Training the Thief

Moving into our new office space was like watching Mr. Tanaka's corporate fantasies manifest in real time. Within three days, he had transformed what had been a modest merchant quarter building into something that looked suspiciously like a modern business center, albeit one constructed entirely from medieval materials.

"The filing system," he explained to me while directing the installation of what appeared to be the most elaborate document organization setup I'd ever seen, "is color-coded by client type. Green folders for adventurers, blue for merchants, red for crafters, and yellow for special circumstances."

I watched him supervise the placement of filing cabinets with the intensity of someone designing a space mission. Each cabinet was labeled, indexed, and positioned according to what he called "optimal workflow efficiency patterns."

"And security?" I asked, noting that our new office contained an increasing amount of sensitive financial information for half the town.

"That," he said with satisfaction, "is where our first employee comes in."

As if summoned by our conversation, there was a knock at the office door. I opened it to find a young man who couldn't have been more than twenty, with the kind of wiry build and quick eyes that suggested he was very good at not being seen when he didn't want to be.

"You the accountants?" he asked, looking around our office setup with professional interest.

"We're financial consultants," Mr. Tanaka corrected. "And you are?"

"Finn," the young man replied. "Finn Quickfingers. I heard you're looking for security personnel."

I exchanged a glance with Mr. Tanaka. "Security personnel" hadn't been exactly how we'd described the position when we'd posted our job listing at the guild, but close enough.

"What's your background, Mr. Quickfingers?" Mr. Tanaka asked, pulling out what appeared to be a formal interview checklist.

"[Human Thief, Level 11]," Finn said matter-of-factly. "Specialized in infiltration, reconnaissance, and asset protection. Recently reformed from more... entrepreneurial... activities."

"Reformed?" I asked.

"Used to acquire things that weren't technically mine," he admitted with a grin. "But the adventuring economy is much more profitable when you're working with people instead of against them. Anyway, getting chased by guards gets old fast."

Mr. Tanaka was making notes on his interview form. "And your specific skill set?"

"Sense Foe at Level 8, Ambush at Level 6, Stealth at Level 9, and Lock Manipulation at Level 7. And general knowledge of security vulnerabilities, surveillance techniques, and threat assessment protocols."

"Interesting," Mr. Tanaka mused. "And how would you apply these skills in a corporate security context?"

Finn looked around our office, and I could practically see him cataloging potential vulnerabilities. "Well, Sense Foe would let me detect anyone approaching the building with hostile intent: tax investigators, competing firms, disgruntled clients who didn't like their audit results. Stealth would allow me to conduct discrete surveillance of potential threats. Ambush could be repurposed for rapid response to security breaches or efficient navigation of bureaucratic obstacles."

"Bureaucratic obstacles?" I asked.

"Sure. Need to get documents filed quickly at the municipal office? Ambush lets you position yourself optimally in queue systems. Need to retrieve records before someone else can intercept them? Stealth and Lock Manipulation become very useful for after-hours document recovery."

Mr. Tanaka's eyes lit up with the expression of someone who had just discovered a new category of operational efficiency. "You're suggesting we could apply traditional thieving skills to corporate logistics and security management?"

"Exactly. Most business security problems are just dungeon infiltration scenarios with different objectives. Instead of stealing treasure, you're protecting assets. Instead of avoiding guards, you're managing regulatory compliance. Same core skill set, different application."

There was a certain logic to his approach. "And you'd be comfortable working in a legitimate business environment?"

"More than comfortable," Finn said. "With steady income, legal protection, and professional development opportunities, this is basically the ideal career transition for someone with my background."

Mr. Tanaka consulted his interview notes. "What would you expect in terms of compensation?"

"Standard security specialist rates… maybe 200 coins per month, plus performance bonuses for successful threat mitigation or efficiency improvements?"

I looked at Mr. Tanaka, who was calculating something in his head. Given our current revenue projections, 200 coins per month for professional security services seemed entirely reasonable.

"When could you start?" Mr. Tanaka asked.

