“We seriously don’t have enough people.”
“Is that so?”
In June of the twenty-second year of the lost era, we were struggling with a severe labor shortage. Abukuma-san and Yoshikawa-san were sitting tiredly near the entrance of the old factory we rented to cover up the one-man household synthetics business run by the princess.
“The work itself is simplified, and it’s convenient that the shipping is handled by a contractor, but it’s mentally tough when the orders keep increasing.”
“Even if you say don’t worry, you still worry, right?”
“Kawashima-kun, wouldn’t you worry if you were in the opposite position?”
“Well, I probably would worry…”
This is probably a problem that won’t be solved even if we increase the salary.
We should probably rely on agents for this kind of recruitment… but according to Hime, our situation is too specialized and secretive to rely on them. Even if we did, only government officials would be sent over.
“Sis, do you know anyone?”
“Even if I did, there’s only adventurers around here.”
“Even if it’s the wife of an adventurer or a friend of a brother. If it’s within your management range, it’s okay to hire more people.”
“Am I the one interviewing them? It’s just a part-time job, you know?”
“Abukuma-san, Yoshikawa-san, about that… could you two somehow become full-time employees at our company?”
I bowed deeply as I asked. I had no connections or achievements, and honestly, I had no one to rely on other than these two.
In a normal company, you’d start small and gradually expand with the help of employees. However, due to my incompetence, our company, which had suddenly been asked for supply far beyond our means, was forced into a precarious recruitment process.
“Full-time employees, huh… Well, it’s probably an unexpected opportunity, and it’s not like I don’t trust the president, but…”
“Please… Please…”
Just by bowing my head, I can sense a somewhat troubled expression from Abukuma-san and the others.
“Well, well, for the time being, can’t we just hire them to make the work easier? After all, according to the laws of this country, employees can quit whenever they want. If join now, you’d be an instant department head.”
“Department head, huh…”
Abukuma-san, who initially seemed doubtful, brightens up slightly at the suggestion from our executive director. Nice one, Mars! Keep pushing!
“Hey, Mars-kun, what about me? What about me?”
“If you join, you’d be an instant section chief.”
Seeing the not-so-unhappy reaction from Yoshikawa-san, Abukuma-san turns to me with a vague smile, cracking his neck.
“Well, let me think about it a bit more.”
“Of course!”
Honestly, just having them working part-time for us is incredibly helpful. I can’t push them any further. I bow my head once more and hand them the snacks I bought before heading back.
Unable to rely on Hime, and even then, unable to complain about the situation, all I can do is straightforwardly recruit people. Mars and I venture into 4th dungeon again today, hoping against hope as we approach our few acquaintances.
“So, Kimu-san, do you know anyone who’s looking for work…?”
“No one wants to do light work like that. Just advertise normally.”
“I have my reasons for not wanting to advertise normally. I’d like to gather people through acquaintances… “
“Do you seriously think people would refer others for a job with ‘reasons’? “
“Well, it’s not like there’s anything shady going on. Look, we’ve been getting a lot of attention for our seasoning, so we just don’t want to hire any weirdos.”
“You won’t know if they’re weird until you hire and work with them.”
That’s true.
“Is there anyone, perhaps a retired adventurer with some time on their hands?”
“This job pays well, and even if someone retired, they’d probably have enough money, so I doubt they’d take a part-time job. Maybe someone who had to retire due to injury or illness… but you know, those kinds of people are usually hard to find.”
“That’s true…”
“If your company offers discounts on things like those powered suits, it might change the game, though.”
“Discounts, huh?”
“Well, cutting-edge equipment like that is expensive. If it’s just a part-time job, some people might not bother, but if it supplements their main income, some might refer their acquaintances.”
“I see…”
Come to think of it, there’s a part-time worker at the pizza place I work at who buys pizza with an employee discount. Even with the discounted price, pizza is still expensive, but that person would buy it once a month, saying, “It feels like a great deal.”
