Chương 29: Chapter 21 : Conventions

The following morning, Emma met Aldric in the lobby of his hotel with a large cardboard folder tucked under her arm. She was even wearing a small, satisfied smile that immediately caught the hero's attention.

"Good morning, Aldric."

"Good morning, Emma." She sat down in a small lounge near the reception desk and placed the folder on the coffee table.

"I've got good news." Aldric took the seat across from her.

"We've completed the first step." She opened the folder and pulled out a small stack of perfectly white sheets.

"There you go." She handed them to him.

"Your résumés." Aldric accepted them carefully, as though they were particularly valuable documents. He examined the first page, then the second. Every copy was absolutely identical. Not the slightest difference in the lettering. Not the slightest variation in the margins or the ink. He compared them for several long seconds before looking back up at Emma.

"The characters are perfectly identical. Even the density of the ink never varies. The scribes of your kingdom possess remarkable discipline."

"A printer took care of everything." Aldric lowered his eyes to the pages once more.

"That machine again..." He turned over one of the sheets and examined its edges. He even ran his fingertips across the ink, as if to make sure it had truly been pressed onto the paper.

"It reproduces the exact same document?"

"Yes."

"Without mistakes?"

"None." In his former world, scribes sometimes spent hours copying an important treaty. No matter how skilled they were, a misplaced word or a missing line would eventually find its way into the final copy. Here, a single machine produced several flawless copies in a matter of seconds.

"The craftsmen of your kingdom are truly formidable."

"You'll get used to it eventually."

"I doubt it." He held up one of the pages again.

"This material is remarkable. It's much thinner than parchment."

"It is."

"And much lighter." Then he brought the sheet closer to his face.

"And it doesn't smell of leather. In my world, official documents were almost always written on parchment." He looked at the paper once more.

"This is far more practical."

"And much cheaper." Aldric slowly nodded.

"That explains why your kingdom has so much of it." He carefully set the pages back on the table.

"So I simply hand one copy to each guild."

"Exactly. Well... not quite."

"What is still missing?"

"One more thing."

"The cover letter."

"We still have to write something?"

"Yes."

"About what?"

"About you."

"Doesn't the résumé already serve that purpose?"

"Not really. Now you have to explain why you want to work for that company."

"Because I need a job in order to rent an apartment." Emma bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"Yes..."

"So they already know the answer."

"Not exactly." The hero let out a sigh.

"Your kingdom certainly has a fondness for paperwork." △ NEW OBJECTIVE △ Write a Cover Letter Difficulty: C Reward:??? You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"I believe your world is waging a particularly relentless war against trees." She took out her laptop, set it on the table, and pressed the power button. As the screen came to life, Aldric watched the device with curiosity. The moment the desktop appeared, she opened a blank document and looked back up at him.

"Why do you say that?" The hero gestured toward the stack of printed résumés, yesterday's notes, and the loose sheets scattered across the table.

"You turn an enormous amount of paper into administrative documents." Emma burst out laughing.

"Just wait until you sign your first employment contract..." Aldric looked at her with concern.

"There will be even more documents?" She gave him her most innocent smile.

"Of course." The hero looked up at the ceiling. For a brief moment, he almost found himself missing the campaigns against the Demon King. Still amused by his reaction, Emma pulled her laptop closer and opened a new blank document.

"This time, it's no longer just about presenting your background."

"What must I do?"

"You have to explain why you want to work for them."

"Because your kingdom requires food in order to survive."

"That is objectively true, but it isn't what you should write. It would make it sound as though you're only working for the money."

"Is that not why most people work?"

"Yes, but you mustn't put it that way." Aldric immediately took out his notebook.

"So applicants must conceal their true motivations."

"I'd rather say they have to present them differently." The hero wrote down this new rule while Emma placed the cursor at the top of the blank page.

"Let's try another approach. Why this company?"

"Because they're hiring." Emma pressed a hand to her forehead.

"Yes... but that's exactly what you shouldn't write."

"Yet it is true. If they weren't hiring, I wouldn't be here."

"Your answer is perfectly logical, but it isn't the one they're expecting." Aldric frowned slightly.

"Your world certainly has a fondness for inaccurate answers."

"Not inaccurate. More... polished." The hero nodded slowly, though he didn't look convinced. Emma opened a job posting to give him a concrete example.

"Let's imagine this company sells books. Why would you want to work there?"

"Because they would hire me." Emma immediately bit her lip.

"No..."

"Because they pay their employees."

"Still no."

"Because I need money." Emma burst out laughing.

"That is precisely what you should never write."

"So you're asking applicants to answer a question whose real answer is forbidden." Emma looked at him for a few seconds before laughing again.

"When you put it that way... that's almost exactly right." The hero took a deep breath, determined to come up with an acceptable answer.

"I have a deep appreciation for this company."

"There you go!"

"May I ask what the company does?"

"Oh..." She burst out laughing once again.

"Yes, it does help to know where you're applying."

