Chapter 230: Hiring. 09:52

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"You passed."

The white-rimmed glasses man, Ambitious, said that first thing to the young man who was called back to the interview venue in the chapel. He was still tense, stiffening his body while sitting on the chair.

"Eh..."

Unintentionally, such a small voice leaked out.

Of course, the young man had taken on this interview in hopes of being told those words, but even so, being told that the moment he sat down on the chair would naturally leave him dumbfounded.

With his eyes wide open and his mouth agape, the young man froze, his well-defined features twisted in a silly manner.

"We, the 'Purple Dual Rings,' welcome you. Everyone, applause for the birth of a new assassin."

Pachi pachi pachi pachi! (Clapping)

The moment Ambitious declared that in a lofty manner, the members of the 'Purple Dual Rings' who had been surrounding the young man while concealing their presence simultaneously revealed their existence and clapped their hands!

The young man's thoughts, which had been frozen by the sudden event, gradually began to move.

First, the young man was surprised.

By the sudden announcement of passing.

And by the masters who had been surrounding him without his knowledge.

By his own carelessness that could have gotten him killed at any moment.

And next, he was delighted!

To be able to join the organization he had longed for!

And by the high level of skill of the teachers from whom he could learn!

To his future where he could still grow stronger and stronger!

"Th-Thank you very much!"

And he clenched his fists, stood up with force, bent his waist, and lowered his head.

He had stood up with so much force that the chair he had been sitting on fell backward, making a loud noise.

His face turning bright red, he curled his tall body and hurriedly set the chair upright, sitting back down with an apologetic look.

"Hahaha, how truly fresh and heartwarming."

Ambitious let out a slight wry smile, but clapped his hands particularly loudly with a pan.

With just that, the slightly relaxed atmosphere in the room switched.

All at once, the sound of applause stopped, and the world became silent.

Ambitious's well-projected voice echoed even more.

"Well then, it's sudden, but let me give you, who has become our comrade, a mission that anyone can do."

"A mission?"

"I told you, didn't I? It's not a difficult one."

Ambitious showed his white teeth and grinned at the young man, who showed a slightly anxious face due to nervousness.

"From now on, you will learn our code names and basic combat styles. In other words, to put it simply... it's a self-introduction."

"I see."

The young man's face instantly relaxed.

...As can be seen from his face and attitude, which have been showing everything he's been thinking about, he is by nature an honest person.

It's an area that needs improvement in the future as an assassin.

Now, however, Ambitious clicked his tongue, making a chi, chi, chi sound while waving his index finger at the young man who showed a relieved look.

"But you shouldn't neglect the other person's self-introduction. Trying to understand the other person is the basis of communication. What the other person is thinking, what they like, what their weaknesses are, what makes them suffer, how to kill them easily... Always think about these while acting. This is very important."

"Yes!"

"And understanding the other person is also important for those who become comrades. In order to achieve more efficient collaboration and reliably carry out the job, mutual understanding with comrades is necessary. That's what this self-introduction is for."

"Yes!"

"We are not secretive. We don't hide anything, especially from our comrades. It's to build a relationship of trust with each other and create a better workplace environment. You've also become a member of the 'Purple Dual Rings.' In a way, we're like a family. I hope you won't hide anything from your family either."

"Yes!"

While Ambitious was saying that, the 'Purple Dual Rings' lined up in a row, with him at the center.

Their physiques and clothing were each unique, lacking uniformity.

However, what they had in common was their intimidating presence.

They had killed people and earned their living.

The evil professional awareness, pride, confidence, and dignity born from that background were certainly oozing out of them.

The sunlight shining through the window only illuminated their feet, so their faces were covered in shadows and couldn't be clearly recognized.

It was strangely terrifying.

The young man naturally stood up again and gulped.

"Well then... I'll go first."

Saying that, the man with the scar on his forehead, who had been standing next to Ambitious, stepped forward.

He was a middle-aged man, but his slender body was well-trained, and he covered that blade-like physique with a unique outfit that seemed to be made by stitching together animal skins.

At least the young man had never seen such an outfit before.

Was it his original?

"My name is Short Warp. My main combat style is close-quarters combat using[Body Strengthening]. And not only that..."

The moment he said that, Short Warp's figure suddenly vanished.

At the same time, a hand chop was lightly placed on the young man's neck.

"...Like this, I can use an abnormal ability called[Short-Range Teleportation]. That's the origin of my code name. I'm counting on you."

Short Warp patted the shoulder of the young man, who couldn't move at all due to the sudden event, his heartbeat quickening, and returned to his original standing position.

"I-I'm counting on you too."

"He's a veteran and the strongest man in this organization. His ability is guaranteed. His close-quarters combat ability, which can make the most of his abnormal ability, is his true forte. In fact, he's a man who has even studied under a certain legendary assassin who is said to have no equal in close-quarters combat."

