There are moments that seem calculated, surprisingly enough. In the Tokyo Fourth Dungeon, which had quieted down somewhat after the end of summer vacation when high school adventurer teams disappeared, the serious-faced Kimu who came with a request made it seem like a game of cat and mouse.
“Could you drop off the package?”
“Huh? What’s that?”
“It’s a supply transport. I’m not asking you to accompany it all the way. Don’t you have drones? Can’t you manage with them?”
Mars and I exchanged glances from above and below. It was a bit too timely a request, as we had just discussed drone use in the dungeon with the government shortly after summer break.
“How much weight are we talking about?”
“The weight determines what we can carry. We might be holed up in East One dungeon for a while.”
Kimu, half-lifting his balaclava, answered while exhaling cigarette smoke.
“East One? Is something happening there?”
“No, it’s a request for fixed-point observation from a scholar. We have to carry minimal supplies because we’ll be entering a pretty rough area.”
I see, a request from a scholar… I thought she might have been listening, so I took out my smartphone and, as expected, the messaging app opened, revealing a chat screen with Hime.
[Since it’s inside the dungeon, we can’t fly anything too big. The one we’re using for surveys is a bit bigger than what you have now, so maybe about three kilograms per unit.]
Our current survey drone weighs two hundred grams, so if we use a transport drone, size upgrades would be necessary.
“Oh… I think if we use transport drones, we can carry about three kilograms at a time…”
“That should be enough.”
Kimu adjusted the direction of the personal air conditioner clipped to his collar and nodded.
“Well then, please send me detailed information by email…”
“Oh, sure, I’ll send it. Oh, by the way, did you guys know? There was a death in the deeper part of the Soka Dungeon.”
“Huh? Really? Is Soka the fourth in Saitama?”
“Yeah, Tama Four Dungeon. Apparently, someone froze to death even though it’s midsummer.”
“What!? Froze to death!?”
“Since there are a lot of slime-type monsters there, maybe they were killed by an ice slime.”
Slime-type monsters were not profitable to defeat, and they were difficult because they used poison. They were disliked by adventurers. Many people were researching their ecology, which was unseen on Earth, and some were challenging to domesticate them, but research and domestication were still not successful. Slimes were monsters that couldn’t be eaten no matter how you cooked them.
“When you guys go to Tama Four Dungeon, be careful and bring some hand warmers.”
“Well, we specialize in Tokyo.”
Despite saying that to the grinning Kimu, we decided that very night to send investigation drones to Tama Four Dungeon. If there’s a suspicious corpse, there may be something unusual in the dungeon. And where there’s something unusual, there might be dangerous monsters. There was no choice for us, who were looking for dangerous monsters to exchange for a spaceship, but to ignore it.
In the summer of the twenty-second year of the new calendar, when there were various movements in both the Self-Defense Forces and dungeon-related matters, there were also movements in the direction of Kawashima General Trading. Well, it’s not so much a movement as… Anyway, it was a blow from a direction I hadn’t anticipated at all.
“Hey, Boss, what’s the vice president like?”
It was an exceptionally hot day, with heat waves rising in the city. Abukuma, the head of shipping at Kawashima General Trading, asked me as I arrived at the former factory, which now served as a workspace for robot assembly.
“Why do you ask?”
“Well, recently, I’ve been getting a lot of inquiries about cosmetics from someone I saw on Isosta…”
As she said that, she showed me the screen of her smartphone, displaying an account named “Hime.” Isosta was a photo-centric social media platform where glamorous men and women posted sparkling photos. Come to think of it, Hime had started taking various photos, saying she was recommended by my sister.
“It says ‘Vice President of Kawashima General Trading’ in the profile, and she’s promoting our products like crazy. Is she really our vice president?”
“That’s… her.”
Abukuma showed me several posts, and indeed, Hime was using Isosta for company promotion. She mainly posted pictures of dishes made with our seasonings, skincare products, and how-to-use guides for handy gadgets.
But the problem was that all the photos were ridiculously stunning. Whether it was just rice topped with furikake, skincare lotion applied to Hime’s white slender fingers, or the bizarre dishes Hime occasionally made, they all looked perfect to the point where you couldn’t believe they were taken in our small apartment. It was complete overquality. You couldn’t achieve this even in a studio.
“It’s amazing, isn’t it? Is the vice president a professional photographer or something? Even though her face isn’t shown, she already has over fifty thousand followers.”
“More like… she’s becoming an expert…”
Mars answered vaguely, seeming genuinely impressed by Hime’s photos. Well, she couldn’t exactly be called a former supergalactic influencer…
“Anyway, we’re getting more and more orders from people who seem to have found us through the vice president’s Isosta account, so I wanted to share that.”
“Oh… Sorry for the trouble.”
“Trouble? What are you talking about? It’s great that our products are selling well!”
Right, that’s true… That’s how it usually is. For the Kawashima family, this company may just be a stepping stone towards their goal of space exploration, but for Kawashima General Trading, making a ton of money by selling products is what really matters.
“No, no, of course, I meant we should’ve shared the Isosta strategy earlier…”
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READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
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“Oh, well, you know. You may be very busy, but if there are such things in the future, please make sure to share them on the internal chat.”
“Understood.”
