In the kitchen, Hime, who had taken charge of meal preparations with the proclamation, “I can’t stand your sloppy meals,” was frying something in her white jersey, the roomwear. Meanwhile, on the TV, a long-running series of robot anime was playing in the background. To the soundtrack of the anime, Mars and I were engrossed in a space war game we had recently become addicted to.
“So, by deploying the probe on the eighth turn, it allowed us to ignore the opponent’s combat robots.”
Mars tapped on the antenna icon displayed on the board game placed on the kotatsu table, and a circular light beamed from it, projecting a floating icon of a robot’s head at a slightly distant location.
“Probes can be used in various ways.”
“Tonbo is too eager for battle. Any strong unit can’t unleash its full potential unless it engages in combat.”
“But doesn’t this cool space dice machine make you want to roll a lot?”
As I pressed the button on the side of the dice machine placed at the edge of the board game, three peculiarly shaped dice enclosed in a clear case spun at super high speed. Emitting light from the engraved numbers as they spun, they collided with each other, darting around inside the clear case before settling at the bottom.
“This is so cool, isn’t it?”
“Only kids like you would be delighted by that.”
“All the men on earth love this kind of stuff. Anyway, let’s have another round, considering our previous mistakes!”
“Okay, but Tonbo is responsible for cleaning the bathroom.”
“Move over, you two. Dinner’s ready.”
“Oh, we’ll move right away.”
We quickly folded and put away the board game, clearing the kotatsu table.
Placed on the table were dishes of umeshiso fried rice gathered by the princess on pastel pink plates, and barley tea served in individual cups. Mine was a mug that came with the limited edition of the game, Mars’s was a teacup with a fish’s name written on it, and the princess’s was a stylish American-made cherry blossom-colored cup.
I thought about replacing mine with something cool… as I looked at the mug with the game logo, but I felt hesitant to replace something that was still usable.
“Is there something wrong with the tea?”
“No, I was just thinking, maybe it’s time to replace the cups.”
“Isn’t that a good idea? Let’s match with Hime. What about Ma-chan?”
“I like this cup; it’s sturdy.”
“Okay, just Tonbo then. I’ve ordered the same type of green one as Hime’s.”
As expected of the princess, she decided promptly. Maybe I’ll use the game mug as a pen holder…
“Anyway, how’s this fried rice? It’s a recipe that’s been buzzing on the internet.”
“Yeah, it’s light and delicious.”
“It has a nice tanginess to it.”
“By the way, can those combat robots like the ones in the game be made with that synthesizer?”
As I watched the robot anime on TV and asked, Mars looked puzzled.
“Huh? Why?”
“Just wondering what the real ones would be like.”
“I guess they would be similar to what Tonbo imagines.”
If they’re similar to what I imagine, then I definitely want to see them. I glanced at the princess, and our eyes met.
“It’s not that we don’t have combat robots in our lineup, but the ones currently in use are from the 18th generation… So, we can only make ones from around the 5th generation, from the era long before that…about eight meters tall.”
“Eight meters!? So, can you ride and control them?”
“You can, but…”
You can ride them!
“Could I pilot one too?”
“It’s not that difficult. With models from two hundred years ago or so, you probably wouldn’t even need neural connections.”
With that said, I suddenly wanted to ride one even more.
“We have that old factory rented for an alibi, right? Since only the shipping department is using it now, there’s space… Can’t we make one there?”
“We could, but why?”
“It’s not a matter of why… It’s every man’s dream, combat robots.”
As I said this, Hime looked at Mars with a cold gaze.
“Ma-chan, he’s saying this, but what do you think?”
“It’s not a dream.”
“Well, to space people, that might be reality, but there are people on Earth who stake their lives on that too!”
Surely, there are plenty of men who would give their lives if they could ride a combat robot… right? My old man would probably offer himself up without hesitation.
