Otherworld Company Chapter 143.1: The Trick Is To Get Things Right At The Planning Stage To Make Things Easier Later On

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　A few days after I was told to make a promotional video for my job title in an internal email, I confirmed the content with the supervisor, who was the sender, and after a meeting, I was assigned a new task.

　The job is to create a plan.

　So, to speak, it was my job to decide the contents of the promotional video.

　It was only natural that we testers were entrusted with the task of creating the concept for the job introduction promotional video.

　After all, we needed to know what kind of people they were looking for.

　If we can include our opinions in the process, then, of course, we should.

　If we make decisions based solely on the judgment of the top management, who know nothing about the situation, there will be differences of opinion between the top and bottom management, and a misguided product will be created.

　The top management’s opinion will be lost, and the bottom management will have a hard time.

　If this happens, a rift is created between the top and bottom management, an atmosphere of discord will spread, and the atmosphere in the workplace deteriorates.

　It is not a win-win-win relationship, but a complete lose-lose relationship.

　On the other hand, if the work is done properly, the superiors benefit and the subordinates benefit as well.

　It is a win-win relationship.

　Kaido and I decided that if we were going to be a part of deciding such a fork in the road, we might as well do it.

　Even though I’ve had a lot of stuff going on with marriage, childbirth, and the addition of a new wife, I don’t think I’ll be able to cut corners here.

　I’m going to be more enthusiastic than usual.

　After all, the most important point in running a company is how many useful human resources are secured.

　Even if we have the best materials and equipment, if the people who use them are the worst, they are nothing more than a waste of treasure.

　The same goes for our juniors and subordinates.

　It is fine to dream, but it is hard to nurture those who are blind to reality.

　If we get someone who is blind to reality and has a strong sense of righteousness, we will be troubled by their blindness.

“So, we’re in charge of warriors, or rather vanguard-types in general… the scenes aren’t good enough. Kaido, can you use a shield?” (Jiro)

“Senior, I use two swords, you know? I’ve never used one before.” (Kaido)

“That’s right, I can’t use it either because I use a great sword.” (Jiro)

“But for someone like Senior, you could probably swing your sword around with one hand, or is it impossible?” (Kaido)

“It’s not impossible, but I’ve gotten used to swinging it with both hands. If I could use a shield, it would certainly broaden my fighting style, but I don’t want to break my current style, even if only temporarily.” (Jiro)

　The production of the promotional video was such a challenge, but if we, as amateurs, had tried to do it, problems would appear from the arrangement stage.

　It was partly because we were amateurs at creating videos, but we also lacked the range of occupational know-how needed to create a combat promotional video.

　The role of the vanguard is, roughly speaking, to fight the enemy head-on.

　While defeating the opponent, the role of the vanguard is also to prevent the opponent’s progress in order to protect the rear guard.

　Sadly, Kaido, I, and Kitamiya’s former party member, Hizumi, are vanguards that place more emphasis on offense than defense.

　Therefore, we lack the ability to stand on the defensive side.

　It’s not impossible, but I’m the type who uses the Mineral Tree for protection, a weapon, instead of shields.

　Kaido and Hizumi are both magic swordsmen, so their main style is to attract aggression and evade rather than defend.

　Both of them are good fighting styles, but for vanguards who use shields, they are not the right example.

“When I first heard about the promotional video, I thought it would end with just the fighting scenes, but there’s surprisingly a lot to do.” (Kaido)

“We are amateurs, but the amount of detail we have to go into is more than I expected. I asked Minami, who seemed to have a lot of experience, and she said she didn’t have any either.” (Jiro)

“I was wrong. I asked her about it, and she said with a straight face, ‘It is a different genre, that it is!’ She even made a big ‘x’ mark with her arms.” (Kaido)

　The first thing that came to my mind when I heard about this was that Minami, who seemed to be reliable and strong in this kind of thing, had never done video editing before.

　I asked Suela if she could think of another way and ask a contractor to do it for us.

“In addition, there is no outsourcing company that I can ask for help because of the nature of our work.” (Jiro)

“We can get the materials, but I didn’t think we’d have a manpower problem.” (Suela)

　In this day and age, there are probably any number of companies that will produce a promotional video or two for you if you don’t mind paying for them.

　But only if it is a normal company.

