“Huh? What? We’ve started already?”
“Yes. We came here because we’ve planned an interview with you, Harumi! You’re the super major-league rookie who managed to earn a million points in her debut season!” a harpy exclaimed.
Yeah...this chick’s probably a harpy, right? She’s gotta be; she’s a bird-girl monster. Sorry if I’m wrong!
Anyway, why was I suddenly being interviewed?
Well, after I’d finished shopping and installing plug-ins, I was taking a break at a restaurant in the maintenance area. That was when the harpy had found me.
Apparently, she wanted to hear about my exploits. She told me I’d get paid for it, and I had time to kill anyway, so I decided to accept.
“But don’t you need, like, a notepad to take notes for an interview? You’re empty-handed.”
Well, I guess “empty-handed” was the wrong word here... I mean, she didn’t have any hands in the first place; her arms were wings.
Don’t tell me she’s just planning to memorize our whole convo?
“Don’t worry! I have a Sound Recorder plug-in.”
Oh yeeeah, that exists. I mean, I have it too. I thought it’d be useless, but look at me being wrong already!
“Let’s get started, okay? I’ve heard that you were stationed on the first underground floor. To be blunt, that means you’re supposed to be really weak, right? There’re rumors of you being a mutation, so what do you think about that, Harumi?”
“Mutation? I have no idea what that means, or whether that’s true or not, but I’m guessing I’m not?”
Hrm...it’s true that I have limbs, so I get the feeling that I’m different from a normal mimic. Is that enough to be called a “mutation,” though?
“Really now? Then how are you able to mow down adventurers by the dozens now?”
“Uhh, like...by kicking them and stuff?” I showed her a swiping kick that was fast enough it made an audible noise.
“This may sound rude, but it’s hard for me to believe that was enough to earn you a million points...”
Ah, she’s doubting me! She’s totally looking at me like, “Did you really do all that? You aren’t exaggerating?” Hrrmmm...what do I do? Should I just be honest? Just say, “I got a super powerful item from an adventurer that carried me the whole way!” I mean, that’s basically the truth. But...I don’t know what form of media this’ll be published in. I’m sure it’ll have readers though, right? I wonder how they’d feel with that answer. Would they be disappointed? I mean, adventurers are the enemy. Would they be okay with me answering, “I got help from the enemy”?
I mean, even someone like me could be a people—er, monster—pleaser, so to speak. That just meant I could work in the service industry.
“Ahh, uhh... Well, I kinda heard, like, a voice?”
“A...voice?”
“How should I put it? Like, it was something that echoed from the depths of hell, I guess? Imagine dialing up the bass to max and then some.”
“I see. Interesting.”
“And, you know, it said stuff... Like, ‘Do you desire power?’ and whatever.”
“Oooh! So what did you do?”
“At that time, I was being chased around by adventurers, and I was still level 1. I was at the end of my rope, so of course I jumped on the offer. Anyone would, right? When I did, the voice answered, ‘Then I will grant it to you!’ It sounded kinda pompous.”
“And then?”
“Well, like... I just felt power welling up from inside. I was wrapped in a golden aura. I could do all sorts of stuff, like letting out shock waves just by waving my hands that sent the adventurers in front of me flying, or kicks that could split adventurers in half. Oh, is that what you meant by mutation?”
Oh boy, she’s nodding so hard it looks like her head’ll fall off. Is she seriously buying all of this? Her eyes are totally sparkling with respect too...
“Could that voice have been the demon lord? I’m sure that’s what it was! So that’s why you were recommended for the EliMon Center, right?!”
“Huh? Well, I don’t know about that... I’m not clear on all the details...” For some reason, I could only hedge and mumble.
Yeaaah...oh well, whatever! It’s not like the truth is all that interesting, anyway!