For a moment, it was difficult to gauge whose smile was bigger.
It was the woman who spoke first, “Just as I thought, you’re not just an insignificant human found elsewhere. My oh my… This is an ancient pet contract, isn’t it? It’s antique, but it wasn’t completely forgotten by us, which is bad news for you, my mortal friend.”
Her smile vanished as it was replaced by a cold sneer.
“Reversal!”
Her body glowed as the “rune” on her forehead was dispelled, before it reappeared in front of her but mirrored.
Su Ping was indeed surprised by such an action, for he never knew that a pet contract could be reversed.
The woman simply waited for the “new contract” to turn Su Ping into her pet instead. According to what she knew, nothing would help him escape from the contract at this rate. She just needed to pry every last bit of information from his mouth
Bang!
She felt a giant force hitting her head all of a sudden.
An unstoppable will easily tore through her spiritual defense and reached her soul, while chanting something in a strange language she couldn’t recognize.
She felt overwhelmed by fear as if the whole world had just landed on top of her. She was no stranger to the feeling of being suppressed by someone’s sheer power. But she had never gone through a direct invasion of her soul before.
But-but I’m a pure-blooded god! Not even the other Superior Gods can simply leave tricks on my soul like this!
She was unaware of the passage of time. It was the burning sensation still lingering on her forehead that woke her up from the dreadful trance.
The moment she could think clearly, she was terrified to find that her “reverse contract” had been utterly erased by the same force that invaded her body.
To make it worse, she could tell that whoever did it had never intended to attack her. It was a mere punishment because of her attempt to sabotage the pet contract, and this small punishment had nearly obliterated her soul.
Meanwhile, Su Ping was glad to once again find that the system had been honest with him. The system had once mentioned that he as the “chosen shopkeeper” was immune to any attempts that aimed to subdue him with a pet contract. Someone might imprison him by physical means, but they’d never enslave him from the inside.
As to the problem at hand, the pet contract he had just drawn was destroyed, whether reversed or not.
Could he ask the woman to sit still so he could do it again? No, that would be stupid.
“Hey system, did you see that? It failed!” Su Ping tried negotiating with the system, “And it almost got me killed. Any chance I can get compensated for that? Since your ‘merchandise’ has quality issues… Can you give me a more powerful contract? Or sell me one with a discount?”
“”P*ss off.’”
“Come on! You are THE ‘pet management system’ and yet, here’s a pet you can’t handle. Do something about it!”
“P*ss, off.”
“Have you ever learned how to reject someone in a different way?”
“Please p*ss off.”
“Okay. Now you’re just being a d*ck, aren’t
you?”
“Affirmative.”
Su Ping decided to quit arguing. And since the system wouldn’t provide any help, capturing this “goddess” was definitely a no-go. However… Putting her under a pet contract wasn’t the only way to achieve his plan. Maybe he could persuade her into becoming his employee? The shop happened to need some helping hands as business was booming. And this pretty charmer seemed to be a perfect candidate.
He didn’t want to use a beast to help at the shop, as that would only scare his customers away.
“System, is there a way to hire her as a worker for the shop?”
“There are two ways available. The first one is using your pet contract to order a pet to work for you. Of course, the pet is still your committed follower in this case and will not receive any payment.
“The second method is by signing an employment contract on fair terms. Through such a contract, the worker must be compensated accordingly for their work. Once you leave the shop, you won’t be able to summon them to help you elsewhere.”
“So… An employee only helps me tend to the shop and nothing else, huh?”
“That is correct. However, an ‘outstanding employee’ will acquire various bonuses and benefits from the shop, one of which is the right of going on temporary absences. Note that it will be difficult to earn such a score.”
“Nice. They can fight for me during their ‘vacations’ then.” Su Ping nodded in satisfaction. Then I’m free to determine if an employee did a good job
“The discretion to evaluate an employee’s performance is exclusive to the system.”
“… Damn you. You read my mind, eh?” “That is unnecessary. Also, first profanity alert.”
Su Ping took a deep breath; he decided not to risk angering the system to avoid suddenly starting to twitch like a terminal patient in front of the goddess.
“Ahem. Are there any restrictions regarding the employees if I go for the second option? Can I sign a contract with this person in front of me?”
“The contract will be drafted and administered by the system. It can be accepted by any type of lifeform. However, the second party in question must willingly agree to the contract. You may show this entity the contract and see whether she accepts it.”
Su Ping sensed an object being added to his inventory space. He took it out and noticed that it was a golden scroll with several simple lines already written on it.
“Let me see… Employment Agreement made by the Pixie Pet Shop. First section, employee duties…”
It was rather brief. The agreement mostly resembled conventional contracts used by commercial companies, which were all about telling their workers to obey their bosses. Wait… It didn’t mention anything about employees being grounded at the shop… Su Ping frowned as he noticed an obvious flaw. Man. The system is even nastier than me. Not my problem though.
“Ahem.” He tossed the scroll to the woman still staring at him. “That pet contract was necessary to take you to the Archean Divinity realm. But you ruined it. Here, I’ll give you another option. Read it and sign your name if you have no problems with it. If you work for me, the Archean Divinity won’t be the only wonderful place you’ll see. I can take you to all kinds of worlds and corners you have never even dreamed of.”
The woman had just recovered from her shock. She glanced at the scroll she just caught in her hand.
“The Pixie Pet Shop? Employment??”