"Oh? You believe in my strength now, right? So, tell me… how much can you pay?" Tetsuya got straight to the point. He was here for the money.
From what the foreman had said, this project was part of the League's infrastructure plan. The local government must have taken it seriously, and the contract price wouldn't be low.
The foreman thought for a moment, then said, "…Thirty thousand. How about thirty thousand? That's about a year's salary for an official Gym pupil like you."
"60K." Tetsuya didn't hesitate at all.
The price the foreman had offered was fair and reasonable. But with a golden opportunity to extort some money laid out in front of him, how could he possibly let it go?
The foreman quickly waved his hands. "Ugh… that price is way too high. No one pays that much anywhere!"
Tetsuya gave a short laugh. "Tehaha… You said yourself that Golem is powerful. I'm risking my life to fight it. That amount barely begins to cover it! Think carefully."
The foreman began calculating in his head. It would take a full day to get to the nearest town, and another day to come back. That meant two days gone already. Going over the deadline meant a 10,000 Pokédollar penalty per day.
Once in town, there was no guarantee he'd find a Trainer suitable for the job. If they weren't strong enough, the trip would be wasted. And there was also the chance those Trainers would raise their prices on the spot. Even in the best-case scenario, it would take three days… meaning at least a 40,000 Pokédollar penalty with the Trainer price.
But that was an ideal case. In reality, solving this problem for just 40k Pokédollars was impossible. A single hiccup could push the cost past 60k easily. And now he had a… capable, Trainer standing right in front of him. What was he still hesitating for?
Still, anyone who managed to become a foreman had to be clever. There was no way he'd just accept Tetsuya's demand without resistance. "Sigh, sixty thousand is just too much. This is all hard-earned money from our crew! If we give you that much, we'll be working at a loss."
As the foreman spoke, the workers behind him started to chime in.
"Mhm mhm! We're struggling too, you know… We've got families to feed!"
"Exactly! And this kid here… how can a young Trainer like him take advantage of us like this?"
"That's right! This is just too much. Seriously too much!"
The foreman saw that his workers were now looking at Tetsuya with resentment. He was inwardly pleased. His "tactic" had worked. With this kind of silent pressure, Tetsuya would never be able to hold his ground!
Tetsuya glanced at the foreman and said, "Let me ask you something, 'boss-san'. Are you trying to fool me, or your own workers, by pretending this job isn't profitable? Even as a subcontractor, a project like this wouldn't be worth less than half mil!
You've got five workers and need only a month to finish. Let's say you pay them… 200 a day. That's 30k for wages. Add food, camp expenses, and Pokémon maintenance, you still wouldn't go over 50k. So, your total cost is maybe 80k.
Even if you factor in bribes and gifts costing another 100k! Your profit still sits at 300,000. So don't try telling me this is some 0loss-making' deal. That's. Complete. Nonsense!"
"…Boss, didn't you say the contract was for 200,000?"
"Yeah, we've been working nonstop… And we're just about done twenty days into a one-month job! If you were really losing money, we wouldn't feel right either."
The foreman's face turned red, then purple. He never imagined that a gaki Trainer could be so familiar with this industry. He knew that if Tetsuya kept talking, his workers might really revolt!
He quickly tried to calm them. "B-Brothers, come on~ He's just a kid! What could he possibly know!? I'd never lie to you… Don't worry, once the project is finished on schedule, everyone gets a bonus!"
Tetsuya chuckled to himself. It looked like the contract was worth more than half mil. He knew these things far too well.
In his past life, after becoming a Gym Leader, he had formed his own private construction team: building bridges, paving roads, digging tunnels, and mapping out forests. He made a fortune off shady deals. Compared to him, this little foreman was still too green~
Hearing the word "bonus," the five workers calmed down a bit.
The foreman, now scowling, turned to Tetsuya. "…Fine. Sixty thousand it is. As long as you can handle that Golem."
"Alright then. Pay up," Tetsuya said.
The foreman looked surprised. "You… you want the money before the job's even done!?"
Tetsuya shook his head. "Tch. Do you really not understand, or are you pretending not to? If you truly don't understand, I'll explain it to you. If you're just pretending, feel free to hire someone else."
The foreman's face darkened further. He hadn't expected Tetsuya to know everything. There wasn't a single angle left to exploit! "Come… come with me to the camp," he muttered.
"Hooo~ So you 'do' understand after all," Tetsuya said mockingly.
This was actually a regulation issued by the League. As society developed, engineering teams frequently needed to hire Trainers to deal with troublesome wild Pokémon.
Such arrangements were unavoidable. But many Trainers had been seriously injured or even killed doing this kind of work, and because the job wasn't completed, they received no compensation. Even those who finished the task could be denied payment if there was no written agreement. Some teams would flat-out deny the deal ever existed.
This seriously hurt the interests of Trainers. So the League passed a rule: any Trainer hired for dangerous work had to be paid upfront. If the Trainer was injured or died and no contract had been signed, no compensation would be given. But at the very least, they would have received some upfront payment.
All Trainers were registered with the League, traceable to the individual. As long as engineering teams didn't try to save money by hiring unregistered Trainers, there was no need to worry about them running off with the payment.
---◓---
Tetsuya followed the foreman to a camp backed against the mountain. The area was fenced with steel wire and equipped with alarm systems, meant to prevent surprise attacks from wild Pokémon.
Inside the largest tent, the foreman opened a brass lock on a large iron box and pulled out six thick stacks of cash. 60k Pokédollars in total.
"Here. I hope you can take care of that Golem. Otherwise, I'm taking a huge loss! Sigh… this was supposed to be the workers' salary!"
Tetsuya didn't bother checking the money's authenticity or the total. From the way the workers interacted with the foreman, there was no way he'd dare use counterfeit cash. Each stack was clearly labeled as 10,000. With him standing right there, the foreman wouldn't have had a chance to pull anything.
Tetsuya calmly stored the money in his backpack and snorted. "Hn. Your workers aren't here, so cut the act. Only you know how much you're really making."
With that, Tetsuya walked out of the tent and headed toward the tunnel.