Discounts… Well, even if I wanted to buy a powered suit, it’s not something I’d buy often, and seasonings or cosmetics aren’t expensive enough to feel like a significant discount… a deal… right, it just needs to feel like a deal.
“Um, Kimu-san, is there anything you want? “
“Huh? Why are you asking all of a sudden…? Well, I could go for another pack of smokes.”
As he says this, he tosses the cigarette he’s smoked down to the bottom of the ashtray can.
“Here’s a hundred yen.”
“Huh? What do you mean? “
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Despite his puzzled expression, Kimu-san hands over the hundred yen and takes the cigarette. Oops, did I phrase that wrong?
“Oh, sorry about that. I don’t necessarily need something right away… I was just wondering if there’s anything you’d like to have for daily life or work, you know?”
Yeah, I changed my mindset. Instead of employee discounts, I thought we could do limited releases. Adding more products randomly will only lead to more manpower shortages. So, if we provide exclusive and convenient products only available to employees, they might spread through word of mouth and help us recruit employees effortlessly. That’s what I thought.
“Oh? Even if you suddenly say that…”
As Kimu, with a pensive expression, lit his cigarette, a familiar face appeared beside him. It was Kaneki, the protagonist of a real-life harem novel, leading his cheerful harem party.
“I’ll have a cigarette too. And coffee.”
“Oh, Kaneki-san. Long time no see.”
“Four hundred yen.”
He immediately offered the change, then lit his cigarette and opened a canned coffee, still in his cheerful demeanor.
“What were you talking about? Did I interrupt?”
“No, not at all.”
“We were just asking Kimu if there’s anything he wants for daily life or work.”
“Oh, getting more stuff for us again?”
“Well, only if I can find it. Oh, by the way, Kaneki-san, I wanted to ask…”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“Do you happen to know anyone looking for a job?”
“A job, as in legitimate work? Well… I don’t think so. All my acquaintances are adventurers.”
“Oh, I see…”
Well, it’s not something I should be looking for in a place like this, but there aren’t many acquaintances I can trust who aren’t adventurers. There are some from university or part-time jobs, but they’ve just rejected me outright.
“…I’ve been thinking about it, but if I had to pick something, it would be air freshener.”
“Air freshener?”
As I asked, Kimu seemed slightly troubled, scratching his chin.
“Well, my daughter’s been making a lot of noise when I get home lately. It’d be nice to have something to freshen up after washing her feet outside.”
“Wow, that sounds tough.”
“Seems like quite a hassle…”
“You guys will end up like that too once you have a family.”
“Is that how it goes?”
“My sister doesn’t really talk about that kind of stuff…”
Well, it’s one demand. Foot deodorant, noted.
“Kaneki-san, is there anything you’d like to have?”
“Well… I’d be in trouble if you asked me that again… Oh, right… Hey! Hold on a sec!”
As Kaneki turned around and called out to his party members, gesturing to them.
“What’s up?”
“Did you forget your wallet?”
“I’m thinking about what our procurement guy should bring in for new products. If you have any requests, let me know.”
“Requests? I have some.”
“That toner, you know? I’d like more products from that brand.”
“I want more variety of soups.”
“I want lots of seasonal items from Starbucks. You can keep them in the item box, right?”
“My friend seems to be troubled with athlete’s foot.”
“Isn’t that your problem, not your friend’s?”
As the scene in front of the shop suddenly became noisy, Mars and two other guys went somewhere, leaving me alone to listen to the endless demands of the ladies with a solemn face.
After conducting surveys with almost all of our familiar customers, I returned home, took a bath, changed into my tracksuit, and spent some leisure time before dinner.
Even on a humid night in June, our room was comfortable. The environmental control unit silently released comfortable air at the right temperature, adjusting the humidity in the air. Last year, pests were a frequent occurrence, but now, a device similar to a mosquito coil completely blocked them.
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