“I honestly don’t know who’s mass-producing those dangerous things, but using them will only lead to trouble. There’s no such thing as gaining new powers without any risk; it’s just wishful thinking.”
“Are there similar things in space like skill orbs?”
“They’re called divinizing agents. Basically, they materialize and absorb human souls.”
“What!? Is it okay to do such a thing?”
Mars answered with a weary tone, staring into the distance.
“It’s said that you’ll suffer and never be born into this world again. But still, there are always people who want to try it. If something like that were to spread in space, the already scarce galaxy would become even lonelier.”
“So, is Kaneki-san…”
“Fortunately, brother seems to be fine for now with his dual blades, but it still doesn’t seem safe. Tonbo, never touch those things, okay?”
“I won’t touch them…”
Even though it was summer, I felt a slight chill and zipped up my jacket. At the same time, there was a beep from my jacket pocket.
“Whoa!”
“What? What’s wrong?”
“Oh, it’s a notification on my phone. …… “
Apologizing with a one-handed chop to Mars, who was glaring at me after I suddenly yelled and jumped up, I unlocked my phone.
“What? Oh, seriously…”
“What? What’s wrong?”
Mars looked annoyed as I brought the phone closer for him to see. The screen showed a message from Hime: ‘[A customer at the back of Tokyo 4th is calling for help with a point ticket towards a drone. What should we do?]’
“Who could this be? We won’t know unless they take off the faceguard.”
“Oh, they probably went down a large step, and the makeshift ladder they set up fell, so they can’t get back.”
As we watched the drone footage sent from Hime on the phone, we checked the situation of the person needing help.
“We can’t just leave them stranded. Can we call and listen to their situation?”
“We need to decide how to handle this before anything else.”
“But what else can we do? It would be terrible for our reputation if we abandoned them here.”
“Tonbo, I think what Hime means is, what’s the extent of the company’s responsibility here.”
How far should I go… Oh, I see. It’s fine to help, but this initial response will also affect future responses, so I need to think carefully. Certainly, if I don’t treat this party the same way I would treat other parties in similar situations, there will likely be complaints. Of course, there’s no such contract, so technically, I could handle it as an unreasonable claim.
But this is the dungeon, the Battlefront. Such worldly logic doesn’t apply here. In the dungeon, everything is a matter of life and death, so helping each other within the scope of what adventurers can do is an unwritten rule before any contract. And the resentment incurred by not doing so, and the intimidating demeanor of those who incur such resentment… is no joke.
However, whether as a company, we can help all adventurers is another issue. I’m now required to make a balanced decision.
“…Report. Let’s report to the management association that there are people in need of rescue.”
“Don’t they handle it themselves by now?”
“If it’s deep in the dungeon, there might be no signal, and if they were, that’s fine. If there was a contract for that in the first place, it would be different, but this time we just happened to come across them. So, if we just provide the exact location and situation, we’ve fulfilled our obligation… right?”
“…I’m fine with that if you are.”
[What about the call?]
“…We won’t make it. If we’re asked to come help and refuse, that might cause trouble.”
When I firmly said that, Mars smirked without saying anything.
“…Alright then, I’ll give you the location.”
“Oh, wait, let me take notes.”
And so, I made a decision that no one else would take responsibility for. And as I repeated that, running a company, I keenly felt the difficulty of the CEOs of the world who are running their companies. …… … I scribbled down notes with a handwriting as shaky as my backbone.
My decision was partly correct, but also somewhat rash. In the end, the place where that party was stranded was out of Wi-Fi range, and thanks to our report, they were rescued by the union’s rescue team a few hours later.
We were thanked by both the union and the adventurers, and it seemed like everything was resolved smoothly. However, that wasn’t the end of it. As we ran a shop in the dungeon, we started receiving inquiries about emergency rescue requests not only from our regulars but also from new customers. We had no idea where the information was coming from, but it seemed like some distorted story was spreading somewhere.
“So, if you become a member here, you’ll contact the union in case of emergency, right?”
“Well, we’re still considering that…”
Today, I was asked by a werewolf adventurer whom I had never spoken to before, and I returned the refusal phrase that I had used countless times over the past few days.
