Vol. 7 - Chapter 359 - Recruitment meeting! Let's decide the next members of ‹Eden›!
The members include me, the guildmaster, Submaster Sierra, our professional recruiter Misato, and Celestine and Mert who would be helping out in dealing with the subordinate guild matters like procedure to create it etc.
"Sorry to call everyone this late. I appreciate it."
I expressed my gratitude to everyone.
The late hour was partly due to my temporary teaching job. The Q&A session dragged on just like previous weeks. This time, the questions hadn't concluded until before dinner.
The upperclassmen who had attended my class for the first time last week must have been riddled with various questions and doubts over the time. Their surge of questions were like a melody to my ears, so I also tried my best to answer with an equal fervor.
Well, that's how the time dragged on for so long. I was really grateful to everyone who had gathered to participate in this meeting.
"No problem. Starting tomorrow, it's Dungeon Week anyway. I understand that Zephyr-san wants to sort it all out today."
"I also think it's best to settle it today. To be honest, I would have made sure to give you a scolding if you had taken in so many candidates without discussion."
Melt expressed with understanding, and Sierra nodded in agreement. Albeit, I played dumb to the later part of her statement.
I can’t deny I was making decisions almost single-handedly so far. I still hadn't fully let go of my perception from gaming days.
However, the situation was much different this time; it was on a larger scale. Not to say I would have needed help from other members either way, and I couldn't have brought major changes to the guild without considering them as well. And from the situation, it seemed like I made the right call. It could have been dangerous otherwise.
"There are no issues in setting up a subordinate guild. Once the necessary procedures are completed, we can establish it anytime by paying the QP."
Everyone present nodded to Celestine's report. There seemed to be no objections regarding the establishment of the subordinate guild.
Next, Misato, who was sitting next to me, took over the conversation.
"Then, let's talk about the number of new recruits. Originally, we had five spots designated to fill up the vacancy after promotion to D-rank, but that changes if we're setting up a subordinate guild."
"First, the main focus will be on the five members that will be joining ‹Eden› after it is promoted to D-rank. Let them temporarily join the subordinate guild, we can further evaluate their abilities, it wouldn't be too late to decide."
Following Misato's words, Mert supplemented.
I had no objections to this either.
"The subordinate guild can have up to ten members immediately after establishment, so should we have ten spots for recruits?"
"I think that's a good idea. Let's base the selection on the ten members when we're promoted to D-rank."
Sierra responded to Misato's proposal, and the plan was smoothly established.
Finally, we had the recruit spots settled. Now, the issue was who to take in.
It was then Sierra threw a question at me, her tone cold.
"Zephyr. I am really intrigued by your selection, you know? Why out of the 22 candidates you selected, 21 of them are girls? Explain this gender ratio."
"W-well, girls were far more capable than boys."
Sierra, holding the list of finalized candidates which were handed out earlier, scrutinized me with a sharp gaze.
There was nothing suspicious, but I found my gaze involuntarily shifting to another direction.
Well, the gender ratio was certainly skewed. Though, the onus of this situation falls on the boys completely, how I wish these sharp gaze could have been redirected at them.
I mean, all the boys were trying to destroy the target for no reason except to show their coolness to Misato or other girls. Like, I had already explained to them the target is basically indestructible! Seriously, they were so stupid.
Speaking of it, I had already noticed this on Thursday when they were trying to impress Misato. I briefly wondered if I shouldn't have brought Misato along. But I decided it was the fault of boys to focus on girls than their interview and dismissed the idea. It turned out to be a good thing that Misato came with us.
Although, It's another story that these boys turned pale, as if they had encountered a ghost, after seeing the girls performance, which was obviously far better than theirs. Well, no point talking about them.
With these facts in mind, I explained to Sierra that the skewed gender ratio was the result of strict evaluation.”
"I see. It's for our sake. Then, that's fine."
Sierra said, giving her approval.
I quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Though my breath buried Sierra's subsequent words of "I rather wish you to consider your own situation as well." in itself.
"So, Zephyr-kun, have you decided on whom to finalize?"
"Yeah. For now, I've settled on these six individuals I definitely want in the guild. I really wish these one can join our guild,"
I replied and showed Misato the profiles that Celestin had brought.
These six were the talents I thought we absolutely needed for the future. I wanted to bring them in even if I had to use my guildmaster's authority.
"Hmm, I see. These three are the ones you were talking about, right? The job classes you mentioned before?"
