Chapter 97. Interview
“Whew! I’m nervous!”
“Hoho, Miss Danyeong, there’s no need to be so nervous.”
The Hall of Heroes was incredibly grand and mysterious, with beautiful sights everywhere I looked.
And now, Hero Interviewer Danyeong had arrived!
There was just one slightly disappointing thing.
I hadn’t come here to become a hero myself.
I had come here to make someone else into a hero!
Still, visiting a new place always felt exciting!
Hehehe! Seriously, what a surprise!
For the little over twenty years I had been alive, the word game had always been something far removed from me.
The games the boys at school used to play were even less my style.
Rather than flashy effects, fighting, blood spraying everywhere, and endless battles...
I preferred the connections between people.
The natural relationships and emotions that bloomed between them!
“I never imagined I’d become an interviewer!”
“Hoho. Miss Danyeong, you have quite a good reputation, don’t you? Among the Outsiders, you’re rather exceptional.”
This game, World Gate, was a gift from God that had perfectly recreated interactions between people.
I couldn’t think of any other way to describe it.
It went far beyond games where you clicked on a predetermined line of text and received a predetermined response.
This was the ultimate evolution.
A revolution in gaming!
Every NPC here responded freely and actively to every action I took!
More freely than in any other game!
What on earth did you do, Super Real?!
“Who could it be? Who am I going to meet right now?!”
“Hoho, it’s good to see you so energetic. But once the interview begins, you’ll need to restrain yourself from acting like that.”
“Ah, yes! Of course!”
“And you mustn’t go easy on them either. You need to be strict.”
“Yes!”
On top of that, we were going to meet a hero...!
My heart was pounding so hard with excitement that it felt like it might explode.
Heroes.
Even before coming here, I had encountered those shining existences several times while working as a maid in the palace.
Some especially active heroes had even gained fan clubs among the maids!
“I’m so jealous! A hero! I want to become a hero too!”
“Hahaha! That would be wonderful! If Miss Danyeong became a hero, I’m sure you’d become the kind of hero who makes everyone happy.”
In reality, I was just someone who survived each day on the caffeine from vending-machine coffee while covering the dark circles under my eyes with powder.
Yet inside this game, I was treated like this.
Now I could understand why the friend who had recommended World Gate to me would disappear into the game for days at a time.
“You came quickly.”
“Hoho. Isn’t this a special guest?”
The NPC wearing a pure-white hood was handsome enough to make me marvel.
And so was the old man who had come here with me as another interviewer.
Spending every second in this place felt like walking through an exhibition hall filled with marble sculptures carved by master artists.
Maybe it was because I worked as a maid in the palace, but it felt like I saw exceptionally handsome and beautiful people all the time.
And yet, no matter how often I saw them, the amazement never completely faded.
Even my own reflection had an appearance I had spent a great deal of effort customizing.
But artificial beauty simply couldn’t beat the deep, natural beauty of someone who had been born that way and grown up that way.
“A special guest?”
Standing in front of the old man, the hooded NPC removed his hood.
Bright golden hair, almost glowing, fluttered lightly in the breeze.
He had the face of an idol.
The man casually glanced toward me when I spoke.
Then he turned his head toward me with a faint smile.
Seriously.
He looked like someone had permanently applied a beauty filter to his face.
“An extremely special guest. He will be the first historical Outsider to become a hero.”
“...Ah~ I see?”
...My excitement immediately disappeared.
So I was interviewing another player?
I see.
Was that why they had made me an interviewer?
Because I was also an Outsider, they wanted to ask me, Does this guy look problematic to you too?
Hmm...
Was I going to keep interviewing players like me from now on?
Wow...
That sounded pretty terrible.
Whenever I occasionally visited game strategy boards or general forums, I encountered people who made me think,
Thank goodness I’ll never have to meet someone like this in person.
Was I going to have to meet people like that now?
...No! He passed the hero trial, didn’t he? He must be a decent person.
At the very least, he should know how to speak politely.
Yeah.
That much would already be something.
Surely he had common sense.
Probably.
“Then please go inside and wait for a moment. I’ll bring him in shortly.”
“Very well. Hoho. Now that we’re about to begin, even I’m starting to feel worried. How embarrassing. I told Miss Danyeong that there was nothing to be nervous about.”
“Come on~ That’s understandable! He’s an Outsider, after all.”