“Huh? Really? I was thinking of becoming a points member if that’s the case…”
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The werewolf drooped its tail in disappointment and for some reason bought a hot dog before leaving.
But, points membership… we’re not a gas station. Well, if this leads to more people selling magic stones to us, it’s a good thing. And even if we don’t officially offer it as a service, we’ll probably end up getting request rescue if we happen to find someone in need while drone searching.
Alright… let’s do it! I consulted with Hime and Mars about formalizing emergency rescue requests as a service… and armed with a well-rounded story and a large quantity of donuts as gifts, I went straight to Abukuma, the boss of our shipping department.
“Emergency rescue operations? So, like a call center?”
The office, which used to be a factory, was now somewhat elegant, with vases and tablecloths placed by the wives of the adventurers who worked here. Sitting on a leather sofa arranged face-to-face, she asked while the wood-patterned air conditioner on the wall blew a cool breeze through her hair, holding an old-fashioned donut with chocolate icing in her hand.
“Well, yes… So, I’ve made something like this…”
I placed a device from my backpack on the coffee table between the sofas. It was like a security buzzer; when you pull the string, it makes a loud noise.
“Is this different from a normal security buzzer?”
Abukuma-san asked, picking up the device curiously and fiddling with the string attached to the pin.
“It’s not a security buzzer; it’s a transmitter that emits a special signal,”
“Special?”
“In simple terms, it’s a radio that can send out an SOS signal to a very far distance. And it uses the MGRS system to transmit the current location,”
Mars, holding a donut coated with pink chocolate and colorful sprinkles on top, added. We often bought donuts from the store near the station, so he seemed to particularly enjoy these glittery ones.
“MGRS, isn’t that the coordinate system used by the military? But in a dungeon where we only have rough maps…”
“Well, the maps are already done,”
“What!?”
Abukuma-san’s eyes widened in astonishment, and she accidentally dropped the donut on the table. Well, that’s understandable. It’s only been about two weeks since we started flying drones; it’s faster than usual, so it’s natural for people to be surprised.
“Well, we got this emergency request while we were making it. We used AI and drones to make the maps,”
“I heard about sending drones into dungeons on the company chat, but it’s amazing how quickly it was done. AI is really something,”
Well, technically, it’s Hime’s job, but it’s better to attribute it to AI. After all, nobody would believe that someone has a brain capable of controlling a thousand drones while sleeping.
“For now, let’s share the map with the management association and request assistance from them,”
Abukuma-san suggested, looking at me intently with a somewhat relieved expression and sighing.
“Is something wrong, sis?”
“Huh? No, it’s just that it’s a relief that it wasn’t about organizing a rescue team…”
“I’m glad…I wouldn’t do something burdensome without consulting, right? Haha…” I chuckled nervously, feeling the piercing gaze from Mars next to me, but I’ve been reflecting on my actions every day.
I feel like person from next door is giving me a glare, but I’m reflecting on things every day too.
“So, how about asking our former leader for the director of Call Center,?”
By “our,” she probably means the adventurer party “Ebisu Hedghog,” which disbanded. And all the members of that group are currently working here in the shipping department.
“You mean Iida-san? Sure.”
“Lately, Iida seems to have calmed down mentally and is enthusiastic about the work here. I was thinking of discussing employee promotion with that person,” .
“Is that okay? Thank you,”
“Iida was the former captain of the volleyball team, and used to work for a listed systems development company, so it’ll be fine even with subordinates,”
Huh? Why did such talented individuals become adventurers…? I’ve always thought that the world is too harsh…
“I heard that there weren’t any problems with Iida’s previous company, so there’s no need to worry about that,”
“I’m not worried at all,”
“Anyway, what about the other sister?”
“Oh, you mean Takai? I’m not sure if she’ll agree, but shall we discuss employee promotion with her too?”
“Yes, please!”
We discussed various things in the cool office, ate donuts, and then headed home. Upon receiving a message asking, “What about Hime’s share?” while sweating profusely on the train, we decided to stop by the donut shop near the station again… With Mars’s chosen glittery donuts and shaved ice bought at the cheap place, we walked through the humid sunset and finally returned home.
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