Chapter 337

There’s a saying that the most important thing in an interview is confidence.

Sure, it’s crucial to answer unexpected questions smoothly, but confidence is the main dish on this platter.

If you had to choose between someone who looks intimidated and someone who walks in with their shoulders back, who would you pick? Of course, the latter.

And I always hold myself confidently. Unless I’m getting scolded by Rod, I rarely feel small.

“Well, Rod is intimidating, so it’s only natural to feel that way.”

I can’t help but keep an eye out when Rod is about to scold me.

Chances are, I’m the one at fault for getting yelled at. I can’t really argue with that.

Running away would be pointless; Rod would chase me down to make me kneel.

So, there’s no reason for me to act timid. If I walk into this interview confidently without stammering, I should breeze through it.

“You don’t need to be nervous. The professors will consider a lot of factors anyway.”

“Yeah.”

Just before the interview began, I was waiting with Grace in front of the interview room, not the training hall.

Grace isn’t attending the interview, but she’s worried about me and has been helping me out along the way. And now is no different.

She’s even encouraged me to drop my usual blunt tone and put on a smile.

She emphasized how important first impressions are in an interview over and over again.

“Okay. Smile.”

“Like this?”

“……”

When I was told to smile, I flashed a grin. But then Grace looked like she was struggling to hold a straight face.

Her face started turning red, and she quickly cleared her throat, trying to change the subject.

“Hmm. Hmm. I don’t think you really need to smile. Honestly, Sivar, you’re quite handsome.”

“Everyone else is either good-looking or pretty.”

“But you have your own unique charm, Sivar! Your red eyes are just so attractive.”

Is that so? I felt a bit embarrassed and scratched my cheek.

If my red eyes could be considered a unique trait, that’s true, but the one who stands out among us is definitely Kara.

With her distinctly contrasting bronze skin and green eyes, she’s stunningly beautiful and quite tall for a woman.

Though she faced discrimination due to her skin tone, she has accepted it as her uniqueness now that she’s mentally matured.

“Grace, you look beautiful in purple too.”

“Well, that’s only natural, isn’t it? Hehe.”

Grace answered while elegantly sweeping her hair back. She couldn’t help but blush slightly more than before.

Grace possesses purple eyes and hair, which are symbols of the gods. In fact, that’s a trait of the Verche Duke’s Family.

I heard purple is also treated as quite an important symbol in the Matra Empire. So, purple holds great significance.

“By the way, what did I say earlier? When the professors ask about what they think is most important, what do you say?”

“Manners.”

“What if they ask why?”

“Because manners make a person.”

“That’s the answer you should give.”

Grace diligently guided me until the person who entered the interview room came back out.

Even though it wouldn’t matter much if I didn’t get the assistant position, she was remarkably dedicated.

I heard that every little detail here could be crucial later on, so I simply kept quiet and listened.

After all, it would be rude not to acknowledge her enthusiasm in helping me. That’s the biggest deal.

-Squeak-

“Phew. I thought I was going to die from nerves.”

A moment later, the interview room door opened, and a familiar face appeared. It was Kara.

She looked quite nervous, but there was a sigh of relief on her face at the same time.

“Was it really hard?”

“It was just unfamiliar. I’ve only got interviewed when I entered the academy.”

Kara is a warrior who prefers battle over words. She probably hadn’t been interviewed since her entrance.

Not to mention, she likely had Hector by her side during that entrance, so it must have felt quite new.

“Next person, please come in.”

“Oh, they said to go. Hurry in.”

“Okay.”

“Good luck!”

With Grace’s enthusiastic encouragement, I walked into the interview room. The interview room itself looked similar to what I had expected.

There were the professors seated at the desk in front, with just one chair for me on the other side.

It was familiar, but since I had hardly ever been interviewed on Earth, I was a bit nervous.

Especially since if I messed up, I wouldn’t be able to take care of Reina, so I had to do my best.

“Please have a seat over there.”

One of the four professors, a man with an imposing appearance, gestured toward the chair with his hand.

His polite tone somehow felt contradictory to his intimidating looks. While Malboro had a short sporty haircut, this man was completely bald.

Furthermore, there was a large X-shaped scar prominently displayed on his head. I recognized that face well.

“Wasn’t he called Malboro’s buddy?”

He was Malboro’s friend named Dis. Just like the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together, even their names are cigarette brands.

To top it off, even Malboro’s son was named after a cigarette, making everything feel oddly surreal.

“Your name is… Sivar. Your background… I’ll skip over that.”

The moment “background” came up, Dis smoothly brushed over it. I waited for the questions to come.

After rummaging through papers for a while, Dis clasped his hands in front of him and asked in a low voice.

“Let’s start with the first question. Why did you apply for the assistant position?”

“To familiarize myself with new faces.”

“To familiarize yourself with new faces, huh? Please elaborate.”

“I’ve learned that humans are social animals. Meeting various people might lead to my own growth, I believe.”

