Charlot was certainly not doing this for himself; his record was spotless. If he wanted, he could even become a true "salary thief." After all, Charlot’s legal superior, the Imperial Crown Prince, would never meddle in the affairs of the city patrol guards. Whether Charlot showed up for work or not would have no impact on his salary. He was doing this to create a legitimate system for these adventurers.
Ever since being forced into exile, Charlot had resolved to accomplish something meaningful.
Once he turned this group of adventurers into city patrol guards, he would no longer be a lone commander with no troops under his name.
As for the adventurers, there was no need to worry.
The city patrol guards were formal military positions. Though the income for lower-level patrol guards was modest, the pay was stable, and it offered safety. Rarely would anyone dare to attack patrol guards, making their lives far more secure compared to adventurers.
If Charlot managed to pull this off, it would be like a gift from the heavens for these adventurers, and very few would refuse.
With documents signed by Mrs. Aldegonde, Charlot used the flors he had prepared and visited several departments. His experience smoothed the process. Having spent two years in the Central Government Office, Charlot had not wasted his time and was deeply familiar with the Empire’s bureaucratic procedures.
Following the formal process to recruit even the lowest-level civil servants was extraordinarily difficult. However, if existing civil servant records were “lost” and subsequently “replenished,” obtaining identities for a batch of low-level city patrol guards became much easier. It didn’t even require reporting to higher authorities; all it took was working through a few key clerks.
Of course, the most critical part of all this was Charlot’s own position as the commander of the city patrol guards, which granted him significant power.
After spending just over fifty flors, Charlot managed to secure Lukavaro District city patrol guard identities for more than 170 people. Of those, around thirty were “questionable entries.”
Naturally, this wasn’t the entirety of the irregularities under his command. On paper, Charlot had more than 700 subordinates. As for the other 500 to 600 names, Charlot dared not investigate further.
Since these city patrol guards had been “missing” for so long, the relevant departments also issued a back payment of salaries. This money would certainly never make its way to the Lukavaro District city patrol guards. Who intercepted it, or which departments benefited, was not Charlot’s concern.
This money also served as one of his “access passes” to get things done.
…
By the time the sky darkened, Charlot returned to 1 Yansun Street in Lukavaro District.
The adventurers still had no idea that they had all received new identities. They were anxiously waiting for Charlot to return with “good news.”
As soon as Charlot stepped into the office, the adventurers surrounded him, bombarding him with questions about the treasure’s status and when they could get their share of the money.
Charlot smiled broadly and raised his voice, saying, “Everyone, quiet down. Let me explain today’s auction results.”
“I auctioned off the first batch of treasure today!”
“No! There’s no money to distribute just yet.”
The room fell into a tense silence, and the atmosphere grew hostile.
If they didn’t know Charlot possessed extraordinary abilities, someone would have already tried to attack him.
Charlot quickly fanned the flames of their excitement with a few carefully chosen words, before steering the conversation in another direction. “But I didn’t come back empty-handed!”
“I secured a long-term small-payment contract! Each of you will receive thirty-five to forty centimes a week…”
“For life!”
The adventurers were stunned. Mason couldn’t hold back his anger and shouted, “You’re joking, right? Where would you find this so-called ‘long-term small-payment contract’?”
This “contract” sounded so unreliable that it struck everyone as a crude, new kind of scam.
Many people started shouting:
“Pay us directly!”
“We want real money!”
“Who would fall for this nonsense?”
“We’ve never heard of anything like this! How could such a contract exist?”
“Thirty-five centimes a week, for life? That adds up to over a dozen flors a year. If I live for a few decades, wouldn’t that amount to dozens of gold écus?!”
Charlot raised both hands to calm the crowd and said, “I know you don’t believe it, but let me explain the payment system. You will all receive jobs as members of the Lukavaro District city patrol guards. Most of you will start as 53rd-rank first-class privates, while a small number will be 52nd-rank second-class privates.”
“As long as you remain employed in the Lukavaro District city patrol guards, you will keep receiving this salary. However, if you decide to leave, then unfortunately, the long-term small-payment contract will be terminated.”
“This is just the first batch of treasure. Remember, this is only the beginning!”
“I made a promise!”
“To everyone who participated in this treasure hunt, I swear on the ancestors of the beastmen: I guarantee that your future wealth will not fall short of one hundred gold écus!”
“I will not break my word!”
“Now, please come forward to collect your Lukavaro District city patrol guard identification papers.”
“These are official documents issued by the Central Government Office. They are legitimate and cannot be falsified. You can verify them at any relevant government department.”
Yas whispered to the companion next to him, “Do you really think he can get all of us into the city patrol guards?”
Many of the adventurers had tried to join the city patrol guards in the past, but the selection process required a “clean record” and internal connections. Most of them would never pass the selection on their own.
This band of adventurers had come from various small groups, but over time, they had forged a sense of camaraderie. The man Yas spoke to replied quietly, “It’ll be easy to verify. He won’t be able to fool us for long.”
Yas nodded. Seeing everyone else step forward to collect their new identification documents, he went up as well and received his papers as a second-class private.
In the Fars Empire’s 53-rank occupational hierarchy, first-class privates usually required a complete middle or higher education. Their weekly salary was thirty-five centimes, the Empire’s officially mandated minimum wage—though in practice, many received less.
For the 52nd rank, the weekly salary was forty centimes. A middle education alone was no longer sufficient to secure this position upon entry. It typically required waiting for promotions that occurred once every five years. These lower-ranking government employees couldn’t compare to university graduates, who entered at the 49th rank and advanced much faster.
Graduates from national institutes, like Charlot’s superior Mrs. Aldegonde, began their careers at the 45th rank as assistant clerks.
Charlot’s former fiancée, Miss Sylvie Martin, was also supposed to start as an assistant clerk, but… some things never went according to plan.
Once Charlot finished distributing the identification papers, he announced loudly, “Tonight, I’m treating everyone! Mason, Yas, Homonsa…” He called out a few names and said, “Head to the nearby shops and buy some supplies. Have them deliver everything here, and I’ll cover the cost.”