20 – The Interview

In front of the inn room mirror, Elise tidied the tunic and trousers she had just bought. Her old clothes have been thrown away because they are not worth washing.

While wearing her chest armor, Elise looked at Renee, still lying on the bed facing the opposite direction. The unwrapped sandwich was still lying on the nearby table.

"I'm going out for a bit of lunch, Renee," Elise spoke while putting her sword to her back. "You eat too. The sandwiches are delicious."

Renee just raised and waved her hand. Elise came out of the room and walked to the adventurer's guild headquarter.

***

When she finally arrived at the headquarter, Elise saw that many people had gathered near a table. That's where the interview will be conducted. All the applicants carry melee weapons, from swords, maces, sticks, plates, and more.

"You're pretty early on, though," Raymund muttered. "But they wanted to make a good impression by arriving much earlier, huh?"

The interviewer was a man with neatly combed black hair and a woman with long purple hair and red eyes.

The man wore a moss green tunic, and near his feet was a bow and quiver. The weapon was clearly made with the finest materials. Meanwhile, the woman was wearing a kind of black dress that was somewhat sexy, though far from Reene's. The skirt has a long slit, and the back is open.

Elise could do nothing but wait. She overheard that the melee fighter from the party had just gotten pregnant with a landlord's child.

Elise could also hear the applicants' reasons wanted to join. From getting kicked out, splitting up due to differences, their friends were retiring, or all of their party mates dead.

"So, I can join you guys?" The woman who claimed her party mates were dead wiped her tears. She had just been hugged by the sorcerer.

"We will inform you later." The sorcerer answered. "We have to consider a lot of things."

Compared to the other registrants, Elise's outfit was very simple. However, no one pay attention to her. They thought that Elise was a low-class adventurer who happened to be there. So, when it was late afternoon, and the other candidates had left, the archer and sorcerer were already getting ready to go.

"Excuse me." Elise greeted with a stiff grimace. "I also want to join you two."

The archer raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, miss. Looks like you haven't met our criteria."

"Don't talk like that, Alain." The sorcerer said in a gentle tone, smiling kindly at Elise. "We have to interview anyone who comes to us."

The archer named Alain shrugged. "Well, it's up to you, Lauren."

"Please have a seat, Miss Elise." Lauren widened her smile.

Instead of sitting down straight away, Elise was silent.

"Hmmm… That sorcerer seems capable. She can guess your name, even though you two have never met." Raymund spoke casually, sounding not impressed at all.

"How did you know my name?" Elise asked in a cautious tone.

Lauren's smile turned even more mysterious. "Well, I overheard it. Some beginner adventurers tried to recruit you, didn't they?"

Raymund laughed, while Elise, who had just sat down, could only freeze.

Alain cleared his throat. "So, you want to join our party, Miss Elise?"

"Errr... No." Elise gulped.

The archer and the sorcerer fell silent. Alain kept a straight face while Lauren was still smiling with blinking eyes.

"Holy shit! This is so funny." Raymund laughed even louder. "You guys are like exchanging pranks!"

"I want to recommend my friend." Elise hastily corrected her words.

"Your friend? Is that Renee?" Alain massaged the nape of his neck. "I saw you yesterday with her."

"Ah, that mage they're talking about? We haven't been here long, but we've heard about her a lot. Your friend is very popular." Lauren said in a friendly tone. "Interesting offer, actually. She seems to have a unique personality. Unfortunately, we're looking for a melee fighter, not a magic-user."

Of course, Lauren didn't really know Renee's personality. The sorcerer gave the sweet words so that Elise wouldn't be offended.

"She is actually a melee fighter!" Elise spoke so fast that she almost choked.

Raymund sighed. He felt that Elise would fail in this negotiation.

And sure enough, Elise couldn't continue her words. She just stood there with her mouth opening and closing like a fish that had washed ashore and almost died.

Alain cleared his throat again. "Well, if there's nothing more to talk about..."

"It's true that Renee is a good melee fighter. She's actually a martial arts expert." A man approached the table and spoke.

"Oh hey, Pierre, my favorite wine shop owner." Lauren greeted the skinny man. "I rarely see you here."

Pierre smirked a little. He came with his comrades, who used to hang out at Hugo's place. "I'm here to tell you about the greatness of our friend named Renee."

"Hmmm…." Lauren put her chin in her hands. "How great is your friend?"

"She once stabbed sharp ice into the butthole of one of Charles' men. Renee did it with fantastic speed. You wouldn't believe she could stab someone's ass at that speed."

The atmosphere became quiet. Everyone is at a loss for words. And then, Pierre was attacked by his friends. They hit his head, pinched his ear, tickled his waist, and even twisted his nipples.

"I was joking! I wanted to open the conversation with an interesting topic!" Pierre tried to free himself from the tantrum of his friends.

"If there's nothing important, we'll leave." Alain forced a smile, then intended to get up, but Lauren grabbed his shoulder.

"Wait a minute, Alain. I'm interested in hearing their stories." Lauren smiled even wider. "After this, we don't have anything to do, right? Don't worry. There's still plenty of time until your crush, the flower girl, comes home from the shop."

Sighing, Alain sat back down.

"Okay, I'll start the story. My friends are the witnesses. They'd be willing to die if I were found to be lying." Pierre spoke in a serious tone. "It all started when Renee accidentally grabbed my dick a year ago."

Pierre's friends cursed the skinny man. Raymund and Lauren laughed. Alain folded his arms across his chest while Elise was grimacing.

"He's so fucking funny!" Raymund can't stop laughing. "If possible, I will take him as my servant, even though he is a man!"