"That seems preferable." Emma then opened an actual job listing on her laptop.

"This one is looking for a security officer at a museum." Aldric quickly read through the advertisement on the screen.

"So why would you want to work there?" Emma asked.

"Because the objects appear to be valuable."

"Go on."

"And I assume thieves may try to steal them."

"Go on."

"It is therefore logical that they would hire someone to prevent that." Emma smiled.

"See? That's already much better."

"May I add that I have considerably more experience fighting dragons than thieves?"

"No."

"But..."

"Still no." Emma rested her hands on the keyboard.

"All right. Let me show you how it's done." She began typing directly into the document. The opening lines gradually appeared on the screen. Dear Sir or Madam, I was particularly interested in your job posting...

"That isn't true."

"What?"

"I wasn't particularly interested in this specific job posting." She sighed.

"I know."

"You're the one who chose it."

"I know."

"Then why are we writing the opposite?"

"Because that's the standard opening." Aldric immediately wrote down another note in his notebook. Official letters begin with a phrase that everyone knows isn't true.

"Don't write that down!"

"Why not?"

"Because it isn't exactly false..."

"Well, it's conventional."

"Your society certainly has a great many conventions." Even so, Emma continued writing. With every new sentence, Aldric interrupted her to make sure it genuinely matched his situation. I would like to join your company.

"That is true." I am highly motivated.

"That is also true." My organizational skills and ability to perform under pressure will allow me to carry out the responsibilities entrusted to me effectively. The hero read the sentence on the screen several times.

"That is a remarkably accurate summary of the Siege of Valenor." For the first time since they had begun the letter, Aldric seemed satisfied. Emma finished the final paragraph, read the letter over one last time, and saved the document.

"There." The hero carefully read the letter displayed on the screen before looking back up.

"This letter is peculiar."

"Why?"

"Because it always tells the truth, but never the whole truth."

"I think you've just understood the concept." She then opened several job-search websites in new tabs.

"Now we can actually start looking for work."

"So we may finally submit my application to the guilds." Emma logged into several employment platforms and scrolled through the first listings. Each posting displayed a profession, a city, a salary, working hours, and a long list of required qualifications. Aldric quickly skimmed through several pages before asking,"All of these guilds are recruiting at the same time?"

"They aren't guilds."

"Companies?"

"Businesses."

"They're all looking for new members?"

"Yes." The hero spent another few moments studying the endless stream of job postings.

"Your kingdom appears to have a considerable need for workers."

"Look." She turned the screen toward him.

"Security Officer." She opened a second listing.

"Front Desk Receptionist." Then a third.

"Museum Attendant." Finally, a fourth.

"Night Receptionist." Aldric read through each description. The duties felt familiar to him: protecting a location, welcoming visitors, monitoring entrances, or responding when something went wrong.

"These all seem like honorable duties."

"I think so too." Emma began attaching the résumé and cover letter to the first application form.

"So we're going to choose just one guild?" She submitted the first application.

"No. We're applying to several."

"Several?"

"Yes. It's actually recommended."

"We are offering our services to multiple guilds at the same time? Won't they consider that an insult?"

"Why would they?"

"Because they will discover that they are not the only ones receiving my application."

"They already assume that."

"All of them?"

"All of them."

"So they accept that applicants seek employment from several employers at once. That is a remarkable custom." Emma continued filling out the applications.

"That's how everyone does it here."

"In my kingdom, informing several lords that you wished to enter their service was generally considered a grave insult. One of them usually ended up challenging the others to a duel."

"Good thing recruiters don't work that way anymore."

"That is certainly an improvement." For nearly an hour, they repeated the same routine. Emma selected a job listing, adjusted the cover letter slightly, attached the résumé, and submitted the application. Each time, a small notification appeared on the screen. Your application has been successfully submitted.

"They acknowledge receipt of our documents immediately."

"Yes."

"Remarkable." After the twentieth application, he suddenly asked,"Do they truly receive every one of these letters?"

"Yes."

"Without a messenger?"

"Without a messenger."

"Without a horse?"

"Without a horse."

"Without a carrier pigeon?" Emma shook her head, laughing.

"Without any of those."

"Your kingdom certainly possesses the fastest postal system I have ever seen." Emma smiled before sending one final application. This time, she gently closed her laptop.

"There." Aldric looked at the table.

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

"We have completed every required step?"

"For now."

"What comes next?"

"Now... we wait." Barely two hours later, Emma's phone vibrated on the table. She frowned when she saw an unfamiliar number.

"Hello?" Aldric watched as her expression gradually changed. She straightened in her chair.

"Yes, that's him. This afternoon?" She glanced quickly at Aldric.

"Yes, no problem. We'll be there." She hung up immediately before letting out a small cry of excitement.

"It worked!" Aldric looked at her, puzzled.

"A warehouse needs someone right away. The manager wants to meet you today." She could no longer hide her excitement.

"See?! You've already landed an interview."