“Hoho. I’m not nervous simply because our guest is an Outsider. This is quite an important matter, so I seem to have become tense without realizing it.”
Huh?
That was the reason?
Then why was I here?
I was just a maid.
Sure, they treated me differently because I was also an Outsider, but this was still a noble society.
Surely they had their own way of ranking us.
I might be in the rather unusual position of flirting with a foreign prince who was living in the Empire for his education...
But I still wasn’t important enough to handle something this serious, right?
“The inside is more ordinary than I expected.”
“It was prepared in a hurry, so there was probably no other choice. The Hall must have rushed to arrange everything.”
“Wow~ This reminds me of when I used to attend job interviews. I definitely don’t want to stay here for long.”
Even though I had come here as an interviewer, I was genuinely unsettled by how closely the place resembled a real-world interview room.
Sometimes this game casually shattered the fantasy-world atmosphere with settings like this.
Today, another one had just been added to the list.
There was a long desk inside the spacious room.
Expensive-looking chairs for the interviewers.
And a single lonely chair placed some distance away.
I really didn’t want to see something like this inside a game.
“Hoho, the Hall even prepared résumés for us. They investigated everything in considerable detail as well... Whew...”
“Wow, even something like that... This really is way too realistic...”
“Wouldn’t an interview be difficult without something like this? Let us applaud the Hall for its hard work. Though thanks to them, we’ll have to suffer for a little while.”
“Ha... haha... Right.”
Looking at the stack of résumés on the desk suddenly brought back memories of desperately trying to get hired.
I had squeezed out every possible thing I could think of while writing cover letters and personal statements.
Ugh.
I didn’t need this kind of realism in my fantasy world...!
If I wanted reality, I could just log out of the game and see it immediately!
Please stop!
Knock, knock.
“Ah, looks like he’s here.”
“We should sit as well. Ahem! Come in.”
The applicant had politely knocked and waited until the old man gave permission before entering.
At least his manners passed.
It was better than someone suddenly throwing the door open and barging inside.
However...
The person who entered looked like a bandit.
He had a fierce face full of distrust toward the entire world and glared around the room.
In his arms was a little girl wearing a hanbok, with a tree branch sticking out of her hair.
How does that look like a hero at all...?! If I met him on the street, I’d immediately lower my eyes and avoid looking at him!
Even from this distance, I could almost smell blood coming from him.
He wore roughly stitched monster-hide clothing, held together by chains that looked as if they had been heated red-hot.
His eyes were sharp enough to look like he was constantly glaring at people.
And he had the kind of vicious face that made you expect a curse to come flying out the moment he opened his mouth.
He had clearly invested an absurd amount of time into customization, because even the detailed definition of his muscles was impressive.
But his face...
If I met him in the middle of the night, I would probably scream.
“Huh? Grandpa Alo?”
The man had entered with an expression that practically screamed,
I trust absolutely nobody!
He looked around without properly facing either of us.
Then he noticed the old man.
His expression immediately softened in recognition.
Looking at him like that...
He reminded me of one of those school delinquents from a comic.
His face seemed somewhat less intimidating now that he had relaxed after seeing Grandpa Alo.
“It’s been a while, Ingwang. Have you been well?”
“More or less? Ah, this is my daughter, Jayeon.”
“She resembles her father. Who is her mother?”
“She doesn’t have one.”
“...You must have suffered greatly. Hmm. I don’t quite know what I should say, so please understand. I’ve never experienced giving birth to a child myself.”
“No, I didn’t give birth to her.”
The man entered while casually chatting with the old man as though they had known each other for a long time.
He also gave me an appropriate bow before taking his seat.
He continued exchanging jokes with the old man while staring vaguely somewhere into space.
Despite his appearance, perhaps he really did possess the qualities of a hero.
He was already acquainted with one of the interviewers responsible for selecting heroes, after all.
However...
As he continued talking with the old man, his expression gradually became stiff.
They sounded close, yet...
Were they actually not on good terms?
“...Being a Grand Hero sure keeps you busy.”
“...G-Grand Hero?!”
“Ah, did I forget to introduce myself? I am Eiealo Grande Nationale, the Grand Hero of Insight. I apologize if I startled you, Miss Danyeong.”
I had heard about Grand Heroes once from the prince.
They were the goal and object of admiration of every knight.
Only seven of them had been officially identified across the entire continent.
They were the strongest living beings in existence.
Their transcendent strength overwhelmed even political power to the point that even a prince had to show them respect!
