Though her face was hidden behind a veil, Lilith still managed to catch the faint, unnaturally suppressed excitement in the other party’s voice through the rise and fall of their tone.
*She doesn’t seem to be lying at all… What’s wrong with this person?!*
"For this reason, I’ve thoroughly studied human anatomy, criminal psychology, pharmacology, and related texts since my student days. I’m also well-versed in prison equipment protocols and the crafting of obscure torture devices. Over the past two years, I’ve actively sought hands-on opportunities to hone my practical skills. Thus, I’m fully confident in my suitability for your department. I sincerely hope to join the Dungeon Department—as an interrogator who whips and torments prisoners, or even as a member of the vast force upholding the Great Demon King’s rule. Thank you."
"..."
Lilith lowered her head, silently jotting down the core points of this answer in her assessment notebook.
Beside her, Alquett looked utterly baffled and indignant. Just as he opened his mouth to protest—"Our Dungeon Department isn’t anything like what you imagine!"—Lilith raised a hand to silence him.
"...Good. Very smooth. Next question—"
Lilith skimmed past the standard questions on her list—basic ones like *"How much do you know about Demon City?"*, *"What are your career plans for the next 3–5 years?"*, or *"Name three strengths and three weaknesses."*
Given how prepared this candidate seemed, those questions would be utterly pointless.
Lilith decided to skip straight to her own specially designed scenario-based questions further down the list.
"Demon City has its mountain-stabilizing tigers, far-sighted eagles, battle-hardened wolves, agile leopards, and loyal dogs. Which one do you consider yourself?"
"Hmm..."
The golden-haired girl’s smile faltered slightly beneath her veil.
"I... I suppose... if I had to choose, I’d be... a hardworking bee?"
"Oh? So you’re fine with overtime?"
Hearing the topic shift back to familiar territory, the girl’s heart leapt with secret delight.
"Of course! For a working-class hero, it’s not *overtime*—it’s *fully realizing self-worth*! Contributing extra output for the company, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with its progress!"
She slammed her palm on the table.
"On a job I love, I always give 110%—voluntarily! If you hire me, I’d gladly forfeit all legal holidays. I’d burn myself out with fearless sacrifice to propel Demon City’s cause forward like a raging wildfire—!"
"Alright, alright... I get your passion for work..."
Lilith waved a hand, signaling her to stop.
*This enthusiasm for overtime... Would an ordinary person push this hard just to get hired?*
*She’s getting more suspicious by the minute—*
"Demon City needs capable people. Let’s test your adaptability: If you drop a needle into the ocean, how would you retrieve it?"
"Uh..."
*A needle in the ocean? How’s that even possible?!*
*Is she deliberately messing with me?!*
The golden-haired girl fell into deep thought. She’d devoured countless books to prepare for this interview—but this bizarre, unheard-of question caught her completely off guard.
"...There must be *some* way..."
"Specifically? Give an example."
"A way... I’d figure one out... If I haven’t yet, it just means I haven’t figured it out—"
Her voice grew flustered beneath the veil.
Lilith stroked her chin and wrote *[Maintains positive attitude]* on her assessment sheet.
"Next question: The Dungeon Department buys a new pair of scissors. The packaging reads: ‘Use scissors to open.’ How do you open the package?"
"Uh... um... hmm..."
The girl cupped her chin, frowning deeply as she stammered, unable to reply.
Seeing this, Lilith swiftly added *[Poor improvisation skills]* in red ink, drew a large "X," and deliberately slid the notebook toward the girl so she could peek at the criticism.
"Next question—"
"Eh?! Wait! I’ve got it—"
"An Eastern proverb says: ‘No pains, no gains.’ If you plant one *fen* of land, you harvest one *fen*. So why plant it at all?"
"...No pains... uh, one *fen*... um..."
