Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle

112 – Urgent Hiring! Would you like to work at the Demon King Castle? It’s a Cozy Place to Work 2

Ellie is bold…or perhaps I should say, she has her own set of rules and also seems like an honest person. Such people often take actions that are outside the realm of common sense.

She was like that when she entered, she was also like that when she left.

「My work here is done! This is the inn that I’m staying at, so please contact me. We’re done, boys. Let’s go home!」

「Yes, Miss Ellie!」

The four people in suits lined up their voices beautifully.

The black suit-wearing man who rolled out the red carpet produced a business card from his breast pocket and placed it atop the table.

Immediately after that, they left.

「Ahaha, they are a lot more interesting in person than in the videos.」

I was smiling behind my mask, but at that moment, two separate gazes were shot my way.

「Lord Lemegeton…is that the type of woman you fancy?」

「No, no…it’s not like that.」

Carmilla’s smile looked crooked. But I understand. I didn’t smile because it was fun.

「Rather than that, the decision to hire or not hire someone is not for you to make.」

Ms. Majin looked bitter.

「That’s right. I’ll need to talk to Agares.」

She’s just doing her job, too. There are set procedures and practices.

Unlike the others, there are no specific requirements for the kind of person I’m looking for, so it would be very difficult for her to do so.

She’s here as an observer to an interview that takes into account emotions, and wondering why the other Big Four seem to understand the Chief of Staff’s decisions.

Of course, she’d be puzzled.

I was the one who did it on my own, so I should be the one to also explain to her boss.

「That’s not the…Understood. I shall focus on progressing the interview. But about what happened just now…」

「I’ll be more careful. It wasn’t a good idea for me to decide on my own.」

…It’s just that, I think Ellie would have left on the spot if we told her that she’d know the results at a later date. I thought that there was no way she could have made the decision on the spot.

There are certain talents that can be overlooked if you follow common sense and procedures.

It was just a hunch, but as a result, I was able to get Ellie’s party to join me as allies.

I take the piece of paper with the name of the inn written on it and put it in my pocket.

I nod to Ms. Majin and she then turns her gaze towards the door.

「Next person, please.」

◇

In the end, I’ll touch upon only the people who I thought I’d like to fight alongside.

First off is Meadow, the Lamia. Twenty-three years old, female.

Lamia are Demi-Humans with a snake’s lower body. Meadow was white all over. From the scales covering her lower body, her skin on her Human upper-half, to her long hair that reaches all the way down her back.

What about her eyes? I have no clue. She had some pretty long bangs, but that isn’t why I don’t know. It’s because of the bandages she wore as a blindfold.

「According to your resume, you have worked in three Dungeons in the past, but what about now?」

「I…I was fired from all of them…」

「And why is that?」

「…Th-they said it was because after they hired me, the number of Adventurers posting their videos had decreased…」

Due to her overwhelming special skill, the Clears failed. Not wanting people to see their humiliating forms, the Adventurers reject the videos. Doing that, the Dungeon loses exposure and experiences a drop in customers.

It’s a difficult place. You fight in a match with all your might, but it’s the Adventurer side that decides whether to broadcast the video or not.

Since this is a job that is dependant on public favor, they don’t want to release a video that will diminish their popularity.

In her case, especially, it isn’t the kind of ability that can decide the outcome at the end of a fierce battle.

It’s the kind that decides an outcome the moment two people meet.

「Do you think that you won’t be fired again if you join the Demon King Castle?」

「I…I don’t know.」

「Then why did you choose to apply?」

「If…if it’s here…I thought maybe it’d be nice to defeat a Hero.」

In a normal Dungeon, her abilities are too much for her to handle.

But if it’s here, in the Impregnable Demon King Castle…in the Realm of Monsters that isn’t tied down to following any specific theme of Monsters, a Lamia defeating a Hero wouldn’t be a problem at all.

If Adventurers don’t end up posting their Clear videos because you’re there, you’re sure we won’t fire you.

Is that what you’re thinking?

「Yes, exactly.」

You’re hired!…is what I wanted to scream, but I stopped myself.

Her lips trembled, and it eventually arced into a smile.

「I’m so glad…」

Her sigh of relief seemed very sincere.

I was very impressed.

◇

「What are my specialties~? Fufu, I’m pretty good at singing~」

「No, not things like that.」

It was a woman with a single horn with a spiral pattern growing out from the middle of her forehead.

