Chapter 32

"Although I can speak Common, I'm not very good at it, so I need someone familiar with the local situation."

Zhao Mai, speaking in halting Common, finished his sentence and continued to observe the man in front of him, Ferdinand Green, nicknamed "Mad Rat."

From his appearance, he had nothing to do with rats or similar creatures. His facial features were sharp, he had a medium build with some muscle, and his skin was well-maintained. His eyebrows and eyes suggested he was about the same age as Zhao Mai, a mature young man with a passionate gaze.

If he were to dress up properly, he would definitely be an outstanding young man. Unfortunately, his current patched-up old clothes ruined his overall image. However, his Common was very clear, and he spoke slowly—perhaps intentionally to help Zhao Mai understand—which earned him a lot of points.

"I understand. You want to hire me as a servant to assist with various tasks," Green said. "Although this isn't my main expertise, I can definitely handle it. According to the guild's agreed price, the daily rate for a full-time servant in Nep Town cannot be less than 5 silver coins per day. I can provide better service, so my rate is 8 silver coins per day."

Zhao Mai thought for a moment. He was surprised that he understood Green's words without much effort, which was quite rare. He noticed that Green had a talent for language, emphasizing certain words that were crucial to the sentence. This way, even if the rest of the sentence wasn't fully understood, the main points could be connected to understand the whole sentence. For this, paying a bit more was justified, especially since all his money was taken from the gnome illusionist.

"The first three days will be a trial period, during which I am willing to pay 5 silver coins per day, and then I will increase the rate. How does that sound?"

"Of course, that's allowed by the guild. If you have no urgent matters now, please come with me to register at the guild, and then I can start my service."

Zhao Mai nodded in agreement and asked about the guild. "Mad Rat" Green took considerable effort to explain the guild's role to Zhao Mai.

The guild is a specialized place for handling civil contracts, providing services such as drafting, reviewing, notarizing, storing, and enforcing contracts. It's a bit like a combination of a civil court, notary office, and law firm. While this combination has issues with insufficient division of labor and excessive power, it is still a very progressive innovation for Golarion's current stage of development.

The guild's business covers various aspects, and a group of experts in documents and texts have established the essential elements of standardized contracts. It is said that they referred to many devilish soul contracts to ensure their infallibility, though this is still a dream for now.

Due to the large number of illiterate people, they often suffer losses when signing contracts and documents. The guild's existence has changed this situation, and a standardized market has brought greater market opportunities. The atmosphere in Nep Town, which enjoys negotiation, has further boosted the guild's business. By charging service fees, the guild can hire adventurers to pursue those who breach contracts.

"The guild only cares about whether the recovered gold can compensate the aggrieved party, not the fate of the breacher," Green said, shrugging and warning Zhao Mai in a very serious tone. "Killing is easier than capturing, and mercenaries prefer the most efficient way to work, so most breachers don't survive."

"Is there no lord here to manage this?"

"If the breacher is still in the area, they usually go to the guild to explain why they breached the contract. As long as they negotiate, there is always a solution," Green said. "Once they flee, they leave the jurisdiction of the local lord, and other lords don't care much about these matters, after all, the dead are not their own subjects."

Zhao Mai understood. The autonomy of local lords, combined with a bit of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," means that while this is still an orderly civilization, it cannot be compared to the world he is familiar with. Each place has its own rules and its own enforcement agencies, and judgments and punishments can be swift and harsh.

Without a unified constitution or a clearly divided judicial system, this is a world where safety is not guaranteed. Villages and neighbors might still look out for each other to maintain basic order, but outside the towns, it's a world governed by the law of the jungle.

"If you don't have proof from other merchants outside the area and have no guarantor here, you will need to pay a fee to register, equivalent to one-tenth of the value of the contract you want to sign," Green asked. "How long do you plan to hire me for?"

"Longest should not exceed... two months," Zhao Mai thought and answered.

Through the car's clock, he knew that the time flow in Golarion was thirty times faster than in his world. Here, a stable month of thirty days is equivalent to one day on Earth. He had already been here for almost half a month, and staying for another half to a full month would be the limit. He didn't want his family to worry too much, as he might be considered missing on Earth.

He registered under the name "Mike" and used the name of the Ranger Karl as his local contact, which surprised Green, making him widen his eyes. Seeing his expression, Zhao Mai asked, "What, is Ranger Karl famous?"

"Although he is rarely seen, everyone knows him. He is trusted by both the local townspeople and the druid community. It was he who facilitated the druids' help for Nep Town, and he was less than ten years old at the time."

Zhao Mai picked up his dog, Reserve, and showed it to Green. "This dog was given to me by him, and now it's my good brother."

Reserve barked on cue and stuck out his tongue, acting cute. Green smiled, but his mind was elsewhere.

After a few hours of interaction, he noticed several inconsistencies. This Mike, who came from outside the town, indeed did not fully master Common, but he was not uneducated. A true country bumpkin would be overwhelmed by the guild's complex procedures and new concepts, but Mike handled everything with ease and even pointed out some flaws.

Transitioning from chaos to order requires sufficient learning, but what kind of learning doesn't include Common? This outsider had another mother tongue. His halting speech sometimes had grammatical errors, but these revealed unique aspects of his native language. Green, who was proficient in multiple languages, had never seen such grammatical habits.

Considering the overly obedient dog and this person's connection to Ranger Karl, Green immediately thought of the druid community. The mysterious druid language is never taught to outsiders, and this might be Mike's background.

Things were getting interesting.

"Why did you register as a merchant instead of an adventurer?" Green asked. "Merchants pay higher taxes, which is not suitable."

"Because I have something to sell, and if possible, I want to open a trade route, so I must register as a merchant, right?"

"Actually, you can entrust other merchants to sell on your behalf, which would be cheaper."

The guild scribe looked up at "Mad Rat" but did not expose his lie. While what Green said was true, considering the taxes, entrusting a merchant to sell would be cheaper, but the profit might be lower. However, this smart and independent person named Mike should have already figured out the logic.

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