I Have An SSS-Rank Service System: Hire Me For Anything!-Chapter 32: Finally [1]

It remained only forty ingots at the end of the sixth day, but fortunately, they completed everything before noon the next day, which was exactly when Elian was expected to arrive to collect his goods and pay the remaining balance of twelve thousand five hundred copper coins. The forge felt different that morning. The pressure that had been building for days had finally eased, replaced by a quiet sense of accomplishment that no one openly spoke about, but everyone felt.

Today was also the girls’ last day.

Dory gathered them together near the workbench and handed each of them twenty copper coins, just as he had promised. Along with the payment, he packed a small portion of snacks for each of them, wrapping them neatly. To Dory, this wasn’t truly the end of their deal, not yet. There were still things to settle, still plans forming in his mind, but for now, this marked a pause. A point where they could finally breathe.

"You all can go home and rest now," Dory said calmly. "You’ve done more than enough."

None of them moved.

Dory blinked once, then looked at them again. They were all still standing there, arms crossed or hands behind their backs, clearly not planning to leave.

"Maya, just go," he said, slightly tilting his head. "You all must be tired."

"A no is a no, Dory," Maya replied without hesitation.

Dory raised an eyebrow.

"Why exactly do you want to stay?"

Maya’s lips curled into a small, sheepish smile, her cheeks tinting slightly.

"I want to see how you do it," she said. "From the outside. You know... how you talk, how you convince people, how you use those big words and make everything sound important. I just want to stand there and think—’wow, is this how I look when Dory is talking to me about business?’"

Dory adjusted his glasses, staring at her for a moment.

"Why would you want that?"

Maya shrugged lightly.

"I think you’ll look cute."

Dory rolled his eyes, but a small smile still found its way onto his face. He didn’t respond to that and instead turned to the other girls.

"And what about you?"

"No reason."

"Just want to stay."

"Today is cleaning day at home anyway."

Their answers came one after the other, casual and simple, but it was obvious they had already made up their minds.

Dory exhaled softly, then nodded.

"Do whatever you want."

He turned away and walked over to the stool beside Liam, sitting down with a slight stretch of his shoulders. The exhaustion of the past week hadn’t disappeared, but it had settled into something manageable now that the work was done.

Liam leaned back against the wall, arms folded, looking far more relaxed than he had in days.

"So... we actually did it," Liam said.

"We did," Dory replied.

There was a short silence before Dory spoke again, his tone more thoughtful this time.

"What do you guys think about extending the deal?"

Liam looked at him.

"Extending?"

Dory nodded slightly.

"After the ingot deal is done. We turn this into something more stable. Not just a one-week thing."

Before he could even finish, the girls answered almost instantly.

"Yes."

"Of course."

"Why not?"

Dory blinked once, then let out a small breath through his nose.

"That was fast."

Maya crossed her arms.

"You think we’ll go back to selling plain vegetables after this?"

Lola smirked slightly.

"We’re not stupid."

Dory leaned back a little on the stool, nodding slowly. He didn’t say much after that, but it was clear he had expected this outcome. Still, hearing it out loud made things feel more real.

For the first time since he arrived in this world, things felt... stable.

A lot had changed in just one week.

Villagers now trusted him enough to buy whatever he introduced, even if it looked strange at first. Horg trusted him with decisions that affected the entire forge. The girls were willing to follow his plans without hesitation. Even Liam, despite all his complaints, had become reliable.

Dory adjusted his glasses again, his gaze shifting toward the entrance of the forge.

’...This is just the beginning...’

Outside, the village moved as it always did, unaware of the scale of what had just been completed inside the small forge. One thousand ingots. A deal that could change everything for them.

Now, all that was left...was Elian.

The sound of hooves came just before noon.

It was steady and unhurried, but loud enough to draw everyone’s attention. Conversations stopped. Even Liam, who had been half-dozing on his stool, straightened up and looked toward the entrance.

Horg wiped his hands on his apron and stepped forward, his expression turning serious again. Dory remained seated for a moment, then slowly stood up and adjusted his glasses.

"Right on time," he said.

The cart rolled into view, pulled by a pair of sturdy horses. Elian sat at the front, dressed the same way as before—clean, composed, and carrying that same confident air that made it clear he was used to getting what he wanted.

He climbed down from the cart and glanced around the forge. His eyes moved from Horg, to the girls, to Liam, and finally settled on Dory.

"You look busy," Elian said.

Dory gave a small nod. "We’ve been working."

Elian’s gaze shifted past him, toward the stacked iron ingots.

He paused.

Then he walked closer.

No one spoke as he approached the pile. The ingots were stacked neatly, row after row, filling a large section of the forge. Clean. Solid. Uniform.

Elian reached down and picked one up, turning it slightly in his hand. He examined the edges, the surface, the weight.

Then he put it back.

"...One hundred," he muttered.

Horg crossed his arms.

"All of them."

Elian straightened and let out a short breath, something close to a laugh but not quite.

"I expected delays," he said. "Excuses. Maybe half the order done and a long story to follow."

Dory didn’t say anything.

Elian looked at him again.

"But this?" he continued. "This is... impressive."

Maya smirked slightly from the side, but didn’t interrupt.

Elian clapped his hands once.

"Well, then. A deal is a deal."

He reached into his coat and pulled out a heavy pouch. The sound of coins shifting inside it was clear even before he tossed it.

Dory caught it without trouble.

"The remaining balance," Elian said. "Twelve thousand five hundred coppers. Count it if you want."

Dory weighed the pouch in his hand but didn’t open it.

"I trust you," he replied.

Elian smiled faintly.

"You shouldn’t."

That got a small chuckle out of Horg.

Elian turned back toward the cart.

"My men will load the ingots," he said. "I assume that won’t be a problem."

Horg shook his head.

"Go ahead."

A few workers who had been waiting by the cart stepped forward and began loading the ingots. The process was quick and efficient. They didn’t waste time talking, only focusing on the task.

Elian lingered for a moment longer, his eyes scanning the forge one last time.

"You’ve done well," he said, looking at Dory. "If you ever decide to take on larger work, I might have more offers."

Dory nodded slightly.

"I’ll keep that in mind."

Elian gave a short nod in return, then turned and climbed back onto the cart. Within minutes, the ingots were loaded, and the cart began to move.