“Well, I’m not saying it’s a bad idea. If it’s eight meters, it can fit into Tonbo’s junkyard, and it wouldn’t hurt to have it ready in case something like that dragon appears.”
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But, Mars continued.
“What about the materials? And for combat robots, self-generation isn’t enough, so fuel is needed too.”
“Isn’t it possible to exchange them from space…?”
“Ah, well, Valak is at war too. They can’t spare resources like those for combat robots, no matter how much we ask.”
“I see…”
But, if we miss this chance to control an eight-meter giant, we might never have another opportunity like this again. While contemplating this as I ate fried rice, Mars suddenly exclaimed, “Ah!”
“Hime, what about maglagant?”
“Oh, the one that’s called magic stones over here? Well, it’s an energy substance, so it can be converted into various resources, but it’s inefficient, you know?”
“Eh?! Can it be done with magic stones?”
When I asked, Hime answered, seemingly uninterested, while gazing at her pink-painted nails. Magic stones are soft stones that can be taken from the organs of dungeon monsters. They seem to be mainly used as catalysts, but they can be used for various purposes.
“Well, as long as you have high-output energy, you can convert materials, but it’s not like you can make reinforced exoskeletons from scrap iron and stones, you know? You need a lot of low-impurity copper, iron, aluminum, etc.”
“Collect, collect! I’ll gather them!”
With materials like that, they could be easily bought and gathered. At times like this, I’m grateful for having an item box from the bottom of my heart.
“Tonbo, what about the magic stones?”
“For that, I’m thinking of buying them from adventurers.”
Magic stones aren’t prohibited from being bought and sold. Even adventurers belonging to companies go to the dungeon to gather magic stones. However, to buy a large amount from the Dungeon Management Association, you need to undergo screening as a business operator, and the intended use will also be investigated, so that might be tough.
“You want them to be tied to us? Isn’t that too strict? Our company doesn’t have any credibility at all.”
“I have a plan for that. I’ve been asking around since noon today. Actually, I have one idea, and if it works out, we might be able to solve both the magic stone and employment problems.”
“Eh, what do you mean?”
I don’t know why, but Mars asked with a slightly disgusted expression.
“First of all, we’re currently dealing in cash, right? What if we tried using points instead?”
“Points?”
“Adventurers would sell magic stones to our company, and we would pay them in points. Then, those points could be used to purchase special items that can’t be bought with Japanese yen… And! Those points could also be obtained by having their family members work for us. How about that?”
Named the Kawashima Point Economic Zone. In the future, I hope to make it usable for various other things and create a large economic zone with many people… Well, maybe that’s not necessary…
“Oh, I see. That’s a decent idea.”
“Eh? Am I not always decent?”
“You say that a lot.”
“…So, who’s going to do the priority sales and discounted sales tasks?”
As Mars poked my side and I poked him back with my elbow, Hime’s cold voice echoed at the dining table after she put down her spoon.
“Eh? Of course, it will be the people we hire from now on…”
“So, even before new people come in, those tasks will come up, right?”
Ugh… that’s true.
“You’re not going to make the newcomers do it, are you? Even though we’re already short on people, with you trying to call back adventurers who’ve gone home, Abukuma-san might get angry, you know?”
“Ah, no, of course not.”
“Tonbo, didn’t you have something planned? Don’t you realize that just winging it without any proper preparation won’t work?”
“Oh, uh… well, I mean… I understand.”
“You understand, right?”
Under Hime’s pressure, my legs naturally shift into a seiza position. Mars slowly slips away from between Hime and me, taking everyone’s dishes to the kitchen sink.
“Tonbo’s ideas are great, but Tonbo doesn’t understand how to manage people at all.”
“Oh, um… yeah…”
Hime’s words ring true, and my thoughts are embarrassingly shallow. Ultimately, the tutoring from the galaxy’s strongest individual entrepreneur to the rookie CEO of a frontier planet, as well as the clumsy presentation of a new business, continued until the late-night anime started playing on the still-on television.
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