Otherworld Company Chapter 169: A Bad Outcome Will Affect The Next Job

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　The decision as to whether the project was successful or not will be made not by those at the bottom, but by those in higher positions who will confirm whether the project was successful or not.

　The tester’s spirit contract project, which had run into trouble with a date left to be set, was wavering between continuing or being canceled.

　Those below them have presented enough information to influence the decision, and the rest is up to them to decide what to do.

　There is no choice but to entrust the judgment to the higher-ups.

　In this world that only has moonlit nights, the word “midnight” may not be appropriate, but the residents of this world still get their sleep.

　There is certainly a time of the night when the inhabitants are asleep.

“I see, that’s what happened.” (Valus)

“Yes, it’s a problem with the recent trouble-making nature of the people. I’m honestly relieved that Mr. Muir is safe and sound.” (Jiro)

“Well, this world is full of powerful spirits, and they can easily defeat an undead.” (Valus)

“As long as they are reliable.” (Jiro)

　It doesn’t change even in the Land of Spirits.

　The rainbow-colored skies now display a magnificent Milky Way, giving the spirits a moment’s peace of mind.

　Some of the spirits are active during this time of the day, so it is not quiet at all.

　Still, it is a peaceful and relaxing scene.

　In the forests and villages of the spirits, the dark elves are running around, busy with the aftermath, while I have come to pick up Muir, who has remained in the spirit village.

　When Ms. Valus had sent me to the home base of the incident, I had done so without saying anything, so I thought he would have been left waiting, so I hurried over here.

“Oh, Grandson-in-law, you were quicker than I expected.” (Muir)

　I was surprised to see him leisurely hanging a fishing line in the spring, enjoying night fishing, and a seven-stringed charcoal griddle by his side, which made me think that there was no need for me to hurry.

　I stifled a sigh and explained the current situation to him, which led to our conversation at the beginning.

“Hahaha, once you get used to it, there is no place more comfortable than here.” (Muir)

“I guess.” (Jiro)

　In the bucket at the edge of my vision, there are about two fine fish that look like they’re nice and plump. I’m having trouble deciding whether I should be astonished at the person in front of me who is doing the fishing.

“Let me treat Grandson-in-law later. Now then, if that’s the situation outside, hmm, then isn’t it time to relax here and fish some more? Or should we hurry back to the village?” (Muir)

“I would appreciate it if we do.” (Jiro)

　Perhaps noticing my gaze, Mr. Muir showed me a grin and a trick-like smile, and then quickly drank alcohol and served me fish.

　I answered that I would accompany him and that I would go home with him, and help him clean up the mess.

　With two men, one of whom had been living in Spirit Village for some time, the cleanup would be over in no time at all.

　However, since it is the time of the day, there is no immediate need to call the spirits for transportation, and the minimum amount of equipment necessary to spend the night is left behind.

　We will camp tonight and return the next morning.

　We lean our backs against each other and close our eyes to heal our tired bodies, protected by the barrier that Mr. Muir has put up for us.

　We woke up just before the sky turned rainbow-colored again, and easily made it back to our original position by the whale-like transportation spirit, Hourei, that Mr. Muir had called for us.

　We headed for the entrance to the spirit village, crossed the fog, returned to the village elder place, and then to the village plaza.

　Originally, there were many people on the street even early in the morning, but with the recent commotion, the movement of people was hectic.

　While receiving a few glances, Mr. Muir and I headed for the village square, hoping to catch the flow of people and take care of some light business.

“Oh hey!? Wate-water!? Kitamiya!?” (Kaido)

　It was Kaido, who was being gnawed on by a dog with its head lit on fire and blazing wildly.

“Yes, okay, please wait a little longer.” (Karen)

　As if to say that Kaido was not there, I could see Kitamiya seriously trying to turn the white kitten’s consciousness toward her while slowly shaking the cat toy.

“Aaaaaaa, let’s do this~!” (Amy)

(Amy, do you think it’s alright to use the power of spirits for things like that?) (Mike)

　I looked for someone who could explain what the hell they were doing, but Amy was shouting at the wind generated by a small green animal that looked like a cross between a squirrel and a cat. Amelia is having fun and doesn’t notice me.

