Translated: Sei, MTL-sensei-tachi
Edited: Sei, Grammarly no Danna

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Chapter 1 | Pursuing a Dream | Remake our Life!

Part 8

    The day of the interview.

    Wearing a suit more carefully than usual, I walked to Gotanda via Shinjuku station, and walked to a high-rise building a few minutes outside the station.

    While the east exit of Gotanda Station is known as the entertainment district, the west exit is more of a business district. In the midst of all the game and app-related companies, the high-rise office building that stands out the most is,

"Here..."

    One of the biggest companies in the industry, and now one of the most popular, is Succeedsoft.

    I was a bit overwhelmed by the building, but I pulled myself together and headed for the entrance.

    As I stood in front of the bright white counter, two women at the reception desk stood up quickly, side by side.

"My name is Hashiba, and I'm here for an interview at 13:00..."

"Hashiba-sama, we are accepting your request. Could you please wait in space 5?"

    I did as I was told and went to the waiting area by the window and sat down. I set my luggage down beside me, took a deep breath and looked around.

    The entrance seemed to have a third-floor stairwell, and the ceiling was wide and open. Nevertheless, the luxurious construction of the building gave me a sense of tension that overcame this.

    In the other reception area, there seemed to be a meeting going on. They were discussing the publication of their published works in magazines and the development of their stores.

(I really... came)

    Now, I am here for an interview at a company that I thought was too out of place. The phone call the other day didn't feel real, but now that I'm in the office, I feel more and more excited.

    I have a sense of reality, but that is not the same thing as confidence. I wondered if I would be able to work for such a large company after having worked for a small manufacturer whose existence had been in doubt.

    The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to run home.

(What am I thinking, this is my chance!)

    Shaking my head, I brush aside any feelings of weakness.

    I was recommended by the head of the development department, who also happens to be the leader of the department. How could I not feel enthusiastic about that?

"Let's get into it, yeah "

    With a slap on both cheeks, I changed my mind.

    I was about to check my time on my smartphone,

"You're on time. You're doing it properly."

    A woman in a suit showed her face in this space.

    Kawasegawa Eiko. Unlike the other day, today she had her employee ID card around her neck, and was in a sharp looking state as if she was in a combat stance.

"Ah, thank you for today."

"You're welcome. Thank you for coming on such short notice."

    She greeted me without hesitation and I bowed nicely. She seemed to be a very good worker, as I had sensed when I met her the other day.

"Please have a seat then."

    I did as I was told and sat down, and she sat in front of me.

"First of all, let me tell you something."

    Putting the materials at hand away in a file case,

"I'm not in charge of the interview. Another person will do it in 30 minutes."

"Oh, yes. I see."

"Yeah... So I'll talk normally from here. Can you do that too?"

    Even if you say so.

"I've got a job interview coming up, so switching gears is a bit..."

"That's true, too. Well then, as long as you answer my questions frankly, that's fine."

    What does it mean that the interview is after this?



    I wondered if she was going to give me another test before the interview. But if that was the case, she would have said so.

    If we're just chatting, there shouldn't be any need to change ...... I wonder what that means.

"When we met the other day, you said... you liked games."

"Yes. Ah, yeah."

    She clammed up a little as I answered.

    It looks like she was trying to say something and couldn't get it out.

"I wanted to invite you here because of your boldness, your ability to act, your flexibility in how you apply yourself, and of course your excellent direction, but."

    Did you see it in that short time?

    But I'm curious about the "but" after she said that much.

"But... what?"

    She breathed in, as if she had made up her mind.

"... Remember that feeling all the time."

"Eh?"

"If you do end up working here, I want you to remember the feeling I just mentioned. Then..."

    She looked me straight in the eye with a sharp gaze.

"Let's work together someday"

    Her words were strong and firm, but I felt a sense of loneliness in her words.

"……Yes"

    I nodded, and she stood up, not saying a word,

"There's a staircase next to the elevator, go down to the basement. You'll have an interview in the room in front of it."

    I returned to my feet and left for the elevator hall.

"What was that, just now?"

    Her words seemed to contain a lot of things, and I kept thinking about them.

    If I take it literally, it seems to me that she was confirming my enthusiasm for the work I am about to do.

    But if that was the case, would she have spoken in such a suggestive manner? Maybe there was a more fundamental, deeper meaning to what she said.

"Let's go for an interview for the time being."

    It was 30 minutes after she said it would be, just five more minutes until 13:30.

    I stood up and walked to the elevator hall on the left side of the entrance. The attached map instructed me to go down the stairs at the end of the passage through this hall. I followed the instructions and looked for the stairs.

    The elevator hall had the same atmosphere as the entrance, with pure white walls. Indeed, there was a dimly lit corridor leading to the back of the building.

"Is here the right place, really?"

    To my anxiety, the passage was covered with unusual darkness.

    At the end of the path, I finally found the stairs. There was no staircase up, only a simple one down.

"I think this is a mistake, right?"

    The further I go, the more anxious I get. But at least what I was told was not wrong.

    I made my way down the stairs to the basement floor. There was a large space with rooms to manage the electrical system and emergency exits, and I found something terrifying.

"What……?"

    There was a plastic plaque on the door that was too simple to miss, and was obviously attached after the fact.

    There it was written.

"13th Development Department?"

    Speaking of Succeedsoft's development, they had the latest office with windows all over the place, and it was so stylish that it didn't look like a game production company, isn’t it like that.

    But what I see in front of me now looks not so different from the office of the bishojo game maker I used to work for, located in a crowded building.

    Looking at it again, this is strange.

"Does that mean the interview will be... held here?"

    It was hard to imagine. After all, there was a magnificent meeting space on the first floor where I had been until just now.

    I wondered if it was some kind of surprise, but there was no way Kawasegawa-san would do such a thing.

"...Is there no choice but to enter?"

    I gulped and knocked on the door fearfully.

"Oh, please ~"

    A voice without a trace of tension came back from the other side of the door.

    It's getting stranger. It's not supposed to be like this.

    My suspicions deepened, but with trembling hands, I turned the knob and opened the door.

    Along with a slightly dusty smell, I heard the same unsteady voice as before.

"Oh, welcome, you're the guy who came in for an interview today, right?"

    A man with a round shape and round face was looking at me with an apologetic smile.

    The room was a mess. It was like a warehouse, with boxes and supplies scattered about, tons of paper documents, hard drives, old PCs, and monitors.

    In the corner of the room, where there was no place to put my feet, were a desk and a few chairs. Steel desks and chairs with a Showa-era flavor, different from today's office furniture. The hard and narrow seat surface might hurt your back in a short time.

    Everything played a great role in creating a sense of the atmosphere.

"The interview is already simple, so I'd like to know when you'll be ready to come..."

    The round, takoyaki-like head old man from earlier asked me.

"Um, naturally, I'll be working here... right?"

"Yes, of course. Didn't you hear it?"

    I stopped moving for a moment at his words, but then I nodded my head and said,

"So that's what it is..."

    Haha, I laughed dryly.

    It was the moment when I finally understood what Kawasegawa-san had said.