Chapter 27: Job Interview (3)
“Ah…… I just finished eating, and now I’m hungry again.”
The incident in the cafeteria ended as a small happening.
That was only possible because there were no serious injuries.
‘It seems the higher-ups liked Betty too.’
That made sense. There was no way they would fail an applicant like the daughter of the Brain Dragon Magic Tower Lord over something so trivial.
“But Yuri, you’re a bit different, aren’t you?”
“Huh?”
“You’re the first person outside the magic tower who didn’t look surprised even after seeing my magic.”
I had been surprised.
I just hadn’t shown it.
“Be honest. Where are you really from? It doesn’t seem like an ordinary place.”
“I told you already. I’m from the Mage Officer Academy.”
Diesel firmly stated his fabricated academic background.
Betty then looked at Diesel quietly, wearing an unreadable smile.
That gaze felt rather burdensome, so he threw out a new topic.
“Then why did you leave the magic tower?”
Most mages from the magic tower didn’t really like coming out into the world.
Most of them were eccentrics who made researching magic their sole joy in life.
At Diesel’s question, Betty let out an “Um……” sound and continued.
“I fought with my dad.”
‘……Just a family quarrel between father and daughter?’
As Diesel was making that assumption, Betty smiled brightly and said,
“I touched a forbidden item.”
“A forbidden item?”
“Yeah.”
She gave a small nod and fidgeted with something near her neck.
Whatever it was, it seemed to be hidden inside her clothes, so it couldn’t be seen.
“You know…….”
Then she muttered something softly.
“Could it be…….”
“……?”
“We, you know…….”
Soon, as if confessing a precious secret, Betty spoke carefully.
“Want to pretend we didn’t eat and go eat one more time?”
“…….”
“I used magic, so I’m really hungry…….”
As if to prove it wasn’t a lie, a loud growling sound echoed from her stomach.
“……There should be a snack bar nearby.”
“A snack bar? But I don’t have any money.”
“Come with me. I’ll buy it for you.”
“Really? What the heck. Aren’t you actually an angel?”
As Diesel stood up from his seat, Betty smiled brightly and followed after him.
“What is going on?”
The VIP level of the Underground Great Hall, the Matrix Floor.
Little Sister was hacking into the interview room CCTV and watching the team members’ situations.
In the Miracle Mechanics Department, Seriel had already firmly established her position.
Raksha looked like he had beaten all the bulky applicants applying to the Security and Guard Department into submission.
Up to this point, everything was going according to plan.
The problem was Diesel’s side in the Magic Engineering Department.
At first, it looked like Diesel was charging ahead with his overwhelming magical talent, but then a variable exploded that even Sis had never anticipated.
“The daughter of the Brain Dragon Magic Tower Lord……!”
As Sis was flustered like that, a ding sound rang out behind her, signaling the elevator’s arrival.
[Welcome. Madam Isabel.]
“You called for me?”
“Isabel!”
Sis jumped up from her seat and greeted the madam of the Underground Great Hall.
“Come over here quickly!”
“What’s going on that you’re in such a hurry?”
“There’s been a bit of a variable on Diesel’s side.”
As Sis flicked her hand through the air, an image of Betty Barosi appeared.
“Do you know who she is?”
“Hmm…… A blue-haired elf……. I’m not sure.”
“Then do you at least know about the Brain Dragon Magic Tower Lord?”
“I know a bit. Karodel Barosi. An elf with almost no outside activity.”
“That guy’s daughter.”
“Yes?”
“The daughter of Magic Tower Lord Karodel Barosi, Betty Barosi!”
Sis let out a “Ha!” sound and continued.
“There are over fifty people with the surname Barosi in the Brain Dragon Magic Tower, so I just let it slide without thinking……. Who would’ve thought she’d be the tower lord’s daughter.”
“The daughter of Karodel Barosi…….”
Isabel quietly stared at Betty’s photo.
“I looked into it urgently, and it seems that girl slipped out of the magic tower about three weeks ago. Does that make any sense? An elf who’s the magic tower lord’s daughter wandering the world without any protection! And right in the middle of Seoul, at that!”
“Hm…….”
“Why would the Brain Dragon Magic Tower leave that girl alone in the first place? Did the tower’s stance change without me knowing?”
“You said she’s Karodel Barosi’s daughter, right?”
“Yeah.”
“How old is she, by any chance?”
“Twenty-one. According to her résumé.”
Isabel stroked her chin and said,
“Twenty-one…… Then the timing…….”
“Do you have some kind of guess?”
She kept her eyes on the screen and spoke in a low voice.
“You’ll probably find out soon. If what I’m thinking is right.”
“Shortly, there will be an executive interview.”
On the top floor of the skyscraper, a luxurious corridor where clouds drifted past beyond the windows.
At the very center of it was a large room with ‘Interview Room’ written on it.
