Ch.33. Daphne Ephiphone (1)

The first interview with the applicant didn’t last long. I recited the interview questions in a mechanical voice while flipping through papers.

“Do you have any other special skills?”

“Alchemy. I can also make healing potions.”

Mary Astrus answered my question with an irritated voice. Her expression seemed to ask, ‘Do I really have to answer these questions?’ She mentioned she had been traveling the world after graduating from the magic tower. With red hair and a beautiful face, she had the appearance of a poisonous rose—a haughty woman with an aura straight out of a comic book.

Oh, and she was also the new party member that Ilroy brought in after driving out Aryen and Isis in “I Won’t Return.” George seemed moved by her apparent skills. After the interview, wiggling his thick eyebrows, George whispered in my ear.

“Ilroy, this mage, her skills don’t seem bad. Let’s put her on the waiting list first…”

“Unfortunately, we’ll see you next time.”

I cut him off without hesitation. I could feel George’s expression souring in real-time beside me. I even heard him muttering curses under his breath. Well, it couldn’t be helped. In the original work, “I Won’t Return,” the hero’s party started falling into ruin after recruiting party members with terrible personalities. That mage who was now leaving the room while muttering was a villain in the original story who ordered George around as she pleased while sucking up to the hero for an easy ride.

‘I just saved you, you bastard.’

I inwardly snickered while George glared at me with frightening eyes. In the original story, his suffering was somewhat self-inflicted, I suppose.

“…You’re not listening to me from the start.”

“It’s only the first one. No need to be hasty. If you’re going to put everyone you see on the waiting list, why are we even conducting interviews? Are we planning to form a party of 50 people?”

I looked down at the paper with the list of participants and called the next applicant.

“Next applicant, please come in.”

But neither the next applicant nor the one after that made it to the waiting list. I flipped through the applicants like turning pages of a boring book. I rejected those George wanted to put on the waiting list and those he didn’t. Among them were adventurers who became replacement members of the hero’s party in the original work, as well as villains who blocked the protagonist’s path.

“We’ll see you next time.”

I sent away this participant with a half-tired voice. George crossed his arms with an indifferent expression and shook his head. He looked as if he hadn’t expected anything anyway.

“What kind of person are you looking for that you’ve rejected every single participant so far?”

I put down my pen and stretched.

“So far, there hasn’t been a single one. Those with good skills have other issues, and those without issues lack the skills I’m looking for.”

“You say no one can replace Aryen and Isis, but I think your standards are just too high. Some applicants are starting to leave in the middle—are you planning not to select anyone?”

George shook his head in disapproval. As he said, there were now applicants who didn’t come in even when called. Well, if they were the type to give up so easily, I wouldn’t have wanted to select them anyway, so it didn’t matter.

‘It should be about time.’

But I thought that “that person,” being timid, might be swayed by this crowd psychology and turn back. I had confirmed they were in line in front of the building earlier. I scanned the applicant list. According to the order, they were the next participant.

“Next applicant, please come in.”

With some anxiety, I called the next applicant. They must come. They have to come. Though I tried not to show it in my expression, cold sweat was running down my back, and my heart was pounding against my left ribs.

Please, come in.

My wish had now changed to formal speech. The tension was suffocating, with each second feeling like an hour. In the midst of this, I sensed someone lingering at the door and raised the corners of my mouth into a grin.

Knock, knock, knock.

With the sound of knocking, the door opened. Beyond the open door, I faced a woman with pale pink hair, standing with her hands clasped modestly. She turned her trembling violet eyes toward me. The original Ilroy, that hero bastard, would have been annoyed at that trembling appearance, but to me, that cowardly look couldn’t have been more welcome.

“Daphne Ephiphone, correct?”

At my question, Daphne nodded repeatedly with a pale face. I wanted to immediately tell her she was accepted and to start tomorrow, but I suppressed that urge and gestured toward the chair.

“Please have a seat.”

Daphne nodded again and walked to the chair, sitting down. Her steps were slightly unsteady, showing how extremely nervous she was. I fixed the smile that was about to bloom across my face into a small one. I gave Daphne enough time to catch her breath.

The hero Ilroy in “I Won’t Return” made two fatal mistakes even after driving out the protagonist and Isis.

The first mistake was recruiting the wrong people as party members. Mary Astrus, the first interviewee, was a good example of that.

“What made you apply to our party?”

“Ah, that… that’s…”

And the second mistake the hero Ilroy made was,

“I have a sense of duty to save—no, protect the world,”

not selecting this person.

“but I also want to use this opportunity to change myself…”

Daphne Ephiphone. 4th Circle. A tragic mage who was expelled by her master who envied her talent after she had secluded herself in the magic tower studying magic. And the only character in “I Won’t Return” with the potential to become an 8th Circle mage, as well as another heroine for the protagonist, Aryen. The helper who provided the greatest assistance to Aryen in defeating The Seven Calamity.

“I… gathered my courage and applied.”

Daphne’s voice became as small as if it were crawling into a mouse hole. She joined the protagonist Aryen’s party after being rejected from the party recruitment conducted by the original hero. At that time, she not only got rejected but also had to endure abuse and insults bordering on personal attacks from the hero during the interview.

“What aspects of yourself did you want to change?”

And I’m not going to make that kind of mistake.

==

Daphne Ephiphone is a coward.

