Otherworld Company Chapter 144: Sometimes An Unexpected Idea Comes To Life

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　Vanguards are popular.

　I repeat Kaido’s words in my head.

　It is true that since I joined the company, I built a relationship with Suela and Memoria, and recently with Himiku.

　It’s no wonder others would say I’m popular.

　So as far as I’m concerned, I’m not inclined to deny it, but then I wonder if it’s true that vanguards are popular with women.

“Kaido, I don’t think you should put yourself on display and say that.” (Jiro) [T/N: So harsh!]

“Oh, don’t get started on me! But look! I’m sure that guy, Hizumi, is also very popular with the ladies! The probability is two-thirds, 66 percent! That’s a pretty good probability.” (Kaido) [T/N: Need proper scientific experimentation.]

“No, there are too few examples to verify, what’s wrong Suela?” (Jiro)

“No, I was thinking about what Mr. Kaido said, and I had never thought of using the tendency to be favored by the opposite sex in the case of combat ability or activity, so I had never thought of using it for recruiting. I never thought about it.” (Suela)

“That’s right if you use it, it will sound dubious. And if you say you like it because you’re a swordsman, all the men will become swordsmen, with exceptions.” (Jiro)

“That’s right if it were me, I’d definitely throw away magic.” (Kaido)

“If it was you.” (Jiro)

　Kaido’s words were too unexpected, and a bitter smile leaks out, feeling like the words are a bit like self-flagellation.

　However, Suela, unexpectedly, seems to have taken his words seriously.

　I had often heard about how Suela, who was concerned about the uneven job title distribution of the first-batch workers, had been trying to persuade them since we started dating, but her methods must have been mainly related to financial or equipment assistance.

　Certainly, she had not tried any approach related to a romance boost.

　That is also true.

　“If you are in the vanguard, you will be popular with the opposite sex!” If a piece of paper with such a claim was mixed in with a list of serious solicitations, you would probably think it was not unique, and you would probably think it was dubious at first.

“But wouldn’t it be different if you had some solid statistical data to back it up?” (Suela)

“No, that’s true, but are you serious?” (Jiro)

“Maybe it’s just my opinion, but I think women in Japan and my world have very different values toward the opposite sex.” (Suela)

“Maybe so, after all, it’s a different world.” (Jiro)

　Suela began to think seriously about this.

　The value of the opposite sex, in other words, is what makes us attractive to them.

　The point of view from a woman is not as detailed as it is from me as a man.

　A good salary, a good face, and a good personality are the general common denominators.

　The point is that everyone is aware of financial strength & appearance within humanity.

　If you want to go into detail, you may prefer a foreigner, but everyone’s tastes are different.

　People’s preferences for the opposite sex change as they change.

　And if the world changes, there may be values of the opposite sex that I don’t know about.

　I don’t even understand what people mean when they talk about someone glowing.

“When I first joined this company, Senior told me that if you are strong, you will be popular with the ladies. Is that true, Ms. Suela?” (Kaido)

“Well, what Jiro said is not wrong. Even among nobles, their strength and ability to fight is a kind of status. For ordinary people, they live side by side with wild monsters. So, in reality, the strength of a man who can protect you looks attractive from a woman’s point of view.” (Suela)

“Really!?” (Kaido)

　The most prominent of these is a status parameter that has already been abolished for us modern people, the ability to fight.

　In modern times, the strength of the arms is not necessary unless it is a professional boxer or a special occupation such as the Self-Defense Forces or the police.

　In today’s society, if a bear appears, the hunting club will be alerted, if a criminal appears, the police will be alerted, and even if it is for defense, if force is used, people will be warned.

　In today’s Japan, power means economic power and influence.

　Physical strength is not a factor here.

　Naturally, in Japan, stories about being popular by bragging that you are a strong fighter are rare and temporary.

　However, in Suela’s world, fighting strength is a kind of status.

　It has continued because it is necessary for the environment.

　Unlike Japan, the otherworld has combat power equals economic power established at the stage where industries such as dungeons are established side by side with danger.

“So, Ms. Suela, were you attracted by Senior’s strength?!” (Kaido)

“I can’t say that I’m not, because I am, but that’s not the only reason.” (Suela)

“Don’t ask Suela strange things, you idiot.”  (Jiro)

“Ouch!?” (Kaido)

　Embarrassed by Kaido’s sudden question, in order to stop Suela from saying something strange, I land a karate chop at Kaido’s head who is about to run out of control and start refocusing the conversation.

　I keep quiet about my possessive desire not to show the embarrassed Suela to anyone else.

　Kaido would probably not notice, even the others would.

“So what? I’ve heard that people from the otherworld are attracted to strength, but it doesn’t make sense that only the vanguard would be popular, does it? Even those in the rearguard, such as mages and archers, are strong.” (Jiro)

“Certainly, if you look at some strong people, there are many people who are popular with the opposite sex, but if you look at the average strength of everyone, it’s not that high.” (Suela)

“?” (Jro)

　In terms of the flow of the conversation, I understood the view of the women’s sense of attractiveness in Suela’s world, it is that a strong guy equals an attractive guy, but that doesn’t mean that a vanguard equals an attractive guy.

　Suela gently denies my question.

“Preconceptions, no, in this case, it’s better to call it the first impression. So let me ask you a question Jiro. Who do you think is stronger, a swordsman or a magician?” (Suela)

“I don’t know. It depends on the situation, there could be a difference in ability, and it could depend on their position or distance. You can’t decide whether someone is strong or not depending on their job title.” (Jiro)

“Yes, let’s change the question. Which is better at defense, a swordsman or a magician?” (Suela)

“That too. That is hard to know, right?” (Jiro)

“Yes, that’s a general theory, but between magicians and swordsmen, it’s the magicians whose offensive power rises the most, but the personal defensive ability of the swordsman is easier to rise because they work as vanguards, so naturally they are already good at defense.” (Suela)

　Of course, there are individual differences, Suela adds, before going further.