After replying like that, I looked at Abukuma-san’s face, which had become somewhat thinner than before. It’s not just the three of us involved in this company, I need to be more responsible too.
If possible, I want this company not only to sell the things the princess made, but also to be able to prepare products with our own efforts someday. With such a determination in mind, I clenched my fist. Meanwhile, Manager Abukuma was squatting down and talking to managing director Mars.
“managing director, managing director “
“Huh? What is it?”
“Some people from Cat-sìth, the same hometown as you, want to work part-time. Currently, we’re refusing anyone without Japanese nationality.”
“Huh, work part-time here? Why is that? If they’re after points, they could bring magic stones, right?”
“Probably, but maybe it’s rare for a company where Cat-sìth people hold positions.”
That might be true. People from another world are generally few in number, so even if some become salarymen, not many hold positions. Certainly, a company where someone from the same country… it appears to be… has succeeded, could be seen as a viable option.
“Maybe they thought there would be opportunities in such a company? Well, they probably won’t be from the same hometown, so we can proceed with the usual hiring process. If they meet the criteria and pass the interview, we can hire them.”
“Okay, got it.”
Well, to be honest, I didn’t think our company was the kind worth going through naturalization procedures to work for, so it’s unlikely that any Cat-sìth employees would join our company. That’s what I was thinking, but… a few days later, Cat-sìth, who had just become a Japanese citizen, and Isostar girls who had heard rumors about cosmetics only available through point exchange, applied for part-time jobs, and it turned my world upside down.
◆
Amidst the cool autumn breeze gently caressing Tokyo, I was savoring the ultimate happiness.
“Damn cool, right?! Seriously!”
“Well, I guess people have their preferences.”
In response to my excitement rivaling that of a Christmas child, Mars, the cat-shaped alien, nodded with little interest.
“Nah, anyone would like it if they were a guy! It’s a combat robot, you know, a combat robot! Isn’t it just too cool?!”
“I’ve seen ones about ten times the size of this… “
“Well, I’d like to see that too, but there’s no point in being envious of what we don’t have. For now, this robot right here is the best for me!”
I said, fists clenched, in front of the eight-meter-tall giant robot I had painstakingly assembled in the former factory section next to Kawashima General Trading’s shipping center. Yes, the combat robot I had been assembling diligently was finally complete!
The angular, cool body, painted entirely in white, sported a gold line detail I had added with spray paint I bought with my allowance, shining and stylish. Its traditional helmet-shaped head had a convex visor, with faintly visible three cameras behind the deep green visor, adding to its coolness. A single horn, specially attached at my insistence to the forehead, stood proud, functionality aside, it was undeniably cool. The three-meter-long beam rifle and the emitter for the beam sword, as thick as my thigh, were both extremely heavy and incredibly cool.
Cool… no, way too cool! This is my custom machine!
“Ugh, it’s… so cool…”
“Can’t even call it [cool] anymore… So, what are you going to name it, Tonbo?”
“Huh?! Name? Don’t these have like, model names or something?”
“It’s not so much about a model name as it is about giving it a pet name when it’s deployed.”
“Oh… I see.”
If I had known that, I would have thought of a name beforehand. Since it’s a robot from Kawashima General Trading, Kawashiman… well, that’s not quite right… with its convex visor, maybe Gun… no, using an existing robot’s name wouldn’t be good. With the gold line, maybe Goldine… but the gold ratio is too low due to budget constraints… and it has eyes on its forehead, three of them… but three eyes might look tacky… hmm… “Third Eye” in English…
“That’s it, Third Eye! Let’s name this robot Third Eye!”
“Third Eye, huh? Sounds good!”
Yeah, that fits! Now that it’s decided, I’ll have to stencil the third eye personal mark on its shoulder. Well, that’s something for another day…
“Now that we’ve settled on a name, let’s test it out right away!”
“Oh, no, no, if we try to walk it, it’ll break through the ceiling. It’s just barely fitting in here.”
“Huh?! Why?! Wasn’t the ceiling about ten meters high here? Didn’t they say we’d do basic training here?”
“That’s because of the antenna. I’ve told you multiple times that we don’t need it. If it weren’t for that, we could have done walking training here.”
Come to think of it, Mars did mention, “You could attach it later,” but it was me who insisted, prioritizing coolness, “Please attach it.” I knelt on the green factory floor, overwhelmed by my own shallowness.
“Even so… even so, I wanted an antenna on my robot…”
“Well, for now, let’s leave it. Let’s have the princess find a spacious area in some dungeon and try moving it there.”
As Mars suggested, I nodded, still seated on the floor, bowing my head.
“But wait a moment.”
As I stood up and said that, Mars, tilting his head slightly, asked, “What?”
“Just so you know, the antenna can’t be removed right away. It’s not just for decoration; it’s connected to a dedicated harness and the main computer.”
“No, no, no, I just wanted you to take some pictures.”
“Oh, I see. Well, if it’s just for that…”
After cooling my head a bit, I had Mars take commemorative photos from various angles before storing all the equipment in the junkyard. All that remained in the factory, which would continue to be used when building something big in the future, were the sand and fallen leaves blowing in from somewhere. Mars and I swept them away with a broom and left the factory behind once again.
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