[player] Ledgers lay strewn around the gloomy room. I shudder slightly as a muffled clattering sound comes from one of its dark corners.
[-] ...Is this really the place?
[-] I look back at Ume. She seems utterly unfazed by the scene before us.
[-] As for why we're here, it all started this morning.
[Fuuka Minami] My dear secretary, I may need you to run over to the accounting office for me today.
[player] Accounting?
[Fuuka Minami] Yes, Bamboo Cloud's finance department.
[player] Sounds pretty important. Are you sure I'm the one that should be going?
[Fuuka Minami] Relax, they just handle staff matters. You won't find any trade secrets there.
[Fuuka Minami] Besides, you're mine. Why shouldn't you be the one going?
[player] Okay, then what do you need me to do?
[Fuuka Minami] Nian Lao, the manager over there, is out sick today. Unfortunately, two temp workers are coming in for interviews later, and I'm not confident that Take is up to the task alone. I'd like you to go help him.
[Fuuka Minami] Ume, could you bring PLAYER to the accounting office, please?
[Ume] Here we are. Go on in.
[-] I have no choice but to comply and step in first.
[???] Please move your left foot five centimeters. You're stepping on the "Confidential Financial Analysis Report for Second Quarter Menu Development."
[-] Prompted by a slightly boyish, disembodied voice, I hastily take a step back...
[???] Now you're on the "Third Quarter Monthly Finance Report Management Sheet."
[???] And behind that is the "Accounting Operations Case Study Analysis."
[player] This place is a mess...
[-] I've just entered the room only to be forced back out again.
[Ume] Take, this is PLAYER, the person in charge of this year's celebration. Come out and say hello.
[-] With that, a young boy's head pops out from a stack of ledgers.
[-] He expertly navigates around the ledgers scattered on the floor and comes to stand before us. Wiping a thin layer of sweat and dust from his brow, he reveals a face that, despite its hint of youthfulness, bears a mature and earnest expression.
[Take] You? Switching from fighting to writing after yesterday's martial arts exam?
[player] ...Whatever happened to worker solidarity?
[Ume] Nian Lao is out sick today, and we have the temp worker interviews later. Ms. Fuuka wasn't sure if you could handle it by yourself, so she sent PLAYER here to lend a hand. You'll be working together as a team.
[Take] ...I can handle it on my own. I'm not an idiot like Jiu Hua.
[-] Turning his head slightly, Take mutters to himself under his breath. He then turns to face me.
[Take] If you're going to help me with the temp worker interviews, you need to be good with numbers and think quickly at the very least. I'll test you with some basic questions now.
[Take] Take a seat outside. I'll bring you a pen and paper.
[-] As I watch Take gingerly sidestep the ledgers on the floor, I can't take it anymore – I have to ask:
[player] Was this place... always such a mess?
[Take] Of course not!
[-] The boy's calm tone suddenly rises a few decibels, revealing the bluntness expected of one his age.
[Take] This is accounting! Accounting! Bamboo Cloud could be in total chaos and this place would still be in pristine condition!
[player] Then... how did it end up like this?
[Take] Well... Someone came in yesterday after hours and turned the place upside down. They made a mess of the books, but luckily the core data isn't kept in this room.
[Ume] Do you have an inkling of who did this?
[Take] Possibly... but I'm not certain.
[-] I bend down to take a closer look at the ledgers scattered at the door. To my surprise, I see marks all over the pages that look like bird footprints.
[-] My newfound detective instincts kick in, and I think back to Jiu Hua's pigeons from a few days ago – If I recall correctly, some of them were carrying pens and paper in their beaks...
[-] I raise my head back up to look at Take. I didn't expect to see him nervously watching my reaction.
[-] That's the moment I realize that my hypothesis is correct, and Take is thinking the same thing – we can't let Ume know.
[player] Ahem... Take, you were going to test me?
[Take] Oh, right. Here you go.
[player] It's July 6th, and the six guests at table 28 ordered ten plates of braised tripe, generating a revenue of 6,000 Coppers. If the cost of labor and materials adds up to 4,000 Coppers, what is the profit margin on braised tripe for this table?
[player] 50 percent... Do you really need to test me on something like that?
[Take] Heh, not bad. You weren't thrown off by distracting information. I hope you can keep it up during the interviews.
[player] So you were actually testing me as an interviewer...
[???] Huh? Is this the place?
[-] Just as Take and I are trying to distract Ume, I hear a familiar voice – it's Hannah.
[Take] Looks like the candidates are arriving. According to her resume, Miss Hannah has relevant experience. I hope she'll be of help to you.
[player] I think she works at Tenhoukaku... She should be pretty experienced.
[???] Whew, that was a close one. I was nearly late! Huh? Mr. Wolf, what are you doing here?
[player] Eliisa? You're one of the candidates?
[Eliisa] Mr. Wolf! Liisa Liisa missed you so much!
[Shaun] Baa!
[-] Eliisa and Shaun come running in for a big hug.
