Episode 363 – Interview (1)

An interview at the large guild called ‘The Path of Excellence.’

They reached out to me for an interview after I got rejected from other big guilds.

They even required interviews from heroines who could easily get into any guild.

And coincidentally.

“Shinwoo, we’re all interviewing together!”

“……This is messed up.”

I ended up having the interview with the heroines all at once.

A group interview isn’t that unusual, but when the candidates are heroines, it feels a bit different.

If we’re not careful, we could end up tripping each other up or comparing ourselves against one another.

“Don’t worry! I can totally lie down for my husband! Of course, on the bed too!”

“……Don’t lie down here, f*ck.”

Of course, I don’t find it completely unreasonable.

I’m not sure how many applicants are applying to this guild, ‘The Path of Excellence,’

and I don’t know exactly when their interview date is.

But what’s for sure is that today, the only interviewees are the heroines and me.

[It seems no one showed up because of the oath condition.]

‘I think so too.’

Since it turned out like this, I decided to think positively about it.

As long as at least one of us passes,

it will help with the future plans.

Moreover, there’s still a bit of time left before the interview starts.

The heroines were each passing the time in their own ways.

Sleeping, checking their mobile phones, wandering around, or discreetly rubbing between my legs.

Wait, hold on.

“Hey, you crazy girl. At least go home and do that.”

“If no one’s paying attention right now, wouldn’t it be okay? Let’s sneak one out.”

“Stop messing around. If we get caught, we’re both dead.”

“That sucks.”

With Carassy trying to commit an affair that isn’t really an affair, I too wanted to spend the remaining time productively.

[Are you planning to use this time to waste stamina on a mobile game?]

‘I already did that.’

[You diligent dog…]

I was researching the guild I’m trying to get into.

Specifically, I was looking into the guild master’s roles, vice masters, executive directors, HR teams, etc.

Gathering information on their personal lives and family relationships through their SNS.

Some of them might be people I’ll meet in the interview today, so I wanted to get the upper hand.

Searching the guild name, I checked out important figures in detail.

Even though it’s a large guild, the number of important figures listed wasn’t that many.

It seemed like their rapid growth meant they hadn’t established a proper operational system.

[Who are you planning to goroshi next?]

‘Just doing research, f*ck.’

In the interest of efficiently using my time, I started looking through the SNS of key figures.

First up was the guild master.

There were several photos of him with his wife and high school-aged son, but his expression didn’t look that bright.

When I started searching for photos of the vice masters or executive directors, that feeling of suspicion turned into a mild sense of discomfort.

It seemed trivial, but it was something that couldn’t be ignored.

After all, every single member of his family who was a son didn’t look happy at all.

If he had a daughter, her face looked really cheerful.

But if the daughter looked like she was in middle school, her expression turned grim again.

[It’s probably because of puberty. Besides, they prefer daughters anyway.]

‘Is that so?’

Accepting that, I started checking the last executive director’s SNS.

This time, there were many family photos featuring two wives and four daughters.

Just when I thought they were no different from the others I had seen.

Two short phrases suddenly caught my eye.

– My lovely wife Hyuni ♡

– I love you the most in this world ♡

Since one of the wives’ names was ‘Shinhyeon,’ I could have overlooked it.

But I found it a bit odd.

After all, [……why are there no photos? That’s strange.]

‘In every other post, there were photos, and all the captions were written so carefully.’

This post had not even a single one of those many photos.

The discomfort I felt earlier started to prickle my mind again, but before that feeling could settle, it finally began.

“Everyone, come in.”

“Oh…yes.”

The long-awaited interview had begun.

I entered the interview room with the heroines.

Coincidentally, there were five interviewers, the same number as us.

Combined, familiar faces and unfamiliar ones.

The guild master and vice master, who looked like middle-aged men, and the male and female interviewers I couldn’t verify with my earlier searches.

And lastly, the slightly younger human resources representative I had found puzzling.

We exchanged greetings about our tiers and all sat down.

And with that, the female interviewer opened her mouth as a signal.

Starting with Hyeji.

“I’ve heard much about your reputation, Hyeji. Your achievements are truly impressive.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“However, not everything can be solved with power. So, I’ll present a question.”

“Go ahead.”

