Published: August 2, 2025
Today, three chapters are posted simultaneously.
This is the first chapter.
“Thank you for waiting.”
While waiting in the waiting room, Mr. Moulton brought in Mr. Ox Lord, whom he recommended, along with nine other slaves selected as candidates. For the safety of the customers, all of them were unarmed and wore thin clothing that made it impossible to hide any weapons.
The nine candidates were from the Human race and the beastman race. Among them was one male who seemed to be from the bullman race, but his presence was clearly different, and it was obvious at a glance which one was the person in question.
His well-trained body bore countless faint scars, and the sharp glare he emitted was intimidating… probably not intentional, but anyone weak-willed would surely shrink back.
The horns growing from his head were smaller than expected, barely protruding from his short hair trimmed so as not to interfere in battle. Combined with his muscular physique and intimidating gaze, he looked more like a “demon” than a “bull.”
I feel a bit sorry for the others… but compared to him, they just don’t measure up.
The interview was conducted as a group interview, with five people sitting opposite me. He was the tenth, so he sat in the second row.
He sat slightly smaller on a chair against the wall behind the first five candidates who had already taken their seats.
“Please feel free to speak.”
Following Mr. Moulton’s prompt to encourage conversation, I first asked their basic names.
Though they followed the order, suddenly a fierce competition of self-promotion broke out.
Being purchased here was a step toward freedom for them.
More than that, perhaps the handsome guy watching them cheerfully had whispered something encouraging.
…That aside, after talking for a while, I suddenly realized something.
This was my second time doing an interview in this world, but practically the first time.
When I hired Mr. Fay and the others the first time, for some reason all the other candidates withdrew.
Since then, I’ve hired people through introductions, so I’ve never had to conduct a large-scale interview.
In my previous life, I had been involved in company interviews several times... but this situation was vastly different.
The ongoing competition of self-promotion was a good example.
“I entered the dojo opened in his later years by the famous adventurer Belbios at age ten, and I hold a certificate of the bellbios style swordsmanship, third level—”
“Well... I only have my status board to show certificates or documents proving my skill, but I’ve been trained at the field as an adventurer and survived. So—”
“I absolutely won’t let you down! Please buy me!”
The skill of each individual’s speech was clearly revealed.
Back in the company interviews, 70 to 80 percent were memorized “model answers.” About 10 percent tried to stand out with personality, but often it backfired or they misunderstood what individuality meant. Only about 10 percent genuinely felt different.
Both new graduates and mid-career hires studied interview techniques thoroughly at job-hunting seminars, so most used the same or similar techniques. Even the less articulate people leaned heavily on those techniques… or rather, it was those with poor speaking skills who relied the most on them. Because everyone practiced so thoroughly, their claims were mostly similar.
There wasn’t a single job that could only be done at that company, and it was unlikely to be anyone’s first choice—probably why it was so unoriginal—but I never saw the point of asking about motivations.
In that respect, none of these candidates now in front of me probably had true motivation either.
They had no freedom to choose their profession and came simply because they were told they might be purchased.
Their enthusiasm was for being hired, not for my shop.
But this world has no internet.
Maybe someone teaches interview techniques somewhere, but it’s not as easy to learn as on Earth.
Maybe that’s why? Overall, they didn’t rely on techniques, but spoke passionately in their own words.