Recruiting Members! But 【Handsome】, Blow Up!

Kiri-chan-senpai had unfortunately gone home.

I suppose she'd seen everything she needed to.

I still had plenty more to see, so I kept looking over potential recruits—my classmates.

I watched the first-years taking classes alongside their upperclassmen.

It was strange that I was on this side of things, even though I was a first-year, too.

The upperclassmen around me also seemed to wear rather conflicted expressions.

Thanks to Kiri-chan-senpai, I was spared from having any upperclassmen approach me to recruit me.

Apparently, no upperclassman was arrogant enough to invite someone who'd turned down an A-rank guild to join their own.

As I watched the first-years receiving Kiri-chan-senpai's guidance, grateful to her, I realized something.

"I have no idea who'd be a good pick..."

That reminded me.

I knew the game 〈Dan-Katsu〉 better than anyone in this world—or at least, I was confident I did.

But I had no idea how to tell if someone actually had talent.

Oof, I'd hit a snag right away.

If I was going to scout people, I had no idea what criteria to use.

Kiri-chan-senpai had said someone had good potential, but I couldn't tell at all.

That left me with few options.

"Maybe I should just pick people based on their looks?"

In 〈Dan-Katsu〉, you created characters and gave them the Jobs you wanted.

There was no such thing as talent; all you had to go on was their appearance and their Job.

Since I could give them whatever Job I wanted, it seemed more my style to recruit characters I liked, without worrying about talent.

All right, maybe I'd try that approach. Just as I thought that, I sensed someone approaching from behind.

"We've met again."

I turned toward the person who'd spoken, and there stood Sierra, the elegant girl who'd been behind me in line during the Job assessment.

"Sierra! It feels like it's been ages since we last met."

"Does it? It's only been a week since the Job assessment at the entrance ceremony."

Her refined mannerisms still suited her perfectly.

I thought it had been a while, but it had only been a week.

I realized just how eventful my life had been.

"What brings you here today? You're not short on Job options anymore, are you?"

Sierra asked about the huge list of Jobs I'd shown during the Job assessment. She'd had the best seat in the house—right behind me.

This was the building where first-years came to meet the conditions for Jobs to manifest. It must have seemed strange to see me, a 【Hero】, here.

Her tone sounded almost reproachful, but the look on her face showed she was simply curious.

"I'm scouting people. I'm planning to start a guild, so I came to invite some classmates."

"A guild? You're awfully quick off the mark. It's still a while before first-years can start guilds, isn't it?"

"Actually, I'm diving into Intermediate Beginner tomorrow, so I'll meet the requirements soon. All I need now is members."

"Huh? You've already made that much progress? What level are you?"

"【Hero LV20】."

"No way..."

For some reason, Sierra's eyes widened and she fell silent.

What? The first-years who'd been watching me seemed to have heard us, too, and started murmuring.

Some of them even looked at me with intense admiration and sparkling eyes.

That's when I realized something.

Wait, could this be one of those "Did I just do something?" moments?

Crap, I'd unconsciously busted out a classic isekai-reincarnation trope.

What a waste! If I'd done it on purpose, I could've enjoyed it more!

"...Just as I thought. I can't afford to dawdle, either..."

"Hm? Speaking of which, you want to be a tank, right, Sierra?"

"That's right. But unfortunately, the Job I'm aiming for hasn't manifested yet."

Sierra let out a sigh, a trace of melancholy showing on her face.

From the sound of it, she was having trouble getting her desired Job to manifest.

"I see. By the way, would you mind telling me what Job you're aiming for? I might be able to help."

"..."

Sierra fell silent. What was this? For some reason, she seemed reluctant to say.

"...It's all right. Besides, it's a special Job, and I doubt you know about it."

"Oh?"

She didn't think I, of all people, would know about it, huh?

The way she put that made me guess it was a Job unknown to commoners like me. I could sense that Sierra wanted to ask me, almost as if she were clinging to the hope I could help. Yet she held back, which probably meant it belonged to a special Job category.

〈Dan-Katsu〉 has a category called Race. Some Job manifestation requirements include Race, and those Jobs can only be taken by people of a specific Race.

A well-known example is 【Princess】. Only those whose Race includes the categories 'Royalty' and 'Princess' can acquire it.

And Race categories were often found among the privileged classes, such as the nobility.

For example, there were seven ranks among royalty and nobility, and each rank had special Jobs that could only be acquired by its holders.

A Knight Baron could acquire all the 【Knight】-type Jobs.

A baron could acquire Jobs in the 【Handsome】 and 【Idol】 categories.

A viscount could acquire Jobs in the 【Shota】 and 【Lolita】 categories.

A member of the royal family could acquire Jobs in the 【Prince】 and 【Princess】 categories.

Something like that. They were all excellent Jobs, among the very best of the lower-tier Jobs.

But 【Handsome】, you can go blow yourself up.

And judging by appearances, Sierra was the daughter of a count.

I could see the white-feather ornament that was the symbol of a count.

If someone with the Race categories 'Count' and 'Princess' wanted to be a tank, one Job came to mind.

If Sierra was aiming for the Job I thought she was, I definitely wanted her in my guild.

I thought I could tell her the conditions for making it manifest.

But forcing the information on her when she'd already declined would feel awfully presumptuous...

After I told her, I wanted Sierra to join my guild. I couldn't force her.

Now, what should I do?

For now, I decided to keep trying to persuade her.

"I really might be able to help you, you know? I... No, let's move somewhere else."

Just as I was about to try persuading her, I realized we'd somehow attracted a crowd.

I took Sierra by the hand and led her away.