“Muu?” (Minami)

(Myuu?) (Spirit)

　Minami, who should normally be noisy, is staring at a cotton candy-like creature, but when the opponent tilts a part that looks like his neck, Minami tilts her head, starting a weird staring contest.

　Looking for Masaru, my final hope.

“Oh, Mr. Jiro, welcome back.” (Masaru)

“Oh, I’m back. Excuse me, but what are they doing?” (Jiro)

　Masaru greeted me with a blue frog on his head.

　I was relieved to finally find someone with whom I could have a decent conversation, but I didn’t know how to react to the various behaviors of the party members, so I asked him frankly.

“Umm, they are spirits we helped in the forest, Senior Kaido and Ms. Kitamiya are trying to form a contract, and Minami and Amelia are trying to get to know each other since their contract is over, I think? They are trying to get to know each other better.” (Masaru)

“I see. It is typical of them that they are fulfilling their objectives even in the midst of such an uproar.” (Jiro)

　The former is the group that has not been able to make a contract, and the latter is the group that has.

　Kaido, who managed to tear the spirit off from his head, is once again confronted by a red dog that has a blazing fire on its head.

　Kaido has what looks like dried meat in his hand and is trying to distract the dog with it, but it doesn’t seem to make much sense in front of the angry spirit.

　Kitamiya is probably using catnip because of its cat-like appearance, but the other party is a spirit, and perhaps because it has more intelligence than a cat, it is aware of its purpose and is wary of the situation.

　However, she seems to be as puzzled as she is wary.

　I can only smile at the two who are putting whole-hearted effort in the wrong way.

“Ohohoho, it’s good to treat spirits with an honest heart. You and your wife seem to be able to do it, but it’s hard to be honest once you grow up. Well, with those two, I think they’ll be fine for a while.” (Muir)

　I wonder how Masaru made the contract, but I guess he did it flawlessly.

　Looking at the frog spirit, who has the same expression as he, who is serious, I can imagine a scene where a contract is made with a short exchange of words.

　This is what it means to be like-minded.

　In Amelia’s case, she must have innocently asked.

　She truly embodies the words of Mr. Muir and puts forward an atmosphere of wanting to just be together.

　Even now, she uses her own body as an obstacle course, and the spirit is flying around her arms, head, or even her legs and other parts as she stands on her head doing dance moves.

“She is a rare one. She is trying to see the essence of the spirit, but there is no discomfort on the part of the spirit. It is unusual. It is also unusual that the person with whom she made a contract is a cloud spirit.” (Muir)

“In Minami’s case, curiosity is definitely there, but more important is the contact with a spirit.” (Jiro)

　In Minami’s case, there in front of her fantasy being she’s been chasing.

　It is impossible for Minami, who may still be young in mental age, not to be excited to the fullest toward this being.

　I don’t know how the spirit received the combination of curiosity and fondness, but at the very least, the fact that she was able to sign a contract with him probably means it’s mutual or at least well-received.

　If we are talking about mental age, Kaido is the same way, but in his case, he seems to treat the spirit as an ordinary dog instead of as a spirit, which is probably what is making the spirit angry and making the contract more complicated.

　If only that could be improved, it would be an easy contract.

　I wonder why my juniors are slipping when they are supposed to be walking straight.

　In Kitamiya’s case, I saw that her original seriousness is spinning out of control, but if they mesh well, there will be no problem.

　What can I say, but unlike the testers around her, she has secured her desired spirit.

　I have to give them credit for that.

“I heard about the situation from the supervisor’s unit, but I didn’t think they would put it all together like this. I didn’t think it would be Amelia.” (Jiro)

“I didn’t think it could be helped…” (Masaru)

“Don’t worry, I’m not blaming any of you.” (Jiro)

　I received an explanation of how this happened before I went to pick up Mr. Muir.

　However, it seems that I sounded like I was blaming Amelia for her bull-headed morality.

　I corrected it, but I’m sure there was a wry smile on my face.

　The words I corrected contained some dismay, but that dismay was also because I thought the way she pushed through her recklessness was similar to my own.

　When I heard the details in the report, it was hard to blame Amelia’s actions and the others who supported her, especially when I thought I was influencing them.