"Next question—"
"You accompany the Great Demon King to a hotel banquet. A waiter mistakes *you* for the Demonlord. The Great Demon King pats your shoulder and says, ‘I never knew you’d look more like a Demonlord than me!’ How do you respond?"
"Uh... I... I think... though my demonic aura is strong... I wouldn’t be mistaken for—"
"Next question—"
"The Demonlord assigns you to host a department meeting with five directors from other divisions. But there are only four cups of tea. How do you distribute them?"
"...This... isn’t enough to go around..."
"Next question—"
"If the Holy Kingdom mobilizes its entire army to attack us next spring, and you suddenly become the master of the Darklord Citadel—what would you do?"
"I don’t know... Wait! I know this one!"
The golden-haired girl shot up, hand raised eagerly. Seeing Lilith’s encouraging nod, she suddenly felt a lump in her throat, oddly moved.
*Meow meow... Finally... finally a normal question!*
"I... um... If I were the Demonlord... I’d... uh... first..."
But her thoughts, scrambled by the earlier questions, jammed completely. Her face flushed crimson, sweat beading on her forehead as she stammered incoherently.
Watching her struggle, Lilith shook her head exaggeratedly in disappointment, sighed loudly, and slowly added another heart-wrenching red "X" to her notebook with the note:
*[Blunt speech. Overconfident. Lacks humility and self-awareness.]*
"Guh..."
The girl swallowed hard, her throat dry, sweat trickling down her back.
Remembering her backup plan, she steeled herself and deliberately tugged at the collar near her pale neck.
"It’s so hot in here..."
As she lowered her collar, she fanned herself dramatically with her other hand, revealing a glimpse of plump, porcelain cleavage. Leaning forward at a 90-degree angle, she deliberately angled her body to offer a seductive view to the young dragon across the table—
Unfortunately, Lilith was entirely focused on her questions, not sparing her a glance. Only Alquett cleared his throat sharply, gripping his sword hilt with hostile eyes.
"Next question—"
"Eh?! T-too fast—!"
"During a leadership meeting, the Demonlord tells everyone to stay quiet *and* speak up actively. Should they talk or not?"
"...Uh... probably...?"
*What kind of nonsense questions are these?! I’ve never heard of them! How is this relevant to the Dungeon Department?!*
*Look up already! Can’t you see this sexy body?! My collar’s practically at my stomach! Are my winks invisible?! WINKS!*
"Next question—"
"If top-secret intelligence near the Demonlord is stolen, the city locks down—and you’re the *only* person besides the Demonlord who knows about it. What do you do?"
"Oh! This one! I *know* this!"
Relieved to finally face a question with real-world experience, the golden-haired girl sat up straight and blurted out:
"With the gates sealed, I’d need to hide the documents *and* protect myself—maybe even think counterintuitively, like infiltrating the enemy’s..." Her confident stream of words dwindled to silence as she realized something was terribly wrong.
After a chilling pause, Lilith spoke in a dangerously amused tone:
"I asked what you’d do as the sole *informed party*—Miss Lasa. Did you misunderstand something?"
"I... um... I..."
Beneath the veil, her plump, cherry lips parted and closed like a fish gasping on shore, utterly speechless.
Lilith stood up, tucking the notebook under her arm. She pushed up her plain black glasses with a middle finger and smiled coolly.
"Seems we need no further questions... The verdict is obvious. Close the door! Release Alquett!"
"Here!"
Alquett drew the Holy Sword.
"What are you doing?! I—I protest!"
Sensing danger, the golden-haired girl slammed the table and shot to her feet, shouting desperately. With her cover about to blow, she abandoned all pretense.
"These were leading questions! Illogical! Irrelevant to the position! This was deliberate harassment—you never intended to hire anyone...!"
Her fierce protest died instantly under the icy stares of both interviewers and the terrifying aura radiating from the Hero’s Holy Sword. She scratched her cheek awkwardly behind the veil and stammered:
"Ah... um... I won’t disturb you further. I’ll just... be going—!"
