Frontliners are popular.
I repeat Kaido’s words in my mind.
It’s true that since joining the company, I’ve had a lot of contact with women like Suella and Memoria, and more recently Himik.
It’s understandable that others might see this as being popular.
So, I won’t deny it for myself, but whether that means frontliners are popular is another question, and I have my doubts.
“Kaido, I think it’s a bit much to say that while ignoring your own situation.”
“Ah, leave me out of it!! Look! That guy named Himusumi is popular too, isn’t he!? Two-thirds probability, sixty-six percent! That’s a pretty high chance!”
“No, the sample size is too small. What’s wrong, Suella? You look like you’re thinking hard.”
“No, I was just thinking about what Kaido-san was saying. I’ve never considered the idea that someone might be liked by the opposite sex based on their combat power or performance. I’ve never thought of using that for recruitment.”
“That’s true. If you used it, it would come across as a suspicious recruitment. Besides, if you say you like swordsmen, then everyone except in special cases will become a swordsman, right?”
“Yeah, if it were me, I’d definitely abandon magic.”
“You would, wouldn’t you.”
Kaido’s story was so outlandish that it made me let out a wry smile, including his self-deprecation afterwards.
However, Suella seemed to have taken the story more seriously than I expected.
While I had often heard about the methods Suella used to persuade people, as she was concerned about the specialization of the first-term students, those methods mainly involved financial or equipment-related assistance.
I certainly hadn’t tried any approaches related to romance.
That makes sense.
If a paper stating “Become a frontliner and you’ll be popular with the opposite sex!” were mixed into a list of serious recruitment efforts, it would certainly stand out, but one would probably think it was fishy first.
“But, if there’s solid statistical data, doesn’t that change things?”
“I mean, that’s true, but are you serious?”
“This might just be my own opinion, but I think the values women in Japan and women in our world have regarding the opposite sex are quite different.”
“Perhaps, since it’s another world.”
Suella began to seriously consider such content.
Values regarding the opposite sex, that is, what kind of things they find attractive.
From a woman’s perspective, as a man, I can’t understand the finer details.
Good salary, good looks, good personality – these are probably the main common points.
In short, financial power, appearance, and character – these are the points everyone considers.
If you get into the specifics, there might be preferences for foreigners or other such aspects, but everyone’s taste is different.
Just as people change, their preferences for the opposite sex change.
Moreover, when the world changes, new values regarding the opposite sex that I don’t know might emerge.
If they were to say something like “the brilliance of scales,” I wouldn’t be able to comprehend it.
“Speaking of which, when I joined this company, a senpai said that being strong makes you popular. Is that true, Suella-san?”
“Yes, what Jiro-san is saying is not wrong. For nobles, strength and fighting ability are a form of status. For ordinary people, they live alongside wild monsters, so the strength of a man who can protect them is naturally attractive to women.”
“It was true!?”
Among these, combat power, a status that has faded for us modern people, would probably be the most striking.
In modern times, brute strength is not necessary unless you are in a profession like a professional boxer who makes a living with their fists, or in special occupations like the Self-Defense Force or the police.
If a bear appears, the hunting association will deal with it; if a criminal appears, the police will; and even if force is used for defense, one will be reprimanded in modern society.
In modern Japan, strength refers to economic power and influence.
Physical strength doesn’t factor in much.
Naturally, in Japan, bragging about being good at fighting and being popular would only be a niche thing, and likely temporary.
However, in Suella’s world, combat power is a form of status.
It has likely persisted because it is necessary due to the environment.
Unlike Japan, where danger is constant and industries like dungeons exist, the equation of combat power equals economic power is established.
“Suella-san, were you attracted to the senpai’s strength!?”
“Well, I can’t say it wasn’t, and it’s more likely that it was part of it, but it wasn’t just that.”
“Don’t ask weird questions, idiot.”
“Heh!?”
Startled by Kaido’s sudden question, I delivered a chop to the runaway Kaido to stop Suella, who seemed about to say something strange, and steer the conversation back.
I kept quiet about my possessiveness, not wanting to see Suella embarrassed in front of others.
If it were anyone else, they might not notice, but Kaido probably wouldn’t.
“So? I’ve heard that strength is attractive, but that doesn’t mean only frontliners are popular, does it? Mages and archers, who are backliners, can also be strong.”
“Indeed, if you look at some strong individuals, many of them are popular with the opposite sex. However, if you look at the average strength of the entire group, it’s not the case.”
“?”
From the flow of the conversation, I understood that in Suella’s world, strong people equal attractive people, which is the dating view of women. However, that still doesn’t make the equation “frontliner equals attractive” hold true.
Suella gently negates my doubt.
“Preconceptions, or rather, shall we call it first impressions? Let me ask Jiro-san a question. Between a swordsman and a mage, who do you think is stronger?”
“？ It depends, doesn’t it? It depends on the difference in skill and positioning. I can’t determine strength based on occupation.”
“Yes, let me rephrase the question. Between a swordsman and a mage, who is better at defense?”
“That too… Ah, I see what you mean.”
“Yes, speaking generally, while mages are more likely to increase their attack power, swordsmen are more likely to increase their individual defense because they work on the front lines. Therefore, it naturally follows that swordsmen are better at defense.”
Of course, there are individual differences, Suella added, and continued her explanation.
