Madam, You Wouldn't Want Your Identity as a Witch to Be Exposed, Would You - Chapter 74

Chapter 74: I Can Too

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“You must be Leah’s mother Miss Eve, right? I’m Mira from the Imperial Commerce Association, pleased to meet you.”

Eve looked at the middle-aged woman before her who greeted her with enthusiasm. She wore a sharp professional outfit, with neat ear-length short hair without a single strand out of place. Though her face no longer held the radiance of youth, it had gained maturity and steadiness instead.

She was the type that aged well.

She appeared to be around the same age as Chancelianne.

“Hello…”

Eve somewhat stiffly shook hands with her, and from just that handshake, Eve noticed something wasn’t quite right.

She said she was from the Imperial Commerce Association, but the distinct calluses on her hands weren’t something a woman who worked in an office would develop.

Moreover, they were concentrated around the tiger’s mouth of the palm… most likely traces left from long-term weapon handling.

This made Eve inexplicably more vigilant.

“Mama, Aunt Mira from the Imperial Commerce Association has taken an interest in me, saying they want to hire me to work for the Imperial Commerce Association.”

“The monthly salary is as high as 2 gold coins!”

2 gold coins, that’s an amount that the wealthy young lady Qianzhi could casually pull out of her pocket.

2 gold coins, that’s an amount that Princess Alice might not even bother to pick up if she dropped it on the ground…

But for Leah, despite requiring a month’s work in exchange, it was enough to fill her with joy, even making her beautiful eyes sparkle with excitement.

“Yes, our Imperial Commerce Association offers very excellent benefits. Talented individuals like Leah are within our recruitment scope this year.”

“Additionally, 2 gold coins is just the base salary. With good performance, there can be additional bonuses.”

A monthly salary of 2 gold coins is indeed not low for a child who just graduated from school.

However, this is the Church Academy. If Leah was still like before, without support and no one to care for her, a salary of 2 gold coins would be enough to change her life.

But Leah is different now, she has Eve’s protection. Although Eve’s salary is also very modest… the actual numbers don’t work that way.

If the Great Witch Eve really wanted to make money, she could easily earn wealth beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

So Eve didn’t want Leah to rush into finding work. She hoped that Leah, who had suffered for so long, could properly enjoy her life and slowly find work that she truly desired.

Salary wasn’t the standard for measuring everything.

“What exactly is the job?”

Out of politeness, Eve still asked. Because she could see that this child Leah seemed quite eager about the work… no, to be precise, she seemed very eager about the money.

“Working for the Imperial Commerce Association, the conditions are naturally…”

“Miss Mira, you should be in charge of security work for the Imperial Commerce Association, right?”

Seeing that Mira intended to conceal the nature of the work, Eve didn’t bother with pleasantries anymore and directly exposed her.

After all, those calluses on her hands had already revealed the nature of her regular work clear as day.

“Miss Eve has very keen observation. Yes, we’re recruiting Leah because we value her powerful magical abilities.”

“We hope she can help the Imperial Commerce Association with protecting important trade routes.”

“Recently, magical beasts have been rampaging severely around the empire, seriously affecting the commerce association’s trade with other countries, and even causing significant impact on the empire’s internal economy.”

Mira sighed slightly, her refined face that carried a touch of mature charm showing some melancholy.

“That’s why I came here today, hoping to recruit a batch of powerful graduates. But after looking around, only two people meet the conditions.”

“One is Miss Leah, and the other… probably won’t accept our invitation. Because she’s the young lady of the Lorraine family, and also an important major shareholder behind the Imperial Commerce Association.”

Mira told Eve the truth. She had originally thought there would be countless students graduating from the Church Academy who could meet her conditions.

But unexpectedly, the Church Academy was full of passable rich kids and official’s children.

There were barely any with real ability who met the conditions, and even fewer who might be willing to stoop to doing this kind of work.

“Of course, it’s no problem if you’re not willing. Here’s my business card, feel free to contact me anytime if needed.”

“We can further discuss matters of salary and benefits.”

As she spoke, Mira presented her business card with both hands.

Eve took it and gave it a brief look, with the prominent Medal of Honor insignia of the empire particularly eye-catching on the card.

This Mira before her appeared to be an imperial meritorious official, and moreover, one of those top-level meritorious officials that could be counted on fingers throughout the entire empire.

“Then I’ll take my leave now. Leah, please do consider our offer.”

After saying this, Mira gave Eve a slight nod of acknowledgment before turning to leave.

And Leah stood beside Eve, looking at her with an expectant face.

“Mama, can I go? This job can earn so much money…”

Hearing Leah’s words, Eve couldn’t help but feel a stab of pain in her heart.

This child had struggled with poverty and basic survival from a young age, probably hadn’t seen gold coins more than a few times, let alone earn gold coins through her own efforts.

Eve understood why she would be so eager to find work, but this job was really…

Protecting the empire’s trade routes, plainly speaking, was work done by mercenaries, enforcers, adventurers, and the like.

It’s just that Leah would be directly employed by the Imperial Commerce Association, counting as an internal employee of the association, calculating your salary whether you work that day or not.

But how does that help? The level of danger hasn’t decreased at all.

Although Leah could hold her own against more than a dozen people without falling behind, she was after all a rookie just starting out, and moreover, a half-grown child.

Faced with fierce magical beasts, Leah might not be able to handle it at all.

Magical beasts came in numerous varieties, those that fly in the sky, run on the ground, swim in the water, all sorts of kinds.

There were those that moved in packs, those skilled at hiding and ambushing, and those that relied on absolute power in single combat.

None of these magical beasts would be easy to deal with when encountered.

As a mother, Eve would absolutely not watch her daughter engage in such dangerous work.

“No need to rush, our family isn’t short of money. Mama can support you, and there are many better jobs, let’s look around some more.”

Eve gently patted Leah’s head, consoling her in a soft voice.

But Leah lowered her head somewhat dejectedly.

“I also want to help share Mama’s burden, I don’t want to see Mama haggling with others for half a day over a few copper coins.”

“I’ve already graduated from the Church Academy, there’s no reason for this family to let Mama shoulder everything alone.”

“I can do it too! I really can!”