Just so you know, this was a response that Grace directly taught me. I originally planned to answer briefly.

But Grace took it a step further and sprinkled some luxurious seasoning on it. You could call it MSG.

As long as it tastes good, that’s what matters. The professors looked surprised by my answer.

“That’s a good answer. Your grades are quite…”

Dis started to mention grades but stopped suddenly. Whatever was written on the paper made him hesitate.

After that, he whispered something with the professor next to him, in tones too low for my ears to catch.

Once their hushed conversation finished, it was a different professor, not Dis, who posed a question to me. She was a petite woman with a delicate appearance.

“You have quite impressive grades, yet there’s a record of considerable damage to classroom-related items. Because of that, you received a lot of demerits.”

“Yes.”

“Were there any reasons why you absolutely had to do that?”

“I struggled with controlling my strength. Before entering, I had no concept of needing to control it.”

“…”

When I answered straightforwardly, they all looked slightly put off. Honestly, that was an unexpected question.

Did I really rack up demerits for damaging equipment? It was because I failed to control my strength, just like I said.

“And during the exams, you frequently resorted to reckless methods. Didn’t you think that was dangerous?”

“Yes. But I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I knew it was dangerous.”

“…”

The professors appeared perplexed, and I maintained my composure.

The questions were pouring in, unexpectedly different from what I anticipated. I was beginning to worry about whether I could pass at all.

“Next question. Earlier, you mentioned that humans are social animals. What do you consider the most important thing to be such a social animal?”

This time, the professor who had lightly chuckled before asked the question. Overall, he had a rather stern-looking face.

I should have brought up the answer Grace had given me long ago here. But not yet.

I looked directly at the stern-looking professor and opened my mouth.

“Language.”

“Language?”

When I said “language,” the professor’s stern look softened slightly. It seemed unexpected to him.

Other professors had similar reactions, encouraging me to elaborate further, and I continued smoothly.

“I’ve realized a lot since coming here. Just because we share a language doesn’t mean there won’t be any fights, but at least having a shared language helps reduce the chances of being treated like a savage.”

“That’s quite a sensitive topic; why do you think so?”

“Because I experienced it firsthand.”

“…”

It was something that only I could say, having lived through it. What could they possibly argue against that? Kara had gone through the same thing too.

As I answered with that nuance, the professors adopted serious expressions. I believed many thoughts crossed their minds.

“People are the animals that discriminate based on skin color. They’ll compare anything that’s even slightly different. Therefore, I think having even a common language is crucial to become a social animal.”

“You think deeper than you appear.”

“Thank you.”

Clearly satisfied with my response, the stern professor’s demeanor lightened considerably as he even began scribbling something down.

I had undoubtedly secured some points there. Taking another step closer to the assistant position.

“If you believe language is essential to becoming a social animal, what do you think comes next in importance?”

“Manners. Manners make a person.”

“Manners, huh? Why’s that?”

“Um…”

This time, I found myself pondering for the first time. I wasn’t taught anything beyond that by Grace.

Considering I had likely earned some points with my previous reply, I figured I could be straightforward with my thoughts.

I scanned the professors once more before answering with confidence.

“If manners make a person, then someone who doesn’t know manners isn’t a person, in my opinion.”

“What would that make them then?”

“A beast.”

“…a beast?”

When I said “beast,” the professors momentarily looked dumbfounded. I kept talking smoothly.

“And a beast must be controlled, not by words, but by clubs. If a person speaks but can’t show manners, they are no better than a beast.”

“Does that mean… you believe those who lack manners should be disciplined with a club?”

“That can also be interpreted that way.”

I declared confidently that I would personally discipline those lacking manners with a club.

The professors began murmuring among themselves. Clearly, they were shocked by my statement.

“Hey, now that I think about it, didn’t he have a disciplinary record…?”

“DID HE get his tongue cut off for speaking carelessly?”

“Looking at that record, he probably deserved to lose his tongue.”

“As long as we just manage things, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Normally, when controlling a beast, the beast behaves better.”

Their discussion seemed to last longer than before. They probably judged my statement to be quite dangerous.

However, remaining silent and causing trouble in the future might result in unforeseen consequences. It’s best to nip such things in the bud.

Let me grab the leash myself; you all should control it from there. That’s essentially what I meant.

“Hmm, I see. That’s a rather dangerous ideology… but if the students follow well, there’s no reason for violence to be necessary.”

“Thank you.”

“Then let me ask you one last thing. As an assistant, leadership is essential; how do you plan to prove that?”

Now the conversation turned to leadership. In truth, if I displayed force, I wouldn’t have to worry about leadership at all.

However, I opted for another approach. Rolling my eyes, I addressed the professors.

“Could you take a look at the clock behind you for a moment?”

“The clock?”

All the professors directed their gaze to the clock. The current time was 1:30.

Once they all looked at it, I answered confidently.

“This is leadership.”

“…”

It’s only natural that the professors wore incredulous expressions.

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