　Unfortunately, this company may look normal on the surface, but what’s inside is completely abnormal.

　In addition, many aspects of the company’s business itself are confidential to the outside world, and outsourcing is not possible on the grounds that it would be too risky to bring a video production company into the company.

　The suggestion and memory manipulation using magic that were the mainstay of the company’s operations were not that versatile.

　It is said that it can be done precisely, but when it comes to the class of truly manipulating memories, it is not at the level of suggestion, but at the level of brainwashing.

　If the plan hadn’t gotten out of hand, we wouldn’t be in a position to require creating a promotional video production in parallel with the dungeon capture.

　It seems that this company doesn’t have the will or the negative mindset to stop because something seems impossible.

　As soon as we had all the necessary equipment on the Internet or in books, etc.

　It seems that the Demon King Army is currently organizing a filming team centered on members who have adapted quickly to actual operation.

　Ogres, goblins, lizardmen, beastmen, dark elves, etc.

　It was quite interesting to see the various races facing the computer and reading the camera manuals.

　Personally, I liked the image of a harpy with a camera attached to their leg, taking aerial shots for practice.

　Now, I’ve gotten off-topic.

“It can’t be helped if you say it like that. If our future workload depends on this proposal, we’ll just take it seriously.” (Jiro)

“Yeah, the deadline isn’t too short, so we’ll get there for sure.” (Kaido)

“Yeah.” (Jiro)

　If we are told to do something, it is our job to do our best.

　Because both I and Kaido are aware of that fact it’s just a formality.

　The truth is, I want to win against guys in other job titles.

　The president of the company is going to look at the completed promotional videos and has informed us that he will give an extra bonus to the one that does the best.

　Although the amount of the bonus is not clearly stated, it is promised to be enough to spark my motivation.

　As I see a future where I will get married and have children, I want to earn as much money as I can.

　Maybe it’s because of that feeling that I’m working on this job with more motivation than usual.

　However, since I have never done this kind of work before, it does not go well.

　It can’t be helped, so there’s a part of it that’s understandable, but even so, some stress naturally accumulates.

　So, when things don’t go well, I try the other part of my job, dungeon testing, as a change of pace.

　I get stuck on creating the promotional video.

　Dungeon testing, violence, is stress release.

“Let’s get back to the topic. Of course, the performers are me and Kaido, but, if possible, I would like the other members to appear as well.” (Jiro)

“It’s a comparison of the roles of the vanguard and the rear guard, isn’t it? If you want to showcase vanguards, we can show just us, but that doesn’t make sense.” (Kaido)

“If you show only the vanguard, it will be a promotional video mainly about fighting. If there are other party members, it will be easier to explain their roles other than fighting in the front.” (Jiro)

“I’m also a big part of the video, aren’t I?” (Kaido)

“Yes, we stand out more when we have someone to compare ourselves to. But the promotional video we are making is to showcase the vanguard, but fighting is not their only role. We will make sure to convey that point as well.” (Jiro)

“Understood! It’s quite a shock to find out that the work we’re doing differs from what we’ve been told.” (Kaido)

　In fact, we were working on this promotional video since this morning, but as we progressed, the conversation began to go in circles.

　I had to refocus my mind.

　So, I decided to find the right moment, take a break for a while, and just a few minutes ago was running amok in the dungeon.

　I was used to this kind of work by now; I would rampage through a reasonable floor, find something to improve, and quickly write up a report.

　After all, I could resume my work with a clear head. [T/N: Stressed Jiro = Musclehead Jiro.]

“If you lose motivation at the beginning, it’s hard to get it back up. We’ll be clear about what we’re going to do, and we won’t skimp on the job.” (Jiro)

“We also have to tell them that being a vanguard is dangerous.” (Kaido)

“Naturally, it’s more dangerous than thinking that safer being a vanguard. However, it’s more dangerous to proceed without talking about the disadvantages.” (Jiro)

“If that is the case, it will be difficult to gather people.” (Kaido)

“…That’s a bottleneck. No matter how flashy the combat scenes are showcased in the demonstration, if someone thinks it’s dangerous and pulls back, everything will be for nothing. If they think that, it’s still bad. If we show a safe promotional video, it will lose its impact and lose its charm. The balancing is troublesome.” (Jiro)