“I don’t believe you!” Seth growled. “For real? The High General managed to convince all of them?”
The other members of the Θ-Class Ksa were all equally dumbfounded and shocked.
“There’s no way he managed it!” Renth gasped. “The old Vice General tried for decades and…”
The Ksa all began muttering among each other. Only their leader, Nenth, remained silent as the Keeper of the Great Library approached.
“Are you all done yet?” Veeksiar asked.
Everyone fell silent.
“Yes, ser…” Seth grunted. “We are all… this is rather unprecedented… We are very surprised…”
“And worried about our futures!” Zeth, the youngest of the Ksa, interrupted. “Does this mean we need to get new jobs? Does this mean we are all fired? I like my job! We’re not like other Ksa! I don’t want to be fired…”
Veeksiar smiled at his assistants. They had good reason to be worried. The bill that had just been signed basically made their duties as body guards and servants redundant. Not that the Θ-Class were body guards, they were much more valuable than that.
“While you are allowed to be worried, you have no reason to be. None of you will be losing your jobs in any way. You will all be getting pay increases, and I will be able to properly schedule holiday time and days off.”
“I feel a but coming…” Renth muttered under his breath, only to get a slap from Seth. Veeksiar just continued to smile.
“But there are three things you need to do first. Firstly, you will all need to reapply for your jobs as Keepers of the Great Library. I have printed off forms for all of you to fill in. I need these completed and on my desk by Monday 12th. If you don’t have them filled in, you won’t have a job come Tuesday.”
The Ksa all nodded in understanding.
“What else, Ser?” Nenth asked.
“Secondly,” Veeksiar explained. “I am going to need more staff. While this is not urgent, assuming you all fill your forms in, I need you to start recruiting. I estimate that I will need five new staff, but with our… loaned Ksa going their own ways…”
“Ayvee-En isn’t sticking around?” Zeth interrupted again, this time even more shocked. “But I like him!”
“Yeah but Ayvee-En is busy with legal stuff right now,” Kseth tutted. “Legal battle with the former High General, and we’ve all got to keep out of it.”
“Apparently a few of the N-Class are considering suing,” Kenth added. “Well, apart from the Rank 3 guys who were looking after the new Vice General. Are they all out of a job as well? Or is it just us?”
“This applies to all the Ksa,” Nenth sighed. “We are all essentially unemployed now, or at the very least working as interns until next week.”
Again, Veeksiar nodded and thanked Nenth for his explanation. “Indeed. I would rather Ayvee-En came to us if he wanted his job back, rather than signing up for him. But I know some of you have fellow Ksa who are looking for new jobs and will almost certainly be interested. There are a lot of additional benefits, like new homes close to the Great Library, proper holiday and leniency on sick days, as well as true wages.”
“Wait… Sorry…” Zeth interrupted yet again. “Are we allowed full wages now? As in, we earn the same amount as every other Rethan? A single-room home, utilities, food allowance, everything?”
“Yes, Zeth. That was the whole point of the Ksa Freedom Bill,” Veeksiar nodded. “You are all now fully fledged Rethan citizens. As will any of the Ksa that you recruit to work for the Great Library.”
The Ksa all looked at each other, grinning.
“But we still can’t take recreational drugs though, right?” Kseth asked.
“Well…” Veeksiar’s face dropped. But Kseth was still grinning.
“It is fine, ser. We understand. We’re a little too powerful to allow ourselves to take mind-altering substances.”
“Definitely,” Nenth smiled. “What was the last thing you wanted to ask of us, ser?”
Nenth’s question brought joy back to Veeksiar’s face.
“Ah, yes. The third thing. You all have tomorrow off, starting from now. Time off to do as you please. Go and enjoy yourselves.”
“Thank you, ser!” the Θ-Class shouted in unison as they raced off to enjoy their free time.