[Matthew's POV]
Leona was going to bring the new recruits she had found to replace Rose and Luna on the guard duty.
I was excited. Would I get two more beauties to add to my harem?
My excitement was quickly cut short when she showed up with two dwarfs, ugly and bearded.
"These are the brothers Romeu and Rimus. They'll be taking Rose and Luna's place," Leona said.
"Welcome to the S&B Company," I greeted them.
If that wasn't a downgrade, I don't know what is.
But I had no right to complain. That's the price of being a lazy guy who keeps pushing his responsibilities onto others—you don't always get what you want.
"You two will be in charge of the boss's safety today," Leona said.
"Are you all going out together?" I had overheard the girls scheming about something, so I was curious.
"We have some preparations to make," Leona replied.
"Can't I go with you?" I asked.
"No... uh... Miss Lilian can explain it better," Leona stammered.
I didn't even need to look at Lilian. They were clearly up to something. But since I trusted that whatever it was, if Lilian was behind it, it would end up being extremely pleasurable for me, I decided not to get in the way.
"We're taking the carriage, but Tomas will stay behind to help you if needed," she added.
Then she left me with the two dwarfs, three, counting Tomas.
"So, boss, what are we doing today?" Rimus asked, or maybe it was Romeu.
I had nothing planned for the day.
"Boss, Leona said I should stay at your disposal today," Tomas, the third useless one, had arrived.
The two brothers looked at Tomas with disdain, and he returned the same look.
"Are we going to have a problem here?" I didn't want that kind of drama on my team.
"No problem at all, boss," Rimus, or Romeu, answered. Still not sure who's who.
That switch had given me an idea. I had the perfect solution to build camaraderie in our team.
"This guy needs to lose his virginity. You guys know the red-light district in this town?" I asked, pointing to Tomas.
Yes, drinking together in the company of beautiful, half-naked women was the best way to build team spirit among men.
"Who said I'm a virgin?" Tomas protested.
"Your face," the twins said in unison.
I just nodded. Tomas looked like he wanted to protest again, but I cut him off.
"I'm saying I'm going to pay for you to lie with a woman, and you're complaining?" I asked.
He stayed silent.
"Us too, boss?" one of the twins asked.
"You just got here and already want perks? Drinks are on me, but if you want more than that, you'll have to pay."
They weren't thrilled, but they expected it.
Tomas had earned it, though. He had bravely thrown himself into that shield wall even without being ordered to.
"So, are we going or what?"
I asked but didn't wait for an answer. I got up to rally the rest of the group.
The excuse was that I was giving Tomas a bonus and helping the new hires integrate, but the truth was I was dying to go to a brothel for the first time in my life, as a client, of course.
***
[Tomas's POV]
I had never gotten along with other dwarfs. They always had nicknames for me because of my half-human side, and I always ended up fed up and walking away whenever a dwarf was nearby.
Now there were two of them, and we were going to work together.
I was enjoying this job. If those two bastards started teasing me too much, it'd suck to have to quit.
"Tomas, right? What kind of weapon do you use? Why aren't you carrying one?" Romeu asked.
The boss still couldn't tell them apart, but that was typical of humans; dwarfs were all the same to them.
"I'm just a coachman. I don't carry a weapon." Not that I was very good with one, but I wasn't going to give that bastard the satisfaction.
"Boss, that's sacrilege. A dwarf without a weapon is a naked dwarf," Rimus told Matthew.
They'd only just met the boss and were already talking to him like that?
"It wouldn't hurt to get you a weapon, Tomas," the boss said.
He was strangely generous. What had happened to put him in such a good mood?
"You too, boss, it's sacrilege for a noble to walk around without a fine sword hanging from his belt," Romeu said.
"A sword on my belt would be nothing but an ornament," Matthew replied.
"Still," Rimus insisted.
"Seriously, you'd rather waste time shopping for weapons than going to a brothel?" the boss asked.
