A certain organization’s HR manager’s struggle.

"Ahhhh…"

I read the reports from the organization's mages.

A simple summary would be a devil's training that was impossible to survive.

Evaluated as something that they wouldn't be able to survive at that age, no, not even in the present day.

If it was any other department, and if the person responsible for that training was anyone other than Instructor Naruan, you could be very much justify swearing at them for weaklings.

But even in an evil organization mages are special.

Perhaps if they were magicians who holed up their rooms researching or stayed in the backlines spending all their mana for a single blast.

But they're mages.

In both the front and back lines as a given, infiltration, bombardment, assassination and all sorts of other missions, to think that a veteran special ops mage corps would provide this evaluation!

And even the results only recorded three surviving out of a hundred!

Starting from the Empire-style magic bombardment, for a continuous week of magic bombardments without any time for rest.

No matter that they were given an Empire-style defense staff that was effective for defending against magic, the fact that three people actually survived as their bodies wore down over the week makes them the monsters.

It wasn't that the trainees were weak, either.

A whopping thirty survived for five days.

Only thirty-seven survived after the Empire-style bombing, but thirty survived after that!

They independently dug holes, searched for cover, created bases and temporary shelters, and setting aside that these were all these kids' death struggles, it's proof that these kids have extremely good survival skills when you consider their age.

Maybe rumours already spread, but the various special ops forces are already requesting even the dropouts.

Heck, even he'd want them. Especially the five that dropped out on the final day, wasn't due to magic bombing but the organization's specialty mid-range silent sniping.

This was a skill we used a lot even during assignments, hard to block even if you knew it was coming, outright impossible to block if you didn't.

The mages rated these five highly as 'humans,' and the three that survived the mages didn't even think of as human, calling them monsters and such with ambiguous words that were hard to tell whether they were compliments or insults.

-Final Evaluation-

No. 1 – Lunatic. Very skilled with a sword but doesn't seem to be in his right state of mind. Seems to have the potential for magic but may be dangerous if taught.

.

Giving dangerous glances to No. 1000. Treat with caution.

No. 17 – Superior magical talent. Potential as both a magician and a sage.

Has a habit of using her comrades as chess pieces. While her magic use is splendid, her use of people is even better. Confirmed reports of her sending her comrades to the expected snipe location. Shows extremely good talent as a villain.

No. 1000. Lunatic. Survival king.

Doesn't feel like she'll die no matter where you send her. There is the risk of betrayal if there is a skilled chef with the enemy, hence a fitting individual for missions in deserts or wastelands.

As I summed up the mages' evaluations I could feel the beginnings of a headache coming on.

A newbie might see this as the trollings of the mages, but I already knew from the last batch of Instructor Naruan's graduates two years ago that their final evaluations were very similar to the current crop.

Especially, one person in particular was a special crazy bitch.

"Heeh, are these my juniors?"

"Eh, ehhhh?"

My heart stopped for a bit at the sudden voice behind me.

Why is this insane bitch here at this timing!

"Why are you so surprised?"

"N, nothing, vice-director."

Harnel Sia.

The youngest-ever vice-director of one of the cores of the organisation, the Intelligence Agency.

The person that that picky Intelligence Director had evaluated as someone who could be relied on to take over at any time, one of Instructor Naruan's former disciples.

Once, when I was lacking in belief, I took this joke-like evaluation and stormed off to take the writer to task, and after I met with the examiner in question, was told to go check it out for myself and when I first went to Instructor Naruan, she was the first disciple I met, and the one who made me understand that very evaluation.

The fears from then were engraved into my body to this day.

-Heeeh. I see. You're the man from HR.

-Is there a post where I can be together with Master?

-No? Really? Reaaaaally? With. Your. Life. On. The. Line?

All that from a girl who'd probably lived not even half of his age.

No matter that I was a support worker, one that dealt largely with paperwork, but back when I was young I'd run around on many a battlefield, and the bloodthirst that she let off that I'd never experienced on any battlefield made me understand that evaluation.

"Don't be so scared. It's all thanks to Mister Manager that I could rise to the seat of vice-director?"

The vice-director's beauty was stunning to the point that rumours had circulated suggesting that she got the post by selling her body.

If this was a social gathering in the Empire's capital, there'd be no shortage of young noble boys that would have gathered to see that gentle smile.

But I know that smile. When I felt the greatest risk to my life, when I said that the closest place she could watch Instructor Naruan from was the Intelligence Agency, that was the sort of smile she made.

"Heeh~ This group, over half of them are women?"

She quietly exclaimed, but my arms were already ridden with goosebumps.

Ahhh… The trainees who survived that training from hell!

Those devilish talents, perhaps even actual devils, two of them will die!

"Ah, that's not it."

Her bloodthirst vanished.

Although my back was soaked in a cold sweat I did my best to not let it show with a composed face.

If I wanted to live…

"The last five dropouts from Master's training, I'm here to take them on the orders of the Intelligence Director. Please make the arrangements."

I looked at the hand-written document from the Intelligence Director and nodded. Perhaps the winner of the power game this time was the Intelligence Agency.

As I completed the simple paperwork, handed over the requisite files and watched her leave with a tense heart.

My accursed ears picked up her small murmurings.

"Ahh. My cute little juniors. Shall I pay them a visit?"

Ahhh, gods.

Save the young devils from the claws of the devil.