Perhaps her weak-willed nature, or her timid heart, made the talent of a great mage too heavy a burden for a girl who grew up peacefully in an ordinary family in a rural village. Magic and mana came to her as naturally as breathing. And she hid the fact that she could use magic, again and again. Because she realized that if this fact were discovered, she could never live a normal life.

I was just trying to protect my family.

One day, when the village was attacked by magical beasts, Daphne used magic to annihilate them. The village she lived in sent her to the mages at the magic tower, almost as if they were driving her out.

You just keep on with your research.

The professor who initially taught her magic enthusiastically began to be wary of her at some point. Daphne didn’t bother to ask why, but she knew the reason. The eyes of the professor who wanted to send Daphne to a research position were exactly the same as the eyes of the villagers who looked at her.

What weakened her most wasn’t contempt, but rejection. Daphne didn’t belong anywhere. She continued to shrink into herself. Thinking of her talent as shackles, she confined it again and again. Her magic, which had been developing steadily, stagnated, and she could never demonstrate her full capabilities in practical situations. As a result, even after graduating from the magic tower, Daphne had no choice but to wander endlessly.

“Daphne, if you’re just going to cower in the back, just get out.”

“What are you so afraid of that you can’t even use magic and just tremble?”

Men, initially captivated by Daphne’s appearance, began to get irritated one by one at her continued fragility. Perhaps, regardless of her skills or attitude, they were annoyed that Daphne wouldn’t fall for their persistent advances.

“You seduced our leader with just that face and body, didn’t you?”

“If you have nothing to do, don’t be an adventurer, go to a brothel. They’ll welcome you there.”

And women, driven by jealousy, cornered Daphne. Rumors spread like fog not only within the party but also to other adventurers. Words stabbed Daphne more sharply than swords. Whether they were directed at her or just casual gossip among themselves.

Her inability to properly use magic wasn’t because she feared magical beasts. What she feared was herself and the people who looked at her.

“With such good specs, how did you even graduate from the magic tower?”

“Don’t come to our party again, just go alone.”

She was afraid of belonging somewhere. Yet she was distressed by the fact that she couldn’t be with anyone. Daphne was crushed between fear and distress, finding it hard even to breathe. Days passed as she took on simple quests that anyone could do and solved them alone.

Daphne Ephiphone is a coward.

It was on a day when she drank alone. Daphne visited the adventurer’s guild with her hood pulled down to avoid being recognized. The guild was noisy as usual, but it was different from the usual disorderly murmur. The adventurers’ gazes were all fixed on a notice on the bulletin board. Daphne glanced at what notice was posted, keeping her distance to avoid mixing with them.

[Urgent] Hero’s Party, 1 or 2 positions.

Qualifications: Mage of 4th Circle or higher. Or someone with experience in solo quests of 2nd grade or higher.

What caught Daphne’s eye was the recruitment notice for the hero’s party.

“Hey, it’s been a while since the guild was this bustling.”

“Well, I wonder how many of those looking at it actually meet the qualifications.”

While adventurers who had checked the conditions were leaving with murmurs, Daphne was still standing there, looking at the notice. A white paper with just the qualifications and the interview date and place, without any additional explanation. The hero party’s notice didn’t ask Daphne anything. Along with the intoxication, Daphne’s heart wavered. Could she be with someone again?

Just one last time.

The interview was tomorrow. Daphne stared at the notice for a long time, as if clinging to it, and then quietly left the guild without anyone noticing.

And the next day.

‘I must be crazy.’

Daphne’s courage was a limited-time offer that expired by this morning. The central street of the royal capital was lined with dozens of skilled individuals. Daphne blankly stared at the adventurers chatting among themselves with an overwhelmed expression. Each of them was no less skilled than Daphne. The resolve she thought she had firmly established in the morning began to crumble slowly.

“…so it’s fortunate that this opportunity came up.”

“I should at least see the hero’s face this time. Even better if the Saint is there too.”

She didn’t dare to join that line. She had similar or inferior skills compared to them, and she was also fearful and unable to fully demonstrate her abilities. There seemed to be no reason for the hero to choose her. Daphne’s feet wandered between the queue and the path home, but she was fixed in the queue as others began to line up behind her.

‘I’m crazy, I’m crazy, Daphne.’

Her mind went blank. She couldn’t think of anything. In the swirling vision, Daphne was pushed into the building by other applicants. Some people looked at Daphne with curiosity, and those who knew rumors about her frowned or sneered slightly.

‘I need to go back, I need to go back.’

The anxiety that had already begun to rise started to consume her body. In the midst of this, Daphne’s ears were telling her everything that was happening.

“Unfortunately, we’ll see you next time.”

“You’ve been rejected, please leave.”

“Thank you for your time. We’ll see you next time.”

Rejection, rejection, and more rejection.

Daphne’s face gradually turned pale white. Meanwhile, her turn was approaching relentlessly. It won’t work, even if I stay. Someone inside whispered so, but Daphne’s body was completely stiff and wouldn’t move. Even as some people gave up on the interview and left, Daphne remained seated, not budging.

‘Why, why aren’t you getting up, Daphne?’

Daphne couldn’t understand herself. Whether she still had some hope left or was simply too scared to even find the courage to leave the interview venue.

“Next applicant, please come in.”

Someone tapped Daphne on the back. Only then did Daphne realize it was her turn and hurriedly got up to approach the door. Barely managing to raise her hand to the door, Daphne knocked and opened it.

“Daphne Ephiphone, correct?”

Beyond the open door, the hero was staring at Daphne with teal eyes. It was a kind of gaze that Daphne had never encountered before.