Otherworld Company Chapter 146.1: Go With The Flow, There Are Times Like That

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　A month has passed since the news about the promotional video broke.

　During that time, of course, I had been challenging dungeons as part of my work and had broken through the floor of dungeons.

　It was quite refreshing to have a promotional video shooting job to add spice to my daily routine of dungeon crawling.

　As for me personally, I was wary that something might happen when the promotional video project came up, but as if ignoring my feelings, my daily life continued peacefully.

　The other testers who approached Kaido when I went out drinking with Kaido have not been heard from since then.

　It may sound strange to say that I am at peace after fighting in the dungeon every day, but I can say that I have been at peace enough for the past month to have been occasionally kidnapped by the instructors for a drinking party.

　At least mentally, I have been at peace.

　Living together with Suela, Memoria, and Himiku is going well.

　Smooth sailing is what I would call it.

　Thinking back, I had had stormy days since I joined the company.

　If I’ve been living like that every day, I think it’s safe to take a short break here and there.

“Turtle one, OK!” (Demon)

“Turtle two! Move to a higher ground!” (Demon)

“Turtle three! Not there, more to the right! Stay out of magic range!!” (Demon)

“Summoning of the monsters for the shoot is done!!!” (Demon)

“Five minutes!” (Demon)

“Too slow! Two minutes!” (Demon)

　Even if the scene in front of you is a jungle filming location.

　The ogres, dark elves, giants, lizardmen, beastmen, and various other members of the Demon King Army were busily preparing for the shoot, not only moving left and right with equipment in hand, but also using their magic to levitate themselves up and down, high and low, and moving in all directions.

　I was there on such a day.

　We had been working on the promotional video project while doing our normal work, and we had finally made it to the shooting date.

　I had meetings with a demon, the director of the promotional video, whenever we had time, and while we worked out the details, I felt like a movie actor, but what we had to do was no different from our normal work.

　All we had to do was to kick the enemy’s asses in a spectacular manner.

　I was not overawed by the work content, which was no different than usual if I was conscious of the meaning of showing it to others, so I sat leisurely at the side of the shooting site drinking coffee and waiting for the shooting preparations to be finished, checking to see if any of the fasteners on my protective gear were loose.

“Se-se-se-senior, do I look strange? I am well prepared today, right!?” (Kaido)

“Se-senior, I’m getting a stomachache, so can I go home, that I may? I’m really serious.” (Minami)

“Well, the order of magic is to shoot at the beginner’s level, and then prepare for the big one.” (Karen)

“I’ll stay here, and after that, uh, Max, what should I do next?” (Amy)

(Jump onto the enemy’s back. And my name is Mike. Do not forget it.) (Mike)

“……*sigh*.” (Masaru)

　But it seems like I’m the only one who thinks we’re taking it easy.

　I look toward my party members in response to Kaido’s call.

　Just one glance is enough to get a feel for my party members.

　If I were to ask about their condition, I would say that they were unparalleled in the past.

　Not physically, but mentally.

　Kaido, for the umpteenth time, asked for an equipment check.

　As if to follow suit, Minami, clutching her stomach and looking very pale in the face, did her best to refuse to appear in the event.

　Behind her, Kitamiya is checking the script, again and again, to make sure it is perfect.

　In the background, a small shadow is flying around as if it were part of the background.

　It is Amelia, who has been flying around at the edge of the scene since a while ago, trying to carve her role in her body just before the performance.

　On the way there, she stops so tightly while looking confused, but Mike, a guardian spirit-like presence who assists her, gives her instructions for her next move.

　And Masaru, who seems to be the calmest of the bunch, has been standing up and sitting down repeatedly since a while ago.

　Overall review.

　Everyone is really nervous.

　I didn’t expect them to be so distraught, as they are usually so relaxed and rarely nervous when in dungeons.

　I thought they could afford to have a little fun…

　I doubt if they can really shoot like this.

　I’ve told them many times before that they should just fight like they always do because things don’t go according to plan, but they’ve been taken in by the unique atmosphere of this place.

“Calm down Kaido, you don’t need to dress up. Just fight more flashy than usual. That’s the end of this job.” (Jiro)

“I-I know that. I’m nervous since I’m aware of the fact that I’m going to be on film. I mean, why are you so calm, Senior?” (Kaido)

“It’s not that extreme, we’ll just be filmed while fighting. More than that, this is far easier than fighting the instructors.” (Jiro)

“Oh, I feel a little relieved when I think so.” (Kaido)

“I am not sure if I can relate to that, that I cannot.” (Minami)

　The old me would definitely be nervous in such a situation, but unfortunately, the standard parameter for my anxiety has been distorted thanks to my experience since I joined the company.

　Thanks to this, I don’t get nervous about ordinary things anymore.

　What I mean by this is the criteria for being nervous or not is whether or not my life or death is involved, a criterion that is impossible in everyday life.

　In this shoot, all that would happen is they would summon soul-type monsters and we defeat them, and information about the monsters we are going to defeat is provided in advance.

　There is almost no chance of failing.

　If this shooting had been a battle with the instructors, I would not have been so relaxed and would have been on my last nerve trying to find a way to survive with all my might.

　Eventually, I would have reopened the door, but I’m sure I would have considered tactics that would have allowed me to escape along the way.

　Who wants to jump into a deadly situation that isn’t necessary?

“Hey! You guys, attention!” (Jiro)

　But that’s just the kind of mindset I’m capable of because I’ve had more unusual experiences than anyone else since I joined the company, and it’s strange to ask these guys, who don’t have that much experience, to do the same.

　I clapped my hands once to get the party members’ attention.

“Listen, everyone, what we’re going to do is just an extension of what we normally do. No, it’s an easier job than usual because it doesn’t involve the safety of our lives. If you make a mistake, you can always start over. I don’t want to tell you to lose to your nerves, so take it easy.” (Jiro)

　My tone is serious, but at the last minute, I lose my expression and let out a wry smile.

“If you want, I’ll ask the crew to make a blooper reel for us to look at after we’re done to create tension in a different direction. That wouldn’t be a bad way to start the film.” (Jiro)

　People can get nervous only with the thought that they might fail.

　It may be that it’s the first time they will do it, or it may be a nervousness caused by a lack of adequate experience in the field.

　Giving a serious pep talk to such nervousness is not a bad idea, but sometimes it can only make them more nervous.

　Therefore, I dared to say that it was okay to make mistakes, and then I aimed to ease the tension by joking around a little afterward.

　I made a pretense but mixed it with curiosity, my true feelings, to see a little of a blooper reel.

“Stop it!! I will not record my black history, much less screen it! Is this a public execution, that it is?” (Minami)

“I think Minami is still in good shape! If I’m not good enough, the girl I like will find out about it!” (Kaido)

　As expected, each of them looked relieved for a moment, but after that, the two who were most likely to react did not disappoint.

　They were probably the two people I thought might fail the most among our party.

　Therefore, I expected them to give me good reactions, and they did.

　And if they gave me this kind of reaction.