I’m exhausted.
I didn’t feel physically tired, but mentally I was drained because I ended up spending my day off cleaning up the mess for my colleague.
Normally, yesterday I would have been teasing Shiretoko Min, my colleague who I’ve become closer with recently, and treating her like a dress-up doll.
However, that plan was put on hold because Min had questioned the safety of a celebratory statue for her boss, who I currently work for part-time. Or rather, was it a good present? It wasn’t just a simple bronze statue; it was a complete combat-model Golem.
To confirm this, I ended up going to work on my day off.
While the company is open year-round, it still felt like a waste to go to work on my day off.
“Haa, I hate my own personality.”
I knew the reason behind my actions.
Was Min causing trouble?
Was she doing something strange?
It’s become a habit to look after Himusumi Toru, my childhood friend and ex-lover.
My acquaintances and friends say I’m good at taking care of people, and I remember my mother smiling wryly and saying, “You always end up with troubled people.”
That tendency to take on trouble was evident once again this time.
I am aware of it myself.
I can’t leave someone in trouble alone.
My attitude might become a little overbearing at such times, but it’s just a bit of self-consciousness.
That’s why I even went to the underground mall of the company on my day off for what Min had done. Though, I ended up dragging Min along.
Still, since Memoria-san was at the store, it wasn’t a problem.
And after hearing all the details there, I realized I didn’t have time to go shopping, and I also had a university lecture the next day, so Min and I parted ways.
And the next day.
In the university lecture room, I let out a big sigh.
I’m in my fourth year of university.
I’ll be graduating this year, which means it’s time for me to start job hunting.
“You let out such a big sigh, what’s wrong Karren? Did your job hunting not go well?”
“Huh? Karren? Yay!! We’re gonna be colleagues!!”
“You two…”
As I was showing my fatigue from yesterday, two friends I made at this university sat down next to me in the lecture hall.
While I could understand the former, I couldn’t help but chuckle in exasperation mixed with amusement at the latter. For now, though.
“No, I just went out yesterday and got tired.”
I gently denied the friend who seemed happy about my job hunting not going well.
“Ehh! Then, is your job hunting going well, Karren!? I’ve already written ten entry sheets!”
My friend mistook my situation, believing I was successful in my job hunt, and leaned in aggressively.
“Well, I do have something lined up.”
Honestly, I can say job hunting is almost nonexistent for me.
After all, my current workplace has offered me a full-time position.
To be honest, my current salary is not something that many major companies can easily match.
With my current savings, I could afford to pay for a new apartment in full.
However, at that company, it would be cheaper to build a house on land managed by my boss rather than buying an expensive house in Tokyo. Furthermore, the company housing used by my boss and colleagues has better facilities than many apartments.
Moreover, I’m currently working as a Dungeon Tester, but Keiri-san, my boss, mentioned that there are other positions available in the future.
If I’m good at studying, I could go into research.
Or, I could continue as a Dungeon Tester to my limits and then become an instructor.
Keiri-san also mentioned that through Jiro-san’s connections, I could become a secretary to a noble like Evia-san, or join Memoria-san’s Toris Trading Company.
Looking at Raidou-san and Amili-san, I understand that it’s possible to continue fighting professionally.
However, considering marriage and childbirth in the future, having other options is a bit of a relief for me, as I’m a little resistant to the idea of fighting my whole life.
I’m attending other company information sessions, but so far, no company has particularly grabbed my interest.
Nothing has really clicked.
If things go according to plan, I’ll likely end up joining that company.
“Oh, is that about being scouted by a model to that time on the street?”
“Seriously!?”
However, my friend misunderstood my “lined up” situation.
And where did they even hear about that?
“Seriously, seriously, I saw it the other day when I was out with a friend. A person from a modeling agency was scouting you, Karren!!”
“Ehh!? But well, it’s you, Karren, so I guess it makes sense.”
Now that you mention it, something like that did happen.
It was during one of the times I was with Min, trying to improve her fashion sense.
While waiting for Min, who was late for our meeting, I was approached and asked if I would consider modeling.
At first, I was a little flattered, but upon further thought, I realized I didn’t really want to work in that direction, so I took the business card and then ignored it.
I never met with that scout again, so I guess they weren’t that serious.
“Because, lately you’ve become really beautiful, Karren.”
“Right! You had a good figure even back then, but now it’s like it’s been polished.”
And among these friends, is it already decided that I’m going to be a model?
While being called beautiful is nice, if things continue like this, it might spread around university that I’m becoming a model during my university years.
What’s more, the reason I’ve become beautiful isn’t because I’ve been working hard to become a model, but simply because I’m working at my current job.
Dungeon testing has its harsh aspects.
Just because I’m a Mage doesn’t mean I can stand around idly casting spells.
I have to observe the war situation and cast precise spells accordingly, and sometimes I even have to sprint to secure a position.
While it’s rare in my current Party, there are times when I’m outmaneuvered by enemies and have to engage in close-quarters combat, which is not my strong suit.
I can even do self-training during my part-time job to improve these skills, so I don’t have to worry about gaining extra body fat.
Furthermore, there’s residual magic.
I’ve heard a lot about residual magic as Energy. Apparently, Dark Elves like Keiri-san and Suella-san refer to it as vitality.
Residual magic is the elemental life force that makes up the world.
By absorbing it into my body through Magic Crests, it activates and strengthens my physique.
During this process, it has cosmetic effects such as improving skin, increasing blood circulation, and delaying aging to some extent, as I heard while eating together.