And among them, the Empire’s Grand Hero was considered so great that he was called the strongest Grand Hero!
...Then why had I been paired with someone like that?
And who exactly was that man?
How did he know a Grand Hero personally?
Wasn’t the Grand Hero supposed to be some mysterious existence that nobody had ever met?
“First of all, an interview is still an interview. Let us begin.”
“We’ve known each other for so long. Can’t you just casually let me pass?”
“Precisely because I’ve known you for so long, I cannot simply let you pass. Do you think I’ve only known you for a day or two?”
“So petty.”
...How exactly was I supposed to describe their relationship?
They were wary of each other...
But neither considered the other an enemy.
What did you even call something like that?
Still, if his relationship with a Grand Hero was like this, didn’t that mean he lacked the qualifications to become a hero?
A Grand Hero was basically the evolved version of a hero.
And this man had somehow managed to get on a Grand Hero’s bad side.
Though...
He did look aggressive from the start.
He seemed like the sort of person who either picked fights everywhere he went or got dragged into fights just by standing still.
“Uh... Shall we begin?”
“Yes.”
“Your name is... Mr. Kim Ingwang? And you’re called the Indomitable Knight?”
“What’s that? Do you have information about me written there?”
“Y-Yes! But...”
[Status abnormality ‘Fear’ has occurred. This individual possesses an extremely strong sense of vigilance. Exercise caution with your words and behavior while speaking with him.]
Couldn’t you have told me that sooner?!
The little girl he called his daughter had been sleeping peacefully in his arms.
But the moment Ingwang became wary, she opened her eyes wide and stared directly at me.
She looked younger than ten.
All she was doing was silently staring at me with wide-open eyes.
Yet maybe because of the Fear status effect, I found it difficult to even meet her gaze!
“Ingwang, don’t be so angry with Miss Danyeong. The Hall was the one that investigated you.”
“About that, Grandpa Alo. Why did you send Mr. Kim Inbang?”
“It was a small consideration. If you entered alone and unnecessary conflict occurred, wouldn’t you be the one troubled by it? He was also a qualified young man. I heard he manifested the mental force of Luck? He has a promising future.”
“...And here I was thinking the Empire might’ve sent him to spy on me~ What a misunderstanding, huh?”
“Hahaha. There’s no need to worry about monitoring you. Miss Ien already watches you quite thoroughly.”
“Hahaha! I sure hope Grandpa Alo isn’t the only one who thinks that!”
This atmosphere was incredibly uncomfortable.
Not the kind of discomfort that came from meeting another player.
No.
It felt like I had been shoved between two people who genuinely didn’t get along.
The realism of this game was definitely one of its greatest strengths.
But in situations like this, that realism became a disadvantage.
It was easier to become immersed in this game than in any other.
So when a situation felt this real...
I felt like I was going to throw up from the pressure.
“I knew you were normally cautious, but today seems unusually severe. Did something happen?”
After hearing the Grand Hero’s question, the man quietly thought for a moment.
Then he glanced at me, let out a short sigh, and shook his head.
“We’ll talk about that later. Ah, was that also an interview question?”
“You may consider it one. Someone who carries the title of hero cannot behave with such paranoia. Wouldn’t powerless citizens become frightened whenever they saw you?”
“...Well, a lot of things have happened. And honestly, from my position, wouldn’t it be stranger if I didn’t suspect things?”
“Hoho, that is also true. You have been given far too many important responsibilities compared to your actual strength. It happened because of your unusual circumstances, but I do feel sorry about it.”
“...As expected, siding with Grandpa Alo seems more profitable than siding with Erol.”
...Erol!
Even I knew that name.
He was an unbelievably handsome NPC from an enormous alliance of cities called Aipot, which had recently become a hot topic.
Its power was apparently comparable to the Empire itself.
Right.
That NPC was definitely another Grand Hero.
Because of his constant gentle smile and warm atmosphere, I had heard that many players were currently heading toward the Alliance.
“Really now. Must you describe it specifically as being ‘profitable’?”
“Hmm? You’re one to talk after trying to use me politically! Grandpa Alo, you’d better be careful too. I’m keeping an eye on you!”
“Ahem!”
I deliberately cleared my throat loudly.
At this rate, I was afraid we would sink into a bottomless swamp of pointless small talk.
This old man was far too easily dragged along by that man’s atmosphere.
Was he innocent?