“The executive interview will be conducted in groups of three. We will now call your names, so please pay attention.”
The interviewer called out the applicants’ names one by one.
They were all people who had passed the difficult tests that had just taken place in this interview hall.
“……Lastly, Yuri Ivanov, Betty Barosi, Kang Da-hee. That will be all. Please wait here in the corridor.”
‘Hmm…….’
Was it deliberately arranged like this?
It probably was.
Inside this building, even a single faucet was placed with some kind of intention.
Diesel briefly looked around.
The reactions of the applicants waiting in the corridor were varied.
Some had their eyes closed and were offering prayers, while others were muttering the self-introductions they had memorized.
Watching them, it became keenly apparent that for some people, this place was the culmination of fierce preparation.
‘Life really is unfair.’
Did they know that in this interview, individual specs didn’t matter all that much?
According to the documents Sis had compiled, unless someone received an extraordinarily outstanding score, the interview test itself didn’t mean much.
Instead, they unconditionally prioritized a small number of people with backgrounds.
In other words, unless someone like Diesel showed overwhelming ability in the interview tests, they would first select those who had solid backing.
Kang Da-hee, whose father was a sector councilman, was one of those people.
‘She probably knows that too, which is why she said that to me.’
But even she was probably trembling with anxiety right now.
After all, there were two monsters who had earned absurd scores competing for a position where only two people could pass.
Diesel looked at Kang Da-hee, who was sitting alone in a corner.
She was trying hard to appear calm, but seeing her legs trembling slightly, she seemed extremely impatient inside.
“I’m starting to get nervous now…….”
Betty, who was sitting next to Diesel, didn’t seem to be an exception either, as she murmured with her sentence trailing off.
“Group 1, please enter.”
At the interviewer’s instruction, the number of people waiting in the corridor gradually decreased.
Eventually, only three people remained in the corridor—the group that included Diesel.
“Betty.”
“Hm?”
“Why did you apply to Podvig?”
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
Betty smiled brightly.
“Just trying to help you relax. You said talking helps you loosen up when you’re nervous.”
“……You remembered that? Yeah. That’s true.”
“So, why did you apply?”
“Um…… because…….”
Just as Betty was about to answer—
The interview room door burst open, and applicants poured out in a rush.
“Last group, please enter.”
At those words, Kang Da-hee came briskly from afar and slipped straight into the interview room.
Betty stood up after her and said with a smile,
“I’ll tell you later.”
The inside of the interview room was spacious and pleasant.
Beyond a long table, three executives were waiting for them.
From the left, there was a gaunt elf, a brown bear beastman, and a hornless demon with red skin.
“Please, have a seat.”
The demon adjusted his glasses as he spoke.
Kang Da-hee, who had entered first, sat in the middle seat, with Betty and Diesel taking the seats on either side of her.
“So, who’s who again?”
When the brown bear sniffed and asked, the demon replied,
“Let’s begin with self-introductions. Who would like to go first?”
Before he had even finished speaking, Kang Da-hee sprang to her feet.
“Hello! I am Kang Da-hee, an applicant for this Podvig Magic Engineering Department entry recruitment! For the boundless growth of your esteemed company, I—”
“No. That’s enough of that crap.”
The brown bear stopped her introduction with a huge yawn, and Kang Da-hee looked flustered.
“Y-yes…… Yes?”
“Who’s your father?”
“Ah…… Councilman Kang Leon.”
“Kang Leon? Hmm, hmm, who was that again…….”
At the brown bear’s question, the gaunt elf beside him explained,
“You know, the guy we invited on a Mediterranean cruise before.”
“Oh, that cruise back then! Hmm, hmm, it was very nice.”
The intermittent hmm-hmm nasal sounds made it impossible to tell whether it was laughter or just a habit.
“Anyway, that’s enough. Next.”
“…….”
‘What is this…….’
Faced with an interview process far more miserable than expected, Diesel frowned.
He had thought they would at least keep up some semblance of formality, but this was even more devoid of procedure than haggling in a marketplace.
“You there, blue-haired elf.”
As the brown bear spoke while picking his teeth with a long claw, the demon beside him gestured toward Betty.
“Betty Barosi. Please introduce yourself.”
“Oh, were you calling me?”
“Yeah. You’re the daughter of the Brain Dragon Magic Tower Lord, right?”
“Yes. How did you know? I didn’t write anything like that on my résumé.”
“How big of a deal is the Brain Dragon Magic Tower?”
“Um…… our Brain Dragon Magic Tower is…….”
“No, I wasn’t asking you.”
When the brown bear waved his hand dismissively, the elf beside him once again continued the explanation.
“Among the lightning-type magic towers, it is considered the best in the world.”
“Hm, hmm, is that so? The daughter of such a tower lord.”
“What is your motivation for applying, Miss Betty Barosi?”
The demon asked.
“……As for me.”
