Chapter 45: Mr. Lin Wei, Youre Exactly the Talent Weve Been Searching For!
Chapter 45: Mr. Lin Wei, You’re Exactly the Talent We’ve Been Searching For!
This was bad. Really bad.
How had things taken such a wildly unexpected turn?
Paxson never imagined he’d end up in a situation like this.
To keep the recruitment process discreet—and to avoid drawing any unwanted attention—Secretary Rennie had deliberately omitted all identifying details from the candidate’s file. All Paxson had received were records of the applicant’s recent accomplishments—just enough to help him craft the job posting and screening questions accordingly.
Yet, somehow, against all odds, everything had gone off the rails! The first two hurdles he’d set—requirements so specific they should have been impossible to meet—had been cleared not by one, but by two different people who just happened to wander in off the street.
But that was fine. There were still plenty of ways to weed out any random interloper who’d slipped through the cracks.
Paxson took a deep breath and put on his most seasoned-professional expression—the kind that said he’d seen it all and couldn’t be shaken.
He regarded the two candidates and, without hesitation, raised the bar even higher.
“Let’s proceed to the third interview question,” he announced crisply. “In the past few days—specifically, within the last three—have either of you made any outstanding contributions to the Adventurers’ Guild or the Holy Church?”
He clarified, “And by ‘outstanding,’ I mean something truly significant. At the very least, you should have resolved a major disaster. Merely slaying a couple of monsters or helping someone find a lost item doesn’t count.”
With criteria this stringent, he might as well have just pointed directly at his intended candidate.
“If you don’t meet this requirement, I’m afraid we’ll have to—”
Paxson smiled as he spoke, fully expecting the accidental interloper to grumble and storm out at this point.
Then, and only then, could he rise with satisfaction, shake hands, and declare with a bright smile, “You’re exactly the talent we’ve been searching for, Mr. Lin Wei!”—finally bringing this whole ordeal to a close.
But what happened next froze Paxson in his tracks, killing any budding excitement before it could even begin.
“I meet the requirements.”
Both candidates nodded in perfect sync, answering as one.
Time itself seemed to grind to a halt—even Paxson, a veteran of countless interviews, felt his composure crack.
Are you kidding me? They both qualify? I tailored those questions so specifically!
Sure, it was possible, if unlikely, for a random passerby to meet one or two of the criteria by chance. But all three? At once?
Did Secretary Rennie mess up the files?
There can’t possibly be two positions open for the Holy Church, can there?
“Hmm?”
Lin Wei was just as surprised by this turn of events.
If it had only been the basic requirements announced earlier, he could understand someone else qualifying as a pharmacist and showing up for the interview. But with the way the interviewer kept ramping up the difficulty, it was almost absurd.
And yet, even now, this demi-human woman still met every single requirement?
Looks like I’ve got a real rival on my hands.
“Th-then… do both of you meet the age requirement?” Paxson’s voice trembled as he forced out the next question.
The confidence on Paxson’s face slowly melted into despair. He looked at the two candidates, his tone almost pleading.
“You’re both between twenty and twenty-five years old, right? The requirement is strictly between those ages—not including twenty or twenty-five.”
“I’m twenty-one,” Lin Wei replied.
“I’m twenty-three,” the demi-human woman answered.
Their responses, given in quick succession, shattered what was left of Paxson’s psychological defenses.
Sweat poured down his back. He stared at the two of them in disbelief, his expression growing pale and frantic.
How could they both meet every single requirement?
With so many restrictions in place, it should have been impossible for anyone to tick every box.
He’d tailored each condition as precisely as possible to exclude any interference—upping the difficulty at every turn—yet somehow, both of them kept pace without missing a beat.
Now what was he supposed to do? Was he really expected to hire them both?
He was just the chief recruiter—he didn’t have the authority to go off-script and hire more than intended.
But he’d made a promise to Secretary Rennie, and he had to see it through.
Wait—wasn’t there another clue in the profile? Something that could help him tell which one was the real candidate?
Did the file mention gender? Did it specify whether the applicant was male or female?
Hold on… I think it did mention something about their identity.
Still drenched in sweat, Paxson felt as if he’d finally found his trump card.
He shot to his feet and looked at the two candidates, a glimmer of hope lighting up his eyes.
“Sorry, I just remembered—there’s one more requirement I forgot to mention.”
“In order to reflect the Imperial Capital’s Magic Academy’s inclusivity, while also extending certain privileges to specific groups…”
“This time, for the substitute teaching position, we require candidates to possess an Imperial citizen permit that’s currently under review. Surely, both of you can’t possibly meet that condition, can you?”
Adding requirements on the fly was hardly the mark of a mature recruiter.
But at this point, Paxson had no other way to tell them apart.
After all, the profile clearly stated that the target candidate was an Imperial citizen under review!
That kind of status came with all sorts of restrictions within the Empire. Without a valid reason, it was nearly impossible for someone under review to even set foot in the capital.
In other words, it was almost certain that the real random passerby had a standard Imperial citizenship.
Otherwise, how could she have just strolled into the Adventurers’ Guild so easily?
That had to be it, right, random candidate?
Come on, now’s your chance—step forward and bow out!
Paxson’s hands trembled with tension. If this didn’t finally set them apart, then he was truly doomed.
“Hmm…”
At last, the result he’d been hoping for finally appeared.
In the crowd, the unknown girl’s composure visibly faltered at the question.
She clenched her fists, staring forward in disbelief. The confidence and coldness in her eyes evaporated in an instant, replaced by a surge of indignation.
At last, it seemed she couldn’t take it anymore. The girl shot to her feet and rounded on Paxson, unleashing her fury on the spot.
“You bastard! Why didn’t you say from the start that you needed an Imperial citizen under review? You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
“I noticed it earlier—you’ve been staring at us, all nervous, since this interview began. And the further things went, the tenser you got. Don’t tell me that’s how you act when you find real talent! You panicked because two people actually met your impossible conditions, right?”
“Look at you now, suddenly breathing easy—what’s wrong, did you finally realize I’m not the one you’re after, so you can report back to your boss with a clean conscience?”
“This whole thing is rigged, isn’t it? The job was already promised to someone else, and all these ridiculous requirements are just a way to chase me out! I’m going straight to the academy to report you both, you jerks!”
Her furious voice echoed through the entire room.
And just then, Lin Wei found himself surprised—her voice was actually rather pleasant to listen to.
Of course, this was hardly the time for such thoughts.
“What are you going on about, rigged recruitment? I came here fair and square, on my own merit, and I intend to earn this teaching position the same way.”
“Don’t go making baseless accusations.”
Lin Wei finally stood up, facing her after letting her vent for a while.
He had to admit, the requirements for this job did line up with his own circumstances in a pretty uncanny way.
But he’d come to the capital on his own, without any help from Yalis—the only person who might have pulled strings for him.
Besides, it wasn’t as if they were asking for something vague like “wine-tasting skills,” “singing ability,” or “well-read.” These were concrete requirements.
He was here because of his real abilities—his alchemy was genuinely top-tier.
How could that be called favoritism? At worst, it was just a bizarre coincidence.
“You call this fair? With all these restrictions?”
Her face twisted with indignation as she glared at Lin Wei, those familiar green eyes now shining even more vividly with anger.
“This is the first time I, Afuduo, have ever heard something so outrageous!”
“You backdoor schemer—how about you prove yourself in a real contest of skill, huh? Do you dare face me, you jerk?”