Softhearted?
I had no idea.
But I wasn’t like that.
If this were an interview with an NPC hoping to become a hero, I would welcome it anytime.
But I had absolutely no desire to spend meaningless time role-playing with another poor soul living in reality just like me.
What I wanted was communication with the NPCs living inside this game world.
Not interaction with actual humans living in reality.
I was already sick and tired of that.
“Let’s finish this quickly. There’s no reason for either of us to waste our valuable time, right?”
“...Sure! Sounds good to me. Go ahead. Ask whatever you want. What exactly do I need to answer?”
“For example... what do you want to do after becoming a hero?”
It sounded somewhat like a question you would hear during a company job interview.
But there was always a reason the standard method became the standard.
The man sitting in front of me clearly hadn’t prepared anything for this.
It should be difficult for him to immediately answer such a question.
Naturally, that meant his true feelings would probably slip into his answer without him realizing it.
Unless, somehow, he had actually prepared for an interview inside a game.
However, contrary to my expectations...
The man answered immediately and without hesitation.
“The first thing I want to do is conquer the Forest of Labyrinths. I want to collect every relic belonging to the Great Witch in the center of the forest.”
“You intend to accomplish something even a Grand Hero could not. Judging by the way you say that, you know exactly what exists at the center of the forest, don’t you?”
“I saw it before. It was completely impossible back then, but now I think there’s a chance.”
“Not bad. If you acquire the Great Witch’s relics from the Forest of Labyrinths and either remove or dispose of them, it may reduce the forest’s influence.”
Although I was enjoying this game more like a dating simulation than an RPG, I had heard some of those terms in passing during my playthrough.
So I had no trouble understanding.
And Grandpa Alo’s explanation helped too.
Hearing that the result could ultimately improve the situation made me understand that what Ingwang planned to do wasn’t necessarily bad.
Still...
He hadn’t explained exactly what he intended to do with those relics.
What exactly did he mean by conquering the Forest of Labyrinths?
Did he mean putting the entire forest under his control and doing whatever he wanted with it?
“And then there’s Po... what was it? Po-woreu? I should probably go check their condition too... I’d also like to mess with the fanatics if I get the chance, but I’m worried things might get out of hand if I poke them carelessly, so it’s hard to touch them.”
“I think it would be better to postpone the matter of the fanatics for now. Considering who we are dealing with.”
“Yeah. And Grandpa Alo, about Erol...”
“Yes. I wanted to hear your thoughts regarding that as well.”
...Was the reason this old man had been nervous because he was worried classified information might casually spill from this person’s mouth?
Or was it because they had so many important matters to discuss?
Even before becoming a hero, this man appeared to already be tangled up in numerous situations that made even Grand Heroes cautious.
Yeah.
Now I understood.
If someone who possessed so much confidential information became a hero and ended up belonging to another faction...
That could become extremely troublesome.
I finally understood why Grandpa Alo had called this an important matter.
“You can discuss that later. What exactly are you trying to accomplish by doing all those things?”
“World peace?”
“Hahaha! Don’t say something you don’t even believe!”
“Honestly, why does a game need a reason? I’m doing it because I want to. Just like Grandpa Alo came here for the Empire’s benefit, I’m doing this because I want to secure benefits for myself.”
“You speak of altruism and selfishness as if they are the same thing. You’ve left me speechless.”
“...Still, if I really had to say something... This is kind of a different subject.”
The man, who had been casually throwing out whatever came to mind until now, suddenly hesitated as if something had occurred to him.
His lips opened and closed several times as though he couldn’t decide whether to speak.
He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
At first glance...
He looked like a teenager wondering whether he should bring up his love life.
“Honestly, the Forest of Labyrinths and the fanatics are interesting events, but they aren’t interesting enough for me to obsess over them while getting involved with people I don’t even want anything to do with.”
Even Grandpa Alo, who had been smiling awkwardly moments earlier, seemed to notice the change in atmosphere.
He now listened to the man with a kind smile.
The man had just directly denied the reasons he had previously given for what he wanted to do after becoming a hero.
That probably meant becoming a hero itself was merely another method for achieving his true goal.
The real reason was whatever he was currently struggling to bring himself to say.
The words lingering inside his mouth.
That was probably the truth.
Then he finally spoke.
“...What exactly is love?”
Wow...
That was seriously the kind of question someone worried about during puberty.
What am I supposed to do with this...?
