It was day three of working as the vice commander for a commander whose name I didn’t even know.
So far, luckily, there hadn’t been anything too difficult.
Maybe it was because the story hadn’t properly kicked off yet, or perhaps the commander was just in his adjustment period.
Whatever the case, easy was always better than hard.
“First… the agents assigned to the dining hall will stay as is… and the ship’s security unit…”
Ah, if there was anything hard about this, it was this.
Fortunately, it wasn’t something urgently needed, but it was something that had to be decided nonetheless.
“Why are there only twenty agents…?”
The ship was still bustling, yet the actual number of deployable agents was less than twenty.
And out of that, there was only one squad prepared for combat.
“To think that most of them are just 2-stars and 3-stars…”
The agents of Catharsis ranged from 1-star to 5-star.
Naturally, 5-stars were the best, and 1-stars were the worst… it was a pretty standard system.
Of course, lower-tier characters consumed fewer resources and handled basic tasks like providing gukbap in the early game… but they still remained low-tier characters.
To progress smoothly, we needed at least a squad made up of 3-star agents to push the story. Most people operated their squads with a mix of 5-stars and 4-stars.
That’s why the current situation was quite problematic.
While low-tier agents could be assigned to other duties on the ship, there weren’t many of them, and there were just too few agents available for combat and external activities.
“Should I maybe do a gacha tomorrow…?”
In the game, it was all about gacha, but now… the story had changed quite a bit.
In the game, you just summoned agents using gacha cards, but now we needed to hire them.
And since this wasn’t some cute gun-wielding game where you just manufactured dolls, we had no choice.
That’s why it seemed to be even more of a problem.
“What kind of agents would come to a trashy ship like Babil 07…?”
If only the previous commander hadn’t been such a loser!
*
“There are few agents to deploy to the security unit, a shortage of agents to participate in missions, and only one squad available for external activities…”
“…”
“How many agents did the previous commander let go?”
“Roughly 100.”
I was genuinely shocked while reading the files.
In the game, it was just known that the previous commander was useless, but there had been no specific numbers like this.
“To think that nearly 4 out of 5 left… it’s no wonder there are so few agents on the ship.”
“Commander, have you posted the recruitment announcement for agents?”
“I’ve done that for now. Although… I don’t expect a lot of applications yet.”
At least it was a relief that this commander was definitely not at the same level as the previous one.
He seemed more competent than I expected, and when I pointed out the problems, he showed a willingness to solve them first.
He had even acted on what we discussed the day before.
Of course… as the commander said, there probably wouldn’t have been many applications piled up yet.
“Could you send me the link? I’ll check it whenever I have time.”
“I’d appreciate that. I’ll send it right away.”
“Yes.”
Then, a few seconds later, the link came through my personal messenger.
I never thought I’d be exchanging numbers with a man in my life… but it was a necessary choice for the sake of work.
Honestly, I really didn’t want to do it.
Anyway, I clicked on the link the commander sent and opened it.
Fortunately, it seemed the previous guy had no interest in embezzlement… so the office equipment was intact.
There were multiple computers installed, and the printer was working fine.
All the various large screens and projectors needed for work were functioning perfectly too.
“…Commander?”
Seeing the screen that appeared on the monitor left me utterly astonished.
I thought when being optimistic, I might find 10 applications, and if pessimistic, maybe 5, given how terrible the previous commander was and that this was the commander’s first time.
However… the result was even more impressive than I had envisioned.
So much so that I had no choice but to call the commander sitting at the head of the desk over to me.
I instructed the commander to come over, and luckily, it wasn’t difficult since it was just a seat next to mine.
“…….”
“…….”
We both just stood there, dumbfounded, unable to say anything.
It was truly an amazing outcome.
“Lindera?”
“Yes?”
“Is this… for real?”
“Uh… yes.”
“Is there a possibility of hacking?”
“Well, there aren’t many people who could hack into Marduk’s server…”
The commander’s eyes widened in surprise, which was rare for him.
At the same time, his eyes looked quite dead, which was a bit… off-putting.
But I understood why he was like that.
After all…
“50 people…?”
“…Yes.”
There were 50 applicants.
Not five or ten, but 50.
That was 2.5 times the number of current agents!
“Commander, when did you post the announcement?”
“Today at midnight. Just before going to sleep….”
“….”
Wait, is this even real?
