Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Interview, Answer
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“Take a seat in front.”
An awkward mechanical voice.
A blue pictogram issued the command to Seo-ha.
Is that the mysterious ability?
She had heard that the owner of Molrangmol, aka “Doki-sip,” conducted external activities through such disguises—
“Seeing it in person is... kinda weird.”
This interview was already shaping up to be a tough one.
There was definitely a human behind that blue figure, but the pictogram itself wasn’t human.
Speech and expressions were the most basic elements for gauging human emotions.
A being where both were entirely fabricated might as well be an AI.
She hadn’t expected Doki-sip himself to step in as the interviewer.
She might have to overhaul her entire interview strategy.
“Please take care of me...”
Seo-ha bowed her head—no, her waist—and sat in the chair.
Mana leaked out softly around the pictogram.
Without thinking, Seo-ha analyzed it. Occupational habit. It was her ability, too.
“The essence itself... it’s monster mana.”
She’d thought they’d hired a new illusionist, but no—they’d recruited yet another ingenious monster.
Just where was the limit to that monster-summoning ability?
Curiosity bubbled up wildly. She wanted to lock one away somewhere and study it.
Of course, that was nothing but an impossible dream.
How could a mere researcher lackey like her ever hope to imprison an S-rank hunter?
If anything, she should be worrying about the opposite happening.
Under the logic of preventing her from spying for Hwayeon,
they could just lock her up and make her do research.
“......”
Gulp.
Imagining that horrific future, Seo-ha swallowed dryly.
The interview room happened to be too quiet. The sound of her gulp echoed louder than expected.
...Did they hear that?
“Then, shall we begin?”
Luckily, no. It might just be simple consideration.
“Please give us a brief self-introduction.”
The pictogram smiled as it spoke.
That was a smile... right? The vibe was about that.
Matching it, Seo-ha drew a friendly arc on her face. A technique she used occasionally for academic conferences or board meetings.
Who knew it’d come in handy here.
“Ahem. Hello. I’m Baek Seo-ha, applying for the Molrangmol research division.”
A clean first greeting.
And typically, a self-introduction in these settings meant rattling off your experience and highlighting your strengths.
“......”
But Seo-ha hesitated, just a tiny bit—a mere 0.5 seconds.
Understandably, since she was from Hwayeon. Molrangmol’s arch-rival guild, known to the whole world.
She couldn’t help but agonize over it.
The interviewer surely knew, but whether mentioning it would work in her favor was anyone’s guess.
...Whatever happens, happens.
This was just an interview for experience’s sake. Getting rejected wouldn’t ruin her life, so no need to overinvest.
She rationalized it to herself—about the 15th time since arriving—and parted her lips.
“I...”
But she couldn’t spill out her prepared lines.
“You worked at Hwayeon.”
The interviewer cut straight to the point.
“Ah... Yes. I’m still with Hwayeon.”
“Then why apply to our Molrangmol specifically? You must know Hwayeon and Molrangmol are at odds.”
The interviewer’s eyes pressed down on Seo-ha.
The pictogram had no eyes, of course, but that’s how she felt.
It’s fine. This was within her expected range of questions.
Seo-ha opened her mouth without much deliberation.
“I’m a researcher through and through. I joined Hwayeon because they provided top-tier research facilities. Thanks to that, I achieved high-level results.”
“And among those results was a knockoff Molrangtori, I presume?”
“.........Pardon?”
How did they know about that?
The third version of the Molrangtori knockoff developed by her research team.
It had shown some promise... but the end result was total scrapping.
They’d only run internal beta tests within the guild.
It had gone mildly viral on Hunter Gallery, but it hadn’t been released to the public.
“Must’ve been fascinating research. Studying the ultimate product with the best facilities. Reverse engineering, is that the term?”
“......”
“I hear you’ve been focusing on Molrangtex lately... especially ways to counter it. How’s that going?”
“Th-that...”
“I’m curious. How far have the world’s top researchers gotten? You must’ve at least figured out what materials go into Molrangtex.”
“......”
“Oh, right—access to the underground lab got restricted, halting the research. Such a shame. I was looking forward to the results myself.”
Is this a dream?
Seo-ha was experiencing her mind going blank in real time.
She’d prepared a total of 700 questions for the interview.