"Yeah. I must say you really have an eye for talent hunting. I was going to select from those who wanted to transfer jobs if I didn't find them, but I never expected you to unearth not just one, but all of them."
"Tahaha, impressive, right?"
"You bet. You're truly amazing. Boy, it really saved a lot of time."
As Misato said, three out of the six were the candidates I asked her to scout.
However, seriously, I didn't expect her to find all of them. I wasn't sure if they would join ‹Eden› even if she managed to find them. I am really impressed by her professionalism.
"These three, huh? Two from the ‹Support Department› and one from the ‹Blacksmithing Department›? Oh, this one is a Dwarf, I see."
Sierra commented while looking through the profiles of the three.
Considering the future, support and production would likely become a vital expense for ‹Eden›.
It would be my first subordinate guild in reality. In the game, there was basically not a single communication between the subordinate guild and parent guild, but I guessed maybe we would have at least some sort of interaction for sure.
It would be immensely helpful with the help of support and production jobs, so having them is just a plus. After all, ‹Dungeon Activity› was never a game defined solely by its combat jobs.
I basically explained this to Misato and decided that we must look for two support jobs and one production job ‹Blacksmith› holder first of all.
My foremost desire was undoubtedly to see if we could somehow bring in a ‹Dwarf› category student, though I was also ready to have a regular category ‹Master Blacksmith› as well. Hence, why I was so surprised Misato actually managed to lure in ‹Dwarf›. Now we no longer would have to worry about weapons or tank equipment!
"But the ‹Marquis› and ‹Count› category didn't show up huh."
"Tahaha~ Well we are talking about the great nobles here, my circle can only go so far~. I did take help of Mert-sama's connection, but the result was disappointing."
Actually, I also had requested Misato and Mert if they could recruit anyone from ‹Race› category ‹Marquis› and ‹Count›, but the result was fruitless.
Alas, there's not much we could do about it. Given their abilities, I was half sure other guilds would have already fought over them.
Guild battles were one of the popular aspects for the guilds after their promotion to D-rank. I really wanted to see if I could find Magic Tank ‹Sheltered Lady› or Protector ‹Count›, but oh well. They were ‹Race› category's exclusive jobs which couldn't be resolved with ‹Job Transfer›.
Also, there was a limit of up to 2 ‹Count› category members one could take in their guild in the game. ‹Eden› already has Sierra and Mert, but I was secretly hoping for such an upper limit to not exist in reality, just like how ‹Princess Job› had no connection with fame value.
I had wanted to see if it was possible to breach, but what's not there isn't there. Unfortunately.
"However, they had to let go of opportunity this time. One of the young lady of the count family had even gotten in touch with as well, expressing her regret for not being able to take part. She expressed her interest in attending the next interview."
"Oh, that's good news. Mert, can I count on you to handle that?"
"I don't mind."
A smile crept up on my face in response to Mert's report. The connection is still there, albeit faint!
I was really glad I took his help seriously. Whoops, now I am looking forward to our next interview round!
It was a pity there was no response from ‹Count› category holde but it seems like ‹Sheltered Lady› wasn't well regarded at all. Life is so tough. I guess I would have to think about some other means.
"The remaining three are all from the ‹Combat Department› huh. Oh my, there is a boy as well."
"These two girls are from the first day of interviews. They stood out in their movements, so I remember them well."
Sierra's gaze, which had fallen on the profile in her hand, took notice of the lone boy in the list. She seemed to have realized my intention; I absolutely hope this boy joins us.
As a job that rivaled the ‹Princess Job›, I was sure he would be another ace in ‹Eden›.
The other two girls, ‹Racc-Shell› Lacritta and ‹Songstress Princess›, were from ‹Combat Department›, and as Misato mentioned, they were clearly a cut above rest with their refined movements.
‹Eden› lacked a tank for absorbing damage. I had made up my mind that one of the finalized candidates would have to be a shielder for sure, and Lacritta happened to be the No.1 among all other candidates with a shield job. Her job was impeccable too. I absolutely hope she joins us as well.
And then, finally ‹Songstress Princess› Noel.
‹Eden› basically didn't have a debuffer. I mean, technically, Lana, Rina or Sage duo could do that, but they were obviously far lacking compared to someone whose job is all about buffing. It was, yet, another talent I was really hoping for. Just like Lacritta, her job was just fine as well.
These were the 6 talents I really wanted. Seeing now objection from others, I finalized on these 6 candidates.
I definitely wanted to recruit her as a debuff tank.
Now, we just have to decide on the remaining four from the 16 candidates.