　I understood what Suela was trying to say, so I just kept my mouth shut and let her talk.

“For magicians, unless he or she is an expert, is supposed to have someone protect him or her. This is true for all rear-guard positions. But on the other hand, vanguard positions such as swordsmen are more likely to be on the side of the protector than the protected. Also, many women would rather be protected than be protectors, so if the strength is the same and there is no difference in personality or appearance, then the vanguard position is more popular.” (Suela)

“Really!?” (Kaido)

　This is probably just a condensed generalization, but Kaido is talking about the fact that the idea he proposed at random may possibly be valid.

　While Kaido’s eyes glowed with the hope that it might work while suppressing the part where he was beaten by me, I was only referring to the fact that this element might be useful.

　I am not shaken by the fact that this story might be useful.

“This may require a little research.” (Suela)

“Research, what do you mean?” (Jiro)

“Just a survey of the female staff in the company.” (Suela)

　But things are getting bigger than I thought.

　Even at the stage of it being a possibility, Suela is beginning to conclude that it is a realistic and valid idea.

　If Suela, who has the energy to act, puts it into action, the survey will probably be done within a week.

　I would be lying if I said I was not concerned about the results.

　And I would also be curious to know how the current testers would react if Suela’s thoughts were mainstream and they heard this story…

“Do we really need to go that far?” (Jiro)

“It’s my job to motivate testers, so to speak, it’s part of my job.” (Suela)

　Even though I doubted whether I should expect that much from a man’s instinct, Suela was motivated.

　If you go that far, I don’t have anything to say, and if it’s useful, I can say I’m satisfied.

“In that case, it seems better to move early. I’m sorry, Jiro, but I’m going back to work.” (Suela)

“Okay. Don’t overdo it.” (Jiro)

“Yes, see you later.” (Suela)

　Seeing off Suela who returned to work quickly with a smile, I light a cigarette to take a break.

“Senior, Senior! Did you hear that!? Vanguards are more popular! This is amazing!!!” (Kaido)

“Calm down, Kaido, it hasn’t been decided in earnest yet.” (Jiro)

　After a few seconds of silence in the room, Kaido came up to me, waving away the cigarette smoke.

　As I was fixing Kaido’s excitement, screaming that the spring of his life had arrived, I thought about what I had said.

　I thought that it might be difficult to incorporate the idea into the promotional video, but I began to think that it would not be a problem if I could just mention it in a narration or something.

　If I could recruit people with that, it would be a good thing.

　In addition, Kaido’s motivation doubled after hearing this story.

　Kaido, who normally does not return to work quickly, is now showing an unprecedented level of motivation to work quickly.

　Without any intention of putting a damper on Kaido’s enthusiasm, my motivation was restored thanks to Suela’s visit, so I resumed my work with an open mind.

　Kaido and I proceed to talk about the promotional video, taking new ideas into consideration.

　My fingers are moving more quickly than before, probably because some of my fears have been dispelled and a solution has been proposed.

　We were able to decide on the outline of the promotional video so smoothly that I wondered how much time we had spent up to that point.

　The proposal, which had been full of blanks, finally took shape.

　I had thought that things would turn out the way they were supposed to, but it turns out that solutions lie in the most unexpected places.

　When the third cigarette is placed on the ashtray, I think to myself that I can leave early, but then I look at my watch and realize that it’s getting pretty late.

　Since I work in a profession where regular hours do not exist, this kind of time management is my own responsibility.

“Well, it’s about time, we’d better get going.” (Jiro)

“Hey, that’s right, Senior! Let’s go out for a drink for the first time in a while, shall we?” (Kaido)

“Outside? Oh, outside.” (Jiro)

“Yes, you’ve been spending a lot of time with your wives lately, so you’re not busy, so I’d like you to have some time with your junior.” (Kaido)

“Oh, wait a minute, I’ll check.” (Jiro)

“Wow~, you’re completely whipped.” (Kaido)

“Keep talking. You’re just a single guy howling.” (Jiro)

“Ugh, it boomeranged?” (Kaido)

　Listening to my junior’s request to go out drinking after work while doing a comedy skit, I contact Suela, Memoria, and Himiku to get permission.

　The first two gave me their permission, but Himiku wanted to buy me a souvenir, so I went to a convenience store on the way home and bought something sweet for her.

“Okay, let’s go.” (Jiro)

“Good! Well, it’s been a long time.” (Kaido)

“Most of the time, I just go to the underground shopping mall.” (Jiro)

　The underground shopping mall has a large variety of stores, so if you let the place and your mood take care of itself, you’ll never get bored.

　Kaido seems to use it frequently like an adventurer in a fantasy novel, and he never seems to get tired of it.

　Even with all these restaurants, there are still days when he wants to go out for a drink.

　Since the party room was in the dormitory, we parted ways and met up at the entrance later.

　Himiku, who was in the room, looked at me strangely, but I told her I just came to change clothes, taken a shower and changed into my casual clothes.

　Himiku said, “See you later,” and I thought it was nice to hear her say goodbye to me.

　Going out the front door.

　I thought Kaido would be waiting for me since I had showered, so I walked a little faster to the entrance of the dormitory where we were to meet.

“Oh?” (Jiro)

　Kaido was there, but he was not alone.

　I was sure those were other testers, but was there some kind of trouble?

　But the atmosphere did not seem to be bad.

　Kaido doesn’t seem troubled, but he does not seem to be annoyed.

　I thought that if I kept worrying about the unusual atmosphere, I would never get anywhere, so I went up to Kaido.

Note for the Day

Sometimes words can solve problems not in the way you thought.