Chapter 52 : Chapter: The Interview Begins

Nanmi sat down in front of the computer desk.

To be precise, she was seated.

CEO Choha had grabbed Nanmi by both sides and lifted her, forcibly placing her at the desk.

“Alright, Nanmi-ya. Listen carefully. I’m going to give you the files for 40 applicants. Pick out exactly 10 good people from them. Got it?”

“Is it okay to ask me to do this?”

‘I don’t have a talent for this kind of thing……’

“It might break your heart to select the sprouts who might become our 2nd generation with your own hands, but we have no choice, Nanmi-

ya.”

“Excuse me?”

“We’re short on hands.”

With those words, CEO Choha’s gaze lingered on Hong Songa before returning to me.

The CEO said.

“No matter what, I can’t ask a new employee to do this kind of work.”

“Ah, that makes sense too.”

A new employee who just joined yesterday picking new idols…… That picture does seem strange.

“And I trust Nanmi’s eyes.”

“My eyes?”

“Yes. Looking at your history, you only watched idols who would become hits, right?”

Starting with Sonah, then Nanah, and finally Inaring.

All the idols Nanmi’s eyes passed over succeeded.

In other words, she has an eye for recognizing talent.

Perhaps even better than her own.

Therefore, Choha decided to trust Nanmi’s eyes this once.

“Now that you mention it, that does seem to be the case.”

“Right? Just look at their self-introductions and pick the ones that immediately catch your eye.”

“Okay.”

And so, Nanmi’s work began.

Picking 10 out of 40…… It wasn’t an easy task.

What if there were 11 people she liked among the 40?

Still, it was too early to worry before even looking.

Nanmi looked through the files.

The introduction files contained their name, age, experience, MBTI, one song, and a talent demonstration video each.

Hmm…… The CEO told me to pick whoever I felt drawn to, right?

In that case, name, age, experience, MBTI are all unnecessary.

All I need to hear is their voice.

---

About 2 hours after starting the work.

“CEO.”

“Yes?”

“I’ve picked them all.”

“Oh, really? Let’s see who Nanmi picked.”

“But there’s a small problem.”

“Hm? A problem?”

“Yes.”

Nanmi nodded and continued.

“I could only find four people.”

“Eh? Only four?”

“Yes. Should I say there were only four people who strongly caught my attention……”

“Uh…… You’re unexpectedly strict, huh? No, in this case, I should say you looked very carefully, right? It’s okay, it’s okay, if there really aren’t

any good talents, it can’t be helped. Let’s see, then, who did Nanmi pick?”

The four people who uniquely captured Nanmi’s heart, breaking through the competition of 40.

She felt a little expectant.

Checking the four selected individuals, huh?

“None of them have experience?”

“Uh…… Is that so?”

“Did you pick them without looking at their experience?”

“I picked them based only on their voice, song, and talent demonstration. They just strongly appealed to me.”

“Really?”

Checking the voices of the four…… It was clear they were slightly nervous, perhaps due to their lack of experience in this field.

As for the talent demonstrations, what should I say.

“Pfft!”

Should I call them extremely unique? Laughter escaped without me realizing.

One person did impressions, another walked using their butt, another made nightingale sounds?

“Nammi-ya.”

“Yes?”

“We’re picking idols, not recruiting for a comedian troupe.”

“But it’s fun, isn’t it? Right?”

“Acknowledged.”

However, these were the people Nanmi picked.

Chosen out of 40, just these four.

Could there perhaps be something more to them?

“What criteria did you use to pick them, Nammi-ya?”

“Hmm…… I said I picked based only on the song and talent demonstration, but more accurately, should I call it passion?”

“Passion?”

“Yes. I felt a similar passion from these individuals that I felt from the Vtubers I’ve watched so far.”

“Oh.”

Passion.

It really is important.

Choha herself wanted to pick idols who were passionate about their activities.

To be precise, she only wanted to pick idols who truly and genuinely wanted to join their group.

“Not bad. Good, good.”

“Then will these people move on to the second interview?”

“Well, I guess so? Ah, you need to attend the interview too, okay?”

“Me?”

“Yes. To be exact, Nahee and Sana will also be watching. Should I say the four of us will be like the interview panel?”

“What about the manager?”

“Seyeon?”

Seuk- Choha looked at Seyeon.

Seyeon shook her head very rapidly, doridoridoridori!

Choha looked back at Nanmi and continued.

“Seyeon is extremely busy, Nammi-ya. Busier than you could ever imagine.”

“Uh…… This really isn’t a sweatshop, right?”

“As I said last time, you’re the cause, dear. Advertisement offers, illustration requests, video editing requests, staff interviews, etc.”

“She’s doing all that alone?”

“No, with me. Even though I look like this, I’m also extremely busy, so I haven’t been able to stream properly lately, you know?”

Jin Seyeon approached with a tired face and said.

“If the salary wasn’t high, I might have quit.”

“Hmm…… They must pay you a lot.”

