CHAPTER 495: THE DRYAD

Dryads are considered to be the beings who live in the forests. They appear as a human female most of the time, but their real form involves their bodies having some features that involve flowers, grass, or even leaves growing around their bodies. Despite these, they can remove those features and blend in with human society just fine, and there was no instance of a male dryad appearing, making them seek out their mate in the human world, where many would give birth to a regular person, or a dryad with a 50 percent chance. Despite their appearance that is identical to humans, there is one discerning feature that does not disappear in them and remains as is, even when they appear as humans. And that is why their hair remains green. And since the color green is not a regular color for human hair, except if they came from a lineage of dryads or if they dye it themselves, it is easy to know who is a dryad or not.

The woman before Elaina did not dare to hide that she was a dryad through and through. Her features as a dryad were in full display, allowing Elaina to marvel over the features of her body that do not exist in a regular human body. It was like she had been sleeping somewhere in the forest, and the vines and grasses were growing on parts of her body, but instead of looking unnatural, it somehow blended in with her body, becoming part of her.

"Miss Octavia right? Rakkunzansa told me that you do need someone who can act as a businesswoman and someone who knows about agriculture and its intricacies."

"Indeed. No wonder Rakkunzansa is quite confident in his pick. You are a dryad, which means the knowledge regarding plants and any kind of flora comes as a natural thing for you."

"Correct. Due to my capability and natural nature of connectivity with all kinds of plants, I can easily know what they are capable of, what they can be known for use, and even how to grow them properly. You can say it is second in nature for me."

Elaina nodded. "Do you have any experience in selling goods or even becoming a merchant?"

"Not at all. Since Dyrads like me do not have much need for money as we are more likely to just stay in sustenance with just the nature around us, our only use for money is if we need a house and some necessities that nature can’t provide."

"That’s... quite unique, I must say. You said that all dryads are like that, but if you don’t need money, then why are you looking for a job? Rakkunzansa said that you were looking for a job, which is why he is confident you would accept the job."

Octavia sighed and nodded. "Well, I needed to buy a home of my own. One that is big enough, near the forest, and where I can study plants in my free time. And for that, I needed money."

Elaina nodded. At least her reasoning is reasonable.

"Alright. Considering that you are considerably good at agriculture, I needed to test you right now and see for myself how your race is an advantage in this new job. We can train you later to be prepared for business. First, before I hire you, let me describe the job for you. Come with me to this room."

Elaina stood up from her chair and led Octavia to the next room, which was only accessible from her office. It was a room where Elaina converted into a storage for the seeds they will be using for the business. There, on the table, are the seeds that Elaina prepared. All of these seeds are indistinguishable from each other unless one has seen those seeds before or if they are an expert, as they say, and can easily tell what kind of seed it is.

"This is a test to see if your ability and your nature are capable of handling what you will be dealing with in the future. Here are the seeds of vegetables, and each of them is different from the others. Label them, and if you correctly labeled at least 3 out of 5, then you are in," Elaina said as she hands over the name tags of the seeds for Octavia to use.

Octavia took the name tags and examined each seed one by one. Soon, she started placing each name tag on the respective seeds. It was like she was not even hesitating and just put the name tags confidently.

"I am done."

Elaina looked over and, seeing that each seed was labeled correctly, Elaina nodded in satisfaction.

"All are correct. Congratulations, you have landed the new job. Your salary would be a regular 100 gold per hour, but if you decide to work overtime, you will receive 200 gold per hour instead. You also get a paid vacation as well but don’t abuse it, as I will only give a maximum of 10 days’ worth of paid vacation before returning to work. But first, you will need to have your training in marketing. Although it will be a bit complicated, it won’t be too hard since it will be Rakkunzansa who will explain things to you. Come back here 4 days from now and your work officially begins."

Hearing the salary, Octavia’s eyes went wide. 100 gold per hour is very big, and considering that 100 gold is not a small sum, Octavia can officially buy her dream house for at least 3 months’ worth of working alone. Realizing this, Octavia nodded with anticipation.

"I will train hard and I will not disappoint you, boss," Octavia smiled.

And with that, Octavia is officially hired for office work. Elaina sighed in relief. Not only did she snag someone who is quite capable and perfect for her work, but it seems she also managed to grab an employee who will work loyally for their cause.

With the new employee done, time to negotiate with Princess Tabatha to gain the rights for the seeds selling. And she will make sure that she will give in and accept.