Fantastic Creatures’ Travelogue Chapter 17

Chapter 17  Contracts

Ren Hao had a dream. He wanted to be a paladin, who held the strength beyond that of normal people, and traveled around the world to kill evildoers. He would not be afraid of the tyrannical and could guard the whole territory. Tens of thousands of people would be grateful for his bravery, as he was a big hero around the world.

Oh, he was nine years old then, quite a long time ago. At that time, in his mind, the “whole territory” was limited to the two streets around his primary school in the Southern Suburbs, and the tyrannical being was his teacher.

In the past two years Hao Ren’s ambition had changed to something more realistic: have an above average monthly income, marry an above average wife, have one or two above average babies , and as he already had his own house, there was no need to worry about residential matters. These were all what his life was about – until now.

Now that turning point of his life was close, and Hao Ren felt as if he could see that different future in front of him as he gazed at the claim-to-be-G.o.d woman and nodded hard, ” Okay, I agree.”

Raven12345 did not seem surprised, who might have been already experiencing many similar scenes, and thus knew how Hao Ren would reply.

She just nodded. “Okay, then from now on you are a Practice Examiner for the STA.  Before you transition into formal employment, you enjoy the privileges of a temporary worker…”

Hao Ren: “Come on, please don’t elaborate on that, do you know how difficult it was to take to heart!”

Raven12345 seemed to flash a smile, as she could see that Hao Ren was still a little confused and nervous, “Don’t worry, we are not those evil forces, instead we safeguard the world’s peace. You see how n.o.ble this career is? You know, when I want to find an a.s.sistant in other worlds, the locals just flood over! But here, on Earth, you humans have moved on to the stage of atheism. It developed pretty fast visually and I do not intend to intervene, which is the reason why I keep such a low profile in finding an a.s.sistant, but do not think that your job cannot be put on the table simply because of this…”

Hao Ren muttered: “Why do you sound not like a G.o.d ? Are all G.o.ds just like you ?”

“Hey, not to mention you, even I myself am not used to it,” Raven12345 swung her hands for a few times and her relaxed tone made Hao Ren startled, “We changed our account just years ago. Before that we were not the G.o.d. Oh yes, if you are not used to this name, you can just call us the Hilling Disciple. This is the real name of our race, and “G.o.d” is just our work.”

“Hilling Disciple?” Hao Ren digested this weird term, “Doesn’t sound human like either … So how should I address you? Should I address you as Your Majesty?”  Hao Ren suddenly felt a bit dumbfounded, as the woman claimed herself to be a G.o.d. He probably really should call her your majesty, but how could he feel nothing about it? Hao Ren felt that when chatting with Raven12345, the atmosphere was almost the same with that when he chattered with the woman in charge of the small supermarket at the street corner. So that is it, Your Majesty?

Even if you do not fix a halo above your head, could you stop picking your fingers while you were speaking?

Raven12345 seemed to care even less about this issue and she just played with her fingers while nodding at Hao Ren, “I’m not used to this name, and you can just call me by my name, or just call me 12345.”

Hao Ren: “That feels even less like a person’s name …”

Raven12345 then began to explain to Hao Ren his “work” details, which in fact contained nothing much to say, as he just needed to continue receiving weird tenants. Since there were already a werewolf and a vampire in his house, Hao Ren thought that he could handle more abnormal creatures, as long as the newcomers were as agreeable as those two.

“No need to worry about that,” Raven12345 struck out her chest and vouched for them, “We are quite concerned about the lives of our staff, so we won’t let you fall into a hazardous environment. Those sent to you, all have already pa.s.sed some form of ‘test’, and I ensure that they are safe and reliable. As long as you let them eat, drink, and live well, and prevent them from affecting the normal’s life, then that’s fine. This is all your current job. As for other issues, there are other people in charge, so you don’t need to mind them right now. For other cases… We will talk about it when you really encounter them in the future. Any other problems?”