“Of course. But still, Seyeon-ah. Just endure it for now. Later, I’ll hire plenty of staff so you can stand tall and work comfortably. You’re our

company’s first employee, I have to treat you well.”

“Give me a Vice President-like position then. So I can rest comfortably without working.”

“Ahaha, when that time comes, what couldn’t I give you? Ah, counting chickens again. Alright, alright, let’s get to work. We need to pick

everyone today, the interviews start the day after tomorrow. And Nanmi……-“

As I tilted my head and looked at the CEO, her words continued.

“Do you happen to have a suit at home?”

---

The day before the second interview.

CEO Choha had said.

“We need to hide our identities. Got it? If they figure it out, it can’t be helped. And we need an air of authority, so everyone wear suits.”

Following the CEO’s directive, Nanmi.

Went home and told her mom.

“Mother.”

“Yes?”

“Do you happen to have a suit?”

“A suit? I don’t think we have one that fits you?”

“Hmm…… Then I guess I need to buy one.”

“When do you need it by?”

“By tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Hmm…… There probably aren’t many suits that fit our daughter’s size? A tailored suit would take time.”

“Is that so?”

At that, Nanmi thought.

‘It can’t be helped.’

Nanmi opened a drawer.

The clothes stuffed inside the drawer were none other than her school uniform.

Ugh…… To think the day would come when I’d wear this again.

Of course, she only took out the white dress shirt and skirt.

Since she turned into a girl, there was a skirt instead of pants.

Anyway, skirt and dress shirt solved.

Now I just need to find a suit jacket, and I decided to just buy this.

Wearing the jacket too would make me look just like a student in uniform.

I wasn’t sure if there would be a suit jacket that fit my size, but I decided to look for one anyway.

So, after wandering around downtown with her mother for the first time in a while, she fortunately found a suit jacket that fit her size.

And I was able to achieve the appearance of a true professional in a suit.

“Oh my! Cute!”

Although there was the incident where her mother insisted on capturing the moment and took lots of pictures, anyway, the perfect suit attire

was complete.

Thus, the next morning.

Office worker Nanmi, deploy!

Today, she specifically said she would go to the studio alone.

Since all three of them seemed busy, she couldn’t take the CEO’s car on a day like this.

The CEO treats her too much like a child, but she’s also a proper 20-year-old adult.

She took a taxi to the studio.

But upon arriving at the studio, huh?

Did I perhaps arrive quite late?

“Wow……”

Many people were gathered in the first-floor lobby.

Wow…… Our studio has never been this bustling.

But the crowd is strangely intimidating.

All the people gathered here must be here for an interview with our company, right?

Seeing the necklaces with number tags around their necks, it seemed correct.

I carefully, and as naturally as possible, tried to pass them and head to the second floor.

But then.

“E-Excuse me?”

“Yes?”

Someone called out to me.

It was a woman with short hair and a gentle impression.

She spoke with a kind voice.

“You should take the number tag from the entrance.”

“Uh, um……”

It seems she mistook me for one of the interviewees.

It felt awkward to say no here.

She seemed like a kind person, so feeling considerate, I picked up a number tag and hung it around my neck.

“Th-Thank you.”

“Not at all, let’s both do our best.”

“Yes.”

With my reply, I quickly went up to the second floor.

And the woman blankly watched Nanmi go up to the second floor.

The woman spoke in a puzzled voice.

“Huh? Is it okay to go up to the second floor?”

---

Nanmi, who rushed up to the second floor, spotted Hong Songa and spoke.

“Hello.”

“Ah! You’ve arrived! Huh? But why the number tag?”

“There were circumstances. Where’s the interview?”

“Ah, it’s scheduled to be held in the inner room.”

“Okay. Then, good luck with your work.”

“Yes! Good luck to you too, Nanmi-nim!”

Heading towards the room where the interview would take place, Choha, Inaring, and Karin were sitting at a long table, busily looking

through documents.

And at the sound of me opening the door, all three looked up at me.

It seemed all three noticed the number tag hanging around my neck.

“Nammi-ya. Why did you bring a number tag?”

“Are you interviewing too?”

“A kind interviewee on the first floor gave me the number tag.”

“Ahaha! And you actually took it?”

“Yes. So the interviewee wouldn’t feel awkward.”

At that, Inaring chuckled and said.

“Alright then, Number 22, Ha Nanmi-ssi. Shall we hear your talent demonstration?”

“Uh…… What I’m best at is sniping a Vtuber named Inaring, but I’ll show you that later tonight.”

“Huh? Sorry. Please don’t.”

“No. I really want to pass and join this company.”

“Alright, alright, everyone stop joking around.”

The CEO cleared the situation and spoke.

“Remember what I said before the interview?”

“To keep it a secret that we’re the agency’s Vtubers?”

“Yes. And aim for a soft atmosphere rather than a stiff interview. You know?”

“Isn’t that why we came here? CEO.”

“Right. And Karin, don’t talk too much, it’ll be obvious.”

“Wakarimashita.”

“Okay, since everyone’s here, let’s prepare for the interview. Nanmi, give the number tag back to Songa-ssi.”