A/N: Please enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or their characters. I just own this story and my OCs
Ganzorig Yesun, or Ginter for short, had always been a hard worker and loyal to his family.
Which is why he decided to move hundreds of miles away from his family to live in Crater City, which bordered the northern and eastern seas.
Ginter hailed from a small nation on the northeastern side of the Golden Peninsula known as the Mahali Tribe. The Mahali Tribe was situated in the southern side of the Khan mountain range; while Crater City was to the north.
Ginter had lived with his family in the Mahali Tribe until his fifties. Around that time, a group of foreigners had created a trade alliance called the Ginkgo Guild and started to build trade colonies all around the peninsula.
The foreigners had traveled across the sea and settled in a small village in the southeastern part of the peninsula. They had actually been living on the peninsula for around three decades, but their numbers were decimated each winter. When they finally made contact with the Gracideans and the Coronites, two local nations, they were able to learn how to survive their winters. With that, their numbers grew; as well as their influence.
With their numbers growing, they started to crave expansion. They named the peninsula Hisui, though other nations found it inane, and started their journey of unity. This first began with protecting what little trade they did have, which created the Ginkgo Guild.
While the Ginkgo Guild were establishing themselves among their people, they also started to privatize and put tolls around major, established trade routes around the peninsula. One such trade route connected the Coronites, the Samiyans, and the Mahalians to the People of the Veil, who ruled Crater City.
Crater City was ruled by the People of the Veil and was known as a trading hotspot as four nations conducted trade there. The city was also known for their meteorites that were found in the southeastern part of the city.
With this major trade route towards Crater City obstructed and causing financial despair among the nations affected, Ginter decided to leave for Crater City to join the Ginkgo Guild and learn their language. He hoped to be able to create change to alleviate some of the burden these new rules caused his people.
After working for the guild for around a decade and stopping a war between the guild and the People of the Veil, he was promoted to the leader of the Crater City colony.
For the past year that Ginter had been in his position, he had been able to get many documents the guild used translated into multiple languages and fund language schools that would teach the foreigners local languages and local people Kantonese, or the soon to be common tongue.
Currently, Ginter was sitting in his office in Crater City, tidying up and waiting for a friend to arrive.
Two weeks ago, his friend known as Cogita Salim, sent him a letter stating that she would be in the city in a fortnight and wanted to meet.
Cogita was a woman around Ginter's age that was a member of the Coronite's Arcane Clan. She was one of the chief elders of her clan and was responsible for maintaining their history and archives.
The two of them became acquainted through one of Ginter's friends, Adaman Halimi, the current Dio of the Cornite's Diamond Clan. Even though the two were from different clans, Adaman and Cogita knew each other from Adaman's frequent travels to the Arcane Clan's archives. Adaman was an avid lover of history and its connection to the modern day.
Ginter and Cogita courted for a while, but decided to end it mutually. The Kingdom of Ario and Crater City were much too far away to continue maintaining a relationship. And even then, neither was willing to move for the other. Ginter knew his place was in Crater City as he was climbing up the ranks in the Ginkgo Guild. While Cogita's was to her clan. She was loyal to them through and through. She would never leave her position for a man.
When Ginter heard a knock on the door, he went to open it and let Cogita in.
As the two got settled in their seats, separated by a desk, Ginter took note of her. She was still as beautiful as ever with her fair skin and light gray eyes. Her platinum blonde hair was tied neatly in a bun and topped with a large, wide-brimmed black hat. She wore a long black dress that was made in an unfamiliar design with long white gloves. Cogita did love foreign goods and it showed.
"It's been a long time since I've seen you, Cogita," said Ginter, "How have you been?"
"I'm faring well," said Cogita, "But I won't hold you for long. I did indeed come here with an agenda."
"Oh," Ginter raised a brow, "And what might that be."
"I need your help in securing a job for a young man, an orphan, that I am in contact with."
"Who is he?"
"His name is Volo. He doesn't have a surname."
"Where is he from?"
"It's quite a sad story. No one's quite sure where he came from, but there are many rumors."
Ginter gave her a look as if to say go on.
"People say that he was brought to the orphanage right after he was born. His mother was Hisuian. No one knows who his father is, except that he was not one of the foreigners that came off the boat to come here."
So, he must be a local.
"What happened to the father? Why isn't he helping the boy get a job?"
"He's dead."
"..."
"No one knows for sure, but it's said that the mother's family killed the young man. Hisuians don't like it when blood mixes. It's why the mother couldn't keep the child."
