Chapter 37 - Recruitment Drive: Progress Report
After a short morning training session, I returned to the office to find the Kikyo Society members and Lily chatting excitedly.
They were bombarding the new arrival with questions.
"Yukari, this new member is really interesting!"
"Flower magic? That's amazing!"
"It's a very rare type of magic. Fascinating!"
"We're so happy to have a new member!"
Especially the apprentices, Roberta and Violante, seemed thrilled to have a new junior member.
Lily is likely older than them and might have better overall combat skills, despite her gentle appearance. Regardless, she will need to start from the basics to meet our standards.
Lily seems to have good physical strength and a decent amount of magical power. We'll train her to at least have basic self-defense skills and improve her Physical Enhancement Magic. We aim to bring her up to the minimum standards of the Kikyo Society.
While our minimum standards are high, they are well above the average.
"Let's have breakfast. You're on duty today, Angelina. Afterward, train the apprentices and teach Lily what she needs to know."
"Sure, I'll take care of it."
"We might have more applicants today, so I'll handle them. While you're out, keep an eye out for anyone who looks promising and try to recruit them."
After setting the plan for the day, we headed to our usual diner.
It's a good start. I hope the rest of the day goes well.
After a more lively breakfast than usual, I returned to the headquarters and started preparing tea.
The outside was unusually noisy. More applicants, perhaps?
I quickly put on my indigo coat and stepped outside to find an unexpected scene.
"Hey, a woman showed up."
"Hurry up and bring us food."
"Did you call us here? We came all the way for food. Bring it quickly!"
"Hey, little girl, don't be so sassy."
I had no idea what these rough men were talking about. We didn't advertise a free meal.
Are they mistaken, or is this some kind of prank?
One of them approached me, spitting as he spoke. I stepped back, avoiding his reach.
"What's going on here?"
"What do you mean? We heard there's free food here."
"The notice clearly stated we're only recruiting women. You men aren't welcome here."
I tried to explain, but they seemed to have only heard a partial, distorted version of the recruitment notice.
"Who cares? Just bring us food."
"Come on, hurry up."
"You little brat, don't be so cheeky!"
They clearly didn't understand. I had to set them straight.
"I'll say this clearly. We're only recruiting women. Men are not welcome. Now, go away."
"Hey, lady, are you sure?"
"We posted a notice, and it clearly stated we're only recruiting women. You should go."
"Feh, whatever."
I punched one in the gut, silencing him. I repeated the action with another, knocking him out. The next one seemed to understand and fled.
"Go away."
I glared at the remaining men, and they quickly dispersed.
In the end, the only legitimate applicant that day was Lily.
I had hoped for more, but it's only been a day. Maybe more will come on the next recruitment day.
I decided to head to the Adventurer Guild to send some letters. I'll wait patiently for a response.
The following recruitment day was more promising, with about ten applicants. It was heartening, but most of them didn't seem to have any combat skills.
They had read the notice and seemed prepared for the risks, but they were looking for non-combat roles. I hadn't expected this.
Most were refugees from the fallen Royal Capital and Retnark, surviving by any means necessary. They showed resilience, which is a good sign for training.
One notable applicant was a former noble's daughter. While she didn't have a fiefdom, she had some knowledge and skills that could be useful. Her magical abilities were decent, and I had high hopes for her.
A few days later, in the evening, I was contemplating how to expand the Combat Unit when the patrol group returned.
"Welcome back. How was it today?"
"Good news, actually. We have an interesting story."
Gradena seemed excited, and the others looked equally enthusiastic. It seemed to be good news.
"What happened?"
"Remember we talked about scouting for promising people? On the way back, we stopped by the slums and found something interesting."
"You know how the slums are divided into factions, with young people fighting each other?"
Everyone in Exembra knows about the slums. It's a dangerous place even for visitors. It's a haven for orphaned boys who form gangs and engage in various crimes.
"So, did you find some boys?"
"Not exactly. It seems the girls in the slums have formed their own group, inspired by us. They're trying to emulate the Kikyo Society."
"We caught them in the middle of a fight with a group of boys."
"Onee-sama, the girls were as strong as me and my peers, overwhelming the boys. They have potential."
That's surprising. I hadn't heard of this before. They must be a group of determined young girls.
"They have a lot of spirit. They were overpowering the same number of boys. They have potential."
"That's interesting."
Siegrune, who wasn't there, seemed intrigued by the story.
Determined young girls could be a good addition to the Combat Unit.
"But why didn't they apply when we posted the notice in the slums?"
"That's a good point."
"But from what we saw today, they don't seem afraid. They might have a fighting spirit."
"True. They showed determination, even if they didn't apply immediately."
It's hard to say for sure.
"Let's give it a try. There's no harm in reaching out to them. Why didn't you approach them while they were fighting?"
"We didn't want to interrupt. We observed for a while, but they started fighting again, and it was taking too long. So, we came back."
Fair enough. I wouldn't like it if someone interrupted me in the middle of a fight either.
"What do you think? Should we go and talk to them now?"
It's best to act quickly.
"Good idea. I'll go. You all should have dinner first."
"Gradena, are you going alone? Take someone with you."
"Onee-sama, I'll go."
Valeria volunteered immediately, full of energy.
"I'll go too."
"Me too."
Siegrune and Bonnie quickly joined in.
"That's enough. Too many of us might be overwhelming. You four should be fine. Enjoy your dinner."
I stopped the others. Four of them should be more than enough. They nodded and went to eat while I prepared for the evening's task.