She wasn’t a Majin. According to her, her ancestors mixed with Unicorn blood.

It seems she’s able to change between a Human form and a horse form, much like a werewolf. Her horn remains in either form.

It isn’t uncommon in this day and age to meet someone of mixed race.

Thea. Twenty-four years old. Her pale, purplish-hued fluffy hair flows down to her shoulders, and her eyes of the same color are squinted in the form of a smile that makes it hard to see her pupils.

She tends to make a gesture of poking her cheeks, but every time she moves her wrists, her forearms touch her ample bosom and cause them to jiggle.

That’s all well and good, but I swear that every time that happens, I can hear Milla click her tongue…maybe it’s just my imagination, yeah.

「…? But singing is my specialty~. Other than that, I can break trees, smash boulders, and since I’m a Beast Master, I can make friends with Demi-Beasts, that’s about it~」

「That’s more of what I wanted to hear. You have amazing abilities.」

「Really~? I’m glad~」

「Beast Masters were being recruited by the first stratum, so why did you choose here?」

At that, Thea opened her eyes.

「Singing after a victory is the best feeling in the world.」

Aside from Ms.Majin, the three of us all almost stood up.

When we were hit by her fighting spirit, we reflexively got ready for a fight.

We thought she was a gentle person, but she’s actually an unimaginable warrior.

「I was drawn to such a simple and wonderful phrase~」

Thea smiles once again, the fighting spirit from moments ago, gone.

Those with the mettle to defeat Heroes. I guess those words caught hold of her heart firmly.

Alright, I thought this was a bust, but with people like Ellie and co., Meadow, and Thea who reacted to it and showing up, I think it went well.　

Heroes are exceptional. In a fair and square one-on-one fight, only Majins or Demon King Majins could be their opponent. Or perhaps another Hero.

Monsters can only hope to defeat them with positioning, traps, and teamwork on the stratum they are in charge of.

There are very few who think they can defeat a Hero by themselves. That’s not a bad thing at all.

But I don’t have anyone on my stratum anyway. That said, I wonder if I can suddenly have dozens of subordinates and control them well.

It’s different from giving suggestions to an already completed stratum. It’s difficult to create a plan from scratch that will ensure that everyone survives. Even if that weren’t the case, there are still a lot of challenges.

There’s also the problem with helpers. This time, I’ll only go with a select few.

I am waiting for more people who took that short phrase seriously.

◇

The last one was a twenty-seven-year-old male. Lars the Minotaur.

「…There is no mention of any work experience past the age of fifteen, what did you do?」

「…」

Lars was looking down and not answering at all.

「What did you do for twelve years?」

「……」

He clenches his fist on his knees. Not answering.

「This Demon King Castle is known to be impregnable. How do you think you can be useful in its defense?」

「………」

His body is trembling slightly. Almost as if enduring shame.

I wonder if he’s not good at talking with people.

「So, your Job is a Black Sorcerer.」

I ask, he shook in surprise. almost a minute passed before he gave a small nod.

「Please, take your time to answer. If you find it difficult to talk, we can get you a pen and paper.」

「……It’s…fine…」

「I see. Your Magical Energy organ is very well trained, what kind of training do you do?」

Then we spent a long time exchanging words.

When he was fifteen, he was kicked out of the Dungeon where he was working at the time.

Unlike Adventurers, what is prioritized when hiring Monsters is not their Job, but their race.　　

He’s a Black Sorcerer, but he was hired as a muscular looking Minotaur. Contrary to what he actually hoped for, they were looking for hand-to-hand combatants. Since he wasn’t good at that, he was ultimately fired.

His re-employment efforts didn’t go so well.

But you can’t change your Job.

He continued to train himself, in hopes that he would return to working in a Dungeon, one day.

It’s a coincidence that he came up with the same training method.

He would cast Black Magic on himself, training himself every day.

Strangely, it’s the same as what I was taught by my master.

In Lars’ case, he came upon the idea on his own.

「Incredible.」

I blurt out that praise unintentionally, which caused Lars to raise his head in surprise.

Then his expression scrunches up and he starts sobbing.

I had my master. And a best friend who believed in me. Allies who didn’t like me, but allies all the same.

But Lars was denied and kicked out, and he continued to train himself for twelve years, all alone.

And today, he chose the Demon King Castle.

This isn’t luck.

And now he’s my ally.