Chương 62: Job Interviews

"How flexible is your body?" Evel asked the woman across from him. Her name was Yuna, and she looked to be in her thirties. Both her brown hair and dirty clothes were covered by a thin layer of white dust, indicative of her time in the mines. This was one of the four friends Mateo had brought for Evel to interview.

"Not really," She sighed.

"Maybe back before I started working here when I still had my youthful glow."

"Any good with your hands?" Yuna raised her eyebrow, "What sort of questions are you asking me here?" Evel cleared his throat and clarified, "There are many roles you could take on in a circus, I'm just looking to see if there are any you'd fit into." The woman nodded slowly but suspiciously.

"Regularly good, I guess?"

"Why did you choose to work in the mines?"

"My father sold me off when I was younger, then the debt got transferred to me. Working here absolves me of that." Yuna replied, her tone a bit too casual for the weight of her words.

"I've seen many such cases. How'd you manage to survive?"

"I found a way." Evel nodded. It was a good response, despite how little it gave him.

"And your debt?"

"460 Riak." Jotting the number down in his notebook, Evel asked the next question.

"In the future, you may be expected to work with beasts, large ones. Should one escape with a serious chance of endangering others, what would you do?"

"Run away." Yuna snorted, "Maybe tell someone else about it after I know I'm safe."

"Thank you, that'll be it then."

"Already?" Yuna asked, a little excitement bleeding through her voice.

"So… did I get the position." Evel smiled.

"The circus will be happy to have you." After shaking her hand, he gave her a quick run down and told her the location and the time for her to arrive at the circus the following day. He sent her off and the next person shortly arrived.

"Are you powerful physically?" A man of large stature stood ahead of him with a big smirk on his face. It was clear he just came from the mines, but unlike many others Evel had seen, this man had a little more meat on his body. According to Mateo, his name was Ronan.

"Super powerful. Not anything compared to anyone awakened, but for regular people, super powerful." He clearly held a sense of pride, not something necessarily bad.

"So it must be easier for you than others, dealing with all the labour in the mines."

"It's not easy, but I can handle most things okay."

"Are you particularly flexible, or dexterous?"

"I'm not too bad at both, but it's not quite my specialty."

"What made you work in the mines?"

"I got pretty unlucky with a business venture… so it was my only way out. I'm usually pretty good with that type of stuff too, but got hit with circumstances out of my control." Evel paused, scratching the back of his ear.

"How much do you owe Redigo?"

"395 Riak, but I plan to continue working in the mines even if I get this job. Despite the rough circumstances, the fact that we can get any work at all is a blessing." Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Evel noted it down and continued.

"In the future, you may be expected to work with large crowds of people. Some may accidentally leave their bag, or even just their Riak around. What would you do if you encountered this situation?"

"Return the bag to its rightful owner." The answer came immediately. No hesitation, no thought. Either the man had an unusually clean conscience, or he'd prepared for the question.

"And if you don't know who it belongs to?" Evel pushed.

"I'd bring it to you, of course." Evel paused. Tapping his pen on his chin while he thought.

"Alright, thanks for coming in, that'll be it for my questions."

"Did I make the cut?" He shook his head." Just not what I'm looking for right now. However I will be looking to hire more people in the future. I might reach out then." With a dismissive snort, Ronan left. The disappointment was mutual. Ronan just gave Evel a bad feeling. Whether or not he was making the right decision, he was unsure. But he had learned long ago that doubt, by itself, was enough of a reason. Even if Ronan was the perfect employee, as long as he had a doubt, Evel would never be able to rest easy.

Additionally he plans to always keep his job in the mines… The next individual walked through the door.

"Hi!" This time, the newcomer took the initiative. He looked to be in his early twenties and cut a striking figure with his sharp, clean outfit and clean-shaven head. He wouldn't have stood out, even if he stood in Upper-Ichoris. According to Mateo, his name was Toan.

"So you're the other friend Mateo has been boasting about!" Toan's voice boomed.

"Other friend?" Weren't all of the people he brought in his friends?

"Yeah! Cool to meet you dude."