[Take] Ahem, as one of the interviewers, I'll remind you that this is a public setting. Also... please refrain from being too familiar with the candidates, or it will compromise the fairness of the assessment.
[-] Hearing Take's words, I sigh and use each hand to lift Shaun and Eliisa off me.
[player] Speaking of which, with your math skills, Eliisa... how did you make it to the interview round?
[Eliisa] Hehe! Ready to be impressed, Mr. Wolf? Liisa Liisa was the only candidate in the preliminary round to count to 1,000 without making a single mistake!
[Eliisa] I beat 99 percent of the other candidates!
[player] Seriously? THAT was the preliminary test? And how could 99 percent of the other candidates not even be able to count to 1,000?!
[Ume] According to feedback from staff who were present, the majority started getting drowsy after 100. Not only was Eliisa the only person to make it to 1,000 without falling asleep, but she also seemed remarkably hyper as well.
[Take] Numbers will only torment someone unable to appreciate their intrinsic beauty. From this perspective, Miss Eliisa may actually be a mathematical genius.
[player] And it would seem that the world has only discovered one percent of the genius Eliisa was born with.
[Take] Since our two candidates are here, why don't we begin with a written test?
[player] Careful, Shaun –
[-] A few cloven hoofprints have now been added to the bird footprints covering the ledgers...
[Take] There are ten questions, and you'll each be given a calculator. You have five minutes to complete them.
[-] As soon as Take finishes speaking, Hannah and Eliisa jump into battle mode. Their progress, however, is exceedingly slow.
[-] The calculator looks tiny in Hannah's hand, and the pads of her fingers are so broad that they press three or four buttons at once. "Beep, beep, beep" echoes through the room... Thankfully, this will only last five minutes.
[-] As for Eliisa, she's actually doing calculations the old-fashioned way – on paper. Meanwhile, Shaun has taken her calculator off to the side and is rhythmically tapping the "6" button.
Five minutes later
[-] I declare the winner of this test to be... Miss Eliisa.
[-] I glance at the disastrous exam papers – one is blank because the tester couldn't figure out how to use the calculator, and the other is covered in red Xs, with a measly total of 3 points.
[player] You seem quite calm, Take.
[Take] They weren't even the most baffling interviewees we've had, it's almost a relief in a way.
[player] That's a relief? What exactly have you experienced up to now?
[Take] You know... Just looked at over 100 resumes and interviewed 20 to 30 candidates.
[-] I see... That expression on Take's face isn't calm... It's apathy.
[Take] Now for the second round of the interview: Please compare these numbers and indicate which is greater in value.
[-] I gawk at him. Apathy is one thing, but this is going too far!
[player] You're the manager, Ume! Do something!
[-] To the left is 18, and to the right is 19. Is he serious?! How could anyone get this wrong?
[Eliisa] This one's bigger.
[player] Huh?
[-] Eliisa's finger... is pointing to number 18.
[Eliisa] 81 is obviously bigger than 61! There's no way Liisa Liisa would get an easy question like that wrong!
[Hannah] Miss Eliisa, you got it upside down.
[-] Hearing that, Eliisa quickly rotates her paper right side up...
[Eliisa] Ooh... So it's 18 and 19!
[Hannah] You may have taken the wrong steps, but you got the result absolutely right!
[player] Huh?
[Hannah] 18 equals four times four plus two. 19 equals three times three plus ten.
[Hannah] It's obvious: Add a Pair to four Kans, and 18 is a win with Four Quads! As for 19, well... you can't win with three Triplets and ten orphans. That makes 18 stronger, which means that 18 is greater than 19!
[Ume] It looks like Miss Hannah's arithmetic skills can only be practically applied to mahjong...
[Take] Looks like this question exceeded the standard difficulty.
[player] Take, get a hold of yourself!
[Take] Ladies, we'll now proceed to the final logic test.
Take's brows furrow slightly. After a brief moment of thought, he writes down the following question on a piece of paper...
[Take] Four houses stand side by side in a picturesque village. Before each house is planted either plum trees, orchids, bamboo, or chrysanthemums. The owner of each house has a special hobby – illustrating picture books, listening to crosstalk, drinking tea, or calculating on the abacus.
[Take] Through some local gossip, we learn the following:
[Take] The person living in the house farthest to the left likes drinking tea. Orchids are planted at the entrance of the second house. The owner of the third house is skilled at using an abacus but has not planted plum trees. Chrysanthemums are planted at the entrance of the house farthest to the right, and its owner doesn't like to draw.
[Take] So, what does the person who planted plum trees in front of their house like to do for fun?
[Eliisa] Huh? Huh!! {var:Shake}
[Hannah] My head's itchy, could my brain be growing? This must be what they call a "head-scratcher."
[Eliisa] (whispers) Help Liisa Liisa, Mr. Wolf!
[-] I glance at the question. When Ume and Take aren't looking, I whisper the answer to Eliisa:
