Chapter Text
“Senior Ashengrotto, I would like to formally apply for a position at Mostro Lounge.”
It was a short while since the non-magic human and a fire-breathing cat cause havoc at the ceremony of the arcane academy – Night Raven College. It was an even shorter while since said human and the cat turn Octavinelle upside down and had the whole dorm restructured its operation. The atmosphere in Mostro Lounge was tense, saved for the whirring of the water filter in the nearby fish tank. Azul Ashengrotto, House Warden of Octavinelle, stared at the Ramshackle Dorm’s Prefect, Headmaster’s little helper, with a dumbfounded expression. It would be more believable had the human has said they now can have magic than this. Behind him, Jade Leech held his lip tightly, his eye curved, fighting back a laugh. Floyd Leech, leaning against the sofa to the left of Azul let out a “huh?”. Sitting across from all of them was none other than the prefect. Hand resting on their lap holding a folder of documents.
“Well, I do have my resume prepared; although, most of the experience here are with companies from my world.”
“Wait! Hold on. Are you aware that you just turn all of my contracts to sand last week?”
“Actually, it was senior Kingscholar.”
“That is not the point. I tried to swindle you out of Ramshackle.”
“This and that.”
“This is not a joking matter.”
At this point, Floyd had broken out of his stupor and already cackled loudly at the exchange.
“What brings you here, prefect? Did Headmaster issue another investigation? If so, you have to excuse me for being more cautious. I've learned from our previous interactions."
The room was instantly thrown back into silent. As if on cue, both Jade and Floyd straighten up, stepping out from behind Azul and moving closer to the prefect side of the couch.
“Senior Ashengrotto. To be completely frank with you. I’m broke.”
At their comment, the three fish were instantly thrown into a confused stage. Azul is not unfamiliar with student coming to him for jobs nor did Jade and Floyd. But this is definitely their first time hearing a candidate during an “interview” admit that. Especially, in Night Raven College, where a student ‘s ego could rival the highest mountain in Shaft Land. It is usually taking a couple of beating from Jade and Floyd before most of them spilled their true intention.
“I’m like really broke. And senior, you pay.”
Azul went silent, deep in his thought. Floyd is now hunching over, hands holding his stomach from laughter. Not only had the prefect managed to outwit Azul by having the Leona Kingscholar followed their plan, destroyed the octopus plan and hard work, but now they waltzed into the Lounge, brazenly demanding to speak to the manager, exposed all of their weakness and told him to give them a job. This is some top tier comedy for him. He wasn’t sure whether the prefect were brave or stupid, maybe both.
“Awww….poor little Shrimpy. Going all broke ‘cause the big bad crow won’t feed ya. C’mon,Azul, I don’t see any problem. It will be more fun.”
“I agree. The desperate tend to work harder as well. We do need staffs to fill in front-of-house positions. We've experienced a rather unfortunate amount of turnover recently.” Jade chimed in, looking at his brother then at the prefect making sure to emphasize the word “unfortunate”.
“I prefer the term liberate the oppressed.”
“Yes, what is it?”
Azul rub his chin, the cork in his head working harder than ever. Alas, he let out a small laugh. The prefect wondered whether it was from the evil plan he cooked up for them or the sheer ridiculousness of this whole situation. He pushed his glasses and leaned back to the sofa. He snapped his finger and a golden contract magically appeared on the glass table in front of him.
"Mostro Lounge operates with a relatively flexible staffing structure. As such, all employees are expected to become familiar with multiple aspects of the business. You'll begin next week as a hostess. Depending on operational needs, you'll gradually be introduced to additional responsibilities. Jade will oversee your training."
"Compensation will consist of an hourly wage, as well as one employee meal for shifts lasting eight hours or longer. Should your performance prove satisfactory, there may be opportunities for advancement."
“So, what’s the pay?”
“Minimum wage.”
“Understandable... How do performance review and raise work?”
“Performance review is conducted periodically. Attendance, customer feedback, reliability, and overall contribution to operations are all taken into consideration. Compensation adjustment will be made at management’s discretion.”
“Closed-door peer review. Noted.”
Azul is momentarily stunned. He just spends a long minute explaining to the prefect about Mostro Lounge ‘s compensation in as much details as he was willing to disclose and somehow the prefect just collapsed it into four words. Even worse, they managed to make it sound vaguely accusatory. From the side, Jade looked delighted. Before the overblot, the trio had been quite confident they had gathered every relevant piece of information about the prefect. Apparently, one of them had neglected to document a particularly troublesome speech pattern: their uncanny ability to reduce lengthy explanations into blunt summaries that were both irritating and difficult to argue against.
"Should you have no further questions, go ahead and sign here."
Azul slid the gilded contract across the desk. Given their previous incident, still fresh in everyone's mind, the prefect couldn't help but scrutinize every line of the document. What should have been a simple signature turned into a thorough inspection of every clause, condition, and footnote. Across the desk, Azul's eye twitched. The twins, meanwhile, appeared thoroughly entertained.
"I would appreciate it if you could hasten the process," Azul said at last. "Time is money, you know."
"Oh, I'm aware."
Without looking up, the prefect turned another page. Jade's smile widened. Floyd looked seconds away from laughing, again.
"You're actually reading the entire thing?" Floyd asked.
"You say that like it's unusual."
"Most people don't."
"Most people haven't accidentally signed their freedom away before."
The prefect finally picked up the bone-shaped pen on the side. The pen weighed heavily between their fingers. For a moment, the tip hovered above the document before the ink appeared on it, black and permanent.
“We have an agreement. Pleasure doing business with you. We will be in contact with you regarding staffing schedule for this month’s shifts. Do ensure you're punctual for your training.”
“Like wise, senior Ashengrotto.”
“My, my. This is rather exciting I might say. Rest assured, prefect. I do take great pride in training new employees.I'm certain we'll have many opportunities to learn from one another."
Jade covered his mouth with his gloved hands, his eyebrows scrunched together. Undoubtedly hiding his amusing grin underneath.
“I’ll be in your care. I’ll take my leave now.’
“Oh. Allow me to escort you back.”
“I wouldn’t want to trouble you. My chaperon is waiting outside. I hope.”
As if right on cue, Grim nagging voice went through the door.
“Are you almost done? I’m done looking at fishes.”
Grim, fortunately, had managed to keep his promise to be on time. If there was one thing that Grim had learnt, having spent a considerable amount of time at Night Raven College and surviving the incident with the fish mafia, it was that the trio could not be trusted. Grim would never go so far as to admit that he felt guilty for dragging his minion into the previous mess. He was simply being a good master after all. Someone had to keep the premium canned tuna coming.
“Well then, I bid everyone goodnight,”
The prefect made a small bow then head out through the door Floyd had been generous enough to open.