Episode 9
“Ughhhh…”
The next day, when we arrived at work, we were practically zombies.
The Guild Master arrived two hours late, and his already gloomy complexion had turned completely gray from the hangover he was suffering from after the previous night’s drinking.
Susanna, who had been dragged along by my pace, also came to work with her hair tied up messily.
My condition was probably the best of the three, but even I wasn’t doing very well because my stomach had been feeling sick all morning.
While we were sitting at our desks with exhausted faces, I noticed a man lingering outside the office through the open doorway.
“What is that? A customer?”
The Guild Master muttered absentmindedly.
Then he suddenly realized something.
“Could that be someone applying for the new position?”
“I don’t think…”
“Go bring him in!”
“Yes, sir.”
Following the Guild Master’s order, I approached the man.
Apparently, he hadn’t expected the door to open, because he looked startled.
Wait.
Wasn’t he incredibly handsome?
Someone who looked like this couldn’t possibly be applying for a job at our guild.
“Are you here to apply for the new position?”
“Yes, yes? No…”
Then the man’s expression suddenly changed.
“Yes. I-I would like to apply.”
No way!
Someone had actually applied after reading that ridiculous job advertisement!
“Do you have your application documents?”
“…No.”
“Then would you like to fill them out now?”
He hadn’t even prepared an application.
He was basically an unprepared candidate.
But someone who had willingly walked into this guild was not someone I could afford to let go.
I quickly brought him an application form.
The man hesitated for a moment before writing his name.
Cedric Alte
Soon, he began filling out the application.
I kept glancing at the neat-looking man.
He was incredibly handsome.
But anyone who voluntarily applied to this guild…
‘He must have traded his intelligence for that face!’
There was no way someone with a properly functioning brain would apply to a place like this.
His work experience section was completely blank.
Just like the original Audret and Susanna, it seemed that another unfortunate newcomer to society had accidentally wandered into the wrong place.
“Let’s have an interview!”
The Guild Master shouted cheerfully.
I guided him over to the Guild Master.
“Um, are we really having the interview here?”
“Yes. Our guild doesn’t have anything as fancy as a Guild Master’s office, hehe.”
Cedric’s expression darkened, as if he had finally realized that he had gotten himself into something terrible.
But there was no way the Guild Master would willingly let such a promising victim leave.
“All right. I see you don’t have any work experience.”
“…Yes. But I will work hard.”
“How much can you drink?”
“How much can I drink?”
A typical X-company interview.
They ask about your drinking capacity.
“…I’ve never been drunk before.”
“Oh…”
The Guild Master’s eyes lit up.
“Are you a positive person?”
“…I will behave positively.”
“How do you feel about a family-like workplace?”
“Oh, a family-run company…
“I’ve worked at one before.
“There were circumstances that prevented me from putting it on my resume, though…”
He had worked at a family-run company?
How unfortunate.
I guess he couldn’t survive there and the company eventually went out of business.
The interview continued for a while.
The Guild Master seemed to have a fairly good impression of the new applicant.
“However, there’s one thing that concerns me.”
“…What is it?”
“Your appearance isn’t good!”
“……?”
A typical X-company interview.
They judge your face during the interview.
Cedric looked as though he was questioning whether he had heard correctly.
Unfortunately for him, he hadn’t.
“I don’t like your face.
“Your black hair and brown eyes are too gloomy.
“And your eyes are too big, while your nose is too high.”
Wasn’t he basically picking a fight with the guy for being too handsome?
“Assistant Manager Susanna, what do you think?”
I whispered quietly to her.
“What?”
“Wouldn’t hiring someone who looks like that count as a welfare benefit for our guild?”
“Ah! You’re absolutely right!”
For the first time, Susanna nodded as if she completely agreed with me.
He really was incredibly handsome.
Just having someone like him sitting in the office would make the whole place brighter.
Since we had finally found something we agreed on, Susanna and I spoke to the Guild Master together.
“Guild Master, I think it’s actually a good sign that he has experience working at a family-run company.”
“Y-yes! And he says he can drink well!”
“Hmm…”
The Guild Master was still making an unhappy face when Cedric suddenly spoke up.
“I’d like to negotiate my salary!”
Salary negotiation?
Suddenly?
Everyone looked confused.
Then he dropped a shocking statement.
“I’ll negotiate it downward!”
“……!”
Good heavens.
What kind of insane person was this?
“Accepted!
“You’re hired!”
The Guild Master immediately looked delighted.
Well…
It was certainly nice to have a handsome new employee join us.
But…
‘Is his judgment really okay?’
Could I really take someone this stupid under my wing and make him my ally?
“Then, Assistant Manager Audret, could you train him and hand over the work?”
“Yes, sir.”
Instead of becoming a permanent employee immediately, Cedric had agreed to work as a contract employee for a few months first.
Officially, his working hours were even shorter than ours.
But he would definitely end up working overtime…
After Cedric was accepted as the new employee, fortunately, the Guild Master assigned me to train him.
“Welcome to our guild.
“I’m Audret Lavendel, and I’m an assistant manager.
“Everyone here calls each other by name, so you can just call me Assistant Manager Audret.”
“Yes, understood.
“Please call me by my name as well.”
“Sure, Cedric.
“First, the break room is over here.”
I pointed toward a desk in the corner of the office.
There were several tea bags and a kettle sitting there.
“Didn’t you call this a break room?”
“You can just call this space the break room.”
“……”
Cedric’s eyes shook, but I ignored him.
“The previous manager used to force us to buy snacks and tea bags with our own money.
“But he’s gone now, so you don’t have to buy them with your own money anymore.
“However…”
“However?”
“If we eat everything here and the shelves become empty, the Guild Master will probably tell us to refill them.
“So you absolutely must not eat anything here.
“Just think of them as decorations.”
“…This is truly unjust.”
I whispered so the Guild Master couldn’t hear us.
Cedric nodded with a shocked expression.
“And you can work at this empty desk here.”
“…Isn’t the desk a little small?”
“Huh? It’s pretty normal.”
“What about a partition…?”
“Of course there isn’t one.
“The lowest-ranking employee is always supposed to get the worst desk.”
“This is unjust…”
Cedric’s desk faced away from the Guild Master, meaning the Guild Master could clearly see everything he was doing.
His complexion became even worse.
Fortunately, it seemed his judgment wasn’t completely terrible.
“We occasionally get requests to investigate affairs and cheating.
“Assistant Manager Susanna usually handles those, so you can learn from her.”
“Hehe! Nice to meet you!”
Since Cedric was only a contract employee, he probably wouldn’t be given any of the Temple’s subcontracting work.
The Guild Master had ordered us to keep the Temple secret during his contract period, so I didn’t mention anything about the main contractor to him.
As soon as she heard herself mentioned, Susanna eagerly held out her hand.
Cedric took it and shook her hand.
“I’m Susanna Herb!
“Just call me Assistant Manager Susanna!”
“Yes, Assistant Manager Susanna.
“But…”
Cedric hesitated before asking,
“Why don’t you use a calculator and instead calculate everything by hand…?”
“……”
“Assistant Manager Susanna doesn’t trust machines, so she always calculates everything herself!”
“Oh, I see…”
Susanna, who had just received a look from the handsome new employee that clearly said “What a strange person,” glared at me.
But it seemed Cedric had already labeled Susanna as a complete weirdo.
