Greatest Alchemist? Chapter 620

Interviews Begin

「Well then, the first person, please come in.」

The person I called in was clearly in his late fifties.

When I glanced at Lord Simon, he turned his head away.

Hmm, I do think that a person with plenty of life experiences is valuable, but in Japan, he would soon be in retirement.

Madam Rosary sent an icy glare towards Lord Simon. I could see sweat rolling down Lord Simon’s brow.

「L-let’s start with your name…………」

I guess we have no choice but to start the interview.

「My name is Lucifuges. I have worked as a civil official for a lengthy time.」
「……I see, is that so?」

When my gaze fell onto the document, he definitely has had a long career as an civil servant.
However, we wanted a younger candidate who could work actively and were still early in management.

Madam Rosary tapped on one section of the paper I was reading and urged me to read on.

(A habitual perpetrator of sexual harassment, workplace harassment, and was let go after being caught in a bribery scandal.)

Despite how impressed I was by how well they conducted their investigation, I turned towards Lord Simon questioning why he would bring them in for the interviews with my gaze, and he put his hands together in an apologetic gesture.

I take it that even Lord Simon must have reasons why he couldn’t refuse.
Well, there’s no way a man like this would ever be accepted by the Great Spirits, so it must have been easy to bring them with him.

When I later asked Lord Simon, he explained that thee were several people that he could not refuse because of their connections.
Lord Simon was also aware that these people wouldn’t pass the Great Spirit’s check, so even though they would waste travel supplies, he still brought them along.

Well, that’s what I thought, anyway.

Others like this man were also here.

「My name is Torgny von Taragne. Third son of the Taragne Barony.」
「……mm, I see.」

My eyes fell onto the document. As it was likely that the third son would not inherit the household, he tried to establish himself as a civil official.

In reality, he was far too prideful and lacked cooperation, and despite not being particularly outstanding, he blamed others for his shortcomings.

He had apparently caused trouble for those at his workplaces, often changing jobs.

Yeah, rejected.

「My name is Tomas[1. The name Thomas is already used by Papeck’s second-in-command, so I’ll use Tomas for this one]! The second son of a merchant family. I am unskilled with the sword and magic, but calculations are my specialty! Pleased to meet you!」
「Tomas-san, how old are you?」
「Yes! I am turning 16 this year!」

The lively, baby-faced, bespectacled boy said he was 15 years old.
Since the age of adulthood in this world is 15 years old, so I guess he’s like a fresh graduate from this spring on a job hunt?

When I glanced at Undine, she nodded, so he must be okay.

My eyes fell onto the document again.
It was clear that he would not inherit the family business as the second son of the small merchant in the Capital, so he apparently took the civil servant exam for the Royal Castle.

According to the information from Lord Simon, he had excellent grades, but as to be expected, you need connections to become a civil servant.
Sons and daughters of influential nobles took precedence, then the sons and daughters of lesser nobles, then sons of wealthy merchants, and finally, commoners like him.
Lord Simon also thought it to be ridiculous, but there were various obstacles that he could not disregard.

Madam Rosary, Madam Elizabeth, and Madam Lumia also had a good impression of him.

For the time being, I drew a circle on his name as a passing mark.

I thought the interviews were going well at the start, but there were many talented individuals by the end.

According to Lord Simon, those that I wouldn’t accept would be assigned to cities Wedgefort or Valor.
Jobs were aplenty in both Wedgefort and Valor, after all.

Now Madam Rosary, Madam Elizabeth, and Madam Lumia were going to discuss who to recruit.

「This Tomas boy would be a safe hire.」
「Indeed. And this Maple kid also seems diligent.」
「Yes. These two are young and earnest, they gave impressions. Ah, and this Priscilla girl also looks promising.」
「Madam Lumia, Priscilla is no child. She is a fine lady.」

I also had no objections to hiring Tomas. Maple is a girl of the same age as Tomas and is just as diligent, her parents were knights, and it is normal for daughters who were neither the eldest daughter nor of noble birth to lead independent lives.
The last name that Madam Lumia brought up, Priscilla, had opened a store with her husband, but her husband died of an illness, so she liquidated her store in the Royal Capital and applied to become a civil servant in the Sanctuary for a fresh start.

The three names mentioned were those that I had marked with a circle, so I was impressed by their varying life experiences.

In the end, we made a tentative offer of acceptance to five people, then tomorrow, after we explain the terms of employment to them again, we’ll hire them officially.

Apparently, the people that the Madams and I decided to hire were also those that Lord Simon recommended.

It might be a good idea to leave matters of employment to Madam Rosary, Madam Elizabeth and Madam Lumia from here on.

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Footnotes