“I’m glad to hear that you guys are okay. I will tell the other testers that we will resume the project as soon as we are sure it is safe to do so. Since you seem to have accomplished your goal, you may be assigned to help in areas where we need more help, so please be prepared for that and tell the others to take a few days to rest.” (Jiro)

“I understand.” (Masaru)

　When I returned to the village to change the subject, I passed on the message to a guard who had been in the hall of the elders when I returned to the village, I said nothing more about Amelia’s behavior, but gave a wry smile at the insensitive companions who didn’t even look at me, and moved on to my next plan.

“They’re charming companions.” (Muir)

“Please don’t tease me.” (Jiro)

　So, I asked Masaru to inform everyone and started walking, but Mr. Muir spoke to me while laughing.

“I’m just telling you what I really think. You should take good care of your friends.” (Muir)

“I am.” (Jiro)

“Umu, it’s nice to be honest.” (Muir)

　I was embarrassed and did not say it out loud, but I was happy to hear my friends get praised.

　With this buoyant mood in my heart, I walked through the village with Mr. Muir.

　We arrive at a military facility guarded by Dark Elf soldiers in a corner at the far end of the village.

　As soon as they see us, they slowly open the gate.

　Well, so much for the good mood.

　I kick myself out of my resting mood and switch my thoughts to work.

　I am ushered into the facility, and following the soldier’s lead, I descend a long flight of stairs carved out of the trunk of a large tree.

　The wooden staircase, illuminated by a spirit, leads down to the bottom of the ground, in other words, underground.

　That is the destination of this visit.

“Oh, you’re here.” (Kaley)

“You’re late.” (Kyla)

“Sorry I am late.” (Jiro)

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” (Muir)

　This is a dungeon.

　This is a special prison where the most serious of criminals are kept.

　The surveillance network using spirits surpasses modern security.

　In one of the rooms of such a facility, there were Ms. Kaley and Ms. Nostalfel.

　And through the bars was the tester I had caught.

“What did you find out?” (Jiro)

“Nothing. They had successfully erased all evidence of the crime.” (Kyla)

“I have lost all information about this person. I doubt if he was even the tester we hired.” (Kaley)

　They must have examined the man who was sitting still in a gym in a corner of the jail.

　All that was known was that there was nothing to prove his identity and that the man in front of him was a stranger, who had no identity.

　Even though it was only a simple investigation, the result left Ms. Kaley shaking her head at a loss, and Ms. Nostalfel could only meditate and sigh.

　They’ve probably been looking into it since me and the supervisor’s unit came back.

　I could see a hint of fatigue in these girls who have been up all night.

“What do you expect us to do when we can’t even have a conversation in the first place?” (Kyla)

“Even when we talked to him, he didn’t answer anything and just looked at his right hand the whole time.” (Kaley)

“By right hand, you mean it has something to do with the magic sword, doesn’t it?” (Jiro)

“Yes, that seems to be the case. There is one broken magic sword and one broken gauntlet. To be honest, these are the only clues we have. But it will be a while before we get any information. Or rather, it won’t be before the end of this project, so we’ll probably receive that report after we return.” (Kaley)

“I’m frustrated, but that’s the only thing I can do. Right now, I’m going to have a meeting with Lady Evia’s subordinates, and we’re discussing how to escort this man to the headquarters.” (Kyla)

“Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, he’ll be transported away and we’ll be relieved of our burden. Instead, the three of us here will have hell to report when we get back.” (Kaley)

“I’ll be prepared.” (Jiro)

　Until the resumption of the spirit contract, the two people in front of me will be free.

　Until then, I’m on vacation.

　I’m a little tired after making my own contract.

　I was hoping to take a break sooner or later.

“Mr. Muir, is there anything that bothers you? You‘ve been watching without saying a word since a while ago.” (Jiro)

“I was just looking at the man who caused all this trouble.” (Muir)

“What’s your assessment?” (Jiro)

“A pawn, I guess. Be careful, Grandson-in-law, this case may not be over yet.” (Muir)

　The words left by Mr. Muir echoed in my mind and lingered unpleasantly in my ears.

Note for the Day

If the outcome is muddy, that leaves us with a lot of uncertainty.

I think it is hard to do the job perfectly.