Three days have passed since we rescued Daigo-san. I received a document from him.
“Indeed. I have received it.”
It was a contract for him to work as a dungeon streamer for Shadow Stars, similar to an exclusive contract.
In the end, Daigo-san decided to join our agency. I’m really glad to have him as a significant asset.
“I look forward to working with you.”
Daigo-san still had a bandage wrapped around his shoulder and seemed to be having a lot of trouble moving. Knowing he wrote the contract despite not being able to move his shoulder freely makes me feel a bit guilty.
“By the way, Kageno-san…”
“N-no, please don’t call me that. I’m still quite inexperienced as a president of this company, and I’m not someone who can claim such a title.”
Technically, I am the president, but being called president face-to-face feels a bit awkward.
“Oh, I apologize for that. Then, I’ll call you Kageno-san. Kageno-san, is there anything I can help you with?”
“Something you can help with…”
Shiba-san and Yukiya have jobs where they dive into dungeons and stream, but with Daigo-san’s injury, his options are limited. I can’t have him go into a dungeon.
“Actually, I have some good news. We announced a recruitment for exclusive dungeon streamers, and a few people have applied.”
“Oh, that’s great news.”
“I’ll be making the selection, but I’d really like to get the opinions of a veteran dungeon streamer. Would you help me with the selection, Daigo-san?”
Daigo-san rested his chin on his hand, looking thoughtful.
“I see. Well, if it’s okay with you, I’d be happy to help. But are you sure I’m suitable for this? It feels like asking the newest employee of the agency to handle interviews.”
“In terms of being the newest, you and Yukiya and Shiba-san joined around the same time. This is a brand-new agency, so the timing of joining isn’t that significant.”
Excluding the three founding members, Daigo-san will be the first new member added, but he is a sufficiently experienced veteran. Given his age, he is more reliable than Yukiya and me.
“So, I’ll let you know the schedule for the interviews, and it would be great if you could come if you’re available that day.”
“Well, since I’m currently injured and have plenty of free time, I can manage that.”
And so, Daigo-san and I set out to conduct interviews to find new members.
◇
We rented a shared office for the interview venue. In the conference room, it was just Daigo-san and me, while the four interview candidates waited in another room.
The first person to be interviewed was Mitsuhiro Yao, 31 years old.
“I see. It seems he’s older than us, Shiba-kun.”
Daigo-san flipped through the application documents, confirming the information.
“It seems he originally did prank-type streaming. He’s been quite controversial and has a lot of anti-fans.”
When I explained, Daigo-san looked at me with a skeptical expression.
“Are we really considering hiring this person?”
“No, I don’t really want to hire him, but since he applied, I thought we should at least go through the interview process.”
I don’t feel enthusiastic about it, but our agency isn’t in a position to be choosy.
“Then, the first candidate may enter now.”
I called in Yao-san. The candidates had been given their numbers in advance. When I called, I heard a knock on the conference room door.
“Please come in.”
“Excuse me!”
A rather frivolous-looking man entered. He was adorned with accessories that made him appear quite tasteless. Just wearing accessories doesn’t mean they look good.
“Please introduce yourself.”
“Yo! I’m Mitsuhiro Yao. It’d make me happy if you could call me Mikkun. Oh, but you can’t call me Micchan; that’s reserved for my girlfriend.”
He wasn’t just frivolous; he was the epitome of frivolity. Seriously? He’s 31 years old, 11 years older than me, and he acts like this. Does he have no common sense?
After that, I asked a few questions and let him go. I told him we’d contact him about the results later, but it was already clear he was rejected.
“Daigo-san, what did you think of that person?”
“Hmm. Considering his lack of achievements in dungeon streaming, I don’t think he’s suitable. He has some decent strength, but he’s only slightly stronger than Yukiya. Yukiya is quick to learn and will soon surpass Yao-san.”
“I see. So even if we accepted the risk of controversy, he doesn’t have the capability to be hired.”
“Exactly. He’s a no-go.”
One of the four candidates has already been rejected. Well, it can’t be helped since the two opinions align.
“The next applicant is… Reina Shindo, 23 years old. She has no experience diving into dungeons. However, she has experience as a streamer.”
She has a pretty face and is promoting her large chest. I’ve watched some of her streams beforehand, but they weren’t interesting enough, relying too much on her sex appeal.
However, she seems to have a certain level of popularity, and if we hire her, we can expect her fans to follow her to our agency.
“She has potential as a streamer. As for exploring dungeons… well, let’s take a look.”
Daigo-san doesn’t seem very enthusiastic. Still, since we called her, we have to conduct the interview. I called in Shindo-san and began the interview.
“I’m Reina Shindo. Nice to meet you. I go by the name ‘Renatan’.”
“I see.”
Daigo-san widened his eyes and was looking closely at Shindo-san. I wondered what he was doing. Surely, it can’t be that Daigo-san is captivated by this woman’s charm.
“I think I’m quite suited for dungeon streaming. After all, I have a lot of fans, right? I think I could have them protect me.”
So she’s assuming a princess treatment, huh? She has some nerve. It’s fine if she does that on her own, but if she does it within the agency, it might cause disputes over compensation, so I hope she doesn’t.
“Is that so? That’s reassuring.”
I just said something safe for now. Hmm. It feels like she doesn’t align with our agency’s policies.
After that, I asked some questions randomly, and the interview ended. I asked Shindo-san to leave.
“Hmm… what do you think, Daigo-san?”
“Not good. I looked closely with my own eyes, and she has no qualities to fight in a dungeon at all.”
“Can you tell just by looking?”
I looked into Daigo-san’s eyes. I felt like they glimmered oddly.
“Shiba-kun’s eyes have turned red from the influence of the dungeon’s magic. The eyes are easily influenced by magical energy. If you’ve been diving into dungeons for a long time, you can tell just by looking at someone how compatible they are with the dungeon’s magic.”
“Compatibility…”
“Yes. You know that humans are enhanced by the magic of dungeons, right? The degree to which one can adapt to that magic varies from person to person.”
“Is that different from absorption rate?”
Shiba-san had explained the absorption rate of magic. A high absorption rate allows one to gather more energy to use for magic, while a low one strengthens the body.
“It’s a bit different. Compatibility is like the total amount. The larger it is, the better it is, influencing power, speed, stamina, and other physical abilities. The absorption rate is more about how energy is distributed, whether for using magic or maintaining life-sustaining barriers.”
“I see.”
I could somewhat understand it, but when I tried to grasp it fully, it became complicated and difficult.
“The impact of compatibility is significant, and even a slender girl can exhibit power comparable to a large man if her compatibility is high. It’s dungeon-specific, but the difference in strength between men and women can be negligible due to this influence.”