Ginter cursed under his breath. There's always been talk about how the two people were equal, but not truly in every way. Hisuians were able to commit crimes and slaughter their people and justice would never be served to them. As long as they had the upper hand, nothing would change.
"I've been acquainted with the man since he was 17. He's just had his 22nd birthday. At the time, he would have been legally required to leave the Hisuian orphanage by 18; since he would be considered an adult. At the time I helped secure a job for him so that he could try to save some money and build a home by the time he had to leave."
"That was noble of you."
"His story just touched my heart, but there wasn't much I could do for him. I'm not fluent in Kantonese. I'm still learning. And I only have a few contacts in the city. His options are limited."
"Why can he not stay at his current place of employment?"
Cogita sighed, "He's not treated well there. The Hisuians can tell he's mixed and give him a hard time because of it. And he only knows the basics of the other four major languages of the city. He wouldn't be able to be employed there. He wants to go somewhere else, but there are limited places that would treat him better than his current job."
"So you came to me."
"I did. You've caused quite a stir in getting a position of power in the foreigners' guild. If anyone can help him, I think you can."
"Why me? You know the work we do here is hard and tiring."
"That's exactly why. I think he's tired of this city, or at least of the people who interact with him here. I think it would do him some good to travel around and find himself."
"I'm not opposed to giving the lad a job, but I am curious. Why not take him back with you to Ario?"
"For one, he doesn't know the language that well. Though I've been teaching him a bit and have found him a tutor. But really, I'm not sure how welcome he would be there. There's already so much tension between us and the foreigners. I'm not sure my kingdom, let alone my clan could handle that. At the end of the day, I'm a Coronite. I will always put them first."
"Thank you for sharing with me."
"You're welcome."
"Well, if I'm going to offer this kid a job, I might as well meet him. Where is he this time of day?"
"I'll let the two of you become acquainted over dinner in the city tonight. There, you can do your little interrogation."
Ginter chuckled. She's still the same.
Later that evening, the three of them met up in a small restaurant that made an assortment of dishes. They even had menus in five different languages.
Cogita was still in her dress from earlier. Wanting to spruce up a little, Ginter changed out of his work clothes before meeting and put on a traditional Mahalian outfit, a dark blue and gold deel. He brushed out his golden blonde locks and felt ready for this "interview."
The young man, Volo, looked curious. His eyes darted all around the place, taking in the sights. He was wearing brown trousers with a dark green jinbei top.
The three of them made small talk and ate their food before Ginter got into his questioning.
When Ginter was done with his food, he coughed, gaining the attention of the two. Volo's eyes went into focus and his back straightened as well.
"It's been nice to meet you, Volo," said Ginter, speaking Kantonese, "Cogita has been telling me a lot about you."
"Only good things I hope."
"She tells me you've been lookin' for a new job. Why's that?"
Volo sighed, "Just want something new is all. I don't want to be stuck in the same place forever."
"What sort of job skills do you have?"
"Hmmm, I've worked a lot of odd jobs. I can clean and cook well. I'm great at organizing and managing finances. Oh! I also know how to cut timber and bring in rocks from the quarry."
Ginter nodded at everything. The boy had plenty of useful skills that could be useful to the guild.
"Married?"
"No."
"Courting anyone?"
"Nope."
"Any kids?"
"Heavens no"
"Ginter!" said Cogita, hitting his shoulder.
"What? Plenty of young people nowadays have kids before marriage," Ginter turned his face to Volo, "I'm just askin' 'cause I want to know if you have any attachments to the city. If you do, I can find a job for you here instead of sendin' you out all over the peninsula. It's hard to maintain a relationship when you travel a lot."
"Understood… wait, so does this mean I get the job?"
"Yessir. You come highly regarded by Cogita. That's enough for me. I just wanted to make sure you weren't a weirdo."
Volo jumped out of his seat and went over to hug Ginter.
"Thank you thank you thank you! Thank you Mistress Cogita! Thank you Ginter-san! I promise I won't let you down!"
Ginter looked at Cogita and smiled.
Hopefully the future looked bright for him.
Word Count: 1,867
Published: Monday, March 25, 2024
Extra:
Just for clarity's sake, the foreigners named the peninsula Hisui. Because of this, the indigenous nations called the foreigners Hisuians. However, Hisuians considered everyone who lives on the peninsula Hisuians (whether local or foreign)
Also, Veilstone City is modern day Crater City
A/N: This work really came me today randomly lol; I was thinking about Ginter and Cogita having a conversation about Volo getting a job and this spawned. I hope you enjoyed the read! Please feel to leave comments below 3