No matter how I looked at it, this number was absurd.
As proof, both the commander and I were genuinely shocked.
We looked rather cold in appearance, yet our expressions were so silly it was almost comical.
Though not so silly that our mouths and eyes were wide open enough to look ridiculous.
Given how good-looking we both were.
“…Looks like there’s going to be a lot more work starting today.”
“…Yes.”
As much as I’d love to hire all 50 applicants, that just wasn’t feasible.
After all, Babil 07 didn’t have the funds!
Looking at our current resources, we definitely couldn’t hire everyone.
20? 30? That would be the limit.
And that made me incredibly sad.
It was really a sad situation to be in, having to discard half of the applicants after such a long wait!
“Commander, may I ask a favor?”
Before addressing that sad business, there was something I needed to discuss first.
“What is it? Go ahead.”
“Can I be the one to select the applicants this time?”
“You?”
“…Yes.”
While it was quite melancholic that there would be much more work, this was something I genuinely wanted to take on.
After all, it would be terrible if the commander missed out on a game-changing agent.
Especially if there happened to be a 5-star agent.
That’s why I threw in the word ‘favor’ to request this from him.
Normally, this kind of task would be handled by the commander, not me.
“Hmm… then this time, I’ll leave it in your hands. I don’t know much about the agents and right now, I have a lot more urgent matters to attend to than selecting agents.”
“Thank you.”
I couldn’t help but bow to the commander, who was standing next to me in gratitude.
If he had refused my request here… I really would have felt depressed.
Ideally, I wished I could bow repeatedly, but… I couldn’t be too uncomfortable with my bouncing chest.
Damn it.
“But… Are you sure? It’s not a small workload.”
“I’m fine. For you and Babil 07, it’s not a big deal.”
I responded to the overly worried guy, deciding to probe the kinds of 5-star characters we might have.
Personally, I’d prefer to have 7 or 8 4-star characters rather than just 1 or 2 5-stars.
But there was a certain romance that came with 5-stars, so it would be nice if we could see some as well.
With 50 applicants… surely there would be a good number of 4-stars and 5-stars among them, right?
I really hoped so.
I didn’t know why there were so many applicants, but I hoped there would be many good ones.
“…Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
*
Deciding to screen the applicants would be something we would take care of separately after our work.
While I wanted to rush through it, we simply couldn’t do that yet.
For now, with only a small number of agents, I decided to finish assigning the current personnel.
Although aspects like kitchen work and cleaning weren’t difficult, there were many important positions like security and external exploration teams that needed careful thought in deployment.
Of course, this could all change if new agents came in.
“Nya-ha-ha! You’re telling me to work in the office now?”
“That’s right. Midori.”
“The previous commander just had me cook and totally turned me into a jack of all trades!”
“I know you’re proficient with electronic devices. Would you perhaps prefer to be assigned to the lab or workshop?”
“N-no, nya-ha! I actually wanted to work in the office from the start?!”
I added an agent to the office.
After all, I couldn’t just sit in the office all day, and the commander and I couldn’t handle everything on our own.
“Is it Midori? Nice to meet you. I’m the newly appointed purification commander ◾️◾️◾️ of Babil 07.”
“Wow?! A totally handsome commander?!”
“…….”
Once again, the commander’s name seemed to get lost in the shuffle.
However, the agent reacted as if nothing was wrong.
Of course, she was naturally loud and chatty… but most people would have asked again if they hadn’t caught a name.
“Midori. From now on, you’ll be helping with paperwork and reports in the office.”
“Got it! But… um… if I mess up…. will I really have to go to the lab or workshop?”
“That’s up to the commander to decide.”
I issued a light warning as I spoke.
A 4-star long-range dealer, Midori.
She was skilled in electronics, capable of handling most electronic devices.
Plus, she had a sharp mind that qualified her for office duties.
Furthermore, she had hacking skills, so she could also be useful for gathering information later on.
Though, her playful personality and emotional nature could make managing her a bit tricky.
“Um, ahem! Commander! Uh… during work, will you give us breaks sometimes and stuff!?”
“I’ll consider it.”
Given her preference for comfort and dislike for physical tasks, managing her could be surprisingly easy.
“Nya-ha! I always knew I could trust you!”
We had just met officially today, so why was she saying ‘always’?
The commander’s reaction was no different from mine.
Well, I’m sure she will manage just fine.
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