Chapter 21

“I trust you now understand why I hired Farphistanya-san, too.”

“Yes! I understand it so well it almost hurts! I mean, it’s impossible to imagine a company that wouldn’t want to hire a person like that—Wait?”

As the words left my mouth, I realized something strange. From the look on the President’s face, she seemed to have realized it too.

“If I recall… Senior Farphistanya was scouted by you just as she was at her wit’s end after failing to get hired anywhere…”

That’s right. Senior had been suffering, unable to land a single job offer.

It feels a bit presumptuous to say, but she was just like me.

“Exactly. It’s quite troublesome, isn’t it? It’s hard to believe that such an exceptional talent was being rejected over and over just because of things like her ‘interview attitude,’” the President said with a smile, though she added, “To be honest, it’s more laughable than it is infuriating.”

I could sense that deep down, the President was feeling a flicker of genuine anger toward something.

“I believe the current corporate recruitment system is certainly designed to be rational. It is necessary to filter out people who clearly have issues during interviews. Companies are organizations, after all, and they can’t afford to hire someone who will disrupt the harmony of the group. However—”

Still smiling, the President stroked Gelgel’s head. The fact that her smile never wavered actually made it a bit scary.

“—Watching them constantly overlook great talent just because someone is poor at interviewing… it’s not exactly a pleasant sight. Isn’t finding those hidden gems the actual job of a recruiter? If you’re just going to assign points based on how well someone talks in an interview, a child could do that job.”

She’s… she’s absolutely right!

This woman… isn’t she basically a guardian angel for the magic industry? She’s too perfect; there isn’t a single flaw in her logic!

“Specialists are almost always a bit eccentric. Well-rounded generalists are fine too, and they certainly have their place, but a society where specialists are treated coldly is a sad one.”

A specialist—that was the perfect word for Senior Farphistanya.

Fortunately, Senior met the President. But throughout history, there must have been countless people with incredible talent who lost their chance to enter society and faded away simply because they were ‘weird’ or lacked social skills… Thinking about that makes me feel truly uneasy.

“This is a small company, and I don’t have enough of a track record to act high and mighty as a CEO, but…”

The President pointed to her own eyes with a playful glint.

“I have absolute confidence in my ability to judge character.”

Whoa… that’s almost unfair…

I’m falling for her. I want to be held by a CEO this capable. Well, strictly speaking, she already held me once during the Dark Magic Succession Ceremony.

“Seriously, President, you should grow this company to three thousand employees and overturn the entire industry in the Capital with that philosophy.”

If she did that, the number of smiling workers in the Capital would definitely increase.
President Kelkel put her hand to her lips and thought for a moment.

“Hmm, I wish I could do that, but when an organization gets too big, bad influences tend to creep in. An organization is like a living creature. As it grows larger, it starts trying to use people for the sake of the organization itself…”

“The problem of how to manage the monster called an ‘organization’ is something even other magic industries haven’t been able to solve, woof. In the worst cases, the mages end up being devoured by the monster, woof.”

This familiar who was just chasing a ball earlier really is smart. His vocabulary has a high intelligence quotient.

“It’s true. When organizations get too big, they try to cover up scandals or fire whistleblowers.”

“Exactly. Personally, I believe an organization is meaningless if it doesn’t exist for the sake of the people within it. To keep that value system alive, it’s often better for the main body to remain small.”

I suppose that’s the ultimate logic: if there’s only one person in a company, they can act solely for their own benefit.

Then again, the fact that a new hire can have a conversation like this with the CEO is only possible in a small company.

“I’ll do my best to help this company grow.”

It might have been a bit cheeky of me, but I wanted to express my feelings honestly.
President Kelkel’s face flushed slightly.

“I-I’ll do my best too… so I don’t lose to your resolve, Franz-san…”

Is she… blushing? If so, that makes me happy.

“Ah, listen to me acting all high and mighty! Honestly, the only reason we’re a small group is because the Dark Magic industry is so unpopular… saying we’re ‘strictly adhering to a small elite force’ is really just a justification I made up after the fact… Ahhh, how embarrassing! I said something so cheesy!”

The President hid her face with both hands. The gesture suited her appearance, which looked like a girl slightly younger than my peers.

Even though she’s apparently five centuries old.

I am so glad I joined this company.

I think there’s a proverb about fortune sleeping in the leftovers, and that’s exactly what this is. If I had quickly landed an offer at some mediocre company, I might never have met this company or even known its name.

“But Franz-san, you’ve come at the perfect time today. There was something I needed to give you.”

“Something for me?”

What could it be? Maybe a custom wand just for me?

“Since we’re at it, it would be best for Cerulia-chan to be here too. Could you call her in?”

I returned to the President’s office with Cerulia, who had been waiting in another room. I wondered what it was—something for both of us. Cerulia seemed just as confused, tilting her head.

“Both of you have worked very hard this past month. Today is payday! Here are your pay envelopes with your silver coins!”

Oh, so that was it!

The envelope President Kelkel handed me felt satisfyingly heavy.

“As promised, Franz-san, your starting salary is forty silver coins.”

About double the market rate!

“And for Cerulia-chan, fifteen silver coins.”

If I think of that as the total household income for the Franz residence, that’s fifty-five silver coins. It’s so incredible that calling ourselves “winners in life” feels almost silly.

“By the way… do we get bonuses?”

“Yes. Look forward to them.”

If I work for a year, I’ll easily be able to pay back the tuition my parents paid for magic school. Well, it would be weird to assume I’m just going to use Cerulia’s salary myself, so I’ll count based on my earnings alone—but still. It might be strange to measure filial piety in money, but I can certainly see myself supporting my parents well in the future.