Link is a Masochist?!?!

Am I the Protagonist?

This luck is insane: to find Emri after only a few hours in the bazaar is some main-character bullshit.

While I would like just to confront Emri about her street kids stealing my stuff, I first want to test out her abilities as a merchant. Strolling up to Emri, I point at a Hyrdofruit.

"How much for the fruit?"

"Fifty rupees," she says, not even glancing up at me.

"Fifty? That's way above market price!"

We begin to barter, and I can see that Emri has decades of experience in her craft. Somehow, she's able to get me to pay twenty rupees for the fruit, but before I agree, she says something that makes me stop.

"But you aren't really here to buy my wares, are you? What do ya want, boy?"

"First, I want my money back," I say, pointing to the fat bag of rupees that I saw her put in a metal chest.

"I'm not sure what you mean by 'your money'? That is my life savings! Guard, take this man away!"

Emri is a relatively successful merchant, but I'd estimate she makes at most ten rupees a month. No one making fifteen or twenty rupees would still work in the central market; they would have their own store, so the sum in that bag would be able to change her life.

A tall Gerudo steps forward; she isn't an actual guard, probably just someone Ermi pays to rough up her disagreeable customers.

When I don't move from my place in front of the merchant, the thug stabs at me with her blunted spear.

With my hands in my pockets, I jump up and onto the spear, standing on it like a balance beam while one end is on the ground and the other is in the guards' hands.

I bend down while perched on the spear, smile at the bewildered guard, and channel mana into my fingers, flicking the thug in her head.

She drops her spear, sways a bit, then falls down, unconscious. Emri backs up, throwing me my money pouch.

Her attitude towards me has completely changed, "Just take it, please I don't want any trouble. Any of my wares are yours!"

"Thanks. Wanna work for me?"

"Wut."

Emri's whole scamming situation does not dissuade me in the slightest in my hiring her. On top of that, I learned firsthand how effective her bartering is.

With her working for me, I can make much more money, and she probably knows about good other salespeople for me to hire. I definitely want such a sly person on my team. The only downside is her betraying me, but I have a plan for that.

"I am starting a merchant group called the Sinclair Trading Company. My name is Arjon Sinclair, and I would like to hire you, nine workers of your choice, and your band of street kids to work for me."

I can tell she cares about the kids by the way she interacted with them, and if they are tied to my company, she will stay in line until she realizes it's actually a great place to work.

This strategy is a bit manipulative, but whatever it's fiiiiiiiiiiine.

I tell her about the starting pay, water access, and free living space. Like Garak, she seems skeptical and even downright afraid of me.

The shrieks of children interrupt our tense conversation, and we turn to see the street kids who stole from me climbing all over Floofy screaming, "Grandma Emri, look at the puppy!" "Can we keep it?" "I want it to obliterate my enemies." "So cute!"

Floofy looks even more scared than when I saw him with his old pack of wolves, and he stands completely still, not knowing what to do.

Emri looks at me fearfully but relaxes when I just smile softly and whistle for Floofy to be gentle.

"Here is a starting bonus of thirty rupees. You don't even have to join my company, I just encourage you to stop by the old embassy tomorrow at noon to check it out.

Leaving a shocked merchant behind me, Floofy and I start looking for a Rito merchant simply named Guy, who will be the last of my hires.

I don't luckily find Guy in the market. In fact, it takes me a couple of hours of asking around to find him.

Rito, like him, prefers places high up, so in a special part of the bazaar is an area of scaffolding, where Rito fly to shops up in the precarious wooden structures.

Guys stall is in one of these structures, so I vault through the wooden maze, climbing up poles and leaping from platform to platform, of course, this garners odd looks from the Rito around me.

I reach Guy's stall and duck under a small curtain, exposing a cool interior. Rito prefire the cold, and I see a tiny glowing crystal, which I assume is a sapphire, in the corner. I suspect this causes the chilly temperature.

The blanket in the middle of the tent is filled with basic items and also has a board with various services Guys' clients can hire him for. It is clear Guy is not just a merchant but more like someone who will work miscellaneous jobs for a paycheck.

The Rito is surprised when I enter the tent and is even more surprised when I begin conversing with him in the Rito language.

"I'd never think that I would see a Hylian in my little shop before. How may I help you?"

"I'm looking for some Rito workers for my company, I was wondering if you would be interested in an administrative position?"

Guy is surprised and delighted that I speak his language, but even after I tell him the benefits and even show him some cash, he refuses to join.

"My friend, a Hylian taking the effort and time to learn the Rito language is a powerful thing, and you will always have a spare bed in my home. I do not doubt the truth of your offer, but us Rito have carved out a very special community here, and I don't think that your company could cater to our species-specific needs."

This is a setback, but I think I know what is holding Guy back here.

"The building you would be living in is six stories tall, and it is laid out in a way in which Rito can easily use their flight to maneuver around the space. You don't have to be worried about being cooped up in a walled room all the time."

"Really? If what you are saying is true, then I'm in!"

With Guys' agreement in place and plans to meet tomorrow set, the last of my hiring is finally complete. Tomorrow, my employees will move in, fix up the embassy, and we will start working on our first product, which will be sure to make huge waves across all of Kara Kara city and even Hyrule!

I wonder if it will even attract the attention of a certain Gerudo princess who is currently staying in the fifth ring...