"Nice to meet you as well, I just have a few questions for you."

"And I'll answer em all!" Toan interrupted enthusiastically.

"... Alright. Any skills in particular that you think could be used for a circus? I'm not sure if Mateo gave you a rundown, but I could if not."

"No, no. He told me all about it! As for skills…" Toan paused, scrunching his face.

"Nope, not a single one, but I can learn pretty fast!"

"Can you give me an example of you learning fast?" Toan thought for a few seconds.

"When mom disappeared, it only took me a few burnt dishes for me to be able to cook for me and my little sister. And my only teacher were some fragmented memories! You gotta admit that's pretty impressive, right?"

"Indeed." Evel tapped the pen on his chin.

"Was that the reason you're working in the mines?"

"Oh no, not really… I guess a little bit. My sister got kidnapped so I had to take on a lot of debt to buy her back. Then, I got the opportunity to come here to rapidly pay off my debts! It was an amazing deal, so I basically couldn't turn it down."

"Is your sister okay now?"

"Oh yeah, she's quite alright. She sends me letters every week, and she found a nice little job recently that pays her well. I hope she finds someone good to marry—someone rich!"

"Just how much do you owe?"

"500 Riak." Evel jotted down in his notes.

"In the future, there may be times where I'm not able to come perform due to an emergency. Assuming a lot of people have already shown up and paid for the show, what would you do?"

"I'd fill in of course!" Evel raised an eyebrow.

"You think you could do a sufficient job replacing a magician?"

"I probably couldn't be as mysterious or tricky or whatever as you, but I can entertain a crowd for a while no problem." A quick and effective thinker, and Mateo's first or only actual friend.

"I see, and how long have you known Mateo?" Toan shrugged.

"Maybe like four or five days? He's really cool though, it feels like I've known him forever." It was a bit short, but Toan didn't seem like the scheming type, at least not to him.

"Alright, I think that's all the questions I have." Evel smiled.

"I'll see you at the circus at around 6 pm tomorrow." Toan lit up and pumped his fists in the air. Then he jumped forward and embraced Evel in a hug. Evel awkwardly tapped his back, and sent him off. After another minute of waiting, the final person entered the door.

"Clara?" The fourth and final person Mateo had brought was Clara? By now, Evel had figured that all of these people really hadn't been Mateo's friends. Other than Toan, he was probably scrambling to find enough people that fit the requirements that were needed. Evel didn't mind too much of course. After all, he was already pretty happy with Yuna and Toan.

"Hello Eth," Clara began, awkwardly scratching her elbows..

"Mateo was running around and asking a bunch of people... and I might be able to help?"

"Sure, I just have a few questions. First, any particular reason you want this work?"

"You saw my father… His condition is getting worse and worse. I need the Riak." Ah, so that was her father.

"Are you flexible, or athletic, or good with your hands in any way?"

"I'm… I was pretty athletic. I should be able to get back to form after a few weeks of proper eating."

"Why did you start working at the mines?"

"Our family had some issues… After my mother took her own life, my father stopped working for a few years… Redigo offered to ignore our debts if the two of us worked, so we gladly took it. At the time, it felt like such a great deal."

"How much is your debt?"

"85 Riak""So little? Why not just pay it off?"

"Well… I could have before my father got sick, but then what? Finding a job elsewhere is hard, and they're guaranteeing us food and an income here… I guess we assumed we'd be working there for longer until we were able to find something else."

"Alright, just one last question, if a customer came in and left a large sum of Riak by accident, what would you do?" Clara didn't reply.

"I want you to be as honest as possible."

"Pay off my debts…" She averted her gaze.

"Alright, that'll be all." Clara sighed and began walking towards the door when Evel interrupted her.

"Around 6pm tomorrow, Mateo can give you the specifics." Clara turned around and opened her mouth as if she was about to say something. In the end, she simply nodded a few times with a smile before running out of the room, the energy back in her steps. Looking at his notebook, Evel sighed. 1235 Riak total in debt between his four new employees. I just hope Agent will trust my plan.