This is probably why my friends say I’ve become more beautiful.
I’m aware of that too.
After all, the women at the company where I work are all beautiful in their own way.
Moreover, my fellow Dungeon Testers, who I’m friends with, are also becoming more beautiful, just like me.
“Hey, hey! What are you doing!! Are you trying out different moisturizers, or going to the gym?”
I wonder how these two would react if I told them I work at a place that combines both of those things and offers more dramatic results than normal.
Due to the contract, information about our company is strictly confidential outside the company.
The recruitment activities that Jiro-san and others do are an exception to this rule, but since I have no intention of inviting these two to that company, it wouldn’t apply.
“Well, I do pay attention to sleep and exercise.”
That’s why I give a vague answer to avoid suspicion.
“Just with that, your skin looks like this!? No way! You’re definitely lying!! I know you’ve been picking up more part-time jobs lately! You must be buying expensive moisturizers and going to exclusive member-only spas!!”
“What are you talking about?”
However, they didn’t just easily move on to another topic.
As a woman, I can understand that not sparing any effort to become beautiful is perfectly natural for women.
My friend, determined to find out the reason for my transformation, leaned forward and pressed me.
Considering my recent actions, it does make some sense. I’ve been declining invitations to hang out more often, citing part-time work.
I can’t tell them the reason.
I absolutely cannot tell them.
There’s also the part-time job’s confidentiality agreement.
More importantly, there’s no way I can tell them that I’m increasing my work hours to meet a younger high school student I have a crush on.
I can already see them teasing me relentlessly, calling it a hilarious story if they found out.
That’s why I’m actually relieved they’re misunderstanding it in this direction.
“Come on! Confess! How can you become so beautiful! And how are you securing the funds to maintain that beauty!!”
“Stop saying it like that. It makes it sound like I’m doing something shady.”
However, I had to ask them to stop this line of questioning.
It makes me feel bad to be implied that I’m making money through questionable means to become beautiful.
“Calm down. Even though we’re friends, you shouldn’t talk like that.”
My other friend also chimed in, telling her that it’s not okay.
“Ugh, sorry.”
“It’s okay if you apologize.”
My friend tends to get carried away when excited, and I know she doesn’t mean any harm. More importantly, she does apologize properly.
It’s because of things like that that I can consider her a friend, so I won’t hold a grudge.
“I’m sorry, Karren. She’s been a bit on edge because she’s been getting a lot of job application emails.”
“Some people have already received job offers from their desired companies.”
“Right, and some are not even coming to university because they’re doing internships.”
In this day and age, getting a job offer from your desired company is quite difficult.
When it comes to a good salary in a desirable location, the competition naturally becomes even higher.
I’m aware that I’m in a privileged position.
Even with that in mind, I don’t say it out loud, but I sympathize with my friends in my heart.
“Ugh, someone introduce me to a good workplace.”
“Yes, yes, you just have to keep working hard.”
“This is what ‘having it easy’ looks like, Karren, you traitor!”
“Hey, your language is getting bad again.”
If these two were suited for it, I might consider inviting them, but I can’t confirm their aptitude. More importantly, I hesitate to recommend a job that primarily involves combat to my friends.
Thinking about it, I wonder what my childhood friend, who was my lover at the time, was thinking when he brought me to my current workplace.
Although I don’t regret starting to work there without much thought simply because Toru was working there, at first, I was worried about the danger and even looked for a reason to stop him.
I can’t possibly invite these two to a workplace like that.
Therefore.
“It’s okay, if you keep working hard, you’ll eventually find a good company.”
“You’re lucky, Karren. You have modeling work.”
“It’s not modeling work.”
Along with words of comfort, I at least deny that it’s modeling work.
“What I do is debugging. It’s a part-time job as a facility inspector.”
I convey the content of my part-time job in a very vague manner.
It’s not a lie, and it’s not wrong.
But if asked if it’s accurate, it’s just a broad description.
“Ehh, I heard that’s pretty tough work? It’s the kind where you repeat the same thing over and over, right?”
“I heard that too, but is the pay really that good?”
“Maybe my workplace is a bit special. The required hours aren’t that long, and I get paid reasonably well.”
And with that, I skillfully steer the conversation away with harmless chatter.
“Ugh, I want to do that job too. Introduce me.”
“That’s a shame. We’re not hiring right now. I’ll let you know if we open up recruitment.”
“Promise me!!”
“Oh, this girl, she’ll take any job.”
“If I can’t get a job in Tokyo, I’ll have to find one back home!! I’m on the edge!!”
And my friends have their own circumstances.
Although I’m from Tokyo and don’t understand, I can’t help but think it might be nice to work locally with many acquaintances.
However, for my friend, getting a job in Tokyo is of utmost importance.
So, I think it would be good to tell her what Jiro-san told me.
“Be careful of any strange job postings.”
“Strange postings?”
This is something Jiro-san often talks to us about, me, Min, and Katsu-kun.
“Things like ‘cozy workplace’ or ‘young people can also thrive.’ My boss and colleagues at my previous job worked at companies like that and had a hard time.”
He mentioned with a laugh that working at his previous job only taught him to be unashamed and have grit.
I don’t want my friend to go through that hardship, so I’ll give her this much of a warning.
“Ehh, I’ve already sent entry sheets to a few companies like that.”
“So it’s too late.”
“Honestly, you should be a little more careful.”
“But…”
However, that warning might have come a little too late.
Today’s quote
If experience is helpful, then it’s a good thing.
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