From the basics,
to creative ones like how many ping-pong balls could fit in a Molrangtori,
and even aggressive ones like whether Hwayeon had ordered her to infiltrate Molrangmol.
She’d compiled them all and crammed appropriate answers into her head.
But... but still.
“So, how’d it turn out? Did you develop a clean way to destroy Molrangtex?”
Questions like that were way off her predictions.
No, the underground lab’s very existence and its research were top-secret!
Only her team and a handful of board members knew about Research Team A’s work.
Around 20 people, give or take. Even Research Team B next door was clueless.
“Th-that’s...”
Cold sweat trickled down her cheeks.
The momentum was intense. Maybe even tears.
She’d walked into the tiger’s den of her own accord.
Someone said keeping a cool head would let her survive... but how?
Where the hell did the leak come from?
Did Molrangmol plant a spy?
Eek!
“Eeeeek...!”
Thud!
Startled by the sudden intrusion, Seo-ha toppled backward.
“Ow ow...”
Eek!
“Mini golem...?”
A gleaming moonstone core.
The mini golem that had scared her now offered her a water bottle.
Eek!
“To drink...?”
Eek!
The mini golem nodded vigorously. Drink and relax, perhaps?
Seo-ha’s gaze flicked to the interviewer.
“......”
No words from him. Just a hand gesture.
Meaning, drink up comfortably.
“...This feels so awkward.”
What if it had something weird in it?
Like in movies, with truth serum or whatever.
Crunch!
But she couldn’t refuse.
This was a test of sorts. Tied to the barrage of pressure questions, probing her loyalty.
“Mmmph... Ha!”
Seo-ha chugged it in one go. Empty 500ml bottle.
Eek!
The mini golem patted her back approvingly, like good job.
...Weirdly, the praise felt nice.
But for some reason, her stomach churned.
“It’s water infused with Kendart horn. Excellent for restoring vitality. Feeling less tense now?”
“Ah... Thank you.”
That explained it.
Kendart horn was infamous for its foul taste.
No matter how well steeped, it was hard to fully mask the nastiness.
“So, have you made your decision?”
“Pardon? What decision...”
Molrang!
This time, a blue pudding slime appeared.
The very one that modeled the Molrangmol logo.
Molrang!
It hopped up and plopped right onto Seo-ha’s head.
Her carefully styled hair was thoroughly messed up, but she had no time to care.
If anything, she kinda liked it.
The slime’s cool surface soothed her overheated head.
Only then did her brain kick back in, piercing the interviewer’s intent.
He was demanding an answer.
Hwayeon,
or Molrangmol.
Pick one.
“You need to make a proper choice.”
It was an ultimatum.
Don’t even dream of spying. Not that she had any intention to.
Clack!
The interviewer flipped the hourglass on the table.
Sand began to fall. Judging by the speed, she had about a minute.
“......”
Seo-ha pondered deeply.
Where to lay down roots for the long term?
Eek!
The mini golem sitting beside her now flashed a thumbs-up.
Molrang!
The pudding slime atop her head shivered excitedly.
It was amazing.
As a monster researcher, she’d never been this close to them.
That’s why research was always so challenging.
Monsters didn’t communicate with humans. Even procuring basic materials was tough.
But Molrangmol was different.
She’d felt it at Molrang Park—every monster there was friendly with people.
This must all be thanks to his ability.
That’s how they achieved faster research than anyone.
Maybe that was true greatness in research.
“...I’ve decided.”
For a researcher like Seo-ha, there was only one answer to pursue.
“Yes. Could you tell us?”
“......”
**
“Isn’t that a bit too harsh?”
After Seo-ha’s interview ended, Ha-young asked me.
She’d been watching from the next room over.
A magic mirror, one might say?
The specially treated glass meant Seo-ha hadn’t noticed Ha-young.
“Did I? I thought it was just a normal Q&A.”
“...Huh? You didn’t do that on purpose?”
“Nope. Not at all.”
“Really...? Do a second interview and that girl’s gonna drop dead, dude.”
Was it that bad?
I thought it was a perfectly wholesome interview.
No wonder she was sweating a bit.
Not the heating—it was nerves.
“So, what now? Gonna hire her?”
Ha-young asked again, and my answer was obvious.
“Gotta hire her, no question. Can’t find talent like that anywhere. Doesn’t seem like she’d pull any nonsense either.”