scanned through the menu, Rome was able to pick up on her thoughts.

"Don't worry about the price and order whatever you want. I told you I'm close with the owner, didn't I?"

Despite being close enough with the owner that he could get a free meal if he asked, Rome still paid for whatever he ordered, but he held back that bit of information.

"Yes, you did... Very well, I've decided."

While reasoning that the price of the meal would still be a small fraction of the cost of reserving the room, Carolyn chose to be honest with her stomach. Rome already knew what he wanted, so he called for the waiter by ringing a bell that was placed on the table. Soon after the bell was rung, a professionally dressed waiter entered the room. After placing down two glasses of water along with a pitcher, the waiter greeted them.

"Good day, most esteemed guests. Have you decided your order?"

"Yes. Carol, you go first."

Carolyn nodded, and while watching Rome's expression, she gave her order to the waiter. She was relieved when he didn't react to the menu item she chose, but she tried her best not to show it. Once Rome also gave his order, the waiter left the room.

"Carol, you're new to the city, right?"

"That's right."

"So, what do you think about the place?"

"Um, well, it's very peaceful?"

"Hahaha, why are you asking me? Seems like you've already run into some incidents."

"You could say that, but I've met a lot of good people here as well."

"You are staying with Boss Margaret after all. All sorts of people gather around her, but as long as you stay on her good side, you have nothing to worry about."

"Yes, I admire her greatly. But what happens to those who get on her bad side?"

"Heh, let's just say you're better off skipping town. If you can manage to, anyway. Though with the way the city is, many people are leaving even without trouble."

"I suppose so. I hope the additional taxes get removed soon."

"Yea, that would be for the best..."

Rome's response seemed to indicate that he knew something Carolyn didn't, but he quickly changed the topic to local specialties. Carolyn knew what he was doing, but she didn't have a good excuse for pressuring him, so she followed along. Rome knew a lot about the city, so there was nothing to lose by listening to him talk about the specialties either. Her only issue was that when Rome talked about the various snack shops and restaurants in the city, she couldn't help being reminded of her hunger, but she was soon saved from that pain.

When the waiter returned with the dishes, they had metal dish covers, so she couldn't smell or see anything, but her anticipation immediately rose. Like a pet forced to wait as its master prepared its meal, Carolyn closely watched the waiter placing the dishes on the table and finally revealing them. With its shape preserved, a silver-blue fish was surrounded by a colorful variety of ingredients both meant to beautify the plate and to be eaten.

Of course, no matter how eager she was, Carolyn didn't forget her manners. As the one being treated, she had to wait for Rome's assent before she could start eating.

"Alright. Let's dig in."

With not a second wasted, Carolyn went straight for the fish. Her fork easily pierced its flesh and tore out a portion for her first bite.

"! Amazing."

She believed she had high expectations, but the fish had surpassed them by being just a smidge worse than Adam's fried fish. Now that she knew what she had to look forward to, Carolyn went in and savoured every bite.