After moment’s’ hesitation, Hao Ren finally asked the question that he was concerned about the most, “Well that… what on earth is with Lily’s situation that she would need to rent here? Is it really not your arrangement?”

“No, as I said, only the new tenants going to your house later will be cases arranged by our units. As for the werewolf… you can consider it as due to chance. Because she found YOU and it seemed to be quite acceptable to you, I chose you as my agent. You know, the average people tend to not have such a strong sense of acceptance. The exact type of person I need to find is someone who has a endurable world view, so that he can withstand such kinds of shock.”

“So I just need to accommodate future customers’ livings? But how should I justify the ‘arrange them well’ details? Worship them like ancestors?”

“No need to go that far. As long as they don’t make troubles, then that’s fine. Our ultimate goal is to have the human civilization develop as usual. Humans do not need to encounter those things which are not consistent with their current development, as it will cause misconceptions on their universe. Human’s lifespans are too short that, even one or two generations of misunderstandings would be likely to ruin their cognitive development for hundreds of years and  still have profound impact on their future. Judging by your facial expression, you are already puzzled, so I will omit further explanations. ” Raven12345 spoke, while pulling out a stack of paper from her drawer, ” Anyway you’re just an entry-level employee at the moment, moreover a temporary worker, so you’re still not allowed to know the more complicated matters. Even if I tell you, you cannot deal with them now. I will tell you the right things at the right time, and trust me, I mean you no harm, because it is not necessary. Now come here and sign the contract … ”

Hao Ren felt that she was still hiding many things from him, but he could do nothing about it. Although Raven12345 was agreeable, she seemed to have her own principles. She would never mention something which shouldn’t be mentioned at the moment. Besides, Hao Ren also knew that there were things that should not be rushed, and he should be careful about pushing against circ.u.mstances, which he clearly knew nothing about at the moment.

Hao Ren felt like he had boarded a pirate ship, but sadly, he didn’t have the courage to jump off. He was sure that he could not beat any of the creatures here, including that fogman he met at the door.

Hao Ren was reading the contract puzzledly, as even though the text on the contract was very easy to understand, the t.i.tle was confounding. The main t.i.tle was “Hilling-Empire s.p.a.cetime Authority Practice Examiner Employment Contract”, but the subt.i.tle behind it was “Hilling G.o.d Tribe Alliance Contract”, and the “real” subt.i.tle behind it was “Hilling Empire Civilian Department Temporary Worker Relevant Doc.u.ment”. Further below there was a tiny line which read: Revised Version -106, Further Revised Version, Again Revised Version, Final Version, Never-changed Version, Even-order-from-the-empress-have-no-change Version — Order from the Emperor, followed by all relevant offices.

Below was the main body of the contract. It explained clearly, the instructions and the attendance system. There were also the ident.i.ties of employees equivalent to the Regional Son/Regional Bishop Candidate/Regional Prophet/Local Street Cadres/Regional Police, determined by the new employee’s local civilization. This whole thing was for the convenience of the new employee to accurately identify himself.

Still below that, was the welfare system which was even more worldview challenging.  the Greatest G.o.d of the Hilling Empire regulated clearly that the newly-employed Examiner following the regional G.o.d deserved employee welfare, including, but not limited to: distributing rice/flour/oil during holidays and subsidies for consuming cards (which might be different according to the local civilizations). The welfare was to be determined by the locally responsible G.o.d.

Hao Ren felt like crying after having read this contract, as he felt somehow that this stuff looked familiar, really familiar… 1

“Oh? Our unit has a great welfare system, right?” Raven12345 neurotically stated. “I know that just now you were too self-conscious to enquire about the treatment of our units. Of the people I have seen over these years, most newcomers feel strange about that, as if they should work for the G.o.d as voluntary labor, but our units definitely do not have to do that. This contract was developed by some of the leaders above who have experience in this field. They said it is more in line with the rules of this mortal world. And if you have no objections, how about just signing it?”