Betty fidgeted with something near her neck.
Then the answer she gave was somewhat out of the ordinary.
“I didn’t really think much about it.”
“……?”
Question marks appeared on the executives’ faces.
“Hm, hmm, what do you mean by that?”
“I just applied for fun, once. After leaving the magic tower, I had nothing to do, so I was bored.”
After hearing that, the executives stared blankly for a moment, then burst into laughter all at once.
The brown bear in particular laughed so hard the table shook.
“For an elf, she’s an interesting one.”
“Why are you laughing?”
Betty tilted her head, but the executives ignored her words and continued talking among themselves.
“What score did her mana measurement come out to?”
“Uh…… it came out to 18,481 points.”
“Eighteen thousand? Heh. Now that’s something. The magic tower lord’s daughter and she’s got skill. Not bad.”
Then the brown bear waved his hand through the air again.
“Next.”
“Um, excuse me. You’re not seriously planning to pick me right now, are you?”
Betty asked in disbelief, but the demon stopped her.
“Please sit down. The results will be announced after the interview.”
“…….”
“Yuri Ivanov.”
‘You call this an interview…….’
I had absolutely no desire to mingle in conversation with this trash.
But work was work.
And I was a professional who fulfilled the responsibilities I took on.
“Please introduce yourself.”
The demon asked with a polite attitude.
“Yuri Ivanov, graduate of the Mage Officer Academy and a dual-mana implementer.”
“Hmm…… dual mana?”
The brown bear scratched his face as he asked.
‘It’s written plainly on the résumé right in front of you. Are you blind?’
“I’m a double in cryo and lightning.”
“Hm, hm. Not a bad combination. Right?”
“That’s correct. From the perspective of elemental combination theory, it would be considered top-tier.”
“What about the mana measurement?”
“18,560 points, which is 79 points higher than the magic tower lord’s daughter. On top of that, I received overwhelming scores in the other tests as well.”
“Oh, really? Hm…… but aside from that, this one doesn’t have much going for him.”
Then he casually picked at his ear.
“What’s this kid’s background?”
“…….”
My older brother was the commander of the Grand Exorcist Special Forces, and my younger sister was the world’s first Archmage.
But instead of that information, my résumé contained other wording forged by Sis.
“Uh…… my father runs a business.”
“A business?”
“It’s a mana semiconductor company, and it seems like it could become a new supplier for Podvig.”
“Hm…… still, compared to the others, your backing’s a bit lacking. Fine, got it.”
The brown bear waved his hand through the air again.
At that, the demon extended his hand toward the outside and said,
“You’re finished, so you may leave.”
‘Ha…….’
I felt like flipping the table on the spot.
But CCTV cameras were mounted in every direction, and two megacorp agents guarding the entrance were watching with sharp eyes.
‘And these guys are executives of a megacorporation……. If I act rashly, I don’t know what kind of backlash it could cause.’
For now, I needed to leave and discuss a new plan with Sis.
As I was controlling my expression while thinking that—
Suddenly, Betty Barosi opened her mouth.
“By the way. You old men.”
“Hm?”
“Is this kind of crap supposed to be an interview?”
For a moment, it felt as though time had stopped.
The employees standing near the entrance widened their eyes, and even Kang Da-hee, who had been about to leave, froze in her tracks.
“……Miss Betty, what did you just say……?”
At the moment the demon asked while adjusting his glasses—
Betty’s voice changed.
“I said, is this kind of crap an interview? You filthy bastards.”
A heavy mid-low tone, like metal being struck, overlaid her once-fragile voice.
At the same time, a shadow fell over the room.
‘This is insane…….’
A pair of wings like a bat’s, yet densely studded with blue scales.
That extraordinary form covered the interview room.
“T-th, th, what is this……!”
Fear settled onto the brown bear’s once-lax expression.
The fingers of Betty, who had looked so delicate just moments ago, had transformed into claws covered in vivid blue scales, now aimed at his throat.
‘Half-dragon…….’
I muttered Betty Barosi’s race under my breath.
‘Judging by the scale color, she’s on the lightning dragon side.’
Why would a half-dragon come to interview at a megacorporation?
Before I could even arrive at an answer to that thought—
Betty spoke.
“You don’t even know what’s wrong here, do you?”
“N-now, wait, calm down! Okay? B-Betty Bowsy! Calm down!”
The brown bear wailed, calling out a completely wrong name.
“You piece of trash. You call yourself an interviewer? Someone who’s supposed to be fairer than anyone else—what? Backing matters?”
“Betty Barosi, stop immediately. This is a very serious crime.”
“Shut up!”
The demon tried to stop her from the side, but only succeeded in stoking her anger.
“W-w-what do you want?”
The brown bear asked as he leaned so far back his chair nearly tipped over.
“What I want?”
The half-dragon answered with an innocent smile.
“Why, what would you do if I said your life?”