"Immediately. I've already identified three potential security vulnerabilities in your current setup, plus two opportunities for operational optimization."

"Such as?"

Finn pointed toward our filing cabinets. "Your document storage system is visible from the street through that window, which means anyone can observe your filing patterns and potentially identify high-value clients. Also, your appointment scheduling system doesn't account for discrete entrances and exits so if someone wants to meet with you confidentially, they currently have to walk through your main reception area."

Mr. Tanaka was taking rapid notes. "And the optimization opportunities?"

"The municipal records office closes at sunset, but the building remains accessible through a maintenance entrance until well past midnight. If you need to file documents after hours, Lock Manipulation and Stealth would allow 24-hour access to administrative services."

"That's..." Mr. Tanaka paused, clearly torn between professional excitement and legal concerns. "That's probably not strictly within official procedures."

"It's not against any specific regulations," Finn pointed out. "The documents get filed properly, the fees get paid appropriately, and the municipal office gets their paperwork processed efficiently. Everyone benefits from improved service delivery."

I could see Mr. Tanaka wrestling with the ethical implications of optimizing bureaucratic procedures through technically illegal means. On one hand, his corporate training emphasized strict compliance with official protocols. On the other hand, his newly discovered entrepreneurial instincts were intrigued by any system that could improve operational efficiency.

"What's the second optimization opportunity?" I asked.

"Information gathering. Half of financial consulting involves understanding your competitive environment, market conditions, and potential regulatory changes. Sense Foe and Stealth would allow discrete monitoring of relevant developments, like what other firms are planning, which regulations might be changing, or which officials are investigating what issues."

"Business intelligence," Mr. Tanaka said slowly, his grin creeping into its place on his face.

"Exactly. But gathered through unconventional methods that provide significant competitive advantages."

Mr. Tanaka closed his interview notes and looked at me. I could see him making the calculation: hire a reformed thief whose skills could dramatically improve our security and operational efficiency or stick with conventional business practices that might leave us vulnerable to threats we couldn't anticipate.

"Mr. Quickfingers," Mr. Tanaka said finally, "you're hired. Your first assignment is to conduct a comprehensive security assessment of our current operations and provide recommendations for protecting our client data and business assets."

"And your second assignment," I added, "is to help us figure out the most efficient ways to navigate the local bureaucracy without technically breaking any laws."

Finn's grin was pure professional satisfaction. "Gentlemen, this is going to be the most interesting security job I've ever had."

Over the next few days, Finn's integration into our operations was remarkable. He installed what he called "discrete surveillance protocols" that allowed us to monitor foot traffic around our building and identify potential threats before they reached our door. His Sense Foe ability proved invaluable for detecting clients who were approaching our office in hostile moods, usually people who were upset about their tax obligations or suspicious about our optimization methods.

But the real revelation was watching him apply his thieving skills to legitimate business challenges. When we needed to file a complex tax amendment at the municipal office, Finn used his Ambush ability to position us perfectly in the queue system, reducing our wait time from three hours to fifteen minutes. When a client's documents went missing in the guild's filing system, Finn's Lock Manipulation and Stealth skills allowed him to conduct an after-hours search that recovered everything within two hours.

"You know," I said to Mr. Tanaka while watching Finn organize our security protocols with the same systematic precision Mr. Tanaka applied to financial analysis, "I think we found the perfect employee."

"More than perfect," Mr. Tanaka replied, observing Finn's installation of what appeared to be a early-warning system for detecting unwanted visitors. "We found someone whose unconventional skill set perfectly complements our operational requirements."

"Think other businesses are going to start hiring reformed adventurers?"

"Yamamoto," Mr. Tanaka said with the satisfied smile of someone who had just solved a complex optimization problem, "I think we're pioneering an entirely new approach to corporate human resources management."

As Finn demonstrated his ability to detect potential threats approaching our building from two blocks away, I realized that our business model wasn't just revolutionizing financial consulting, we were accidentally creating new paradigms for how traditional fantasy skills could be applied to modern business challenges.

Who knew that corporate security could be so much more interesting with a reformed thief on the payroll?