"...I didn't study under anyone. I just persistently followed him around for a while, and in the end, I was beaten to a pulp and abandoned."

Short Warp lightly glared at Ambitious, who was making a smiling supplementary explanation, snorted in a bad mood, and turned his face away.

"Next is I."

Saying that, the man who stepped forward was the one who had his face completely hidden by wearing the hood of his robe deeply.

That dirty gray robe was densely written with incomprehensible letters, and unlike Evil Sword's pretentious bandage-like cloth, it could be inferred that some kind of magical effect was bestowed upon it.

It might be an artifact from a dungeon.

"I am Smooth Stan. As you can see, I am a magic user and not good at close combat. But I can use a variety of magic, and I have a long experience as an assassin. Since I will often support you while you are a newcomer, you better remember that."

Smooth Stan spoke indifferently and immediately retreated to his standing position.

It was an eerie voice with little emotion or intonation.

Combined with the fact that his face couldn't be seen, hidden by the shadow of his hood, the young man even felt that he might be an existence of an evil spirit, as praised in fairy tales, who had returned to this world.

"His forte is high-speed chanting. He can unleash magic at several times the speed of an ordinary person. You should rely on him often. Next is... Big Lady, please."

"Yes."

Prompted by Ambitious, the next one to start introducing herself was a giant woman over 3 meters tall.

The young man had been overwhelmed by her size since earlier when she was probably sitting on a specially made chair during the interview, but now that she was standing up, her intimidating presence had multiplied.

While being careful not to hit her head on the chapel's ceiling, the woman began her self-introduction in a polite manner, despite her wild voice that matched her appearance.

"My code name is Big Lady. As you can see, my body is large, so I'm not suited for stealth. I specialize in taking attacks head-on and crushing enemies."

"Yes, I'm counting on you."

Not suited for stealth.

That was certainly true.

After all, her body was even larger than the large door used to enter and exit this abandoned village's chapel.

In the first place, how did she get inside this building?

"Her power is amazing! With her, even a fortress is no different from a toy building block. She's also thorough in her work, so as her junior, you should learn various things from her. She will surely become a wonderful senior to you."

"Such words, wonderful, and all..."

Big Lady blushed and fidgeted when praised by Ambitious.

And she directed a passionate gaze at Ambitious, glancing at him repeatedly.

Seeing that, the young man immediately noticed.

She was... in love.

"N-N-Next is me, right!"

And as if not minding the fidgeting giant at all, the one who said that and stepped forward was a short, chubby man.

He was a timid-looking middle-aged man with a small mustache and three small birds perched on his shoulders.

For some reason, this middle-aged man was wearing a white tank top despite it being winter, exposing his thick arms covered in untrained flab.

He clearly looked weak compared to the others, the young man thought.

"Um, well, I'm the newest member after you, so to speak, and um, you might think I'm too old for this, but, um, being able to have a job that doubles as feeding my pets is the best, so I started this job, and um, my hobby is petting my pets, and I really love pets, um..."

The man tried to introduce himself while wiping his sweat with a handkerchief and stammering, but his story was not coherent at all.

Unable to bear it, Ambitious interjected.

"He is Monster Master. A so-called 'familiar tamer' who has three Assault Chiwanwans, a green dragon, and three Bulletpeeps under his command. He himself is weak, as you can see, but killing using monsters can be disguised as nature and is very convenient. It's not something to be looked down upon."

"Yes! I won't look down on him or anything!"

In response to Ambitious's warning, the young man straightened his back, put on a sharp face, and said that.

To be honest, in his heart, he was looking down on him.

"I-I-I'm c-c-counting on you."

"Likewise."

Monster Master wiped his sweat and stepped back.

Many characters have appeared, but there is no need to remember any of them at all.

[Body Strengthening]

A very popular magic power manipulation technique.

As the name suggests, its effect is to enhance physical abilities.

Whether one is conscious of it or not, most people in this world use it, so it is not regarded as an abnormal ability.

Appears from Chapter 2.

[Short-Range Teleportation]

An extremely powerful abnormal ability.

With this ability and his advanced close-quarters combat skills, Short Warp is quite a formidable opponent.

If you look at how he died, you might be able to somewhat imagine why such a man was once under Dahachie's command.

[Dungeon]

A word appearing for the first time.

It seems to exist in this world as well, but it will make its full-fledged appearance from Part 2 onward.

[Evil Spirit]

It has actually been mentioned since Arc 1.

[Familiar Tamer]

People who command and employ monsters, originating from Sakura, a great adventurer who appeared in Arc 11.

Sakura herself communicated with monsters through her abnormal ability, so the techniques used by general familiar tamers are thought to have been devised by her successors.