I had a general idea of what Suella was trying to say, so I silently urged her to continue, also as a way to check my understanding.
“Mages, by their nature, assume they will be protected by someone unless they are skilled practitioners. This applies to all backliner jobs. However, frontliner jobs like swordsmen are more about protecting than being protected. Therefore, many women prefer to be protected rather than protect. If the strength is the same and there are no differences in personality or appearance, frontliner jobs are more popular.”
“Seriously!?”
This is, of course, a general statement, but Kaido’s randomly proposed idea might actually be effective.
Kaido’s eyes sparkled with hope, perhaps thinking his idea might work, while he rubbed the spot I had hit him. I, on the other hand, noted it as a potential element to use, but the fact that this idea might be usable remained unshaken.
“This might require a little investigation.”
“Investigation? What are you going to do?”
“I’m just going to conduct a survey among the female staff within the company.”
However, things were becoming bigger than I thought.
Even at the stage of possibility, Suella was beginning to conclude that it was a practical and effective idea.
If the proactive Suella were to put it into action, the survey would likely be conducted within a week.
It would be a lie to say I wasn’t curious about the results.
And, if Suella’s theory were mainstream, I was also curious about how the current testers would react if they heard about it…
“Is it really necessary to go that far?”
“It’s my job to get the testers motivated. It’s part of my work, so to speak.”
I questioned whether one could truly rely on such a male instinct, but Suella was motivated.
If she feels that way, I have nothing more to say, and I can be satisfied if I was helpful.
“In that case, it seems better to get started soon. Sorry, Jiro-san, I’m going back to work now.”
“Don’t overdo it.”
“Yes, excuse me then.”
Watching Suella, who seemed eager to bring her new idea to life and swiftly returned to her work with a smile, I lit a cigarette for a break.
“Senpai, senpai! Did you hear!? Frontliners are more popular! This could work!”
“Calm down, Kaido. It’s not finalized yet.”
A few seconds of silence filled the room, and then Kaido approached me, blowing smoke.
While scolding Kaido, who was excitedly acting as if he had won the lottery, I continued to think about what had just been said.
It might be difficult to incorporate into the PV, but I thought touching upon it as an experience might be fine. If it could help with recruitment, that would be a bonus.
On top of that, Kaido’s motivation had doubled since hearing that story.
Kaido, who usually wouldn’t return to work so quickly, was showing unprecedented motivation to get his work done.
Without wanting to dampen his spirits, and feeling my own motivation restored thanks to Suella’s visit, I honestly resumed my work.
Considering the new idea, Kaido and I continued to work on the PV.
The fact that my fingers moved more swiftly than before was probably because some of my anxieties had been dispelled and a solution had been presented.
It wasn’t exactly smooth sailing, but after several tens of minutes discussing the content, the PV outline was decided with surprising speed, making me wonder what I had been doing all this time.
The project proposal, which had been full of blank spaces, finally began to take shape.
I thought things would unfold as they were meant to, but it seems solutions can be found in unexpected places.
As I placed the third cigarette on the ashtray, I had a feeling I could finish early. At the same time, I noticed it was getting quite late.
Since my profession doesn’t have fixed working hours, time management is a personal responsibility.
“Alright, it’s a good time. I’m heading off soon.”
“Us! Oh, right, senpai! Want to go out for a drink for the first time in a while?”
“Out? Ah, outside.”
“Yeah, lately you only seem to deal with your wife, senpai, so I’m bored. Sometimes, you should keep your kouhai company.”
“Ah, wait a minute, let me confirm.”
“Wow~, you’re completely under your wife’s thumb.”
“Just say what you want. It just sounds like a lone wolf howling.”
“Ugh, was that a boomerang?”
While engaging in our silly banter, I contacted Suella, Memoria, and, to be safe, Himik to ask for permission to go out for a drink with my kouhai, who had invited me out after work.
The first two readily agreed, but Himik requested a souvenir, so I ended up agreeing to buy something sweet at the convenience store on the way home.
“Alright, let’s go!”
“Roger that! Wow, it’s been a while!”
“We usually just eat at the underground mall.”
The underground mall has a wide variety of shops, so as long as you rotate and go with your mood, you’ll never get bored.
Kaido seems to use it very frequently, like an adventurer in a fantasy novel, but he doesn’t seem to get tired of it.
Even with so many options, there are still days when you feel like going out for a drink somewhere else.
The Party Room is in the dormitory, so we’ll go our separate ways and meet up at the entrance later.
Himik, who was in my room, gave me a curious look, but I just told her I was coming back to change and only took a shower before changing into my casual clothes.
She said, “Have a good time,” a farewell phrase I’ve heard often lately. I thought it was nice as I left the entrance.
I expected Kaido to be waiting since I had just showered, so I walked a little faster towards the dormitory entrance, our meeting place.
“Huh?”
Kaido is there, but not alone.
I believe those are other testers. Is there some kind of trouble?
However, the atmosphere doesn’t feel tense.
Kaido also seems troubled, but not disgusted.
Thinking that if I kept worrying about this unusual situation, we’d never get anywhere, I approached Kaido.
Today’s word: Words that solve problems are not always the righteous path.
This concludes today’s update.
If you enjoyed it, please leave comments, ratings, or bookmarks.
We hope you continue to enjoy this work.
