I was considering which of the four applicants to hire. However, only two of them were serious candidates, so I was really just choosing between them.
First, there’s Mr. Ikezawa. If we had to choose just one hire, Daigo recommended him.
The issue with Ikezawa might be a mismatch between his personality and his potential. According to Daigo’s assessment, he’s likely skilled in support magic. But he has a showy, attention-seeking personality. This raises concerns that his personality and his support magic role could clash, potentially causing friction over time.
If he can follow directions smoothly, that would be fine, but if he harbors resentment, it would be problematic. Ideally, I’d like our dungeon-streaming members to work happily without dissatisfaction toward the company.
Next, there’s Mr. Makita. He has ample skills, but he seems to lack a certain amount of common sense.
He has a background in street fighting, and while brawling is close to being illegal, the fact remains that it’s a near-criminal activity. This could lead to scandals, and ideally, we want to avoid any risk of that. Teaching him social norms now would be challenging.
Additionally, although he’s strong in combat, he doesn’t know much about dungeons—he doesn’t even bother to collect materials. He probably doesn’t read comments either. If he did, he’d likely pick up on these points from the guidance comments.
In short, he’s a battle maniac focused solely on fighting, making him quite a handful to deal with.
Then, I came up with an idea.
A collaboration.
A full hire might not be necessary if he could join a stream through a partnership. Many independent streamers have joined agencies after collaborating with them, so why not introduce Makita in a trial collaboration? This way, we could build rapport and gradually instill proper behavior, reducing the risk of future issues before considering him for formal employment. With this approach, we might secure his combat abilities as a future asset.
This decision clears up the situation for Mr. Makita. But Mr. Ikezawa remains a concern.
He hasn’t started streaming dungeons yet, meaning he’s essentially a novice. Collaboration isn’t an option; for him, formal employment would be the only route.
I’d prefer not to risk our agency’s reputation by making him a “collaboration-only” hire, as that might discourage future applicants. So, hiring Mr. Ikezawa seems like the best option. I summarized my thoughts and discussed them with Daigo.
“Interesting. A collaboration hire—I wouldn’t have thought of that.”
“How do you feel about the idea?”
“It could work. In that case, hiring Mr. Ikezawa would also be a reasonable choice. As you mentioned, if Makita’s collaboration hire doesn’t have a formal hire alongside it, rumors could arise.”
Daigo’s agreement gave me confidence, making me feel that my decision was validated.
I’m not highly experienced myself—I only finished high school and spent two years withdrawn, with limited work experience. I’ve made mistakes before, so I know I have to be careful with decisions that could affect someone’s life.
◇
Later, I sent Mr. Ikezawa a notification of acceptance. Two others received rejection notices, and I contacted Mr. Makita separately.
“Hello?”
A gruff voice answered, sounding irritated. I was a bit intimidated, knowing he had a background in street fighting.
“Hello, this is Kageno from Shadow Stars.”
“Oh, the agency. What’s up? Is this the hiring call?”
“Well… after a thorough review, we regret to inform you that we can’t meet your expectations…”
“Just get to the point! Am I hired or not?”
He snapped, cutting me off.
“Ah… you’re not hired, actually.”
“Oh, really? Well, okay. Got it.”
That was unexpectedly calm.
“But although it’s not a formal hire, we’d like to explore the option of a collaboration where we could do a dungeon stream together.”
“A collab? What’s that, some kind of snake?”
That would be a cobra… Looks like I’ll need to explain from scratch.
“A collaboration is when people from different fields team up. In streaming, it’s like two streamers appearing on the same broadcast.”
“Oh, a co-stream. Say that from the start—I’m not good with these terms.”
He understands street fighting and dungeons but not collaboration? Well, no point in nitpicking, so I moved on.
“With this co-stream arrangement, we’d like to see how things go before considering formal employment.”
“So I am hired?”
“That depends on how things go.”
“What? Can’t you be clear about it?”
He got angry again. Maybe I should just reject him outright? It’s frustrating that he’s speaking this way to a potential business contact. But patience is key. He might have potential to reform.
“It’s more like rolling a die.”
“A die?”
“Yes. Until we roll it, we don’t know the outcome.”
“Got it. My hiring’s decided by a dice roll, huh!”
Not exactly! But arguing would only complicate things further.
“Something like that,” I replied.
“Sounds good to me! I don’t mind a gamble—I’d hate a fight with a guaranteed outcome!”
Did he get it? Either way, we’ll proceed with this collaboration, and if all goes well, we can move toward a formal hire.
In the meantime, he’ll appear as a guest in collaborations. If he causes any trouble, that’ll be on him, and the company won’t be affected. This is a balanced approach to manage risks while expanding our resources. It’ll be fine.
“Oh, by the way, I wanted to ask: you mentioned a die. Why use a six-sided die if it’s just hire or no hire? Wouldn’t a coin be more efficient?”
That’s what he’s focusing on? Well, no harm in flattering him here.
“Oh, good point. I hadn’t thought of that. A coin is more efficient!”
I doubt he’d understand odd and even rolls or heads and tails anyway.
“Heh, impressive, huh? I might be bad at studies, but I’ve got a good head on me.”
So far, I’m not seeing it, but…