As Hyeji nodded, the female interviewer’s eyes sparkled slightly.

“You know about the Match Girl, right?”

“Yes. It’s the story of the girl who died from the cold, right?”

“Then, if you were a Match Girl with no power at all, how would you overcome that situation?”

The ability to solve crises in scenarios lacking a character’s specialty was one of the interview criteria.

This female interviewer was expecting that from Hyeji.

And Hyeji responded to meet the interviewer’s expectations.

“Set fire to someone else’s house.”

“……What?”

The female interviewer was momentarily stunned into silence.

But Hyeji understood it as a request for further explanation and quickly continued.

“If I set fire to the house and the owner runs away, the house becomes mine.”

“……What if they don’t run away?”

“Then I’ll have a warm fire to survive the winter.”

“…….”

‘That’s a perfect method.’

[It’s a perfect murder method.]

At the unexpected response from Hyeji, the female interviewer couldn’t speak.

At this moment, the guild master, who had been observing, suddenly spoke with a bewildered expression.

As if questioning her sanity.

“……Are you thinking of joining our guild?”

“You need to speak properly.”

In response, Hyeji chuckled lightly as if the guild master’s words were utterly ridiculous.

“How could a king enter under a dog?”

Truly arrogant and immature.

Even if she is interviewing, it’s audacious to say this.

Yet, because it’s Hyeji saying it, it’s something she could say.

With that statement, the guild master made a resolved face.

He uttered a single phrase filled with mixed emotions.

“Get out.”

“Sure.”

As the guild master spoke informally, Hyeji replied in kind.

The guild master, infuriated, slammed his desk and shouted.

As if asking for at least a minimal level of respect.

“Regardless, show some respect until the end!!!”

“I don’t listen to the words of those weaker than me.”

Naturally, Hyeji wasn’t the type to relent.

Then, she confidently walked out of the interview room without a trace of hesitation.

The brief silence that followed.

During that silence, I could feel the atmosphere of the interview room slowly shifting.

Just a moment ago, it felt somewhat cozy, but now it felt sharp and eerie—as if walking on thin ice.

The vibe made it feel like someone could get killed.

[This is messed up.]

‘F*ck.’

The interviewers’ rising frustration naturally directed towards us.

And the questions began to take on a more concrete form.

“Over there, applicant Elcia.”

“Yes!”

Unlike when Hyeji was interviewed, it was considerably more demanding.

“Make me experience regret, obsession, and despair.”

“Got it!”

A male interviewer requested Elcia to showcase the signature characteristics of Nopia: regret, obsession, and despair.

But this was quite a difficult request.

A proper regret, obsession, and despair required at least a little buildup.

Especially, nothing is riskier than carelessly firing off those three emotions.

They could be criticized for childish sentiments, or it might lead down a shortcut to ‘completion.’

“So, how will you give me regret, obsession, and despair?”

Due to Hyeji’s earlier remark, the difficulty level of the interview soared.

Yet, Elcia smiled as if it posed no problem.

“I’m gonna use this!”

“Wait a second!!!!”

Right away, she grabbed the male interviewer’s mobile phone.

And just like that, she had already completed one of the 4-Drones.

First up was the interviewer’s obsession.

“W-wait! That’s my phone!”

“I found it!”

Despite the interviewer’s cries, Elcia began manipulating the phone.

Coincidentally, there was no password on it.

Soon after, the second condition of the 4-Drones was met.

“I’ll purchase a gift!!!”

“D-don’t! That’s really dangerous!”

The interviewer’s despair.

“N-no! No! No!!!!”

“I did it!!!”

And soon after, she completed the last condition of the 4-Drones.

The interviewer’s regret.

“……I shouldn’t have made that request…”

Finally, the trifecta of regret, obsession, and despair was achieved.

And it led to a ‘completion.’

“Get out, f*ck!!!”

“Yes!”

Elcia’s interview ended abruptly.

Now, two out of five of us had already been eliminated.

Seeing this, I definitely felt that getting a job would be tough.

[……You’re just ruining the interviews, aren’t you?]

‘Anyway, I answered the questions honestly.’

However, our interview wasn’t over yet.

Prepared with even more tension than before, I steeled myself.

“Anyway… we will continue the interview.”