He clearly didn't know dwarfs.
"Your call, boss, either we go to a damn shop to buy weapons or we keep hearing these two complain."
I was eager to get to the brothel. I wasn't a virgin like they said, but I wasn't exactly experienced either.
But I didn't want to keep hearing that crap either.
"Fine, let's go buy some weapons then," the boss finally gave in.
"Great, we know the perfect place."
They were more excited about visiting a weapon shop than going to the brothel. Go figure.
We changed our route and headed to the shop. It wasn't far, so we got there pretty quickly.
The store belonged to another dwarf, of course. If we weren't careful, this could take hours.
"Balthazar, this is our new employer, Matthew, and that's his coachman. They need new weapons," Romeu introduced us.
"Alright, alright, what exactly are you looking for?" the store owner asked.
"There are so many options, why don't you show them everything in your stock?" Rimus said.
There it was; if we fell into that trap, we'd be stuck here for hours.
"A medium double-bladed axe, with enchantments to keep the blade sharp and reduce weight. Made of mithril-enhanced steel, if you have any," I said.
Everyone turned to me when I spoke those words. I was half dwarf, after all, did they think I knew nothing about weapons?
Before they could say anything, I continued.
"For Mr. Matthew, a medium orichalcum saber, ornamented with mithril. Enchanted with defensive spells and elemental attack circles. Ideally, a set, paired with a dagger and a three-point belt, as is common among southern nobles, where we're headed."
The boss looked impressed. Seriously, nobody had any faith in me.
The shopkeeper started to go fetch the weapons, but I stopped him.
"Could you measure our arms first? That way, you only bring the ones that fit."
There, now he'd bring at most two or three options each, and we wouldn't waste the whole morning.
Romeu and Rimus looked disappointed, but I wasn't there to please them.
"Since when do you know about weapons?" Matthew asked me.
"He's a dwarf, boss. Of course, he knows weapons," Rimus answered for me.
Maybe my intervention had earned me a little respect?
When the shopkeeper returned, as I predicted, there weren't many options.
With the specs I gave, he had only one saber and dagger set that fit Mr. Matthew.
Excellent weapons, by the way. Matthew would be well-equipped, though I knew those weapons would likely gather dust on his belt.
For me, there were three options. But only one was the right one.
The shopkeeper was clearly testing me.
He brought two beautiful axes that had glaring manufacturing flaws, they wouldn't last more than a few years with professional use.
The third axe, though simple and seemingly old, was a weapon that would last forever.
The kind passed down in a dwarf family.
Of course, I picked the last one.
The three dwarfs were satisfied with my choice. But Mr. Matthew had another opinion.
"Seriously? You're picking the oldest one? If it's about price, don't worry."
"Humans!" we all said at the same time.
"This is all going to cost 1 gold coin, right?" I started negotiating.
If I left it to Mr. Matthew, he'd probably pay whatever the shopkeeper asked.
"You dishonor my family! 8 gold coins, of course!" the shopkeeper replied.
The correct price was 4 gold coins. But that kind of bargaining was the dwarf's way.
My duty was to try to get it for no more than 3 gold and 8 silver. His, was to sell it for at least 4 gold and 2 silver.
It was a ritual I couldn't rush, otherwise those twins would never respect me.
After almost half an hour of back-and-forth, and lots of arguments, everyone knew were just for show, we finally settled on 3 gold and 9 silver coins. Technically a tie, but it felt like a loss for the seller.
Matthew paid like he was buying a street snack. I was always impressed by how loaded that guy was.
"Now, can we go get drinks with some half-naked hotties?" the boss asked.
Of course not, there was still one more step no dwarf would skip.
"A weapon isn't yours until you kill something with it, Mr. Matthew."
Matthew clearly didn't understand what I meant. But all the dwarfs nodded in agreement.
Yep, those two were going to insist we go hunt a monster. Until we did, they wouldn't stop nagging.
I just wanted to go see some boobs.